Halloween 2010

Another Halloween has come and gone. The kids had a good time trick-or-treating, even little grumpy Baby H. How could they not have had a good time? Each came home lugging a bag full of candies.We made it to 20 homes and by the end of the 2 hours, I was ready to puke at the sight of candies. Judging by the amount of candies they had gotten, I could expect them to be on a sugar high for the next month of so. Uh oh!

This is our third Halloween since arriving in Abu Dhabi. Back in Malaysia, Halloween is largely ignored even by non-muslims as it isn't an asian practice or tradition. The only places that we could enjoy dressing up for Halloween would be in American restaurants and various discotheques. Those days were a lot of fun but it still wasn't the real Halloween experience.


I remember experiencing Halloween when I was little. At that time we were living in the States. I had really wanted to become Wonder Woman. Every little girl back then wanted to become Wonder Woman. I had begged my mom for weeks for the costume but on the day, much to my disappointment, she had handed me a wicked witch costumer instead. My mom reasoned that the Wonder Woman outfit was just too expensive and if I didn't want to wear the wicked witch outfit, I could just stay at home with her.

What child wants to miss trick-or-treating? With heavy heart, I put on the outfit. My best friend and neighbour at that time arrived with her dad to pick my brother and me up to take us out for trick-or-treat. Imagine my dismay when I saw her in a Wonder Woman costume. When I stepped out of the house, almost all the girls were Wonder Woman! I had really wanted to throw a tantrum but knowing that my mom would keep me at home if I did so, I swallowed it all in.

But everything was soon forgotten when we did our rounds. Each house had something special awaiting us. Hairy gorillas jumping out of the door, evil witches passing out candied apple and an old woman holding a broom who insisted we bobbed for apples. It was good fun. At the end, it didn't matter that I wasn't Wonder Woman. All that mattered was that I ended having a 'Wonder'ful time. :))

As a Muslim, I don't celebrate Halloween. But I don't see it as wrong for letting my children enjoy cross cultural experiences. Living in the States when I was little, my parents had provided me the opportunity to experience the diverse culture and traditions there all the while guiding and monitoring me so I do not forget my roots, religion, traditions and beliefs. 30 years later, I think I turned out okay. I believe the best decisions are usually made with experience and hope that I could do the same for my kids as how my parents had done for me.

Dearest S didn't get to cover the 4 last houses when I told her that she was done and had to get ready for her Quran class. She didn't complain and without fuss, quickly changed into her arbaya, don her hijab and ran so fast as she did not want to be late for her lesson. Her only regret about quitting Halloween earlier than the rest was that she'll have less candies than her siblings. I think she'll turn out alright, especially since I compensated by filling up her goody bag with even more candy of my own. :)

Losing Baby

As I was tidying up yesterday, I came across several pictures of Dearest S at her school concert when she was just 3. She was still a baby in those photographs. I looked up and closely watched Dearest S as she is now, 4 years after those pictures were taken. She has definitely outgrown her baby looks and now holds the appearance of any normal school-age child during middle childhood. Her face is thinner, her body slimmer and her arms, torso and legs are longer. Even how she moves and talk is different.

While she was jumping about playing tennis on her Wii, I started thinking that in another 4 to 5 years, that childish appearance and manner will disappear and before I know it, I'll have a teenager in my hands. A teenager is no longer a child. She'll be a very young adult. Adult?? My baby an adult??? But it was only yesterday that I was still reading her bedtime stories, tucking her to sleep, changing her diapers, encouraging her to take that first step, mashing up her food. Where did that all go? It's like being in a time warp from those days to now. I was grief stricken. I'm losing my baby!

I called Dearest S away from the Wii and asked her to sit next to me. I embraced my child in my arms and as I was stroking her hair, I started talking to her.

Abu Dhabi Mommy: "Dearest S, one day, you are going to want a boyfriend and you'll feel like he is the center of your world. Never hide him from me and always, always know that you can talk to me about him or anything else in your life."

