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.

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

Disney Princesses Surprise eggs in Al Wahda Mall

If you have a child who loves #surpriseeggs (like I have), dozens of surprise eggs were available last Wednesday at Lulu Hypermarket in Al Wahda Mall. They even had the Disney Princesses variant.

3.90 dirhams per egg

Disney Princesses

We opened an egg this morning and here's what we got. 

Cinderella egg

Princess Jasmine

There are 9 princesses to collect. I like the Mickey Mouse egg better though, the Princess Jasmine figure doesn't quite look like Princess Jasmine from the cartoons. #DisneyPrincesssurpriseeggs

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 :)

Melissa and Doug's Stamp-a-Scene Rubber stamps

Last Friday, our search for the Rainbow loom kit brought us to Journey Toys in Abu Dhabi City but unfortunately, we weren't able to buy one because all the kits have already been sold or reserved (those kits were already from their new stock). We decided to buy something, just so we won't go home empty-handed (after seeing all those toys, it's kinda hard not to buy anything...).

There were many toys to choose from but considering my budget and my daughter's interests, we bought this Melissa and Doug Stamp-a-Scene Rain Forest theme rubber stamps that I thought she would love. When at home, she would ask me to draw different shapes on her hand which she would proudly show to our neighbors (or to anyone she meets), that's why I thought she would love this. And she did! :)

99 dirhams

In the short time that she played with the stamps, her hands looked like this:

not messy yet...

how we used the stamps. i'm no artist, sorry :p

The stamp set included 5 colored pencils but for our little project, we used our own colored pencils. Aside from the rain forest theme, farm animals and fairy garden themes are also available at the store.

The ink was easy to wash of her hands (and arms, and face) though I haven't tried washing it off from her clothes. I read product reviews for this toy online and I would have to agree with the other moms out there who think this set definitely need a cover. Anyway, I just kept all the pieces in a ziploc bag so I don't misplace anything.

WHERE TO BUY|:

Journey Toys- 15th Street and Old Airport Road
                        Telephone no. 02 441 1208

Wooden Toy Train by Eichhorn

Constantly on the look out for toys for our daughter, we found this at Carrefour Bawabat Al Sharq Mall in Baniyas. It costs 99 dirhams per bucket and it contains 30 wooden pieces. The train tracks are easy to assemble and the trains are also well made. The car included in the set also comes equipped with wheels that enables it to run on the tracks. This toy could make great gifts for young girls and boys. We're also glad to see that the wood used for the toy came from well-managed forests. Kudos to the makers for giving importance to the environment when they developed this toy.

Eichhorn wooden train

recommended for children ages 3 and up.

wood from well-managed forests

contents (excluding Minnie Mouse)

Assembled, top view

My daughter now uses the train to carry her precious surprise egg cargo, just like in the Youtube videos she's crazy about.

Trains and surprise eggs, <3

The Rainbow loom kit at Journey Toys, Abu Dhabi

Are you familiar with Rainbow loom? It's a plastic loom used to create bracelets, necklaces, and charms by weaving rubber bands. Apparently, they're the hottest craze among kids, and adults too!

After several weeks of seeing  pictures of cute and colorful rubber band bracelets in my facebook newsfeed, yesterday, I finally decided it was time to buy a loom kit for my daughter. (okay, I admit I want to buy the loom kit for myself). My reasons: making bracelets is something me and my daughter can do together. She won't be young forever and every moment I spend with her, I will treasure. Also, I want her to be exposed to toys that can stimulate her creativity and keep her away from the TV and Ipad.

My search for these looms led me to this small store called Journey Toys along the Old Airport road in Abu Dhabi City. They sell the kits for 119 dirhams and the color bands for 20 dirhams per 600 pieces. Honestly, 20 dirhams is more than I'd be willing to pay for RUBBER BANDS. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy one because all their kits have been sold or reserved for people from Abu Dhabi and Dubai too! I should have had called to reserve my kit.They only hold reserved items for 3 days though so I'm still hoping I'd get a call from Journey toys within 3 days. I just had the very nice and helpful salesperson add me to their loooong list of people trying to get a hold of these kits. Journey Toys already placed an order and their new batch of Rainbow loom kits will arrive in 2-3 weeks.

