It’s my ate‘s birthday today! She turned 17!!! Time goes by so fast.

I can still remember when I first found out I was pregnant with her. It was a mixture of joy & apprehension, as with all 1st time moms. Joy because of the gift of a tiny creation in my womb -I was given a gift so special, someone I would love for the rest of my life. Apprehension because I was bringing her out into a world that was imperfect & sometimes cruel -would I be a good mother? will I be able to provide for all her needs, not just the physical ones but more importantly the emotional & spiritual ones? But I knew then that I would do everything in my power to keep her safe & loved no matter what may happen in the future.

The first time I saw her face was just magic. I couldn’t bear not to touch her and kept her in my arms as much as I could.

Since she became a teen (and a clothes horse!), we go on shopping dates for her birthday, a one-on-one date where she has me all to herself. Then we have dinner after a particularly long enjoyable day of shopping. (hmmmnn, come to think of it, we seem to do that already even though it’s not her birthday!!!)

In one of her past birth-dates! We wore our tiaras the whole day. During shopping & dinner. To the amusement of most. But we didn’t care. It was our special day. And we were royalties! ;))

This year however, the 3 family members decided to tag along! So we sent the 2 boys to the cinema while ate (and also Lovey who is growing to love clothes… & shoes. eeeeek!!!) did a pretty damage to my card.

Pre-birthday shopping.. yes, I also expect a POST-BDAY shopping! @_@ But birthdays just come once a year, so shop to your heart’s content, ate! <3

Shopping at Greenbelt yesterday.. Her favorite PRICEY stores! @_@

Wearing their newly-purchased brogues. Ate chose the sparkly ones. Lovey got the much simpler ones. Both size 40.. unbelievably BIG FEET!!! @_@

After all that walking, we were so hungry. We went around greenbelt & saw this restaurant jam-packed which of course means only 1 thing.. the food is GOOD! So, I charmed my way into the servers heart & asked for a table inside. Unabashedly saying it’s my daughter’s birthday haha, so she quickly & nicely bumped off our name to the top of the wait list! ;P Okay lang yan, once a year lang naman eh! :))

Mesa Filipino Moderne is partly owned by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan The food is surprisingly good & for sharing. We enjoyed all the dishes we ordered, & service was great. They had so many friendly & attentive servers.

Seafood Bean Curd soup 190php. This is really, really good. I strongly suggest you try this!

Shrimp cake 220php Also very good! Even the kids loved it!

Sisig with egg 180php

My order of sigarillas 180php Would have enjoyed it spicier sana. The one in Kanin Club is great. But that’s just me, coz I love all things spicy! ;P

Garlic chicken 200php

Beef 2 ways 360php We liked the curry version better. I would have wanted to try the ostrich tenderloin at 280php sana instead of this. However, the kids feel that eating an ostrich is MORTAL SIN na!

I already had a hard time convincing them to order this baby pig! Crisp lechon 2 ways 1,300php

This order is surprisingly big at 1/4! The wrap actually comes in 2 rows of 8 but the server saw that we were already salivating, haha! So she gave us the 1st half first!

The 2nd way, on chili-garlic sauce. Yummy!!! Do get this if you eat at Mesa.

Of course, birthdays aren’t birthdays without the singing waiters!

Happy happy birthday, ate. I love you so so so much. You have given me so much joy & happiness in your 17 years. I hope you enjoyed your day, even though you didn’t have me all to yourself.

Our bill was only 3k, my hunny was definitely happy about that! We went to rockwell to try out the 60k fujifilm 100 camera that ate has been coveting..

Ate loves anything vintage/vintage-looking. So I guess it’s what attracted her to this. Personally, I don’t see anything exceptional about this.. Maybe coz I’ve seen so many jurassic things in my life already that I’m ready for everything modern! :))

So after having played with it & satisfying her curiosity, she is now out of love with fujifilm 100. Hurray for me!!! ;))

Too bad though, that the DRESS UP topshop blue dress she’s been admiring for weeks now is out of her size! She really resisted and waited for her birthday to get this, coz it was a bit pricey.. she waited too long my poor baby!

She really wants the one on the left (blue sleeveless mesh bodycon dress), although I don’t think her dad will let her go out of the house wearing just that, haha! Or the one on the right (Blue lace panel Bodycon) -less slutty haha! However, the only stock they have is size 12. And she’s size 14! :((

Mais con hielo for a boost of energy! ;P

My hunny’s skinny guinumis & my fat halo-halo.. just like our size hahaha!