Their Daddy, My Dydy...

How can I let the day pass by without writing a post about  someone who is really hands on when it comes to his kids. Someone who sees to it that he doesn't only give them what they need materially but makes sure that his boys be equipped with values which they can also pass on to their own children someday. Someone who also stands as a father figure for me because I also learned a lot of things from him.

                                                    Today is your day, Daddy! We love you so much!

Sleeping positions...

When I was still single, I used to sleep in a fetal position.  Many say that how you position yourself to sleep says some things about you, and I believe that to be true.  But how about when you're already married?   Does your sleeping position with your spouse also tells some thing about the kind of relationship you have with each other?

I stumbled upon this photo on facebook and thought I might share it here...my husband and I usually sleep in  The Spoon, The Pursuit, and the Sweetheart's Cradle.  Ooops, TMI, lol...

Bonding...

One of the things I look forward doing in the coming months is having the one-on-one dates I usually do with my boys.  When  I go grocery shopping I bring one kid with me for us to bond.  We talk and laugh over waffles and iced tea and allow him to pick any food he wants then bring it home to his brothers, too.

In as much as I  want to do that bonding routine here in Saudi Arabia, I can't.  Women here, as many know, aren't allowed to drive and I'm not that confident enough to ride a cab with a kid in tow alone.  Or should I say, I don't feel safe doing that.

the night before one of our flights to Riyadh, I forgot to print out our itinerary. unfortunately, our printer ran out of ink so Pao and I had to drive to the nearest computer shop. 

went grocery shopping with Matti. I overslept that's why my eyes look swollen so I wore my doll-eyes contact lenses, hehe...

off to the mall with Sammy...

one last month in the kingdom 1...

     In a few days we wouldn't have a car anymore because my husband needs to sell his car so that his company can start processing his exit papers.  One of the requirements if you want to get out of the kingdom for good is to not have any property and liability named after you.   Enjoying the last few days of having a car, we have been treating the kids out since Wednesday.  Since the swipe cards that we use in arcades still have balances in them, we spent the weekend in malls. 

We spend most afternoons this way.  They use the pail as an improvised beyblade arena.  We didn't buy the ones sold in the malls because we think the quality is not worth the price.

Swipe cards for arcades and indoor rides from Riyadh Gallery and Sahara Mall.

This is wonderland for our boys...

Unlimited play for SR15 per head...not bad.

I was busy taking photos of the boys...

Their dad, on the other hand, is busy playing angry birds, lol...

I pity those colored chicks...

racing...

bump cars...

controlled toy cars...

how to tie a shoe lace tutorial...

      Before heading home, I wanted to stop by H&M.  Since it was still prayer time, we waited for the store to open.  All of a sudden, Paolo pulled my hand and ] directed me to one of the stores.  He pointed at the poster and said, " Mommy, look at Minnie Mouse, she has a pet cat.  Pero she's a mouse and mas malaki pa siya sa cat." All I could answer was, "Baket nga no?" and laughed, hehehe...

The Big Move...

We're moving...moving back home..to our real home,  and we couldn't get any more excited.  I'm looking forward to a lot of great things to do and see for good.  Our flat now is bordering chaos and most of our clothes and shoes and other stuff are boxed up.  I want to post a lot in this blog but my mind is already wandering off somewhere, hehe.

Camera ready...

What do these pics have in common?

Yep! My youngest son's such a camwhore just like his mommy! LOL...

Wadi Hanifah

  

     Last Friday, we, together with a group of friends, trooped down to Wadi Hanifah, a man-made water park here in Riyadh.  It was a much needed break and change of scenery especially for my husband after all the work-related stress he has experienced two weeks ago.  We stayed there for half a day (morning til lunch time) and brought food for our picnic.  The weather was perfect, although it was still a bit chilly.

preparing for breakfast...

the kids enjoyed kite flying and tireless running...

Wadi Hanifah means Running Water...

My boys are growing up...too fast that it scares me, hehe...

before lunch, we saw a truck carrying those red chairs and men set them up at the right end of the park...probably there's going to be an event later in the day...

one of the reasons why they're excited to go here is that they heard there's  a man-made water falls... we all cracked up when we saw this, no waterfalls..just this, lol...

     Though tiring, it was really refreshing to somehow enjoy the beauty of nature that Riyadh has to offer.  =)

Living the Life means?

    
      I have a mini notebook where I put all the things that i do not want to forget like my musings, things I'm going to buy, even my dreams and frustrations at times.  It's not a diary (though I grew up having my diaries and journals) but more of a scratch book.  I was about to write the things that we're supposed to do in the Philippines when we go on vacation when I noticed a page where I wrote "Living the Life means...".  It's blank.  I do remember writing it down last year, around April or May.  Back then I don't know what to write down because whenever I hear the phrase "living the life", for me it means living grand.  And we are by far, not living that way.  So I decided to fill the page with what for me "now" does living the life mean and here are what I jotted down.

"Living the Life" means...

1.  Having our dream house.
     We already have a house and lot of our own but we acquired it years before my husband worked here in Riyadh and the house was pre-built.  I was happy with it at first but now that our boys have grown bigger, the space is no longer enough for us. There are 3 bedrooms and one of them is being occupied by our maid.  The biggest room is the master bedroom and the other room used to be the boys' room but since they are 3 it has become smaller for them and now it's sort of become a storage na lang.  So now we're planning on either tearing the whole house down and build a new one or moving to another subdivision.