Dearest S pushed my hands away, jumped up from the sofa and exclaimed;

Dearest S: "Mommy!!! Why are you telling me all this? Can't you wait till I'm older to have this talk? You're making me vomit!!"

And just like that, I had my baby back. :)

Star of the Week

In the childrens' school , the most performing child from every class will be awarded 'Star of the week' each week as recognition for their hardwork. This child will receive a certificate and be able to bring home and keep the class mascot, a soft cuddly toy, for the entire week.

Cheeky M has been really excited about his class mascot, William the Bear. He is really looking forward to bringing William the Bear home. However, ever since the start of school in September, Cheeky M has yet to receive the award.

Last week, as Cheeky M got off the bus right after his classmate J whom had a huge cuddly teddy bear in his arms, he announced "Mommy look. J got Star of the Week. See that? That's William the Bear."

I knew how much he wanted to bring home William the Bear. As we were walking home, I thought that I should build up his confidence lost from the disappointment of not being Star of the Week.

"Cheeky M, are you sad that you didn't get Star of the Week" I asked.

"Yeah..." he answered.

"Why do you think you didn't get it?" I asked. "Because J got it." he answered shortly.

Oh no. I thought to myself. My darling son must be feeling so dejected that he thinks he doesn't deserve the Star of the Week.

"Yes, J got it. Isn't he lucky? He must have worked really hard to get it." I said. I then asked again, "Why do you you think you didn't get it?"

He simply answered, "Because J got it."

I was exasperated. I'm thinking, okay...how do I do this? How do I take away the disappointment my 4yo old boy is feeling and return his self confidence again.

"We both know J got it Cheeky M. But you know, you could have easily gotten it too. You deserve it too. Do you think you didn't get it because you didn't work hard enough or because you are not smart enough? You are smart and I know you work hard in school. All your friends and your teachers loves you. You're going to be the Star of the Week one of these days. Don't you worry. You'll just have to be patient. But even if you don't get it, just know that you are my Star of the Day, everyday."

Cheeky M shrugged and said,"I didn't get Star of the Week because the teacher only had one certificate and one teddy. If she has 2, then maybe I will get it." With that he took off giggling and shouted, "Mommy lets race!"

This mommy should really stop over thinking things. Life is so simple from a 4 year old's point of view. In life, sometimes you win and sometimes you don't and then you just move on. I'll start my lesson by letting Cheeky M win the race.

Homewrecker in da House!

Home wrecker. That's what I call Baby H these days. She moves like a hurricane throughout the house. She's made it her mission in life to create visual chaos in our home. I'm fighting a losing battle here in my pursuit to keep the house spic-and-span.

I should really feel comforted that this habit of hers only applies to our home. When I take her to other people's home, she tends to keep her hands to herself and refrains from touching things that she knows doesn't belong to her.

But its really frustrating to see my home turned upside down. She has claimed rights to everything in our household from toys to deco to electric appliances. One time, I had wanted to clean up some crumbs off the floor. I took out the broom and the dustpan and she went completely berserk! She screamed "My! My! My" while trying to wrestle the broom away from me.

Another time, while I was cooking, I had to blend some ingredients. I opened my cupboard containing my kitchen appliances and to my surprise, the space was empty! She had taken out every single appliance put it in a plastic bag and shove it underneath Cheeky M's bed.

Photographs are still missing from several photo frames and ADD's carton of cigarettes have yet to be found.

She hangs every single hangable things on her little toy stroller, from ladles to my LV handbag. I cringe to see her drag my precious handbag across the carpet of the living room but I rather put up with that then face the wrath of her temper.

I hope it's a phase and one that she'll outgrow soon.

My Little Steffi Graf...in the making.

