Where to Stay in Hong Kong: Disney's Hollywood Hotel

As mentioned in previous posts, this is where we stayed on our last visit to HK. We never really ventured outside Disney, only once for a dinner and a little shopping in Tung Chung but that was it. We wanted convenience to the park and that’s what we got. But aside from that, I don’t really think I got my money’s worth.

I booked us a Garden view room (got it for HKD1,520 from their early bird offer, that’s roughly PHP9,120 per night).

 

The room has two double beds

Sorry I have no photo of clean beds - what with a toddler and my parents in tow

The large Mickey and Minnie plate in between the two beds

In front of the beds is a flat screen TV

 

To the right of the TV is the bar which holds the coffee, ic bucket and kettle. All other things there like the food, we brought in. That's a good thing about this hotel, they're not strict if you bring in food.  

 

This is the open cabinet. Shelves on top and then a rod to hang your clothes.



The entryway

 

Tub and shower area

Toilet

Mirror in the bath room

Toiletries. The cup on top with the Mickey cover holds some personal necessities like cotton balls, cotton buds, etc. Those two bottles at the bottom are shampoo and liquid bath soap.

This was our view if you look at the far left

 

ALthough immediately below our window is this

The room was a bit small since there are 4 of us (adults) who stayed there together with a toddler. Maximum number of persons inside is 4 adults which I think sort of made up for the price of the room. But if it were only us - me, Joema and Miya - the price of the room will turn out to be a bit pricey. The room rate does not include daily breakfast. I was not awed by the room itself. If it were for the room alone and for that price, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. But considering that they allow 4 adults inside the room, the convenience to the park, leniency in bringing in food and the wide sprawling lawn at the back of the hotel, I think it was still worth staying here. I would recommend this hotel if you're like us - 4 adults in a group (because atleast the price doesn't end up so pricey if you compare it to other hotels who only accept 2 adults in a room) and wanted to get the Disney feel all throughout or the convenience of the park to the hotel is really a concern for you.

Otherwise, better opt to stay in a hotel in Kowloon or HK island. I do hope they put up new hotels in the Tung Chung area. Atleast from there it’s only a train ride away to and from Disney (and no multiple transfers compared when you book in Kowloon side or HK island). .

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Taken: 22 February 2014

Miya's really becoming a girly girl. Here she is showing off her accessories - ring, bracelet and necklace. These were given to her by our yaya.

A Day in the Life of a Buntis

I have weird cravings for this pregnancy unlike during my first where I had just one! I don't think I have morning sickness but there are times when I feel like naduduwal so I have to have candies. I bought a whole tin can yesterday which I brought to the office. I also brought some of the left over Christmas sweets and Halloween treats we have at home. And then I crave for salty food because I my taste is so bland these days. Yesterday, I almost bought vegetable curry for lunch which I won't usually like because I don't really like curry that much. And then in the afternoon I wanted to have shawarma. For dinner I had southern style fried chicken from S&R and I ate a lot because it was salty! Yikes!

This morning I saw this on my IG feed.

And then I started craving for danggit! I had to google where I can have danggit for lunch. I even had to ask my friends on FB. From Google, I saw that Goto King has it on their menu. Unfortunately when we got to the food court danggit is not available. Boohoo! So we walked around the food court and saw "Cebu Fiesta". Well, danggit is from Cebu right? So they should definitely have it. But no they didn't have it. I wanted to tell them to change their name from Cebu Fiesta to just Fiesta ahahahaha! A friend from FB said Pancake House might be serving danggit. But I can't find it on Pancake House's menu online. So we tried Tapa King. I said if they don't have danggit maybe I'll just have their tapsilog. Lo and behold they have danggit! Yehey! Thank you, Tapa King, for satisfying this buntis's craving!

Ang linis ng plate ko noh?

Our One of A Kind Valentine

This year's Valentine's Day is one-of-a-kind. Simply because on that very special day, I found out I was pregnant!

Although this photo was taken on 20 February, and that stick she's holding was the second pregnancy test I did!