Rubber bands as accessories isn't really something new. I used to make bracelets from rubber bands as a kid but I was only able to make simple designs, chain bracelets to be exact. But now, with the loom, the simple rubber band bracelet just became complex.

Just to make sure I'd have something to work with when my loom kit arrives, I bought 3 packs of rubber bands. The Rainbow loom kit, as well as the bands, are super fast moving products, as in they sell out in a matter of days.

glow-in-the-dark white with 24 c-clips

turquoise (jelly)

purple (jelly)

I really hope I'd get a call from Journey Toys soon. For the meantime, I just bought this Melissa and Doug stamp should keep me and my daughter busy while we wait for the loom kit to become available.

99 dirhams 

WHERE TO BUY|:

Journey Toys - 15th Street and Old Airport Road
                        Telephone no. 02 441 1208
                     -  they sell mostly educational toys and toys that are not available elsewhere in Abu Dhabi  

Today's Disney Mickey Mouse egg surprise

Let's see what surprise we'll get today...

our egg for today

Hiya pal! 

wait for it...

almost...

It's Goofy!

Until next time! :)

Disney surprise eggs in Abu dhabi

It was early this year when an unexpected discovery in the aisles of Lulu Hypermarket in Al Wahda Mall made a happy little girl even happier.We were looking for candies to give to our neighbor's kids for Easter when my daughter saw these eggs wrapped in blue Mickey Mouse foil, we had no idea what they were but my daughter won't let the egg go and it's an EGG (for Easter),so we ended up buying some.

For those who have no idea what a Disney Mickey Mouse surprise egg is, these pics are for you :)

Mickey Mouse Surprise egg

yummy chocolate egg shell

plastic container for the toy 

we have a Donald Duck toy! :)

We only know 3 places that sells Disney surprise eggs and unfortunately, the third place, which is a candy store located in front of Fun City in Dalma Mall Musaffah, do not sell them anymore. They used to have Disney Planes, Cars, Frozen, and Disney Princesses Surprise eggs.

WHERE TO BUY

Lulu Hypermarket, Al Wahda Mall- out of the 3 times (after our first purchase) we went there purposely to buy the eggs, it was only once that they were available.

3 something dirhams each egg. (i can't remember the exact price)

 Hamdan Centre- its the store (forgot the name) that sells nuts, chocolate covered dates by the kilo, tea, biscuits, etc. They have Disney Cars and Disney Planes surprise eggs aside from Disney Mickey Mouse surprise eggs. They sell eggs by box (of 3), not per piece. They also have the big Dora surprise egg.When we went there yesterday, they still have lots of boxes of Disney surprise eggs but there was only one Dora egg remaining.

14 dirhams for a box of 3 eggs

I don't really like the Disney Cars surprise eggs because you still have to put the sticker designs on the cars. The stickers are so small that I have a hard time putting it onto the car. My daughter also likes to remove the stickers when I place them on the car so I don't bother putting them on. Instead, I give the stickers to her so she can do as she please with them (like stick them on the walls).

what we have so far

It took us months but we finally have a Minnie Mouse figure

***Lulu Hypermarket
We've only seen Disney surprise eggs in Lulu Hypermarket in Al Wahda Mall. We already went to Lulu in Baniyas and Mushrif mall, also in Emirates General Market in Shawamekh, but the only eggs they have there are the plastic-shelled ones with candies inside, not the chocolate ones.

I don't know how long Surprise eggs have been available in the market but I'm definitely happy we were able to discover them for my daughter. They make great rewards when she's being really nice. I just don't give her the whole chocolate (too much sugar=hyperactive kid) and brush her teeth regularly.  Oh, and it's not recommended for kids under the age of 3 due to the small parts that can be choking hazards.