Tag Archives: children

Aug21

Outings around Kuwait

Posted on August 21, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Spending a long hot summer in Kuwait is a challenge when you want to make sure your kids are entertained…. As much as you are creative in the home they really do need a change of scenery before driving you crazy.

The next challenge is the budget….there’s always the battle of doing things free vs. paying and also things that are meaningful.

So in this list you’re going to find Free options, cost effective & frugal suggestions and off course those that add up to a “budget”

1. Discovery Mall Play Area
2. Go out for lunch (My girls choices are wither Chillis or Red Lobster and for a pricier choice Sushi at Genki in Alrayya)
3. Go to Fantasy world or Toys R Us for fun (No purchase necessary)
4. Go to Ikea and let the kids play for free in their play area
5. Go out for Breakfast or Brunch (our personal favorites are Cocoa Room or Bredz)
6. Baroue Play area
7. Kidzania
8. Color Me Mine
9. Go have dessert
10. Go to Al-Othman Museum
11. Go to the movies.
12. Magic Planet
13. Go to 100 fils store and give your child KD 1.000 (that adds up to 10 items of their choice)
14. Go out for Ice Cream (our choices are either Marble Slab in Jabriya or Scoop a cone in Dasma)
15. Go to Q8 Bookstore for a fun reading experience. (located in Bayt lothan Instagram @Q8bookstore)
16. Go grocery shopping… Make it fun by letting the kids push the cart, read the list and collect the items.
17. Go to Fun Quest (upstairs in Sultan Center Hawalli)
18. Go Bowling
19. Go play mini Golf (Discovery Mall)
20. Get a Day pass at one of the “clubs” (cornice, Palms….etc)
21. Go to the scientific center
22. Go on a fashion trying outfits (no purchase necessary)
23. Attend one of the workshops at Art Space Café (Instagram @ARTSPACEQ8)
24. Go to Jareer Bookstore
25. Go Ice Skating
26. Go to friend’s house
27. Go to KDD factory
28. Go to a photographer and have a photo shoot
29. Go to Tariq Rajab Museum
30. Go to Early Learning Center
31. Go to the Avenues and do some window shopping
32. Go to Kuwait Towers
33. Go to Aqua Park or Messila water Park
34. Go to the Salon and get Mani, Pedi, Haircut….etc
35. Go to the Fish Market
36. Take the Ferry to Failaka Island
37. Go to Infunity
38. Go to National Museum
39. Go to a department store and smell perfumes for fun
40. Go to Kuwait National Library
41. If the Weather permits some real “outdoor” Suggestions are
42. Shaab Entertainment Park
43. Entertainment City
44. Area parks
45. Duck Pond park in Al-Shaab
46. Have a picnic
47. Outside play area at the Marina Crescent
48. Go rock climbing in Marina Waves
49. Outside play area at Souq Sharq
50. Go for a walk on the beach
51. Go to Shuwaikh Beach

Hope you found this list helpful and assisted in Making Life Memorable

Aug17

Blog Rehab

Posted on August 17, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Blog Rehab

I’ve been so overwhelmed with “living” that I haven’t had time to dedicate to my blog.

To my followers I truly apologize for being too busy, but I hope that you follow me on Instagram (@samoorstuff) to stay tuned. To all new readers I hope to bring you into my life through my blog.

I’m hoping that today will be the day that I get my groove back and I’m calling it BLOG REHAB.

So stay tuned for more inspiration, fun stuff, DIY projects and more ways to Make Life Memorable!

Mar31

Zeenah’s 4th Birthday

Posted on March 31, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Zeenah’s 4th Birthday

I sometimes feel like March is the end of celebration season for me. We go from the high of October through September with a break in January. Then the Rush of February and March then comes SILENCE! Until the cycle returns.

If you’ve been following me this past almost year then you know how serious I am about celebrations. If this is your first read you need to know that almost every “Occasion” post comes in many parts so stay tuned because I usually have A LOT to say and share.

I take pride in almost every planning detail of every event I host. No matter how small or big I must have something special. Thankfully I have instilled that same trait in my children and it has also rubbed off on my husband. The First step in my birthday planning process for the girls is to ask them what Theme they would like. Off course many times I “veto” and “probe” but many times I like the suggestion they come up with.

Zeenah declared her 4th birthday as a “Lady Bug” theme and I was oh too eager to oblige! So much I can work with I was over the moon!! As you can see I also managed to dress her up in theme (which she insisted on having her sister have the same dress too.) Over and above that she asked me to make her a ladybug crown because according to her the guests won’t know who the birthday girl is…. not sure why she would think that since everyone was coming because it was HER birthday….not that I minded off course!

