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I want the happy Mama back

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Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed with all the things that needs my attention. Meals to prepare. House to clean. School work to be submitted.

Merely thinking of them makes me tired, that I end up just sulking the day away in self-pity.

I have worn the stay-at-home-mom crown for eight years now and I am happy with the decision of devoting my time and energy to be a homemaker. I wake up every day to be the best me for my family.

But then…

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.

happymamaback

Feeling all these has turned me to a Mom I do not want my kids to have. Irritated mom who easily gets upset. I do not and cannot somehow find the time to give them my undivided attention.

Overwhelmed.

“Do not mind the mess, and get some rest.”  You may suggest.

I have heard that suggestion numerous times but then I cannot really take a good rest or have some quality me time when I know that all the mess is just there waiting for me.

“Just hire cleaners, then” That’s a good suggestion.

But.

I feel so guilty employing extra help in the house. Hiring cleaners means another cost added to our finances. For me, it feels like I am wasting my husband’s hard earn money.

I feel like I have failed as a homemaker. One of the reasons why I am staying at home is to manage our home, right?!

Tired.

I already noticed that my attitude towards the kids have changed how they open up to me. My once enthusiastic boy is now scared of telling me things. He would now start any conversation with “Mama, do not get upset ok, I just want to tell you that…”

happymamaback2

I have to let go of the guilty feeling and just let go of unnecessary stress. Soon.

I want to bring back the happy mama my family deserve to have.

 

Bento Lunch Box Menu – September 18 to 22

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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.

Weekly Bento Lunch Box Menu

Sunday – September 18: We have beef kofta as the main meal for both kids.

Bento Lunch Box Beef Kofta

Bento Lunch Box Beef Kofta wrap

 

September 19 – Monday: Chicken Tenders and rice. Marinated chicken breasts the night before and fried the following morning. I will post recipe next week.

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Chicken Tenders Bento Lunch Box

 

September 20 – Wednesday: Tuna Sandwich for Vierte and Cream Cheese Sandwich for Chloe.

Cream Cheese CuteZCute Sandwich Bento Lunch Box

Tuna Sandwich Bento Lunch Box

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 Arrabbiata ready made sauce.

Pasta Arrabbiata Bento Lunch Box

Apple Cake Bento Lunch Menu

September 22 – Thursday: 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 Arrabbiata ready made sauce.

Bento Lunch Box Menu Fried Rice

 

Join in the fun of bento lunch box packing with #LetsMakeLunchFun hashtag on Instagram

Sunrise at Jebel Jais Mountain

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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.

Jebel Jais Camp Site

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 to stop for a hike up, we drove back down to a less crowded camp site, while the childless group drove further to look for the trail.


All four kids entertained themselves by throwing rocks near the edge of the cliff, spotting wild goats and searching for that one of a kind rock.

Kids at Jebel Jais Mountain

Both kids were so proud of themselves for waking up before the sun. It was a joy to see them enjoy nature and appreciate the beauty of our second home.

Jebel Jais Mountain sunrise

Families gathered in awe as we watched the sun rays peaked on the mountain side. Breathtaking! We were all in awe of God’s creation and greeting each stranger we see a good morning.

Jebel Jais Horizon

The view, serenity and beauty was just really breathtaking. Photos don’t do justice, you just really have to go and see it for yourself. If it was this amazing at sunrise, I’m sure sunset will also take our breath away.

family photo at Jebel Jais Mountain

We need to go back for sunset and sleep overnight. Several “stops” with camp sites are available for guests to enjoy, toilets were also available and we even saw a store (it was not open at when we arrived at 5am) at the last stop.

This is definitely one family road trip you should do while in the UAE. Make sure you pack plenty of food and water, jackets since it is colder up in the mountain and make a stop at the last gasoline station to check your car, refill and for toilet visit.

Filipino bloggers at Jebel Jais Mountain

See you on our next adventure!

Jebel Jais write-up from friends below.

At the top of Jebel Jais – Carla

Your travel questions about Jebel Jais – Arence

Weekly School Lunch Planner

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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.

school lunch planner

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 lunch packing with #LetsMakeLunchFun hashtag on Instagram.

PS: I am no expert or a certified dietician. I am a Mom trying my best to provide the healthiest meal I can.

 

Building Session at LEGOLAND Dubai Shop

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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.

legoland dubai lego building session
Vierte with Shamil of LEGOLAND Dubai
legoland dubai lego building session
All set to let the magic happen
legoland dubai lego building session
Daddy C proud of his LEGO Shark
legoland dubai lego building session
Vierte proud of our LEGO creations
legoland dubai lego building session
Chloe with her Duplo house for LEGO Nemo

 

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.

legolanddubai-popup-the-beach

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!

