Homemade Burgers

...are the best!  Hubby made special dinner the other night, and I have to say it's SUPER YUMMY!  It was perfect with potato wedges  and soda to drink.


He brought Gourmet Burger Kitchen to our home, and I love it! :)

Feeding Frenzy

Dade started eating solids when he was 5 months and 3 days old.  I am aware that WHO and UNICEF recommend waiting until the 6th month to introduce solids to breastfed babies but because Dade lost weight while we were on holiday in Manila,  I gave in to hubby's suggestion to feed solids to our son.

two of Dade's many spoons

His first bite of real food was mashed potatoes with milk.  I wanted to give him organic whole grain cereal but I wasn't sure if there was any in Manila.  Thanks to Mama and Papa who bought the organic potatoes from Market! Market!

When we arrived back to Dubai, we went shopping for Dade's pantry supplies at Organic Food & Cafe.  Now we're frequent shoppers of the largest organic store in the UAE.  These are the produce we usually get the little squirt for his meals:

produce from the organic store

- potatoes
- carrots
- squash
- sweet potatoes
- butternut squash
- broccoli

And we use this to mash them:

a super economical baby food grinder

After grinding the food, we keep them in these containers:

a clever food container (and BPA-free, too)

refilled for storage

Afterwards, we freeze them baby cubes.  Whenever it's time to feed Dade, we just take out one cube of 2 oz, warm it in his food/bottle warmer, and add milk or water to smoothen its texture.  But because he's always so hungry these days, we might have to start feeding him more than one cube.

For his breakfast, we buy him this brand of cereals:


I like the this brand because the box contains nothing but organic wholegrain flakes, and it's gluten-free, too.   And now that he's 7 months old, we got him the Earth's Best Wholegrain Oatmeal.  He takes it with milk sprinkled with some broccoli.

We stocked up on some bottled organic food, too, just in case.  We usually pack a jar in Dade's bag as back up food when we're out and about.

he can finish a jar in less than 5 minutes. seriously!

My favorite is the Earth's Best variety because most of their stuff do not contain salt and sugar -- just vegetables and water.  I buy the green vegetable variants since they're the most tedious ones to manually prepare.  Haha, cheat Mommy!


I know time for us to broaden his choices of food but I'm putting off giving him fruits because I want him to enjoy having vegetables at this age.  I'm afraid that if he tastes anything sweet, he might take a liking to it, and prefer having them than his veggies.

Now i'm in pursuit of the best baby biscuit available in town as I see that he has taken an interest on putting things on his mouth to much on.  Any suggestions?

Dade’s favorite time of the day

…is playing in his Exersaucer!

Dade's favorite toy of all

When my Dad was here last August, he left me some cash to buy a really nice toy for his first boy apo.  We kept the money until it was time for us to get the Exersaucer we wanted for Dade.  Around his 4th month, we noticed that Dade could already well bear his weight on his legs, and enjoyed standing on our laps so we thought maybe it was time to get him the toy.

We were so thankful we went to Toys R’ Us at the right time because the 3-in-1 Exersaucer was on WOW weekend sale at 50% off. from AED 699 (USD 190), we only got it for AED 349 (USD 95).  What a steal, right?

He loves it to bits, and spends 30 minutes each day to bond with his ‘friends’.  He likes the sounds, the lights, and the bendable flowers (which he sometimes chews on when he thinks no one is looking), but hates the bugs so he takes them out one by one and drops them to the floor.

bug pickin'

I am so glad my little one has this toy to keep him preoccupied while hubby and I face our chores, watch TV or eat together at the dining table.  Truly a great entertainer for babies!

Arts & Crafts

I know in my heart there are creative juices in me.  It’s just that I find no time to squeeze them out from my system.  But when the situation calls for it, I know for sure I can come up with something from scratch that would look decent enough for display – for our home at least.

When our friends’ daughter, Zoei was baptized, I volunteered to help out in decorating the candles to be used for the ceremony.  I have always been fascinated with ribbons, laces & baskets that I thought maybe I could bring myself to create something special for the beautiful little girl’s special day.

So a week before Zoei’s Christening, I summoned the Martha Stewart in me to create this basket & set of candles for the godparents (Ryan was one of them):

a basketful of candles

for the godparents

my materials

I gathered some candles from Ikea, and some ribbons bought from a textile shop in Satwa (Dubai’s version of Baclaran).  I was pleased that the shades of pink & brown I chose according to the baptism party’s motif blended well.

