Life of Leisure

Since I don’t spend my days doing laundry or washing dishes anymore… I thought it might be interesting for you to know what it is that we do here.  We have two outings a day to get out of the apartment and just to take advantage of the good weather while we have it.  Overall, it is better for the kids to be busy and active.. so I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got.

Sunday:

Morning – had a lazy morning, then went to the school to drop pictures of, got so frustrated with the kids behavior I just went back to the apartment. no fun for the little monsters.

Afternoon – Took the kids to the Family Park {they played forever} and then to get pizza at the mall – I tried to have a restaurant training session at Papa Johns since neither of them behave when we are out to eat (it is a sit down restaurant here).. it was a double meltdown, so we took it to go. mission failed.  Charles had a work dinner.

Monday:

Morning - Went to Gym to workout, kids went to kids club and had a ball playing. Went home to have lunch and then while Will napped, Audrey and I spent some one on one time on a long walk around the area.

Afternoon – Audrey had swim lessons, Will and I had a date at Dunkin Donuts.. he had a donut, I had coffee.  Afterwards went for a long walk until Audrey’s lesson was done. Went home to the apartment cooked dinner/baths/bedtime.

Tuesday:

Morning - Went to Hiltonia, Audrey stayed for the Spring Camp all day. She did exercises, swam, got her face painted.. had SO MUCH fun. Meanwhile,  I went and worked out while Espy and Will played in the sand.  I joined them afterwards and we saw Audrey on a boat – the instructor invited us too.. so Will and I got to take a boat ride with Audrey in the Arabian Gulf!

Afternoon – Went to Marina Mall, Kids played {Espy chaperoned} in Fun Zone area – .. huge area that has carnival type rides, indoor playgrounds, bouncy slide etc. I spent some alone time strolling around the Mall. bought 2 adorable things for Audrey that she hated. Went home - Cooked dinner/baths/beditme

Wednesday:

Morning – Audrey and I went to Abu Dhabi Mum’s group, left early b/c it is geared for 2 year olds and she was bored stiff.  (We brought Will and Espy to the Park since he woke up at 5:00 a.m... I knew  he wouldn’t be able to hang for long at the Mum’s group…and we didn’t need him raining on our parade).  Since we left early, We hit Marina Mall once again to return the 2 previously mentioned outfits, had a lunch date at Fudruckers, shared a hamburger, got frozen yogurt, and then took a stroll down the area that has fancy purses.. I tried to teach Audrey about Louis Vuitton, Coach, Gucci, Chanel and Fendi… even though I have no purchasing experience – I just thought it was a necessary mother/daughter thing to do here.

Afternoon – Got Will up from nap, let Espy go home early and went to Le Meridien for a kids activity time at their hotel.  It was really low key, but the kids had a great time with the other kids there.  I took advantage of being on hotel property and had a couple of beers while watching the kids play and chatting with other moms there (I was in a taxi since we brought the car to Charles). Charles had a work dinner so we I fed the kids at the hotel.

Thursday:

– supposed to be headed to Dubai (it is still up in the air). If not, we will go hang out at the Hilton so I can exercise, then I will play on the beach afterwards and then afternoon Audrey has a swim lesson.

What’s going on…

Well lets see.. I know my posts are getting few and far between.. but really, nothing noteworthy going on here.  Today our sea shipment was supposed to arrive – I was so hopeful that it would all be so smooth and on time without any trouble.. but no.  Keeping things in total perspective, it isn’t that big of a deal (until it gets delayed again.. then I might go nuts)..{Just got word that it is in fact delayed again..by 9 more days and possibly longer.. due to the HOT MESS in Bahrain… I need a pity party and lots of wine}.   We are used to the apartment (even though I hate it we don’t like it very much) and it has been 7.5 weeks, much much less time than we anticipated for our shipment to take.  Honestly, I was disappointed, but it didn’t ruin my day or anything when we found out. *Update.. It has now officially ruined my day.

Um… what else. lets see – I have been totally consumed with trying to contact schools, fill out the ridiculous amount of paperwork that is required and staying busy and trying to exercise more.. just to pass the time.  OH AND I FOUND OUT I AM BECOMING AN AUNT IN OCTOBER!!!!! SO THRILLED.. I’ve been dying for some nieces and nephews!!!

----About the school --

I am floored that we are in March applying for school in September and we are waitlisted at 3 schools and are in a ‘wait-and-see’ with the fourth.  The fourth school does things differently than the others.  Most schools here process paperwork in the order it was received and when the class is full the rest go on a wait list in the same order… The school that I refer to as the fourth school is an American School, so I was surprised to find out that they accept the applications and then do an ‘interview’ with all the kids to see who will be selected for approval. WHAT?! This would never fly in the U.S.  I can imagine that they take all the kids and say.. ooh! I’ll take her, and oh, him too.. gosh, she is a brat – don’t accept her.. LOL. what in the world? As a former teacher the idea is awesome and honestly brilliant.. but as a parent – well, I’m surprised (annoyed) they do it this way.  With that being said, it is our best shot at getting in a school.  Who wouldn’t want an adorable red head in their class?! kidding!!.. well, no, I’m not.. (at this point, we will use any advantage we have).

