09.13.11

Today was pretty laid back, and I have to admit, those are usually my favorite days. The days when we have nothing planned at all.  I was woken up a little early by a phone call from one of the mothers who attended our playgroup on Sunday.  She called to tell me thank you for a nice time.  I thought it was a little strange to call me two days later, and at 7:30 am, but to each his own.  I was happy she had a nice time.

Today Mads played with her birthday presents.  We painted, played with jewelry, re-glued the eyes, mouth, and nose on her pet rock (that miraculously just keep falling off when she picks at them), and of course, JUMP-O-LENE time.

 We did late tubby's in the afternoon because of our paint fun, and spent way to much time in the tub getting pruney and making wash cloths talk to each other and rescue each other. 

 The girls had some good conversations and some really adorable laughing moments.  Madeline makes Abigail laugh a lot, and I love every second of it. 

And then Abigail just crawled like crazy! She is officially a crawler.  She went across the entire carpet today just to get her paws on my camera lens cap.  Normally, I wouldn't let her, but after all that work I HAD to let her gnaw on it a bit.  She is SO ROCKIN'!

This evening the girls and I picked Paul up from work and we headed out to the Corniche in Khobar to try out the new Outback Steakhouse.  The Outback Steakhouse used to be our favorite restaurant.  Paul and I would go there for every special occassion.  So it was fun to find out they were building one.  Our sites were not set too high because we had tried the Outback in Dubai and it was not that great, so we expected about the same here.  But I was really pleasantly surprised! 

We were the first and only guests there so we got five -star treatment. The girls got balloons.  I had some really good peach flavored iced tea. We ordered a bloomin' onion - it was awesome.  Then I got "No Rules Pasta" with grilled chicken and some steamed vegetables to share with Abigail.  It tasted JUST LIKE the Outback in the States.  Paul ordered his usual - lettuce and cucumbers only with mustard vinegarette and a nine ounce filet with garlic mashed potatoes.  He said it was "okay" but it didn't melt in his mouth like he would have liked it to (how it does in the States).  Mads happily had chicken fingers and fries and she really enjoyed the traditional brown buttered bread.  Abigail, for the first time ever, was noticeably upset when an Asian man came up to her and tried to say hi.  It was adorable.  She is SO adorable. even when she cries. 

We ended with a Chocolate Thunder from Down Under... it was SO good.  I am looking forward to my left overs for lunch tomorrow! 

AFter dinner we stopped at the GM dealership to check out, and ask questions about, a Yukon XL.  Paul and I feel like it makes sense to have a bigger vehicle while living here in Saudi.  After being here a year and a half and seeing how useful the big vehicles are - safety-wise and room-wise - we have been on the lookout for something for us.  We're currently in dealings with a man who posted an ad in the classifieds for Aramco and may get a really nice used one, but we are also seeing our options with the new ones.  They are SO NICE.  The girls and I had fun playing in all the models of cars and trucks while Paul did some business talk with one of the salesman.  We got some questions answered and then headed home.  So we will see... we may have a new Yukon some time soon! 

09.12.11

Today the girls and I went to F's house for lunch.  We have been spending A LOT of time with F and her son B.  We must like them.  Today, my amazing friend, who is an amazing cook, made what we like to call "stupid salad" (an inside joke between me, F, and our dear friend K) and some homemade wonton soup.  I followed suit and brought some fruit - that totally rhymed.  I don't know, it always seems like I bring fruit to all our lunches.  I really need to learn to cook more.  Anyway, it was really, good.  I had two bowls of the soup and a nice pile of stupid salad.  It was a great way to start the day - that rhymed too.  I am on a roll, right?

After lunch we bopped home to let our house helper in and the girls and I went upstairs for a while to play and relax.  I love play and relax time cause it is really just relax time and sometimes we fall asleep.  I love me some sleep. 

I started to get dinner ready a little early and made sure Paul had a bottle for Abs because tonight I went out with a big group of ladies to a nice restaurant near here called "The Blue Strawberry."  I had heard about this place from a few people and was really excited to try it out.  Apparently it is on another camp so abayas are not necessary, and the dress is "dressy casual," so I actually got to dress up a little.  Normally my choice of attire is limited to casual mom stuff like long skirts, sweats, or shorts/jeans/capris with a tank or T-shirt; the lovely black abaya; or PJ's - similar to my sweats and T-shirt from the "mom" collection.  So it's nice to dress up once in a while. 
So I got all purdy and some friends picked me up.  If you have enough people, the restaurant will send a shuttle bus to get you, so that's what we did.  I didn't know most of the women who went very well.  I had met most of them once or twice before, and there were three moms from playgroups I had met a few times, but most of the women were quite new to me. 

