What a wonderful world...

This is our latest 'family portrait slideshow'.  This time I got to choose the music.  I have always loved this song, especially this version by the late Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole.  It reminds me of days gone by, southern California, sunshine, and people that I love.  A little sweet, a little sad...and yet a little hopeful too.

Watching this, one might never know that N and S cried for almost 80% of the hour long session...unless you look closely in one of the pics, where you can see a tear-drop glistening in N's eye.  Also, there is a family photo, where we literally helped N 'turn that frown upside down', by having Peter hold him upside down.  THIS is the difference a professional photographer makes for family photos!!

This morning N and I were out of the house by 7:10, to make it into the city for his appointment at 8.  We arrived on time, but due to the 'registration process' (by the receptionist, who arrived after me), we didn't get to see our doctor until 8:15.  Dr. Zeinab (who I really like) was supposed to run a skills assessment test on N, so we could have an idea of where he was wrt to milestones and development.  Unfortunately, as she needed 45 minutes, she had to reschedule the meeting for me.

Then we had speech therapy at 9:30, which was with Sarah (so a quick 15 minute power-walk through SKMC, from one end to the other) .  These sessions always feel like a waste of time, but as we have had so much disruption with his speech therapy, I have opted to keep them to once a week, to maintain some consistency for N.  They have a long waiting list for clients, and it usually takes 4-6 weeks to get back into the rotation, once you drop out.

We were home around 10:45, and then I had to head out again.  We needed groceries (S is in love with Hipp Organic's vegetable lasagna, and I love anything that she will eat with minimal effort), and we also had a play date scheduled with my friend Shariza's girls.  Sadly, it seems Hipp has discontinued the Veggie-Lentil bake (so if you have a tasty recipe I can puree, please send it to me).

I had a lovely visit with Shariza, but it was NOT a good day for the WW.  Shariza had gone to the trouble of buying Grandma's Cheesecakes (a new little boutique that has opened up in Garden's Plaza), and then got her maid to make chokodokh (the Malaysian equivalent of deep-fried banana) for me as well.

Tonight, I will treat myself to a green salad.  

Vaselino...

Last week, N went in for another kick at the can to clarify what kind of hearing issue might exist. Unfortunately, he is an OX, and the oral sedative he took didn't work.  He was extremely disoriented and groggy, but he would not sleep.  Probably from the stress...as you can see from the picture above, he was pretty scared to be back in the hospital again.

We took this picture on our drive to Dubai last weekend.  This is a moment of sheer bliss in my world--all three amigos asleep at once (and awwww...their heads are all flopping in the same direction as well). 

Little A shared her crown with her little sister.  Surprisingly, Smile-ah decided that she liked the look and feel of the crown, and kept in on for a very long time.  It certainly suits her, and is likely a symbol of things to come.  

A little 'tea party' at our house, with milk and chocolate graham bunnies.  It is really hard to get pictures of all three of them together (especially where all three look relatively normal).

We decided to retire the Lulu special "Hapy Birthday" banner.  I picked it up for our first Abu Dhabi birthday celebration (which would be Peter's).  Just to point out, it was missing a "P" when I pulled it out of the package...so every birthday celebration was marked "Abu Dhabi style" minus a "P".  

Free bananas:  I took these two monkeys with me for a quick errand this morning:  develop some pictures at the pink shops and then mail some letters.  Of course, the 'quick errand' took about 2 hours bc:
1.  I didn't put the pics on the USB key as I thought (I knew I should have doubled-checked it)
2.  The photoshop (Famous Castle Studios) had to print my pictures TWICE as a mysterious line cropped up in the middle of half of the photos.
3.  I ran into a fellow Canadian friend at the post-office and ended up chatting with her for a few minutes.

Thank-you to my friends at Abu Ali, who supplied my children with these free bananas to keep their tummies from rumbling.

I have just come home from my first Zumba class.  I am going to withhold making judgements...but a few of my thoughts are:

1.  vaselino---what the hell is vaselino and how can someone make a whole song about it?

2. Someone should run a strip-dance class here, bc there is some money to be made from the local population.  The enthusiasm I saw--I had to duck and swerve a few times to ensure that I didn't get knocked out. 

3.  Breast implants--wow!  I didn't realize that they were so common among the local ladies.  I thought the koran prohibited altering yourself, because it was a sin to change what God had created?  I could be wrong though...I am no scholar of Islam, and my eyes glaze over whenever I here someone start a conversation with "Just how much do you actually know about Islam...?" (the ellipsis implies that this is the opening line of what is going to be a VERY long conversation).

4.  The music was loud...really LOUD.  I couldn't even hear the instructor's commands.

5.  Good workout though.  Good cardio...let's see how I feel tomorrow, and if any digits move on the scale.  

Am I getting old?  That can't be true...there has got to be some other explanation.  

Blobmosis is crap.  I quit after seven days when the foot reflexologist that my friend Yang took me to told me there was something seriously wrong with my stomache.  Could it be all the protein and no grains???  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....................

So, back to my trusted friend:  Weight Watchers (and thank-you, once again, Payroll Patti).  