No seriously, I am waiting to see if they currently have a spot in their KG1 (like preK) class, and if so we will enroll her now, she’ll start going to school now and then ‘hopefully’ will just roll over into a spot for KG2 (Kindergarten) next year.  I still have to confirm that this is how they would process this… you cannot assume anything here, people!  If it works this way, it is a back door approach to getting our foot in the door and in a school.  Kids with older siblings already in the school have rank above the regular kid and since this is our first born it is just short of impossible to get into a school.  I’ll keep you posted on whether or not she gets in KG1 (for current school year).. I have a back up plan at a local preschool just in case she doesn’t get in – the child NEEDS to do something other than go to the park and pool with me and brudder.  {she doesn’t say it like that.. I just do}

**Another Update..{I originally wrote this post last night and today has just been full of unpleasant surprises…}

**I made a special trip up to the school to rub elbows with the registrar and turn in some pictures for Audrey’s application and my kids acted like total IDIOTS.  Climbing on the furniture in the office running in and out of the office, screaming, shouting… horrific behavior.. and totally uncharacteristic of Audrey.. I expected it from Will.  (I would have left both of them with Espy, but she is sick and has had off the last 3 days).  I will be totally surprised if they even call us back… the kids were wild in there.  After we got in the car and I stopped yelling about how terribly they behaved, Will passed smooth out (at 10:30 a.m.)  The boy has been waking up everyday at 5:00.. I cannot tell you how fun that is.

------ Also

I’ve been trying to shed the moving weight (I always gain weight when we move.. it’s just what I do).. I don’t know exactly ‘how’ much I’ve gained, but lets just say my clothes are tight and my *used-to-be-too-big* clothes are very comfortable. yeah. not. good. I put 8 extra pounds on my 5’2” frame when we moved to South Carolina.. lets hope that isn’t the case again.. I’m working out now before my scale arrives..! The gym is my new friend but makes me miss a sweet friend that I used to workout with.. shout out to my girl, Kimberly!  When I work out I tend to over do it and cannot walk (seriously, so sore y’all).  BUT it makes me feel so much better, it helps me to curb the emotional eating and makes me overall in a better mood. so yay for exercise.  I would be obese if something tragic happened in my life… which reminds me I really miss watching the biggest loser!  If I’m not careful I will end up on there talking about my story of how we moved internationally and food was my friend.. oh dear.

Ok. time to go. I’ll keep you posted.. in the meantime here are some pictures from this weekend – we went to a local school fun day and of course the kids had a ball..

 

Audrey getting a manicure

oh. she’s big stuff with that boa

surprised she picked blue.. first time ever to not pick pink. there are even butterfly stickers on her nails. she was in heaven!

Speaking of heaven.. Will got to decorate a cupcake and eat it.. oh look at the concentration on the icing.. so serious.

More fun with face painting..

my sweet butterfly!

I am thinking he is saying.. “Mama.. it is HOT and I’m so hungry I’m drooling on myself.. lets GO”

waiting all day for sissy to finish decorating this bag.. it was so very important at the time.. and of course it is already lost.

Glad they had fun, that was the point.

Good night~

7 Stages of Moving

I am sorry it has taken me a week to post.. I’m sure you’re thinking right about now, “ok, she has a helper there.. I know she isn’t ‘too busy’– what in the world is she doing and why isn’t she writing anything??”

A couple of reasons.. nothing really blog-worthy going on.. things that were new and exciting at first, like going to the park or the beach are the ‘norm’ now and well, you’ve seen it already.  Another reason, I mostly write during naptime for Will after Audrey and I have done some preschool stuff and since I have Espy here, I’m usually sneaking out to get stuff done solo during that time… and lastly, I’ve honestly been a little blue lately.   Again, I know I have an amazingly wonderful set-up with the housemaid thing, I’m not complaining a bit – I have just been in a transition period (which I knew was coming)… you see, we have moved so many times I easily recognize and can identify which emotion will come next in the stages.. I was going to try and separate them out here, but just before writing, I googled it to see who else has made ‘stages’ of the moving emotions before and voila.. found them!! .. I don’t think I would have done them the same.. I probably would have given way more weight to the “Goodbye” part of it as well as added another stage before Euphoria.. like  -Culture Shock- when you realize nothing really could have prepared you for this change, but you’re here.. you’re really not sure if you love it or hate it yet.. you look at everything as if it was going on a pro and con list and you think, “oh my gosh, what have we done!?”

ok.. here are his (John Hamilton’s) stages:

1) Dread. This is when you are still at home and have to face the prospect of sorting, purging, organizing, packing. It’s powerful.

