Hot Wheels

Naniji, this dress is officially 'too small' now

We had a great time in Dubai on Saturday and managed to get in a full-day. Little A wore her 'yellow ballerina dress' (which is way too small for her, so she decided to compensate by adding pants), we shopped, N had his first taste of deep fried puri and A got to drive a green car around Ibn Battuta Mall. I remembered to take a soo-bee (pacifier) for the ride home, and so as soon as we started back, little A's eyes glassed over and it was a peaceful and quiet ride home. I was tired...but overall, it was a great day, and both our little ones were awesome.

Today, on the other hand, has been very rough.

Thanks for the helmet Andrea.

I think she likes it more than the bike!

After taking little A out for a spin on her new 'Hot Wheels' bike (why are the boy's bikes so much better quality than the girls?) and having to push her all the way back because she was 'tired and fwustwated', I collapsed on the sofa bed. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of lying down on my back (and I should know better). On a good day, it is hard enough for me to roll from one side to the other. On our sofa bed, it is impossible--for some reason my hips tend to lock into position and I deal with excruciating pain when I try to move. SO...I tried for about 20 minutes, and then gave up. I asked our helper to take little A upstairs, and once she was gone, I cried my way through the pain and rolled over. Lesson learned (at least until the next time I am exhausted).

I had a lovely visit with a new neighbour (and hopefully a new friend). Sally and her family (Eric, Joss, Niels and Lotta) have just moved here from Ireland. We first met at a book-swap a few weeks ago and she remarked on our common families (three children within a similar time spread). However, Sally's family is about seven years ahead of ours. Interestingly, I learned that she feels her middle child is hypotonic (like baby N), and that she has just found ways to build muscle tone into his regular activities (small things like using a straw to build his mouth muscles, as she says his speech is sometimes difficult to understand). She seems to be such a lovely lady, and I hope that I will make time to get to know her more (although once B3 arrives, I know that my life outside of these four walls will cease to exist for a time).

Little A's favourite 'doll' for the stroller

Like many, we have been following the news about all the troubles in Libya. For those who may be worried (like my parents), I assure you that none of this violence or chaos is trickling over into the UAE. Through friends, we met a Calgarian family who had been living in Benghazi. We were quite relieved to read that they left Libya on February 19. The next day, our newspaper reported that Benghazi had been taken over by protestors--seems they got out just in time. For those that are still there, we hope that this violence will end quickly (and that MQ: (a) finds a bottle of Clairol that is a better match to his natural shade and (b) crawls back under that rock he's been hiding under for the last 20 years or so.)