Valentine's Day Dress

I finally got back into smocking. It seems that for every move, it takes me at least 5 months to get back in the groove. Axel started painting, so I started smocking.

For Valentine's Day I made my second to last smocked dress for Heavah. She's 7, I know. But I had to do one last labour of love for her while she still agrees to put it on. In fact, this is how wonderful my daughter is: In some round about ways she mentioned she has a slight opinion about what she wears. She has never even suggested this to me-ever. She has always been agreeable about what I put on her. I feel so lucky, there has never been a need for bribery for her to wear anything. I made this dress for her and she praised it up and down, but I knew deep down inside she thought, 'Will I ever wear skirts??"

I know my dresses are now getting to be young for her. I designed this particular dress to reflect a more mature child. I had no pattern, so I made it up. She always puts the dress on with a smile on her face and tells me how much she appreciates them. I love that about my daughter, and because she has done this for years, I placed a big order on Gap.com to suit her recent, more grown-up tastes. It is a sad day, but I am just happy she has obliged me to this point. Her final dress will be her baptism dress, which I am starting to do now.

In all this sadness that I feel because my oldest child is growing up, I am comforted by the fact that I have another daughter trailing 4 years behind. She, too, doesn't care what she wears and is always convinced that if it is a dress, she is a princess. The problem occurs when she finally outgrows these princess dresses and I have no one to sew for anymore.

It looks like my girlfriends will just have to keep having babies until my children give me grandchildren. Come on, ladies, who else can keep my hobby alive?

Happy Year Two Asa!

Asa just turned two! How has my baby been part of my life for two years? I remember the first two years of Heavah's life. I savored every single moment. I anticipated every milestone and recorded her every move. After having 4 kids in such a short period of time, I feel like I am in a whirling tunnel barely noticing the changes as they pass me by. This is especially true with my last one. Asa begins to talk and I think, 'Already'? Asa doesn't sleep as long during his naps and I think, "Really, so soon?" Asa starts interacting and socializing with other children and I think, "He must be brilliant!" Then I realize, "Um, no. He's TWO. It is about time."

This may be the reason why Asa is such a strong personality. He must make himself known to all those around him. He is obviously the youngest of 4 other strong personalities. He will not put up with any crap; and, at times, he will fight to the death to get what he wants. And with all this strength in his personality, he still finds ways to charm us all.

His birthday was a little boring, but we showered him with love. He was free from the 'time out' corner and we didn't even complain about his smelly poops. He got tons of Chinese breakable toys and even had turkey bacon for breakfast. His favorite gift was a tacky helium dolphin that he insisted was a shark. It was as much fun as a two year old could handle.

His cuteness knows no bounds and we love his fat gut and his freakishly tanned skin. I love you Asa and despite the fact that your many milestones were ignored, our love for you is forever noticed in our hearts every single day!

Zam Zam

Our neighbor happened to bring over a jug of water to share. Apparently, the water was brought by a student who did a Hajj to Mecca. According to Islamic belief, the water began to gush out of the ground after Abraham's son, Ishmael, began kicking while crying of thirst. It is regarded as a miracle and still has a steady flow of water to this day.

I must admit the flavour was different. It felt thicker than regular water, like milk. Many people claim it has healing qualities.

Here's hoping it cures toddler naughtiness.

V-Day (otherwise known as drag your mom and dad to school and eat cookies and chocolate for lunch day)

Valentine's Day is a far more popular holiday overseas than one would expect. In fact, it is embraced so much in the Middle East that I heard Saudi Arabia has outlawed all stores to carry anything red during the month of February (can you confirm this, Jackie?). Doha seems to be fine with the Christian holiday or at least tolerates it.

In the spirit of the day I made homemade cards for each of my children with an indulgent chocolate bar that they could eat before their cereal. They should at least have one day of candy a year, right? (Oh, and Easter, and Christmas, and Halloween, and birthdays, and their sibling's birthdays, and Presidents Day, and MLK day, and Take Your Child to Work day; but that is it, that is where I draw the line).

