MIMAY AND NAYNAY’S 1st WEEK IN DUBAI

Mimay and Naynay are on their 2^nd week here in Dubai. Both of them are already adjusted na sa house, to our friends in the house, to the weather and especially to the time. Since husband and I go to work from Saturday to Thursday (yes, sad to say but we only have 1 day off! hay at 1 pang hay!), Mimay and Naynay are usually left alone in the house.

Our usual daily schedule is like this:

6:30 am – Poy and I getting ready for work

7:15 am – Poy and I off to work while Mimay and Naynay are still snoozing in bed (kakainggit!)

9:00 am – Naynay will wake up for her breakfast then rest (rest after eating? How lucky is that?)

10:00 am – Good morning Mimay! Breakfast, TV and playing time.

2:00 pm – Mimay’s bathing time

3:00 pm – Siesta for mag lola

4:00 pm – Naynay’s bathing time and dinner cooking.

5:00 pm – Mag lola off to park (there’s a park infront of our building)

7:30 pm – Mamee Nani and Dadee Poy will arrive from office

Schedule differs after. We usually go out to the nearest mall, have dinner outside, do the groceries, etc. Basta right after we arrive from work, we make sure to get Mimay and play with her. So Naynay can have rest from our super kulit baby. I’ll be the one to feed and carry her and the 3 of us (Dadee, Mamee & Mimay) will take a bath together before going to bed. I think its Mimay’s favorite, she loves water and she calls it “twiming twiming”. During this bathing time, we also teach her how to brush her teeth, wash her face, underarms, neck and arms, then how to put body lotion. It’s our family bonding moment and I am personally enjoying every minute of it. After that, we will have our atleast an hour playing and kilitian time. Then we familiarize her with Bible and we teach her how to pray. When we told her it’s praying time, she will immediately join her hands together and utter “pwey pwey pwey” in a very very cute way =) Oh I love being mamee! We usually sleep at around 12am. Bangenge man the following day, it’s all worth it. I love spending time with our dearest Mimay.

For the first week, we have been to the following places:

Dubai Zoo - the oldest zoo of its kind not only in the United Arab Emirates but also in the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai Zoo also happens to be the first Arabian zoo to breed the rare Chimpanzee and Arabian wild cat. It is a special place of interest and fun for tourists and the people of Dubai.

Dubai Aquarium - one of the largest tanks in the world at 51m x 20m x 11m and featuring the world’s largest viewing panel at 32.8m wide and 8.3m high. Dubai Aquarium has more than 33,000 living animals, representing more than 85 species including over 400 sharks and rays combined.

Burj Khalifa - tallest building in th world. The Burj Khalifa skyscraper is a world-class destination and the magnificent centerpiece of Downtown Dubai, Dubai's new urban masterpiece. 

Dancing Fountain - the center piece of Downtown Burj Dubai located at the front of Burj Dubai. The Dubai fountain is one of the world’s tallest fountains, surpassing the Fountains of Bellagio at Las Vegas. 

 

Dubai Mall - the world's largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. The Dubai Mall has 10–15 distinct 'malls-within-a-mall', totaling 9 million ft² of shopping retail space, comprising of a total of 1200 stores, when fully operational.

Fun City – a total entertainment centre for children which is fully staffed by professional child-carers inside Reef Mall. Thanks Tita Joy for the treat! Mimay enjoyed playing with Lexie baby =)

Al Ghurair Centre – considered as shopper's paradise as most of the goods are reasonably priced. The center offers a wide range of shopping possibilities.

Beirut – home of the bestest Shawarma located in the street of Al Rigga. I so love the shawarma here.

CityCentre – one of the region's most visited destination for both residents and tourists. This is our fave mall since it is the nearest in our place. One stop shop, dining and entertainment!

Jumeirah – had a dip in a private pool located in Jumeirah. Thanks te Juliet! Mimay super liked the pool and this is where she finally met Andino!

Dubai Outlet Mall - is the first 'outlet' concept mall in the Middle East. Dubai Outlet Mall offer shopper’s big savings on premium and top fashion brands all year round. My personal loved place.

