Sports Day '10

It was exactly the same as last years'. Down to the games and the program. Diff was this year - the little girl's batch was now the older ones of KS1 - no longer the bulinggits. Even though older, it was still nonetheless so much fun for them. Significant improvements here and there ...longer leaps, better form, quicker, faster... just better all around.

Looking forward to next year - when they get back to being bulinggits - the little ones....in KS2.

New year... New decade

It is always extra special for us to celebrate the new year. We celebrate it in our house just like same as back home in Manila, stayed home together as a family, put lots of food on the table for prosperity and a basket of round fruits for wealth.

Few days before, Vivian and I went out to buy daddy's presents, my husband was with us but the little girl told him not to enter the store so it's still a surprise. Daughter picked very daring styles and colors of polos, shirts and pants but we ended up getting four presents that hubby could pull off. On the 31st, I was able to cook few dishes for dinner and for media noche. We ate dinner at 8pm as it was 12 midnight back home. We had salad, karekare and crispy pata, then our favorite desserts- blueberry cheesecake, leche flan and fruit salad. As we waited for midnight, Vivian excitedly prepared and fixed the living room for hubby's birthday. She put our gifts next to the balloons and kept asking, "Is it time, already? Is it time"? After what seemed several hours, it was time at last... just in time the 'suman' was done, we were ready to welcome the new decade and hubby's birthday. Vivian and I brought out the cake then started singing happy birthday, not once but twice to capture the moment. After we had our fiesta ham with potato salad, 'suman' with thick cocoa and mango, Hubby opened his gifts and daughter put a surprise card and message in one of the gifts. It was another memorable celebration and the little girl ended it by popping all the balloons.

Happy birthday to my hubby, I hope you liked our celebration for three, hopefully next year it will be for a fantastic four. We love you!

December Fest: more videos

December Fest: Dubai Christmas!

Dubai again??! Yeah but well for this Christmas time, we decided we'd do stuff we haven't done in Dubai yet. First off, we checked into our suite at the Intercontinental, Festival City - much thanks to Priority Club (woot!!). We got through the UAE border quite early and Intercon allowed us early check-in as well. After checking out our room, a quick rest and unpacking our stuff, we drove off to Dubai Mall and had breakfast at Dôme.

Went to Reel Cinemas right after to pickup our movie tickets. We reserved seats online for the movie, 'The Princess and the Frog' - we needed to make sure; the last time we were here last November, we promised the little girl we'd watch the movie exactly on opening day, 24th Dec. The little girl enjoyed the movie - unfortunately, Thess and I both slept through most of the screening. It wasn't the best of Disney productions but at least the little girl appreciated it - so that was enough.

Next on the agenda was a visit in Sega Republic. Vivian had been pining for this for the longest time so we finally gave in. It was then my duty to accompany the little girl on the rides she chose to try out. The first, and as it turns out, and only ride she tried out was a ride called SpinGears. It was a roller-coaster-like ride where the cabs (four in each) spins around on its axis like a gear. It was a wild wild ride. The little girl's verdict on the ride was undecided - she says she didn't like it coz she was freaking out the entire time but I think a part of her loved it too. She spent the rest of her credits on the arcades - golf, bowling, etc.

We tried out a restaurant along The Grove called Uno, Chicago Grill. The food and service was great! We spent a good, long and lazy hour just enjoying the food and the music - a quartet was just around the bend offering Christmas tunes. Drove back the hotel right after. Enjoyed a short fireworks display we saw from our room. By12 mn, we opened gifts all around. Vivian couldn't wait to open her gifts particularly 'Santa's'. She told us her 'gift wish' shortly after the Donkey for Sale saga. Still reeling from our glee from all of that we gave in....oh, I mean we told Santa that she wanted a Hannah Montana PSPTM.

