Week in Review

So...it is Thursday afternoon, slowly melting into Thursday evening, and our weekend is here. I'm not sure why the week has been so busy and I have not been blogging. We seriously have not gotten up to much.

On Monday, little A & N went for a shared ride on the plasma car. They both seemed to enjoy it immensely, and I had fun walking around behind them, holding onto N's head in the case that he fell off. That afternoon, I decided to take my Shrek-feet out to try Tips and Toes. They have just opened a new branch in KCA, which is just a few Las Vegas blocks over from our house (but of course, with the traffic circles it is about a 7 minute drive). They have set themselves up very nicely, in three brand new villas, and the 'Nails' villa is quite lovely. My toes look fabulous, especially now that they have shrunk back to their normal 'foot-model' size.

The treatment was adequate (and well-priced). My only complaint was that the technician sloughed off some of the skin on my toes when she was buffing the nail-bed. This hasn't happened before, and I know for next time to ask them to be more careful that they are only hitting the NAIL part of the 'toe-nail'. I was also a little chuffed to discover (after-the-fact), that I was entitled to a 20% discount, as a Raha Gardens resident.

Today is now SUNDAY (May 1). Part of the reason for me keeping up daily with my blog has been to help me differentiate my life from one day to the next, and to remember it. As it stands, I will just have to wing-it, and preserve the highlights.

On Tuesday, I had two visitors. My friend (and local real estate celeb) Drica came by in the morning. We rarely have time to get together these days as our schedules do not generally mesh. She is one of the few 'working moms' that I know (she's a realtor who has just changed companies--now heading up the Abu Dhabi branch of Cluttons). We were joined around 10, by our friend Mirha, and we had a great time yakking and sharing.

I believe Wednesday was a quiet day, with just me and the kids. This is the morning I earned a 'bad mom' award. I decided to try out the new baby sling my friend Shariza loaned me, and go for a walk. I popped baby N in this fabulous Little Tikes car, which little A has now outgrown. It was his first time going for a spin. Of course, little A had a FIT (and quite honestly, we always had to force her to sit in the car; she never enjoyed going for a ride and we often ended up pushing along an empty car while she walked beside it). SHE wanted to go in the car, and even though I suggested she go on her bike instead (multiple times) she would only be placated when I offered her to take her plasma car outside. I KNEW it would be problematic, and sure enough, every 10 seconds (no--seriously) she burst out crying "Moooo--OOOOOOM! I'm STUCK!!". The car got stuck on every second uneven brick (and we have a lot of uneven bricks out here).

Eventually, I got tired of it...and of course, THAT was when I ran into one of my neighbours, walking her "adopt-me" SAD (Strays-of-Abu-Dhabi) dog. Little A gets stuck (in the SAND this time) and starts up her wailing, and I am just shaking my head...and seriously considering just leaving her there (at this point we are one house away from our villa). This lady, obviously sensing my exasperation, says "it's okay sweetheart, I'll help you out"--making me feel like the ultimate bee-yotch...and bad mom. I offered her a feeble 'thank-you' and she says (not unkindly) "It looks like you have your hands full there".

This tale does end happily though. We returned to the house (a trek that took a lot longer than it should have), got little A's BIKE, and then she pedaled and squealed happily along for another five minutes, at which point we almost burst into flames from the heat (it was 9:45 a.m.) and came home.

On Thursday morning I had a visit with my friend Sharon (who is expecting her fourth baby). We talked babies, housemaids, and just generally caught up with one another. It was Sharon's first visit with NB, and I was amazed at how much she loves babies (I can't believe she's going to stop at four). I love MY babies...but I am definitely not what anyone would categorize as a 'baby person'--Sharon definitely is though.

Strawberry Short-(and chubby)-cake

Friday we had a much more enjoyable breakfast at the Shangri-La (joined by Uncle Ajay...although I have not informed him of his official status upgrade). This time I attached the soother to the soother clip--and we were set. She still fussed a bit (and I can hear my friend Fiona saying "you call THAT fussing?") but at least she could be settled a lot easier. We learned that Shakira was staying at the Shang (she apparently came down for breakfast much earlier), and we saw a few members of her entourage.

We went out to Dalma Mall in the afternoon and checked out Babyshop and Carrefour. We had a bit of a laugh, as little A recognized the Babyshop logo and I shouted out "A can read!! A can read!!" (inside joke). This was quite a bit of activity for NB S and baby N, and by the end of it, they both were very tired and hungry. I had to fly out of Carrefour and feed them both (VERY hard to do considering this mall has no benches installed yet--I had to find a chair in the coffee shop and turn it so my back faced all the patrons). Nursing NB with one hand, I had to help baby N hold his bottle AND try to feed him a bit of a granola bar I found in my bag, with the other.

Saturday, we went out to Al Wahda mall, and then called it a day. One trip was enough. NB S seems to dislike the stroller. I should have used the baby sling again, but I worry about her getting so hot and sweaty in it (though she seems to sleep really well in this steamy state).

And that brings us right up-to-date with today. I didn't get up to much of anything today, which, quite frankly--I feel good about. I am finding myself pretty darn tired these past few days--I guess the 2-3 hours sleep stretches are finally starting to drain me. NB S is doing well though. She is putting on weight, and starting to stay awake for longer periods of time, without demanding milk constantly. Today, I really enjoyed watching baby N come and lie next to her in her 'butterfly garden'. He worked very hard to be gentle with her and at one point, he was holding the end of her sleeve (I think he was aiming for her hand). You could tell he was pretty pleased with himself. I was pretty proud of him too.

Reeeeeeeaach!

He continues to get up to mischief, as this picture shows. He can now reach the dining table, and works to pull things down. We must be constantly vigilant, and moving things out of his reach.

I don't have many pics of little A here. The following picture shows you why. She is very reluctant these days to have her pictures taken, and often moves out of the way, puts her hand in front of the lens, or obstructs herself in some way. I am trying to respect her need for privacy.

Thank-you Bhabiji! She loves this gift!