Mommy Pehpot, Author at Mommy Pehpot

Makati Shangri-La Perfect Family Weekend Promo

Instead of the stressful long drive for an out-of-town family vacation, why not enjoy a Wonderful Weekend at Makati Shangri-La, Manila.

Makati Shangri-La’s Wonderful Weekends package is the perfect family staycation packed with activities and treats not just for the kids but also the parents where families can enjoy more room time with an early check-in at 10 a.m. and late check-out at 4 p.m. Transform the hotel room into a little playground with a tipi tent and complimentary kids mini bar filled with treats and goodies. Also, enjoy more room space and receive a 50% discount on the prevailing Best Available Rate by booking a second room just for the kids.

Set of activities are in store for the little ones as they can explore their creativity with pastry decorating classes, and arts and crafts sessions in the afternoon.

The fun doesn’t stop there as kids can grab away a special prize when they complete ten (10) exciting Wonderful Weekends Challenges!

While the kids are splashing away in the swimming pool, parents can enjoy complimentary use of our Health Club facilities, including the gym, tennis court, sauna, and hot and cold Jacuzzi.

In the evening, cozy up while watching movies, reading story books or maybe spice things up with a fun board game from our entertainment library. No need to worry about dinner plans with a Php 1,200 dining credit that can be used in all dining outlets including in-room dining.The next day, indulge in the extensive breakfast selection at Circles Event Café good for two adults and two kids below 12 years old.

Create new family memories with us. Our Wonderful Weekends offer is priced at Php 8,800++ per night.

Learn more about the package here: bit.ly/wonderfulweekends. For reservations, call (63 2) 813 8888 or email to reservations.slm@shangri-la.com.

How Much Sleep Do Toddlers Need To Get?

Babies love their sleep. Sometimes it may not seem like it to parents exhausted by endless feeds, tantrums and nappy changes – but they do.

Also must read: Fun Time with Kinder Joy

In fact, by the age of two most children will have spent more of their lives asleep than awake.

Things start to change around the age our little bundles of joy begin to find their feet and start the transformation from horizontal babies to somewhat vertical toddlers.

But how much sleep does a toddler actually need?

The answer is a lot – usually far far more than parents allow for. Experts believe 13-14 hours is the correct amount, including naptime.

Good sleep is essential in this early stage of their development. The quality and quantity of a child’s sleep impacts their brain development as well as their emotional and behavioural functioning. An increasing body of research also suggests that sleep helps children fight obesity, avoid colds and even succeed in school.

So the importance of sleep a this age cannot be understated but unfortunately it’s at this crucial age that many children begin to actively resist bedtime. The reasons for are manyfold.

Their motor, cognitive and social abilities are all expanding rapidly and with this comes overstimulation. Every day at this age is a sensory adventure and their brains often struggle to keep up with all enormous daily data dumps they receive.

Add to this the development of the child’s capacity for imagination which can lead to the onset of sleep problems such as nightmares. With this comes an understandable increase in a child’s resistance to sleep and to nighttime in general.

The experts over at the Sleep Advisor blog know a thing or two about how to handle nightmares, check out their hints and tips.

Similarly, with their newfound ability to get out of bed on their own, toddlers have a freedom to make choices they simply couldn’t when they were younger – such as getting up and wandering around. Add to this other issues such as separation anxiety and it is no surprise they are reluctant to stay tucked in.

If a child has poor sleep habits, refuses to nap or simply won’t go to bed at his scheduled time, parents often assume the little one doesn’t need that much sleep. Unfortunately that is most likely not the case.

In fact it is more likely such a problem child is actually sleep-deprived. This sounds counterintuitive but it’s true. Drowsy children don’t necessarily slow down the way adults do – overtired, they instead get wound up and display erratic behaviour at bedtime.

But what can be done to help a problem sleeper find the rest they so need. Well funnily enough, the tips sleep experts give to help a toddlers get more sleep are surprisingly similar to those adults should follow also.

They include maintaining a regular daily sleep schedule with a consistent bedtime routine and making sure the sleeping environment is kept the same every night.
Access to screens should also be limited to avoid over stimulating the little one before bed.

Advice we can all learn from.

Cheesy Microwave Meals Recipes

Whoever started the thing that you have to say CHEESE when you are being photographed must be a real cheese lover! Because saying cheese does not just fake a smile, it can really put a smile to anyone’s face! Cheese is life mga momsh kaya naman I’m sharing with you my favorite Cheesy Microwave Meals Recipes.

Let’s talk about cheese first. What is your most favorite cheese? I’d go for Mozzarella any given day. It’s a must in our grocery list, we can’t have a month without mozarella. And all along, I though it was the only cheese that we need until I discovered Jalapeño Jack cheese.