See, I've really been tracking my menstrual period for a few months now. We want to have baby#2 already. I've downloaded this app - Monthly Cycles - where I track my ovulation. So oen day last month after doing the deed (hehe) and saw from the app that it fell right on my most fertile day, I told Joema we could get pregnant. When I was delayed for a week, I told him again. But he said I'm always delayed so I did not take any pregnancy test yet. But last Friday, Valentine's Day, I had a sensation on my breast haha! Yes, I felt the same way when my breasts get full when Miya used to breastfeed.  I said that was it, I want to know if I'm pregnant or not. So that afternoon in the middle of office hours, I went to the drugstore and bought a home pregnancy kit. And then I took the test at the first comfort rooom I saw. When I saw the first two lines, I did not realize it immediately as positive. I thought the lines will come out at the upper part of the kit haha. So I thought it was invalid. I had to double check the package on what was positive, negative and invalid results. Lo and behold, POSITIVE! I was so happy! I couldn't tell anyone right away hahaha!

When Joema picked me up for the night, he handed me thes gorgeous bouquet of roses. If you've been reading this blog, he hasn't given me a bouquet! Sure he gives me a flower or two but that was it. Not a bouquet. I thought it was just so fitting! I immediately gave him the brown paper bag where the pregnancy test was, and greeted him Happy Valentine's Day. When he opened it, he said, "Buntis ka?" I said yes, and we hugged *heehee*. We were supposed to drink together that night (that was the initial plan). But since I got preggers and we already knew, he was the only one who drank that night, I only had iced tea.

We went to a drinking spot near our place which was great because we didn't have to worry about traffic. But the place got so loud, I had to walk out of there even before Joema paid the bill..around 10pm nyahahaha! We're so old!

Had to take a photo for posterity's sake. This was at our condo elevator hehe. Don't I look so happy?

The little girl with Daddy. Feel na feel nya yung bulaklak e akin yun hahaha!

Miya made something in school for us.

I can't believe she can write down those letters on her own!

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day as well! =)

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Taken: 15 February 2014

She likes arts and crafts. Here she is making a bracelet with a shoelace and different kinds of beads. Good practice for her fine motor skills.

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Taken: 8 February 2014

 

Taken during Miya's birthday celebration with her godfathers and godmothers. She already played with her Ninang's gift for her together with his Kuya Miguel.

 

Miya's Potty Training Story

Just the other day I was thinking I haven't blogged about our potty training story. And now Frances of Topaz Mommy is asking for tips on how to toilet train her eldest. I hope this little blog helps her and other mommies out there.

As I've mentioned before, we introduced the potty to Miya by reading her a book about it.  But you can see that was a long time ago. It took us almost a year to completely train her. It was an on and off thing with her, this potty training. First she was taught to pee in the potty and then in the toilet. I also asked our yaya to not put any diaper on her when they're at home. So there are really times when she will pee (or poop) on the floor. I really have to thank my yaya before for tolerating this and for keeping up with our program. By September last year, we ran out of our Mamy Poko diaper*. My mother's boss had a contact with the supplier so we were able to buy in bulk price, much much cheaper than store bought diaper. Sinabay yung order namin sa order ng boss nya kaya nakamura kami! But when our stock ran out, we couldn't wait for the next bulk purchase of her boss. Cheapskate that I am I decided it's really time to really teach Miya to pee and poop in the toilet.  I asked our new yaya to do this. Make her pee and poop in the toilet when she's home. She only wore diaper when she goes to school, when she slept at night or when we go out. We did it bit by bit. After a few months, she only wore diapers when she slept at night or when we go out. Come January, we finally decided she shouldn't wear diapers at night. She was actually the one who initiated this in December last year, she didn't like wearing dipaers at night anymore. But I wanted to sleep through the night so I put it off and made her wear diapers. In January we finally did it. I've put her potty beside our bed. I'll help her pee before sleeping and tell her to wake me up during the night when she feels like peeing. In the first few weeks, there were some accidents when I would wake up and her side of the bed is all wet. I had to change her and put her back to sleep. There were nights when she would wake me up after doing the deed. And then there were nights when she would wake me up and I'll lead her to her potty and our bed will be dry all throughout the night. There were times when I find her stirring during the night, so I'll gently ask her if she wants to pee. Most of the time she will say yes and I will help her out of bed to pee. Until finally she learned to wake me up to make her pee. Now, she can last the whole night through without peeing. Hurrah!

