Completion of our Flat!

Hallelujah! Our flat is ready! We will move in July, looking forward to it, to be back in Dubai and see all the old places where we used to hang out, looking forward to seeing our old friends.

Our flat is in central town with a fantastic view. It has large windows everywhere instead of walls and a great pool, not to mention the squash courts and the few gyms. Looking foward to it.

But first we are going on a summer holiday to visit family, here and there, so take care and have a great summer!

Photographs by Clark Little...

At the Beach on a Stormy Day....

Happy Easter Everyone!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

We celebrated Easter with a few friends, some great people put a lot of work organising lots of activities for the kids;

from a cookie decorating and frosting area...



to a crafting and decorating your own egg basket area...



not to forget the final egg hunt at the end which got all the kids running around laughing!

Just Having Fun...A Lot of Fun...

Look Who is One!

In just one year, our love for you grew, to one for all time, that none could undo. From Dad

Joyeux Anniversaire joli papillon. De Maman

She is one today. What a day! The excitement started 10 minutes before the party...She actually decided to make her first step! Michael and I both looked at each other with a massive grin on our face!

Daddy...Our hero.



Hmm, yummy, her first taste of chocolate cake.

A rainbow cake for a colourful little butterfly.

One, two, three...Blow...

Skye received so many wonderful gifts, thank you all, from pretty dresses to home made cookies and hand knitted clothes, to books, toys and a hilarious funny red stuffed toy camel dressed in a devil. Then, you can imagine the rest: a room full of balloons and cakes, oh, and yes, I almost forgot to mention the screaming children hooked on sugar and sweets. Everyone had fun. Wish you were here.

Sleep Walk...

Bad Day at Work:

If you think you've had a bad day...Think again!

Pollution...

What a significant word, a word which I despise so much. I try not to think about it, whether it is noise pollution (which is the one that annoys me the most) or the smog, not to forget the garbage, etc...and the list goes on!
In very polluted countries, youngsters could develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections.
The sad fact is that Cairo is currently on top of the list for the most polluted city in the world, number two is Delhi then comes Kolkata.
I still believe that one person cannot change the way the universe think but governments and leaders should start applying strict rules and regulations or else our children will never have what we had. The planet will vanish sooner than expected.
I remember once watching a futuristic movie about the end of the world and through all the mayhem, a child lays his eyes on a magnificent creature which he has never seen before. You can obviously feel him questioning his father who in return answered: " A bird...a bird".

Visitor of the U.A.E.

Michael's sister dropped by for a few days. So we decided to play tourists. My advice to the visitors of the U.A.E.is if you are here on a short visit, here are some of the places you should see...The Burj and the majestic Burj Al Arab of course, the Sharjah aquarium, AlBastakiya with its galleries and don't forget its spice shop, the Gold Souk, the Karama souk, there are so many malls, it is hard to pick one but my favourite has to be the Emirates Mall. If you are a seafood fan, you should visit a fish market and experience the hustle and bustle of the local fishermen. I just love it.





A visit to the U.A.E. is never fulfilled without a picnic or even a camping trip to the desert, a drive through Sheikh Zayed Road's highway or a walk on the beach.
Well, my head is spinning right now from going around all these places. Hope to catch there. See you all.

Baby & Toddler Group:

Skye just loves to go to the meetings. She enjoys playing with other kids. To be honest, I also believe it does me good as well. She received her 1st valentine's heart this week! We also go to a music group which is quite fun. We just dance and sing. It makes you feel like a kid again. I wonder who enjoys it more, the kids or the adults! Hahaha

Playing with Daddy...

Daddy is always playful...Getting dragged in a cardboard box is not so bad...

Fun Neighbours:

A neighbour of mine has a baby who is quite too young to use his own bike, so they insisted on giving it to Skye for a while. The only thing she wants to do, first thing in the morning, is ride that bike. The last thing she wants to do before going to bed is ...of course, ride that bike. We know what she wants for her birthday! Yes, already! She will be one year old in March!

Who says Women Cannot parallel park!!!

Check this one out!

A Walk in the Park...

We are just enjoying the nice weather and having a picnic outdoors.

