Liezl's Den

The other day my friend M (whom I got fond of coz she’s so bubbly and a very nice friend; I can see the very essence and value of friendship in her) sent me an e-mail asking some small favor in helping her to prepare and cook for her friend’s birthday (and alongside with her friend’s celebration was a religious activity the 2000 Rosary; it’s almost the same with what we had in our house the only difference is the 2000 Hail Mary’s instead of the usual count).

I called her after reading some mails and answering some phone calls from other friends and told her the needed ingredients in making leche flan and talked more on what we’ll be doin’ since its weekend again. We settled with the idea of going to Villagio Mall and there’s the newly opened Carrefour to have our groceries and just to see what’s with this new mall.

They came around lunch time, and almost all of the grocery stores were closing, they were like the contestants in Amazing Race who jumped from one grocery store to another , left with small time to buy all the needed stuffs, so they just had the ingredients for leche flan and brought food from Take Away Restaurant (take note of the name of the resto) and after eating lunch we started making the flan with the help of our li’l cook (our daughters) who are always ready to help. And so we let them help a little , only in stirring the yokes. Then came the usual scene from the two bratinellas, yelling, crying and making peace again with each other again for the nth time.

After the cooking we went to the carrefour, gross, too much people of different races were coming and going. And worst thing is there’s a band there for the opening of Carrefour, but it was the worst band ever...

Posted by Liezl at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

An Old Post from http://www.seanlinus.com

The nutrient balance in a mother’s milk is just right for her infant as he/she grows.
There are at least 12 anti-inflammatory agents in breastmilk which promote healthy immune system.
Immunoglobulin-A in breastmilk protects the baby against Coxsakie B virus, Staph and E coli bacteria by painting the intestinal tract and blocking the pathogen’s adherence to the mucous membrane.
Lactoferrin prevents the growth of pathogenic organisms such as E coli, Salmonella and Candida Albican by blocking iron utilization necessary for their survival.
Breastfeeding decreases the risk of childhood cancers, asthma, bacterial infections, diarrhea, allergies, diabetes and SIDS.
Breastfeeding keeps babies’ teeth clean and helps develop better speech.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer in mothers.
Breastfeeding mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner than their bottlefeeding counterparts.

Nutrition While Breastfeeding:

Eat a well-balanced, varied diet
Breastfeeding mothers burn 500+ calories daily
Check with your doctor about taking a multivitamin with iron
Drink eight glasses of fluid (eight ounces each) daily
Avoid or limit caffeinated drinks to one to two cups daily
Avoid alcohol or limit to one serving (six ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer) on a special occasion

Prenatal and Breastfeeding Nutrition Guide:

The minimum recommended servings are based on a 2,200 calorie meal plan:
Bread, cereal, rice, pasta - nine to 11 servings
Vegetables - four to five servings
Fruits - three to four servings
Milk, yogurt, cheese - three to four servings of calcium-rich foods or a calcium supplement
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, nuts - three servings
Saturated and trans fats, oils and sweets - use in small amounts
Pregnant teenagers need four to five servings of dairy products and four servings from the meat group to support their growth as well as their baby’s growth

How to Increase Your Milk Supply:

Increase frequency and duration of feedings
Encourage baby to take several feedings early in the day when milk quantity is greater
Apply warm, wet cloths to breasts
Massage breasts before a feeding
Rest! - when you nap, prolactin levels increase

How to Decrease Milk Supply:

Suggest that mother continue to drink eight glasses of fluid (eight ounces each) daily
Limit intake of salt
Wear a supportive, non-binding bra
Pump to comfort
Drink plenty of fluids, but don’t force fluids
Avoid nipple or breast stimulation
If you become engorged, use cold compresses or ice packs

Medications and Breastfeeding:

When medications are necessary, mother needs to inform her healthcare provider that she is breastfeeding
Always check with your physicians before taking over-the-counter medications

Posted by Liezl at 3:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

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An Old Post from http://www.andrealizette.com/

Princess got a gift from Ninong Robin, a VCD of Dora The Explorer, it’s her new fave movie. Everyday, she wants to watch Dora and Boots and sings along with them. Not only the movie she’s watching and also she got hooked on the the activities, stories, games, everything on Dora the explorer website. Barney and teletubbies got some rest but still they are her best friends.