When we went out-of-town for our birthday, my husband insisted that we let her wear diapers during the travel time. Turned out we didn't really have to because Miya would control her pee and then ask me to bring her to the toilet if she really has to go. If I tell her to just pee in her diapers, she will tell me she wants to do it in the toilet.

So I guess in the end potty training is a combination of the readiness of the kid (if she can already tell you she wants to pee or poo, that is, she knows the sensation she feels before doing the deed), the consistency of training her and practicing peeing and pooping in the toilet.

*Miya has really sensitive skin so this is really our diaper of choice. This is what really works for her. We also tried using Pampers when we ran out but in the end I just really didn't want to spend much on diaper anymore.

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Taken: 5 February 2014

 

After wearing socks on her hands and feet, she went to her Daddy and said, "Hello, sock-si!!!" LOL!

Letter to Miya

For Miya's school yearbook, we were asked to submit a creative letter that will go together with her photos. I asked my husband to do the letter for her. I cried when I first read it. Let me share his (our) letter to our dearest Miya, this was just in time for Miya's third birthday.

Dear Miya,

even before you started school

you liked reading books and singing
listening to stories and writing.

you would always ask mommy to read you stories at night before you sleep.

you would listen so intently and ask questions that we think are very sweet.
your favorite book you called "lagot", was i love you forever.
and you would want to repeat the stories after it is over.

you would sing the songs you learned in school everyday.

and we were so proud and happy to see you singing on our family day.

you like listening to stories and telling them in your own way.

you would pretend to be a teacher and ask mommy and daddy to sit on our name.
we love seeing how smart you have grown up.
and can't wait to see what else you'd come up.

you wrote a lot in school and at home.

sometimes writing on the sofa and on the wall
you like doing your assignments with Mommy every weekend
and Daddy can still remember the exercise wherein we stretched, jogged and bend.

you used to cry when you started school and we used to smile

and tell you its going to be just fine.
soon you were brave enough to be on your own
and we know that you enjoyed every moment you spent in your classroom

when you read this letter years from now,

we will remember that you were full of wonder in your eyes.
full of questions and full of surprise.

we hope you will grow up a person smart and kind.

but for now you are our little Miya.
we love you and hope you stay a little longer as a child.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

 

4/52

Taken: 30 January 2014

My little girl turned 3 years old last week. Was not able to include this in the photos of the 52 project over at Practicing Simplicity because we were away on vacation to a remote island here in the Philippines where there's almost no cellular signal. Will blog about our birthday celebrations and our vacation in the next couple of days.

Hong Kong Disneyland 2013 – Day 3 and 4

Let me continue our HK Disneyland stories. Links to my previous posts are here:

Day 1
Day 2

+++++++++++

5 November 2013

For our second day at the park, we actually got to spend most of our time with the Fongs and Bernartes. Our first agenda of the day, have our photo taken with Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Because of the long queue, we finished right around lunch time.

So after lunch, Miya took her nap. It was our time (Joema and me) to explore the park again on our own. We rode the Grizzly Gulch and then went back to Miya so that my parents can do their own exploring.

Grizzly Gulch's theme is Wild West. This is a new attraction of the park.

Miya would have loved to get wet here

We usually stay outside the Starliner Diner because it has plenty of seats and the fan is strong enough for the heat

When Miya woke up, we stationed ourselves for the parade. TIP: We had a very good spot for the parade. We sat down just before the entrance of the Adventureland. The start of the parade line stopped in front of us during the performance and it was a good spot for taking photos.

You can see our position from this photo

While waiting for the parade to start

 

More photos of the parade after the jump...

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Taken: 20 January 2014

She woke up this morning and immediately asked for the hula hoop her Lola (grandmother) gave her yesterday. Then she went back to sleep looking like this. Oh my little girl!

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I cherish the times in the morning when we get to spend a few minutes with her before leaving for work.

 

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Almost three years old here. Taken last 4 January at her Lola 'caue's birthday celebration.