Going back to arts & crafts has helped me de-stress myself from all the hooplas happening at work and at home.  I told my husband how satisfying it felt, and he encouraged me to do more.  Oh, if only I have the time!

Hodgepodge

My mind is just racing with tons of ideas that I can’t seem to stay still. I'm multi-tasking and yet I still feel like I haven’t got enough time to do everything I wanna do.  For starters, I need to focus on keeping the house spic and span because we have guests arriving on Friday. I invited dear husband’s friends over for dinner after our Al Qasba date, which is just about 10 minutes drive from our place. I already have a menu in mind – I just hope Ryan will help out with the cooking :)

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I also am starting to prepare for the birthday party of Dade. I know I’m kind of late already, but I was just too swamped with work lately not to mention the fact that I have other things on my plate that need my full attention.  It’s really tough being a working Mom. *sigh!*

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After such a long while, I was able to go out for lunch with my colleagues at The Monarch Hotel. Ruth’s Chris Steak House is having a promo going on from yesterday till tomorrow. They’re giving out complimentary Prime Burger from 12 noon to 2:30 pm. All you have to do is make a reservation, show up, and pay for your drinks & anything extra.

Abbie & Gina

Auee & Marky

that's moi!

my lunch for the day with a glass of virgin mojito

I liked the chips and the burger but would’ve loved it if they were generous with the size. Gourmet Burger Kitchen & Johnny Rockets serve bigger patties in bigger buns.

(pardon the low quality BB pics)

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We finally fixed Dade’s nursery!  The little tot now has a play area where he can sit, crawl, and learn how to walk.  I love the mats that we ended up getting!  They’re 100 x 100 cm in size, and about an inch thick each, so Ryan & I can lie down with Dade without having to worry about breaking his mat…haha!

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I know this is sooo late, but i just have to say I love Sandra Bullock’s look at the Oscar’s!  So svelte!  That’s what you call a winning look!

(photo courtesy of Oscar.com)

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I am super attached to my Blackberry!  If one day goes by without a properly working Blackberry Internet Service (BIS), I go nuts already!  Blame it on the Blackberry Messenger & Facebook!

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I found the place where we could get our weekly fix of taho.  Thanks to New West Zone's Grocery in Al Ghusais, we can now savor the taste of this beloved soybean delicacy without having to fly home.

yummy-licious!

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These are just some of the things going on inside my head.  Expect a couple of cohesive posts in the next coming days.  I want the rest of my stories and thoughts accompanied by pictures.

Till my next post. Ta ta!

At The tail End

My milk supply is dwindling, and I could feel that one of these days, my breastfeeding career would finally end. Since Dade’s 5th & a half month, I was left with no choice but to mix feed because I couldn’t keep up with his demands despite the solid food feeding. He was thin and frail after we came back from the holidays, and I was worried he isn’t getting enough nourishment. Nonetheless, I still kept expressing milk at work, and I make sure he latches on to me everytime we’re together. I also nurse him through the night still.

To be honest, I dread the day he would stop nursing completely -- I would definitely miss breastfeeding him! BFng is the ultimate bonding moment I have with my son, and I don’t think I’m ready to give up just yet. Just thinking about it makes me wanna cry :'(

Our Happy Weekends

For several weekends, our young family has been busy meeting up with friends just to catch up.

Like one Friday morning, we had breakfast with bessie B, and went window shopping at Dubai Festival City.

Dade with Ninang B

having his breakfast, too

mall rats at 10:15 am

And then there was a Saturday morning where we went to the park with our college friends just to let the little ones have a dose of sunshine and a breathe of fresh air.

at the park on a beautiful morning

grumpy already

*pics courtesy of Armil

We also attended the Pinoy family day of the DIFC at Al Mamzar Park two Fridays ago, which was a real blast.

all about Dade

one of our few family pics

with my Pinay colleagues

*pics courtesy of Ivory

Another Saturday was spent in Gracita & Harvey’s apartment that turned out to be a wonderful playdate for the kids (and the Dads, too!)

with new friends, Annika & Sophia

well-behaved little boy (Mom's so proud!)

wasted after playing, feeding & pooping :P

We’re trying to squeeze as much activities as we can before the weather turns sour.  We have yet to spend an afternoon at Al Qasba in Sharjah, and a trip to Abu Dhabi to see Ryan’s Godmother and show off the baby. I hope the nice weather stretches further though.