It’s the perfect cheese for us because we love anything spicy! What’s the best Jalapeño Jack cheese brand? Always look for the Real California Cheese or Milk seal. That’s my guide ever since because with that seal, I know that that the cheese product is certified having been made with 100% Real California Milk from Real California Dairy families.

Why California? California leads the U.S. as a producer of milk, ice cream, butter, nonfat dry milk and whey protein concentrate and is the second largest producer of cheese and yogurt.

Cheesy Microwave Meals Recipes

Cheesy Microwave Spicy Mac and Cheese Recipe

Marius is a real cheese lover and his favorite is mac and cheese! Sya lang naman may gusto nyan so sometimes I feel like it’s a burden to cook mac and cheese. So when I learned that I can actually do mac and cheese in a very short time using the microwave, aba, ina araw araw na ang mac and cheese.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Raw California Jalapeño Jack

How to prepare:

Put macaroni in a microwaveable mug and water.
Microwave for 1 minutes and repeat 6-8 times (depends on your macaroni brand, some cooks faster, some takes 8 minutes)
Put milk and cheese, mix then microwave for 30 seconds.
ENJOY!

And with the use of Jalapeño Jack cheese, my older kids are now mac and cheese lovers too!

Cheesy Microwave Egg Omelette

Now this meal is for me. Actually for all the busy moms out there. This meal is super easy and super fast to prepare. Perfect na breakfast sa ating mga momsh!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 tbsp diced tomato
1 tbsp diced bell pepper
1 tbsp diced white onion
1 tbsp mushroom
1 tbsp raw sharp California cheddar
salt for seasoning

How to prepare:

Beat 2 eggs in amicrowaveable mug
Put bell pepper, tomato, and onion
Microwave for 1 minute then stir.
Microwave for another minute and enjoy!

Just add a toast and you’re ready to go with the cheesy Microwave Egg Omelette.

Hawaiian Pizza In A Mug

Pineapple on pizza is my thing and I know a lot of you love your pizza that way too! This is a fun and healthy snack for kids (and for adults hahaha). Pwede din pang breakfast because it is easy to prepare and at the same time, complete meal na sya. Carbohydrates from the pizza crust, fiber from pineapple and vegetables tapos protein from cheese.

Ingredients:

4tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
pinch of baking soda
3-5 tablespoon of Real California Milk
1 tbsp of olive oil
Ham, Pineapply, bell pepper, white onion for toppings
1/4 cup California Mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp pizza sauce or sweet spaghetti sauce
italian seasoning

How to cook microwave pizza in a mug:

Mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a microwaveable mug.
Add 3 tablespoon of milk first, if the mixture is still dry and not dough like, add more milk.
Add your sauce. Add your toppings then cheese on top. I love adding a few bell pepper on top.
Microwave for 1 minute then stop then microwave for another minute.
EAT it while it’s hot!

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

Here’s another use for Jalapeño Jack cheese. Sobrang perfect nung kick ng anghang nya for chicken Quesadillas. Another cheese recipe that is super easy to make and at the same time perfect meryenda ng kids. What I like most about this meal is na co conceal ng sarap ng cheese yung bell pepper, they do not like eating bell pepper. Try nyo ito mga momsh para mapakain nyo ng gulay mga bagets ninyo.

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas Ingredients:

Tortillas
1 cup Cooked chicken fillet (shred ng kaunti)
2 tbsp Taco mixture
1 green bell pepper, cut into small dice
1 tomato (without seeds) cut into small dice
California Mozzarella cheese
California Jalapeño Jack Cheese

How to cook:

Mix the chicken, tacos mixture, green bell pepper, and tomatoes in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 1 minute.
Place 2 tortillas in a microwaveable plate and microwave for 30 seconds
Put the chicken mixture on one of the tortillas, add Jalapeño Jack Cheese and mozarella cheese.
Place the other tortilla on top and microwave for 1 minute.

ENJOY!! After preparing this, get ready to prepare more! WINNER NA WINNER SA MGA KIDS!

Chili Con Chicken Carne

What I love most about the chicken mixture I did for the Chicken Quesadilla is I can use it to create a rice meal. Though my video suggested other wise haha I use the same mixture for my Chili Con Chicken Carne. Add corn lang and rice and of course cheese! Microwave for 1 minute and ready to eat!

So you can actually prepare a big batch of the chicken mixture and put the mixture on your fridge and use it whenever the kids asked for meryenda.

Just make sure that when you buy cheese to use for Cheesy Microwave Meals Recipes, look for the Real California Cheese Seal or Real California Milk Seal to ensure that the cheese you’re enjoying is real food made by real families.

California dairy products are available at the following membership shopping outlets and grocery stores in the Philippines: