How I cleaned my daughter's VIOLET (by LeapFrog)

My Pal Violet by Leapfrog (image taken from ToysRUS)

                         

It's cute and cuddly, can sing nursery rhymes, play lullabies to put a child to sleep, and can even call my daughter by her name. Violet can be personalized by downloading content on Leap Frog's website via mini-USB connection (the recent version of Violet have an audio jack connection instead of the mini-USB). It's quite sturdy too! Usually when we have plush toys, the ears and tail are the first ones to get detached but with our Violet, all it's parts are still intact even though my daughter pulls Violet by the ears and tail especially when she was just a year old or so.

Violet is my daughter's favorite toy. She will play with different toys in the morning, but come night time, she would always have Violet beside her, make it sing, before she would sleep. It comes with us almost everywhere, to parks, malls, airports and we make sure never to leave it behind especially on overnight trips. Violet has been spilled with (but not limited to) milk, water, chocolate. Smeared with jam, chocolate, cheese and lots of other stuff. It's VERY dirty. Sometimes I spot-clean Violet. I would get a toothbrush, dip it in a cup with diluted baby bath soap, and clean the areas which are too dirty. Then I would wipe those areas with a wet cloth and hang it to dry. And though there are times when I really should have washed her, I didn't for fear that I will damage the electronics inside and my daughter will lose her comfort object. 

It was an overnight stay with my daughter (and Violet) at the hospital that forced me to wash Violet. With the MERS virus scare here in the UAE, washing Violet was the sane thing to do, even if it meant damaging the electronics inside it. Violet was already becoming too much of a health hazard for us all.

First, I told my daughter that WE (me and her) will wash Violet. Then I let her watch as I removed the battery cover and batteries, placed them on the top of the fridge where she can't reach, and told her that after Violet dries, we will place the batteries back.

I then put water on the tub, only a few inches deep but enough to submerge Violet.

As I put Violet on the water, sure enough, the water turned grayish within a few seconds of coming into contact with it. I diluted baby bath soap in a cup and poured it on Violet. After I gently scrubbed-clean it, I also let my daughter scrub Violet for a few times just for her to feel that she's involved in bathing her favorite toy.

We rinsed Violet until there were no more soap suds coming from her.

I pressed Violet's head and legs between my palms but not too hard so I won't damage it's wirings (if they were not damaged yet by the water).

Then I hung it to dry.

It's finally clean!

I washed Violet early in the morning so I will have the whole day to let it dry. Luckily, it was dry come sleeping time.

I did not put batteries immediately after it was dry (evening). I replaced the batteries only AFTER 2 WEEKS so Violet will be completely dry even on the inside.

When I replaced the batteries and heard the first bark, I was so happy that my gamble paid off. The happier part was seeing my daughter's smile as she heard Violet's voice again.

I don't know if this procedure will work with other toys with batteries as I haven't tried it yet. I don't even know if this procedure will work with your Violet.

And of course, each of us have our own interpretation of the word "gentle", what may seem gentle to me may be rough to you, or vice versa. I DO NOT GUARANTEE (just to be clear) that your Violet won't get damaged when you wash it. Maybe I was just lucky that even after I submerged Violet in water, it still works. Maybe the heat here in the Abu Dhabi was a blessing in disguise because Violet was able to dry fast that's why it wasn't damaged, I am not sure. This procedure worked for me and I will do it again but not so soon. I wish I would still get the same result.


#violetbyleapfrog #mypalviolet #cleaningtoys

Loom Band : Another Flat Hexafish

My design was supposed to have a green band between the yellow and blue bands as I was going for the colors of the rainbow, unfortunately, I ran out of green bands. I continued making the bracelet anyway and I think it turned out nice even without the color green. It's really hard to find colored bands or even the rainbow loom kit here. I only know 2 stores in Abu Dhabi that sells rubber bands for the looms, one is Virgin Megastore in Al Wahda Mall, and the other one is Journey Toys located along the Old Airport Road in Abu Dhabi City. I'm hoping that these 2 stores will have rubber bands available when I do get the chance to go to the city.

PATTERN

3 white
4 pink
3 white
4 orange
3 white
4 yellow
3 white
4 blue
3 white
4 purple


#rainbowloom #flathexafish #Journeytoys #abudhabi
#loombands

Friday's Disney Mickey Mouse Surprise egg

We made a new blog dedicated to "unboxing" surprise eggs :) It's ourdailyegg.blogspot.com

For the first project, we will be unboxing 30 eggs and the photos will be posted on the blog daily for 30 days. Hopefully we can find more varieties of surprise eggs here in Abu Dhabi over the next few days.

surprise egg number 1

Before this project, we normally open 4-5 surprise eggs a week because, well, we just want to. :)

Thursday's Disney Princesses surprise egg :)

Thursday's egg

excited little girl :p

Princess Ariel 

Doesn't look like Princess Ariel to me. I think we'll just stick to Disney Mickey Mouse surprise eggs next time.

Discovering Abu Dhabi and a little bit of Dubai

Before, when one mentions United Arab Emirates or any country in the Middle East, I always form a picture of the blazing sun, sand dunes, and camels in my head. I imagined the country to be very dry, with the occassional palm trees, and yes, very sandy.

desert (picture taken from the top of Jebel Hafeet)

I arrived in Abu dhabi in March 2009. Excited and curious, I exited the airport and saw trees, lots of them. It was also cold, not what I was expecting. (I didn't do research on the UAE before I went here :) ) On my way to my new home, there were still more trees, and tall shrubs, and no camels.

I went to Abu Dhabi City the next day and was amazed by the rows of trees that lined the roads. I love trees, that's why I salute the government's effort in planting (and caring for) them in a place where they could hardly grow. It was still cold during my first days here, because winter runs from October to March, that I know now.

One thing I got right though was the sand. It's everywhere. Especially since we live outside the city. Every time there's a sandstorm or even strong winds, expect furnitures to be coated in sand.

Weeks passed and I continued to discover more about this country that will be my home for the next few years. It is a very rich country, that I am sure. Ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys, Lamborghinis are common. Petrol is cheap, the roads are well maintained and road assistance is quick to respond in times of accidents.

The malls here are huge with many western and european brands that cater to the large expat population. Grocery stores like Carrefour and Lulu are also stocked with products from different countries.

There are also lots of parks in Abu dhabi. The plants and the trees are well cared for. Parks are packed with families on Thursdays and Fridays especially during the winter. Only a few go to the park in summer, most go to the malls where the ac is on full blast. May to August are the hottest months, with temperatures reaching as high as 50 degrees celcius!

In the UAE, Sunday to Thursday are work days, Friday and Saturday are weekends.

And then there's Dubai...

On the way to Dubai

Tall and even taller buildings everywhere, even more luxury cars, and even bigger malls. 

tall and even taller buildings

more buildings

Burj al Arab, 7-star hotel

Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on Earth

And about the camels that I thought was common in the UAE, turns out that they're not. The only times that I have seen a camel was when we went to Dubai where we passed several farms, and when we went on a desert safari where you can ride a camel or just have a photo taken with it.

Even after years of living in the UAE, there are still loads to discover about Abu Dhabi and the other emirates. With the construction of new malls, parks, and other tourist attractions yearly, one can easily find things to do in this place I've grown to love.

Loving the Flat Hexafish

While searching for tutorials on Youtube, I came across the Flat Hexafish design and it easily became a favorite, not just for me, but for the little kids who are the recipients of the loom bands I make. 

Here is another flat hexafish bracelet that I made. I was supposed to make matching bracelets for me and my daughter but I already ran out of the green rubber bands. 

favorite color combo :)

For tutorials, I go to SoCraftastic and Justinstoys on Youtube

Wednesday's egg surprise

Ginger and our eggs for the next few days

Today's egg

soft choco shell, the room was warm this afternoon

messsssyyyyy

I had to wash the capsule because it had too much chocolate stuck on it

Goofy! :)

:)

Korean Grocery in Abu Dhabi

It's sour and spicy, made with ginger, garlic, red pepper powder, cabbage or radish or spring onion. Considered as one of the healthiest food in the world and is Korea's national dish. Can you guess it yet?

Yup, it's kimchi. Can be eaten with fish, meat, or veggies. As a side-dish or even as a snack, for some, eating kimchi is a hard habit to break.

Luckily, I live next to someone who regularly makes superb kimchi so we have a constant supply of this awesome dish.

