It's a Boogie Bear Day Today...

Wednesday mornings are special for the 'mother-son' time that I have with T N.  We head off to his Boogie Bears class, which he really enjoys.  He is so very different from his sister.  Whereas she would sit glued to my lap, he needs to be held back.  I used to have to get up with Little A to get musical instruments and toys and any other props the teacher might be using, but not with T N.  He not only gets his own things, but he is happy to pass them out to others as well.  I cherish their differences, and love them both for who they are.  It will be interesting to see who Smile-ah is more similar to.  

This morning is the first time that I managed to take some video of him. He really enjoys the "Donkey Joe" song (especially when he gets to rock deeply side-to-side, when we go REALLY slow), and also likes to spin around and around, until he gets dizzy and falls down (which doesn't take very long).  I have to watch his 'spinning' at Boogie Bears, as there are so many little ones he could take down with him when he goes.  

Here is another little video of Smile-ah crawling around.  We have been going through over a week of 'teething' issues.  Smile-ah is always putting her fist to her mouth and yowling, which I am interpreting as discomfort from pressure in her gums.  Today she didn't have a good sleep at either nap, which contributed to her grouchiness.

Though she is practicing her crawling in this video, I saw her making an effort to pull herself up to standing today.  She had crawled over to the diaper change table in my bedroom (when she was supposed to be napping) and was using the shelves to pull herself up.  She only managed to get a little lift off her bottom, but I was surprised that she was already attempting this next step.  SLOW DOWN LITTLE FILLY!!

T N's second birthday party plans are underway.  If I stay focused, I should have our email invitation done and sent off before my bed-time tonight.  "Themed" parties seem to be very fashionable here in Abu Dhabi (we are going to a pirate party on Friday and we are missing a princess party).  In an attempt to 'keep up with the expats', I am going to have an 'Around the World' theme, and ask everyone to dress in something that represents where they came from.  It should be a really multicultural event!!

Smile-ah Crawls

On Saturday, Nov 19, we invited Ajay and Yang over for some salad rolls (we invited other people also, but these were the only two who could make it).  We had a very relaxed and enjoyable time with these two, and Smile-ah surprised us all by making her first attempt to crawl.

I have decided that I love entertaining with salad rolls.  My contribution is simple and easy:  make the peanut sauce.  The rest is all Peter and Malou (although I still do a lot of 'supervision').

Ajay introduced me to the new Savannah cat--a cross between a serval and a domestic cat.  The thought of this huge cat gave me nightmares and I woke up dreaming about killing leopards that were attacking me that night.  It was a real shame because that night was a rare GOOD sleep night for Smile-ah and the only reason I woke up was the bad dream.  

CATS

...actually, just ONE cat.

Along with finishing our National Day Wreath, Thursday November 17 is also the day that T N and Smile-ah met and interacted with a cat for the very first time.

Allow me to back-track to Boogie Bears on Wednesday, when we had to drive in Peter's car Abu Dhabi Style (minus car-seats).  T N loved using his hyper-flexibility to escape from Little A's booster car-seat (a free gift from the government of AD to encourage people to use car-seats for their children, as it is not law here yet).  I wonder if Houdini was hypotonic??  He was all over the car, back seat, front seat, floor--and loving the freedom.  It is a two minute drive, with very little traffic, but I was quite cautious and nervous nonetheless.

When we entered our gate, I had to slow down to allow a tiger cat to cross in front of my car.  The little cat certainly was not frightened of my car and took his sweet time in getting from one side to the next.  I gave a quick little honk of my horn, waited and was relieved to only feel my tires go over the usual Raha speed bumps, and not a soft and fluffy little cat.  When I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw the cat sitting calmly, just on the side of the road (he hadn't skittered away at the sound of my horn).  Cocky little guy.

