Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

Umaapoy ang kalangitan

Sa mga huling sinag ng Haring Araw

Bago siya magbigay-daan sa kadiliman ng gabi

Animo’y sinasabi

Kalungkutan at kadiliman pansamantala lamang

at tiyak na papawiin ng kasiyahan at kaliwanagan

ng isang bagong umaga.

Ito’y kuha sa Aramco Beach, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, noong Nobyembre 2007, kung saan naanyayahan kaming mag-anak at ilang kaibigan na dumalo sa isang munting salu-salo para sa nalalapit na kapaskuhan. 

Or… “Your Baby’s Favorite Toy(s)” - another fun tag I got from “Mega-Marikit Mom”, Tin.

Here are the rules:

Post a photo of your baby with her first ever favorite/comfort toy. Write some details of your fondest memory of your baby and her toy.  This will make a good memento when your baby grows up!

Before passing this on to six (or more) mommies, don’t forget to add the link to your site/s at the end of the page. Surely, many moms (and dads!) would love to see those wonderful posts of yours! ;) 

I unfortunately wasn’t able to take any photos of Marga with her favorite toy when she was much younger. Call me a “narcissist mom” but most of Marga’s baby shots are either “solos” or those with me or hubby only - hahaha!

Anyway, I put up these two “newer” pics of Marga during her usual playtime at home.

“She doesn’t want to drink mimi!”, she says. 

“Mimi” is Marga’s term for milk.  Here, you see her trying (in vain) to bottle feed her little doggie.  Around her are her other Littlest Pet Shop (LPS) toys. I just love her facial expression in this shot - classic “reklamadora” - like me!

She soon tires of her LPS pals and turns her attention to these two other “playmates”…

I just looove Bear-Bear and Kapo!

“Bear-Bear” is a hand-me-down Funshine Care Bear from one of her kuyas while “Kapo” (the pink monkey) was given to Marga when she was born by one of my mom’s dear friends, Tita Dolly Rodriguez.  At her age, Marga is already doing “pretend play” where she becomes the “mommy” while her stuffed toys become her “babies”.  It’s amazing to see her doing this kind of imaginative play since I get to observe her doing all the “mommy stuff” I do - like giving milk, putting a blankie (blanket) over her toys and telling me to shush because her “babies” are sleeping - cute! Just proves that kids her age are absolute SPONGES!

I’m sure a lot of us parents share this secret wish: if only these moments could last forever… (*sigh!*)

Lastly, as I don’t know enough moms with little kids and babies, I’m making this an “open” tag - meaning, any one who reads this post and gets the “urge” to do this tag can do so (c’mon, don’t be shy, guys… we’re definitely looking forward to seeing your posts on your own kids’ fave toys soon!)

Till then, enjoy those precious play times while they last!

They say motherhood is oftentimes a thankless job.  Truth be told, I find myself agreeing with this many times…  

Yet, in the face of mounting chores and a seemingly endless “to do” list, it does feel great to be “recognized” for all my “mommy efforts” even for just one day in a year.  For this year, though, I pleasantly discovered that the surprises in store for me were not limited to just Mom’s Day itself but to the days before and after it as well - whaddyaknow! Talk about going “all out”, huh?

Of course, I have my loving hubby and three adorable “gremlins” to thank (as well as the loads of dear, thoughtful well-wishers who didn’t forget me) for celebrating MY DAY(s) with all the pomp and circumstance it is due.  Guys, it was simply marvelous! I loved it and I LOVE YOU!

Without further ado, I give you ”THE JUICE” … My apologies as this is admittedly a “picture-heavy” post…

MOM’S DAY EVE: As I was about to resume folding the newly-laundered clothes, this box made a welcome appearance

What can I say? Definitely a “maka-BAG-BAG damdaming” moment!

Plus a handmade card from the kiddos…

With a heartfelt “invitation-style” text (feeling “royalty” - hahaha!)

MOM’s DAY: Rafa made me yet another card…

With his own sweet message 

Another highlight: I didn’t have to cook - hurray! Checked out the new French resto in nearby Al-Khobar - La Boucherie

The ambience was cool and so was the service (courtesy of an “all kabayan” service staff!)… but, alas, the food left much to be desired. We all enjoyed the evening, nonetheless… Bon appetit!

Only Rafa seemed all too happy with his orders - he was the only one to “hit the jackpot” from entree to dessert

This was yummy - three scoops of Haagen Dasz ice cream with a dollop of cream and chocolate syrup.  Before you react, Keith and I shared this, okay? Hahaha!

Our “three reasons” for the season

Of course, as many girls will say, what’s a bag without shoes, right? Snagged two comfy ballet flats from Scholl’s - me happy indeed!

