who's not ready to wean from co-sleeping?

Last Monday night before going to bed, Caila told us that she wanted to sleep beside Yaya Juliet. So Hubby and I let her, knowing that (like the rest of the occasions when she said she didn’t want to sleep with us), after spending a few minutes in the other room, she would cry and go back to our bed. But to our surprise, she spent that entire night apart from us. A part of me was glad because it meant that she was slowly becoming independent. But a part of me just didn’t want to let her go just yet.

celebrating mother's day...kindergarten style

Thursday last week was Mother’s Day here in the UAE, and weeks before, I had applied for a leave for that day because, well, I just wanted to. Good thing I did because a few days before, it was mentioned in Caila’s school diary that the kids’ mothers were invited to a Mother’s Day celebration to be held on the 21st of March. So, tamang-tama talaga yung pag-apply ko ng leave.

I arrived at Caila’s classroom that morning just a few minutes before the program started. All of the kids were standing in line outside the room, while all the mothers were asked to sit down on the small chairs. It was a bit cramped, but we all managed to be comfortable. Then the kids walked in and I saw my daughter following the little girl in front of her looking around for me. As soon as she saw me, she smiled. We were then asked to stand up and join them in the Mother’s Day prayer followed by their exercise: dancing to the tune of Justin Bieber’s song “Baby.” Most of the moms were game and joined, while some were too shy and just took pictures or videos of the children.

and the next richest person is...

Before I announce the name of the winner, I’d just like to say thank you to the people who joined my birthday giveaway. Some may think that it’s ONLY 4 who joined, but for me, I’m already happy with that. Hindi naman kasi sikat yung blog ko, I’m not a celebrity either...so malaking THANK YOU to Donna, Sally, Ms. Anonymous and Arnold!

traditional birthday celebration at work

Last year, our office started this tradition of gathering together in our conference room once a month (preferably on the first working Saturday of the month) to celebrate the birthdays of that month. (Sorry! Too many "months" in that sentence.) Everyone is happy because we all get to enjoy drinks and slices of cakes, and the celebrants are given special attention.  Since I’m the HR and Administration Coordinator, naturally, I’m the one who has to make the arrangements to carry this out. There’s not that much to do actually; just prepare and send the announcement by e-mail and take care of the drinks and cake (which can either be ice-cream or normal). This month was no exception even though I was one of the celebrants. I didn’t mind though; at least whatever I bought was according to my taste...which is why I included cupcakes so that all of the celebrants (there were 6 of us) had a cake each.

Baskin Robbins ice-cream cake

the other Baskin Robbins ice-cream cake

It may be a small thing, but as one of the employees, I really appreciate these simple things that the company does to recognize the staff and to make us feel special.

food and bonding-filled birthday

I woke up Saturday morning with Hubby and my daughters still sleeping beside me. Since I didn’t have work that day, I just lay in bed, cherishing the early hours of the peace and quiet of the morning. After a while, my youngest stirred and soon she was on her tummy giving me a wide gummy grin. My husband followed shortly, and within a few minutes all of us were wide awake tickling each other and laughing just like the day before. By 7:30am, we started getting ready to go out.

We attended the 9 o’clock mass (celebrating Palm Sunday) at St. Mary’s, then we went to Ansar Gallery to pass away the time and because Yaya Juliet wanted to buy some things. A little after 11am, we headed to Asiana Hotel. I know I gave a not-so-good review about La Mesa here 2 years ago, but a lot of our friends and colleagues still enjoyed themselves, so we decided to try out their brunch.

me and my girls

I just wanted to post this photo because it was taken when we all woke up at almost the same time, we were all in good moods, and right after that shot, we spent several minutes tickling each other and laughing hilariously.

What a great way to start the weekend.

Pure bliss!

photos with fitness first mascots

While walking around Dubai Festival City last Saturday, we saw some people from Fitness First at the Festival Square area teaching Zumba and other fitness activities. We were going to pass by them without another glance, but then Caila and I saw their mascots and we just HAD to take pictures with them.

I’m glad that our little girl is getting fond of these costumed characters like her Mommy...but I’m more glad she’s finally beginning to smile a bit more naturally for photos without us having to ask beg her to.

dubai zoo

When Caila arrived home last month from her day at school, she brought with her a letter saying that her class was going to Dubai Zoo for their field trip. We knew it would be a good experience for her so we signed the consent slip. Unfortunately, a day before their trip to the zoo, Caila told us tearfully that she didn’t want to go because she was scared of the animals, and even though we explained that they were going to be in cages and they wouldn’t hurt her, nothing and nobody could change her mind...so, we just let her miss the field trip. However, we didn’t want her to miss out on the experience, so we decided to go to Dubai Zoo that weekend. Knowing that we would be there to comfort her if she got scared, our eldest daughter was actually excited to go.

earth hour 2013

Lots of people will be lighting candles all around the world this coming Saturday...because it’s my birthday!!!  Yeah right! I wish! Hahaha!
I’m sure many of you have heard that this year’s Earth Hour will take place on the 23rd of March at 8:30pm. Of course, that’s the reason why you’ll see candles being lit everywhere.
I hope you can join me and the rest of the world in protecting the planet by turning off all unnecessary lights for 1 hour on that night.
And by doing that, you’ll be celebrating my birthday as well =)

Aside from joining Earth Hour, you can also celebrate my birthday by joining my giveaway.

thank you sweets

I received all of these last week:

I got the first one, the Frey Chocobloc Orange bar, last Sunday from the manager who sent me the message I mentioned here.