Evolution

I want to remember today as the day that Smile-ah graduated from crawling to officially becoming a biped.  To date, she has taken many independent steps.  However, today is the day that she seemed to decide that there was something to this 'walking on two feet' thing, that she hadn't quite gotten before.

She has been toddling all over the house all day long.  Each time, little A gets so excited and says "she's walking! look, she's walking!".

Smile-ah now has two teeth as well.  Top and bottom left.

She's changing so much, so fast.

"Walker, Texas Ranger"

 (just a little nickname.  I've never watched the show...promise).

Coupons in Abu Dhabi

In my 3.5 years here, I have never seen or used a coupon.

Until last week that is, when I was shocked to find the following at Lulu:

I certainly didn't NEED any cans of condensed milk, but you can be DAMN SURE that I bought two cans anyway, just to see if the coupon worked, and...

IT DID!!

Now it's too bad my parents aren't here to use these cans, as my new (temporary) eating regimen does not allow for dairy...

Day 1

Today is DAY 1 of my modified participation in Blobmosis.  An Ozzie (Andrew-minus-the-Lloyd-Webber) here in Abu Dhabi started his own 'program' to help people lose weight by eating better.  I have modified the program a little (as I am vegetarian, the weight loss programs which rely heavily on animal-based proteins can be a real challenge for me), and am feeling good (yes--it HAS only been one day).  I am happy for things like quinoa, quinoa flour (which I turned into this great little bread--my friend Gwyneth Paltrow emailed me the recipe) and tofu, as I think they are my keys to surviving this month.  

The weekend is ending, and it was a nice one.  We had a great day yesterday, just hanging out together.  A neighbour's garage sale yielded lots of treasures for little A (pls see her dressed a Snow White below).  

In the evening we made a quick run to Lulu to pick up some of their Three-Bean Salad (to tide me over till I perfect my own recipe--you are welcome to send me yours if you have a good one).  I also managed to order a new pair of prescription sunglasses and the girls had fun trying on their OWN glasses (so they could be like their brother).

With her new friends Angelina and Alice

 Just when I think Smile-ah's sleep can't POSSIBLY get any worse, she surprises me!  Last night she fell asleep around 2 and was up again at 5.  It was so horrific that Peter actually woke up and went back to sleep until 9.  I was up at 7--woken up at the sound of N's screams...

It's a good thing she's sooooo cute!

This morning we managed to finally hit 20% off day at the organic shop at Masdar City (explaining why there is now quinoa flour and coconut flour in my pantry).  We also spent a couple of hours visiting our friends Zee and Urooj, whose family may be ending their time in Abu Dhabi this summer.

37

On the 17th, I officially celebrated 37 happy and healthy years on this planet.  I spent the day with my children, and Peter came home early so that we could go for lunch at Fanr.  This restaurant is inside the Saadiyat Island museum, and became an instant favourite of mine when we ate there with my parents.  There is a great little play area, and we could sit, eat and enjoy, while our little ones did the same (this time we brought Malou along for increased relaxation).

Fanr

Though the sandstorms have abated, the skies of Abu Dhabi are still fairly hazy.  The temperatures are still quite mild for this time of year.  We are thankful for this unexpected reprieve from the impending heat.  Peter and I went out for dinner at Ushna on Wednesday night (with our friends Andrew and Hanim).  We really enjoyed getting to know them better, and I felt blessed to receive a few drops of rain on my skin.  I do miss rain.

This morning I was remembering Mrs. Wilson.  When I was four or five years old, I lived in a blue trailer in Forestburg, Alberta, and my best friend was a little boy named Brandon Wilson.  Well, I should clarify:  to ME, he was my best friend.  For HIM, I was the LOVE OF HIS (four year old) LIFE.  I am not making this up, as his mom, Sheila, used to tell me all the time that Brandon wanted to marry me.  However, I did not let his feelings interfere in our friendship, and so we spent a great deal of time together.

One day, Mrs. Wilson went through her jewelry box with me, and sent me home with a whole bunch of beautiful little earrings.  She only had three sons, and so I was (her future daughter-in-law) like the daughter she never had, and a convenient person to hand-down all her costume jewelry to.  I remember feeling so very lucky and proud, as I showed my mom all the treasures that Mrs. Wilson gave me.  My mom (who never had any use for costume jewelry, and to this day, wears a lot of earrings that she inherited from ME) FLIPPED OUT, as she was certain that I had stolen all of these pieces (though I was insistent that was not the case).  I can't remember if she made me call, or take them back, but whatever she decided, I know I was heartbroken and in tears--not only did I have to return all the beautiful earrings, but my own mom thought I was capable of such thievery.

The story had a happy ending though, as when Mrs. Wilson found out what had happened, she came and spoke to mom (who had very limited English at the time) and did her best to explain it to her.  I think my mom allowed me to keep a few of the pieces--as the concept of 'hand-me-downs' was novel and possibly shameful for her (at that time, around 1980, she would have been a fairly new immigrant, with limited knowledge of the western ways).  I remember loving Mrs. Wilson so very much.  She was one of the first, in a long line of 'western' ladies, who came to my defense, and told my mom what a lovely young girl I was, how she loved me spending time at her house, and how she wanted to give me that jewelry.

