Suffocation

OH MY LORD!

The past week I realized how much we depend on internet these days. My net went down after my previous post and the feeling of being handicapped was overwhelming. 

I was unable to stay in touch with my family, nor could I study! I was furious beyond belief of how dependent I was to technology.

This week has been a downward spiral throughout. It seemed like everything bad was happening to me. 

First I had requested a small job at a local magazine. Maybe I can take a small step towards actually doing something with my life. Alas, I was left with no reply whatsoever. 😥

Secondly, my dear friend lost her mother who lost the battle with cancer. The pain of seeing her lose someone so close was heart breaking. Prayers for her will be much appreciated.

Apart from that I have been very good with my studies, and especially with entertaining Chip and myself. I have some really fun posts planned for the coming days. 

Lets get this party started! 

Xxxx

Back in action!

Hello my long missed friends.

I am so happy to be back and I am so sorry it took me so long to be back to normal.

Well my going MIA was rather intentional. So much was going all so much at once I had to prioritize.

First I was swamped with exams and assignments. With that I had to ensure Chip wasn’t being ignored (but I did ignore you guys).

Second a family member had undergone surgery. So a lot of attention was needed there.

Lastly, I was in and out of town. A LOT.

During my “vacation” I had a lot to think about the blog. Initially I had started this to come here and share my experiences as a mother and share what might be common feelings new moms go through.

Somewhere along the way, responding to suggestions suddenly the blog started feeling like a chore. Like I needed to write about something “valuable”. Not just babble. But I like to babble. Especially about my life. My obsessions and what not.

I do like how some of the days are dedicated to specific topics. But I feel I will return to some of my babbling.

Welcome back to a mother babbling about her life with a toddler.

Xxx

Finally Friday

Hello lovelies,

These past months I have been obsessing with fashion blogs. Seems like there are SO many fashion blogs it is INSANE.

Plus, they make me hate my wardrobe 😛

Well, I wanted this post to be about kids fashion and put up a few of Chips “best dressed” moments, however, I never got to transferring the pictures onto my laptop.

So, let’s get back to mommies fashion.

I love nail colors. I wish I could have them on all the time, but with me the color just chips off and they start looking all messy.If yours don’t I think it’s one of the best ways to always look dressy. It wont take long to put it on. You can do it when the kids are asleep, or if you can squeeze in a visit to the salon and get them painted then that is even better,( and I envy you).

On my trip back home I came across this funky color which I thought would be wonderful in helping me add “pop” to any outfit AND it smelled like mint gelatoooooo!!!

Revlons Mint Gelato

Review: I loved the color but the smell got overwhelming after a while and I couldn’t handle the scent without getting cramps. Even so I will use it again however only to paint my toes.

My second new find is turning boyfriend shirts into classy cover ups. No, not the lazy mom type, but add a nice touch to look good.

Shirt: The T-shirt Swag
Boyfriend shirt: Outfitters (Men section)
Pants: Mantra

I had mentioned in a previous post that plain tees or tanks can be dressed up in versatile ways, therefore for this season a mom must have according to me are statement necklaces.

I love my peter pan collar necklace, gifted by my mum. You can find them in a variety of designs from any store such as H&M, Forever 21, or Aldo.

I simply wore this on a black tank, wore a shrug, and white wide leg pants.

If searching locally check out Mantra and Sania Maskatiya at Dolmen Mall Clifton.

Whats your favorite must have for the season?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasteless Thursday

Even before this week ends I am going to call it a sad week. Especially when Thursdays, (my special day out) don’t include good food. Like today.

Back home we were never out of places to dine out to, be it weekdays or weekends. We could indulge at Paul’s for a rich breakfast, Yildizlar for good Lebanese or Il Castilo for one hell of a calzone!

But here we are always in a rut. Yes, there are some amazing places here, but the sad part is lack of consistency in maintaining the quality of food or tastes.

Nonetheless, let’s talk about some of my all time favorite places to go;

1. Ginsoy ; extreme Chinese. This is one place that knows how to cook delicious Chinese cuisine. Have it delivered or dine in, it has never let me down!

2. Fatburger: Finally a good place that serves delicious beef burgers, BUT I still have gone in on some days saddened to find a cold burger served or a crumbly burger bun. Why do i keep returning? Cos every time I send in my complaint, they reply in the humblest manner and fix their faults. Apart from that they have the THE BEST vanilla milkshake EVER!!!

3. Pane and Amore: It’s a cute around the shop bakery that serves the most mouth watering cupcakes ALWAYS! A must visit.

So those are my favorite places and I do visit them almost every week or two. (See the limited choices?)

