Thanksgiving Weekend

Like most of you, we had a four day weekend in Muscat.  Unlike most of you, this was due to Oman's national day holiday -- not Thanksgiving.  But no matter the reason, we had Thanksgiving as a holiday for the first time in four years.  Our kids of course have no idea what Thanksgiving actually is, but I am hoping this is something they pick up over the next few years.

The overall tone of the weekend was one of expending great effort for not great returns.  I shall explain what I mean.

We had Wednesday off and that day was pretty nice and normal, to be honest.  I met a friend (!) for a coffee in the mall and then tried to do all our Thanksgiving grocery shopping.  It didn't go very well as the grocery store was super crowded and also didn't carry most of the things I needed to buy.  So after I went home to drop off what I had bought, we all piled into the car to go to two more grocery stores, together.  We later went for a BBQ with friends, so the day ended well.

BUT, after we got home at eight, I made the pie crusts for four (yep, one-two-three-four) pies while Eli put the kids to bed.  Two pumpkin, two apple.  I woke up early in the morning on Thursday to start churning them out.  My apples were labor intensive but I think they were pretty decent.  The pumpkin pies were a mess.  First, I knocked one chilling pie plate-and-crust out of the fridge and shattered it.  Then, about an hour after I took the second pie out of the oven, I realized that I had not put sugar in it.  I was so confident that I had forgotten the sugar that I rejected Eli's suggestion that we take the pie and see how it tasted after we cut it.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving hosted by friends, but MY GOD it was a frustrating day.  I had a lot of wine.

On Friday, Eli and I got the kids up and dressed into clothes of my choosing and then hiked out to the beach to take a photo for the Christmas card.  And after carrying and dragging Lulu up to the top of a dune, we got kicked off by security (our little complex has its own security guys who are likely very bored on Friday mornings at 8:30) and got only a half-way decent photo.  It was frustrating to say the least.  (But watch your mailboxes.)

Also on Friday, Eli and I were given tickets to the Marriage of Figaro in the Opera House (by the Vienna Opera) and it was AMAZING.  The bright spot of the weekend, or would have been if I could have stayed awake.  I am so horrible in theatres.  I think I subconsciously think I'm in bed?

Saturday, I had my first concert with my new choir.  It was a concert for children specifically, so Eli took three hours off work to watch the kids while I was there and then to bring them for the concert (it was only an hour).  First of all, my choir did not sound amazing.  Second of all, there was a little moment during which a Santa was chucking candy at various people in the choir.  But not like throwing it gently, like really hurling it at them.  And so twice I totally and completely lost my composure and just like the olden days, I stand in the front row.  I think I am quitting choir but stay tuned for a report after our big concert in two weeks.

Happy December everybody!  Our Christmas tree is decorated and is actually quite cute for a fake tree, and we've started the advent calendar.  It's all very exciting, especially for the younger members of the family. 

Back to the grocery store: fresh herbs

Today, we're back at the Carrefour, where I am going to show you one of the enormously wonderful things about living here.

These fresh herbs cost twenty-two cents per bunch.  Sometimes I buy mint and leave it on the counter just so it smells nice.

And guess what???  SPINACH IS AN HERB HERE.  So I'm back to eating spinach daily.  I mean, it's not baby spinach, so I don't love it quite so much as I could, but it is so much nicer than romaine.

Rainbow Lego Day

Tommy's school has their field day in November, at the end of the first trimester, because of course the weather is much too hot at the end of June.

It's called Rainbow day.  Each child is assigned a color and they are divided into teams by color. Tommy was yellow.

It's a hectic little day to begin with because the parents have to do all sorts of things -  put sunscreen on, bring things for the post-games picnic, and more.  So the morning had a frantic pace (that's a notch above frenzied for those curious) to begin with and we were ten minutes late by the time I finally started the car.  It did not help things that I had a dental appointment at nine, which just gave me time to drop the kids and food off and get to the appointment.

Imagine my dismay, then, when I glanced back at Tommy and saw him hitting himself on the head - and learned that he had inserted a Lego light into his ear.

I could've cried but also found myself overcome by a desire to laugh hysterically.

We got to school and I marched my little Lego boy to the nurse who was happy to help but immediately realized that she could not get it out.  She offered to call ahead to the ER and let them know we were on the way.  I asked if he could play the field games first but she said, nope, not really.

We went to the ER and the GP tried to remove the lego with tweezers -- and process Tommy found painful.  He was a bit rude to the GP but I sort of think that you can be a bit rude if you're in pain.  I learned then that the ENT was in surgery and we couldn't see him until 12:30.  (Of course, he was leaving at one which gave us a half-hour window to see him, because there's nothing like a bit of added pressure to make an already unpleasant situation worse.)  The GP opined that the lego would need to be removed with suction.

I drove back to school, told Lizzie's teacher that we had to leave early and left Tommy with the other yellows.  He had a GREAT time.  The PE teachers had it organized really well and the games were really fun and fun to watch as well.  I had asked the GP whether it was fine for Tommy to play and he said that yes, it was, as the lego was not going to get any deeper.