This proud momma had just witnessed her darling daughter's first tennis lesson and my Dearest S definitely did me proud. I swear she's a natural pro! Well, although today's lesson only consisted of learning to hold and swing the racquet properly, I thought she did it very well indeed. However, I'm actually the last person to judge as I haven't the slightest clue about tennis nor have I ever seen a game. The name Steffi Graf came to me as a result of my Googling 'Famous woman tennis player' :P Anyway, I'm still convinced that my daughter is destined to become a famous tennis player. I'm glad that I've paved the way for her to get into this sport. Ecstatic watching her play, I've even booked lessons for Cheeky M with the coach. The coach thought he's a little young but I don't care, I was quite insistent and the coach has agreed to give him tennis lessons as well. So who knows? I may have a little Andre Agassi in the making in my hands. Aaah...these are the sort of moments that makes motherhood such a joy...:)

p/s The only reason I know Andre Agassi is because he was married to Brooke Shield. I may not know tennis, but I definitely know my celebrities! ;)

Cat in the family.

My kids drives me bonkers and if I wasn't madly in love with each one of them, I would have put them up for auction. IMO, they look pretty cute, could make me some serious $$$. lol!

Dearest S has been pestering me for a pet since ages ago. When you are a mom of 3, the last thing you need is to care for another living creature. She gave me the usual 'I promise I'll take care of it and feed it and clean it yadda yadda yadda...' Yeah right. There is no fooling me. I know in the end it'll be me taking care of the darn creature.

Anyway, one day Dearest S announced, "Guess what Mommy? I've adopted a cat." What does she mean by she adopted a cat? " It's been living on the balcony of my room and I have been giving it water,"she says. "Can I feed it? It's really hungry." I didn't want to encourage either her or the cat and told her to shoo it away. "But we can't shoo it. I've adopted it. It didn't cost a cent!" Like that makes any difference.

Then she pulled my hand to show me the cat and I thought "okay...I'll humor my child and when she is at school tomorrow, I'll chase it away." Then proudly, she pointed her cat to me with a "Ta daa". It was an ugly little thing. Seriously. It was scrawny and longish. It had this funny horsey face. It looked quite pitiful. Then dearest S exclaimed, "He's beautiful isn't he Mommy?" And just like that, my heart jumped to my throat. Dearest S was absolutely infatuated with this mongrel of an animal. I then went to the kitchen and offered the little beast my can of tuna in sunflower oil. I have been feeding it ever since. Sigh.

I'm such a sucker for my dearest S. Hope I've toughen up 10 years down the road when she brings home a human, male mongrel home. :)

UAE Driving License - Part 2

Yay! I'm finally registered. After I got my documents in order, went back to the RTD and did the necessary go rounds and I'm in their files. Next step is to attend the compulsory 8 hours classes and I'm set for the theory exams.

Elated having registered, I went to the RTD's driving school to book for classes. Again, I had to register and dealt with the most unpleasant woman I have ever encountered. I was standing in front of her like an idiot and she ignored me completely as she was busy texting on her BlackBerry. The security woman gestured for me to hand her my forms. When I handed her my form, she glanced at me, paused, and continued texting. After at least 10 seconds, she took the forms from my hand with the most insincere smile plastered on her face. This woman just mumbled some questions and I had a hard time trying to comprehend what she had to say.

She said something about driving school, and I told her that I am just registering. Then she asked "graduate?" Which I assume was related to the driving school and I said it is my first time here. She then continued, "Secondary?" and embarassed I laughed and I said, "Oh you meant education? Yes I'm a graduate." She rolled her eyes and I swear under her breath muttered "Stupid."

That really made my blood boil over and under another circumstance I would given her a piece of my mind. But alas, I was under her mercy as she is connected to the RTD and I desperately needed my driving license. So I had no choice but to endure.

After I registered, she asked for my training license. Told her I had none. She repeated her question and said "White card. Where is it?" I didn't have a clue to what she was saying and told her I wasn't given any white card. She handed me my forms and said "Go back and get your card." She didn't even bothered explaining and dismissed me. The nerve of this woman. The kindly security lady approached me and explained that when I open file, I should have been given a white card. So I had to go back to where I opened file to ask for my white card.

When I went back, the women there told me that the machine was broken and to come back next week for my card. Grr.

