Everyday Adventures: July 2018

Celebrate Your Birthday at Your Favorite Restaurant!

By Mommy Donna and Kib - July 31, 2018

July is our favorite month, and you know why: IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY MONTH!

Kib and I like doing something new during our birthday month and one of the activities that we do is....to eat! We like eating something special during our birthdays and it's a bonus if the crews at the restaurant will sing a Happy Birthday Song and give us a special treat. It's really fun to celebrate birthdays while being surrounded by strangers and everyone greets you on your special day!

I remembered celebrating our birthday at Movie Stars Cafe years ago and we were given a small piece of cupcake with a candle on it while everyone is singing Happy Birthday. My son felt so special during that day!

Happy birthday to us!

A post shared by Donna Donor (@donababe) on Jul 24, 2014 at 7:59am PDT

I'm so glad to know that more and more establishments are giving special treats to birthday celebrants should they chose to celebrate the occasion at their place. I've compiled a list of establishments which give birthday treats to their customers, thanks to the help of friends who helped me build my list!

Starbucks -- if you have a registered Starbucks card, you are entitled to a free slice of a cake of your choice for your birthday! You have 60 days after your birthday to get your free cake. For you to get your free slice of cake, you have to order any handcrafted beverage.

Vikings -- if you go at any Vikings buffet restaurant on the exact day of your birthday, your meal is free provided that you are with one paying adult. However, you can still avail of the birthday promo during the month of your birthday if you are accompanied by four paying adults. Just present an ID bearing your birth date.

Ippudo -- eat at Ippudo restaurant during your birthday month together with your four (4) friends and you can have a bowl of ramen for free! Just present an ID bearing your birthday when you visit any Ippudo branches. There is no limit on availing your birthday ramen as long as it is within your birthday month.

At Ippudo. Too bad we're only two, we weren't able to avail of the birthday promo

Ramen Nagi -- avail of your birthday ramen as long as you are accompanied by one paying adult. Order one Butao King and you will have another bowl of Butao King for free! Just show your ID showing your birthday month. Unlike in Ippudo, you can only avail of this birthday promo only once during your birthday month.

Happy to know that Ramen Nagi has a birthday promo, it is one of our favorite restaurants!

Petron -- yes, not only food establishments offer perks on your birthday! If you are a Petron Value Card holder and your card is registered, Petron will give you additional points on your card when you gas up 30 days from your birthday. A text message will be sent to you as proof that the additional points were credited to your card. This special bonus points can only be availed once.

Kidzania -- kids holding a PaZzport is entitled to a discount when they visit Kidzania during their birthday month provided that he/she is accompanied by two paying companions. The discount gets higher and higher depending on the level of citizenship of the PaZzport holder and the frequency of visit during the birthday month.

Kids rule here @kidzaniamanila #kidzania #kib #birthday

A post shared by Donna Donor (@donababe) on Jul 14, 2016 at 7:01pm PDT

The Alley by Vikings -- located at UP Town Center, same with its mother company, The Alley also offers free buffet to the birthday celebrant if he/she eats there on his/her exact birthday, provided that he/she is accompanied by one paying guest. Don't worry, your plate can still be free if you are accompanied by four paying guests should you were not able to eat there on your exact birthday.

Yabu -- birthday celebrant can get one free katsu on his/her birthday month provided that he/she will be accompanied by at least three paying guests who will order full katsu meals each. The birthday promo can be availed repeatedly during the birthday month, just show an ID with birthday on it.

Sambokojin -- Dine three days before or three days after your birthday with one paying guest and your meal is free! Present your ID showing your birthday before ordering.

We love the wide variety of dishes at Sambokojin!

Shakey's -- if you're a SuperCard holder, you're entitled to one large thin crust pepperoni pizza on your birthday month. What makes this better is that you can get your birthday pizza AND avail of the other perks of SuperCard together! Either you get 10% discount on your dine-in purchase or get buy one, take one on your take-out or delivery pizza.

So happy that I was able to get my free birthday pizza and avail of the buy one, take one pizza at the same time!

Manila Ocean Park -- Avail of Sea Breeze (Php760 per person) or Marine Voyages (Php995 per person) with three paying guests and your ticket is free! Just go to Manila Ocean Park on your birthday month and show an ID with your birthday month to avail of the promo.

Kib was so enamored to be kissed by a sea lion!

Four Seasons Hotpot -- birthday celebrant can get his/her meal for free if he/she visits Four Seasons Hotpot with one paying guest on the day of his/her birthday. Otherwise, he/she can still avail of the birthday promo within his/her birthday month if he/she will be dining with three paying adults. Just present an ID bearing your birthday to be eligible for the promo.