Fast-forward to yesterday, when Little A insisted that I follow through on my promise to take all three of them to the park after morning naps.  It was HOT (maybe 30 degrees), but I figured as long as we were under a sun-shade (which we were) a little heat wouldn't hurt anyone.  So, off we went, with T N screaming as I buckled him into the stroller (THAT'S what a little taste of freedom does).

It was fun to see T N and Little A enjoying the play area.  They teeter-tottered together and Little A freaked out when I sat down opposite her and boosted her high up in the air.  T N enjoyed climbing up and into the little play house, and coming down on the slide.

However, everyone's enjoyment increased infinitely when this little fellow, coincidentally the SAME cat I did NOT run over the day before, decided to join us:

Things I will not forget:
-Little A singing the Siamese cat song from "Lady and the Tramp"
-T N thinking the cat was a dog, sticking out his tongue and panting
-Smile-ah grabbing hold of the cat's tail, which was soft as a pussy willow
-Little A leaving the park making plans for all the cats she would convince her father to let us have in the future (even though I am allergic, and she sometimes claims she is allergic too!)

Our Feline Friend

Today we have just come home from a spontaneous trip to Dubai (after breakfast we came back, got some food and extra diapers and head out again--hoping to keep T N and Smile-ah sleeping in the back--one out two is not bad I guess).  It was a good trip--we managed to snag a few deals and I even got a new case for my iPhone!

SMILES!!

Seriously--they are just SOOOOOOOOOO cute!

I can't be the only one who thinks so!

Our National Day Wreath

It took a few days, and we tried to do most of the work when T N was asleep (for obvious reasons), but today it is done.  I think it turned out 'real purty' and I enjoyed spending the time with Little A putting it together (though I am not liking the blister that appeared on my finger afterwards!).

I bought a 1/2 metre of each colour:  red, green, white and black, in the cheapest cotton I could find at Lulu (12 aed a metre).  Then I cut them into strips that were 1.5 inches wide and about 7 inches long (haha!!  imperial vs metric-I was obviously caught in between the 'change' in curriculum at school).  Little A passed me the strips (counting them into groups of 4) and I knotted and tied them around the circle-shaped hanger.  

Getting started

Day 2

Day 3:  Finished in the "nik" of time

Ta DAH!!

My Little Roti-Maker

Here is my little helper making rotis with me.  We made some bhindi (okra) and peeli dahl (yellow dahl).  Look at all the effort going into that SMILE!!

Smaller pieces for smaller hands

Rolling out the dough

First one finished

Patterns make them taste better

Cooking them on the tawa

All buttered up and ready for pappa

Hope you're hungry Dad!

Peter was a star Dad, and he ate all the rotis that Little A made.  Apparently I did a good job making the Indian food, as 11 of the 12 rotis I made disappeared.  Ajay, who is not generally a fan of bhindi, made his way into the kitchen for seconds.

When I was little, I HATED bhindi.  Whenever my mom made them (and made me eat them) I felt like vomiting.  To me, they were comparable to eating octopus tentacles, slimy with the suction cups.  Blech!  Funny how things change as you grow older.  

Dreams, Decay, Decorating and Dance

Yesterday we had our highly anticipated appointment at the Advanced American Dental Clinic (as opposed to just the REGULAR American Dental Clinic).  I booked this appointment over two months ago--that's how long it takes to schedule a cleaning and three check-ups all on the same date, and at the same time.  I am sad to report that between little A and I, we have four cavities (I have one and she has THREE!!).  Who feels like a bad mommy (one guess)?  So, we wait one more month, and little A and I will head back to get our mouths cleaned up.      

T N was a celebrity at the dentist.  Not only did he have great teeth (with iron stains, and the dentist said he is too small to worry about cleaning them now), but he was charming all of their female staff with his extra long lashes, and his generally sweet and friendly demeanour.  As you can see, he and little A had a good time (despite the cavities).

