Aquarium

Life has been hectic and chaotic lately that I couldn’t find the time to update on our recent holiday.

We came back from Boston nearly 2 weeks ago. My parents continued their stay in the US and went to New York, then flew back to Dublin to join us for another week. They happily volunteered to babysit Aidan whilst the both of us went to work.  They went back to Malaysia last Saturday and I felt lost not having mum in the kitchen. The night before she left, she thoughtfully made some kari salmon for hubby and ketam masak cili for me and stacked some leftovers in the fridge for us. Now we are back to the usual menu of ayam goreng, hehe.

I am planning to split the holiday into a few short entries. Let’s start with the aquarium eventhough we visited the place on day 3 of our visit.

I was all excited about the aquarium more than Aidan I think. Mum mentioned I had made 2 school trips before when I was 5 and 7,  and it baffles me that I have no recollection of it. So I was adamant this time round to take plenty of photos.

Aidan woke us up at 4am that morning so we arrived bright and early at Boston harbour. Lucky for us there was no long queue for the tickets. Apparently it can be really crowded during the summer holidays.

 

Penguins

 

The penguins were a nice surprise as you see them the minute you go in. There were different type of species but I haven’t a clue what’s what, they all look the same to me. I love their big fat bellies and I was hoping one would belly flop into the water

 

One happy mum and kid

 

Then came the fish.

 

Can you spot dory ?

 

There was a really big ocean tank in the center full of fish, turtles, stingrays, eels, corals etc. It was quite fascinating to see all of them interact and cohabit together. Aidan got excited and kept banging the windows every time a fish came up to him, I got embarrassed because there were these big signs saying ‘please do not knock on the windows’. Oh dear, must teach this boy some manners.

 

Colourful corals

 

Hubby took most of the photos so there was hardly any photos of him except for this one -

 

You can get your hands wet at the touch tank but I wasn't brave enough to do so.

 

 

How could he ?

 

More to see,

 

Jellyfish

 

 

No clue what this is - dragonfish ?

 

 

Seals

 

 

I love the view of the sea

 

Aidan got tired towards the end, so we were lucky the seals were the last exhibit. If you have been following my blog, we get plenty of seals in Dublin so Aidan didn’t miss too much by falling asleep in the stroller.

We had a good time  – it was very enjoyable and educational although I was expecting a little bit more for the price we paid. Oh well. You know what they say – win some, lose some. So if you’re in Boston, don’t give it a miss

I’ll continue with part 2 soon. In the mean time, it’s going to be another long week of work for me

Toys, Toys and More Toys!

I haven’t had the chance to resize the photos taken during the family visit last week but here’s some that I managed to do.

Hamley's Dublin

We brought my niece, Nadia to Hamley’s last week because she was telling me she doesn’t remember much about the place and I don’t blame her because I think she was only 4 or 5 at the time.

I was adamant to show her the one in Dublin because this one is less crowded than the one in London, and we’ll get more proper photos taken here to show to her mum back home. You can see how empty the place is on a typical weekday afternoon in the photos below. It looked like we owned the store!

Happy to be back in her old playground

And look at these two, any girl would be happy in Barbie Land!

To be honest, I have a soft spot for this toy store too – my very first Barbie was from Hamley’s and I still have it till today.

When we were there, Aidan played with the toys too.

First was the pony that was selling for 260 euros, I would love to buy him one of these one day but I'll get a cheaper version of it.

Next was the penguin that waddles and squawks like a real one!

Then came the orang utan, the horse and the elephant. There's no need to go to the smelly zoo when you can get it all here

Then we plonked Aidan in the middle of these gigantic soft toys.

Mummy wanted a photo too

Next was Aunty Zeileen feeling like a queen

Not to forget Aidan's 2nd cousin Nadia! It's all in the genes, LOL!

And finally,

This giraffe was on sale for 4655 euros! I bet the real thing doesn't cost as much. Hehe.

Blooming Marvelous

We had a great day out at Bloom yesterday. I was looking forward to attending this garden festival after hearing great reviews about it, for some reason we missed the previous years and I think probably I was too busy working.

The festival was very lively and packed with people when we arrived, there was something for everyone and no wonder they called it Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family event.

I’ll put up as many photos here and let them do the talking so that you can have a feel of the festival.

The first marquee was brimming over with wonderful plants and flowers. Believe me, these are REAL vegetables on display.

Garden enthusiasts would go crazy here and aren't these flowers beautiful ? They were on sale for 50 euros a pop.

Just outside, we took in the beautiful surroundings of the 25 show gardens.

The one below was my favourite, very calm and serene and something I would like for my own garden.

It even came with a 3 piece orchestra. I don't mind having one in my garden too

More garden ideas

The artisan food market had a huge variety of foods on display, we had a fun time munching on free cookies, brownies, yoghurt, bread and Aidan especially loved the homemade orange juice.

The food market was great for foodies alike

All kinds of bread to choose from, we bought custard and almond bread.

There were plenty of stalls offering crafts, toys and other beautiful household items too.

Wooden jigsaws

Puppets

We bought a bubble gun for Aidan, I think the daddy was more interested than him

Or maybe the mummy ?

Oh, we fell in love with these gigantic pillows which were all over the field in the concert area courtesy of the company selling it.

All sorts of colours - green, orange, blue...

Aidan was more interested in the boy smiling across us. Look at the sea of people behind, we were lucky to get hold of the pillows!

They were also selling these cool hammocks for 49 euros, I was hoping to let Aidan have a go but none of the kids wanted to get off!

Next we went to discover the children’s play area hosted by Imaginosity.

So true!