It was a blast!  The beginning was a little scary.  It is supposed to take you 15 minutes to get to this place so after 45 minutes, and several moments that felt like we were driving through a mountain range or going four wheelin' we were all a little concerned.  Apparently the driver had encountered a road block and, in an attempt to take a short cut around it, took us waaaaay off course and had to go all the way around and back to where we started to get to the right road.  At one point someone commented that maybe he was driving us into the desert to make us his wives.  Fun to joke about for some, but I have always had a serious fear about being abducted and taken as a hostage.  I have honestly never met anyone here yet who has been unkind to me (other than those crazy women at the malls) but it just takes ONE idiot to ruin a good time.  It didn't help that 9/11 was yesterday, the driver did about thirty U-turns, and the bus had curtains on the windows so you couldn't really see where he was going. Even IF he was just a nice driver who made a mistake, which is how it turned out in the end, NONE of us had our abayas and I can just imagine us trying to walk through khobar in our short skirts and tight shirts.

We finally arrived late for our reservation and in one piece.  Our table was waiting and the restaurant was really quite beautiful. The menu is pre-set and before going we had all chosen what we wanted to eat.  It was "seafood night." I normally don't do seafood, but I was feeling adventurous and it truly paid off.   I chose crab cakes for my appetizer, Hammour for my main course, and a tartlett for dessert.  IT. WAS. REALLY. GOOD.  And I was quite full when all was said and gobbled. I think I would really like to go back there again with Paul some time.  They do Italian night and Steak night sometimes too, which I know he would like.

Throughout dinner there was lots of laughter, lots of chatter, hugs, triple dog dares, and just some genuine good times. There were several birthdays and "Happy birthday" - the 5 minute rendition - was blasted extremely loud every time they brought out a cake.  I really enjoyed myself and was very happy to have been invited.  Dinner went a bit long and I got home later than planned, but the girls were asleep and I got to cuddle with my man - a perfect ending to the night.

Nine Eleven

I was getting ready for work.  My normal routine was to listen to the news while doing my hair and I heard the news anchors talking about what had just happened.  I called Paul, who at the time I was dating and who, just a month before, I had just met in person for the first time.  We stood in silence, with an occassional "Oh my God," when the second airplane hit.  I went to work and we sat all day in front of a TV we had found somewhere in the building. There weren't many calls that day, for obvious reasons. 

I  will truly never forget.  I won't ever forget that day and what happened.  Ten years has passed and every time I see a clock with the numbers 9:11 on them, I remember.  Everytime I hear the name, "New York City," I think about it.

I don't really know what to say other than I am fiercely thankful for my life and my family and friends.  It is times like 09.11.2001 that help to remind us what is really important in life and to remember how precious the time we do have together really is.  It is times like 09.11.2001 that remind us how important it is to try to be an example of change, and especially, of LOVE. Nothing good has ever or will ever come from hate.

09.11.11

This morning I had a birthday playgroup for Madeline.  I wanted to have a playgroup at the house to catch up and see some of the ladies and I wanted to have some of Madeline's little friends over to have a cupcake and celebrate with us.  It turned out really great. 

The menu:

chocolate cake cupcakes with Ma Mevec's chocolate frosting
Goldfish crackers
Teddy Graham crackers
Watermelon
Grapes - yummy ones that were the size of plums, crisp and just the right sweet
Raspberries
Choco-co-nut trail mix - a combunation of pecans, almonds, peanuts, shredded coconut, and dried cherries with milk chocolate poored over it and refridgerated over night and then broken up into bits.  It was REALLY good.
 Tea, juice, and water
And then my overly awesome friend, F, provided a REALLY good chicken salad with crackers, banana bread, and coffee.

It was a really nice set up and I didn't take a picture - something I am doing a lot lately and I am peeved at me for being so careless at capturing delicious or precious moments.

About half the people I invited showed up, which was good because it was still a pretty well sized group.  The kids had a good time playing and, amazingly, there was no fighting and little or no crying incidents.  I had Madeline's trampoline set up in the main area, the slide and some toys outside, and of course the toys in the playroom.  I also had "Go Diego GO, a fave of Madelines, playing on the TV for a bit in the beginning. 

For the craft I had each child a rock in a basket and they were able to decorate their rock and then fill out a birth certificate.  Most of the kids named their rock after themselves.  Madeline named hers "Princess rock."  My favorite name choice of the day was "boom boom." 

After the playgroup was over and everyone left, F and her little man B stayed and had lunch with us.  The kids played with the balloons and had fun jumping. The only way we could get them to eat their lunch was to challenge them at "monster biting" their sandwiches and then, at one point, letting them eat off their plates on the floor like dogs.  Hey - you gotta do what you gotta do.  At least they ate. 

After our friends left I let Mads open her presents that people weren't supposed to bring, and we played a bit with some of them. Then the girls and I went upstairs for a while to relax. 

Paul had to work late to prepare for a presentation.  Then the girls and I picked him up and we had a light dinner and snacks and left overs and Paul relaxed a little playing some video games.

It was a really nice day. 