Went back to the unpleasant woman and told her that the machine was broken and with the biggest of sighs, she reluctantly took back my forms. Rudely asked if I had paid (duh...besides having only 4 people in line, she gave me the last of her change, she should have remembered me) and I told her that I had. Then she told me to wait until my number was called. The b*tch. Pardon my french.

My number was called after a 10 minute wait and I went to another counter. The woman was wearing a niqab but even behind her niqab I could see her giving me the most genuine of smiles. Her eyes light up and I instantly warmed up to her. She was a very gentle and soft spoken lady and kindly asked my details and explained the cost and classes available. I told her I couldn't decide now as I did not know when my husband is available ( I needed him to watch Baby H when I am at class.) She nodded understandingly and told me to come the very next day. Her kindness and gentleness made up for all the crap I had to endure earlier.

Returned the next day and the lady in niqab beamed in recognition when she saw me. This woman is a gem! Unfortunately, she was busy and the lady at the next counter attended to me. If the first lady was awful, and the second lady was kind, this one was definitely a cross between the two. She was very abrupt and extremely loud. She gave me a few available dates but I told her I couldn't as my husband wasn't around. She then insisted I choose among the dates given but I told I couldn't. I had to explain that my husband wasn't around and gave her my available dates instead. She mellowed down a bit after that, looked at my dates and accommodated to my request. When at first she scowled, she later gave me a kind smile and handed me my manual as I left. How confusing.

So now I'm in the system and am scheduled for classes. I still don't have my white card and plan to get it when I go for one of the classes. Hopefully the machine will be fixed by then. The manual looks quite intimidating. Looks like I've got a lot of studying to do. Sigh.

UAE Driving Licence- Part 1

I've always considered myself a pretty good driver. Not Schumacher good but maybe your typical soccer mom good. Before I came to Abu Dhabi, I was told that due to being a right-hand vehicle driver, I will need to sit for a driving exam to get a left-hand vehicle driving license. Well, that sounds fine by me.

US, Canadian, UK, Australian, European, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore or GCC license and passport holder are allowed to automatically convert their license. Otherwise, in order to drive, you are expected to sit for an exam to obtain a UAE driving license. Countries such as UK, NZ, Japan and Singapore who drives on the same side as we do are exempted from taking the exam and may convert their license automatically to a local license. Prejudice is rampant here. Life here isn't all a bed of roses.

Anyway, I was 6 month pregnant when I arrived and was turned away when I wanted to apply for my license. Apparently pregnant woman (even if she was 5 weeks pregnant!) are forbidden to drive in the UAE and if anything should happen such as her getting into accident subsequently losing her baby, then she will be held accountable (doesn't matter if it wasn't her fault) and it off to prison for her. Strange but true.

Then I had Baby H, obviously there was no way I'd be able to get a driving license as I've no one to care for her while I'm attending classes. After 2 years of living in Abu Dhabi, I am now ready again to take my driving license. Over and over again I went to the RTD website to check my necessary documents. Coloured passport size photographs (check), photocopy of residence visa (check), photocopy of passport (check), emirates ID card (check) and copy of Malaysian driving license (check). Just to be safe I threw in an english translation of my driving license, just in case. Oh yeah...Abu Dhabi Dadddy (check). They need the husband to come with you to ensure that the wife has her husband's approval. *rolling eyes*

So I entered the RTD building and was greeted with an overwhelming stench of BO. Can't blame these men though. If I was filthy rich, I'd dedicate my life to supplying these men with deodorant. Everyone deserves to smell like flowers. :P Oops...I'm digressing. So I'm inside and all I see is chaos. There were lots of counters but I couldn't find the information counter. So I just walked up to this Arab lady behind one counter and told her that I'm here to get driving license. She asked me "You passed?" I said " I haven't taken it yet, I'm here to apply." "Oh...you go open file there." Pointing to this large man seated at the back of the area. So I walked up to him and discovered, here's the information counter. Who in their right mind would put an information counter at such a hidden area? Rather than complicate other people's life, some people really do need a hobby.