Little A woke up on Monday morning and told me that she had dreamt about Smile-ah.  In Little A's dream, Smile-ah was taking ballet class with little A (and she was older).  Their teacher was Ms. Jesse.  This made little A miss her old teacher Ms. Jesse, and we talked about going to visit her.  This is the first time little A has actually shared one of her dreams--maybe one of the first ones she has actually remembered upon waking?

On another front, we have been busy decorating our home for the upcoming National Day (the UAE is celebrating 40 years on Dec 2).  Little A really likes to have decorations up around the house, and so we have to always be looking towards the next big holiday for inspiration.  Thanks to Lulu Hypermarkets, we have some great decorations, and little A and I are working together to make a rag wreath for our door.    

Little A rejoined her Dance Club group for one 'test' session (purely out of necessity on my part as I was late getting her to the jazz class).  She was upset to find that she would be with the group once more, but could not clearly explain to me what bothered her.  She came out of the class happy, and had been paired up with one of the other little girls (Alicia).  She had stories to tell, and seemed to enjoy herself.  However, she did clarify that she prefers to go to the jazz class alone next week.

Our friend "Uncle Ajay" is staying with us this week, while he is in between apartments.  We are enjoying his company, though Little A is having a hard time with his 'Movember' look.  Funny how a mustache can completely change the look of a person.

Personally, I have had a 'breakthrough' in my hip injury.  Thanks to the amazing help/treatment I am getting from Yang, I actually was able to stretch 'the spot' in my hip that has been giving me trouble since my first pregnancy.  It felt great.  Though the pain has not completely disappeared, it is not something that I experience with every breath.  Sometimes, I am even able to forget about it altogether!!  I am hopeful (and feeling VERY lucky to have a friend who is not ONLY a doctor of sports medicine, but who is also willing to treat me in my home, around my schedule).  She is a dear lady!  Once again, I feel so very LUCKY!! 

Cupping

Dr. Yang has started me on my way back to health.  After a thorough health-check on Tuesday afternoon, she made two home-visits here (Wednesday and Thursday) to guide me on how to use 'the bench'.  This bench is specifically designed to get at stretching the smaller muscles inside my pelvis, which she feels are very weak and failing to perform their function.  By getting back in touch with these muscles, she feels that my larger muscles will be able to release my left sacroilial joint, and that I may one day, move freely once more.  I am willing to put in the time and energy (and she is very considerate about how much time and energy I possess) to make this happen.

Today she surprised me by performing cupping (but not with fire, as she did not want to bring fire to my home) on me.  This is something I have heard of, but never tried.  I will admit that initially, when the suction cups were placed on my back, it was quite uncomfortable.  However, once all the cups were in place, Dr. Yang started to apply pressure on various points on my legs (energy meridians I predict).  When I focused my mind on what she was doing with my legs, I no longer felt the cups on my back.

This is my back

I got Peter to take a picture of my back (look away mom and dad!) and little A, who saw the bruises for the first time said "WOW!  Pretty circles mom!  Ms. Yang put pretty circles on your back!".  Which is such a great response, as I was worried she might be upset by them.  Despite how atrocious they look, I am pleased to report they are not causing me any pain and Dr. Yang says the only thing I might notice is that they might get itchy.  

On a more 'cute' note:  Smile-ah attended her first (possibly only) baby group today.  One of my neighbours (Noora from Bahrain) was hosting, and drove over (two houses--likely on her way elsewhere) to invite me.  So, even though I am pretty much past the baby group stage, I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies (excellent new recipe!), got dressed and popped over.  I am glad that I went.  It was nice to meet some new people and just sit and be with Smile-ah on our own for a little while.  She played a little, and as we were getting ready to go, she fell asleep in my arms.  

Right before bed-time

On a sad note: today we said our good-byes to Cleo the beta fish.  Actually, we said our good-byes yesterday, as I asked Malou to move him into her room (as it is warmer there).  He has not been well since BEFORE Peter's New York trip, however Malou has been insistent that he would recover.  As I was not interested in euthanizing this fish, I indulged her.  Finally, yesterday, I couldn't take anymore, and told her that he should go into her room.  This morning, she reported that he died. 