Here are a few photos from the event.  I didn't really get a chance to take many pictures because I was holding the baby and making sure everyone was doing well.  It's hard to take pictures when you are hosting an event at your home and trying to socialize and watch kids. No names, just random letters for the sake of my friends privacy.



Abigail playing with E, who is 4 months older than her.



A, S, and O - three of the lovely moms I have met through playgroups

C, another awesome gal, and me

 

S, S, Me, J, F, and E - very cool women

 

Mads playing on the slide with her friends

 

A pretty Abigail shot




Mads with cupcake all over her face


 

After the party, the kids acting like dogs at lunchtime

 

Opening presents with a thankful and happy heart.



09.10.11 - Madeline's Birthday

 Today is Madeline's 3rd birthday.  I started the morning with presents! I just couldn't WAIT for her to open her gifts.  I did let her sleep in until she was ready to get up, but as soon as she woke up the only thing I let her do before opening her presents was go to the bathroom. 

We got Madeline some Disney Princess Barbies when on repat and for her birthday we gave her the Cinderella and Prince Charming set.  She also got a rockin' pink scooter and, of course, her jumpolene. 

 Our good friends F and B came over and brought yummy waffles and a certain breakfast meat that is not available where we currently live and is a hot commodity.  They also brought Mads a nice present - her own game of Candy Land!  I am SO excited to play it with her.  I remember playing it as a kid.  F and B spent the entire morning with us playing and eating and just having fun.  It was a great start to our day. 

 I made this lovely birthday banner in photoshop and hung it on the wall.  Madeline had a good time telling me what the letters were.  I said, "what do these letters spell?" and she said, "Happy Birthday Madeline Olivia have a great day!"

 Madeline and Benjy have a good time together.  Here they are being cute on the couch right before she opened her present from him.

 Here they are huggin'.

 And just to take some of the spotlight away from Mads, Abigail is now crawling.  She only goes about two or three crawls and then collapses, and she is a little wobbly, but I can confidently say she is a crawler now. I am SO proud of her. 

 After our friends left, I made a cake.  Madeline said she wanted pink and purple inside and purple outside.  It was not my best cake.  The cake itself tasted like sweet playdough (at least to me) and the frosting... uggh.  I tried to make a cream cheese frosting and it would not thicken to a frosting-like consistency.  It sort of just stayed gel like and creamy.  So I used that as filling between the layers.  Then I tried to make a butter cream frosting for decorating and I think I added too much vanilla cause it wasn't that great.  Madeline told me she thought it was great though.  She kept telling me I did a "good job."  So I guess that's all that matters. 

We put some red lipstick on and then bought Madeline a new app on my iPad.  She loves my iPad and whenever I get it out she wants to play a game.  So, within reason, we let her once in a while.  For her birthday I bought her an app that is a game for a show she likes on PBS called Super Why.  It is a good app and I think it was worth the money.  It test her knowledge of letters, rhyming, word shapes, and she can actually trace the letters with her finger to learn how to write it.  A+!

We had rubbery Pizza Hut pizza for dinner - a request from Madeline (funny thing, she had like three bites and was done) and then we sang, blew out candles, and had some cake and sorbet (the latest craze at our house). 

 Here is Madeline blowing out her candles.  She did a great job! Paul helped a little so I re-lit one candle and let Madeline finish the job proper. 

 Pink and purple cake with raspberry sorbet... sort of Mmmmm. 

 Then it was time to play some more.  Madeline had a good time playing on her new scooter and we played with her balloons. She got to talk to her Grandparents on the phone and we watched a movie to close out the night. 

This year we got Mads 48 balloons!  It was lots of fun.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Madeline.  We love you SOOOOOOOO much!!

09.09.11

Today is the day before my little girl turns 3 yrs old.  What's crazy is, any second now? I'll be writing... "I can't believe my baby is 16 yrs old."  And then a few minutes after that, "Madeline is graduating from college today."  That's how FAST this life, and these precious moments, are passing by.  I know people talk about it all the time.  I think I probably talk about it too much - maybe because I love my life - maybe because I recognize how precious these times really are and I'm not doing everything I want to do? Maybe both.  Reality is a scary thing.  The time we have with our loved ones and the time we have in this life is unknown, it is unset (to our knowledge anyway) and I think that thought can be a bit overwhelming.  Right up there with, "What is my purpose?" and "Is there life after death?"

So yeah - I look at Madeline Olivia and I smile.  I smile and I beam with pride at the beauty she is and that I was privileged enough to be a major contributor to her life.  I am enjoying every minute with her, and weep when I am weak and I make mistakes that hurt her feelings or teach her bad things.  I try to be a good example to her because, as we all know, any minute now she will be an adult doing her own thing. 

I've been putting together a little folder of pictures from her life so far for display as a slide show on our TV for a little birthday playgroup I am doing for her on Sunday, and I just cannot get over how much she has changed in her first three years.  I am greatful.  I am greatful, and humbled, and in love with my little girls. 