There were competitions for the bigger kids with prizes for the winners,

little toddlers like Aidan went for the sand pit

We went back to the concert area and parked ourselves in front of the jazz band.

In search of the best spot

Aidan kept himself busy with the blondes

These 2 were busy chasing each other

All set to support England in the World Cup

Next, we spent the last hour walking around enjoying the ambience and that’s when we found an eagle and a donkey!

Aidan was intrigued by the eagle but terrified of the donkey.

My first face to face encounter with an eagle, what a beautiful bird. The guy insisted we take a picture with the eagle , our lucky day

The cute shaggy donkey

And to top his little zoo experience, he played with some hay!

Phew, this must be my longest post to date. So that’s how we spent our weekend, a fun day out with the family.

We had a blooming marvelous time at Bloom, and hopefully we'll be back next year!

Sunday Lunch

On sunday, my dear friend invited us over for a big lunch at her gorgeous new house. We made our way to south Dublin after Aidan’s midday nap, hubby couldn’t make it as he was on call yet again on a Sunday. I think he’s been working back to back the last 3 weekends, how insanely crazy!

With the great hosts and Aini whom I have not met for over a year, and btw Aidan was dangling onto me hence the funny pose!

Aidan, Alea, Aishah

Restraining the hyper boy in the bumbo

Watching the bigger kids play dart

The new house is really beautiful and bright in a highly sought after address, 4 bedrooms, a very spacious kitchen with a breakfast bar and separate dining. I took a tour and really loved how she decorated Ayman’s bedroom, just like a scene from ikea.

There was a sumptuous spread of  food on top of the yummy cupcakes made especially by the lovely hostess, which reminds me I must get hold of that Hummingbird recipe book.

Another worthy Sunday,  we went home happy and content. Thank you for inviting us and also  for the lovely birthday presents Aunty Shahnaz, Aidan loves them all!

A Day In The Park

We took Aidan to Phoenix Park last weekend, we recently discovered a really modern playground which looks relatively new.

These days we take every opportunity to bring him out on his trike and let him have a taste of the outdoors.

His face lights up everytime I bring him out to the park and his expression shows sheer happiness.

Too bad we have more winter months than summer here!

Quality time with the daddy who's always at work

Where are all the moms ? Don't you just love being this part of the world!

Higher mummy, HIGHER!

Daddy's idea to put him up against the wall

My two boys

We spotted some picnic tables here, yea! We must come again

Garden BBQ

So finally yesterday we met up with 3 of our friends, they have been tied up with work and oncalls lately that it was difficult to gather everyone.

Woke up early saturday morning to sunny weather and a couple rounds of text messages and calls later, we decided to go ahead with a BBQ.

Hubby came home midday after a night out oncall and headed straight to the nearest halal shop.

Few hours later we got the bbq running in our back garden and feasted on beef burgers, lamb koftas, garlic butter mussels, lamb chops, flaming hot chicken with coleslaw and potato salad on the sides.

Good food, great company, fabulous day!

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While The Sun Shines

Here are some photos from the beach trip last Sunday.

We wanted to go to the neighbourhood park but it was jam-packed with kids.

I think everyone was out of their house last weekend because the weather was too good to be true, if only it was like this all year round.

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And by the way, WordPress just brought this in so I’m giving this slideshow a try.

Let me know if it’s troublesome or else, I’ll stick to the usual.

And yes, weekend’s here again – Have a nice one everyone!

A White New Year

Woke-up this morning and was surprised to see this when I looked out my window.

A beautiful blanket of snow

The photo below was taken for hubby who’s oncall in the hospital on New Year’s Day.

(Something’s wrong with my phone, I couldnt MMS this photo to him)

Look what you're missing Daddy!!!!

And please please drive safely tomorrow!

Choo Choo Train

We’re having a lazy sunday today after a having a big meal of  Daging Masak Kicap with Asparagus.

Am thinking of bringing Aidan out later this evening to the Chrismas Market at the Docklands, I hope it doesn’t rain or else we’ll just stay indoors and watch the finals of the Xfactor.

Anyway, I’m putting a video of Aidan’s first ride on the Choo Choo Train. Lately I’ve been taking short clips of him so that the family back home can see how much this little boy has grown, will put them up in the next few weeks.

Check out Aidan in the last 10 seconds of the video -  he gives a big smile the minute he sees his daddy with the camera!  We’re in the blue carriage btw.

A Quiet Sunday

It is 9am Sunday morning and the house is unbelievably quiet – baby’s asleep, Pepper’s lounging god-knows-where, hubby’s oncall and the weather is looking desperate out there.

I have been up since 6am – fed and played with the baby and packed hubby’s lunch and dinner since he will be staying the night at the hospital.

Thanks to Tesco online, I have just done my grocery shopping for the week and the items should arrive at my doorstep tomorrow evening. I used to enjoy going to the store but ever since having a baby, the online option is probably better for me. No more worrying about looking for the nearest parking space and handling a cranky 3 month old whilst pushing a fully loaded trolley. Their service has been super efficient and always arrive at the scheduled delivery time. From baby nappies to chillies, from coconut milk to shampoo, the items have been spot on too.  Basically you can get just about anything from the store and it gets easier with every order as you can make a favourite list making everything just a click away. I wonder if Malaysia has the same service?

Anyway, if you’re wondering what happened to Mr Crab – we had a big (big meaning plenty of leftovers to survive another meal) lunch yesterday and here’s a photo of it

Ketam Masak Lemak

Dihidang bersama nasi panas dengan

Udang Goreng Kunyit

Alrighty, Master Aidan is screaming for attention.

TTFN ! ( That’s Ta Ta For Now from the Disney channel )