Churreria La Lola -- get free Classicos Jr. three days before or 3 days after your birthday when you spend at least P120 to avail of the birthday promo. Show a proof of your birth date (e.g. valid ID) upon ordering.

Hi-Rice Grill -- located at Marcos Highway in Pasig City, birthday celebrant can avail of the promo during his/her birthday month provided that he/she is with one paying guest.

Other establishments such as TGI Fridays, Flaming Wings, Mamou, Gloria Maris, Torch, Chili's, Itallanis, and Amici will give the birthday celebrant a special treat (small cake, ice cream, etc.) and the whole crew will sing a Happy Birthday song. No need to show proof of birthday, they will just happily give their treat to you.

Birthday promos may change yearly, so better to check it out if there are changes on the promo.

If you still know of any other establishments that offer something special to the birthday celebrant, let me know so I can add it up on the list.

Enjoy birthday celebration with your loved one! Memories built during celebrations are worth every centavo :)

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Bento by Kat

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Classic Pan Chicken Solo Plates

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Balay Hilom Spa

Our Relaxing Experience at Balay Hilom Spa

By Mommy Donna and Kib - July 22, 2018

One of the activities that I love is getting a massage.

Once a month I schedule a massage from my favorite massage therapist. Massage is a way for me to relieve stress. After getting a massage, I get a good sleep and my stiff muscles loosen up. Massage is one thing that makes me happy, hihi.

I had an invite to try the services of Balay Hilom Spa in Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. Balay (Ilonggo word for house) Hilom (means heal) specializes in giving traditional Filipino massage to their clients. It is truly a house of healing because after your session with them, you will feel relieved from sore muscles and everyday stress. The ambience is sooooo inviting; it looks like a nipa hut and you can smell peppermint all over the place. You can also hear the sound of a kulintang (traditional musical instrument from Mindanao) playing at the background to match with the overall theme of the place. Balay Hilom Spa is a bit dark to relax your eyes from glaring lights.

Balay Hilom Spa from the outside

At first, they will welcome you with their house blend tea. I bet it is a combination of local herbs because it tastes really good. Ms. Ana, the receptionist, said that their house blend tea is one of the reasons why people go back at Balay Hilom. We were also given slippers to use while we are having our treatment.

The reception area

Hallway on the left going to the therapy rooms

Hallway on the right going to the therapy rooms

Waiting area for the clients

This miniature instrument is being struck by the receptionist to call the therapists

Tip jar, the left is for female therapist and the right is for male therapist

Some chairs that can you see at the entrance on your left

Display rack of woodworks by Filipino artists

The slippers they provide to the clients

After drinking the complimentary tea, our feet were soaked in warm water for few minutes. Then, we were led to our massage room.

Balay Hilom's house blend tea

Our feet were soaked in warm water before we started our massage therapy

The massage room has curtain partitions, they can open it if you are in a group.

Inside the therapy room

We had their signature Hilot Balay Hilom.

Kib felt a bit ticklish at first, but after a few minutes he fell asleep. After the session he said that he felt relaxed although his back was a bit sore from the pressure applied to his stiff muscles. I told him that it is normal and it will be gone after a day or two.

Hilot Balay Hilom is different from the usual massage that I get. The massage started from the back going down to the legs. The technique is more of hagod (gentle massage strokes) with minimal application of pressure on certain parts of the body. This technique is really relaxing because the massage is more on healing the whole body and not just to soften stiff muscles. The hot towel that they also provided after the massage has a relaxing smell too! We were given another cup of their signature house blend tea before we go home.

Indeed the whole experience was worth every penny! I rarely go to a spa because I feel that the money that I paid is mostly for the amenities and not the experience itself. In Balay Hilom Spa, apart from experiencing their traditional massages, they also use all-natural ingredients on all their treatment and these ingredients are truly Filipino.

Have a spa date with your loved one at Balay Hilom Spa!

Balay Hilom Spa is at FBR Arcade, Katipunan Avenue (C-5), Loyola Heights, Quezon City (across Ateneo de Manila University). You may visit their Facebook page for the rates and packages they offer. While they accept walk-ins, it is better to schedule an appointment with them especially during weekends. Balay Hilom Spa is open Monday-Sunday from 2:00pm-11:00pm.

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brainfit

Kib's Latest CognitiveMAP Assessment Results at BrainFit

By Mommy Donna and Kib - July 17, 2018

Since Kib is homeschooled, I do not have means to assess if he is at par with kids his age and if his social skills are improving. I am very much thankful at BrainFit because it gives me an idea on what areas I need to improve on to Kib.

Kib had his first CognitiveMAP assessment three years ago (please see post here). I got an email from BraintFit again if I wanted Kib to have assessed again. I said yes and scheduled an appointment with them last March 6, 2018. The CognitiveMAP assessment lasted for almost two hours.