A Weekend Movie Date

…made possible by my good friend at work, Abbie. yay!

We were so lucky Abbie volunteered to babysit Dade last Friday so we could watch Alice in Wonderland in 3D.  Despite the bad reviews from people who’ve seen it, we decided to give it a go as we never really get to go out frequently on a date since we had Dade.  Plus I like Johnny Depp.

So off we went to Abbie’s place at Uptown Mirdif to entrust our little boy to her.  After we settled Dade to his new play area and briefed Abbie on what to do, we left them in each other’s company, and drove to Dubai Mall for our much-awaited movie date.  Traffic was a breeze so we arrived kind of early at the theater.  Since we booked our tickets online the day before, it only took us less than 2 minutes to claim our tickets so we had enough time to squeeze in a healthy afternoon snack at The Frozen Yogurt Factory and pick up a tray of Nachos, hotdog sandwich and colas at the snack bar to bring to the theater.  Our date felt like a flashback of our dating years back in college – we had fun!

The movie was eerily dark for a children’s movie -- very typical of any Tim Burton film. Ryan got bored with the movie he slipped into a deep slumber in the middle of it.  After the screening, we picked up a few items for Dade – veggies, a new binkie, a Fisher Price Toy, and a new bottle & accessories keeper.  We also bumped into my ex-officemates in Manila, Sherry & Ryan at Mothercare who were also looking around for stuff as they’re expecting their first baby soon.

We reached Abbie’s place by 7:00 pm – 5 hours after we dropped Dade off.  And we’re so proud of Abbie because she did so well -- she bottlefed Dade, fed him his bottle of squash and potatoes, changed his nappy twice (both with poop!), and changed his clothes, too.  That was in between them watching Bolt on TV (where Abbie noticed how fascinated our son is with the credits), playing in his mat with his toys, and walking around the garden and the poolside. Good thing our son didn’t give her too much of a hard time. We capped the night off with a buffet dinner at Pizza Express at the Uptown Mirdif Mall, a few steps away from their apartment.

It was a beautiful Friday for all of us.  A million thanks to Abbie for babysitting for free! Till the next movie in our list (last installment of Shrek – again in 3D).

I Heart Mc Do

I have always loved Mc Donald's. Don't get me wrong -- I'm a fan of the Bee myself but there'll always be a special spot in my heart for this American franchise that I've learned to love since I was little. Who wouldn't, with their Big Mac, Mc Chicken, Caramel Sundae, & of course, their FRENCH FRIES! Their breakfast is also one of my faves especially the hash browns. Mm--mmmm!!

Mc Donald's is spread all over the world so it's the perfect place to go to when you're traveling, and with fear in no mood to try anything new. The first Mc Donalds outside the Philippines that I've been to was in HK 25 years ago. I still remember how bizarre it was for me to eat at a fastfood joint while standing. Other Mc Donald's I've eaten at were in Istanbul, New Orleans, Houston airport, Macau, and London. So yeah, talk about real love for the red-haired Ronald!

So imagine my joy when Mc Donald's here in the UAE decided to open their stores 24/7 -- WOW!! Now we have a place to run to when our stomachs decide to grumble in the middle of the night. And since they're now open 24 hours, that also means that they serve breakfast. Oh yes, the Sausage Mc Muffins are here!

After our holidays in Manila, we finally had the time to try their breakfast. On a fine Friday morning, we drove to their Jumeirah Beach Road branch and dined al-fresco to take advantage of the nice weather. And yup, you guessed it right -- we ordered big breakfast and pancakes with dollops of butter and lots & lots of syrup! Tee hee! :)

reading his book while Mom & Dad are having their breakfast

It was a perfect place to meet up with friends, Gracita & Harvey, with their beautiful daughter, Annika.

the daddies & their offsprings :)

with a glowing 2nd time Mama-to-be

with the little grabbers

So you see, Mc Donald's is truly a family place :)

I love you, Bee -- but I love Ronald, too!

Happy 7th Month, Dade!

adoraboy

You are the sweetest little thing there is.  Our life has turned a 180 degrees since you came into our lives...and we don't ever wanna go back to the way it was before your arrival!   The joy you fill our hearts with is incomparable.  

We love you very, very much!

Thanks to Ninang Beth, Ninang Sarj & Ninong Mark for joining our small celebration!  :)