Abigail, by the way, is changing so much every day as well.  She loves to do this short, stunted "ah!" sound over and over and we reply with the same sound and she does it again and again and this goes on and on for quite some time.  She is starting to communicate already.  I love it! She does it to all of us.  I love when Paul comes home from work because she smiles real big, gives him a kiss (open mouth slobber suck on the nose) and begins her "ah!" talk.

So today was Friday.  A good day.  Paul - like always - spent some time helping me around the house.  Since the walls in our main room are now painted a nice color, I now want to get some pictures up on the walls and finish decorating.  So Paul put some nails in the wall and we hung the frames I got from IKEA a while back.  Then, since I over cook meat and Paul wanted steak, Paul made dinner.  He made his filet with pepper cream sauce and brown rice dinner... Mmm Mmm Mmm good.  It was deeeeelish.

After dinner Paul helped put together one of Madeline's birthday gifts - a "jump-o-lene" as she calls it - because I wanted it to be ready for her the next morning.  We ended up letting her play with it tonight because one, I am not good with waiting to give surprises, and two, she saw Paul and me putting it together.  She loves it and jumps like crazy.  I think she jumped the rest of the night.  It's nice cause now she doesn't jump on the furniture - at least not as much.

Paul had to go pick up another new employee for his department at Aramco tonight.  He thinks he will be out until at least 2 AM and this irritates the crud buckets outta me because he is supposed to go to work tomorrow.  We will see.

While he was gone, I got the girls to bed and I printed out some of our favorite photos of the girls for our new groupings.  It turned out AWESOME.  I LOVE how it looks.  This place is really starting to pull together and look great.  I also spent some time preparing for Madeline's birthday - wrapped some presents - and finished putting stuff for the playgroup on Sunday.  I am having the kids make pet rocks.  I found some rocks, cute baskets, and some foamy green stuff that looks like moss to cut up and put into the baskets.  The kids will put googly eyes, a pom pom ball for a nose, and a mouth on them and then fill out a homemade birth certificate for each rock so they have a name.  I think they will enjoy it.  Madeline acts like EVERYTHING is alive lately and has feelings so why should rocks be any different. 

My new plastic table cloth cover - I am SO HAPPY we finally found some.

Abigail getting some floor time.

Paul helping put the "jumpolene" together.

Mads doing some awesome jumping.

09.06-07-08.11

09.06
A day of fun creativity, memorable moments, and learning - in other words, because I let the days get away from me, I cannot remember anything that happened on this day. The days seem to be running together a lot.

09.07
This morning the girls and I went to a playgroup.  An email was sent out starting up the old playgroup because most people are back or coming back from their repat vacation.  We went, to get out and see some old friends, but we won't be able to continue a Wednesday group because Madeline will be in pre-school on Wednesdays starting the week of the 25th. Honestly, I don't know that I would want to continue with this particular arrangement and group.  I struggled last year with going because Madeline never had a good time, would always get hurt, and the group was too large. I have really loved getting to know these women and their children, but I think we are more interested in a smaller group.  I have never enjoyed the chaotic, all over the place, zoo-type playgroups where the Moms sit around chatting and drinking coffee while their children fight over toys and tear someone's home apart.  There just has to be another way.  I think this year we are going to focus more on play-DATES with one or two other moms at a time and just getting out of the house to the park on our down time. Again, it is nothing personal toward any mom or baby/toddler individually - just our style preference.

This morning there was only me and three other ladies, and one of the lady's little boys, who is much younger than Madeline and still learning about sharing and who lives in a house with older siblings, was being quite aggessive and mean to Madeline.  The "last straw" for me was when he whacked her up the side of the head  really hard with a tennis racket. It was about time to leave anyway, so we said our goodbyes. 

One thing I have learned from these playgroups is you can't get along with everyone.  Some parents have different parenting styles.  I understand how even the most perfect parent on the planet could be put in an uncomfortable situation because of their child, who is learning to share and interact with others, acts out, screams, or hits another child.  Believe me, I have been there.  Made.line went through a screaming phase that was pretty embarrassing and uncomfortable, not to mention physically damaging  to all ear drums within 100 ft. That's why it is important to get to know people and find the friends who are right for you and your little ones. 

After playgroup we came home and had some lunch and did some playing.  When Paul got home we ordered out for dinner - nice - and then while the girls and I watched a movie, Paul went to the airport to welcome a new employee and his family who are new to Dhahran.  He was gone late - home around midnight. Apparently this family has lived in the Middle East before and this man has worked with Aramco before in Abqaiq - another Aramco camp here in Saudi Arabia.  Paul felt like he didn't really contribute much to their arrival, but he did his job and welcomed them.  He has another person he is supposed to meet on Friday night.  I guess it's good they're getting new people and that Paul is such a devoted and professional worker.  That's one thing I have always admired about him. He is very professional and humble when it comes to his work.  He has always been well thought of, admired, and liked by his co-workers and superiors.  And he makes it look really easy too, which is even cooler.