2) Freneticism. This is when you make lists of all the things you need to do – closing bank accounts, buying that stuff you know you will be more expensive in your overseas home, seeing friends, having parties…

3) Planning. An offshoot of freneticism but different. Still done before you move. It involves making lists of things you have to do when you arrive in the new place.

4) Waiting. Everything’s done. You’ve said goodbye to everyone [sometimes twice]. Now what? It’s like being bored – but with an edge. You can’t relax because soon you are going to get on a plane.

5) Euphoria. The honeymoon phase. When you arrive, you see the differences between the old and new culture in a romantic light. Some website says: “… an individual might love the new foods, the pace of the life, the people’s habits, the buildings and so on. During the first few weeks most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with the nationals that speak their language and are polite to foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries. Like many honeymoons this stage eventually ends…”.

6) Negotiation. Now we’re getting theoretical.  “The differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. That sense of excitement will eventually give way to new and unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to have unfavorable encounters that strike you as strange, offensive, and unacceptable. These reactions are typically centered around the formidable language barrier as well as stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, and the type and quality of the food. One may long for familiar food, may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people’s habits annoying, disgusting, or irritating. This phase is often marked by mood swings without apparent reason. Excitement turns to disappointment. Depression is not uncommon.” … 

7) Adjustment. They tell me that: “…  after some time (usually 6 – 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host country no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more “normal”.

I’m settling in hard to number 6: what he calls “Negotiation” for me it is a bit different.. I would call it “New Reality” -  It seems like we have been here a long time, I am SO lonesome for my ‘stuff’.  I am OVER being in this apartment and the challenges it brings.  I am having anxiety about planning a trip back to the US during the summer, but I am missing my family, missing my friends, never get to talk to anyone (still no phone), don’t really skype often, I’m having a hard time meeting/connecting with people and making friendships for myself and my kids, and overall, just feel really alone.   Charles works very long hours so we don’t see him really until 8:30 at night…  this isn’t meant to be a complaining platform, just a honest-to-God reality of the emotional ups and downs.  The highs are really high and the lows can be really sad.   I’m not a mess over here or anything and don’t need medication, so don’t worry!!  I just wanted to keep it true, honest and real for those of you that really want to know and others that may follow in a similar experience and may have the chance to be prepared for it all. I have never been one to sugar coat things, and I don’t want to paint a distorted picture that things are just always wonderful. 

I can remember this feeling with the initial move to Houston from Lake Charles several weeks after our wedding and again when we moved to South Carolina and was totally surprised and taken off guard by it in Sugar Land.. so this is something I have dealt with before and I know God gets me thru this, He has proven it time and time (and time) again.  I know that the next ‘big high’ that is on it’s way is our shipment – it will arrive in less than one week and within 5 days of it’s arrival, it should be delivered! 

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to it.. I think I may even cry when I see our stuff arrive!!  please don’t misinterpret this as materialism.. it is a deep affection and connection to all the things that are familiar to me and my family.  We have moved sooo many times in the short time we have been married (5 times in 6 1/2 years) and the houses change so often, they don’t mean much to me and it is easy come easy go, but all of our ‘stuff’ has stayed the same no matter where we go, it follows us.. so in a sense, all of our belongings have come to define home for us.  It will symbolize that Abu Dhabi really is our new home… I am anticipating it to be an emotional time for me just because it may make it all too ‘real’ or it may finally make it really comfortable… I’m thinking it will be a little bit of both even though it is totally contradicting...    This is so difficult to try and explain, but I know that some of you will get it and others probably not, and that’s okay – I honestly don’t think anyone can truly truly understand the strangeness of the emotion unless you’ve been thru it (just like anything else).  again, it isn’t all bad or negative, it just can be foreign and lonely at times. 

I am comforted in knowing that this is a stage of moving and not what it is all about, it gets much better when home is established, routines are in place, friendships grow, and visitors start coming.. (hint hint). 

Lots of love, from 1/2 way around the world

The Housemaid

Ok. so I know you’ve been dying to know what it is like to have a housemaid… huh?! 

I will enlighten you –

WARNING: be prepared to be extremely jealous. 

At first, I wasn’t sure exactly how this would all work.  I worried that I would have to constantly tell her what to do and how to do it –all. day. long. but it wasn’t the case at all.  She is a self starter, proactive about cleaning and the needs of the kids. AMAZING is not a good enough word to describe her.  I never have to ask her to do a thing… she just knows what to do and if she is done with the obvious she finds things to do, like refolding the clothes in our drawers, arranging our hanging clothes, shining the faucets… it is truly absurd that I have this luxury.. I cannot even fathom this kind of help…but I LOOOVEEE IT!