Don't you feel like a labrador should just leap in these pictures??

Idiot of the Year:

Too Sick...

I guess we take our health for granted...Well, never again! This has been the worst 2 weeks. All 3 of us got sick and not with a simple cold but a crippling fever that gets you shaking and shivering all night with sweat. Michael was unable to go to work for a whole week. Poor Skye still cannot breath properly but her fever is down and under control. I am telling you what a week! I am still shaking and sweating at night fighting the fever. We are on antibiotics. I am sure we will get there.

Mass Migration of Stingrays:

Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.
Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks.
She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

'It's hard to say exactly how many there were, but in the range of a few thousand'

'We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best'
Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.

They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers, they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools.
The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan.

Merry Christmas...

Wishing you all the best this Christmas...







Santa Claus...We salute you.

Christmas at Hamleys at Dubai Mall!!

I wonder who has more fun at toy stores...Adults or kids. Wanna guess?
So Michael was so excited about the opening of Hamleys in Dubai and off we went on another adventure! It was so much fun.

Dubai Mall was decorated nicely with a huge Christmas tree and all sorts of glittery decorations. We also visited the aquarium which really turned out to be massive. The fish are so big, I have never seen anything like it before.

Formula One Power Boats Championship!

The crowd gathered up over the weekend, restless to watch the championship. The conditions were just perfect. The teams travelled from all over the world with their fancy high tech boats, ready for the challenge. You can even hear their engines reving up across the land! Fantastic...I wish my brother can see this, i am sure he would have loved it.

The Dubai Mall:

You really have to see it to believe it. This place is HUGE, I mean humongous! It is one of the largest malls ever containing 1200 stores, a giant aquarium and an ice rink! It is a city by itself. We have not been there yet but we are looking forward to check it out soon.

It received the Guiness Book Record for having the largest acrylic panel made yet.

The aquarium is a proper large size, containing a large variety of exotic fish and even a alrge turtle!

Creative Friend:

This is a great picture which a creative friend took a while ago and I would love to share it with you...

Happy Holidays:

Hello, we hope everything is peachy and lovely with you. We hope that 2008 has treated you as well as it did with us. So many life changing events happened this year. We hope that you are not so badly affected by the economy fall and we hope that you are in good health with good warm company this holiday.


Michael is successful & happy at work. His job is less stressful than the last one. He always comes home on time to play with Skye, give her a bath and read her a bedtime story. He even has time for the gym and he is still a non-smoker…Hooray!

Our flat in Dubai is still under construction. They ‘say’ it will be ready in January, let’s see. Actually, it was promised last April…

Myself, I am still not working; we decided that I would go back once Skye goes to school. Motherhood is fantastic and so much fun. Oh, and yes, full of surprises. I wake up everyday and wonder what will happen: a new tooth, a new laughter? And the list goes on. We got rid of her evening feeds long time ago. I thought I would never say this!
I am driving these days, it gives me my independence. I am braver on the roads now. I am also back on my windsurf which is a fantastic feeling being blasted by the wind and the wave spray! I am also updating my blog, not so often with a baby but it is alright.

As for Skye, she is enjoying every moment of the day. She is 9 months now and learning how to crawl. She has 4 teeth and loves to grin at everybody. She is a good eater and a healthy one too, hates jar food and loves daddy and mummy’s cooking: salmon with carrots, spaghetti bolognaise, braised beef…We go to a mother and baby group every week which she enjoys and she gets to interact with other babies. We also go to the beach almost everyday but we don’t swim if it is cold. We just play by running away from the waves which makes her giggle like crazy!

This is her first Christmas and Santa did not scare her like the rest of the kids. Instead, she was intrigued by his white beard. I am sure she is too young to understand fear. Hope it stays that way. Skye’s face lights up every time she sees a Christmas tree. She is such a character!

I guess that is all for now…But, we hope you spend a magnificent Christmas and a Happy New Year surrounded with family and friends. Cheers!

The Joy of Motherhood...