Here are the two kinds of kimchi my neighbor makes:

Radish kimchi

cabbage kimchi

Aside from kimchi, my neighbor also makes this:

kimbap

and toppoke, bulgogi, bon chon, chapchae and some more dishes with names I keep forgetting.

For those who aren't fortunate enough to be living next to someone who makes delicious kimchi, here's something for you: did you know that there's a Korean grocery in Abu dhabi? Yes, there is. It's in the Musaffah area, near Safeer Mall. It's Hanarum Supermarket but the sign outside the store says Karat. They sell kimchi by the kilo and the last time we went there they had radish and cabbage variety.

Here are some of the products that are available (what we usually buy anyway) in the supermarket:

frozen beef mandu

frozen sweet red bean bun

smoked ham

fish cake

citron tea, 1kg

There are lots of other items available like noodles, snacks, condiments, chili paste, even canned food.

loom bands!

Since the day I created my first loom band, I knew I was hooked :) . I know I'm not the only one though, judging from the millions of views from tutorials on Youtube. Out of all the designs available, my favorite would have to be the flat hexafish or flexafish. It's takes a long time to make but the result is just so pretty. I don't have a lot of colors of rubber bands because the store that sells them here in Abu Dhabi have not received their new stocks yet. One more week of waiting then I'll have new colors to work with. Hopefully they'll have the colors I want :)

some finished products

flat hexafish <3

favorite color combination: white-blue-light green-yellow

Rainbow loom kit at last!

Several days ago, we reserved a Rainbow Loom kit from Journey Toys in Abu Dhabi city and yesterday, we got a call from them informing us that a kit was available and ready for pick-up. Yeah! Luckily, we were really planning to go to the city and so we went to the store asap.

located at 15th street and Old Airport Road

It was hot in the store because the WHOLE building in which it was located had no airconditioning. Even with an electric fan and an air cooler, they didn't do much to bring down the heat. The salesperson was still cheerful despite the temperature. The kit that was available was the old version which had the plastic hook (the new versions have metal hooks), which was okay with me since I can always replace the hook with a crochet hook if it gets broken. The Rainbow loom kit we purchased included a FREE rubber band pack (600 bands, 24 c-clips) which usually cost 20 dirhams. Yeah! (again)

119 dirhams plus FREE rubber band pack

These are the bands that I have made so far. There are many tutorials on how to make different designs available on Youtube. There are even tutorials on how to make bracelets using forks and crochet hooks. Very resourceful! My favorite tutorials would have to be from SoCraftastic because she makes beautiful color combinations and she really explains the procedures well. I saw lots of band colors on Youtube but sadly, none are available in Journey Toys. The only colors they have left when we went there are purple, pink, turquoise, glow-in-the-dark white, and a pack containing silver and gold bands. Their new stock of kits and bands will arrive in 2 weeks but I suggest to give them a call and have your kits reserved as early as possible because they have a long waiting list.

quadrafish (left) and flat hexafish :)

finished bands (hip-fish and quadrafish)

Journey Toys- 02-441-1208

#rainbowloominabudhabi

#hashtagnewbie

Our last Disney Mickey Mouse Surprise egg

I wanted to go out and buy surprise eggs this week but it's just so hot that we just stayed home (it's 46 degrees Celcius as I am writing this). Sadly, here is our last egg.

last one :(

eating the chocolate as she removes it from the capsule

it was a bit warm in our room that's why the chocolate melted fast

our toy is on the mini-saucer

It's Minnie Mouse! :)

There are 10 figures to collect. We're still missing Pluto, Donald Duck with the green globe, and Mickey Mouse with the bag. Hopefully they'll be in the next batch that we buy. Maybe we'll try the Disney Planes next time :)

Start the day with a Surprise (egg)

How about we start the day with a Disney Mickey Mouse surprise egg?

Today's surprise egg

I hope it's Pluto this time...

it's Donald Duck!

I think surprise eggs are quite popular here in Abu Dhabi already, either that or they don't order much surprise eggs to begin with. We've only seen these eggs in one hypermarket, and it's not always available (at Hamdan Centre they always have stocks though). I wish they'd sell other variants especially the Disney Frozen kind. It's quite addicting really, not just for my kid but for me too. Wanting to complete the whole set of toy surprise, the excitement as my daughter opens the egg, and us eating the chocolate shell afterwards, it's happiness in a (chocolate) shell.