Woke up to a glorious Christmas Day! We set out late in the morning as we took our sweet time getting ready in our suite. Beeline to MoE (Mall of Emirates). We bought movie tickets to Avatar 3D and had Christmas lunch at Butcher Grill. While we waited for our food, we called our families back home to greet them Merry Christmas!! We terribly miss everyone back home. It was good to hear everyone's ok and doing well. Food arrived and we proceeded to clean up our plates - all the while though, the girl kept asking, 'is it time for the movie yet? is it time to go to the cinemas? is it time now??'. So after gorging on all that meat, we donned our 3D glasses and had one of the best rides of our lives - Avatar in 3D was just awesome. After the lengthy film, we swung by Häagen-Dazs for a few scoops...well, several scoops. Back at the hotel, we rested for a bit and decided to spend the rest of our Christmas evening at Ikea. Festival City was a quick walk from the hotel which was a good thing because my girls were both very hungry. Already had a quick dinner there and just roamed the innards of Ikea for the rest of the night.

On our last day, we had one last surprise for the little girl. Previous MoE visits, she would ask to go to Ski Dubai and everytime, we would say we don't have enough time - which was true - you'd really need a good sized morning or afternoon to make the most out of it. So this time, we decided to make a white Christmas, of sorts, out of it. Needless to say, the girl couldn't get enough out of it. The place was massive. The girl braved the bobsled and the tubing and kept wanting for more. The clincher, however, was when we started a snow fight and she started getting cold. (We saw the no-throwing-of-snow sign only on the way out so we apologize for that haha!)

Another enjoyable Christmas! Merry Christmas to our families and friends!!

December Fest: Donkey for Sale!!! (Complete Video)

Scene 1: Bedouin Camp


Alfie, the donkey, is found amongst camels by the herders.

Scene 2: Donkey for Sale (song)...Nizwa Market


Alfie is put on sale!

Scene 3: Home...Hillside....King's Party


Alfie, Mary and Joseph head for Bethlehem.

Scene 4: Bethlehem....The Stable


Alfie enlists the help of the stable animals!

Scene 5: Stable Animals and Angels



Scene 6: All To See The Tiny Child (song)



Scene 7: Head of Primary Closing Remarks and Closing Song

December Fest: Vivian's Early Christmas Gift.... to us

Sometime November, Viv's teacher Ms. Smales comes up to me and asks, 'Vivian's good at memorizing lines of songs, that kind of thing?'. I confidently replied, 'Yes, she likes doing those things.' and asked why. Smales smiles, 'Good. We're thinking of giving her a big part in a play for next month.'. I thought, 'Whoa, cool!!'

Week after, the scripts come out and role assignments handed over. My wife and I scan the script entitled, Donkey for Sale. It's KS1's Christmas/nativity play about the donkey Mother Mary uses to travel to Bethlehem. The children's play is a fun smorgasbord of characters from men and women, to all kind of animals. KS1 is composed of three classes each from Years One and Two. So that's over a hundred kids in all.

Vivian says, 'You have to help me practice now.' We ask the little girl, 'So who are you in the play?'. She says, 'I'm Alfie.' My wife asks, 'OK. So who is Alfie?' Vivian replies, 'Alfie's a donkey'. Pause. My wife and I look at each other, I inhale and I slowly ask, 'You're a donkey? Your the donkey for sale?'. Viv says, 'Yes.' I ask again, 'You're the lead character?' Viv says, 'uhm yeah.' Burst of laughter. Mixed emotions... excitement and apprehension all shaken up.



A memory suddenly came to me. Last school year, my wife and I watched a young girl play lead for the KS1's Billy-No-Buzz school play that year. She was so good and we both thought at that time, wouldn't it be great if Vivian gets to be lead and be that good when she get's to that age. That would just be so great.

In preparation, we ran lines with her over and over - even though in less than a week, she already had her lines pegged. When we found out she had a solo part in a song, the more we were smiling like idiots non-stop. It was indeed an exciting time. We were both very proud of her work and confident she'd do very well but, at the same time, worried and praying nothing goes wrong. I had teachers, some of whom I didn't know coming up to me in school and introducing themselves, telling me how great Vivian was during practice. The build-up was unbearable.

We ordered her donkey costume online from UK and got it delivered just in time for dress rehearsals. There were two dress rehearsals planned but one got canceled as schools were closed because of the 'heavy rains'. We hoped that this would be the one and only snafu. Ms Smales suggests to me to attend the two runs of the play, sit up in front and keep a box of kleenex handy. Mental note to self, no crying - no crying during the play. no crying.