 That’s all for the first week! We had 3 days holiday that week that’s why we were able to maximize it =)

SHE’S SO ME!

Please excuse me for posting blogs lately which are mostly about Mimay. It’s really the mamee in me, I can’t help not to make kwento about her. I am just one proud mom =)

Last Saturday, we went to Dubai outlet mall with couples Len and Eric, hubby, Mimay and Naynay because we heard most of the stores are on sale. That day, it’s a good thing our kiriray daughter woke up at 10 am, para she’s fully charge. When we were taking a bath, I promised to get her new clothes if she will behave well. As I was saying my lines, she was seriously listening to me. When I told her we’ll go shopping, ewan ko kung namamalikmata ako but I really saw her smile as if she knows what shopping means. Oh di ba parang ako talaga si Mimay? Nagttwinkle twinkle ang eyes pag nadidinig yung shopping =)

When we arrive at the mall, our first stop is Giordano because they’re having a year end sale. We have a budget to follow as agreed with husband so I remained composed kahit deep inside eh gusto kong himatayin sa dami ng sale! I told naynay to do her shopping and just call me pag payment time na. I headed straight to Giordano kids and almost fainted when I saw the items at AED25!! It’s like 300 pesos per piece lang!! I immediately check out clothes for Mimay, wala ng poise kung wala! Afte sometime, I got a pants, shirt and jacket for ineng. I could have gotten more pa sana but there were no sizes available for Mimay, super sayang! When we were trying the pants to Mimay, she shouted “ayaw! sikip! sikip!” The sales lady was in awe when she saw who owns that tiny cute voice, because normally a baby at her age will just cry if she’s feeling uncomfortable pero si Mimay namin, may comment pa talaga during fitting. On the other hand naman, naynay is also busy trying on pants na size 31 because it’s in super sale! The price is only AED75 (Php 900) pero halleer kamusta naman yung waist line?! 31 is the largest size available.

Naynay: “Kasya to! Busog lang ako eh.”

Nani: “Pa check nga nyang luma mo na pants mi, ano ba waist line nyan?”

Naynay: “Tingnan mo mga 32 lang to.”

Nani: “Haleerr mami, 38 kaya! Wish mo lang magkasya syo yang 31 ng Giordano!”

Kaloka tong mami ko! Sakit sa brain! She was able to get 4 blouses naman so she’s happy na din kahit wala yung pants. Wasn’t able to take some photos here because I’m too aligaga checking out clothes for our dalaga.

We checked out different shops and went to Crocs for our last stop. Naynay seems to be very unlucky this day because no size is available for the design she likes, so we instead find something for our dalaga. Looking at below photos, you can see Mimay curiously checking out the sandals. Mukang ‘shopping-era in the making’ talaga tong anak ko, saya!! She immediately went to the winter collection of crocs, maybe because of it’s bright color and the furry fleece lining which made it look unique thus catching Mimay’s attention. But according to husband, Mimay’s feet will get very sweaty on this because this style is good only for cold countries so we made “uto” our baby and showed her this pink/brown clogs. And her reaction after we tried the clogs on her? “wow!!” in a very very cute tone. She’s very appreciative talaga! When she saw something beautiful, she expressed it by saying WOW! I’m so excited when she’s a little grown up na, she’ll be my shopping buddy! Yeah!

We capped the day off by having snack in our all time fave Subway while naynay opted to have rice so we got her Chinese Palace’ fried rice, chicken sweet ‘n sour and beef broccoli. It was truly a fun day! I love every minute being with our dear Jemimah.

OUR "H" BABY =)

H is for HYPER, HAPPY and HANEP!

Days before the scheduled flight of Mimay to Dubai, my siblings back in Pinas warned me to prepare myself with Mimay. They’re wishing me goodluck all the time. They even told me to make sure that we live near a precint or police station so that we can report Mimay any time. Even if it was a joke, this honestly made me curious.