What I crave right now is a good pizza place where I can dine in and enjoy a cheesy oozing slice of pizza and chilled Coca-Cola ( yes, I am a Coca-Cola girl!)

What’s your favorite place?

 

 

Worst Thoughts Revelaed!

For today I was initially going to write about all the wonderful apps I recently found that are related to Chips on going activities at school.

However, as my usual time pass I was going through some blogs, searching for activities I can do , I came across a post that was outright scary. Why? Because it felt like someone had entered my thoughts and published it for everyone to read.

You might have noticed how in my previous posts I jokingly mention about mama Hulk coming out. Well in reality it does come out.

it just felt wrong to mention it here. Yes I am human but to actually say it out loud and then have everyone read it freaked me out. But Alissa (the blogger), she wrote the post so well, and made me feel so “normal” I actually got goosebumps.

My life is one full of juggling family, university, socializing and of course Chip. We all have our share of crap and each person is trying to live their lives as peacefully as possible. But sometimes you are just tired, exhausted and on the verge of giving up. Since we can’t give up, I in person yell. Sometimes alone in the shower, sometimes at the computer for hanging on me or sometimes; gulp, at Chip.

To see if I am not the only one out there I posted the link on my Facebook page. To my surprise it felt like everyone was feeling the same way, just afraid to say it. And not just mothers, someone relaized she never noticed she was bullying her nieces and nephews.

You MUST check out the post. I am hooked to her blog, even though I feel shes writing my worst nightmares and incidents publicly or maybe she has cameras in my house and writes each post about me. :S

http://creativewithkids.com/the-day-i-realized-i-was-bullying-my-kids/

She writes things we need to hear and say but don’t.

 

 

Sunday Delayed.

Sigh.

What a way to start the week. Have been so occupied with my university things and organizing details I completely forgot I haven’t posted Sundays post! Here it is…

Since autumn is right around the corner (not our corner, we only have summer), I decided to do an activity related to the seasons. For autumn I concentrated on colors such as red, yellow and orange and of course trees.

I wanted to use home made paints, especially the edible versions I saw on Pinterest. Couldn’t find any edible ones that included materials I already had at home so tried the easiest one I found.

In my haste to start the activity I followed a recipe that was actually for doodle painting, where you could put the paint in a squeeze bottle and have the toddlers paint, leaving a shiny, puffy picture behind. I still went on using it as a finger paint, even though both of us didn’t enjoy the rough texture so much. (Maybe I needed to mix it a bit more).

The recipe was simple, we only needed water, salt, flour and of course food coloring. You can check out the whole details here:

http://www.delawarecountymoms.com/2011/07/getting-crafty-with-nicole-homemade.html

I did love how the colors turned out, the puffy look and of course the shine! Chip was being all snotty and making faces at the texture hence only painted for a while. So I simply improved his picture by adding some of my own touches. 😉

I will make this again for sure, however will use it in squeeze bottles. Till then I am just going to get up my bum, go to the store and buy good old fashion paint, so that I don’t have to hear Chip saying, “eeewwww” every time he dipped his fingers in paint.

Not to give up on the activity being a waste, I changed the topic into rough and smooth. I found old paints laying somewhere so I started asking him to tell me the colors of each one I point to and make him touch it and ask if it was rough or smooth.

At the end I just handed him a paint brush and let him create a mess as much as he wanted.

 

 

Sorting Saturday

I just don’t get it. On weekdays I am able to run a million errands, but when the weekend comes, I can’t even get a single errand done as planned!! Is it just me?

So when the weekend comes and I am all determined that I will reinforce Chips school activities at home, something or the other comes in the way. So I decided to do the activities on weekdays but post them on weekends, since that is just how my brain is working at the moment.

Over the week, we did some simple activities that were easy and didn’t require a lot for me to set up.

First activity we did was tong using. This activity helps with motor skills. I filled cotton balls in one bowl and asked him to pick one cotton at a time using a tong and shift into the other. He loved this activity and wasn’t fed up at all!

Ask the child to count the cotton balls too in order to help him remember numbers.

The next day we did color sorting. I got these colorful lollipop sticks from the dollar store (can find at any art store too) and asked Chip to sort the sticks according to the colors. To improve motor skills I asked him to try and arrange them in a straight line. I think next time I will try making a pattern and ask him to continue the pattern himself.

He tried his best to align them in a straight order

Sometimes I wonder how amazing it is how fast kids learn things. Makes you realize that each and every action we do, the way we speak, the way we react to a situation in its own way is teaching our kids how they will be in the future.

Parenthood. Tricky!

Friday, Saturday oh boy Sunday!

I know, I know! I missed my much awaited Fashion Friday!

