Oh Baby!

I'm not doing a very good job at keeping people posted on the happenings of our lives here in Saudi Arabia. I am aware of that, and I am sorry. I plan to start blogging more and taking more pictures. To be completely honest, things here in Dhahran happen s...l...o....w....l...y.... although, at times, it seems like a week will go by in a matter of minutes.
Each day Madeline and I wake up; we have breakfast and do (sometimes just watch) Tae Bo. We get ready for the day and then come dowstairs to do our daily dance routine - running in circles behind the couch to an upbeat tune such as Billy Idol's Mony Mony or Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us. I've started doing her flash cards and her Your Baby Can Read videos with her again. We go outside and play with the hose a little - she loves the water. Sometimes we color, but Madeline has become obsessed with eating crayons lately. Sometimes we do some laundry or sweeping - Madeline enjoys sweeping (or spreading) the dust particles into the dust pan. Some days, we are invited to a play group or to go swimming with new friends - it is always fun to get out of the house. Lunch time comes fast, then naptime, and then all of the sudden Paul is coming home and it's time to make dinner. Paul is really good about encouraging us to go outside (when it gets a little cooler) and to visit our neighbors and new friends. Madeline loves walking and running up and down the street or playing outside in the sand. Our neighbors have a little plastic slide she likes to slide on - but we have to remember to take a wet wipe out to wipe the daily bird droppings off that seem to regularly acquire on it.
Life here is good... but I can't help but feel the walls that surround me. I can't help but feel the restrictions of travel as a woman living in Saudi Arabia. I choose not to take it personally. I choose not to dwell on it. But the thought is there in the back of my mind and it sort of bugs the crap out of me.
I don't know, maybe having a car now will help that. I can do the things I have been wanting to do like go to the gym, or join an art class, or a choir, or just drive to the comissary if I need some milk, ya know? Not have to call for a taxi just to hear that none are available right now and to call back in 20 minutes - which I do and none are available then either.
We are so excited we have a buyer on the house back in Tennessee and we are supposed to close on June 11th - pending all the things the inspector found wrong with the house can be fixed in time. There were a few minor issues that will cost a little money, but at this point we just want to sell the house so we can move on with our lives! We recognize how lucky we are to have an offer so soon and we are SO grateful.
On May 15th, after severals days of nausea and food and smell sensitivities I took two pregnancy tests and they were both positive! So, we are expecting a new baby. At first I thought about not telling people - at least until I saw a doctor, which I still haven't done - but I am definitely pregnant and we are definitely excited so I figure, why not? I have no idea how far along I am yet or whether or not it happened before or after we got here... I am just excited, and I want to write about it on my blog so I had to let the cat out of the bag.
We do not regret this decision... we are looking forward to all the adventures that are to come in our lives because we chose to live here. Life is beautiful!