I really enjoyed Cleo aka Chinese New Year Fish.  He was a fun and interactive fish.  I am not sure what caused his illness, and despite my efforts to nurse him back to health (I bought medicine that cost three times as much as Cleo did), he didn't make it.  I can only hope that I will have the strength to continue to say 'NO' when little A asks to replace this fish.  For the last three weeks, she has began many a sentence with "When Cleo dies, can we get a ....".

The Beachcombers

If you can believe it, Saturday November 7, 2011, was the FIRST TIME all of my little ones hit the beach in Abu Dhabi.  Our friends have a boat, and after a year, we managed to get around to taking our maiden voyage out with them.  We cruised out to one of the private islands in the Arabian Gulf (I guess one of the Sheikh's palaces is there), and passed a lovely morning (filled with spf, uv shirts and golf umbrellas) in the sand and sun.

T N took a while to get his beach legs.  At first I thought he was having balance issues related to his ears, but then I realized he was having a really hard time walking in the sand.  It took him a long time to learn to work his limbs against gravity, and now he had to contend with sinking in the sand too!  I believe his most enjoyable activity was sitting at Drica's fold-out picnic table and EATING!!

Little A and I had a great time 'beach-combing' and collecting small shells from along the shore-line.  I tried to impart to her the importance of picking shells that were different in some way:  colour, shape, texture.  She was so very proud of her shell collection, and I have given her little glass bowl to store them in.  She also had a great time making 'mud-pies' with her friend Luz.

Smile-ah enjoyed the beach vicariously through us all.  She stayed in the shade, on the boat with Malou.  I just don't feel good about slathering her in SPF quite yet, or exposing her to too much sun.  She is a JUST so little and already has eczema issues--which we seem to finally have under control--why mess with it?

We all had a great time--and Peter has a little souvenir of the day (a strip of sunburn where he could not stretch to apply his own sunscreen) to remind him to ask for help when he needs it.  We were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got home, though I did muster up some energy to go and drop off a birthday gift for my friend Farzana (accompanied by little A--just like the old days).

We took Sunday as a quiet 'family day' at home, and I had a quick little visit with my friend Shariza, who popped over in the afternoon with Eid sweets.  Well, it was really a family AFTERNOON as Peter had received special dispensation (from me) to go golfing.  I have to mention the consideration of my friend Juergen (Yang's husband), who asked Yang to check with ME to see if it would be alright to golf with Peter.  His rationale was that he understood that by golfing with Peter, he would be leaving me with the three little ones on my own (well--with Malou).  He could understand if I preferred for Peter to be home with me, and that's why he wanted Yang to check with me first.  I think that is amazingly thoughtful.

We had planned to go to the Shangri-la beach club on Monday (today) and so, despite the overcast look of the skies, we head out.  We had a wonderful time once again, and T N improved his beach walking skills.  We were blessed to enjoy Abu Dhabi's first fall rainfall--just a tiny smattering of drops here and there (though from the looks of our roads in the compound, it looks like we got lucky at the beach).  The friends who were supposed to join us didn't make it, and instead, I was reunited with my friend Sahar, back from the UK for 3 weeks.  It was like she had never left!

Here are some pictures from today.

Sarongs make good nursing covers too!

Check out the Sheikh Zayed
 mosque across the water.

Construction on a competing resort across the water

750 dirhams richer

Today we went for breakfast, and on the way home, decided to be SPONTANEOUS and go to Dubai.

However, as I was organizing snacks and diapers, I remembered (and keep in mind I'm the one who has memory deficits due to the 5 years of sleep deprivation I have experienced), that TODAY we were waiting for a nice, young Welsh couple who have a two-week old daughter, to come and pick up a few baby items they wanted to purchase from us.

