The Waiting Game

39 weeks, 3 days today according to the docs here and my little pregnancy ticker.

It's starting to get silly...

I told myself a couple weeks ago that the reason I hadn't gone into labor yet was because I hadn't plucked my eyebrows in over 2 months. 

I plucked them day before yesterday.

She's still in there and seems to be very comfortable. 

A Merry Christmas Eve!

This year we decided to have Madeline open presents and have our Christmas dinner on December 24th because here is Saudi Arabia the weekends are on Thursday and Friday and Paul had to go to work on Saturday (Christmas Day).  He didn't take the day off this year because he actually started his vacation on December 27th and will be home with us until January 26th.  We are so happy it worked out the way it did because it means Paul will be around when (It's starting to feel like IF) I go into labor.

So on December 23rd we made some cookies for Santa Claus to be laid out...

Madeline loves to help me make homemade cookies

Before bed we read a cute story my Mom gave Madeline last year called "The Christmas Key" - a modern day look at how Santa gets into people's homes if they don't have a fireplace with a chimney. The book comes with a neat, old looking key with a red ribbon on it so kids can hang it on the door. Only Santa can use it to get in and he can only use it to put presents under the tree - this is explicitely explained in the book so kids don't freak out I guess.

I also tried to explain to Madeline why we celebrate Christmas, that it is to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, but every time I asked her whose birthday it was she said, "Madeline!!" I guess that'll be stressed more next year when she understands a bit more.  

After Madeline fell asleep, Paul and I laid out her presents.

We were going to set out some cookies for Santa before bed with Madeline but she threw a fit and wanted the cookies for herself and could not understand why we should give any to Santa. So in the morning Paul and I put a bitten cookie and some crumbs on a plate with a note and the Santa key so it looked like he had been here.

Madeline noticing a half eaten cookie and a note from Santa with the key - she was very surprised.

Madeline usually likes to sleep in until 8:00 am but I couldn't wait so we woke her up at 7:00 am. At first she was not pleased with this, but when she saw the presents her attitude changed pretty quickly.

Madeline had a great time opening presents and she loved her new big sister chair. She ended up with her chair, a new stuffed giraffe, a bouncy ball with a handle on it so you can sit on it and bounce, a small furry ball, two puzzles, a barbie, a strawberry shortcake doll, a princess cup, a princess purse, an outfit and a sweater.

For breakfast we had pancakes and fruit and then we had a great day together watching movies, playing, singing Christmas songs, eating Christmas treats and just being together.  It was perfect!
For dinner Paul cooked the turkey - it was a 20 pounder (our only choice) - he always does a REALLY good job on the turkey and it is always juicy, and  tender, and scrumptious.

I made some gravy out of the turkey drippings and we had homemade mashed potatoes and vegetables to go with it.  I would have made myself some stuffing but I didn't find any at the store.  We had some vanilla ice cream with sprinkles for dessert (because my people aren't huge fans of pie).  It was the perfect Christmas meal for picky, simple eaters. 

After dinner we danced to Christmas music and then watched Polar Express together.  

Madeline dancing with her Daddy



Dancing

 It was a really nice Christmas. We missed our families, friends, and the snowy weather back in the states, but we were able to skype with my family during their Christmas Eve party and talk with Paul's side on the phone a couple of times. We are so grateful for technology and that we are able to talk with family and friends being so far away. 

The Big Sister

For some time now we have been "prepping" Madeline for the arrival of her baby sister, Abigail Lily.  We talk about her a lot and that she will be coming soon.  We talk about how Abby will live with us in our house and how we will love her and take care of her.  We talk about how the hugs and kisses and love for Madeline will never end and that Mommy and Daddy will love her forever no matter what happens in our lives. 

For Christmas this year, Madeline got a "Big Sister Chair" and she is really excited to hold the new baby while sitting in it. 
She seems pretty excited about it all, often telling us the baby is in her belly and that "oh! She jus kicked Mommy!" She tells strangers when they ask about her sister that she will change her diaper.  And she loves going with me to my appointments each week to see "the baby" on the ultra sound machine.  I know it will be an adjustment for her when Abigail finally does make an appearance, but Madeline is going to be the most amazing big sister!!

Christmas Card

I had this list of things I wanted to accomplish for the year... specifically for the holidays.  Unfortunately, Christmas cards didn't get done and sent out.  So as a last minute attempt to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, I threw together this card in photoshop.  Please, feel free to click on it and print it out!  Next year, I will do better. 

Merry Christmas from us! We hope you have an amazing, happy holiday season!

Cookies! Cookies! Cookies!

