We finally got a chance to explore Sharjah which is the nations heritage capital. The Sharjah Art Museum is home to one of the largest exhibit in the Gulf region featuring Arab artists that made an important mark in the region.
A first time for our family of to explore a museum. It was fascinating to watch and listen to the kids interpretation of the painting in front of them. They argued that the artist could have given the art piece a better title. Some had a long description behind the painting while a few of them made us wonder more how they came to be.
Martyrs by Faisal Laibi Sahi (Iraq) is a favorite.
Below are some of our favorite pieces. Chloe was drawn to colorful paintings while Kuya V liked landscapes and portraits. The visit definitely fueled the interest to explore more of Sharjah.
Entrance to the museum is free and guided tour is available upon request. For more information, visit the Sharjah Art Museum website.
Our kids have grown taller and so much wiser as we bid farewell to another school year. They also have to say goodbye to special people who have helped shaped their personality, the Teachers.
I found the perfect way to preserve school memories and very special graduation gift as well!
Mel of More Organised shared the idea of gathering messages from teachers and have them write it on your kid’s favorite book. You, the parent will do this each year at the end of school year. It will be ideal if you can start this as early as nursery or baby daycare.
I completely forgot about it last term, thankfully Harkee of As They Grow posted about it on her IG stories at the last week of Chloe’s school. Late at night, I crammed looking for a hard bound book with a lot of blank pages.
Luckily, I have a hard bound copy of “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!” by Dr. Suess. Still need to do this memorabilia for my eldest, a reminder has been scheduled in our calendar.
How do you start?
1. Choose a book preferably hard bound with plenty of blank space for the teachers to write on. Books like “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” from Dr. Suess are famous for this purpose.
2. Write a letter to the teachers explaining what the book is for. Make sure you mention when you intend to get it back.
3. Send the book during the last 2 week of school term. I packaged ours in a sealed envelop and ask the office to hand it the teacher.
Visit and follow As They Grow and More Organised for ideas on memory keeping. If you’re in the UAE, Pretty Paper Studio is a good place to buy all the materials you need.
Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease baking dish with oil.
In a bowl, mix quinoa, bread crumbs, all spice, turmeric, salt, black pepper and garlic paste. Mixture should be on the salty side at this point because we still need to add ground chicken.
Add ground chicken, sesame oil, soy sauce and egg to your spice mixture. Form 1 ball and fry for you to taste. Adjust taste according to your liking.
Form mixture into balls. Place on greased pan close to one another but not touching.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Â
*My husband thinks a bit more of salt is needed, I liked it the way it is. As suggested above, fry a small batch to adjust taste to your liking.
*Serve plain, on pasta or drizzle with your favorite sauce. I will server meatballs with some teriyaki sauce and mashed potato in a few days.
Last month, we had the opportunity to watch La Perle at Al Habtoor City. It was AMAZING! well more than amazing really, no photo or video you see online will do any justice to what the show has to offer. If you are clueless on what it is, read up!
La Perle by Dragone
is the first permanent show in the region, produced by cultural creative company Dragone, directed by the legendary artistic director Franco Dragone and brought to Dubai by the Al Habtoor Group. La Perle is a live entertainment, taking place in a tailor-made aqua theatre.
So many things are happening in the show, don’t dare blink or you will end up missing something. One moment someone is walking on the ceiling then you will notice another performer gracefully dancing at the corner.
Aqua Theatre
The stage gets flooded and dry in a few seconds. I was scared that performers might fall in the pool while doing their routine. At one point, it was raining!
More snippets of the show can be seen on my Instagram highlights, here.
And more on our channel.
La Perle Fun Facts
Dragone is a cultural creation company founded in 2000 by Artistic Director Franco
Dragone, in La Louvière, Belgium. Today one of the world’s most sought-after artistic
directors, he is renowned for having invented a new genre in the 1980’s and 90’s. The
shows he created during his early days (Saltimbanco, Quidam, Mystère, Alegria, O)
forever changed the face of live entertainment in Las Vegas and, decades later, these
shows still receive nightly standing ovations.
La Perle has 65 artists with special skills, hailing from different countries. They can be seen diving from a height of 25 metres.
During the duration of the show, 3 scuba divers are present under water to ensure the safety of the artists.
The show lasts approximately 90 minutes without intermission.
The Family Pack
La Perle has introduced a new family package that will make it much more affordable for the whole family to watch the show. The Family Pack provide an exclusive discount on tickets for 4-10 people.
Tickets don’t come cheap, the best offer for a family of four like ours can cost as low as AED 1260 for the Silver seats. Kids as young as 2 years old are welcome, it provides entertainment to all age group. Also, a rare occurence is that PHOTOGRAPHY and taking videos without flash is allowed.
Consider watching La Perle to celebrate a special occasion. We are definitely watching the show again.
To check out more details on the packages visit La Perle’s website.
Ticket bookings:
Visit http://www.laperle.com, or go through the dedicated Box Office: 800 LAPERLE (800
517373)/+971 4 437 0123, boxoffice@laperle.com or via PlatinumList.com.
The show takes place twice a night, five days a week. Performances run from Tuesday to Friday at 7:00pm and 9:30pm, and Saturday at 4pm and 7pm, so there’s a show for everyone!
