Getting my PSA (NSO) Certificates in just an hour!

HELLO AGAIN!!! Gosh, I haven't posted anything here in my blog for the longest time! It's just that I've been so busy with life lately like with the kids (final exams and other school stuff), my brother-in-law getting married (lots of family activities), travel plans for this summer (getting visas and planning itineraries), and lots of other personal things to say the least. Sad to say, blogging has really been the last thing on my mind. But it sucks because I have so much I want to share, but I've kinda decided for the meantime to really focus on other things. Hopefully, I can find the time to still blog regularly someday...

Anyway, I wanted to share with you how I was able to get rush PSA (NSO) documents which I needed to apply for a Japanese visa. If you're not aware, you need to submit PSA docs (like birth/marriage certificates) issued within a year.

KICCA Kids Cafe & Interactive Playground at Festival Mall

Christmas vacation is officially over when school starts tomorrow! But I'm happy we were able to do lots of activities over the holidays including going to KICCA, a Kids Cafe and Interactive Playground in Alabang.

Finally got my driver's license card after almost a year! (LTO Alabang)

I renewed my driver's license last year and as expected, the card itself was not available and would be released months later (I renewed August 2017 and release date was April 2018).

Phoenix Court at The Bellevue Manila

Our family spent December 24-25 at The Bellevue Manila, and of course we had to think about where we were going to eat for Christmas Eve. I knew most restaurants would be closed and the malls were only until 7pm, so luckily Bellevue had a lot of in-house dining options to choose from.

Probably the most popular one was Phoenix Court, which is the only fine dining Chinese restaurant in the city.

Christmas staycation at The Bellevue Manila

Ever since I got married, Christmas Eve has been spent at my in-laws where my MIL always cooks up a storm. We always have mass on December 24 which starts at 8pm, and then we have dinner after. Then, we wait until midnight to open presents!

However, both my in-laws and my mom happened to be in the States for Christmas, so hubby and I were going to be orphans lol! We just decided to book a staycation, which is one of our favorite things to do with the kids, so we could celebrate a little differently.

I think we've tried almost all the hotels in the south already, except The Bellevue Manila and Vivere. And when I looked for holiday promos, I ended up booking with Bellevue since they had a great deal.

Staycation at Azumi Boutique Hotel

Ahhh... so many days without school! Coming from a 2 week sem break, then a class suspension because of a storm (na walang ulan naman on that day!), then another week because of the ASEAN Summit. I've talked to so many parents already and everyone feels the same - we're all going crazy with the kids at home lol! And sayang ang tuition haha! ;p

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only mom who's getting stressed thinking of activities for the kids to do. And I wasn't planning on going out of town this week because we already went to Cebu for the sem break. So the next best thing? A staycation!

I booked super last minute so almost all the hotels here in the south were fully booked already. Good thing I found an available room in Azumi Hotel here in Alabang (via Agoda).

Landmark Alabang Department Store is Now Open!

Oh my gosh! I was seriously hyperventilating yesterday when we went to Festival Mall and I saw that Landmark's department store is NOW OPEN! Their supermarket has been open for a few months already and I've been eagerly awaiting for the rest of store to get finished... and finally it is! Hooray!!!

Gather, Inspire, Feast with Mothers Who Brunch

When you're invited to a Mothers Who Brunch event, you can definitely expect to have a lovely time with good food and great company. Sab of Sinfully Sabrina and Michelle of Momma ‘N Manila always make sure their guests are pampered, relaxed, and recharged after just spending a few hours with them.

Tori Ichi Yakitori & Bar (Filinvest Alabang)

Hubby and I just love Japanese food. So one date night, we decided to try Tori Ichi Yakitori and Bar which is located at the ground floor of Festival Mall’s newest wing.

Long weekend staycations

I haven't been blogging lately since I've just been enjoying time with the fam, especially with all these long weekends. We love going on staycations and I made sure to take advantage of all these rainy day promos the different hotels have been offering.

Silantro Fil-Mex Cantina in Alabang

Whenever we go to Alabang Town Center and pass by Silantro (on the way to the basement parking of Metro), I notice the place is usually full. We've been curious to try this place for quite some time now and wasn't so lucky when we tried to eat there for lunch. So one time we got to ATC at around 5pm, we decided to have merienda/early dinner while there were still available seats.

Staycation at Somerset Alabang

Our family loves going on staycations, and our last one here at Somerset Alabang definitely tops our list.