The other day Madeline and I decided it would be fun to make homemade sugar cookies and decorate them!  I am hoping to make this a tradition for the holidays for our family. We had a really good time - Madeline specifically loved covering her cookie in frosting and sprinkles, licking it off, and then doing it all over again and again. 

I recently purchased some Christmas cookie cutters from one of the holiday craft fairs they had here last month so we were excited to use our new cookie cutters!

Candy Canes

Snowmen

 

Stockings



Gingerbread Men (but not REAL gingerbread men)



Shining stars



All the cookies together


It took me several hours in between feeding Mads, entertaining Mads, and putting Mads down for a nap, but I love decorating cookies so it was a fun day and we were happy to share our cookies with some of our friends and neighbors! 

Ol' Saint Nick

I didn't think it would happen this year, but some people on camp had someone dress up and they did pictures with Santa! It was all planned and arranged very nicely.  Parents were supposed to drop off a well labeled, wrapped gift for their child before the actual Santa visit day and email something about their child so he would have something to give and talk about with their child.  I was very impressed.  The home they had the actual visit in was very beautiful with lovely music playing and decorated so perfect. 

This is Madeline's FIRST visit with Santa ever. It was last year at the Memphis Zoo, and it didn't really go over too well...

I was hoping this year would be a little different since she is older and understand a tiny bit more.  So we got Madeline all dressed up for her first memorable visit with Santa.  It doesn't take much if anything to make this little girl look perfect:

When we arrived Madeline was a little hesitant, but as soon as Santa said he had a gift for her she went running over and popped on his lap.  He talked to her about how she has a new baby sister coming and (with me feeding her answers) she replied.  Then she got really nervous and started shouting that she wanted me to come hug her.  So Paul and I went over and we got a family picture with Santa.  Then Mads got a tiny candy cane and we were done.  It was fun!

Here are some pictures from the event...

Madeline ran over for the present and Santa picked her up... this is her "what are you doing?" look.

  

Smile for the camera! Nope - more like, "mom, Mom, MOM! HUG! HUG!" But at least she didn't cry.




Family photo with Santa!

 

Tiny candy cane afterward - it was gone before we got to the car.

The Holidays Are A Little Different This Year.

When Paul and I attended orientation in Houston, when he was interviewing for this job, it was strongly stressed that we leave any possessions that are important to us and have to do with religion or holidays celebrating certain religious events or people, with someone at home.  Some of the religious laws here pose strict rules on what can and cannot be brought into the country and going through customs can sometimes be a devastating experience because they can take your things and there is nothing you can do about it.

Throughout my life and my marriage I have collected some pretty awesome and cherrished things pertaining to the Christmas holiday and I didn't want to take any chances, neither did Paul - who is a fervent follower of rules.  He's smart, because he recognizes blessed opportunities for his family and himself and doesn't want to "rock the boat."  SO, we left all our decorations and religious relics at home with our parents.  Now that we are here, we realize things aren't as strict as portrayed and there are ways of getting things here . Of course, there are still laws that need to be obeyed and a respect of the dominating culture that is very important for a peaceful life here.  But life inside our little world is very different than life outside these walls that surround us - that is for sure.

Originally, I imagined we would be travelling home to the States for the holidays, so thoughts of decor or plans for holidays were not worried about.  Even after we found out the news of little Abigail Lily entering our lives and finding out her due date was the end of December I didn't worry because I planned on coming home for the birth.  When we really thought about it and the pregnancy progressed we realized leaving wasn't the best thing to do for our family, so we decided to stay. This time of year has always been so important to me.  I have so many wonderful memories of times shared with family and friends and I have always wanted to make Christmas an exciting, memorable time for my children, so not having any decorations was a little upsetting. 

This is the first year Madeline is actually excited about Christmas so we have tried to make it memorable for her by reading Christmas stories, making paper snowflakes to hang in the window, listening to holiday music... I even found a lovely, crackling fireplace video on Vimeo that is only 3 minutes long, but will play over and over when put on a loop.  It's almost like we have a real fireplace going! Closing the curtains, popping on some holiday tunes, and boiling some cinnamon and orange slices on the stove sometimes makes me forget I am living in the desert of Saudi Arabia.

We got rid of our beautiful new tree when we moved here - a deep regret - so I have wanted to find a tree for our house for several months now. Rumors of stores with trees in secret rooms, trees in a nearby country for sale, or possibilities of getting an old tree off the camp classifieds were all possibilities, but we have had a hard time finding one.  We finally and easily caved and got a Charlie Brown from a store in Khobar for way too much money, but it was something, and Madeline in all her adorableness was quite pleased with it.