Finally. After several excruciatingly long weeks. Two runs of the play. One play a day for two days. Results of all the hard work are in. The play was very good. The children were absolutely entertaining and did a wonderful job during the entire play. The costumes looked wonderful. They all looked like they were all having fun up on the stage. Kudos to the KS1 teaching staff and the parents (especially the class links) who worked on everything and anything.




AND most importantly VIVIAN NAILED IT... on BOTH shows. She was absolutely delightful. She was fantastic. She was adorable. She was funny. She was just perfect. She spoke clearly. She naturally delivered punch lines. Thess and I couldn't be more proud of our darling girl. She was smiling the entire time. She was having a great time and had so much fun with it. We congratulated her right after each play and just gave her the biggest hug we could. Parents and teachers, again - some of whom we didn't know coming up to us after the play, giving praise to the little girl. The feeling is so indescribable. Joy. Pride. Relief that its over. All the little girl's hard work paid off.

Thank you so much, Vivian, for the early Christmas gift!!! Proud parents are we.

First show pictures. Second show pictures.

December Fest: Vivian's Birthday Bash

In the months leading up to December, we'd been playing with different ideas of how Vivian would celebrate her birthday. Past years, we didn't really arrange for any big parties for her but we decided that for this year's 7th, we would make a big deal out of it. A lot of ideas floated about. We settled down to a few choice options but we just couldn't make up our minds which one to focus on. So, finally, we decided to do all three of them instead and not tell Vivian about it.

Vivian's vote was on the nail spa option (this one she knew about) and she never budged on her decision. We made arrangements with Tips & Toes in Bareeq Al Shatti on the schedule, balloons, drinks, nail services and even the child-friendly Piggy paint. And so, a week before her birthday, Vivian sent out her invites to her friends (mostly her classmates). I was fortunate enough to be there when she handed them out and her girl friends learned of the party. All of their eyes lit up with excitement, unstoppable giggles and the 'oh my god oh my god oh my god'. accompanied by the occasional shriek. Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little bit but one thing was for sure, the slumber themed NAIL SPArty idea was definitely sold. Unfortunately, some of the girls already had other plans since it was right smack in the middle of Eid Holidays but most of them came. So, for about two hours or so, donned in their favorite sleepwear, they all took turns daintily sitting on the sofas, primly getting their nails done along with choosing their colors and the designs they had wanted on them, my wife's hair styling services (yeah, she fixed everyone's hair) and, of course, the occasional visit to the food table for quick munches. The little girl was so pleased with the party and she was smiling the whole time looking at her friends having fun too. She was genuinely concerned if her friends were indeed enjoying themselves, so much so, that when one of her friends' emphatically commented, 'best party ever!!!', her smile broadened just a little bit more than usual. At the end, she simply handed each friend a giveaway and said thanks for attending.

Right after the SPArty, we surprised the little girl with yet another one. This time it was a simple dinner at Silk Route with our Filipino friends and their families. Again, some were out because of prior commitments but we all filled up the table nicely. We'd chosen the menu a few days before so the food just rolled in and I must say, it was sooo good. After dinner, we brought out the Barbie Princess' cake for Vivian's birthday wish and candle blowing and had it for desert to close out the night and a rather long day.

What the little girl didn't know was that it wasn't over yet. We surprised her again in school (so that the boys can also join in to celebrate) with a cake and fun hats for the entire class, including their teacher Ms Smales. We brought out the Disney Princesses' cake, while they all sang Vivian a Happy Birthday in several different languages. The little girl made her silent wish and blew out her candle. After having a little bit of fun with the hats, everybody had cake (with seconds and thirds for some). It still amazes me how much these kids love cake. This year's cake was completely finished off by the whole class... as in nothing was left. Last year's, they didn't completely finish it off but I distinctly remember their eyes literally bulging out when they learned there was cake.

It was quite a busy week. I think Vivian would agree though that it was definitely a memorable one. Vivian thanks everyone for her gifts, for coming to her parties to celebrate and those who simply wished her a happy birthday! It truly made her birth week celebrations extremely special.