So, no trip to Dubai.  Instead, I got to clear out my baby trekker, bottle sterilizer, Pigeon glass bottles and Graco Sweetpeace swing.  I confess, it was a little painful parting with the swing, not only because it gives me at least a half-hour of sleep-time for Smile-ah a day, but also because of the memories I have with both T N and Smile-ah, snoozing away, snuggled up in the cozy, womb-like chair.  Selling the swing means that Smile-ah is just that much older now--she is so much more alert and switched on, and doesn't want or need as much sleep as she used to.  She is not that tiny little infant we brought home--time has marched on.

Smile-ah's last swing today

After they left, we made a plan to go to Al Wahda mall.  Peter desperately needs some new swimming shorts (his are much too short and only suitable for back-yard use) and we are heading out on our inaugural ride on our friends' boat tomorrow.

However, before we could go, little A INSISTED that we come to her room to watch her cat have her kittens by hatching eggs from her vagina.  Little A really feels comfortable using that word, which I give myself a LOT of credit for (the v-word didn't get much use while I was growing up).  Unfortunately, by the time we made it to little A's room, the kittens were already born.  Now is a good time to remind you that we do not have any cats.  Little A is referring to her imaginary cats, Claire (an orange cat with a green bow around her neck) and Smoky (who is black).  I believe these cats are her way of resolving the 'I want to have a cat but my mom is allergic and my dad won't let me' dilemma.

Even though we missed the birth, we all had a good time at the mall, and I was delighted to discover that there was a second-hand book sale going on for Operation Smile.  We bought some children's books, some adult fiction AND I even managed to find a Berlitz book on Paris--where we will be 'summering' this year.


OUI--PARIS...C'est vrai!


We have confirmed that Peter's cousin's daughter (and little A's FAVOURITE cousin), Jasmine, will be accompanying us.  We got along well with Jasmine, enjoyed her company and she was such a wonderful help to us while we were in Edmonton this past summer.  I am looking forward to seeing her, and the energy her youth brings, and of course, to being in Paris.

Well--I better run and get myself organized for tomorrow's BIG TRIP.  I have done my public service for the evening by calling security to complain about the neighbours who were HOWLING and SCREAMING outside for about an hour.  I am pretty sure that is not part and parcel of the Eid celebration, and that Allah must be shaking his head at the buffoons we live next door to.  Did I mention that it seems we have 'bad neighbour karma' here in the UAE?

Long time no blog...

Blogging is definitely one of those things that I need to keep up with--just a little writing every day--or soon, weeks go by and I have these big 'GAPS' in my memory.

Fortunately, I have 'my life in pictures' to remind me of all the important things that have been happening in the last two weeks.

Here is little A dressed up as "Ophira the fairy".  She got this costume from my parents, and she absolutely loves it!  Please notice how she is SMILING in all (most) of the pictures.  After I created the Canada trip slide-show, she comment that she was not in many of the pictures (mostly b/c she doesn't like having her picture taken).  I explained to her that she would be left out of of our family story in pictures, if she did not cooperate and smile.  VOILA!  Check out those pearly whites!

This guy has been driving us nuts as he seems insistent that he is ready to drop some of his nap-times.  During the week that Peter was in New York, he refused to sleep in the morning AND the afternoons.  Most days, Malou played with him in the afternoon (as I really needed the sleep).  However, this special day, I decided to join him and practice making BUBBLES with a straw (which is not only FUN, but good exercise for his cheek and mouth muscles).  As you can see, he hasn't quite mastered how to use a straw (but he sure liked blowing the bubbles down with his mouth!).  We laughed and had a great time together!

Smile-ah has been working hard to push herself up.  Here she is, propped up on hands and knees, getting ready to crawl.  The minute you put her down on her back now, she flips herself over into this position.

Smile-ah has also been promoted to her own Stokke chair at the table.  She has eaten avocado, oats cereal, apples, prunes and pears.  She is a great little eater!