An average day:

She typically arrives at 7:00 a.m. and gets busy washing the dishes in the sink, folding laundry picking up any toys out, making beds, etc..  We (both) head out usually around 9:00 for a morning outing with the kids.  Some people take the housemaid/nanny with them and some don’t.  Since I am in a taxi and my kids often are interested in doing different things, She comes with me – also, she told me she likes to go out.. and her former employers never allowed her to come.. I’m all about having an extra set of hands and besides - it would be so boring for her inside all day. When we return from the park, gym or wherever I make lunch for all of us and we sit together to eat.  She washes all the dishes, dries them and puts them away.. just not having to do dishes is amazing in and of itself.  Then I usually get Will down for his nap and head out for an errand or two without the kids (I often take Audrey though).  While I am out she usually does the ironing, more laundry (remember what a chore this is?), cleans the sinks, tubs, folds and puts away clothes, vacuums, mops, takes out the trash… you name it, she does it.  When Will is up I am already back here at the apartment.  I make dinner (or at least prep for it) early so I have help to clean up, I put it all away and then we head out for an afternoon activity together again (like the beach or the villa to ride bikes/scooters) then we drop Espy off around 5:00 at her house (our villa) and head back to our apartment.  Other than maybe two occasions, I am always with her when the kids are around… this is because I am wanting the kids to transition slowly and be comfortable with her.. which they already totally are.   This week she will have to keep both of them when I am getting my drivers license and another time she will have to watch Will when Audrey has her Kindergarten Assessment at ACS.  I can tell Will’s charm has won her over, even though she agrees he is naughty. ha.  She plays with him making train tracks or playing trucks while I write blog posts.. I REALLY would have loved this during Gift Chick.. Man! I could have been so much more efficient!

She works 6 days a week Saturday – Thursday (but if she babysits at night.. yes, she does that too and it is included in her monthly salary.. we give her a 1/2 day off the next day).  Many families I have talked to do their schedule a little different, having them come in the morning, then give a break and then come back for a while in the afternoon for dinner clean up/ bath time and bedtime…We made our schedule according to what works for us – and we prefer to have our time with Charles just family time.   Before you think anything negative about this whole housemaid / nanny / helper thing– please know that this is very custom here and we pay her more than the average family pays their housemaids and treat her much better than most.

It is very important to me that she is treated well, I always ask her if she needs stuff when I go to the grocery store (and buy it for her), I mentioned earlier I always include her to be with us whether eating or going out, and most days I take her home in the taxi so she doesn’t have to pay for one and give her  a container of dinner so she doesn’t have to spend her money on food. We have also agreed to give her a plane ticket to go home to see her family once per year. She tells me of past jobs that she has had and some of the stories just made me so sad.  I KNOW how good I have it here and I also want her to feel that way about working with us.   {The very first day, I asked her what she’d like for lunch and she told me she already finished her lunch… I asked, what did you eat? She said, Bread.    OOh. seriously!? I told her uh, no, I wanted to make her a real lunch. and of course I did}.  Other cute things – since Will calls Audrey, “Sissy” so does she.  It is funny to hear her say Audrey since she calls her Sissy so much.  She refers to me as “Madam” (not like Madum.. more like Madaam.. the “a” sound at the end is like a sounds in ‘apple’ and Charles “Sir”.. like she would say, “Sir Charles is at work” or “Madam Christa is so very beautiful”.. ha. just kidding she doesn’t say that~ but if I say something or ask something she answers, “yes, madam.”  It makes me laugh..

She is a legal worker here – their system is set up so that if you are here on a working visa (which Charles is), you can also sponsor someone on your visa to work here as well (for you).  We had to do lots of extensive and expensive paperwork and legal stuff, but WELL worth it.  She is legally our employee and is not supposed to work for anyone else.  We have the option whether or not renew her visa every year. (If we do not renew, she has to find another sponsoring job or is deported).  RENEW, RENEW, RENEW!!

What she’s like:

She is a Christian (this was top priority for my help selection – especially since we are around each other so much as well as I didn’t want someone teaching my kids about non-Christian things).  She is friendly, cheerful, joyful and playful.  She is SUCH a hard worker.  She has a husband that usually lives in Abu Dhabi, but he is out of town working now, She has three children 11, 9, and 5 (boy girl boy) that live in the Philippines with her parents  (She works here so she can send money back to ensure a better life for them).  She is very trustworthy.  She isn’t afraid to correct my kids, which is so nice. I know if I leave them with her she won’t let them run wild.  She cares about my kids safety and well-being.  She is WONDERFUL. and I am so THANKFUL!

I know God brought her to me to lighten my load (TREMENDOUSLY.. LIKE, THERE IS NO LOAD LEFT) and to make this transition  much much smoother.   I still cannot even wrap my head around the fact that I am blessed to have someone do so much.  It is amazing to have the freedom to go and do if I needed to or wanted to.  I’m hoping for some friends that have similar freedom so that I can take advantage of living here and get out and have some fun!

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Psalm 121:1-2 "I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth."

Matthew 25:40 "Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do to me".

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Rugs and such

We are still preparing for our move into the villa.. In some ways I’m really thankful I have so much time to get “just” the right things.. It is very important to me to have our nest aesthetically pleasing to us.  To others this may be considered a short term thing and in the big picture, it really is – however, we have never lived anywhere as long as we will probably live here.  The longest stay we’ve had in one house is just over 2 years!  So to us, this isn’t exactly short term.  In each home we took the time to make it our own and it felt like “home” very quickly.  Being in a foreign country is hard enough, we need a place to call home and to be cozy in.

