...Hopping down the bunny trail! Hippety, hoppety, Easter's on its way!!
We have been busy 'taking care of business'. We spent Thursday at Abu Dhabi Mall, where the Canadian Embassy is located. Our intention was to kill a few birds with one stone: we had to apply for NB S's passport, use up some gift certificates (before they expired, which was happening soon) and see if I could return/exchange some baby bottles we had purchased, which we weren't going to be using (as NB S seems to be on board with breast-feeding).
I was a bit uncomfortable taking NB S out to THE MALL when she was so small (just two weeks old), but Peter insisted we needed to get moving on the passport and citizenship card. So, we had the whole morning planned out:
1. Peter goes early in the morning to get our friend Zee to notarize NB S's passport photos.
2. We go to Peter's office and pick up NB S's birth certificate (which was supposed to be ready by 9:30).
3. We head to AD Mall at a low traffic time, and drop off the application and supporting documents. We need to take NB S, because they have to look at her to see that she is actually the baby in the photograph (naively, I wondered why--I guess the concept of 'raising terrorists' is still very unreal to me--that's the kind of world I choose to continue to live in).
4. We do our other mall errands (which I have decided is: H&M and Premaman)
5. We are back home by noon.
Guess how far we got down the list before there was a problem?
Number 2.
The guy at Peter's office who was supposed to have this birth certificate done on Wednesday (and then by 9:30 on Thursday) didn't manage to hit any of these 'deadlines'. So, we ended up waiting for HIM til 11. Then we had to rush, because the embassy closed at NOON.
Number 3: Well--though we came prepared with ALL of our paperwork (and our baby), it seems that we need to APPLY to APPLY for citizenship (do you follow?). As there are new rules with respect to citizenship, everyone who applies for citizenship has to fill out an application to determine whether they are eligible to apply for citizenship--you know--so that nobody is wasting anybody's time (hmmmmm...does this sound EFFICIENT to anyone??). So--basically, we will be going back to the embassy once again (after they approve our application to apply for citizenship).
And--then the rest of it went well. We got A a ballerina dress at H&M, and Premaman allowed me to exchange our baby bottles for a nursing bra (which I desperately needed). As an added bonus, we even managed to spend our AD Mall GC's (unexpectedly pleasant!) on a Plasma-carfor A (which will get passed down the line).
Now--just a side note about the Plasma Car. The first store we saw it in was closed (surprising). Peter thought it would be a great way to spend our certificates. So, when we saw another one at Gulf Greeting, we were pretty happy. Peter tried to get A to sit on it (to see if she would drive it) and she refused. Then I noticed that this was not a REAL Plasma-car, but something called the "Wiggle Car"--a poor knock-off. So, we decided due to the lack of interest and the fact that it wasn't the original prize-winning car, to pass. However, on our way back to the car, we noticed that the store that had been closed only minutes before, was now open. We decided to check it out, and found that the REAL Plasma Car they sold was actually cheaper than the knock-off--and this persuaded us to take the plunge and buy the car. If A never rode on it, we had two more that might give it a go down the line.
We got home (finally) much later than expected (around 2 pm). After A's nap we started on some Easter crafts (she really likes crafts). When they were done, and I was cleaning up, A toddled over to the car, hopped on and began riding it.
I was amazed. Now I know why this car has won awards!!
Look out Mario Andretti!
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