Mission: Shopping

We had gotten another week-long break because of Eid. That and since December was just around that meant another visit to Dubai for some serious shopping. In retrospect, my wife should be the one writing all this down given the subject matter... pero deadma .... best I got was a something of a mix between a smile and a frown. But I digress...

Everybody (in Oman) seemed to have the same idea. Left and right we saw people from Muscat in and around the malls of Dubai. The malls were packed and shopping was made more difficult . But as my wifey puts it, it had to be done and we all decidedly buckled down and went to it.

We went through our usual lineup of malls. We've actually gotten quite efficient in doing our Christmas shopping over the years. The shopping list for families, relatives and inaanak (godchildren) are quickly accomplished. The hard part about all this was not really what to get them - we gravitate to clothing stores mostly - but whether or not, they've gone through any major clothe-size changes. Deciding solely on the mental imprint of the last time you saw them can be quite disastrous. The shopping objective was not only Christmas shopping but also birthday party (for the little girl) shopping. She excitedly went through Ikea's offers of party hats, toys and bags for giveaways.

The meal breaks in between were just glorious moments. Woohoo, we get to sit down!! From our usual Ikea breakfast, to the Chowking siopao at iba pa feast for lunch. Visited CPK twice and tried out a newly-opened Friday's. The best meal, hands-down, was the gorging of a t-bone and a sirloin at The Butcher Shop & Grill. Really must visit that place again.

Was able to meet up with my cousin, whom I didn't know was in Dubai until some months ago. Last we met was about 6 years ago at our province in Tanjay, Negros Or. Good thing is his mag-ina (wife and son) just joined him recently so their Christmas will decidedly be much much better this year. He and his family seem to be liking their environment so I hope everything works out. Their living with his other cousin and they all seem to be doing quite well.

After about a hundred shopping bags and all that credit card swiping, we merrily declare mission was ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Lateblog: Birthday Chuckles!

First off, Happy Birthday to my dear wife!! While we weren't really able to plan something to celebrate, it was nonetheless a fun fun time.

Before I tell the story though, understand that the little girl is really bad at keeping surprises a secret.

The story starts off in a not-so-good note, a few days before her birthday. After an emergency check-up, we were advised by the doctor to take things slow and that she be on bed-rest for the next few days. (Baby's ok now and doctor gave the green light already so no worries) This gave me an excuse to do our weekly groceries by myself and try to get her a gift she's been eyeing. As I was sorting out the plan in my head, Vivian then declares, 'oohh I wanna go I wanna go'. There goes the plan, I thought.

Hoping for the best, Viv and I left the house and then I let her join-in on the plan - emphasizing to keep things quiet over and over and over again. We ended up buying three separate gifts. We got home, gifts hidden with the groceries, and Vivian came up to her mum and passed with flying colors. No 'knowing smiles', no 'uncontrollable giggling'... she was calm and perfect - nobody would know something was up.

The entire afternoon went without a hitch, but I could see in her eyes she was growing impatient with the plan - give all the gifts on her mum's birthday the following day. So I gave in, I told her ok let's give one gift now and still keep the other two a secret and give those the next day. As soon as it was agreed, she jumps up, grabs the gift and runs to her mum. She excitedly gave the gift and yells, happy birthday!!! and successfully surprises her mommy. Unfortunately, she didn't stop there, she continues on with a complete account of our day... from the shop to the groceries and to wrapping...and she led off with, 'oh yeah, we bought you three gifts but we're going to give it to you tomorrow, ok?' We all laughed our heads off for a good long while.

Fancy Dress Party '09

While thinking of how exactly I should blog this year's fancy dress, I got this idea of rifling through Halloween parties of past years. Reminiscing, Thess and I were laughing our heads off - it was indeed a treat - so, we'd thought we'd share them Halloween 04-08. (hit the flickr badge for more and look for the halloween sets)

This year the little girl came in with a simple Gryffindor robe (she decided to be a bit low-key this time) and pretended to be Hermione. Last year, all of the kids just stayed inside the disco hall but this year, there were lots of games held outside too. Upon arriving, she found her best friends and had a blast. Here are some of the snaps.