Eid Mubarak...the end of another Ramadan

The Great Ones

This is the third Ramadan that we have spent in the Middle East, and the FIRST Ramadan that I have not been pregnant (thank-you Allah!).  Peter got some extra time off, so we just took it easy.

The Dubai Look
 (who knew we were taking one of the Village People with us??)

We opted to stay in on August 30 (the first day of Eid) to avoid all the mayhem that must have been going on around us.  We chose to go to Dubai on Thursday, to Ibn Battuta Mall, just to get out and do something. We were so happy to be joined by our friend Lisa (seriously a person who accompanies a family with three children under the age of five on a short road trip is either: (a) someone who must be out of their mind bored OR (b) an awesome friend--Lisa is DEFINITELY option B.  She laughed about all the looks she received while pushing around two of our children in the pink tandem race car and diaper changing NB S, acting as our 'white nanny'.

We stayed in, and were joined by Lisa for dinner.  She paid me, the burgeoning chef, the ULTIMATE compliment by arriving with the ingredients required to duplicate a recipe for fried halloumi with pomegranate salsa, which I had made for her on a previous visit.  We ate, talked and just enjoyed each other's company (not bad considering we'd spent the bulk of the day together already).  Hanging with her is just so easy...I'm so glad she (and soon her family) are back in AD.

Today was the usual breakfast buffet, except today the Shang was PACKED.  Apparently it has been chock-a-block with kanduras and abayas since Ramadan ended.  I can't wait until it gets back to it's usual hum, as it was much too busy for my liking today.  Afterwards, we came home and just relaxed some more. Little A and I made some ice angels from a fairy crafts book she received for her birthday (thanks Kris!!) and afterwards, Peter took TODDLER N (hereinafter referred to as T N) and little A out into the pool.

NB S continues to be sweet and lovely, with excessive drooling and inability to stay asleep for long periods of time being her biggest flaws.  Sadly, I don't think her eyelashes will reach the lengths achieved by her elder siblings, but if the 'vocals' we've heard to date are any indicator of what's to come, I believe we may have another DIVA (think Mariah) on our hands!!