I have been rug shopping a couple of times and this one was actually at the first place, Debaj Furniture store –surprise surprise-.. same place I have found all of my wonderful Indian made furniture.. They now refer to me as one of their “most valuable customer.” and “give me the very very best price.” LOL {they are the NICEST people}.. I loved it (rug) then and went back to it after ALLLLL the time I spent looking for just the right living room rug.  I am wanting to compliment our stuff with a local twist.  This rug measures 6.5’ x 10’ (they do the measurements here like this 2m x 3m).  I’m getting pretty good at these conversions y’all! I am even beginning to think in centimeters first since I have done so much measuring and shopping for things that fit in certain spaces. 

Just for a bit of info on this rug.. It is hand woven and dyed with vegetables and made on the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.. not exactly the country I wanted to support, but of course I learned this AFTER I already fell in love with this style of rug… woops.  These rugs aren’t cheap, but also aren’t that expensive, considering all the work that went into making them.

 

There will be a bit of extra space behind the couch, just enough for a sofa table for pictures and lamps

I also loved this rug, so I got it for a small area.. It will probably go by the door or in a bathroom.

Here is a picture of our kitchen with appliances in.. on the left side (not shown) is where the dishwasher and dryer are as well as a sink that is the same size that we had in our pop up camper when I was a kid.

Here is a very traditional style rug that is going in our bedroom upstairs.  I think it will look beautiful with our bedroom furniture.  Our bedding is a cream coverlet and we have a cute little accent pillow that is green and brown with our monogram on it.  This style is very rare here.. you should see the stuff that they have in the stores.. WILD looking stuff with bright colors and tacky glittery shag.. When I stumbled upon this I had to have it, so the guy said, come back in a couple of days, it will be on sale, 25% off. GREAT!  So I came back… and GONE. It wasn’t here… it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if I was able to find normal rugs here – but since that isn’t the case, I begged him to help me find another one… he checked the other mall, sold out. I asked him to order me one and he looked at  me funny (they think it is such an ugly rug).. he said “Why you want this? So old, so traditional – we don’t carry any more, Very Old.”  I explained that it is American style and I really cannot find anything like this here.. I had to have it – (It didn’t hurt my feelings a bit that he didn’t like it.. again, you should see the stuff they sell here!).  He called another farther location and they had one left! This process took well over an hour of waiting for him to call, he would come back and then go back to answer the call back.. waiting and waiting..  He arranged for them to deliver it to his store and I went a couple of days later to pick it up.  I never would have gone to such an extreme in the US for this rug, but slim pickings here y’all!!. This one is also 2m x 3m and it is thick, feels awesome on your feet and since it was “so ugly” I got an awesome deal. 

I got this^^ rug from IKEA a while back.. the picture doesn’t really accurately show what it looks like.. it is a THICK woven awesome jute rug that adds great texture to the very plain white room. In the picture it looks very blah, but it is GREAT in person.. I actually have a rug on it’s way -in the sea shipment- that is identical (it was in charles’ office – but it is smaller than this one). Can you believe that in US dollars this rug was only $80?!

I’m not quiiiite done with rugs just yet.. Well, I guess my part is done, I am just waiting on production and deliveries at this point.  I have another rug coming for the guest room (being delivered tomorrow) and yesterday I had someone come to measure the kids bedroom and play room for some rugs I’m having made.  No, Not like made from scratch, just carpet that is being cut and edges bound so that it fits in the room properly.  The kids are getting a shag rug and the playroom is getting a very durable, low pile indoor/outdoor type of carpet.  The gray tile all over is just too much and the sound is a major issue with all the echoing.  The carpets/rugs will help this as well as furniture! Speaking of furniture, our sea shipment is scheduled to arrive March 26th – and then we wait until it gets cleared at the port.  I have been told this could be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks… be praying it is the couple of days kind of clearance!!

ok. here is where I need some decorating help.. the way the living room is set up, the TV has to go here in this alcove.  We found just the right furniture piece to fit and just the right size TV to fit, but WHAT do I do with the back? This is the view from the dining area.. yuck! Any Ideas???  I have a couple but I’m having trouble executing them. What do you think? Help!

Send me an email (christamac1@hotmail.com) or post here..THANKS!!

Not bad, Just Different

I wanted to share with y’all some of the little differences I’ve noticed over here.. I thought you may find it interesting!