Then I heard about a recycled "holiday" sale going on in camp where people who have been here a while donate their used decorations to sell (the money going toward a great cause) to new expats who don't have anything. Even better, they would have a donated tree raffle we could enter to possibly win a more normal looking tree!

Here on camp there are some really thoughtful people who always try to make the new expats experience here in Saudi a little better by helping them feel more at home.  They provide extremely helpful information and opportunities for a more comfortable, normal-feeling life.  Sometimes that is really hard to do.  I think that's one of the reasons I've stayed in my house more than usual since we arrived (other than the fiery hot summer weather) - because in my home I can create my own comfort zone and there have been many times that I forget where we actually live, which has been a good thing on those hard days of adjusting. 

Things are changing, and after 8 months here we are getting happier, more at home, and used to life as expats.  And I am starting to notice that staying in the house isn't really the best way to feel better on those emotional days.  Every time I do go out and attend a social gathering I feel so much better and happier about being here.

So on the 10th I attended the recycled "holiday" sale.  I was able to find some lights - another thing that is really hard to find here because of the difference in voltage in homes inside camp and outside camp.  They just don't sell a lot of products that are 110 volts.  So I scooped up 3 of the 4 white light strands - I felt a little guilty but first come first serve - and some garland, wrapping paper, and a wreath.  I also purchased 8 raffle tickets for the tree drawing.  In all they had 12 trees - one big one you could bid on and 11 that ranged from a craft store Charlie Browner to a not so bad one with some lights already on it.  I put most of my raffle tickets on bag #5 and went home. We got the call a couple hours later that we won it!  So now we have a pretty nice tree, and after some electrical re-wiring on the part of my brilliant husband, we were able to get most of the lights I bought to work - just enough for the tree. I'm so happy!!

I was also able to find some supplies at a local craft store here to make a really nice wreath.  Somehow our stockings, a glass tree for candy, and our advent calendar also made it to Saudi so we do have some decorations, which is really nice and adds to the ambiance and feelings of the season. 

All of these discoveries have really created a nice feeling in our home for the holidays.  I love this time of year, and although we won't be spending it with our family in a snow-covered house, the spirit is still here and I've realized as the holidays have gotten closer that even if we had no decorations the meaning of Christmas, and feelings shared and felt this time of year would still exist.

A Happy Thanksgiving It Was.

I know this post is a little late, but I didn't get copies of the pictures until a couple weeks after Thanksgiving and wanted to wait for some reason.  So now I am trying to play catch up on the blog a little.  Anyway - we had an awesome Thanksgiving with some awesome new friends here in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.  People who will most assuredly be great friends for many years to come.

I have been very blessed in my life and it seems no matter where my path leads me, the blessings continue to poor in. We have been here in Saudi Arabia now for just over 8 months and in that time we have met some amazing people.  People who treat you as if they have known you for years; people who give you the benefit of the doubt; people who make adjusting to life in a different culture more tolerable. We've had our ups and downs - like anyone would in our situation - but so many more ups because of our new friends and our blessed lives. 

Here are some pictures from the evening (in no particular order).

This is Jeff and Fiona... I'm not even sure when we first met them.  It has always seemed like we have been friends - they are those kind of people.  They hosted the dinner at their home and Fiona - who is an amazing cook - made several of the tasty dishes we were able to partake of.  Their son Benjy is one of the cutest little boys and Madeline really loves visiting with him and playing at his house.  He is about 7-8 months older than Madeline but they usually get along really well and I like the influence he has on her.

This is a shot of the mouth-watering deliciousness we ate the night of Thanksgiving.  GOOOOOOOOD.

It took me 5 attempts, but I finally made the perfect lemon meringue pie!  And JUST in time for the dinner.  I was so nervous it would be runny, or have beads on it, or recede from the edge - like the first 4 I made.  I think the reason this pie worked is because I cried as I was making it.  There is just something about thankful desperation that aides in creativity. I was absolutely - well dare I say it - TICKLED when the eye rolls and moans began to eminate from people's mouths as  they devoured the pie and began making requests for future pies.  BIG CHEESY GRINS all over the place.

This is Kasonrdra and Travis and their two girls Teagan and Kiersten.  This little family, who happens to live down the street from us (which makes it even more awesome) have been the kindest, coolest, and most caring people we have met since our journey to Saudi.  Kasondra showed up at my door with a plate of cookies and an honest offer of help shortly after we arrived and she has been a great friend ever since.  I always hoped we would find these kind friends here. Madeline absolutely loves the girls and talks about going to Kiersten's house on a regular basis.