I was greeted by a very arrogant looking man. Abu Dhabi Daddy asked where do we go to 'open file'? Without uttering a single word, he pointed to the room behind him. Information counter? For the deaf and mute perhaps. Heaven knows how he got his job.

We entered the room and there was another arrogant looking man seated behind the front counter and was engrossed with talking to a colleague standing next to him. We greeted him with the salam but this man totally ignored us and went on talking to his colleague. After like 5 minutes of us just gawking at this man waiting for him to finish his conversation, he turned to us and said "yes?" Told him I wanted to get my license and he said I was at the wrong place. He pointed to the right and said, "Woman. There. There. Right. There" Err..okay...

Went to the right and saw one room that bore the signage "Woman Traffic". I guess this is it and entered, but Abu Dhabi Daddy was barred from entering and had to wait outside. Approached the front counter with 2 female officers behind it and inquired about opening a file. The woman glanced at me while conversing with her colleague and then refocus her attention back to her colleague. How rude. After 5 minutes of just standing there waiting for the officer to grace me with her attention, she then looked back at me and asked for my papers. Btw. I was the only 'customer' there at that time. She went thru my papers, looked up and asked, "Where is your husband?" I said outside. She just nodded in reply not even bothering to glance at the door. When everything seems to look like its going well, she hands me back my papers and said go back and get translation for license. Told her I have a translation there, she said, "Yes Om Abu Dhabi Daddy. Now Give me arabic translation. You go get legal translation. You know legal translation? Go get legal one okay?" And just like that she dismissed me.

So here I am, no better than I was 2 years ago. They say 3rd times a charm. RTD...I'll be back!

Hello Foggy Mornings!

Lately, we've been experiencing foggy mornings here in Abu Dhabi. That's a sure sign that the cooler season (or 'winter' as it is called here) is fast approaching. Abu Dhabi in the cooler months is fantastic. It's perfect for all sorts of outdoor activities. As you can expect Abu Dhabi to be sunny all year around, the cooler months will see a drop in temperature which would be convenient to enjoy the outdoors on a nice breezy, sunny day. The 'winter' here is pretty much like summer in Europe. The day temperature is around 24C and the nights about 13C. Pretty perfect in my opinion.

I spent much of my first winter here in confinement as I had given birth to Baby H. She was almost 2 weeks overdue and I had her 2 days before my 40th week of pregnancy. My obstetrician insisted I waited till the 40th week but I had threaten if he did not take this child of me ASAP, I'd go in and yank her out myself. It was towards the end of December, when the temperature in Abu Dhabi drops to its lowest and waddling around weighing almost 90kg and dressed in layers was affecting my mobility. I just got tired of my 'handicap'. However, I manage to experience Abu Dhabi National Day which occurs in November and witness the street party and spectacular fireworks display. I even went to the Al Ain zoo to jump start labour. It's a massive place and has a wonderful picnic area for the children to run about. Spent the entire day there and walked so much I finally felt contractions kicking in. Went to the doctor the next day anticipating labour only to find out I was only 1cm dilated and then nada. The contractions just stopped. Hmph. Should have walked the entire 160km distance from our place to Al Ain instead.

After confinement, we went for the Al Ain Aerobatic Show. Holding a barbecue underneath the zooming airplanes was quite an experience. However, after the nth aerobatic plane overhead, oohing and aahing for the childrens sake became quite tiresome. LOL. We had spent the last of the cooler months enjoying the lovely Corniche beach and the now defunct Lulu Island. Abu Dhabi Government's decision to turn the beautiful island to another commercial hub is really disappointing. We even manage to spend a few days in the very scenic Fujairah Emirate enjoying the multiple colored mountains and scenic Arabian sea at the very end of the 'winter' season.

Last year's 'winter' was much spent exploring Dubai and Abu Dhabi itself. We made another trip visiting the Al Ain zoo which had a new attraction; The Dino Trail. It's like you've stepped into the past and the dino's were all so real and lifelike I was quite intimidated. The kids had lots of fun though.

