Mommy Pehpot, Author at Mommy Pehpot

Star gazing With Sky Explore and Philippine Science Centrum

If there is any topic that I will not never get tired of, that would be the anything to do with Astronomy. The mere mention of stars, planets, meteors or any heavenly body excites me. I’m sure a lot can relate to that, this is a very interesting topic and the information seems endless, even my kids love reading and talking about the sun and stars and the moon. When we got an invite to a star gazing event in Marikina, without hesitation, I said yes.

It will be our first time in Marikina, ironic since Marikina is adjacent to Pasig. We had a hard time finding the venue and almost gave up but we made it ( a bit late though). When we arrived there were already a number of people lined up, waiting their turns on the telescope. If I am not mistaken there were more than 5 telescopes in the event.

We had our first with Jupiter and its four moons.

Then we had our turn for Venus. We didn’t had the chance to see Mars because we have to early. The event was facilitated with Prof. Edmund Rosales, a renowned expert in the field of astronomy.

We also had a chance to talk with him and he shared with us some trivia about out solar system. He pointed us the North Star and mentioned that our geographical location is really great in terms of star gazing as we can both see the North Star and the Southern Cross. He also told us about Pluto and why it was reclassified as a dwarf planet and not a planet anymore.

The star gazing event was really educational not just for the kids but also for us Mommy Bloggers.

And the event was made more memorable, thanks to Science Centrum, the kids got a take home stuff toy each.

The Star gazing event was brought to us Philippine Science Centrum and SkyXplore “.

Philippine Science Centrum is the first science center museum in the Philippines. For 120 PhP, anyone can enjoy 1 1/2 hours of science fun! Fly like a superhero or see how you will look with your hair up. Take a photo of your friend or your kids while their head is on a platter of fruits. There is so many fun and educational things to do at the center, perfect venue for a weekend trips with the kids. Philippine Science Centrum is located at Ecom Bldg. Riverbanks Center, Marikina City. The centrum is open Monday to Saturday, from 8 am to 5 pm. Check out Philippine Scince Centrum website for more information.

SkyXplore is an educational program that promotes astronomy awareness in the Philippines. The offer different programs to help enrich the knowledge of Pinoy specially the kids and the students about astronomy. They conduct film showing, photo exhibit, star gazing events and a lot more. Learn more about SkyXplore and know where they are heading next by visiting SkyXplore Facebook Page.

New Dish: Spring Time Beef Stew

F is for FOOD! and if I can keep up with it, every Friday I will be posting about food, mostly food from our kitchen, not much on restaurant review because you know we don’t eat out a lot (I cook good food that’s why).

For this week, let me share with you my newest dish: SPRING TIME BEEF STEW

Once upon a time, I had the courage to go through my things and discovered some recipe books I bought years ago… that was the time when I don’t even know how to fry a hotdog.. One of the recipe books was about Western dishes as Turkey, Pies and Stew. The Spring Time Beef Stew got me. We love beef stew, it’s a dish I can cook with my eyes closed. It’s a dish where a kilo or 2 of rice is not enough for my boys. Some of my friends can attest to that.

Stew is slow cooking, so just imagine how much time it takes to cook it. I cook my beef stew with onion (lots of it), soy sauce, bell pepper and potato, that’s all. Spring time beef stew calls for green vegetables and is tomato based. The recipe on the book was not appetizing to me so I created my own recipe based on my beef stew and here it is:

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 kg beef brisket, cubes
1/2 cup flour
2 medium potato, cubes
10 stalks Baguio beans, slice into 1 inch long
green and red bell pepper (one each), sliced
1 medium sized carrots, cubes
1 small pouch tomato sauce (about 2 -2 tablespoon)
8 medium onions, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper
5 cups of water

Start by seasoning the beef with salt and pepper. Take a container or a plastic ware with cover, put the beef cubes and the floor and shake it until all the cubes are coated with flour.

Fry the beef until golden brown.

In a casserole, put the beef, onion and the soy sauce, simmer for about 2-3 minutes then add the tomato paste. Cook in low fire for about 10 minutes (adding water from time to time). Add all the water and adjust the heat to high and let it boil. Turn the heat to a very low setting as it boils and leave it for about an hour(sometimes 1 hour and 30 minutes, sometimes more than that) or until the beef is tender.