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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 your water bottles, straws and rubber lids you will be surprise to see that black spots have appeared. The most effective way of removing black spots on your straw bottles is to soak them on sterilizing fluid like Milton. I soak all plastic wares on sterilizing liquid once a week.

2. Utensils: Believe me you can never have enough cutlery to pack for school. Over time I have collected good quality disposable utensils from restaurants, take-outs and just recently from an airline. I always ask our flight attendants if I can keep the utensils they provide the kids in flight, they always say yes. I also collect ketchup packets and wet wipes packet provided in every food take-out. I have labelled each cutlery and only a handful manage to come back home. IKEA’s colorful Kalas plastic cutlery is a good buy.

3. Lunch bags: Check every pocket for some forgotten pack of biscuits, I just found an expired ketchup packet on ours. Also check if insulation still works well, if not you need to buy some reusable ice packs to keep food fresh and cold. Wash them all up and they will look like brand new.

4. Sealable or re-usable bags: Stock up on resealable food bags to pack cutlery, wet wipes and some cookies for the kids to eat on the school bus or just to get that sugar up after all that work in school.

5. Label: Get that name stickers and permanent markers ready, label everything that you can and add a little wish that each piece in your lunch kit find their way back home.

One more thing, if like me you have bento lunch making tools, it is the best time to re-organize all your stuff. Place all similar items in one box for easy access.

I hope this will help you get your household lunchbox ready for school. Let me know in the comments below if you have anything to add on the list.

Happy lunchbox packing!

LittleMiss Chloe’s 4th Birthday

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*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.

LittleMiss Chloe 4 yrs

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.

princess tiara cake pops
Vanilla & Chocolate Cake Pops
princess tiara dessert party spread
Cookies & Cake Pops Table
Princess Pink Tiara Cake
Chloe’s Pink Princess Tiara Cake

 

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.

AdventureLand Sahara Centre Party Stage
sahara centre adventureland sharjah indoor play
adventureland sahara centre

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. The host’s clearly knew what they were doing – each of them took charge of one game while the rest did the setup and the other took care of music.

adventureland sahara centre party
adventureland sahara centre party
adventureland sahara centre party
adventureland sahara centre party
adventureland sahara centre party

Food

This is where we had a little issue, we ordered from Pizza Hut and KFC for the adults while kids got to choose a McDo meal. Food choices were settled days before the party, Marivic head of the party hall spoke to all three companies and settled that we will give payment after the party. She assured us that this was the setup they do in each party they host. KFC however did not deliver food on time! Both Pizza Hut and McDo delivered food 10 minutes before the last game was done. Our KFC order arrived 25 minutes after the guest’s have eaten.

Chloe's 4th Birthday
adventureland sahara centre party
Birthday Wish
adventureland sahara centre party
Cake Cutting

Chloe initially did not like a big party and only wanted to invite 3 friends over and have a cake. She only had 3 friends in her party, some kids are Kuya V’s school friends and our closest friends here.

She had so much fun and declared her birthday “the best day ever!”

Happy 4th Birthday Chloe

Happy birthday, Chloe!

We will always be here for you. Always remember that we love you forever and always.

Daddy, Mommy and Kuya

 

*Huge Thank You to Arence for taking photos during Chloe’s birthday.

Giveaway: Back to School with De’Longhi Multifry

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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.

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Chicken Pilaf

0904-chicken-rice-pilaf

 

Roast Chicken Fresh Spring Rolls 

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Chicken Popcorn

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Lobster Balls

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To WIN one De’Longhi Multifry:

 

De'Longhi Multifry Giveaway

  • 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 done.

Terms and conditions:

  • Entrants must have a public profile to be able to avail this offer (you can change it back to private after the competition is closed if you wish)
  • Giveaway is only open to entrants residing in the United Arab Emirates
  • The competition opens at 1om GST (UTC+4hrs) on September 7, 2016 and closes 8pm GST on September 14, 2016.
  • The winner will be chosen at random from valid entries (that have completed all four actions) and announced on September 18, 206 on this blog post, as well as on Instagram @cuddlesandcrumbs
  • The winner will need to provide complete name as stated on a valid ID, email address, phone number and delivery address to be passed on to De’Longhi Middle East team.
  • This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with, Facebook and Instagram. You are providing your information to CuddlesAndCrumbs.com and not to Instagram or Facebook. The information you provide will be used for this competition only.