Some of the reason I've grown so attached to Abu Dhabi can be much credited to its winter season. The kids try to spend as much time as they could outdoor. It's a safe and wonderful environment for the children and I'm already looking forward to what's in store this coming winter!

Weaning Baby

Baby H will be celebrating her 2nd birthday in a couple of month and by then, I hope to completely wean her off breastfeeding. I've already started the weaning process on her and she seems to be transitioning more smoothly in comparison to my older 2 children. The older 2 was completely weaned off at the exact age of 2 years and 1 day old. I had started the weaning process on them a month prior to their birthdays.

Poor baby H has to start a month earlier then her siblings but she is actually doing remarkably well. We are already into day 5 of the weaning process and it has been a tantrum free day. Among the 3, baby H is definitely the most resilient of the lot.

I think my worst weaning process experience was with my eldest, dearest S. I guess that was due to the fact that I didn't actually have a clue on what I was doing. It took me an agonizing month to wean her. She was very strong willed an head strong (well, she still is actually lol!) Whenever she started to ask for her 'fix', I would try to offer her the bottle instead. She would respond by throwing a furious fit and start thrashing her little body all over the floor. She loathed the sight of the bottle. It was quite scary especially for a first timer like me. However, on the day after her second birthday, I had told her no more boobies and she simply agreed and had never asked for her 'fix' ever since. She started the bottle on that very day with absolutely no fuss. I couldn't figure out what had happened.

Cheeky M's experience was more or less the same as dearest S only it took me a shorter time to convince him to switch to the bottle. 2 weeks into the weaning process he was already downing 4 to 6 8oz bottles of formula milk throughout the day. A typically boy thing I guess; his tummy calls the shots. lol

Although I'm looking forward to cease being a milk bar, weaning is a bittersweet experience for me. It's a cruel reminder that my babies are growing up and marks the end of my ability to provide that special something that no one else could provide my child. I'll truly miss it.

My Never Ending Story....

Whoever said being a stay at home mom is easy has another think coming. As I write this, my almost 2yo is screaming like a banshee with her pants around her ankles, my 7yo and 4yo is rolling on the floor trying to kill each other over a large ball and my Abu Dhabi Daddy who seems totally oblivious to the commotion is flicking cigarette ashes on the kitchen floor (our designated smoking area in the house, just because it has an accessible balcony) while cursing obscenities very loudly because he just lost a bunch of pretend chips on Facebook poker (thankfully, the kids are too wrapped in their own chaos to notice what daddy is saying).

It's been a little over an hour since I made breakfast (chinese fried rice with deep fried chicken wings) and now I have to start figuring out lunch. There's a pile of unwashed dishes in the sink that rises high up to the faucet and 2 weeks worth of laundry just staring at me accusingly for neglect.

Oh yeah, and lets not forget the pile of shirts that needs ironing which I had decided to stash in the guest room hoping that it will suddenly disappear. I was trying to test the theory 'out of sight, out of mind.' Doesn't work for me though. The person who came up with that phrase must be of the sociopath variety as only a person without a conscience could actually make that phrase work for them.

It's the weekend and I've been up since 7.30am. That's 2 hours later from when I normally wake up during the weekdays (but since it was the weekend I stayed up till 3am to watch a horror flick). I was tidying up the house only to find the house totally wrecked even worst than when I started 4 hours later. Yup, my life is one big non-stop party, like the sort you'd experienced in Ibiza, just minus the drinks, sexy people and a whole lotta fun.

Adieu Old Blog

After neglecting my old blog for so long, I've decide to just start a new one. It's been a little over 2 years since I first relocated to Abu Dhabi and it just feels weird and uninspiring to continue blogging in my old blog. I've started a new life here in Abu Dhabi and blogging about it in my old blog just doesn't feel quite right. It has been wonderful, but my old blog just reminds me of what I had left behind. This new blog is about the present and the future. May it be filled with many happy memories to come. I shall miss you old blog, but my new journey has begun.