When the beef is tender, put the bell pepper, potato and carrots, wait until the vegetable are done before adding the Baguio beans. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes and turn off the stove.

The sauce will thicken due to the flour in the beef. It is the onions that will give this dish its distinct taste.

Give this dish a try and let me know 🙂

7 Things You Need To Know About Cord Blood Banking With CordLife

When I was pregnant with my youngest baby, I started attending parenting events. One of it was Parentin TV’s First Talk Series. It was during the event that I learned about cord blood banking and the company CordLife. I can’t remember why I did not pushed through cord banking with my youngest.. must be the price or my lack of knowledge of the importance of it.

Now, I am more than curious about Cord Blood Banking and is always on the look out for information that I can share to you, my dear readers. When I was invited to attend an event sponsored by CordLife, I did not hesitate to attend.

So let’s start this with the most simple question:

1. What is CORD BLOOD?

Cord Blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord, the part where it is still attached to the placenta.

2. What is Umbilical Cord?

Umbilical cord is the connecting cord of the baby to the placenta. Placenta is the organ that encloses the fetus (baby) during pregnancy. Through the umbilical cord, food, air is given tot he developing fetus and through this, waste of the baby is discharge.

3. Where and when is cord Blood taken?

Cord blood is taken from the umbilical cord (the part where the placenta and umbilical cord meets). It is taken after child birth, after the placenta is extracted from the mother’s womb.

4. Why is Cord Blood Important?

Cord blood contains stem cells that are used in treating diseases (including caners) such as leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, blood disorder such as thalassaemia as well as immune deficiencies and metabolic disorders. Cord blood can also be used by other family members and not just the baby where the cord blood is collected.

5. How does Cord Blood is collected and how it is stored?

Cord Blood is collected after child birth. It not as simple as that though. Prior to the child birth, the mother undergoes test that will provide the condition of her blood and if it is safe for collecting and storing. During child birth, representative from Cord Banks will be present and will collect the blood. It will be transported to a cord blood processing and cryopreservation facility for specialized handling. Stem cells will be extracted from cord blood using the world’s first and only fully automated cord blood processing system, Sepax ®, followed by a step to gradually freeze down the stem cells before they are finally stored in a liquid nitrogen tank at -196°C permanently.

6. How much is Cord Blood Banking and where can I avail this?

Cord Blood Banking is the process of storing stem cells. There’s public cord blood banking and there’s private cord blood banking. Private cord blood banking is storing the baby’s cord blood for his or her own future use or use by a family member should the need arise. Alternatively, public cord blood banking involves donating a baby’s cord blood for potential use by a patient at large in need. When a family donates their child’s cord blood, they are relinquishing all their rights to own these cells. CordLife provides cord blood banking and it is the only cord blood bank that has a facility here in the country.

7. How much is Cord Blood Banking in the Philippines?

Cord Blood Banking Philippines price starts at 48,ooo PhP and yearly payment of 8ooo PhP for storage. From what was discussed during the event, CordLife offers different paying schemes.

Now, you might want to know how is the process of using the stem cell for treatment.. because honestly, I can’t imagine it. Let us first define stem cells.These are cells that can divide and grow into a specialized cell type. In our body, stem cells can be found in bone marrow, adipose tissue and in our blood.

In terms of using the stem cells (from the stored cord blood), the process goes like, the bone marrow will be cleansed of stem cells through radiation then a new set of stem cells will be introduced.

For more information on CordLife and cord blood banking, visit www.cordlife.com/ph or call 710-9195.E-mail address: info@ph.cordlife.com

About CordLife:

CordLife was established to provide a full suite of cord blood and tissue banking services, which include the collection, processing and cryopreservation storage of cord blood stem cells and umbilical cord tissue. Since its inception in 2001, CordLife has grown rapidly from a fledging start-up company to the largest network of cord blood banks in the Asia-Pacific region. Our in-depth knowledge of cord blood banking practices and standards has developed strong capabilities to attain certifications from quality standard organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and country regulators. The prestigious “Technology Pioneer” title awarded by the World Economic Forum ascertained our outstanding performance in the industry.

Today, the CordLife group of companies (CordLife Limited) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:CBB),which owns and operates cord blood processing and tissue storage facilities situated in Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.