When I asked her what she wants from Daddy when he gets home from the office, her reply would automatically would be, ” Two ice cream and two pop!” and “One for Barney and one for Po.” And she would make statements like, “Nothing for Sean coz he’s still a baby.”

Posted by Liezl at 3:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

An Old Post From http://www.andrealizette.com/

It’s been long overdue, our trip to a bookstore has been suspended for more than 5 times and now finally, we’d a time to visit Jarir Bookstore to buy Ate P’s books, but we ended up buying more. Ate P’s bourgeoning happiness upon the glimpse of books, and coloring books with Barney, BJ and Baby Bop on every pages were heightened by pure sheer of joy when she saw me handing her a pair of pink slippers, pencils, pencil sharpener and Daddy N gave her a hola hoop.

The day is not yet finished it’s just lunchtime soon after the trip to the bookstore we went straight to A & W and had a fattening meal. Ate P posed in front the camera to have a picture of her new pink slippers:)

Then the great day of the pretty toddler is not yet over yet, we went to Royal Plaza just to stroll but found out that GUess is on sale. And again Ate P have new tops and skirt while momsy got her new bag.

Posted by Liezl at 3:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

Finally, I gave in to my friend's (J) persuasion of trying a new sport, which is by the way she really patronizes (whom she referred as a sport with "class"). It's been nearly 2 months that she was talking me into engaging into tennis.

Eventhough, I really liked the idea of indulging myself into a new sport which would help me also reduce my weight (still got the love handles from giving birth to my 1 year old son) and to have time for myself once in a while still I was so hesitant to join her for lot of reasons; like I don't have a nanny who'll take care of my kids while I'm out there and enjoying myself and second it's still summer and sometimes humidity is so high but my hubby cooperated very well and as well as my brother, so case no. one is solved then just deal with the heat and the humidity.
Good thing is our friend M will be joining us too so good luck to us!Thanks to our husbands who'll be looking after our kids. Last Sunday we went to City Center with our friends M and C and looked for all the neccessary stuffs we'll be using. We walked to and fro all the sports shop and tried to haggle with every salesperson to give us more discount for the racquet.

As a starter for this sports I don't have an idea which tennis apparel and racquet to buy. And so, I settled with the affordable one and decided to have the Head Titanium 4100 (original price is Qr 208 and I got it for Qr 160) and my friend M got the Head Titanium 4200( orig. price is Qr.199 and got it for Qr.179), of course we bought it with discounts. We bought also knee pads and wrist bands from Sun and Sands.

I'm excited and i'm looking forward to start the lessons at once so that I can play tennis with my friends.

Posted by Liezl at 3:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

This is the first official day that our tennis lesson has started. Our instructor Mr. T arrived, I guess past 8 pm, and his assistant were already there teaching some Indonesian kids and we are 2 new tennis students plus a 23 yr. old Moroccan lady.

The Racquet Parts

First the assistant taught me the parts of a racquet, which are the head, face (which is where you hit the ball), down to the neck then the grip or handle and the butt.

Then our instructor came and taught us the basics of tennis.

The Ready Position.

Step 1:Your right hand should have a good grip near the butt of the racquet and the left hand supports the neck of the racquet. By using both hands, this allows quick grip changes.

Step 2: Your feet should be shoulder width apart and your head forwards into the court. You have to bend your knees slightly, that is to lower the center of your gravity and stores energy in your muscles.

Step 3: Be alert for the coming of the ball from your opponent and try to bounce on your toes that is to give you extra spring in your feet. The timing is also important. You have to accelerate in maximum speed at any direction the moment you see the ball.

Step 4: After hitting the ball return to the center of the court and go back to ready posotion.

The next we learned was the basic racquet grip. You have to place the index finger's base knuckle on the top right bevel and the side of the thumb should be resting along the back of the racquet, or the opposite side of the grip.

The assistant teacher told me that there's the so-called Continental Grip (it means all-around grip). It is the universal grip. It was once known as the Aussie grip. This grip is used for any shot, although it is mostly used now for the serve and volley.

As the lesson progressed we learned the forehand and backhand moves as well as the proper footing in each every move and what followed was the volley (forehand and backhand also) and then the service.