POST-MOM’s DAY: Such a wonderful treat - my first-ever blog award! Yipee! Thanks so much, Tin!

Incidentally, since my post-mom’s treat is also a tag, I pass this “Five-Star Blog Award” on to my long-time blogging buddy, Nell, as well as to my NFFs (that’s new-found (blogging) friends) Mommy Ba and Brother Utoy.  All you have to do is answer the simple question: “Who or what influenced you to start blogging?”  Easy-peesy, right? Find the link to my answer here.

That’s about it! If you’ve reached this point - thanks very much for your patience. 

Let’s all spread some sunshine, everyone!

Being a mother myself, I find it quite difficult to write something about mothers that wouldn’t sound so “self-serving”. 

On the other hand, I find yet another voice telling me that it would be a “disservice” to all the wonderful mothers who have touched my life if I relegate this post to a gross generalization of what mothers are.  For truly, there have been so many women who have “mothered” me throughout my life apart from my own dear Mama Petite.  From them, I learned wisdom and derived strength.  Through them, I saw compassion and self-sacrifice.  With them, I am grateful to a loving Father for letting me experience motherhood and thus join in such a  ”precious league”.

Three generations of “diva-ness”

Having been blessed with a daughter fairly recently, I pray that I may be able to get the best out of how Mama raised me and pass this on to Marga.  I am grateful to Mama for instilling in me a deep faith in God and a genuine sense of fair play.  On the practical side, I am now trying (very hard!) to follow in Mama’s footsteps at being a “wiz” in the kitchen for she has always stressed how important it is to “feed your family well”.  I hope to go the extra step, however, and get into the habit of not only feeding them well but also ensuring that I serve them healthful, nutritious and delicious food.

The Scintillating Sys - Loree, Pinky, Dollie and Ayn

It has been said that when one marries, one marries into a family as well.  I have been blessed to have been “married” to a family as giving and loving as the Sys.  Being a single parent, I admire Mommy Dollie for raising her three boys into decent and responsible husbands and fathers.  Her strength of character and genuine compassion has rubbed off well on her sons - thank God! I am also especially thankful to her for treating me like her own - with her, there seems to be no “in-laws” (or ”outlaws” - hahaha! ) but only ”daughters” coming into the family’s fold. 

Millie, Mama and Me!

Lastly, I am thankful to my sisters-in-law, Loree, Millie and Ayn (who, in her third month of pregnancy, recently joined the “motherly ranks”), for treating our children like their own and for making the journey of motherhood much more enjoyable and fun!  I certainly look forward to more years of sharing and swapping ”mommy moments” with you.

And to all the mommies, mamas, nanays out there whom I choose not to name but who will always remain special and dear to my heart, Herbert Farnham must’ve thought of you when he wrote this:

God took the fragrance of a flower…
The majesty of a tree…
The gentleness of morning dew…
The calm of a quiet sea…
The beauty of the twilight hour…
The soul of a starry night…
The laughter of a rippling brook…
The grace of a bird in flight…
Then God fashioned from these things
A creation like no other,
And when his masterpiece was through
He called it simply - MOTHER.

A very happy, meaningful and blessed Mother’s Day to us!

 ”Malilimutan ba ng ina

ang anak na galing sa kanya?

Sanggol sa kanyang sinapupunan

Paano niya matatalikdan?

Ngunit kahit na malimutan

ng ina ang anak niyang tangan

Hindi kita malilimutan

Kailan ma’y di pababayaan.”

Habang nagbibigay-pugay tayo ngayon sa ating mga mahal na ina, sumagi sa aking isipan ang mga kataga sa itaas mula sa isang tanyag na awit sa Pilipino at hango sa Mahal na Aklat.  Bilang isang ina na lubusang nagmamahal sa aking mga anak, di ko maubos maisip na higit pang mas malalim at dalisay ang pagmamahal ng ating lumikha sa atin kaysa sa ano pa mang pag-ibig na kaya kong ialay sa aking mga supling - isang bagay na tunay na kamangha-mangha pero totoo!

Ang kaalamang ito ang nagbibigay lakas at pag-asa sa akin.  Bagamat taos-puso at abot-langit ang aking pagmamahal at pasasalamat sa aking ina, higit akong nagpapasalamat sa isang mapagmahal na diyos at lumikha na hindi nakakalimot at hindi ako kailanman pababayaan.

Ang litrato sa itaas ay kinunan ko gamit ang aking Nokia N70 mula sa kaisa-isang “painting” na nabili naming mag-asawa ilang taon na rin ang nakalilipas noong kami ay nakatira pa sa Maynila.  Ito ay likha ni Ginoong Jun Alfon at nabibilang sa kanyang “Tiboli mother and child series”.