1. Gas Stations – when you pull up, you leave the car running and someone fills up your car, washes your windshield and you pay them out of your window.
2. Air Conditioners – There are 3 units in our apartment and 5 in the villa. They do this because of the extreme heat here, having more units lightens the load and it is totally awesome to be able to control the temperature in different rooms.
3. TV – although we have E! and Food Network, Disney etc.. the stations are not the same.  For example on the Food Network I only ever see Paula Deen and sometimes Guy Fieri (sp?) – on E! Fashion Police just plays again and again.
4. Produce section at grocery store – you have to go and get produce weighed at a station and they put a barcode sticker on it.  they get very irritated if you forget to do this.. I know from experience!
5. The names of things - They call cookies, Biscuits and Shopping carts, Trolleys. Food “to go” is called “take away”  Even on the Oreo pkg it says America’s favorite Biscuit.. ha.
6. Drinking - The only place you can drink adult beverage outside of your home is in a Hotel.  The hotels here have TONS of restaurants in them since lots of expats choose to eat dinner at the hotels vs. the local restaurants so they are able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner there.
7. Conversions -In the deli section of the grocery store, none of the workers know what a pound is.  I have learned it is around 1/2 a kilogram?? it is tricky ordering lunchmeat or ground meat.  So confusing at first! I ended up figuring it out while I was at the store by picking up a pkg of meat that looked like the same size a pound was and checked how many kg’s it was.
8. Water - You cannot drink tap water here. They have those large jug dispensers pretty much everywhere – we use it for everything – even making coffee. The tap water has a lot of chlorine in it since they convert the salt water into tap water.  My hair dresser told me about this b/c he said the chlorine amount in the water damages the hair quickly and then convinced me I needed a deep conditioning treatment.. hmm.
9. Temperature - I think it is hotter mid-morning here and cooler in afternoon. Kinda opposite of the US.
10. Buying Alcohol - You have to have a special license to buy beer and wine (all alcohol).
11. Buildings - The floors in buildings are done like this: Ground Floor (G) , Mezzanine Floors (M1, M2), then First Floor – on up.. so for example in the mall the 3rd floor is called the 2nd floor and the 2nd floor is really the first floor and the first floor is really the ground floor.
12. Streets - All the streets are numbered East/West streets are Odd Numbers and North South streets are Even Numbers – BUT, they also have names.. makes it a bit confusing since the taxi drivers don’t know the numbers on the streets, only the names, but many of them cannot read the names.
13. Gas Stoves – In our villa we have a propane tank in a cabinet out in the carport that is connected to a hose that runs inside the house.
14. Drainage - There are little to no drains in the streets since it never rains here.
15. Delivery - Most every restaurant delivers… even fast food places.
16. Disease Screenings - Before you can get a drivers license here, they require blood work and x rays to check for AIDS, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis.                If you have any of these.. BU-BYE.. you go back to your country.
17. Old People - They send old people (elderly) back to their home countries… Well, we were told the government kindly asks them to leave – not sure if this is true, but come to think of it, I’ve never seen an old person here. At least we know we won’t be expats forever. ha!
18. Honking - It is very common to honk (A LOT) at cars if they are taking too long to turn, just parked in the middle of the street, or whatever.. the honking is all the time.. I love it, since I’ve been known to honk at irritating drivers.  Now that I know it is custom here, watch out!
19. Pedestrians - They do NOT stop for pedestrians, move it or lose it…(we saw a guy right after he got hit by a car the other day..) The driving here is nuts, really – when there are two turning lanes you can bet at least 4 lanes are going to try and turn. 
20. Parking – most places have paid parking, but instead of a meter, you have to go to a tall box thing and pay the fee – in coins, it prints a ticket out and then you go back to your car and put the ticket in your windshield.   If you want, you can set it up on your phone which will link to your credit card and you send a text message to the parking company and it will automatically charge your card and be on record in the system. Charles has this set up.  The parking ticket guys are everywhere..

We’ve learned so much in such a short time.. I’m sure there are many many more differences to come, but hopefully these entertained you!

Recipe

I’m posting this for the mystery commenter that wanted the spinach and artichoke dip I posted last summer.  She is pregnant and is craving this dip, so I’m hoping I can quench the craving….(I don’t have any email address or contact info.. so I thought she may see it if I just re posted it)

Wherever you are {Sarah} I hope this is the one you were wanting.. my sweet friend Shannon Prager brought it to Martha night…I’m sure that is why you had a hard time finding it – it was with a ton of different recipes from all the wonderful neighborhood mama’s I miss so dearly!

Spinach Artichoke Dip
4 oz of cream cheese
8 oz Helmann's mayo
1 small white onion (about 1/2 cup)
1 box of frozen spinach
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 14oz can of quartered artichoke hearts
garlic powder (to taste)  start with 1/8 teaspoon
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Thaw spinach and drain thoroughly.  In oven safe dish, mix cream cheese and mayo, garlic powder and onion.  Add drained spinach and 1 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Mix artichokes last to keep them from separating and being mashed during mixing.  Bake covered for 30-35 minutes at 350.  Then add remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the top and bake uncovered for an additional 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted
Serve with Pita chips, tortilla chips or toasted French bread

BTW, Sarah said this was the best one she has ever eaten.. I’m embarrassed to say I still haven’t made it.. but I’ll be hunting down these ingredients in my Arabian grocery stores now for sure! Thanks for reminding me how delicious it is!!