It was a very productive night. In two hours, I learned a lot and was able to execute correctly almost all of the lessons our teacher taught us. And i'm looking forward to Saturday night for our 2nd meeting.

Posted by Liezl at 3:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's been a week since we celebrated our baby boy's first birthday and the party hang-over is finally subsiding, the adrenalin rush was set back to normal and we are preparing for Ate Princess' 3rd birthday.

Sean's 1st birthday bash went well, as expected, same old friends and new ones and friends kids attended the party. The party started late by thirty minutes coz some kids were already enjoying the rides and almost forgot that there will be a party first in the party room before getting lost in the wild rides of Junglezone.

The party started with a show of a Juggler and the Magician. The juggler, he is quite good, he can juggle, first 3 batons then followed by 3 hats and 3 balls. Of course, kids like my almost three yrs. old Andrea was left speechless, she was too absorbed on what she's seeing. Next was the magician, but the celebrant was pulling my blouse already, he's telling me that it's about time to breastfeed him. Oh boy, I had to go to the corner and concentrate on feeding my little boy and quite cautious that he'll not sabotage my cover by pulling the shawl that I wrapped on us.

Next was the parlor games. I was the one who suggested to Abby (the party facilatator) another game which is the putting of the M & M's to a clear cup, the one who'll finish transferring the M &M's minis from the paper plate to a plastic cup will be the winner. Although the original idea was marsh mallows but I guess M & M's would do better. The next game was Trip to Jerusalem and then followed by a game of saying "happy birthday Sean...." the one who'll say it the longest would be the winner. The next game was "bring me" of course, almost all of the kids got crazy hunting for every item or thing that the facilatator was asking to bring. Sean, the celebrant won for bringing the smallest shoe (which is his own shoe). I bought also an additonal prize ( a Winnie The POoh and 100 acre's Friends Puzzle) but told the facilatator to please put it away for the meantime that Ate Princess is watching coz she considered it as hers already like she put her name on it while we were in the house before going to the party. We prepared also the "pabitin" it's a Filipino game various goodies and toys were hung from a wooden frame that is held by a rope attached to a pulley. Kids then grab for the goodies and toys when the wooden frame is lowered holding the rope at the other end. But Sean, as the birthday celebrant had the chance to pick and grab a toy; it's a pack of luminous stars.

The next was the blowing of the cakes. I made 3 chocolate moist cakes and bought the winnie the pooh and hundred acre friends tiny toys as cake decor and there are also cup cakes made by our Ninang (whom my kids address as Mom May and considered as their second mother) and I ordered an Ube flavored cake with the theme of winnie the pooh and hundred acre's friends.

After all of the games and party shows was over then its time for a sumptuous and gastronomical dinner. As experienced, we prefer cooking the food for our parties than ordering it or have it catered for us for we can control the taste of the food than be sorry later for some negative feedbacks from the visitors about the food. But due to lack of time and and we don't have a househelp so we settled on ordering half of the food on our menu and there are also friends who offered their help by cooking some of the food.

In our menu, there was the good old kare-kare (I think every occassion it's always present) and as well as caldereta, baked macaroni,bopis (by our friend Judith), Pancit (by Mavis), Estofado (cooked by Mavis), leche flan and ref. cake, Maja Blanca (NInang May Voluntered to make) as well as the fruit salad, cup cakes and gelatin. We ordered Empanada from our neighbor and bought 3 buckets of fried chicken.

Orient Express catered the following foods: Black Pepper Steak, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Beef and Chicken Teriyaki, Beef in Oyster Sauce, Seafood Steak,Fried Rice, Leche Flan and Fruit Salad.

The Rides in Jungle Zone is based on the elements of the 'wild nature of the jungle world', Jungle Zone boosted 9 attractions mainly for kids in its huge size of approximately 3,500 square metres The Jungle Train will bring kids on a 'joyride' journey through the 'jungle' area. Hop on the Elephant Jet and let kids enjoy the excitement of be 'flown' up to the sky and enjoy the panaromic view of the entire theme park.

