Salam wa aleikum




....thanks for coming to read my blog.


I hope that you will enjoy keeping in touch with our lives, and that one day, you might even make the trek out to come and visit with us (**NB - VISA's upon arrival for Canadians once again!!).

Grab yourself a nice cup of tea (Make mine JTG's Blue Mountain, mixed with a hint of French Earl...but get something that suits your fancy), and let's catch up...

Friday, November 4, 2011

750 dirhams richer

Today we went for breakfast, and on the way home, decided to be SPONTANEOUS and go to Dubai.

However, as I was organizing snacks and diapers, I remembered (and keep in mind I'm the one who has memory deficits due to the 5 years of sleep deprivation I have experienced), that TODAY we were waiting for a nice, young Welsh couple who have a two-week old daughter, to come and pick up a few baby items they wanted to purchase from us.

So, no trip to Dubai.  Instead, I got to clear out my baby trekker, bottle sterilizer, Pigeon glass bottles and Graco Sweetpeace swing.  I confess, it was a little painful parting with the swing, not only because it gives me at least a half-hour of sleep-time for Smile-ah a day, but also because of the memories I have with both T N and Smile-ah, snoozing away, snuggled up in the cozy, womb-like chair.  Selling the swing means that Smile-ah is just that much older now--she is so much more alert and switched on, and doesn't want or need as much sleep as she used to.  She is not that tiny little infant we brought home--time has marched on.

Smile-ah's last swing today

After they left, we made a plan to go to Al Wahda mall.  Peter desperately needs some new swimming shorts (his are much too short and only suitable for back-yard use) and we are heading out on our inaugural ride on our friends' boat tomorrow.

However, before we could go, little A INSISTED that we come to her room to watch her cat have her kittens by hatching eggs from her vagina.  Little A really feels comfortable using that word, which I give myself a LOT of credit for (the v-word didn't get much use while I was growing up).  Unfortunately, by the time we made it to little A's room, the kittens were already born.  Now is a good time to remind you that we do not have any cats.  Little A is referring to her imaginary cats, Claire (an orange cat with a green bow around her neck) and Smoky (who is black).  I believe these cats are her way of resolving the 'I want to have a cat but my mom is allergic and my dad won't let me' dilemma.

Even though we missed the birth, we all had a good time at the mall, and I was delighted to discover that there was a second-hand book sale going on for Operation Smile.  We bought some children's books, some adult fiction AND I even managed to find a Berlitz book on Paris--where we will be 'summering' this year.


OUI--PARIS...C'est vrai!


We have confirmed that Peter's cousin's daughter (and little A's FAVOURITE cousin), Jasmine, will be accompanying us.  We got along well with Jasmine, enjoyed her company and she was such a wonderful help to us while we were in Edmonton this past summer.  I am looking forward to seeing her, and the energy her youth brings, and of course, to being in Paris.

Well--I better run and get myself organized for tomorrow's BIG TRIP.  I have done my public service for the evening by calling security to complain about the neighbours who were HOWLING and SCREAMING outside for about an hour.  I am pretty sure that is not part and parcel of the Eid celebration, and that Allah must be shaking his head at the buffoons we live next door to.  Did I mention that it seems we have 'bad neighbour karma' here in the UAE?




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