Got this tag from my fave Lone Star state-based cuz-in-law, Munchkin Mommy (aka Weng).

Here are the simple rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six unimportant things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag six (6) random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

As I was thinking of some of my innate weird ways, I found it interesting that almost all of them started with the letter P – now if that ain’t another “weird wonder” ! So, without further ado, may I present …. Pinky’s “P” Quirks!  Enjoy!

1.      “Pagpag Queen”: In Filipino, “pagpag” means to shake the dust off something by giving it a good healthy whack using another object.  For me, I just refuse to turn in without giving our mattress and pillows a good “pagpag”.  In my mind, this should take out not only the dust that may have accumulated during the day but also should “shake up” (and hopefully dislodge!) any bedbugs that may want to slumber away with us.  To sleep tight, I make sure the bedbugs don’t bite so I religiously do my “pagpag”.

2.      Pera: This translates to “money” in English.  Must be the ex-banker in me but I absolutely abhor old, torn (they call it “mutilated notes” in banking jargon) bills! Aside from wanting my bills new and crisp (parang pambigay sa inaanak tuwing Pasko – hehehe), they have to be arranged by denomination (from biggest to smallest) in my billfold – with all the faces in front, of course!

3.      “Pers in, Pers out” (First In, First Out): This refers to the way I want my clothes arranged in the cabinet.  The newly laundered ones go to the bottom of the folded pile with the “older” ones stacked above them.  This way, I get to efficiently “rotate” the use of my clothes and this also ensures that they won’t look shabby and worn too soon because of frequent “wash-and-wear”.

4.     “Praning”: This is Pinoy slang for being paranoid and this is usually how I describe myself everytime anyone gets sick or experiences unusual bodily discomfort in the family.  Got this from my mom who in turn got it from her mom… Yes, folks, the “fear of sickness gene” is alive and well in our family!  They say that the first step to a cure is acknowledging that you have the disease.  I am hopeful that by accepting that I have this “debilitating attitude” (and with God’s help, of course), I would be free of this fear very, very soon!

5.     Prick it, baby! : I must’ve been a dermatologist in my past life since I cannot stand the sight of anything out of the ordinary popping out or growing on my (or my husband’s… or kids’…) skin.  Yup, I just have to take the @#?!! thing out and how!  Hubby has always expressed “disdain” for this bad habit  and exploits my fear of developing a serious infection to deter me from “giving in” to this inclination (I do listen to him most of the time…).

6.     Puchero: In our family, we cook this without tomato sauce and eat it like a salad – with salt and pepper to taste and mayonnaise as dressing! Keith has admittedly found this weird the first time he encountered it but is now happily a fan!

Yes, mission accomplished - yipee!

I’m tagging my online buddies Jeanny, Buge, Dang, Dragon Lady, Sushi and Julie.  Have a go at it, ladies! It’s fun – promise!!!

CAVEAT: If you are the squeamish type and don’t like reading about sickness or bodily “malfunctions” , better just skip this and wait for my next “normal” post. 

Just when I thought it would be like any other Friday (the equivalent of Sunday in this part of the world), an early morning unwelcome “surprise” springs on me…

By now, the ever-familiar Friday “drill” for us goes something like this: wake up, wash up, get ready for mass, lunch out, go home, do chores, prepare dinner, relax, turn in…

Except that I woke up at around 2 am with what I thought was a usual bathroom break - until I had to go several (felt like a gazillion times, though!) times because I constantly felt the urge to pee without totally relieving myself.  What’s more, after this ordeal, I was now running a low-grade fever and was feeling worse by the minute. 

Me and sickness (especially mine) is always a losing combination - we just don’t mix well together… ever! Add to this deadly cocktail my extreme paranoia towards any type of sickness and the result could be emotionally lethal - mega-panic time! It was at this “loka-loka” state that I  just had to wake hubby from his dream-filled slumber (he later told me he was actually dreaming that I was “in labor” and was about to give birth via normal delivery when I roused him - talk about wavelength!) so he knew how much pain I was already in.

After calling my mother-in-law (a doctor) long distance and getting some reassurance that what I’m feeling is not actually “life-threatening”, Keith and I decided to still go to the ER of the nearest hospital just so I could be given some pain management drug and so that I could hopefully be relieved somewhat of my nagging bladder discomfort.

So, at 4 am, we hurriedly left the house with a sleepy-eyed Marga in tow (wawa naman!) - we decided not to wake the boys anymore and just left them a note to let them know where we had gone to in case they woke up to find a “parent-less” house (hay, the things “yaya-less” parents go through talaga!).  I was actually a bit worried at leaving the boys behind but something’s gotta give so I went with Keith’s better judgment and said a quick prayer for the boys’ safety and protection while we were away.

