The other day, I had a friend over for a “family play date” so that we could catch up on the past few months that both kept us busy with life. We usually like to get together for breakfast while the kids are in school, but since it had been so long since we last saw each other, I thought it would be great to try and get the kids together as well.
I wanted the kids to have activities to keep them busy, but not so busy that we wouldn’t see them. The boys can sometimes get into it and even get a little rough in the process, so I wanted to guide their activities but not have to walk them through anything, because it had been a long time since I last saw Jo.
The kids were busy with their electronics while we prepared lunch. (Photo Credit: Joliza)
We started with a simple lunch of grilled veggies, salad, fried chicken wings, and anchovy pasta. Jo remembered my love for Indian mangoes with bagoong, so we had a big plate of that to nosh on as well. My bbq grill was acting up, so lunch took a little while longer than I expected to get on the table, but the boys occupied themselves with their hand held electronics.
Enjoying our Braso de Mercedes from Cielin’s with some tea and coffee. SoMom Michelle Lim turned me on to Owl coffee and I recently found it in the Metro supermarket right near my house!
After we were done eating, the kids asked if they could swim, and for the most part everyone got along stellar. While they swam, Jo and I had a cup of coffee and dessert in the lanai, all the while, still staying within earshot if the boys had a disagreement.
Swimming for the big kids, and nap time for the little girl. (Photo Credit: Joliza)
After lunch, baby girl took a nap. But doesn’t she look super cute in her bathing suit that her Momma sent over?
We all know that as soon as the kids get out of the pool they are STARVING. (Yes-even though we just had lunch, they were still starving.) I knew this would be the case, so I had the pizza stone all prepped and ready in the oven for when they were ready to “make their own pizzas.” The girls took charge of this activity, leaving the Mommas to chit chat away while they baked and snacked.
Teaching the kids to be self reliant in the kitchen is a big part of my parenting. Gia knows that their is always pizza crust in the freezer, tomato sauce ready to go (or in this case ready made pizza sauce that I picked up at the supermarket) and cheese in the fridge. Heat up the oven-and voila…afternoon snacks are ready!
Even Gelli loved the pizza that the big girls made for everyone! She gives it two thumbs up…sort of….
Self feeding is just as important for my toddler as it is for my big kids to be adept at preparing their own snacks in the kitchen. We start ’em young round these parts.
After snacking on some crispy thin pizza with all that extra cheese, the kids asked if they could decorate the sugar cookies that Gia prepared for them. Because Easter was just around the corner, I figured that the kids would love decorating Gia’s sugar cookies as the last activity we would do together. Of course, they loved it.
As usual, Gia’s decorating skills puts the rest of us to shame. #giabaked
All of the kids had a great time. Mommas got to catch up with each other, bellies were all full, and toys were all cleaned up before we sent them off to rest after a long day. When I finally made it upstairs to sit down with Nino for a little while, I looked at my watch and realized that I needed to prepare dinner for the kiddos. (and for us too of course) I still had some leftovers from lunch and some soup for Gelli for dinner but I was at a loss as to what to serve Nino for dinner, especially, since he spent the entire day resting. I wanted to give him something I knew that would be satisfying but not too heavy.
Em sent over a bunch of treats for us to enjoy. Thanks Baked by Anita!
So-my perfect dinner to serve him was a tossed salad and the Bocaditos I had in the fridge. A few days before, Em Sulit had contacted me asking me if she could send me some to try. I had seen many of the SoMoms post about her famous Bocaditos before, so I was curious to see what they were like. They looked like mini pot pies in the pictures I saw on Instagram and Facebook. The moment I began heating these tiny little treats up in the toaster oven I could already smell the butter wafting through the kitchen.
I quickly did some research to see what the difference was for each of these little parcels. I was excited to try all the flavors that were there, Wild Mushroom, Baby Spinach, Spicy Italian Sausage, Chicken, Spanish Chorizo, and Chili Lime Tuna.
I had no idea that these little treats packed a heck of a punch in taste. The flaky crust was buttery, and warm, enveloping the savory fillings. I ate slowly and mindfully, because they were so rich and tasty I wanted to savor every bite.
Wild mushroom with gruyere and truffle oil was most definitely my favorite.
Truth: I was too lazy to even set the table downstairs for a proper dinner. Nino and I ate our toasted treats and salad in front of the t.v. with the continuation of our favorite series on DVD. While I was toasting our Bocaditos, I asked one of the helpers to make a salad so that we could just relax and kick off our Holy Week staycation.
What a simple but satisfying dinner after a whole day of activities to keep the kids (and myself) busy.
Wanna know something else? They deliver and you can order in bulk for your parties. LOOK!
Check out Baked by Anita on Facebook and Instagram.
You can also visit them in Megamall or call for orders: 0917.525.9740 or 0939.920.9838 or 02.736.2877
I love how happy Gellibean looks in her new bathing suit! Oh hey I think I tried these bocaditos in a bazaar once and always wanted to know how to find them again! Thanks for posting 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Mawi!
Gelli was so happy because she really thought she was going swimming! Hehehe. She didn’t realize she was gonna have a nap soon, otherwise she would have been fighting saying “No!” (Her new favorite word)
Bocaditos are so yummy! I’m glad you like them. We should have some together…like for afternoon tea, because it’s been so long since we have seen each other!
Miss you! xo
hi! may i know where you get your frozen pizza crust? 🙂
Hi Cynthia 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. I usually buy our pizza crust from the supermarket. I like the Bambi brand, thin crust. But I also buy the pizza crust from Village Gourmet, also found in the bread section of the most supermarkets.