This is Madeline, Paul, and Edith.  Paul is the sexiest, most hunkalicious man I have ever seen and that little girl, Madeline, is the most perfect child ever created.

This is the Williams family.  Tanya and Fiona are very close and their two families travel together a lot.  I don't know them extremely well just yet, but Tanya has always been there with a hug, an offer of help, and a wonderful smile.  I forsee a great friendship in our future.  Her boys are very sweet and her husband is a very nice man and a GREAT cook - he did the Turkey and it was really good.

There were a few lone men at the dinner as well who are awesome, kind people whose wives/families were out of town for the holiday.  It was really nice meeting them and sharing the holidays with them. 

Fiona being funny with her flat, unpregnant belly and me looking like I swallowed a watermelon.  If it weren't for these ladies I probably wouldn't have any profile shots of Abigails pregnancy because when you are huge, like I am, you just don't feel like taking pictures of your voluptuousness when you are preg-O.

Here is everyone getting ready to devour the delicious table of desserts!  There was cookies, and pumpkin pie, and sweet potato pecan pie, and lemon meringue pie, and chocolate chip cheesecake... GOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Here is Fiona keeping the kids entertained by taking them on a walk around the house several times.  I love when the kids all hold hands and have fun together.

And here are the kids winding down and watching some Christmas movies together in Benjy's playroom. 

It was an awesome evening and we are SO THANKFUL for our new, great friends and all the blessings that come along with knowing them. 

Calm Down Mommy.

Madeline is two.  I hate to put her in a category or label her... labels are evil.  But she is SO TWO.  I love her so much and she is such a cuddly, lovable, sweet little person but she is testing our limits on an hourly basis lately.

It's funny in a way (after I've taken a few breaths) because it's silly little things like saying everything is hers, and I mean everything.  It's not looking at us, ignoring us, hiding from us... and now, all of the sudden, after two years of never putting anything in her mouth she is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth.  She licks.  She licks the floor, herself, furniture, doors, and US!  She climbs, stands on tables and chairs, bangs on the walls with hard, pointy objects... Whenever she sees I am getting upset with her she now immediately says, "Sorry Mommy, Sorry" and she actually tells me to calm down.  My two year old tells ME to calm down and tells me to go into time out.

I honestly believed she was so perfect we wouldn't have to go through this.  I know - I'm naive and a bit unrealistic. 

At least we have some stories to tell her when she is a mom... "Well, you know Madeline, if you think little Freddy is bad...."

Through it all she is still a sweet, sensitive little stinker who keeps us smiling and laughing and we love her so stinkin' much. 

P.S. I wanted to get some pictures from our great friends who had us over for Thanksgiving before I made a late Thanksgiving post.  So hopefully that is coming soon! 

Ras Tanura

This past week has been the Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" holiday here in Saudi Arabia.  It is a time for all Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Ishmael, as an act of obedience to God.  Holidays also mean that Paul is off from work so he has been able to spend the entire week here at home with us, which we LOVE. 

We've spent a lot of time eating out, sleeping, playing outside, and watching movies... it has been really nice. 

On one of our days off we went with some friends, for our first time, to Ras Tanura - another Aramco compound about 45 minutes from ours.  Ras Tanura is smaller than the compound we live in here in Dhahran, but it is very nice and they have a very beautiful beach accessible from inside the compound for residents to use.  So we decided to spend the morning there letting the girls play in the sand and water and then we had a nice lunch at the snack bar on camp. 



Our little family

Madeline loves sand, and she had a really fun time playing in the sand with her friend, Kiersten.  By the time we were ready to get cleaned up for lunch they were both completely covered in sand from head to toe.  



Madeline learning to pack sand



Madeline and Kiersten

When we first arrived the girls had a good time jumping into the water... that is until Madeline lost her balance and got a nice face full of sand and salt water.  She was pretty upset about it and kept her distance from the water after that.  She gets upset when I get her face wet in the bathtub too... I hope she eventually embraces water because there is a lot of swimming and beach time in our future.


The girls jumping into the water

After we got cleaned up (as best as possible) we had some lunch at the snack bar and got some free ice cream from a celebration going on inside the dining area.  We would have gotten the girls faces painted, but an evil, dressed up Tom (from Tom and Jerry) got a little too close to the girls and scared them a little so we were done after that.

Here are a few shots of the shore on the beach.  It really is a beautiful place with crystal blue water and light sand.  I was able to collect a few sea shells near the water.  Unfortunately there was also floating tar and some garbage in the sand near the tables.  Despite a few annoyances we had a great time with our great friends!