2.  Traveling (on a budget since we're 5) to different countries once every 2 years.

3.  Splurge on something once a year.

4.  Sending the kids to a good college/university without feeling the burden of high tuition fees.

5.  Buying a car or two in cash and changing/upgrading it every 4 or 5 years.

6.  Having one lifelong business that we can pass on to our children and having 2 small businesses.

7.  Savings (1 passive and 1 for emergencies).

     Looking at my list, they're pretty basic, right? But those are just what I want to be able to actually say I'm living the life.  But of course, we need to settle in the Philippines first which we plan to do in two years..two more years and we're outta here, hopefully! =)

weekend...

     I love weekends because my husband is home and I get to see all my boys together.

     I haven't been feeling good the past couple of days but for these four special persons in my life i have to be well, it's just a matter of heart over matter, hehe.

bonding essentials:
      muscle shirt - check!
      pajamas - check!
      psp - check!
      lots of teasing and laughter - check!

shuriken...

I was supposed to change our beddings and fix our room because my head's starting to throb like crazy - I want our bedroom, especially our bed, to be completely fixed and neat.  But the kids won't leave our room and kept on bugging me.  At first I thought they just wanted to hang around (what is it with kids and big beds? hehe), then they started getting construction papers and scissors..they wanted me to cut 8 squares with the same size for each of them.  Not for a project or anything, but something they saw  in youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzUXJSvB_g) and they wanted to make their own. And so, with whatever's left of me, I gave in and helped them.  It was worth it though 'cause I really had fun. 

Dydy couldn't concentrate on what he was doing so he stood up from his table and got his camera...

    

Me: dydy, join the fun! He just smiled and took another photo. Paolo: tumawa lang si daddy then back to base again! (base being his working table, lol)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tadah! the shurikens or ninja stars (from the cartoon/psp game Naruto pala 'to)

I really enjoyed making them and was amazed at our finished product.  The blade opens and closes, hehehe...

start of istiraha fever...

The months of October, November and December are the busiest months for us here in Riyadh.  Celebrations are left and right.  Last Thursday we attended the birthday party of one of our upper titos in CFC.  It was held in a istiraha.  The party had loads of games for kids and adults alike.  As usual, there were some 'semi-naughty' games for married couples.  I'll let the photos do the talking...

the boat is sinking...

sack race..that's matti in front.  and look at my eldest, paolo, flipping at the background, hayyy..

i told you!  there's a roll of toilet paper  between my legs and hubby needs to shoot the toilet brush within the hole.  afterwards we need to walk in that position towards the finish line, lol..

hehehe...

the very generous and fun-loving birthday celebrant on the right =)

mr. and mrs.
(my outfit details: H&M dress worn as top, mango jeans, unbranded black pumps)

we were about to leave the place that's why i'm already wearing my abaya.  before this pic was taken, sammy, my youngest, was swinging while i look on..then out of the blue he told me "mommy, do you know who my crush is?" then I said, "wow, you have a crush na? who? bulong mo kay mommy." then he stopped swinging and whispered to me the girl's name.  all i could say after was "galing naman, ang pretty ng crush mo." lol..

 I was browsing the pics hubby took and I found this...

that is sammy and the girl in front of him is his crush. Hule! hehe...

 I'm feeling kind of gloomy today... i feel like i wanna go home to the Philippines =(

Life Lately...

Hello universe! I was back from the grave...seriously, i felt like a part of me died, thus, the sudden lack of interest to blog..although I lurk around the web almost everyday.  It seems as if I have been in a cross road where I couldn't decide where to turn my life to.  I have learned the ropes of being a stay-at-home mom through the years (four years to be exact).  But being a SAHM in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a different story - that's why every now and then i get this boredom bug which lasts for 2 months most of the time, hehe..

Anyway,  here's a picture heavy post of what we have been up to lately, err, for the past 3 months, lol..

Camel riding in Othaim Mall.  My youngest and middle child told us they enjoyed the ride..but judging from the way they held on tightly, i doubt! lol..  the young arab girl in front must have felt squashed...

Climbing up the Sky Bridge on top of Kingdom Tower... For 25 saudi riyals for adults and 15 saudi riyals for kids, you can have a breath-taking view of the whole city of Riyadh.  We only lasted about 15 minutes and got bored. 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Centre) This is Kingdom Tower where the pic above was taken..we were at the top-most part of the mall - the seemingly black line after the inverted triangle hole thingy....

my brother-in-law (left), who is the only family we have here in the kingdom left for the Philippines for good.  this pic was taken at King Khalid International airport.

one of my diversions when I really got nothing to do - hand-sewing.  I bought some cheap fabrics from IKEA and turned them into our pillows.. I was able to make 7, hehe..

picnic at the park.  Hubby took pictures of the greenery, the kids enjoyed playing in the playground, while I entertained myself with songs from hubby's samsung galaxy. When we got home, i was the one dead-tired that I fell asleep as soon as I took off my abaya (the black robe women put on when going out).

this photo didn't do much justice to the park..It was a really nice place.  that was hubby at the left and the three rascals who were already ahead of us were our kids..

trick or treat! They kept on asking me why they can't go trick or treating no matter how many times i tell them that Saudi Arabia does not observe that tradition.  good thing hubby's office mate gave him 3 chocolate bars for the kids.. issue settled! lol..

Come to think of it, life has been good...

I hope I can keep blogging regularly from now on (fingers crossed!) =)