I'm joining this 52 week project over at Practising Simplicity (which I found out from Riz). I'm actually late for week 1 and was not able to join but I'm still posting this here. It's so fascinating how much kids grow so fast. When we look at photos and videos of Miya for the year 2013, we get amazed at how much she has grown. So I'm joining this project so that I can look back one year from now how much my daughter will grow in 2014. It's only week 2 so you can still join. I'll post my entry for week 2 within the week.

Last Sunday of 2013

Happy New Year!!! Before I share with you how we spent our New Yeary's Eve and Day, let me first share with you how we spent the last Sunday of 2013. It was a very productive Sunday for us. You see, our Sundays are usually spent at home with my parents visiting us.

OOTD: Gingersnaps blouse, Cotton On Kids pants and Mothercare sneakers

First agenda of the day was mass at SM Megamall. It's our first time to hear mass at their chapel with Miya in tow so we went to the children's area at the back. We arrived pretty late so the room was jampacked. One thing I notice with Miya is that she quiets down when there are other children. So she was awfully quiet while we were there. Yun lang biglang nag-aya to go to the bathroom kasi napoopoo na daw sya (yes, we're completely off the diaper!) hahaha. When we got out of the chapel and went to the bathroom di naman pala nya gusto magCR haaay. So I just changed her clothes because the pants she was wearing were a bit too loose on her waist. Anyways, since we didn't have time to attend the next mass because Joema was due for a check-up at the MegaClinic (he went there to have his name listed before he went to the chapel to meet with us) we opted to take Miya to the dentist (Little Ones Dental Clinic). This time Joema left us so that he can have his haircut.

We waited for a while for Miya's turn but when it was her turn, she was very brave! She sat by herself on the chair while I stood in front of her.

Happily smiling at the dentist chair

After the dentist checked on her teeth, I was told that she already had cavity in four of her molars - two on the lower left side and then another two on the lower right side which should be filled in (correct dental term?). Her cracked two front teeth can be treated with dental filling but the dentist recommended using crown instead because this will be more durable. I asked the dentist if we could try doing the pasta* on one of her right molars. The dentist said we could try if Miya can handle the drill before putting on the sealant and then she also recommended that we do the two teeth in one sitting instead of just one. So I agreed. The dentist then told Miya that she will put something inside Miya's mouth and that it will only be water (the drill has water spilling out). After the instructions from the dentist, Miya held out her hand for me to hold (my heart melted). After I held her hand, the dentist did the procedure. So what turned out to be just a normal checkup turned into a dental filling of her two molars. And she was so patient and calm all throughout. I still can't believe it! If you know my daughter personally, you wouldn't believe it, too. She's a kiti-kiti, she won't stay put for a mere 30 seconds. She seems to be moving about anywhere and everywhere. So this is really a milestone for her and I couldn't be any prouder!!!

When we got out of the clinic, Daddy was already waiting for us with his new haircut. We went with him to MegaClinic but his cardiologist went out so we had to wait. As I've said, Miya can't sit still so I had to take her for a walk until we saw this kids' place along the 5th floor of SM Megamall. I asked for the rates because I figured it will be a good way to while away time while waiting for Joema's check-up to finish. And then I told her we need to go back to the clinic to get money. But by the time we got back, Joema was already inside with his doctor. After a few minutes their consultation was done. Miya and I didn't have time to go back to the play area. I thought Joema wanted to go straight home because we were with his brother and his brother's girlfriend by that time. As Miya's about to throw a tantrum, Joema allowed her to go to the play area. We stayed there for a good 30 minutes. I'm surprised with the efficiency of their system. They take a picture of the kid and the companion so that they can log in your time. And then when you're time's up, they announce the name of the kid over their PA system and then check if you are the one with the photo they have on record. Galing! With Gymboree kasi since it's a small place, they only put a sticker on the child with the child's name and time and length of stay in the gym area.

Anyhoo, Miya had a blast. Albeit the annoying girl who got the ball Miya was playing with when Miya dropped it at the ballpit.  And since she saw Miya throwing a fit because she wants the ball, the little girl didn't want to let go. Well, she's not so little anymore I think she was about 8 years old already. I had to tell Miya not to cry in front of the girl because she's deliberately holding on to the purple ball to annoy Miya. So when that girl dropped the purple ball, I dove and got the ball haha! Yes, pinatulan ko yung bata hahaha! And then I immediately took Miya out of there. 