Disclaimer: Our family was invited to watch La Perle. All views and opinios are my own.Â
I consider myself skeptic to ways that claims to be the “solution” to everyday issues. Growing up, my mindset was if you have issues with your health, you should go see a doctor and have yourself examined then finally go home with medicines prescribed to you.
However, this all changed when I became a mom, the instinct to protect my child from what could possibly hurt him kicked in. Enrolled myself to a Lamaze class to prepare my body for natural birth, consumed organic products and had my mind set to breastfeeding my child. Well, not everything went according to plan – both kids born via CS, I was on bed rest for a whole month, crazy nausea until the day I gave birth; breastfeeding was painful and I was only able to produce good amount of milk on the 3rd month; cloth diapers – which I still believe is economical and ecologically a sound choice; baby wearing and going all organic for the food my kids consume. Going “all natural” is not easy.
I eventually gave in to chicken nuggets and the likes. A much convenient path.
Then, a health scare happened last May 2016 where I found myself a frequent visitor of the hospital’s emergency room. It was a very difficult time because it was just us, Daddy took a charge of the home front while I stay in the hospital until the doctors examine what was wrong. The solution was for me to undergo a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to remove my gallbladder and an Endoscopy to remove a stone from my bile duct. Went home with strict instructions to make better choices.
Then, the kids seemingly endless and recurring bout of respiratory issues which always worsen at the beginning of each school year. I find myself going home with at least 5 kinds of medicine for each kid every time we see our pediatrician. A cycle I want to end.
I have to make better choices.
My cousins back in the Philippines have been sharing some changes in their daily routine – diffusing essential oils and making oil blends that they massage on my nephews and nieces. I bought some bottles of essential oils readily available in the stores here in Dubai which they have suggested to improve my kids respiratory.
It did have good effect on us because we have better sleep and the kids usual snotty nose has did not need any medication. But when I started reading how it was sourced and produced, the information was vague. The bottles sat on our cupboard almost forgotten.
Good friend and fellow mommy blogger, Sheila of ABandMe let me experience her collection of essential oils when I expressed that I have been having sleep problem because of my stiff neck. This all happened casually when our daughters had a playdate. We left with sample bottles of essential oils she wanted us to try.
Within the two weeks of using the samples Sheila gave me, I noticed that my kids did not complain of stuffy nose at dawn and we had better quality of sleep. Even with just 5 hours of sleep I woke feeling fully rested like I completed 10 hours of deep sleep.
We have been using essential oils since September 2016 and there is no stopping me from incorporating it on our daily life. Kids have been looking forward to our oil bonding where a stroke a blend of oils across their spine and in their tippy toes. My husband requests (demands) that I diffuse oils for bedtime. Our pediatrician is happy that the kids have a stronger immune system and is happy to send us home with instructions to drink lots of water, eat healthy and just use medicine when I see that they really need it.
While essential oil seem like a fad because a lot of people are talking about it, I now understand. A person who experience something that have positively affected them, you have the natural urge to share it oh so passionately. My friends can attest to this, I have been sharing my oils to almost every one I meet.
My family have been enjoying the fabulous benefits of essential oils. Let me know if you want to know more, you have found a happy “oily mama” here.
It would be my pleasure to walk with you in this oily journey. Use my referral code 12771973 or click here.
This month the PPS Design Team will create projects with HOPE as a theme.
My kids believe in fairies and making wishes. I do too. I want to keep that magic of hope burning inside them until they grow old and have kids of their own.
The kids really liked the idea of having their own fairy lanterns. Their very own fairy to watch over them and whisper their hopes and dreams before they sleep at night.
You need few materials and most of it is already available in your existing craft supply. All you need is a little imagination and the easy steps you will find at the Pretty Paper Studio blog.
I really hope that the easy crafts we make will inspire you to do crafting with your kids. Once you’re done, make sure to tag our social media handles @PPSUAE and @cuddlesandcrumbs with the hashtags #ppsuae #prettypaperstudio #madewithppsuae.
I always plan ahead when it comes to our weekly meals and lunch box. Having leftovers stashed on the freezer is a lifesaver on days where I am just overwhelmed with responsibilities and just fail to plan ahead.
On mornings when I only have a few minutes to spare, Egg Sandwich is a no fuss recipe to prepare and pack.
Egg Sandwich
Ingredients
2 slices bread
3 hard boiled egg, peeled
4 Tbsp mayonnaise
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
Slice hard boiled egg, place in a bowl.
Mash with fork. Add 4 tbsp of mayonnaise and mix. If not moist enough to your liking add about 1/2 tbsp more.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the egg mixture on bread.
If you are making a sandwich for one person ratio of egg and mayo is 1:1.
Any toy presented in egg like containers was the one constant toy on every kids (I know) wishlist. MissChloe belong to the bunch of kids who gave us hints that this is the toy that would really make her super happy!
But.
We were boring parents and refused to buy her one. Why? We already have a lot of toys and she already own one Hatchimal.
She did not give up and solved the problem by saving up her weekly allowance and earnings from selling cupcakes. Her savings was more than enough for her to buy half of the toys in her wishlist.
We helped her hatched her first batch and I do admit that it was quite exciting to finally see what was inside.
Martyrs by Faisal Laibi Sahi (Iraq) is a favorite.
Cuddles and Crumbs 