Fridays all going to be about fashion for kiddos, mommies with minimal time to get and ready yet look stunning! 😉

So since I missed Friday, lets make it up for it today.

On my trip to Jakarta, I wanted to enjoy as much as possible while looking smart. With a toddler I found the best accessory and my new “must have” in my wardrobe is a blazer! You are in a rush to go out, wear a tank, jeans put on a smart blazer a scarf around the neck if its a bit breezy, you will look ready as ever in no time!

Top: Gift from my sister
Blazer: H&M
Scarf: Aldo
Jeans: S’fera

Another new favorite are the graphic Tees! No it’s not only for Teens. So many nice ones have turned up in stores, just choose wisely. Just don’t wear anything with something repulsive written, (how you dress is an example for your children). Put on a shrug or cardigan and you look cute 😉

These shirts are awesome. Fabric is perfect for warm days, they don’t stick to your body and you can wash em or even iron on them!!!

Louboutin love

I ordered these shirts online. Check out their page on;

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-T-shirt-Swag/494095820655367

My must have anytime even on the worst dressed days are a good pair of shoes! I can never have enough shoes. My new rule of thumb is buy less, buy good.

Saw these in Bali ❤

One investment every girl should make, BAG! Buy a nice bag, (practical cos your kid will ALWAYS need something or the other).  Bags can make you look chic, edgy, smart all in one depending on your choice. You can carry a classic look with leather, or the neon/color block ones to look edgy.

Just be comfortable with whatever you carry.

Overall, in my opinion you can wear a perfect outfit but if you are wearing bad shoes I am sorry we can’t be friends.

Next post is Saturday 😉

Family Night Out

Oh food lovers, I dedicate tempting Thursdays to you.

Mr and I love trying new restaurants/cafes as soon as they open. In fact even when planning our trips we search which restaurants are closest to our hotel and plan accordingly.

I am all for different cuisines and tempted by daring dishes, whereas Mr plays it a bit safe, sticking only to cuisines he knows. And if its a dessert place then you will find us standing outside with a spoon and a sweet tooth ready! And we take Chip along, ALWAYS.

One reason Chip tags along is because this is how he’ll learn that family time is important. Its our special day. We might take him on swings, rides, his favorite burger place, but wherever we go he shall join. Moreover, I feel this is one way he can learn manners in public, at the same time value our company. I still remember looking forward to nights out with my family, in fact I still crave them.

Well for a tempting treat today I baked my all time favorite cookies!

Double chocolate chunk cookies or as it said online, brownie cookies. I add dark chocolate chunks to make them more gooey and fudgy! Slurp!

What you will need.

 

Decadent cookies with ice cold coffee. Of course a cold glass of milk for Chip 🙂

They are perfect every time, fast to make and oh so chocolaty!! You must must must MUST make these!

You can get the recipe from here.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/healthified-brownie-cookies/656ff19c-8e1e-463d-a956-51b79416c6c6

Feel free to make your own variations. Do let me know how they turn out.

P.S. Hang in there, weekends just around the corner 😀

 

Me, Myself and I

Aloha!

As my return to blogging and a more organized mind set I decided to organize my posts to certain days for certain topics. For example, Wednesdays will now be Wisdom Wednesdays. On this day I will share a quote, a book or an app I feel I found helpful for Chip or myself. ( This blog can’t be all about him now can it 😉 )

Well for this month Chips class theme is “MYSELF”. I am adoring this theme since Chip is being taught how to appreciate himself as a human, be able to talk about his body parts, eyes, nose, lips, etc, but most importantly be able to talk about what he likes best about himself.

I wish I had something like that growing up. At this stage it might seem like he’s simply learning his body parts, but I feel he is learning something deeper. They are teaching him to be confident and proud for being the way he is.

At least he won’t be all over the place like me  someone I know.

*Oh, I wanna be a journalist. No a photographer. WAIT. PHOTOJOURNALISM. But I love baking. I love cookies, I wanna be a baker. No I want to OWN a bakery! GIRL GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF*

So ya when Chip asked mom what do you like about yourself, I had no reply. Ever felt that way?

Anyhoo… so we found this really adorable book which Chip loves reading every night and I love it too cos its quirky and cute and rhymes so well. PLUS at the end it has a mirror where you can stare at yourself and see what you like most about yourself! Chip likes his nose 😛

Also, one of the lessons in the book was that no one person is same. Each individual is special in their own way, and this is one important lesson I believe every child should learn. Be confident about yourself, don’t judge others, and respect and love everyone just the way they are. 😉

Low lighting = BAD picture. “What I like about ME!”

mirror mirror in the book. let me have a quick little look!

So what is it you like most about yourself?