The most exciting thought was the Piñata…. I used to dream about it!!! And oooohhhhh the use of paper Mache, Who doesn’t like a good old fashioned mess??

So stay tuned on all my DIYs, Pictures and fun of Making Life Memorable!

Feb19

Photo Booth

Posted on February 19, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Photo Booth

One of my favorite things to prepare for the girls’ birthdays are props for our DIY photobooth. There are companies out there that set it up for you but I like to do it myself and people nowadays are all photographers with their smart phones so they get to play and have fun on their own without a professional “probing”

We always have a theme for our birthdays so I always have to make sure that the props I make are related. Then I just add the usual things like funky sunglasses, Boas, decorative items that can be used as props.

For Zeenah’s 3rd birthday she wanted a monkey theme so I had printed out a template of a monkey mask.

I then cut out the outline of the mask on brown cardstock. The details of the face and ears with off-white paper.

The step of cutting out the eye holes evenly was a challenge but I managed to do it.

I added a little flower on the monkey’s ear and a little detail on the nose.

Off course the last step is adding the stick for kids to hold the mask up. I use craft sticks that have rounded tips (if I have them available or can find them) I have used the wooden skewers in the past but made sure I taped the sharp ends.

The next on my list was to make a sign to put on the Prop table. I was lucky to find funky frames at one of the local 100fils stores (the Kuwaiti equivalent of the dollar store) so I bought all the colors they had. I knew they would come in handy some day.

Lastly was the setup of the actual booth. We’re lucky to have a big garden that hosts our birthdays. We have an olive tree that provides the best branches to hang an empty frame border, balloons, paper chains and whatever else I can think of. Here’s me posing with my monkey sunglasses during Zeenah’s 3rd Birthday.

Jennah’s 7th birthday she had chosen a queen of hearts theme.
I absolutely and utterly enjoyed planning and decorating for it.
It was so hard to actually make decisions to STOP.
I had made lots of props for that. Queen of hearts hair & Crown, Heart lips, Cheshire cat smile, Mini Golden crown and Teedle Dee/Dum cap.

An Now it’s time to plan Zeenah’s 4th Birthday coming in March!!!

Its all about making life memorable!!

Feb17

Yarn Scrap

Posted on February 17, 2014 by samarhajjaj

Yarn Scrap

My girls Love to play with yarn. Yes it’s a random thing we have in our household but give them a ball of yarn and they’re like little kitties thinking of what to do with them.

After many yarn crafting sessions, scissors and just cutting for no reason I end up with all sort of lengths of yarn.

In an effort to keep everything organized I collect all the scraps of yarn and into the Yarn box they go. Well one fine Friday morning while thinking of a crafting session with the girls I decided its time to get “yarny”.

I had the girls sort out all the different colors and try to unknot as much as they can. Off course some were just unknot-able and we had to cut them leaving us with odd lengths and that’s when I had a moment. Lets just do Yarn pompoms. A great way to recycle all this little pieces!

First we placed a large loop of orange yarn as the base of the pompom.

Next it was placing all the different colors and stacking them up over the looped yarn.

The last step was weavng the loose end of the looped yarn into the loop and tightening it.

Viola!! A Yarn pomom was made

And more importantly the yarn box is nice and neat…..for now!

Nov27

Jennah’s 7th Birthday

Posted on November 27, 2013 by samarhajjaj

Jennah’s 7th Birthday

We Love having themed birthday parties and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing it all come together.

This year Jennah chose to have a Queen of Hearts birthday party. A basic red & black with hearts, “How hard could that be??” I thought! Well in my head things always seem to start simple but I’m not one that does simple. I loooooooooooooooooooooove over the top! “Bigger” and “more is more” is my thing.

So I go old fashioned and grab a pen and paper and start writing my to dos.
1. Invitation & Guest list
2. Cake
3. Set-up
4. Menu & cake
5. Favors
6. Games
Off course I wrote that list but knew that things will definitely be added along the way.

First on the list invitations & Guests.

So I pull out the file on my computer with last years list and print it out. We had a few scratched out names and I also had to give Jennah her list of school kids that she made.

Then the fun part of designing the invitation.

I knew I wanted to have red envelopes and red cardstock for the card. So it was important to make a run to a stationary store before undertaking the design stage. I had to get the envelopes first because only then would I know what size to make the invite.