Funny, the things you remember, out of the blue.

Here are some Easter pics.  While Peter was away in Japan, Little A got some bizarro rash across her cheeks, nose and forehead.  She was very self-conscious about it, but I managed to convince her to attend the Easter event at the Westin.  She was happy to get a free balloon animal, and have her hand painted.

Amazing that I managed to get this picture of N, as he refused to wear these ears for longer than two seconds.  I impress myself sometimes!

 Also impressed with this picture, as in all the others she is crying and screaming...

I attended my first class at the gym, and am going to try and make some efforts to change my diet as well.  The birthday pictures (mine and S's) indicate that it's time to shift off some of this weight.  

S's 'small get-together' 

S did manage to have her birthday party, er, get-together on April 14.  We decided to keep it small (and so many people had other plans), and it was WONDERFUL.  We really enjoyed visiting with our friends who came, and everyone (including the birthday girl) had fun.

Please pay special attention to the LADYBUG theme.  Those red-velvet cupcakes all have red-shortbread ladybugs on them, made with love and care by MOI.  Borrowing the Anne Geddes ladybug doll from little A was PAINFUL ('you'll borrow it for ONE MINUTE, right mom, and then you'll give it right back???'), but it  sure enhanced the overall display!

S is now standing regularly, and has taken a few steps here and there.  She picked my birthday to really get moving (so a little gift from her to me).  

Time to think about losing the baby weight?

It's been a year...

The last three weeks  I have had a Backache (capital letters are intentional).  Incredible, crippling, "I-can't-bend-over-and-pick-up-my-children" back pain has been plaguing me.  Fortunately, with an assessment from Yang (which made things a little worse) and some Voltaren from the pharmacy (which made things A LOT better), there is an end in sight to this pain.  

I had a Thai massage with Tod on Sunday (she does good things for me), and discovered that Sharanis spa has become Anahata spa (which also explains why I had such a difficult time looking up the phone number on the internet after Peter lost all my contacts on my phone--BTW:  please email me your contact information if you are reading this, as chances are good that I DON'T have it anymore!!).  

Despite the pain, I have managed to do a few exciting things here and there.

1.  We attended the Russell Peters concert at the YAS Flash Forum (basically, a big tent on Yas Island).  We went with a group of friends and really enjoyed ourselves (of course--it WAS Russell Peters).  I do confess to being a touch disappointed though.  Russell managed to pick Peter out of the crowd (so he could play out his Chinese bit).  However, after discovering ME beside him, and even having Peter tell him I was his wife--the only thing Russell used ME for was to make fun of Canadians and their patriotic ways (which apparently increase infinitely when we leave Canada).  

I feel that I was a veritable GOLD-MINE of opportunities for Russell--so many jokes could have been made about me (I'm Canadian 'woo-hoo'/Indian, I'm married to a Chinese Canadian guy from Vietnam, my name is hilarious--even I can't pronounce it properly...and he found us in Abu Dhabi), and he just let them all slide.  I just shake my head and sigh...we could have laughed so much harder that night.  Regardless, I think it was our second night out, since having S, and we really did have fun--we laughed and enjoyed the company of some good friends.

Birthday Girl

2.  Look who is celebrating her FIRST birthday!!  This little lady officially turned ONE on March 24--and we just spent a quiet family day at home.  I tried out my cupcakes and 'ladybugs' (which did not actually work out so great as the strawberries kept slipping off the icing--but I have a new idea involving shortbread and red food colouring...).  She is not walking yet, but does hold herself upright for few seconds at a time, unassisted.  She also takes the occasional step here and there.  On April 1, after what feels like one year of complaints, she finally managed to bust out her first tooth (bottom left).  We were scheduled to host her first birthday party on March 31, but had to cancel, as we discovered that she has contracted Hand, Foot (and Mouth--though she has no blisters there) disease.  I have no idea where she would have come in contact with this virus, as she is pretty isolated from other children.  As of today, her older brother has also succumbed, and has a smattering of blisters on his feet.

3.  We managed to spend a lovely evening, listening to the Rocket-Man (Elton John) tickle the ivories at the Yas Arena.  It was AMAZING.  He played for two hours straight, and entertained us with his piano skills and voice.  He comes across as a very lovable soul, and I will always remember the great night I had attending his concert.  Though Little A was very upset we were going out two Thursdays in a row, she now requests Elton John's Love Songs cd, and I think she knows the words to "Daniel".


We are all decorated for S's birthday party (we moved the date to April 14) and Easter.  I have to spend some time setting up an Easter egg hunt for little A (not sure if N will 'get it' this year or not).  Peter is jetting off to Japan tomorrow night, to spend some time eating sushi with our friend Ajay.  I am a little jealous...sometimes I think it would be really nice to jet off to an exotic land, and have an adventure where I only think about myself and my needs...but realistically, I would probably spend the entire time:
(a) missing my children and wishing I was with them
(b) sleeping (b/c where I am at in my life these days, the land of dreams IS an exotic place where I long to go!).

The Three Amigos--long may you love!