IKEA, New Yas Island Location

Flags flapping

Today had a very promising start. The new IKEA store just opened this week on Yas Island, and we happened to be in need of some IKEA things (who isn't??). Baby N's morning nap was timely, and so we managed to slip through the doors of the new store by 10:15 (just after it opened). The store reminded me of the IKEA in South Edmonton Common in terms of layout. It is much bigger than its previous location (in Marina Mall) and it is much closer for us now as well (20 minutes vs. 40 minutes drive time).

Waffle Cone--1 dirham

We found everything we needed easily and relatively quickly. We also enjoyed some quality browsing time, as little A ran around following the arrows to make sure we didn't get lost. We managed to buy some things we didn't need so much as well. Big surprise there. Before we left, we had some fries and a croissant. I spilled some milk on baby N (all over him really). I blame Peter, as I was a bit frustrated to come out and find him feeding my baby FRENCH FRIES (instead of warming up his formula for him). Then little A, baby N and I shared a 1 dirham ice cream cone (27 cents!!), and Peter tried the very Swedish shawarma.

The afternoon was supposed to be pretty relaxing as well--we were only supposed to be waiting for two Ajay's: one who was coming from Sharp to fix our freezer and the other coming from somewhere in Khalidiyah to just hang out. Fortunately (or maybe UN-fortunately), Ajay 2 (really Ajay 1 in our hearts) reminded me that I needed to head out to the New Al Noor Hospital (again) in order to see Dr. Marwan and have my c-section approval request done.

Despite the four hours I spent there, it was a good thing I went. The request (which is really an insurance approval) takes about 5 days for approval. Had I waited until my appointment on Tuesday, it's likely that I would not be approved for my c-section in time. I also managed to secure the "dream-team" I wanted: Dr. Marwan (for me), Dr. Stiles--who despite the rumors is still alive and well and working at the New Al Noor Hospital (for baby) and Dr. Mahmoud (who makes my mood so much better when he spinal taps me properly). I also had a chance to speak to Dr. Marwan about Dr. Bachar, who had bothered me so much on Tuesday.

While I was in the waiting room, I had the pleasure of enjoying the flavour of 'local parenting'. Basically, the majority of locals seem to favour the 'hands off' parenting style (unless the hands belong to their nannies). There were three little girls (ages 2-4) running around SCREAMING in the waiting room for about 10 minutes. I don't just mean a scream here and there. I mean constant, non-stop screaming for 10 minutes. Personally, I kept my eyes down and in my book, although I found it very unenjoyable. I kept waiting for SOMEONE (at least ONE of the parents) to pull their child back--but it did not happen.

I received a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to find one of the adorable little monsters (she really was a cutie) pointing down to show me that she had spilled water from the water cooler all over the floor. Responsible adult that I am I said "I don't understand--where is your mom?". Though she didn't speak English, "mom" seems to be pretty universal, and she went straight to the lady who had been sitting next to ME on the couch the entire time, with her back to her child and the chaos she was helping to create through her negligence. She told her mom that I was asking her who her mom was. I explained to the lady that her daughter was trying to communicate something to me (something like "hey pregnant lady, I spilled water all over the floor...aren't I great? can you clean it up for me?") and I didn't (want to) understand.

Then I returned my head to the book. About five minutes after that, the Arabic receptionist got up and said something to the children. It seemed to be a big lecture, full of hand gestures and big eyes. It took a few minutes, and I heard some of the adults chuckling, but the children eventually settled down. I actually was able to figure out which child belonged to which parent (as they quickly remembered they were parents once again and retrieved these children--some even moved out into the hallway).

Upon leaving, I asked the receptionist what she had said. She said she told the children that unless they settled down, they would all get very large injections. She even went so far as to go next door to pediatrics and get some needles to show them she was prepared to follow through.

IKEA--Swedish for "Common Sense"

This just reinforces my feeling that we all could use some IKEA in our lives--I wonder if they might consider offering some parenting classes as well?