When it was time to go, I carried my crying three-year old away from school ("I want to stay with Ms Carla!!") and we met Eli at the hospital.  I was worried that it would be a difficult process given the discomfort at the ER.  But, the ENT took two long pointy tools and got it right out.  It was perhaps a twenty-second process.

I told Tommy that it was his first time making that mistake, so no problem -- but never again with stuff in his ears.  He promised.

That's how you do it

This morning had a nice, frenzied pace as usual.  I got up a few minutes before my alarm and did some yoga, and then went down to the kitchen and realized that I was farther behind on packing the lunches than I thought.  Anyway, the point of this story is that I took a shower but failed to blow dry my hair.

So we went to school and sprinted from Lulu's class to Tommy's and on my relaxing walk back down the hallway, I bumped into my friend Frannie.  She asked what I was up to, and I said, "well, first I've got to go home and dry my hair.  Then to the grocery store."  And she giggled and said, "going back home to get ready, huh?"  And as I continued walking I raised both hands in the air and loudly proclaimed:

"WANT A SMOOTHLY RUNNING, STRESS-FREE HOUSEHOLD?  LOOK NO FURTHER THAN YOUR FRIEND LAURA KENT!!"

I got in the car and I was laughing to myself but also sort of irritated that I couldn't go directly to the grocery store (and of course I know that I could go directly to the grocery store, but if I don't dry my hair than it's just horrible looking especially here) and so I sent Eli a text message complaining about my situation, and then started the car and reflected that I'd have rather played Queen, Knight and Princess last night than got the lunches ready anyway.

(I will say that the Queen and the Princess were predominately in the castle keep while the Knight fought off the evil knights from Asia who somehow made their way to England and wanted to take our treasure and weapons.  So it wasn't a totally engaging game from the Queen's perspective anyway.  But the Knight ("Tommy the Great") was so successful that we had a feast to honor him and he even hired a juggler to be the entertainer.)

Tommy the Great, praying.  (He read in a book that knights prayed all night sometimes, so there are few games of knights that don't involve praying.)  Behind him is the Keep, and beside him is the Princess who insisted on inviting Cinderella to our feast.

Our race to her class was slowed considerably by her insistence that she carry all her stuff.

Christmas in Muscat. It's here, too.

These pictures will surprise you.

I had actually already talked to people who told me that it would be possible to buy a fake Christmas tree here -- because I felt horribly stupid for not buying one in London and sending it with our shipment.  (We got the most beautiful trees in London, delivered directly to our house.  Fake trees were far from my mind.)

Remember, I am a big fan of the holidays.

Anyway, here is our local Carrefour's Christmas display.  We are actually shopping around for our tree so we didn't buy it when I took these photos.  You will not be shocked to know that I will be paying around $75 for a six-foot tree.  WORTH EVERY PENNY, I say.  My more frugal husband may not agree but he knows better than to put up a fight.

The second picture is of nativities.  Can you believe it? I don't know why I find it so shocking.

Guess who liked this tiny hot pink one??

The Marine Corps Ball

As I mentioned in my most recent post, Eli and I went to the Marine Corps Ball last night.  The Marines are 238 years old and this was their birthday party.  (Who knew?)  Here are some things about it:

First, I realized that my children are on track currently to have no idea what the national anthem is, let alone how to sing it.  (Tommy sings "God Save the Queen" flawlessly, however.)  They also do not know the pledge of allegiance or the Lord's Prayer.  We started on the national anthem in the car on the way to swimming this morning, but Tommy ignored me as he is deeply engrossed in 'Trumpet of the Swan'.

Second, it is easy to detect a Marine or former Marine because they have a very distinct posture and always hold their hands at their sides with their fingers curled in a bit in sort of a half-fist.

Third, Muscat is SUCH a small town (in terms of expats anyway).  Eli and I both had a lot of fun at the ball because we knew a lot of people there.  (There is one mom that I want to become friends with before all my friends leave in June and she was there so that was nice.)

Fourth, you would not have believed the security.

Fifth, the ambassador was there (see number four) and she spoke.  She seems lovely and I love that she is a woman.  Of course.

Sixth, even though we are all adults, there was still one guy that was so drunk (Eli described him as 'shit faced' when he pointed him out to me) that he alternated between knocking over chairs, making out with his girlfriend (who was also drunk and occasionally showing her entire boob to other guests), sleeping in his chair, and staggering to the bar for more drinks.  It was ridiculous but also entertaining as I am not above laughing at others for ridiculous behavior.

Seventh, the youngest Marine (there was a big deal about the birthday cake being eaten by the oldest Marine and then the youngest Marine) was born in 1991 which means that I am very nearly old enough to be his mother.  I mean, it would have been a very poor choice to have a baby that young but it would have been possible.

In our free time...

My most recent post did not include photos, but not because I didn't have any.  More because I couldn't make myself walk upstairs to the other computer and upload them.  You'll have to forgive me; I have no good reason for being as exhausted as I am.  But I am.

Auntie Chinka sent Lulu some bath salts to help with her respiratory issues and all I had to do to convince her to stay in there was introduce goggles as a bath toy.  They love it.  It is so odd. (But look at their pale little bums.)