The Thornton’s Dark Chocolates were given to me on Tuesday when a guest from Japan visited our office. It was his first time to come to Dubai and he was really pleased with how I took care of the arrangements for his trip (flight bookings, hotel reservation, transportation, etc.).

The third box contained these yummy treats:

One of our top managers in Japan who frequently visits gave me that one on Wednesday. Apart from the goodies he brings for all of the staff every time he comes, he always has a separate (smaller) box for me because of the arrangements I make for him.

So now we have all these sweets at home. If only we didn’t have diabetes in the family, these would have been consumed right away. But we do, so we can only have bites of them occasionally…and drink plenty of water and brush our teeth after.

Anyone want to share? =)

habemus papam!

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the cardinal from Argentina, was elected yesterday as the new pontiff to lead the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Filipinos around the world, a part of me was rooting for Archbishop Tagle...but honestly, I didn’t really think he would be chosen because of his young age and experience compared to the others.

reading "the richest man in babylon"

I haven’t been able to read much of The Richest Man in Babylon (I only get to read it on the bus in the mornings going to work), but from what I’ve read so far, there’s a whole lot of information and learnings you can get from it. Contrary to most financial self-help books, this is more like a novel with stories that you can learn from...a bit like parables or Aesop’s fables. It’s mostly about Arkad, and he teaches his fellow Babylonians the things he did to be able to become the richest man in Babylon.  The language used is a bit weird because it takes place during the ancient period, but it’s still pretty easy to understand.

Until now, I’ve only been able to read less than 60 pages, but this has already covered the lessons “A part of all you earn is yours to keep” and the “Seven Cures for a Lean Purse.”  These are explained in detail very simply throughout the stories, and when you read them, it’s like an eye-opener because you’ll realize that if you only had discipline, they’d be easy to follow. But of course, discipline is not enough. You need to know what you’re doing and where to keep your hard-earned money.

Just to give you an idea, the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse are:
   • Start thy purse to fattening
   • Control thy expenditures
   • Make thy gold multiply
   • Guard thy treasure from loss
   • Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
   • Insure a future income
   • Increase thy ability to earn

Although I haven't read the entire book yet, I still highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be financially independent. Seriously, it’s really good. And if you would like to win a copy, just join my birthday giveaway. Now na! =)

dubai international boat show

It isn’t every day that we get the chance to visit exhibitions or shows in Dubai for free, so when one of our friends who works at DWTC said that she could give us passes to enter the International Boat Show, Hubby immediately told her to reserve tickets for us. 

We opted to visit last Saturday, and since it was the last day of the show, traffic was heavy going there and there were lots of visitors looking around. The public parking area near the venue was already full by the time we arrived at 5pm, so we had to park all the way at the other public parking area which was near Skydive Dubai. We didn’t mind much, though. The weather was cool and we enjoyed the views of the hotels and buildings we passed by on the way to the Dubai International Marine Club.

that's the famous Infinity Tower at the back

jellies and the jigsaw

The other evening, Hubby and I were invited to try the buffet dinner at Jigsaw Restaurant in Movenpick Hotel Deira. Since we didn’t want to go home after work and then leave the kids again, we decided to pass away the time at Deira City Centre.

As we were strolling around, we came upon Shoe Mart and I suddenly remembered that I needed a new pair of sandals, so into the shop we went. I saw a nice pair of jewelled Fit Flops, but they were out of my budget. Then I saw some jelly sandals that were studded with Swarovski-like crystals, and I instantly knew I had to buy a pair. I remember wearing jellies when I was a kid, and they were so comfortable! It was good to see them back in fashion again. Anyway, it took me some time to buy the sandals that night because I was stuck in choosing which color to get. Finally, I decided to go for the safest option: black.

gratitude

Several times during the day, I have to provide reports, information or documents to colleagues and bosses who require them from time to time, and I’ve long accepted that it’s part of my job as an HR and Administration Coordinator. Usually, after giving them whatever they requested, I often hear a simple “Thank you” or “Thanks.” Of course, I’m glad that they appreciate what I did for them (whether it took me lots of effort or not), because it’s definitely better than receiving no acknowledgement at all (which, unfortunately, happens).

the nihao kai-lan party she wanted

As planned, Caila celebrated her 4th birthday at school last Wednesday...and fortunately, she was happy. Well, she should be. My fingers hurt from cutting the toppers, bottle labels, and container labels, and my arms hurt from mixing and stirring the batter for the cupcakes because I still haven’t been able to convince Hubby to get me an electric mixer. I had been up late the night before baking the cupcakes, and I had to wake up early the next day for the nuggets and frosting of the cupcakes. But of course, all these aches and pains weren’t much and I forgot about how tired I was when I saw how cute the little table in the classroom looked with everything we had prepared and how happy our daughter was on her special day. Allow me to share my first semi-DIY birthday project.

birthday giveaway: the richest man in babylon

After work yesterday, Hubby and I, along with some of our friends, attended a seminar on Wealth Management. For someone who has absolutely no knowledge about investments, it was very interesting and gave me lots to think about the way we handle money and where we put it. The latter part of the seminar was a bit boring though, because of the terms that were being used which seemed like a foreign language, but at least Hubby understood what the speaker was saying.

Anyway, aside from the loads of helpful information we were able to take away from that seminar, we each received a goody bag containing a pretty notebook and pen, and a copy of George S. Clason’s book “The Richest Man in Babylon.”