The Crazy Jump is an exciting ride that offers kids sheer 'adrenalin rush' as it 'drop' down without even a hint! Honey Swing might be the perfect answer for kids to enjoy a good buzz while Lion's Lair provides kids the ultimate chance to drive and , bump others without being summoned! The Mountain Coaster is another crowd puller that offers kids the opportunity to venture through mountains, hills and cave full of 'surprises'.

The Wild Flume ride is considered second to nothing as it offers fun 'plunge' into the river from the mountain top. Eureka, a kiddy's magical ride proved popular with its unique tricycle flying ability! The Fun Castle and Adventure Castle are made up of a multi-level fun world which enables young kids to climb, crawl, jump and slide! The latest and exciting Video Arcade and Redemption Games would further add to the excitement here. It would definitely be a day of restless fun for the energetic ones!

At Jungle Zone Theme Park, kids would enjoy a memorable birthday celebrations organized by experienced party organizers at either the Amazon or Rainforest Party Rooms. Complete with the state-of-the-art sound system and lightings, selection of food menus, exciting games, fun activities, various options of entertainment shows and colorful decorations, birthday parties would be well remembered and cherished!

Posted by Liezl at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

We have a new house help, it's been for more than 4 months now that he's doing the cleaning in our house. His name is Benot and he's a Nepali. He told us that he came from one of the provinces of Nepal, a place wherein no roads yet, no telephones and no schools.

From his face you'll notice at first that he's a nice person so at once I told my hubby that I have a good vibration (a positive one!) that this person would be our househelp for good.

Back to Benot, he's in his thirties and he is soft-spoken and has fine manners. Every Friday he comes to our abode for his weekend spring cleaning. He is staying in the Industrial Area, it's quite far from our place but he really makes it every 8 in the morning. First rides in a bus (Karwa) then walks from the bus stop to our house ( I guess 2 kilometers). He's so good in his job. This is the kind of a person whom you can trust, sometimes without telling him he extends much far from his usual chores like cleaning my hubby's shoes or even without telling him he'll even take out our clothes from the dryer and hang it.

And every Friday we make it a point that before he starts his work here in our house he should have breakfast first and since it's a weekend we usually wake up late so he just manage himself for a cup of coffee or a tea and a bread or usually we eat kubos ( it's an Arabic bread).

Every lunchtime we usually let him tell stories while we are eating, the usual one's, like how life is in their country or about his family.

He finished his secondary education so there's no problem conversing with him. He can talk English well. And he told us that he started his education late already, at the age of 10. Since their home is surrounded by mountains and they have to walk for 10 kms. every day just to go to school. And going to college needs more money so he has to stop finally to work and eventually got married and had 2 kids.

And the rest is history he ended up here in Qatar for some work and we told him that he can place a call to his family using our Skype connection but he said thanks but he can't coz there's no telephone yet in their place.

that's for now...to be continued...

Posted by Liezl at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Our little boy is turning one this 5th of August and we started preparing for his birthday bash three months ago. We went to Junglezone in Hyatt Plaza to book a party in the big party room last June. For sure Ate Princess will enjoy the rides and also their friends.

The kids that we invited, all 49 of them and some had called me already informing me of their absence (good that I put an RSVP in the invitation card for me also to furnish a master list for all the kids that would arrive on that day so that I can give it at once to the staff of Junglezone) and narrowing it down to 45 kids. These are the kids of our friends that we knew in our 6 years of stay here in Qatar.

There will be face painting, games, jugglers and a magician and of course the unlimited rides (except for those cars and rides needing those tokens). I guess kids would love it. There will be a variety of cakes and sumptous meal after the games.

Posted by Liezl at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's been more than 2 months that I longed to be in my sweet country. I planned of going home but I simply can't. Silly, I know! The thought of travelling with a toddler and a baby in tow is madness but I know that i'll manage. But see, this is the case of a stay at home mom with no work, no money and just totally depend on a husband.

How I wish to be back there in my homeland and enjoy with my parents, surely they would love to. Anyhow, this reminds me of pulling myself and gearing toward a new life, I should be back to working again but how? that the question, with nobody that i would trust with my kids I cant. How I wish that my kids are big already, so I can manage with my finances. If I want to fly to Pinas then I can. I can buy my own ticket. But, for now I just can't move!

Posted by Liezl at 2:46 AM | Permalink | Comments