LEGO Certified Store opens in Alabang Town Center

The second LEGO Certified Store in the Philippines (the first branch is in BGC) opened last September 10, 2016 in Alabang Town Center. We were super excited to check it out because my kids love Lego of course!

Hanamaruken Ramen in ATC

My son was craving for ramen one time we were at Alabang Town Center. Upon looking at the list of restaurants, we found one tucked away in the 2nd floor of the new wing. It was kinda surprising to find this place here since most of the stores on this level are for clothes, shoes, and sports stuff. And then suddenly, there's this ramen place in the middle of it all!

Our staycation at Acacia Hotel Alabang

We usually stay in Crimson Hotel when we're in the Alabang area, but this time we finally decided to have a staycation at Acacia Hotel.

Burger Geek, Molito Alabang

Stumbled upon this restaurant when hubby and I were looking for a place to eat lunch in Molito. If you've been to that area, you probably know that looking for parking during peak hours can be such a hassle! We originally wanted to eat somewhere else, but then the only parking we could find was in front of Burger Geek so we went here instead.

Sigekiya Ramen in Commercenter Alabang

Last April 13, I was invited to try the latest ramen place in the Philippines, Sigekiya Ramen, which is located in Commercenter Alabang.

Renewing my kids' passports

I just realized that my kids' passports were expiring next year when hubby and I were planning a vacation for this summer. I went online to schedule an appointment and the earliest date I got was January 27, 2016.

Good thing we asked at DFA Alabang and found out that kids 7 years old and below don't need an appointment anymore and can just walk in anytime. So off we went last December 28 and we were allowed to enter at once.

However, we couldn't line up at the priority lane since that was only for minors below 1 year old. There weren't that much people in the waiting section of the Processing Area, but this is where it took the longest at more than an hour. There were a lot of windows (I believe 8) but only 4 were manned and at times it would take so long for one person since there were still questions about their documents.

Anyway, for minors, requirements for first time minor applicants are still needed. Here's what we brought:

- Printed Application Form (on long bond paper)
- The kids' current passport and photocopy of the data page (page 2) and back pages
- Original Birth Certificate of minor in Security Paper issued by PSA (plus photocopy)
- Their school ID (plus photocopy)
- Marriage Certificate of minor’s parents duly authenticated by PSA (plus photocopy)
- Original and photocopy (page 2) of valid passport of parents

We arrived at 11:30am and finished by 1:10pm. I can't wait to see their new passport photos! Look at how cute they were when they were still babies. How time flies!

Oh, and if you noticed in the requirements stated in their website, it says the birth and marriage certificates should be issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). I got confused since the copies I had were from the NSO or National Statistics Office.

I emailed info@passport.com.ph asking about this and got this very quick response:

Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) is the new name of National Statistic Office (NSO).
You need to secure new birth certificate if the birth certificate you mention is more than 3 years in your custody.

Well, the ones I had were from 2011 pa so I really had to get new ones. Good thing you can get your NSO documents in SM malls too! I got ours in SM BF at the ground floor of the department store. :)



You can also read about how I applied for my baby Skyler's passport for the 1st time HERE.

DFA Alabang Consular Office
http://alabang.passport.com.ph
4th Floor, Metro Alabang Town Center,
Alabang - Zapote Road 1700,
Muntinlupa City, Philippines

The DFA Appointment System is also available via the hotline (02) 737-1000.
Call anytime from 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday to Saturday.

Little Tycoons Playhouse

My kids were invited to a playdate at Little Tycoons Playhouse last week. To be honest, I've never heard of this place prior to the visit and I had to do a bit of research first to know where it was located.

For those in the south, Little Tycoons is located in the 2nd Level of Westgate Hub in Alabang, near S&R. The place is similar to other playhouses you would find in malls where you could leave your children for a couple of hours. What I liked about this particular establishment though is that it's designed like a mini city, which reminded me very much of Kidzania!

Mothers Who Brunch Goes Asian

I was invited to the 3rd installment of the Mothers Who Brunch event, organized by Sab of Sinfully Sabrina and Michelle of Momma ‘N Manila last August 22. Again, it was held at the Viking Range Showroom in Westgate Alabang. It was actually raining pretty hard that morning so I was afraid the event was going to get cancelled! But luckily, the rains died down, so we were all able to enjoy this wonderful event with friends and good food.