We spend as much time per day as possible thinking about and playing with and drawing ninjas.  This gallery project somehow came out of that -- you can see the ninja drawing he was working on when he decided to install his work along the hall.  (He brought home work from school the other day and in the assignment he had to use a particular word (I think it was 'when') and his sentence read, "you never know when a ninja will attack!"  I feel a bit tired of ninjas as they were spies and assassins so if he's not sword fighting, he's sneaking around the house trying to surprise me.)

We went to Eli's office on Saturday (to shake down some poor folks for money for Tommy's fundraiser) and Eli's boss, Mr. Steve, told us that he had seen a sea snake during his walk at the beach in the morning.  Another guy said it actually was an eel, he was sure, and so Steve turned to his computer and did a google image search.  Tommy participated and I was sort of surprised at how much he knows about sea snakes.  

Isn't Eli's office nice? Do you wish you worked in a trailer?  (Eli's desk is to the left.)

Eli and I are going to the Marine Corps ball tomorrow night.  One of us is enthusiastic and the other is decidedly not.  I wonder if you'll be able to tell which is which when I post photos.    

Hi there, strangers

It took an email from my father-in-law yesterday to make me realize that it has been a week since I posted.  

Where does the time go?

We are plunking along but at a more frantic pace than I would like.  A bit too rushed, especially in the mornings -- why does it not seem to matter if I wake up five minutes earlier, or ten minutes earlier, or thirty minutes earlier?

Our weather is cooling down which is so lovely, and Tommy has been in a very sweet mood all week long.  Lulu has her respiratory problem again but I have had a long talk with her Auntie Chinka and am feeling assured that living in Oman is not solidifying a diagnosis of asthma later for Lizzie.

Perhaps it's because she's not feeling well, but she's taken this week to decide to make sure that the rules are really the rules.  It is hard for me when Lulu decides to test me, because when she pushes me so hard that I yell, she turns around and slowly walks out of the room, weeping.  She will not respond to my loving apologies at that point, no, I have to stop whatever I am doing (most often cooking dinner because that time is the low point of the day) and chase her to apologize.

Does anyone else think that something here is out of whack?  Would you just leave her weeping in the castle tent in her room?

Does anyone else think that it's time to stop reading New Yorker articles and get a couple of parenting books? I'm on it.

Because it often works this way, that one kid is horrible while the other is as sweet as anything, Tommy has been adorable lately.  He has also been getting in trouble in music class, which is taught by the guy who conducts the choir I joined a month ago.  This is a bit awkward for me, but Tommy has promised me that he has it under control and that I needn't worry.  I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but every time the conductor looks at me, I wonder if he's thinking about Tommy's behavior that day in class.  (Or maybe he's thinking that I really ought to learn the music before our concert in a month? Or maybe he's just thinking our family needs to get it together in general?)

Have I told you how we have tiny lizards in our house? Not tons of them, but you can usually find one if you look around a little bit.  For some reason, I am strict with the kids about leaving them alone.  (This must be confusing, as when I find a cockroach, I kill it immediately; and every morning I vacuum along the sugar ants' trail from the front door to the kids' table.)  On Saturday, Tommy came downstairs and announced that they had caught a gecko, and "with one tiny careful little touch, his tail broke off!  And here's the creepy part:  it still moves!"  Then, they brought down the bug catcher with the gecko in it.  Tommy was carrying the tail which was indeed still moving.  I told them to let it out, so they let it out in the foyer and the gecko ran behind a table.  Tommy helpfully tossed the twitching tail in the same direction.

And with that, I leave you so that I can make lists of all the things I need to do.  (There are a lot.)

HALF WAY! A cancer update.

Remember my sister-in-law? Here she is -- half way through her chemo therapy and finishing up completely with the 'red devil' drug that is so toxic and horrible.  See her smiling? Isn't that amazing and impressive? She is unfailingly upbeat about cancer.  I have no idea how she does it.  I could only hope that I would do half as well!

Halloween 2013

We took care of costumes in the US over the summer and can I tell you how glad I was to encounter a river dolphin costume in etsy shop? PHEW.  (She says she's going to be a condor next year so let's all keep our eyes open for costumes, okay?  Thanks.)

The Andersons' Visit, Part II - Wadi Shab!

On our way home from the desert, we stopped at Wadi Shab.  We have yet to hike all the way in because with little kids, it's almost impossible.  But, we had a lot of fun jumping off the rocks (all the kids were VERY brave) and swimming.  It's really beautiful there and we were almost by ourselves other than a nice french couple with an older boy who arrived late in our swim.  (Lulu announced very loudly as she was swimming past them that she had just done a wee, so I bet they were happy to see us pack up.).

As I mentioned before, we had such a fun trip with the Andersons and finishing at Wadi Shab was sad because they drove to a hotel from there and we went home to get ready to go to back to work and school and housewifery the next day...Sigh.

I'm not sure whether this is Eli or Brad jumping but probably Brad because Eli takes better pictures than I do and I likely selected a photo he took.  I did not jump from the high rock this time despite Eli's encouragement.

The boat on the way across.