Ahh...Well, as you can see by my busy blog, we have our hands full, indeed. Michael is doing great at work and he gets time to check the wind forecast so he can catch a ride on his kiteboard. I get to escape to the gym once in a while with her in her play pen...Yes, I take her and her whole big play pen packed with toys through the elevator and up to the rooftop where the gym is. She is happy and I am happy. It is a great idea while she is still immobile.

Skye is such an adorable baby. I find it strange that some people actually stop me on the street just to peek-a-boo her and tell me she's so cute.

It is so easy to meet other mothers when you have a baby. The mother and baby group is so much fun. We are invited to a birthday, our first party...Should be interesting, never thought that would be exciting.

Skye is hilarious, her toothless grin makes you want to burst out laughing. Actually, she is teething these days and quite in pain, poor baby.

She is such a healthy eater, she would swallow anything you put in her way: creamy fish, braised beef, chicken casserole, lentils savoury, etc....

I enjoy cooking for her and watching her reaction. She is also learning to master the art of finger food eating, or shuld I say gobbling, sometimes she spreads it all over the kitchen which looks like a hurricane zone.

...She just loves her strawberries...

She enjoys helping her mum with the laundry.

I am glad we are all settled now. We have our own routine and everything is in place. She knows her room, her parents, we know her habits, her likes and dislikes. We understand each other. So far so good! It is a shame for an expat though, to raise a child away from the family, her grandparents, uncle and aunts must miss her terribly! It would be great to meet quite often.

We are getting ready for our first Christmas...My favourite time of year. We have a few decorative projects on the way. Will keep you posted for sure.

Skye's First Halloween:

I guess no comment...The pictures speak for themselves!

Back from Lebanon, Unpacked and Well Rested!!

Hello everyone. Hope you had a great summer. I know we did! Well, Lebanon was great. The weather was fabulous. Everyday was a struggle...Deciding whether to go to the pool or the beach, which pool as well!! My brother and sister are working in a fabulous spa resort where we spent our days by the pool. Ouf! How exhausting! Life is hard!

If you manage to visit Lebanon, you should pass by The Senses located in Kaslik next to Jounieh. There is a 3 floor gym and 3 pools, restaurants and spa lounges as well.
We felt in Bali or Thailand. We really had a fabulous time.

Well, Skye was spoiled, over the top. Everyone hugged her and carried her until she got used to the whole crowd and noise. She is fearless these days. She started her solids and we can see a shape of a tooth pushing upwards on her lower gum.

Her milestones include sailing for the first time amd swimming as well, going on a holiday by plane and riding the swings.
She was so spoiled with toys and clothes that I was 20 kilos over when I checked in for our flight! ...Of course, we had to pay, in case you are wondering.



This holiday was not possible if it weren't for my dear husband's support and the team work of my family. Thank you, I feel so refreshed and alive again.

Going on Another adventure...

We are going to Lebanon for 45 days!!! See you later...

Skye & the Cookie Monster...

Skye has found her new Guru. Perhaps you have met him? His name is Mr. Cookie Monster. They're continuously whispering career secrets to each other and deciding how to improve the quality of Business. Basically, Skye is trying to figure the fastest way to eat as many cookies as possible. In other words, how to become the future Miss Cookie Monster. She was perturbed by her lack of teeth but her fellow toothless puppet friend has given her a new found confidence!

The Lady is 4 Months Old:

Skye is great. She screams a lot because she realised that she can actually control her vocal cords so it is an opera house here. If you ever visit us just make sure you bring ear plugs! She is still growing and getting taller by the minute! She wears 6 months to one year sizes. She giggles a lot these days and rarely cries. She still cries at bath time, I guess it is part of her development and eventually she will grow to like bath time. She is also curious about everything which makes feeding time a challenge because everything is a distraction!
We are looking forward to our trip to Lebanon to escape the heat. Skye will get to meet the whole family and hopefully she won't be very spoiled. We will be away for 45days. I will tell you all about it once we get back.

I really enjoy taking pictures. She has a great smile. I like the one with the pink dress & hat... A lady of leisure...G & T, waiter, please.



A new hair style.



Family portrait.

Laughter...

That is how Skye makes us feel these days. All you hear are giggles and laughter around the house. She is the one who starts it, too!