Tag Archives: qatar

Santa napkin – DIY

Posted on December 1, 2015 | 3 comments

This is the first time i am hosting my family for Christmas dinner after 4 years of marriage; we were alternating between my parents house and my in laws. I am beaming with excitement, it’s also Joud’s first Christmas. I want everything to be up to this special holiday, this year should be memorable.

Beside crafting some of the decorations with my son, my little artist, dressing the table for the traditional réveillon, is as important. A simple yet enticing Santa napkin will add a festive mood to the dinner.

It’s so simple and easy that your little ones can be involved in the making. All you need is red napkins, white pompoms and click here to download a printable file for Santa’s face that you need to cut out.

Here is a sneak pic to how my table will look like on Christmas Eve.

Follow this step by step tutorial to see how to make this cute Santa, it will take less than 5 minutes:

Place one on each plate, wow your guests and let your table radiate with joy!

You can check here previous posts form Marmite et ponpon on napkin folding and napkin rings for Christmas:

It’s never early to start celebrating. Happy holidays to all. Ho Ho Ho!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in DIY, special occasions

Tagged art, beirut, christmas, christmas 2015, craft, DIY, food blogger, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, napkin, qatar, santa

Christmas tree advent calendar – DIY

Posted on November 26, 2015 | 2 comments

Here comes Christmas! The most beautiful and meaningful annual festival when happiness is a small word to what I actually feel. This Christmas comes with double joy, my family doubled in size; Nady and Joud my Christmas star.

It’s not early to set up the festive mood especially when it comes to Christmas decoration. Advent calendar should be ready by 1st of December, so if you are willing to DIY as we did, better for you to go ahead.

Last year we had a reindeer advent calendar, this year we created a beautiful cute forest of Christmas trees to start the countdown to the big day. A fun and simple craft to lay the foundation of a very exciting season. What’s better than the Christmas day is the anticipation to it.

First you need to prepare 24 green cones, made with 200gsm cartons. You can use different shades of green to give it a realistic look.

After all is done, i gave them to Nady to unleash his creativity. Give your kids their favorites materials and watch them being creative; pompoms, paint, washi tape, stickers….

For display, lay them on a white surface or use cotton to create snow. The sky is the limit, use any material for the mood you want to settle.

Now the fun part of this advent calendar is what lays underneath 🙂 Oh yes, sweets and toys. Who doesn’t love a daily surprise gift while counting down?!

If your kid’s age let you take the advent calendar to the next level, don’t just hide sweets or toys under the cones, put words like love, hope, faith….to teach them the real meaning of Christmas.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged advent calendar, blog, blogger, christmas, christmas tree, DIY, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, seasons greetings, way to play

A perfectly spiced carrot cake

Posted on November 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

carrot cake

It’s been long i want to make a carrot cake. At last i found the right time with the best recipe to welcome my parents who are coming to visit me.

The secret behind a successful carrot cake is a the well balanced taste of spices in the batter and the perfect sweet taste of the cream cheese. I believe this recipe really nailed it.

I mentioned in the previous post that mom and dad are coming to visit us in Doha. Last time they were here, i welcomed them with the spectacular chocolate cake with red fruits, and it was a hit. This time should not be less at least. A moist fresh carrot cake with cream cheese frosting to say Ahla w sahla!

carrot cake If you like this cute welcome bunting, click here to download a printable file. You can make it yourself using two wooden sticks (or straws) and a green thread (or whatever color you want) to attach on it the letters. I believe simplicity is the best. Welcome mom and dad, Nady and Joud are so delighted to have teta and jeddo with us!

carrot cake To make this fab cake you need:

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
500g finely grated fresh carrots

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and flower two 9″ round baking pan.

In a bowl mix oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined then add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg then add them to the liquid mixture and mix until all well combined and smooth. Finally fold in the grated carrots.

Pour the batter equally in the prepared baking dishes and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

When they cool off, layer them with the cream cheese and frost outside the cake as you desire, i made it look like a big carrot adding orange and green food coloring to the cream cheese.

carrot cake

To prepare the cream cheese you need:

600g cream cheese
200g butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter until no lumps remaining. Add the vanilla and salt and combine. Lower the speed and add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and after the last cup increase the speed to medium high and beat until combined.

Some people likes it with walnuts or raisins. You can add some between the layers if you fancy.

This cake stays up to 4 days covered in the fridge. I suggest to serve immediately and enjoy it with your favorite people. I can’t wait!

carrot cake If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

Make your own all natural energy drink

Posted on October 28, 2015 | 3 comments

These days i feel like a train hit me! I am physically worn out. I am sure lots of moms (or even dads) have been there and felt exactly the same after those long sleepless nights and busy days without a help. To cut it short, i am dog-tired!

Luckily and finally mom is coming next week. Yeyyyy! can’t wait. But till then all i can do is drinking from this energy drink to survive. A homemade, all natural drink to boost your performance.