C

Can you spot the purple ball she's holding?

 

This little boy's a little kinder. He walked up to me and told me nicely, "Can you please tell her to sit with you?" HAHAHA

When it was time to go home, Miya was exhausted. She fell asleep on the car on the ride home. When she woke up, she played with her Tito and Tita who came home with us.

In the evening, we passed by Policarpio Street to see the Christmas-lit houses! After 5 years of living in Mandaluyong, we finally saw this much talked-about street during Christmas time.

The Santa Claus House

That was our tiring Sunday but we all enjoyed it. Hope you enjoyed the Holidays.

*We call the sealant on her teeth pasta. Last night she mentioned that her teeth has "pansit". We were confused. Until Joema realized, Miya meant pasta. As in pasta and pansit are both noodles and she mixed up the two. LOL!

Hong Kong Disneyland 2013 – Day 2

4 November 2013

We started our second day early to have breakfast with Chef Mickey. This is one expensive breakfast buffet but seeing Miya’s face so excited to have her photo taken with Mickey was priceless. By the way, once seated you are given a stub that you need to present so that you can have your photo taken with Mickey. Kami kasi we went straight to Mickey to have our photo taken, hinanapan kami nung stub hahaha.

 

MIckey even hugged her. Sulit na!

High five, Mickey!

During breakfast. You would think my daughter was all smiles during breakfast. But no, she didn't want to eat the whole time and wanted to go out. Haay! Di namin nasulit yung buffet.

Since Miya didn't want to eat, Joema took her outside after he ate. So I followed them after I finished and had some photo op outside.

We just sat there and made lambing with each other while hubby took the photos. Love these shots!

 

 

We went up back to our room to refresh before heading out to the park.

This was taken at the mini-lobby on our floor.

 

Elevator shot

We missed the Ajeros and de Guzmans.

More photos after the jump...

Miya's Christmas Party in School

Their school Christmas party was held on a Tuesday, 17 December. I wasn't supposed to go with her as their circular said that parent's attendance is not mandatory. But I felt so guilty letting her go alone with yaya so I used my one and only annual leave left for that day and went with her and yaya. Good thing I did because I was able to see her perform. I'm still amazed at how she has grown this year (in terms of participation in school). From non-performing to performance levels even after a crying fit! More on that later. We arrived at around 12noon at their school. Their school programs never really start on time so we waited for a bit. While waiting, I let Miya stay with her other classmates. I observed that she doesn't really mingle with her classmates (as we were told by her teacher during her assessment for the first semester - I forgot to blog about this!). She just stayed with their teacher assistant while her classmates played with each other. Miya is the youngest and smallest in her class. It took her just a moment to let go of the teacher aide and she was knocked down by her a classmate who was playing round-and-round with the others. Her classmate bumped into her but because she was small she fell to the floor. She cried, my poor baby! She wasn't really hurt but I guess because it happened all too fast and that a lot of people were there, she cried. This was before the program started so I thought she might not want to perform during the presentation.

Look at her eyes :(

But alas, she has really overcome her shyness during presentations! Here are some her videos. The first one was with her class while the second one is with all the students.

After the program, it was exchange gift time (photos after the jump).

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a wonderful and meaningful Christmas!

We spent the 24th at our home just the three of us. Joema had work that day so it was just Miya and me the whole day until Joema arrived in time for dinner. I asked Miya to paint some of the pages from her big drawing book as her gift for Daddy.

I cooked Pesto Spaghetti with breaded fish for dinner for my little family. And they both enjoyed it.

See the almost empty plate?

And then we let Miya eat ice cream hehe. We basically let her eat anything she wants this holiday season.

Patiently waiting for her ice cream

Yum!

Daddy Santa bothering the little girl

After Miya gave her gift to Daddy

We started opening gifts around 9:30pm. It's good that we started early because Miya was so hyper afterwards she fell asleep around midnight already.

Here's a decent family shot.

For Christmas Day, we went to my parents' house and stayed the entire day there.

With Lolo and Lola after Christmas Day mass at the Parish of St. Therese

I hope you all have a blessed holiday season!