09.08 (The weekend)
Our weekends are pretty routine - grocery shopping, working out, movies, getting things done. Today we did all those things.  We made a trip to Zamils - the only craft store here that I know of - because I wanted to get a few things for the birthday playgroup I am doing here at the house on Sunday.  While we were there we finally found plastic!  For YEARS we have been admiring, thinking about, looking for and wanting a thick plastic clear table cloth for our dining room table.  My grandmother always had one; Paul's Mom has one; it just makes sense for someone who has children at their table on a regular basis.  It also eliminates the need for placemats and coasters.  I am ecstatic.  I am SO happy and excited.

I tried to load some pictures but blogger is being a fart face.  So I will try later.

09.04 & 09.05.11

The past couple of days have been nice and relaxed.  The girls and I have just hung around the house, but we've been having fun together doing crafts and dancing and watching movies.  Abigail turned 8 months on the first and Madeline is about to turn 3 years old so I thought it was time again for a little photo session. 

I love getting the girls all dressed up and taking pictures of them.  My children are so beautiful! Madeline, at this point in her life, has been in a lot of homemade photo sessions so she is really good at posing and smiling.  She has several of her own poses that she just sort of naturally came up with. 

Abigail was not extremely excited about me taking pictures of her. 

My little soon to be 3-year-old

 

Abigail was not very happy

Such a beautiful kid

Sunday night we took the girls to the park down the street from our house.  Usually Paul takes Madeline and Abigail and I stay home since it has been so hot.  It's still pretty hot, but it is slowly getting cooler so we decided to all get out of the house.

So great moments from the night are when Madeline was pulling funny faces and making Abigail laugh.  She was laughing so hard at her. It was actually Abigail's first time playing in the sand and going down a slide (I took her down hte slide).  She had a great time. Then it was home for baths and showers.

Last night we watched Star Wars Episode 1 because we are thinking of doing a Star Wars theme for Halloween this year.  Madeline would be Queen Amidala, Abigail would be yoda, and Paul and I?  Not sure yet... possibly Han Solo and Princess Leia? Chewbacca? Ooooh or that lady who dances for jaba the hut... the one with the blue arms coming out of her head.  We'll see.

We have a pretty busy week ahead of us full of playgroups and birthday parties and dinners and doctors appointments.  Paul is also busy with some after hours work duties so it should be an eventful week!  Things are starting up here again on camp because everyone is coming back from repat vacation due to school starting. 

09.02 & 09.03.11

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind of home improvements and a bit of a blur.  I had such a headache tonight that my head was pounding and, depending on my position, got worse.  It was probably nowhere near what a migraine would feel like, but for me it was pretty bad. 

We have moved the TV we had in our room down into the playroom, along with some shelves that used to be in Abigail's old room (now the office).  I think they look nice in the playroom.  We did a few other little things.

We painted three of the walls in our main living area.  It is something I've been talking about and wanting to do for quite some time now because I think I went a little overboard with the brown when we originally painted.  It was just too dark.  So I wanted to lighten the place up a little with an earthy green or greyish blue.  I went with the earthy green, and in one of our numerous visits to SACO this past week - I think Paul has gone there every day for the past 4 or 5 days - I persuaded Paul to pick up some paint and paint rollers, etc. 

The husband was not "go" for this activity.  He wanted to hire someone else to do the job - a very common and cost effective choice for home improvement activities here in the Dhahran, Aramco camp.  But this meant I would need to continue waiting and it would be weeks, possibly months, down the road.  I have never been good at waiting for anything.  The anticipation of anything I am looking forward to is almost unbearable at times.  I guess this is a bad thing, and sometimes things that may have been pleasant experiences become explosive nightmares. 

I had this vision in my mind of all of us laughing and playing together as we joyfully thrust paint over our walls.  I would easily and neatly get all the corners and edges - without a single drip.  Madeline would adorably paint the alphabet on the wall and maybe even a little picture of a flower for her Mommy before the walls are covered completely... even Abigail would gleefully roll - around any possibly drippings - while chewing on a disinfected paintbrush.  Paul, with his masculine and debonair style would cover the wall surface swiftly and smoothly with the mighty roller brush, frequently glancing over at me with a wink and a "Gosh I love the bajeezuz outta you, you sexy woman you!" comment here and there... sentimental music would be playing in the background timed to just the right moments as if we were in a movie... and oops! Silly me... I got some paint on my nose... and we would all laugh at the joy of this familial activity as our living area took on a more eclectic, warm  and inviting shape. 

Well, it was the complete opposite.