After the usual checks (BP -okay, temperature - normal (?) - guess panic has a way of making us feverish!), I anxiously waited for the attending ER doctor to check on me.  I honestly thank God for sending a seemingly credible and competent doctor at such a nerve-wracking, pain-filled time.   His diagnosis: urinary tract infection (UTI) - heck, I’ve had UTI before yet it never felt as worse as this! I was prescribed the usual antibiotics and analgesics (after being given an injectable pain-killer) and was told to consult a urologist if I still experienced any pain or discomfort after the course of the antibiotics.

Right now, I’m feeling much better yet still not totally in my finest form.  I am thankful that the medicines seem to have helped and I am praying that I will be on the road to complete recovery soon.

Please do say a prayer for me too (for some reason, I grew up believing that God has a softer spot for “lobbyists”  and will tend to answer our prayers sooner - hahaha! ).  And here’s to good health for everyone and a total ban on “Freaky Fridays” like the one I just had!

(May paunang paumanhin sa kapatid kong si Pippo… )

Hulaan ninyo kung bakit malungkot ang kapatid ko sa larawang ito.

A. Hindi dumating ang regalo niya mula kay Santa

B. Medyo masakit ang tiyan niya dahil naparami ang kain niya sa kapaskuhan

K. Bigla niyang naalala nang iniwan siya ng “school bus” noong Grade 1 siya

D. Wala sa mga pinagpipilian sa itaas. Gumawa ng sariling kuro-kuro.

Kung ang sagot niyo ay titik “D” - hindi kayo nagkamali!

Ang litratong ito ay kuha ko sa “lobby” ng Westown Hotel sa Iloilo nang magbakasyon kaming mag-anak doon noong nakaraang Disyembre. 

Sa totoo lang, masaya talaga si Pippo dito.  Napaluha lang siya sa sobrang kaligayahan kaya nagmukha siyang malungkot - hahaha!

Sige na nga, pinilit kasi namin siyang mag-”emote” na “pang-Famas” upang i-”project” sa kamera ang di mapigilang kaligayahan (”touched”, kumbaga - hahaha!) sa pagkakalipat namin sa hotel na ito mula sa orihinal na “hotel from hell” kung saan kami inilagay ng aming travel agent.  Mula kasi sa kalunos-lunos na kalagayan namin sa naunang hotel - naroon na ang madilim at amoy amag na “corridors” papuntang kuwarto at ang “view” ng mga sinampay ng mga kalapit bahay na bubungad mula sa bintana - talagang abot-langit ang pasasalamat at tuwa naming makalipat sa mas bago at magandang hotel tulad ng Westown!

Ano kamo ang orihinal na hotel namin? Itago na lang natin siya sa pangalang “SM”…at ang kontrobersyal na tagline niya? “The Premier First Class Hotel in Iloilo”. Ano daw??? Yan ang talagang malungkot!

As most parents with toddlers will attest, a large part of the “Terrific Twos” is the seemingly insatiable curiosity about anything and everything.

Imagine my surprise one morning when our “resident kulit bulilit” was able to unwittingly compose this “artistically taken” (yup, it’s the mommy in me talking here - walang kokontra! ) shot while tinkering with my camera phone… 

Now, that’s one mean feet feat for someone just barely two, right?

PS Can anyone guess whose feet the purple starry shoes belong to?

Last weekend was particularly eventful for us.  We decided to check out the new water theme park in our neighboring kingdom, Bahrain - The Lost Paradise of Dilmun.

Impressive bovine structures greet us at the entrance of the park

Dilmun is actually one of the earliest civilizations in Bahrain.  They were believed to have been descended from the Greeks. We were fortunate to have visited the original site of the Dilmun ruins - a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site - during an earlier visit to Bahrain in October last year.

The attention to detail of the outer walls was a good sign - we weren‘t disappointed when we finally got inside!

What a welcome sight! A replica of an ancient Dilmun aqueduct

Highlights of our visit were the wave pool (apparently the largest in the Gulf region) , the Kids’ Rain Fortress (where the kids spent most of their time) and of course, the exciting water slides!  Too bad, though, that we weren’t able to take pictures of all the attractions we tried since it was quite difficult to bring our non-waterproof camera along while we were having so much fun in the water.

The Kids’ Rain Fortress aka The Water Temple - where we shared a lot of fun, BIG splashes!

Keith and I were so happy to have done something different and fun (for the kids, most especially) for a change.  Our weekend adventure was definitely one of our finer family bonding moments.

Our three blessings

Click here for more pictures.