Sweet and Sour Son

Ahh. my boy.   I have special relationships with both of my children which are each totally different – as a mother you love equally but your love for each is different… I hope this is true for y’all to so you aren’t thinking.. what?!  It is difficult to explain, but once I became a mother of 2, I understood it well and then could understand even more thru my own mother's different relationships with each of us.  Since it is (was) Will’s birthday I wanted to document here how he is as of this tender age of 2 so I can look back one day and see how much of it still pertains to him as an teenager or even an adult.

The Sweet:

My little guy is extremely cuddly, affectionate and enjoys some loving and hugging from his mama.. and I just can’t get enough!

He’s got a smile that will knock your socks off.   Strangers stop me all the time and comment on his smile.

Will has a charisma and charm about him that will surely be used to his advantage.  You know how some people just have that little something special? He gets this from his father. everyone adores him too.

He still sucks his thumb and loves his “BEE BEE” (his lovey) lets hope this one isn’t still going on when he is a teenager.. yikes!  

When he is ready for bed he tells me “seep” (sleep).  He willingly goes down without a fight. {He gets this one from me.}

He gives BIG hugs to his sister.. although it appears to be a well formed tackle.

His laugh is contagious

He is extremely social and extroverted – he is at his best when there is a lot going on and he is out to play

He loves to eat

His favorite things in the whole wide world, besides his thumb and bee bee are: Trains, Tracks, Trucks and Play Kitchens.. maybe he’ll appreciate the Food Network like mama? :)

 

The Sour:

I have never been challenged in a way that HE challenges me.

He melts down with a screaming force unable to tame or control.

He doesn’t share well

He understands a lot but doesn’t speak much – so this causes a communication break down between us… resulting in more fits.

He has recently learned to punch.  {closed fisted and all} (Could it be that we are watching too much Popeye here in Abu Dhabi?)

He isn’t very obedient unless there is a wooden spoon present.

He is loud and whiny…

He can scream and cry for longer than any other child I know

He can easily bring me to tears on one of his bad days.

Oh BOY. OH BOY – has it been a wild ride these last 2 years.  I couldn’t imagine life without you though.

Will, We love you deeper than you’ll ever

know and we are even starting to “like” you

more….(no, I’m not kidding)

Love, Mom

lets look back and see how far you’ve come…

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010? We were off gallivanting in Europe.. sorry no pics bud!

July 2010

August 2010? Busy month for mama!

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

Your birthday in Abu Dhabi:

I want you to know that I stayed up until midnight putting this booger together.. it was from Ikea so every single board was separate… totally worth it when I saw his face!!

THRILLED..  I know you are thinking, who gives their little boy a kitchen?? I tell ya he LOVES to play in it and it keeps him so busy… Culinary School here we come!

Hilarious, I know!

Sweet Audrey bringing him his breakfast!

we made these cupcakes (saw idea on food network).. yes it is a cupcake, not ice cream.  If my sea shipment would have been here you KNOW I would have made them way fancier than this.. but the kids didn’t care a bit.  my piping bag was a ziploc with the corner cut off.  ;0) ha!

Here’s how to do it:

fill cake batter up in some ice cream cones.. flat bottomed ones..(don’t buy off brand).  the level of batter should be more like the one in the middle… the higher ones over flowed. My second batch was perfect.. this was the first.

I baked them for about 20 minutes in these foil ‘nests’ so that they didn’t fall over in the muffin tin... jiggle them to be sure they aren’t still gooey in the middle.

see second batch in the front and first batch in the back?

I would use a large star tip and some colorful sprinkles to make it look more realistic… you could even see if you could do chocolate and vanilla swirl? hmmm. that sounds good. These were precious and the kids enjoyed them tremendously. You should do some for your kid’s St. Patrick’s Day or Easter parties!

Audrey even got to decorate one!

 

Here is Last Year’s Post on Will’s Birthday.. it is interesting to look back and compare:

http://bruisesandbows.blogspot.com/2010/03/happy-1st-birthday-will.html

 

By the time I got this up… it is now Charles’ Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Both of my guys within a day of each other.. I enjoy celebrating the men in my life! I need to post about Charles now.. these posts take forever… so you’ll have to stay tuned.. I’m out of time for today

Camping in Liwa Desert

We had a blast camping in the Desert! The kids had a ball and played SO HARD the entire time…. We even had to go around looking for Will b/c he would be playing quietly with trucks and shovels in the sand.  Ahhh.. no fussing, whining, and very little crying. VICTORY! We had the most AMAZING views that I cannot even begin to describe the massive vastness of the desert dunes.. they were enormous, majestic and we were totally awestruck.  It was even cooler that we just drove up and down and all around them.  The guide, Amir, instructed us to let out air from our tires – they looked like they were 1/2 flat and we were able to successfully drive on the sand.  We did get stuck a couple of times (a couple of scary times I might add!!).  The dunes that we drove up and down were so STEEP.  Even Charles was like, no way, we aren’t doing that are we?!  Oh yes we did.  Carseats in the back and all. ha.! The kids loved it and were laughing all the way, especially Will.   It was awesome, it truly was!  It took 2 hours from Abu Dhabi to get to Liwa and then we drove for another hour and forty five minutes up and down the dunes. The views were insane.

