I want the happy Mama back
Walking the path to be the best mom, best playmate, best cook and best partner in life can take up so much of a person’s energy.
Month: September 2016
Bento Lunch Box Menu – September 18 to 22
Thursday is a happy day. Last day of work and school for us here in the United Arab Emirates. I am always looking forward to weekend and spend quality time with my bunch. Who doesn’t? The week started with me coming down with a flu. Kids were also adjusting to waking up early again. Vierte needs to be up and eating breakfast at 5:30 am out the door by 6:20 am for school bus pick-up. Yes. I am happy it is finally the weekend. Here is what I pack for the kids school lunch. Sunday – September 18: We have beef kofta as the main meal for both kids. September 19 – Monday: Chicken Tenders and rice. Marinated chicken breasts the night before and fried the following morning. I will post recipe next week. September 20 – Wednesday: Tuna Sandwich for Vierte and Cream Cheese Sandwich for Chloe. September 21 – Wednesday: Apple Cake and Pasta Arrabbiata for Vierte. Baked red apple cake the night before and prepared pasta in the morning. Pasta preparation made easy with Barilla …
Sunrise at Jebel Jais Mountain
We recently had a week long holiday here in Dubai to celebrate Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha. That was one week of no school for the kids and 5 days off for Daddy C. Our plan was to stay home and setup Christmas decorations. Carla of MyYellowbells invited us to join her family for a road trip to Jebel Jais Mountain. So we did. Four cars convoyed to the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah where UAE’s highest mountain is located. Jebel Jais Mountain stand tall at approximately 1900m above sea level and promises a scenic and rustic view of sunrise. We left Al Qusais at 3:30 am and arrived at 5:40 am, just before sunrise. No lights on the zigzag road going up so make sure your headlights are working fine and drive slowly. We stopped at the last camp site only to find out from other campers that the trail going up to the highest peak is close due to road construction. There was no available signs (as far as we know) on where …
Weekly School Lunch Planner
A few friends of mine asked if I could share a print out of what the kids had for school lunch. Why did I not think of that?! It will be a good reference for me as well and make sure that I pack variety of food options for the kids. I wrote down our first week of packed school lunch, all of the recipe’s are available here. To make sure I pack a balanced meal for my kids, I use three major food groups which the kids are learning in school – GO, GROW, and GLOW food. Packing at least one food from each group ensures that our kids are getting all the nutrients they need for the day. I hope our Weekly School Lunch Planner will help you prepare a fun and healthy meal for your kids. Just click on the photo below to download your planner. School/Work week starts on a Sunday here in the UAE. Planner best printed on a B4 (10.12″ x 14.33″) paper. Download #LetsMakeLunchFun weekly planner here. Join in the fun of bento …
Building Session at LEGOLAND Dubai Shop
We were among the few Mama/Family bloggers invited to an exclusive event of LEGOLAND Dubai’s pop-up shop at The Beach, JBR. With just 2 months till LEGOLAND Dubai opens it’s doors this October 31, 2016, we were treated to some inside information of its Submarine Adventure Attraction. It has about 15,000 species and its largest marine animal is a Zebra Shark as well. Something the whole family can enjoy together. We were given building sheets of our selected marine animal – Nemo, Tang Fish and Shark. LEGO Expert, Shamil assisted us in case we had questions during our building session. Chloe was busy making houses out of Duplo for our LEGO Nemo fish. LEGOLAND Dubai is bringing “AWESOME” to The Beach before its official opening wit a pop-up shop that is open daily on September 10-17 from 10 am till midnight. Visitors of the shop will enjoy LEGO building experience and a chance to have a photo opportunities with characters Princess and Buddy. In addition, LEGOLAND annual pass are also sold in the shop.
Back to School: Get your lunch box kit ready!
We are about to bid farewell to unscheduled days of summer vacation. Hooray! Eldest son, Kuya V is off to Year 4 on the same school and is beyond excited to see his friends, talk about summer and how many Pokemon cards he collected and caught. As for LittleMiss C, she will be in KG2 this year, our baby at 4 years is still too young to be in KG 2! As with every new academic year, it is time to think about sleep routines, school uniforms, bags and lunch boxes. Here are my top five things to get your lunchbox kit ready for school. 1. Lunchbox and bottles: Do you need a new set of lunchbox kits? I always go for compartment style boxes for easy packing, we love our Planetbox and BentGo Kids. Check for leaks – fill bottles with water and lunchbox with yoghurt, give it a good shake and check for leaks. If they do have leaks I re-use them to store toys. Molds / Black spots – Make sure you check the interior of …
LittleMiss Chloe’s 4th Birthday
*Late post. Just before we left for our 2 months long vacation, we got to celebrate LittleMiss C’s birthday on the day she was born, June 25. Cake As with every birthday in our family, I baked and designed Chloe’s 4th birthday cake, cookies and cake pops in my tiny kitchen. She chose the cake theme and gave me instructions that it should be just pink with a silver tiara. This year, Sheila and Jill helped me finish designing all sugar cookies and party setup. Venue We looked at several venues and chose to celebrate her birthday at AdventureLand, Sahara Centre. It is close to where we live and we won’t have a hard time traveling back home. We really liked Adventureland’s party hall, located on the 2nd floor just above the bumper car rides. Children’s table is inside the main party hall where the stage is, while long tables for adults were arranged outside the main hall. I think it will comfortably accommodate 50 guests. Party Games Some familiar and new games that kept everyone smiling. …
Giveaway: Back to School with De’Longhi Multifry
We survived the first week of back to school. Hooray! For a job well done, surviving the early morning alarm and manic school runs I am giving YOU the chance to win a De’Longhi Multifry Multicooker to help you in the kitchen. As you may have now noticed, I absolutely love our De’Longhi Multifry and have been using it to prepare this week’s lunchbox food. To learn more about De’Longhi Multifry, visit this page. For more tasty recipes you can do with your Multicooker, just click here or download recipe book on your phone, search for De’Longhi. Za’atar Pinwheels for Vierte’s first day back. Chicken Pilaf Roast Chicken Fresh Spring Rolls Chicken Popcorn Lobster Balls To WIN one De’Longhi Multifry: Head over to our Instagram and tag 3 friends, under De’Longhi giveaway post. “Like” our facebook page, here. Share our giveaway on your social media, make sure you tag me. Leave a comment on our Facebook page, under De’Longhi giveaway post, that you have done all steps. One entry for each step …
Cuddles and Crumbs 