She also manages to prop herself up into a moderately stable seating position.  However, we like to make sure that we are near by, as we have very hard tile floors, and I just don't enjoy the sound of soft baby heads thunking on the floor.

T N is a very happy and helpful big brother.  He especially enjoys helping Smile-ah finish eating her food.  I always put in a little extra cereal, knowing that he when he sees her settle down to eat, he will laugh, toddle over and open his mouth WIDE.

We celebrated a belated Thanksgiving dinner with our friends Uncle Pete, Yang and Juergen.  The food turned out great and I must say that this was one of the more 'relaxed' dinners we hosted.  I think we might be getting better organized when it comes to entertaining (Little A helped me make the pumpkin pie the day before, and we did as much 'make ahead' prep as possible).  I actually had the opportunity to sit and enjoy a visit with our guests.

Little A was THRILLED when Ms. Yang showed up with a panda bear for her (she also brought some pesto).   Little A has been reading her Zen books (Zen Shorts, Zen Ties and Zen Ghosts) and remarked one night how she did not have a panda bear (in her VAST collection of toys).  I told her that we would ask Ms. Yang to bring her a panda the next time she went to China (one of those 'delaying' mechanisms that parents employ).  When Yang asked me if she could bring something for the children, I told her that we had soooooo much, and that we only wanted to enjoy her company.  So--how interesting is it that she ended up bringing a panda??  We have named the panda Stillwater, and he lives on Little A's bed.

The two meat-eaters in our house preparing the turkey

Staring Contest

We had a very busy two weeks of celebrations.  Diwali and Thanksgiving were followed by Halloween.

Just a little word about Halloween in the UAE (something that annoys me EVERY year).  Halloween, celebrated by pumpkin carving, children dressing up in costumes, and going door-to-door trick or treating, is a predominantly North American activity.  However, here in our compound, we have some people who think that Halloween can be randomly assigned any date on a calendar, and often they want to move it to a Thursday or Friday, because they don't want it falling on a SCHOOL-NIGHT!!  Can you imagine??

UAE ex-pats:  Halloween is on October 31 (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday--NOBODY CARES).  WE DON'T CHANGE HALLOWEEN!!

Peter's skills are improving

Local pumpkin:  2.90 dirhams/ kg

Smile-ah and Belle (the Ophira costume was too long)

First-timers (with our little 'local pumpkin')

Seconds before our local pumpkin does a face-plant

We had a great night and all the candy has been distributed and packed away (mostly to Malou).

We have been keeping up with T N's weekly speech therapy appointments (although we have now moved them to Sunday mornings), and our dance and music classes.  Little A seems to enjoy her jazz class much more than the Dance Club, and I have not had to listen to her heart-breaking wails before nap for over a week now.  Her 'private' ballet lessons are no more, as she has been joined by two little American girls, however she seems to really enjoy her new class-mates and has even asked that I arrange a 'play-date' for her.

Smile-ah is now much more mobile and independent.  This week she has been pushing herself up into a sitting position, and if someone designed a onesie made entirely of Swiffer, Malou would be thrilled!  She rolls all over the place and so we have to be really careful where we leave her.

To cap off our week, we helped Uncle Pete celebrate his 51st birthday.  As 'the office' was already bringing in lunch and cupcakes, I opted to make him a birthday loaf instead.  We had a great time at the office (I should drop Malou and T N there on a regular basis I think--so much room to play!!).  Afterwards, we went to Carrefour, where we got locked out of our truck.  However, we took Peter's car home and it was all good by 3 pm.

Happy Birthday Uncle Pete

Today is the first of the Eid holiday, and now Peter will be home until Wednesday next week.  We have plans to go on a boat trip with friends, and go to the beach at the Shang as well.  I have given Peter special dispensation to golf on Sunday (as I will have Malou at home to help).

However, as today is Friday and Malou is OFF, I better go.  Peter has been patient about watching the little ones while I update my blog...but I sense that his patience is going to run out very soon.  Eid Mubarak!