1cup orange juice (2-3 oranges)
1/2 cup mandarin juice (2 mandarins)
3 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
dash of salt
1 tbsp honey

You can add 1/2 cup of water to these ingredients if you don’t want a really tangy taste. This super easy energy drink is the best when you need a quick jolt of balanced revitalization, and being full of vitamin C, it works as a prevention from cold and flu as well.

Citrus fruits, especially oranges, are a good source of electrolytes. For the people who doesn’t know what are the electrolytes, they regulate our nerves and muscles function, our hydration, the pH of our blood, rebuilding damaged tissue, and determining blood pressure. They are basically calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium chloride, hydrogen phosphate (a mineral) and hydrogen carbonate (a salt). So having this tangy drink is a smart option to replenish depleted electrolytes.

Honey, as they call it liquid gold, is a natural sweetener that directly enters the bloodstream and deliver a quick boost of energy and memory.

Salt (sodium chloride) is needed to maintain the proper stomach pH. It’s also known that salt lowers adrenaline spikes to improve the sleep quality.

This fire booster drink is a healthier substitute to coffee, if you wish to lower your daily caffeine intake.

Citrus fruits are in season now, don’t hesitate to try this homemade all natural energy drink and keep up your verve all day long.

Offer this drink to your kids after school (not later than 4 o’clock, they will be full of energy and find difficulty to sleep and you will hate me), it will recharge their energy and protect them from catching cold. Skip the dash of salt, kids might not appreciate the taste, and don’t worry, the lemon will do the job, it is a super alkaline which helps your body maintain a healthy pH level.

Now catch me if you can 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in dessert, special occasions

Tagged all natural, citrus fuits, electrolytes, energy drink, food blogger, homemade, honey, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, salt

Activities for your baby from 1-3 months

Posted on October 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

Most of babies spend the first month feeding and sleeping. At week 5, your baby is awake for longer period during the day, this is prime time to get acquainted with him. There are lot of things to do to support his sensory development and lay strong foundations for learning.

Your baby’s brain expands in size during the first three months, growing about 5 centimeters. HEARING your voice, SEEING your face up close and FEELING your touch are the best learning activities!

Hearing activities: After 4 weeks, your baby can tell the difference between familiar voices and other sounds, as he becomes a better listener. Talk to him using a lot of repetition, sing your favorite lullabies, fill the house with music without limiting yourself to children songs. Describe what you see around in the room or even if you have things to do, your baby will still enjoy hearing your voice from across the room.

Despite your baby is not able to add to your conversation yet, but you will be amazed how he becomes in tune with his environment, you will notice him looking to see where certain noises are coming from. He tries to communicate with coos, arms and legs movements and a charming toothless smile that will make you forget the sleepless nights and fatigue. Don’t forget to coo back, or copy the sounds he makes, he will like it and carry on the conversation 🙂

Seeing activities: Your baby loves looking at your face and playing eyes to eyes game. Get really close to him (he sees best up close), do facial expressions, play peek-a-boo type of games, shake a toy (rattle) or move his favorite doudou to see if he follows the movement. Take advantage of the changing diaper time and the bath time to play with your baby, you will be in a position where he can see your face up close.

As you know, unlike baby’s hearing (which is fully mature by the end of his first month), the sense of sight develops gradually over 6 to 8 months. At first your baby can’t focus farther than 20-30cm away, just the distance to the person holding him. That’s why you see most babies eyes at birth are wandering randomly or even crossed sometimes. Everything looks blurry in the beginning. At one month he starts focusing and tracking a moving object. At two and three months his brain learns to distinguish colors. As a result, he can now see bright primary colors and more detailed and complicated shapes. Encourage this development by showing him pictures and toys. Now his musical is more entertaining, not just for the sounds but for the hanging toys that he starts now stretching his hands to grab. Try also the mobile projecting light, he will be amazed every time it changes color.

Touching activities: it’s gym time! Gently move your baby’s arms and legs to exercise. Raise the arms above the head then down, bend the legs up and down or gently massage the joints, using the proper words like open, close, up and down…

Wiggle your baby’s finger and toes while counting them, clap your hands while he is curling his tiny hands around your finger. Most parents love how their babies curl their hand when they give them their index. Such a beautiful grip that warms the heart!

Have you ever danced with your 3 months baby?! hold him tight, put a nice music, turn and sway to the beat and enjoy! Make sure you are supporting his neck with one hand.

Give your baby a space to stretch and move his arms and legs. These movements can help your baby strengthen and tone his developing muscles.

Tummy time is essential from day one to help your baby grow strong. Experts find that babies who don’t spend time face-down often have some delays in their development of motor skills. On his tummy, he’ll start to push off with his legs, this is the first step in getting ready to crawl. Make sure your baby isn’t hungry or tired for the tummy time and don’t place him on a full belly to avoid spit up and acid reflux. The best time is after an hour from feeding.

Some mothers do these activities naturally, following their instinct, i believe our grand mothers and great grand mothers didn’t have access to internet or didn’t attend coaching classes and it’s amazing how they raised healthy and happy babies. Always trust your motherhood instinct and follow your heart. You are a great mother by nature 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.