As I said before, P?  Not excited for this activity.  Complained almost the entire time about how we should have hired someone.  So irritated in fact that he took over production and did most of the painting - very messily - himself.  It reminded me of when Paul cooks.  He is an excellent cook and his dishes are scrumdiddleeuptious, but he makes a monstrous mess most of the time and I don't know that he does this on purpose - but he knows someone else will eventually clean it up.  So splatters of sauce are commonly found all over the stove and the dishes and the wall and the ceiling.  This is what happened with the paint too.  And it's not that I didn't add to the splatters.  Painting is HARD.  You really have to know how to hold the brush; what brush to use where; how to tape edges; being tall is a nice feature because with tall ceilings a ladder can only get a 5' 5" girl so high. And sometimes the brushes fall apart or won't roll properly.

So, I started while Paul sat in the playroom with the girls - a good idea really because neglect is not in our normal routine and seriously, the girls? Around paint? Not a good idea.  We started with an argument about us doing it ourselves - so I was in a GREAT mood after that.  I quite ficticiously and literally painted myself into a corner with that one.  By the end of it I was promised no help and was destined to paint the whole thing myself.  I was ready for some help after completing the first corner.  And after an embarassing and childish breakdown, he offered to help.  Then, in typical psycho fashion, I began complaining about having to do the un-fun part - taping and edges, and cleaning up - and how he wanted to do the fun part - the roller - and how that was unfair because this whole thing was my project and my idea (not something I would claim in a court of law now) and blah blah blah blah blaaahhhhheegghh!!! 

So eventually - he pretty much did the entire job.  He, reflecting on my past "bright idea" projects, felt he had to or it wouldn't get done and we would be surrounded by paint and clutter for months to come.  Besides, he is better with the paint brushes; taller; faster; it just worked. 

I can't help but feel like a failure a lot of the time.  It's depressing really.  I have these ideas in my head and they seem so perfect and grand in the fantasy and they just don't ever work out the way I imagine. I don't get the supportive, encouraging smiles and utter acceptance of whatever nutty idea I've come up with.  Is every idea I have really that awful? Presentation and planning are a big part of my routine downfall.  So how does one learn timing and patience when the only routine part of this life right now is the lack of a routine?

The finished product turned out nice.  Final touches will be applied tomorrow and then, hopefully, excluding a few minor changes, we will be done with home improvements for a while.  I feel bad that P's entire Eid vacation was spent doing home improvements.  It was good that we got all this stuff done, but I guess I should have worked in a little " r and r" for the guy. 

Wife of the year award for that one, eh?

In between all the blurpity derp and excriment our girls were adorable and as accomodating as a now 8 month old (yay!) and almost 3 year old can be under house arrest and boredom.  They need some serious play time and attention. 

Abigail is teetering on crawling.  She does the rock thing where she is up on all fours and only goes as far as she has to, to get whatever it is she wants to reach.  Madeline is amazing.  Potty training is going wonderfully.  She is also SO TALKATIVE.  Non-stop questions and ideas, and LOTS of quotes from Mom and Dad, which is a wake up call for me again as I tend to sound like a garbage mouth a lot - another place where there is major mondo room for improvement. 

So! Patience. Humility. Sacrifice. Clean up the potty mouth. Take better care of myself - because, apparently, I am filet mignon, but regularly served on the lid of a trash can. And take better care of my family. Some good goals - dontcha think?

In other news I tried out my crockpot for the first time.  I made a beef stew.  I think it turned out yummy.  I think P liked it.  When I finally convinced Mads to try it she looked at me, and with an enouraging nod said, " Mmm! Not so bad Mom." So that was nice. 

I took a few pictures during the past couple days but haven't loaded them yet so words will just have to do for now.

The nice thing about life is, tomorrow is another day. A day to make better.  A clean slate - once I get all the paint off of it. 

Announcing...

Abhishek

Born August 30th, 2011

7 lbs. 12 oz.

20 inches long

He looks so much like my sweet, funny, amazing and awesome sister! 

MAN I wish I could hug on him. 

We love you guys Amber!!

09.01.11

I took absolutely no pictures today.  I usually take at least one, but we were so busy getting things done I didn't even look at the camera.  Actually, this morning Madeline and I took fake pictures of Abigail with our hands and a clever clicking sound made with our mouths. 

Today we finished the Harry Potter closet.  I love my new craft drawers and that all my stuff is neatly organized in the closet.  We also worked on the office - it's pretty much done except for the new computer being set up. I'm sure that will be working soon.  In an attempt to use all the neat little plastic containers I sort of fell into organizing all my bathroom drawers and cupboards.  They look awesome!

We went to SACO again today to return the shelves and brackets we got for the bathrooms.  Well, at first it was just the brackets, but then Paul went back with the shelves because we found something better the second time at SACO.  I also snagged some paint color swatches from the paint department and we bought Madeline a pink scooter for her birthday.  So it was a productive trip. 