We finally let the kids out and they went nuts.. it was like the most gigantic sandbox in the world.

this looks fake doesn’t it? it was unreal, I tell ya.

Me and the chil’ren…
The weather was cool and breezy, soon after we got there we were actually cold put on layers a little at a time.

No, we weren’t at a camp ground or even staying in a camper, this was rustic, y’all!  We literally drove around and around until we found the perfect spot, according to Amir.  He wanted us in a bowl surrounded by dunes.  There were so many that we went to, but most of them had gravel at the bottom, which wouldn’t be too comfortable to sleep on… no air mattresses, just sleeping bags on the ground.  I giggled when I saw the sizes of the tent.  We (All four of us) slept there – I wondered if Charles would even fit. LOL.

The kids loved climbing up the dunes and sliding down.  This was HARD – like burn-your-quads-kinda-hard.. they went up and down, up and down.. too many times to count. Like I said, they LOVED it!

^^showing the steepness^^

How can anyone not believe in God?!  this beauty was clearly His Creation~!

My man, on top of the world.

The wind! ah! my hair was crazy.. where did my cute hat go!?


do you see the beautiful red layer of sand covering it all.. not sure why that was, but it was really pretty

sun was setting^^^

the ridge on the top of our dune.. look at picture below this was how high we were up… it sure was fun to go down!

campfire time.. I love that smell! We didn’t have any kind of grill or Coleman stove even.. literally built a fire, skewered meat, held it over the fire to cook it, then ate.  we also made s’mores which the family that was with us had never heard of before.  He is Australian and she is from the Philippines.

Snug as a bug in a rug!  He was too funny..  he got so tired (we just let them play until they dropped – didn’t change them into PJ’s or anything.. we were camping y’all!) anyway.. back to the story.. he wanted his “BE BE” which is his lovey.. Charles and I agreed it wasn’t to go into the sand since there are holes in it and it would just be nasty.. so we let him sit in the car with it from time to time (we didn’t want him in and out of the tent tracking in the sand).  He ended up falling asleep in the car with his lovey!
We just moved him over to the tent… he looked so cute snuggled up.

The kids woke up at 6:00 a.m. we were exhausted from the sleeping on the ground thing… but got up and got going.

Berries, Banana’s and Nutragrain Bars for breakfast.

he adores a blackberry

looking rough the next morning, but I’m keeping it ‘real’ here.

Audrey exploring the desert.. she enjoyed this so much.. On our way home, she said, “Mama and Daddy, this was the funnest day EVER!!!! I LOVE camping in the desert, I want to do it EVERYDAY!”

Is this what you’d call an Oasis?? Camels in the front and gorgeous palms in the back.. there were NO trees other than this in the entire desert.


some more last minute walks on the dunes.. I wanted to show you the patterns made in the sand from the wind.. it looked like veins in the ground.

Audrey playing with Alyson.  The couple that invited us had a daughter that was only one month younger than Audrey and a son, who was 6 months younger than Will.  They played really well together

Time to Leave.. headed home


This is how I was taking pictures out of the window – I thought this would give you a good visual. Also, notice the Arabic written on the side mirror – I BET it says, objects in mirror are closer than they appear?? :)  just taking a wild guess.

We weren’t in the car for 5 minutes (it was around 9 a.m. ish) and Mr. Will was conked out.  Yes, that is a bag of pringles next to him. We were camping.. whatever.   Over the dunes and through the sand… we came across a CAMEL FARM!!! I was so excited!  They breed them there for racing… these camels are worth millions of Dirhams (so we were told)
 
Check out the other babies behind me.. the white one was 9 days old


I told Audrey that is what her teeth will look like if she doesn’t brush them!

these three seemed to be friends.

there were so many babies!! I caught this one nursing.^^

Me and the Camel Farmer^^

hellooo handsome!

*^^this baby was only 3 days old. I was blown away – THREE days old?!

^more pictures of the newborn camel. They are born with the ability to walk… isn’t that cool?!

Driving down a desert road.. yep, a crew of camels just hanging out on the side of the road.

As you can see, the experience was unreal.  I never would have guessed I would have done this before.  Stepping out of my comfort zone was really fun.  I told Charles that if someone would have asked us to go camping in Texas, in a tent, with no running water, no electricity, no bathrooms.. with 2 kids – I would have said NO WAY… it was loads of fun, the kids couldn’t have been better and we made memories that will last a lifetime.. well Charles and I did – the kids won’t remember- BUT, how cool will it be when they study the desert in school, we can give them pictures to prove that they have not only been there, but they camped out in tents between the sand dunes. wow.