My second decisions was to design the card for printing on regular white A4. It would just make my life so much easier in getting the color scheme.

A few hours behind the computer and a little cutting here and there.

The final result of a few hours work was something I was very proud of!

7th Birthday memories are beginning to shape up. After all it’s about “Making Life Memorable!”

Oct28

Fabric Heaven

Posted on October 28, 2013 by samarhajjaj

Fabric Heaven

My girls have caught on way to quickly on my “if I can’t find it I’m gonna make it” mentality… It’s supposed to be my little secret… Well secrets out apparently!

Since occasions/parties and dressing up is a big thing in my household my girls get a choice of what they want to be for Halloween.

Jennah wanted to be Zoe from Sesame street and suggested I make it since I couldn’t find a ready made costume (in Kuwait and online). Poor Zoe even sesame online doesn’t have a costume for her. Trust my daughter to choose the underdog! Protector of the weak.

So off to the Fabric Souq in sharq I go….. oodles and oodles of fun. No seriously I wanted to buy it all even though I had absolutely no use for it.

Store after store I was looking for orange fury or feathery fabric. I could find one or the other, either orange but not the texture or Fury but not the color.

All the while thinking, it’s Thursday evening and she needs to wear it on Friday to her cousin’s “Halloween Birthday Party”… Serves me right for asking them! My mind racing and reminding me the faster I get the fabric the quicker I can start designing and sewing.

Finally I was led to a shop called Reemas Bazar, my wishes came true……What a fabulous selection!!! The have more than just fabric, they have all sorts of accessories, beads, and the works!!

The main highlight of the whole thing is that I was in Sesame street heaven!!! I actually found all of the colors and textures for Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie monster, Abby and most importantly Zoe!

I got what I wanted and rushed to pick up the girls from their playdate and couldn’t wait to get home. Mind you I hadn’t thought the whole costume through…. There was still the question of the bug eyes….

I quickly manage to put the girls in bed to get started…ooops I can’t!!! I had to finish the cake and cupcakes I was making for my niece!!! (that’ a whole other POST!!!)

Fast Forward to the next morning……So I set out to make Jennah’s Zoe Costume. I got a visual idea of the main components of the costume and it was time to get all the supplies. I dug through my craft supplies and got two Styrofoam balls, googly eyes, brown glittery foam paper and confiscated a headband from the girls’ dresser.

I’m all set. So I knew that all I needed to use the fabric for was her arms, a little chest area and somehow a wig. I sat there for a while staring at the fabric then it kinda hit me. I made a shrug that she wore backside front. Just a few stiches for the arms and that’s it. I put elastic through the hem the sleeve to hold it onto her wrists.

Next came the real crafty job… I stuck the two Styrofoam balls together and glues each of the googly eyes. I cut out eyelashes from the brown glittery foam paper and also glued them to the eyeballs. Lastly the pair of eyes were glued to the headband.

Now it was time to try it all on and hope for the best.

Jennah was extremely quick to put her ballet clothes on and just waited for me to turn her into Zoe…. Keeping my fingers crossed that it all fits and makes sense.

She wore the arms and I fixed the extra fabric into a wig and placed the headband to hold it all together. And Viola!!! Another creation I am proud to have made.

So this season its all about “Making Life Memorable” the creative way! Oh wait…..isn’t that always the case in my house?!

P.S. If you’re planning a Sesame street character you know where to find the tools to make it!

Oct1

Educational Workbooks

Posted on October 1, 2013 by samarhajjaj

Educational Workbooks

I’m the type of person when I see something I just have to stock up!!! Especially things that are hard to find and not always readily available in Kuwait.

There are 2 major areas (other than unique food items) that are always a challenge. Crafting materials and kids books/workbooks.

While I was shopping yesterday at Sultan Center (in souq sharq) I went upstairs to the kids/electronic section. I was browsing as usual just to see what the latest books they have.

To my pleasure I found several rows of children’s workbooks… It was so nice to see them in quantity, variety and for children from preschool up to grade 5.

If you’ve been shopping in Kuwait in the regular places where you might find these you’ll know that they can get very expensive and over-priced. I was very happy to see that the price range started from KD0.750 to about KD3.500.

So if you’re looking for something to enhance your children head out to Sultan Sharq because you never know when you’ll find them again.

The girls were very excited when they came back from school and found their new workbooks….