Curious about CognitiveMAP assessment?

CognitiveMAP is a proprietary process that BrainFit Studios worldwide use to measure the brain fitness level of the child prior to brain fitness enhancement. Aside from allowing the BrainFit teachers to precisely identify areas for improvement, this analysis of cognitive skills also enables the teachers to help the child achieve success and peak performance.

Each child has a unique cognitive profile. The uniqueness of the child's brain profile ascertains that the child is receiving the most optimal cognitive improvement programme to result in the best possible improvement.

Ideally, a new CognitiveMAP assessment should be done at every milestone of improvement as recommended by the child's brain fitness trainer at BrainFit.

Part of the CognitiveMAP assessment is that a parent should also answer a questionnaire to determine if the parent's expectations are aligned with the CognitiveMAP results. It includes a list of skills and which skill a parent thinks his/her child needs to improve on.

Here are the list of skills:

Attention/Focus
Over-activity/Impulsiveness
Gross motor skills/Balance
Fine motor skills/Handwriting
Listening/Following Instructions
Reading/Comprehension
Speech/Language Skills
Learning Speed/Ability
Academic Performance
Memory
Confidence/Motivation
Emotional regulation/Social skills

The results of Kib's CognitiveMAP assessment reflected his strengths, average skills, and weaknesses.

Strengths (areas of the assessment which showed Excellent and High Average scores):

Fluid intelligence or Non-verbal IQ (essential for integrating information, grasping patterns, understanding relationships, applying logic/reasoning and problem-solving)
Visual memory (essential foundation for visual-based learning, spelling, visualization and attention/focus)
Visual spatial-relations (essential foundation for learning alphabets and numbers, grasping geometrical and Math concepts, and organization of space)
Eye control accuracy (essential foundation for accurate reading, eye scanning and attention/focus)
Working memory (essential ability not to only remember a sequence of verbal information, but also to manipulate the information, critical for Math performance and multi-step sequential problem-solving)

Average skills (Average scores):

Handwriting speed (reflection of sensory-motor processing speed and fluency)
Sensory-Motor: Balance (essential foundation for body posture, mental efficiency and attention/focus)
Fine motor regulation (essential ability to control finger fidgets and motor restlessness, allowing one to stay attentive and focused)
Visual reaction time (essential ability to process and respond to auditory information rapidly, critical for efficient learning and quick thinking)
Visual impulse control (essential ability to not overreact to visual information, critical for accurate processing of visual information, examination performance and social skills)
Overall attention ability (essential ability to focus, concentrate and not daydream, critical for learning and school performance)
Auditory attention (essential ability to focus on verbal information, critical for absorbing of verbal instruction)
Visual attention (essential ability to focus on visual information, critical for accurate visual processing)
Visual discrimination (essential foundation for reading, Math learning, handwriting, accurate work and attention/focus)
Visual form constancy (essential foundation for learning the alphabet, numbers, shapes, sizes, orientations and other spatial concepts in Math)
Eye control relative speed (essential foundation for reading and eye scanning speed)
Social skills (essential ability to behave and interact positively in social situations, critical for positive emotional functioning)
Crystalized intelligence or Verbal IQ (essential for acquisition of word knowledge and general information, understanding of verbal concepts and reasoning ability)
Number fluency (essential ability to rapidly process information and important foundation for reading, comprehension and recall of Math facts)
Number memory (essential ability to remember a simple sequence of numerical verbal information, critical for recall, attention/focus and Math learning)
Word memory (essential ability to remember a simple sequence of non-related non-verbal information, critical for recall, memorization of facts and attention/focus)
Sentence memory (essential ability to remember sentences, critical for the ability to follow directions, effortless comprehension and fluent writing)

Weaknesses (Poor and low average scores):

Overall impulse control (essential ability to give careful thought before acting, critical for examination performance and social skills)
Auditory impulse control (essential ability to not overreact to verbal information, critical for accurate processing of verbal information, examination performance and social skills)

I reviewed Kib's previous CognitiveMAP assessment and I would say that he improved especially in his motor skills. BrainFit recommends that he should be more involved in doing physical activities to further develop his motor coordination. He also still needs to work on his impulsivity.

I highly recommend that you let your child undergo CognitiveMAP assessment at BrainFit. It will help you understand on what areas of your child's development you need to put more focus on. The teachers at BrainFit are also highly skilled so you can entrust your child to them.

To know more about BrainFit, you may visit their website at www.brainfitstudio.com. You may check their Facebook page for updates. You can also email them at brainfitph@gmail.com or call 668-2719, 725-8500, or 0917-5991992 for appointment and other inquiries.