Since we were out and we hadn't eaten (and I forgot to thaw any meat) we decided to eat out tonight. We tried a new place called 'something' grill.  It's not actually called 'something grill' I just can't remember what it's called.  It's right next to the macaroni whatchamacallit place in the Dhahran Mall.  Anyway, it was fun and the food was pretty good.  I ordered some chili enchiladas, thinking they were beef or chicken with green chiles or something, but it was actual chili - like you would cook in a crockpot - wrapped in a tortilla. It was odd, but okay.  Paul got beef ribs because eating meat that comes from that animal that oinks is against the law here.  Abigail sat in a high chair for the first time and I had brought some of her cereal, a bottle of my milk, and some apple sauce for her.  Thankfully, while in the States I invested in some disposable placemats from Target that you can stick to the table as a barrier from germs... Abigail was gnawing on that table over the placemat a lot.  She had fun though and I could tell she enjoyed being a big girl like her sister.  To my suprise she ate very well and... drumroll..... she drank from a bottle! She drank all her milk out of a bottle!!  We sort of gave up on giving her a bottle because she would never take one from Paul or myself.  Also, from past experience with Mads who never took one easily, we had just decided our girls were stubborn and loved the boob too much to settle for some plastic.  I attribute our success for the accidental attraction to the binky (Abigail didn't take one before our repat vacation home to the States).  Anyway, this means so much. This means I can actually go somewhere and she will still be able to eat.  This means Paul and I can actually look into possibly going out on a date together when we find the right babysitter!! I am so excited!

After indulging in some lava cake and ice cream (we all shared one and it was just right) we let Madeline run around a little to get some energy out.  She found a ramp and was running up and down it and into Paul's arms and then he would throw her in the air.  This attracted two other kids, a boy and a girl, and soon they were all running up and down this ramp.  Paul only threw our child though.
After a while, the two kids who were running with Mads had to go. After they left Madeline had this huge frown on her face so we asked her what was wrong... she said (pointing to the little boy),

"He hit mine butt! Don't do that kid!!"

And she yelled it. It was hilarious.

So we headed home for Back to The Future III 

I have to mention - Madeline lately is asking a lot of questions.  When I say a lot, I mean  A LOT  And they are the same questions over and over and over.  I think it is a riot that this is a normal thing for kids to do.  Every ten seconds its, "Hi Mom, How ya doin'?" and I say, "I'm fine, how are you?" and she says, "I'm jus sittin' here."  (Ten seconds later) "Whatcha doin' Mom?" Then after tell her the same answer over and over and over, I start asking her questions... silly, obvious questions to see if I can make it obvious that I am mocking her... and she joyfully answers them. 
I LOVE that my baby wants to talk to me.  I hope that never changes and that no matter what we talk about she feels comfortable about talking with me.  This is the time to plant that seed of trust and love, and no matter how tired I am from working all day at organizing stuff or staying up too late to watch TV, I have to remember that.  I don't ever want my girls to feel like I am not interested in their lives or their ideas or feelings. 

08.31.11



My little Cherub crawling and rolling around on the tile

 Today we spent most of our day getting the house organized.  We've decided to use this time off to get a bunch of things around the house done.  We've been wanting to organize the new office, and three of our closets, along with the kitchen drawers, the playroom, and the bathrrom drawers and cupboards.  It is so easy to get unorganized and messy - especially with kids! Not that they do much of the disorganizing, but they take a lot of our time and cause us to be tired, which leads to fatigue then laziness, causing things not being put where they belong leading to mess and disorganization... you get it.

I started with the kitchen drawers... I started with two junk drawers and messy utensil drawers and ended with clean, orderly perfection. It is SO nice to know which drawer everything is in.  Then we got all my craft stuff out of the various closet and drawers all over the house and put it all on the table.  I threw stuff away and grouped stuff together.  I actually have quite a bit of stuff. 


Babe and Mads being butterflies

 In between it all we had some fun with the girls, snacked on food, and did some dancing.  Because all of my craft stuff was on the table, we ate all our meals at the girls tiny, plastic IKEA table today.  Paul and I comfortably sat in those tiny plastic chairs. It was kinda hilarious. 

For dinner we had breaded chicken, salad, and roasted red potatoes... a favorite meal of ours.  And for dessert we tried a new treat - sorbet.  Did you know sorbet is different from sherbet?  Sherbet is actually made with milk. Sorbet is just the fruit pureed, frozen and sweetened with fruit juice. Up until this point we had no idea there was a difference. We always thought it was one of those potato-potato, tomato-tomato things. This makes a huge difference for us because it's in our genes to have issues with milk and milk products.

After dinner we made a trip to SACO world outside the compound.  We were on the look out for shelves for ours and the girls bathrooms and a few other random things we need for the house.  Mainly for organizing.  Man I love little plastic containers that fit nicely in drawers. SACO took a while.

When we got home we got ready for bed and ended the night with Back to the Future II. We've sort of rolled into a Back to the Future marathon, and it's fun.  Then I stayed up way too late watching 30 Rock, which is actually quite a hilarious show.  I got into it because I recently read Tina Fey's book Bossy Pants, which is also quite hilarious.  I've been reading more than I ever have in my life because of my new iPad - I LOVE being able to buy and read books on it!

