Foodie Goodie | Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!

The little man turns four this November, and as early as the first week of September, the preparations for his birthday celebration began. That's the way it has been ever since his first birthday.

First Birthday, Justice League.

After his Justice League birthday party in 2009, I made it a point to have a themed birthday party every year.

Second Birthday, Ben 10.

Even if his second and third birthday were just simple celebrations at home, with his godparents as guests.

Third Birthday, Phineas and Ferb.

For his fourth birthday, we're going to celebrate it at school, with Mickey Mouse as the party theme. I actually made the little man choose between Mickey Mouse and Toy Story, as these are the two available boys' party themes at McDonald's. (Yes, you guessed it right. We'll be having a McCelebration come November!)

Good thing he chose the former, as I wouldn't have that much of a problem when it comes to party ideas. Spoonful.com is teeming with Mickey Mouse crafts and recipes, and the site has been a great help for the party preparations.

Photo credit: Spoonful.com

These Mickey silhouette cake pops are just too cute to go unnoticed. They're a tad fussy to make, but I can just imagine the gleeful faces of the little man's classmates when they see this.

Photo credit: Spoonful.com

These Minnie Mouse inspired favor bags make great souvenirs, too. Stuff them with candies and little toys and they're good to go. McDonald's party package for themed celebrations come complete with lootbags and party favors, though. That way, my arts-and-crafts skills (or the lack of it) need not be challenged, lol.

As for the birthday cake, I'm still undecided if I should just go for the traditional one (complete with cake toppers and lettering) or have something similar to my Super Junior birthday cupcakes instead.

Photo credits: Spoonful.com

Either way, I'm sure the little man will have no complaints about it. He's happy for as long as he has a candle to blow, haha.

And gifts, of course. :)

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How to Make the Little Man Smile.

My son has the sweetest smile in the world. And it doesn't take much to elicit that from him. He takes his frivolity after me; both of us find joy in the simplest little things.

One of his cheap thrills, for instance, is going to the mall. (Although when you think about it, the mall is not really a very cheap place to go to. Haha!) Mention the word 'SM' and his face will instantly brighten, like Christmas lights that have just been plugged into the socket.

Dress him up in his 'going out' clothes, and he'll be happier even more. Especially when he's wearing his Spiderman sneakers, his most favorite shoes at the moment. That way, he's pretty much convinced that you're really going somewhere and you're not just saying 'SM' for kicks.

Stylin' and profilin'.
On Yue: Future England Captain shirt and pants set from  Umbro, Spiderman hi-cut sneakers by Reebok.

When at the mall, take him to any of his favorite fastfood restaurants. Get him some fries, chicken or chicken nuggets, a glass of iced tea (sans the ice), and he's sure to wolf down everything in one sitting.

Regular faces at Mc D's. Because we're crazy about their Happy Meal toys.

Swing by the department store, and make sure to buy him something - anything. It doesn't matter if it's on sale or the price is astronomical (the latter is always the last option, haha!). For as long as he likes what you're going to buy, that's fine with him.

Yue's haul from last Wednesday's shopping trip: My First Words Sticker and Activity Book, a pair of Phineas and Ferb flipflops, and a blue body scrubber.

This kid absolutely loves stickers. I think it's something that all kids have a penchant for at some point in their lives. I'm glad that Yue doesn't put his stickers on the walls; thank Heavens he's a bit of a neat freak like me!

Thumbs up, Mom!

After a stressful day, nothing beats seeing the little man all beaming and happy. One look at his smile and my hunger goes away, my stress gets relieved, and I feel like the most accomplished woman in the world.

Sticker happy!

I'm glad that I chose to be a stay-at-home Mom. In my three years of being one, I've never missed a chance to see that pretty boy smile of his. He looks more and more like his Dad each day, especially when he flashes his Dad's signature killer smile. :)

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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Byzmo Win, and another Onitsuka Tiger.

Last May, Byzmo, one of my favorite online stores, turned two. In celebration of its anniversary, the store opened its very own Facebook page where a contest and a raffle was also held.

The mechanics were pretty simple. For the contest, all you have to do is post a photo of your Byzmo-bought products. The picture with the most 'likes' wins. For the raffle, submit a testimonial for Byzmo and whoever gets picked by via random draw wins.

The prize? Two $50 gift cards - one for the photo contest and one for the raffle draw. These gift cards can be used to buy items from any of the US pre-order sites frequented by Byzmo.

I've been a regular costumer for about a year, so I sent Jaimee (the woman behind Byzmo) this photo of my son. I included a small description of this photo, which served as its caption. It read: Bought a surprise gift courtesy of Byzmo. Yue's Perry the Platypus is the envy of many. :)

Since I did this out of goodwill for Jaimee, I didn't bother rallying for likes from Facebook friends. For me, it was returning her the favor for the trust and accommodation that she has given all this time. On top of that, I've never really had much luck with raffles and contests. Remember those Red Cross raffle tickets from grade school? I never won in any of them. Not even a consolation prize. And those raffle draws during company Christmas parties? Zilch. The most that I have won from those was a not-so-expensive pressure cooker. TV set? DVD player? Never.

So imagine my surprise when Jaimee broke the news in her Facebook wall. My name got picked in the raffle! I won a $50 gift card! I knew right away where to spend my prize - Zappos! Here's what I got:

Onitsuka Tiger California 78, baby! Another one to add to my collection!  I've fallen in love with them since my first Mexico 66. My feet are most comfortable when I'm wearing OTs. :)

These shoes are beyond cool. It's low-profile design and super sleekness adds even more to its charm. And yes, they're authentic. Check the tag. It's like a mini-booklet, and it's tied with a rope. The counterfeits use plastic safety tags instead of the woven rope. They don't have the mini-booklet as well.

This win from Byzmo has definitely ignited my fire. Now I join blog contests and giveaways, with hopes that I'll get lucky again. And luck has indeed been very good to me, as I won in another online giveaway a few days ago. But let's save that for another entry.

To sum it up, my hats off to Byzmo, my heartfelt thanks to Jaimee, and... my Onitsuka Tigers rock! ;)

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