Sep22

School Open House

Posted on September 22, 2013 by samarhajjaj

School Open House

If any of you out there still don’t have kids (and are planning to) believe that you’ve graduated school and think its all over HAAAAAA Joke’s on you! Think again!!!

It’s only over after your kids have graduated, become adults and have their own kids to worry about!!

The first 2 weeks of school are over and I still have knots in my stomach!! Every time I see a paper coming home in Jennah’s folder I squint and think “now what!”

Ahaaa invitation to attend an open house…. So I’m thinking sure I can handle that! (but please oh please I don’t want to meet that overbearing mom face to face!) Opps should I write that in public?

We tuck the girls in bed, give them an extra 10 minutes to read and out the door my husband and I go.

Kisses here and hellos there to all the mom’s and dad’s we’ve become closer to in the past few years. As my heart is racing and my mind’s thinking “Oh please prove to me once again that I made the right choice in selecting this school for my daughter”

We walk down the 2nd grade hall approaching Jennah’s classroom. There it is on the left Room P014.

My Heart pounding and thinking “Please please be a pleasant year!”

We walk in and naturally we’re the first parents there….funny enough Jennah’s teacher guessed we would be! Yikes ! Am I turning into those mom’s that the teacher avoids when he/she sees them approaching.

Samar forget it….move along, who cares what he thinks.

We take a seat at Jennah’s table and take a look at her little note for us….AWE how sweet she thinks we’re the best parents even when we shout….

Time to look around….OMG!! How cute is that Tweet board!

What an amazing idea!!!

Teacher posts a question as a Tweet and the kids write their responses on sticky notes.

Totally creative!

Oh and check out that Hopes and dreams Board….

Each child write’s what they want to accomplish in the academic year.

Now I’m thinking why didn’t we have this stuff when we were growing up!

Back to Jennah’s table we go and take our seats.

Ready for our guidelines for the year!!!

Her teacher takes the floor and then I start to ease myself into a smile and say to myself.
He sure is going to be “Making Life Memorable” for Jennah!

Sep18

Birthday Cake

Posted on September 18, 2013 by samarhajjaj

Birthday Cake

It’s getting closer and closer to finalizing your child’s birthday party. Now its time to look at the actual Day of the party.

Hospitality and food is a big thing in the Middle East…. So serving just cake won’t cut it in this part of the world! If you can get away with it then good on you 🙂

Since a major highlight of the Birthday is the cake, other than the birthday child off course!I’m dedicating this whole post to be about THE CAKE!

While I see so many bakeries in town (Kuwait) and between every cupcake business is another cupcake business I’ve yet to really find one that are tasty and not horrendously expensive.

Cake for KD70+ (about$250) SERIOUSLY! and something seems to always go wrong. The color, the taste, the flavor, the cake is to dry, the frosting’s too hard and the worst is the filling or frosting that tastes like stale butter. To all you bakeries I’m sorry, I apologies but this is my opinion.

Being big on baking and cake/cupcake decorating I make my own cakes and cupcakes. They might not look that professional but I take pride in them and the girls and guests never complained.

Cake from scratch, buttercream frosting, fondant and all. Now you don’t have to go to my extreme but I really think investing a little time doing the cake and pocketing the money or spending it on something else for the birthday is well worth it.

After having done several birthdays I’ve come to a huge realization….. kids prefer cupcakes!!! So even though I’ve made fancy 3 tiered fondant covered cakes at the end it’s pretty to look at but they reach for the little stuff.

The big cake I make for me….I enjoy it! So I’ve downsized from the past.

As a result the big cake is used for the candles, singing and the adults to eat. While the cupcakes are for kids.

To figure out how much to serve use this general guideline:
12″ round cake serves 28
1.5 cupcake per child

This means for every 28 adults you can add a Tier and for 10 kids make 15 cupcakes. Fairly simple don’t you think?!

As for flavors stick to the basics. Chocolate and vanilla, but make MORE chocolate than vanilla!

The best frosting ever is the basic buttercream frosting. Easy to make and spread or pipe.

As for fondant I make a marshmallow fondant which is easy to mold and roll.

Now if you don’t want to spend all that time in the Kitchen a boxed cake and jar of frosting will do the trick just as much. All you need to do is just add some food coloring here and there, sprinkles, ornaments/décor or my personal favorite cupcake picks!!
(Cupcake picks DIY also coming soon!)

So spend a little time in the kitchen, get your kids to mix and measure with you. It’s not just about the end result it’s how much fun you can have on the way!! That for sure falls under “Making Life Memorable!”