Came the big day, we were finally reunited with our cutie baby. At first, she looks mabait naman. I told husband, “mukha namang harmless si ineng.” But looks is really indeed very deceiving. Haha don’t get me wrong! She’s not the criminal type, she’s just a baby remember? ;) She’s just too hyper active and very madaldal! At 1 year and 8 months, she can fluently repeat the words she heard! Super arte and pa cute, well hindi naman nakakapagtaka, she came from me eh. I am one proud mom for having Mimay, she’s biba in her age. Everyone in the house noticed that. Siguro daw I had a super healthy pregnancy and was well taken cared of by Poy kaya our baby is a happy baby. Yah I have to agree to that. I am really blessed to have a very supportive, loving and spoiler husband. Aside from God’s blessing, I have to say I owe Mimay’s brightness to husband.

When we came here in Dubai 7 months back, husband and I had to adjust our body clock for more than a week. Since time in the Philippines is 4 hours advance, 7pm pa lang here bangenge na kami sa antok. But with Mimay, 3 days pa lang adjusted na sya! She now sleeps at around 10 pm and woke up at 9am. At night, almost everyone in the house bring pasalubong for Mimay, she’s a spoiled baby. And everytime she gets her pasalubong she would cutely say “tingkyu!” haha visayan accent! And almost everyone din in the house, she knows the name na. She knows Tita Len, Carl, Bert, Win, Tita (Lyn),Sel, Bay (Dong), Coco, Mahal and ofcourse Jay. We have a feeling that Mimay is attracted to Jay hahaha! Pacute kasi sya everytime Jay is around. And if you will ask her, “Mimay sinong pogi?” She would coyly say, “Jay!” Ang charchar ng anak ko! Tataluhin pa si Tita Carl haha!

I have a kwento, last week after coming home from office I went out with Mimay to get her something from the store. I don’t usually buy her pasalubong but instead I let her pick what she wants from the store located in the ground floor of our building. On our way down, Mimay pulled my hand and said “Miii!! Stoyer sira naynay.” I think what she meant was, “Mamee, yung stroller ko sinira ni naynay.” I was stunned! Imagine, at her very young age, nagkkwento na talaga sya at nagsusumbong. Then when we were in the elevator going to the ground floor, Mimay said this: “Hiyo hiyo” Hehe nahihilo daw sya. How cute is that?

There was also this one time inside the cab, I asked her to behave. I told her the driver would get mad if she’ll make likot. My tone is a bit irate because I want her to stay on her sit. She immediately embraced her naynay and said “Yaw mami, gayet gayet.” Get it? Ayaw daw nya sa akin coz I’m galit. Nakakaloka sya db? So to make her feel I’m not mad, I told her there’s an airplane. When she looked up, the airplane wasn’t visible anymore. It was covered by a tall building, so I said “Sayang neng di mo nakita yung airplane.” And cutely she replied, “sayang eyplane sayang” with matching facial expression na as if she knows what sayang means. I don’t know if it’s normal but she’s just less than 2 years old but she can really communicate and understand things.

Then the other day, we were watching you tube in the computer and I showed him Jollibee dancing Nobody. And when we asked her to dance to the same tune, tingnan nyo naman sa moves:

She’s really the cutest creature ever! I am falling more and more and more inlove with her.

CELEBRATIONS IN DUBAI: MY BIBI’S BIRTHDAY AND MIMAY & NAYNAY’S WELCOME DINNER

Mimay’s coming in Dubai is very perfect because aside from the fact that good weather is already taking place, it’s Dadee Poy’s birthday as well! It was indeed a super happy double celebration last Friday for the Aguilars.

Celebrant: Vergel “Poy” Aguilar, my dearest bibi!

Birthday: November 27, 1978
Age: Sad to say but hubby’s age is not in the calendar anymore. Carry lang bi, nasa BINGO ka pa naman! ;)

In his wish list: DSLR Cam. It will be in his wish list until next year. Hehe =) Well, I told Poy he can surely have his DSLR but Mimay won’t be coming here. Sige mamili sya?! Mas bongga kaya gift ko sa kanya, Mimay in Dubai!

It was a long preparation since all the food served that night were personally made by 101. Would you believe even the three-tier cupcakes were made by 101’s girls? I was uberly touched by all our Dubai friends because of their support, help and generosity for this very special day.

