It’s my 45th birthday soon.
That also means that I have been blogging for 6 years.
AND it means that as a special treat, I’ll be giving away some kitchen essentials from Braun and Severin!
For those of you that are new readers here, allow me to introduce myself, yet again.
I started writing to share my experiences as Gelli’s Momma.
You see, when she was born, I didn’t find any Filipinas who were sharing about their experience as a momma of a baby with Down Syndrome in a positive light.
Shucks, I didn’t find ANY momma who was sharing anything, let alone sharing it positively.
So this got me to thinking…
I wanted to share but I wasn’t sure how.
I started to write for Working Mom, I pitched articles to Rappler, Smart Parenting, and other online sites before I decided to put up my own website and share in a regular way.

Screen Capture of: https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/28443-manila-motherhood-i-have-learned-so-much
Gelli just turned one year old. And it was a few weeks before my birthday that I finally decided to make it official. In fact, it was on my birthday in 2012, when I published my very first blog post.
I wanted my website to be a gift to myself, but also something to share with others. I wanted to write my truths about parenting, having a child with Down Syndrome, and what it was like for me, a Filipina American who grew up in New York, living in Manila.
Not long after I started writing regularly on the website, I realized that I am more than Gelli’s Momma.
I am Nino’s wife.
I am a crafter.
I was a yoga teacher.
I am a “cooker.”
I am an “eater.”
And I like to share!
So, the website evolved from a “Mommy Blog,” to more of a lifestyle blog where I take the opportunity to advocate for children and adults of all abilities as well.
I write about the good and the bad. The beautiful and not so beautiful moments of motherhood, marriage, and even family life. The successes in the kitchen and the fails that I was somehow able to remedy with the help of my kitchen friends.
But my point IS, EVEN the bad parts have some incredible lesson in it for our hearts, and even sometimes for our minds. The bad parts are actually what help make this life more beautiful. Even the sad parts.
How would we know and learn to appreciate all of our BLESSINGS, if He didn’t send us some challenges along the way, right?
Can I get an AMEN?
I write because it’s my outlet.
I write because I love sharing.
I write in the hopes that maybe one day a momma like me will give birth to a baby like Gelli.
She will scour the internet for someone in the Philppines who “gets her” and hopefully, she will find my blog and think, lemme check this out…Gelli looks like fun.
And so does her momma.
TRUTH? I have had quite a few mommas contact me with questions about their babies, (some even about their marriages) and I am honored to have been able to share a little bit of myself. I am not perfect. In fact, there are so many days that I actually feel like I am failing at so many things.
It’s those days when I get to say a little prayer of thanks for The Lord helping me keep it all together.
Then there are some days like this:
Gelli is home sick.
She asks for chicken soup.
I get to make it for her.
I even get to throw in some leftovers so no food is wasted.
And I feel like I won.
I feel like I won at something really good because I got to nourish my little girl with a bowl of soup that she needed because she has been under the weather. And she’s happy. And I got to shoot this episode uninterrupted. I even started writing this blog post.
And I get to share something with all of you. I get to share some of my favorite kitchen companions from two of my favorite brands.
Braun and Severin.
GUYS. This is just too good.
The folks over at Colombo Merchants have so many things in store for all of you!
I have been writing and sharing with all of you here for SIX YEARS!!!
THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE GIVING AWAY SIX GIFTS FOR SIX DIFFERENT READERS!!!!
Check out this VLOG that we put together specifically for this GIVEAWAY!
Ok.
So, you guys wanna win some fun stuff?
Here is the list of what you can win from SEVERIN:
- ONE set of three SEVERIN shopping cart bags that are perfect for when you do the grocery shopping
- ONE SEVERIN Electric Can Opener
- ONE SEVERIN Electric Slicing Knife (PERFECT for the upcoming Holiday Roasts!)
Here is the list of what you can win from BRAUN:
- ONE BRAUN Trolley Bag that you can bring with you whenever you are tooling around
- TWO BRAUN MQ 100 Hand Blenders
AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN ONE OF THESE SIX PRIZES IS THIS:
- LIKE the Braun Household Philippines Facebook page
- LIKE the Severin Philippines Facebook page
- SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel
- SHARE the VIDEO on your WALL and TAG two of your friends who you want to get in the kitchen with to cook up some goodness
- AND DON’T FORGET TO TAG MOMMA ‘N MANILA SO I CAN SEE YOUR POST!
PSSST!!! If you want extra chances, you can share the video more than once and tag more of your friends each time!!!
REMEMBER to use the Rafflecopter widget so all those extra chances to win are counted!!!
Colombo Merchants
https://www.colombophils.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/Colombophils/
https://www.facebook.com/BraunHouseholdPH/
https://www.facebook.com/SeverinPhilippines/
Happy 6 years of blogging momshie😊
Thank you Dear!
Advance happy birthday mommy Michelle. And congrats for 6yrs of blogging!.More year to come pa po. Para mas marami pa po kayung mainspire. Godbless po.
Thank you so much Cris! Thank you for stopping by, for finding what I share useful, and for sharing 🙂
This is really inspiring. Happy 6 years of blogging and advance happy birthday to your!🎂 I am an aspiring Momma blogger too and I hope one day I can manage to do everything as full time mom and wife to my family.😊 Keep on sharing.💗
Thanks so much Jiji. Thanks for stopping by! What’s your URL?
I love the Bible verse. Thanks Michelle for inspiring us mommas!
Thanks for coming by Jay. When will we be seeing each other again? Soon, I hope?
Advance Happy Birthday Madam.. May God shower you lot of blessings… And Happy 6th year blogversary po madam.. God speed!!!!