08.30.11

Abigail Lily is an amazing little child.  She isn't quite crawling yet, but she rolls like a bull dozer, and can roll into the sitting position.  She does this position where she is balancing on her hands, and her feet are flat on the ground - almost like she about to stand up.  And lately, every time she is on the floor and is excited, angry, sad, or just bored she does this full body thrust where her hands and feet and head all go in the air at the same time, then her back goes up and her hands, head, and feet go down and she does this over and over and over really fast so she looks like a flopping fish out of water.  It is so hilarious! I must get it on video. 

Abs now has 4 teeth.  Her top two are barely showing but they are there and they are precious.  She is still quite happy in the mornings and during the day - when she gets what she wants.  She has realized that if she cries she will get what she wants faster, so now she is quick to fuss.  But she is still really cute.  She loves to cuddle and kiss, but she is also very abusive - haha She bites, pinches, pulls, scratches, slaps, kicks... and I know it's all just a learning curve, but man!

Today, although it was Tuesday, felt like a weekend for us.  Paul is home with us because today is the first day of Eid - a celebration of the end of Ramadan for our Muslim friends.   Our goal today was to get something done.  There is a lot around the house we want to do - mainly organization stuff - so we are planning on getting it all done during this break.

Today I tackled the girls kitchen cupboard and the silverware drawers.  I also cleaned out and organized the TWO junk drawers we had going on the kitchen.  Now they are nice and organized.  We are cleaning out the downstairs, Harry Potter, closet we have and moving all our games and arts and crafts things in there.  Eventually will have the new office (Abigail's old room) organized and then everything will be great!  We need to invest in some containers for storage though before we will reach our goal of total domination in the organization department.  I would also like to get some shelving.

Anyhoo - so I got some things done, but my dining room table is now cluttered with all my sewing and craft stuff. 

Inbetween it all, we napped and ate and played.  Here are the girls playing in Madeline's tent that she got for her second birthday.  I can't believe her THIRD birthday is coming up so soon!

Abigail loved playing in the tent! It was a really fun time and the girls were just giggling like crazy. 

We ended our evening with a nice dinner, some video games and movies, and the girls went down early to bed.  Nice.  Just how it should be. 

I have been waiting all afternoon to hear from my mom - my little sister is supposed to have her C-section this morning! We are SO excited to welcome her new little boy to the family!!

08.29.11

Homemade peanut butter cookies

This morning the girls and I went to a playdate at Sharon's house.  Sharon is another Aramco wife and mother and has two little kids, a boy and a girl, and they have the cutest accents! They are from Australia I believe. On top of the accents, the kids are really polite.  At one point the little boy, Alex, was wanting to show me a toy of his and he said,
"Excuse me, Miss Edith, pardon me, I want to show you this toy... thank you."

I don't know what it is about people with accents, or what it is about me I guess, but whenever I am around them I start to talk like them.  Maybe it is some evolutionary genetic trait to assimilate my environment... a type of protective mechanism, I don't know.  Growing up we always made fun of my mom because when she is at work or taking a phone call or doing anything professional (she still does this), she gets an English accent. Anyway, there were two other ladies at Sharon's - a nice gal, Laura, who we have met several times before and whose little boy went to playschool with Madeline, and a new gal, Karla, and her two little girls.  It was nice.  I really like the smaller playgroups.  It's so much more relaxed and fun, and if there is actually a problem of any kind with the kids, you don't feel like your head may explode in the process of trying to solve it.

Case in point, the beautiful Madeline got bit again by an ant. This time it was on the front of her ankle.  So the little bugger actually crawled up her leg before taking a bite.  She was just mindin' her own business, playing with a little plastic castle and some dolls and all the sudden I heard screaming.  This kid is going to be terrified of ants.  I don't know what it is going on this year but because of all this ant crap, I get great pleasure out of demolishing every single one I see. 

Despite the ant bite, we had a nice time.  After we came home we had some lunch and then decided to finish Madeline's sunshine project. All the sticks and hand prints were dry and were ready to be assembled.  Mads helped me glue the handprints to the sticks or "rays of sunshine" and staple the arms on and she drew a lovely face on the paper plate and voila!

Madeline's handprint sunshine

After our craft project was complete, we decided to make some homemade peanut butter cookies (see picture above) and then the girls and I retired upstairs with some cookies and milk to watch a movie while our house helper cleaned up our mess - HEAVEN.

Here are the girls hangin' out in my room during our movie:

We got a call from Paul around 3 pm... he was the only person left at work.  Tomorrow is Eid, the end of Ramadan for Muslims, so everyone is gone for the holiday.  So the girls and I went and picked Paul up early from work - a nice treat.  Then we came home and Paul and Mads actually took a nap while I fixed dinner and fed Abigail. 

After dinner we watched Back To The Future and had homemade popscicles.  We actually stayed up pretty late tonight, but since Paul doesn't have to go to work for 5 days (yay!) due to the holiday, we felt like it was okay.