Here are what we have for my dearest hubby, Mimay and Naynay:

PALABOK – pass muna sa pasta. I personally chose palabok since we still have spaghetti hang-over from Dong’s birthday the other week. (I haven’t blog this one yet! Dong promise I’ll do it soon, just been too busy these days because of Mimay). This was made by 101’s chef Jay! (Hay jay we owe you big time!)

GUILTY GINATAAN – This is naynay’s personal request so we can’t say no even if this menu would surely put our life in danger hehe. Malupet na cholesterol to! Meaty crab, sumptuous shrimp and juicy veggies boiled in coconut cream. Ang tsalap! I think hubby cooked this one. He’s becoming good in cooking na talaga! I love him more ;)

GARLIC FRIED CHICKEN with GARLIC DIP – To match the palabok, we opted to have a fried chicken soaked in chopped garlic, lemon juice and patis. The garlic taste is perfect since it was marinated for almost a day. Thanks
Ssel for the super sarap na garlic dip you made and for patiently frying the more than 5kls chicken! It was really so nice and sweet of you =)

CHICKEN MACARONI SALAD – my personal fave! This is made in sweat and blood by the birthday celebrant. Ang sarap sarap! My office mates even requested me to bring for our snack and asked Poy how it mas made. While my other friend has chicken allergy pero kiber lang. Oh db panalo si husband, may career sa kitchen!

PORK MENUDO – This menu is a gift from Jay and Carl! No doubt about the taste, sisiw lang to kay Jay. We were super touch for the thoughtfulness. Super thank you po, no words can express how thankful I am =)

 

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU – Also a gift from Lyn and Win. Hay we are really so blessed to have these guys, they are overly sweet! I was supposed to made this one kaya lang I was doubtful of myself, ayokong pumalpak kaya naging fried chicken na lang. And when I came home night before the party dinner, I saw Lyn marinating the chicken breasts and told me she’ll cook the cordon bleu for me. Love yah Lyn!

APPLE PUNCH – is equal to Tang apple flavor plus chopped apple bits. Yan ang contribution ni Nani, 5 mins lang tapos na! =)

CHOCO/VANILLA CAKE AND CUPCAKES – this is our masterpiece! Yes you read it right, this bonggang bonggang cake is personally made by 101 girls. Especially for Poy’s bday and Mimay and Naynay’s welcome party! For 2011, this will be our new hobby, baking! Sosyalness! And hopefully this will be the start of our business in the making. Aba walang masamang mangarap =) Look at our first ever masterpiece as a team. Bravo to Len, Lyn and Carl! It was so fun making all these cakes and cupcakes. We’re literally kinikilig by the fact that we were able to make this wonderful creation! Since the birthday celebrant is a self confessed “strawberry of all kinds” lover, we made sure to put strawberries as toppings. By the way, thanks Len for getting almost all the ingredients and design for the cupcakes. Thanks thanks soon to be Mrs. Espinosa!

dxb friends

bibi's with tin and darwin

naynay with friends

dxb officemates

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you very much to everyone who made this simple dinner possible. Most especially to our thoughtful friends/housemates for all your respective support. This is surely the bestest birthday of my hubby dear!

The next day, on the exact date of Poy’s birthday, with Naynay, Mimay and hubby, we again celebrated as we wander to Dubai Zoo, Dubai Mall, Dubai Aquarium, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Dancing Fountain. Were obviously in Dubai no? =)

It was a fun filled day because atlast we were able to TRULY enjoy Dubai. Before kasi, I personally don’t want to go to places here in Dubai. I feel guilty everytime husband and I are going to new places. Syempre as a mom, I want to experience everything with Mimay. So now that’s she’s here, I am guilt free! Yey!

Since it’s Mimay’s 2^nd day pa lang in Dubai, she’s still not adjusted with the time difference. So at around 8pm here, that’s 12am in Pinas, she fell asleep in his dadee’s arms. Di na kinaya ng powers haha!

Poy was carrying Mimay for an hour na so we badly needed to get her a stroller. Minutes after we put her on the stroller, she was awakened and viola active na naman!

It was surely a happy happy happy happy birthday for husband. Happy birthday bibi! I love you so so much!