Xavier was cramming on Valentine's Day morning to get all his cards done. I happened to find the cutest V-day cards on this site the night before. She is super crafty and she saved my butt that morning. Thank you!

Heavah sporting her cool glasses and looking perfectly coiffed

Here is Asa looking delighted with his handmade card. He is also making sure this photo clearly displays that his parents beat him periodically, or at least neglect him from time to time. At least they bought him a friendly bird to keep him company during those lonely times.

We also were encouraged to attend all the classroom festivities. What a delight to watch my children stuff their faces with high fructose corn syrup products in the shape of hearts and lips.
Sedona had a chance to tag along. She is so ready to be part of the school regime. She found herself a seat and charmed all the classmates as best she could. Only big people get to go to school. Today, she sensed she was a day closer.
Xavier's teacher had us write a note to our child beforehand about our love and affection for our child. It was endearing to write in words how much I love my son. It is also a great way to prove that we didn't always make him eat peas and clean his room, sometimes we just gave him loves, which he often deserves.

The day ended with Axel and I making a spontaneous trip to the souq. We ate at a fabulous Moroccan restaurant. Moroccan is a unique mix of spicy and sweet. Where else can cumin and cinnamon taste so good? The atmosphere was romantic and if you closed your eye, you could almost pretend you were in a real, authentic Middle Eastern country. It was fab.

What made the evening even better was when we left the restaurant and we happened upon an impersonator event. We saw Michael Jackson, David Beckham, Mr. Bean, Pavarotti, Princess Diana, Jack Sparrow, and many, many more. It was so surreal. There were swarms of people of many nationalities around these characters. We wandered a bit to see who we could check out, and then began to notice that people were taking pictures of us. We were white, we must be famous.

What could be more romantic than to stand next to Brangelina as people dote on you and your mate? They are the epitome of romance, right?

Best Kindergarten Teacher Ever!

Heavah's KG teacher in Dubai is amazing. Not only did she love my daughter but she also challenged her and kept her overly active mind stimulated. Ms. Laure is the sweetest, funnest teacher and a great friend. Her husband also did some amazing family photos for us before we left for Nepal. Some of the outtakes can be seen here.

I was lucky enough to have lunch with her in Dubai. It was a blast to catch up and I wished we lived much closer so Heavah could maintain a relationship with her. For now, we have to use email and FB.

Did I also mention she is adorable?

The children opening up the gifts Laure sent back to them from Dubai. She is an angel, I tell you!

Ms. Laure also invited us Lebanon this week to go visit her, but we couldn't swing it this time. Here are the photos I promised, Laure! Have a great time without us! We miss you!

Burj Gazing

The Burj Khalifa

I have been neglectful long enough. It has been a nice blogcation but I question, if it wasn't blogged, did it really happen? I say yes, but my parents say no.

My two weeks in Dubai whipped me out. It was a lot of chatting. I was so out of practice. I do plenty of chatting at home, but it is usually with little people, not big ones. The school wanted me to stay, and I must admit, I was tempted to set up camp in Dubai. Dubai is like the Land of Oz. It is big, bright and colorful and one would much rather spend time in the glossy city of Oz than the dismal land nearby. However--in Doha's defense--our family has a great social life here. There isn't much to do outside of our compound, but the relationships here are hard to beat.

Being away from the family wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Not to say that I don't LOVE my children, the silence of my room every evening was a welcomed moment. I wouldn't want to do it forever, but for two weeks, it was just right. Axel coped, and Sarita did an outstanding job of keeping my kids clean, well-rested, and properly behaved. Nannies are marvelous!

I had some time to play a bit while I was in Dubai. I got to see some old friends and view the city through different eyes. As I mentioned before, Dubai has changed a lot. I got to visit the Burj Khalifa. I didn't go up. It cost 120 bucks if you don't book online (and there is a long wait). Not only that, the Burj has experienced some electrical problems and people have been stuck on the elevator for hours 1/2 a mile up. I think I will wait out all the hiccups that are bound to happen and then give it a try. I am positive Axel and I will be there again soon.

One thing I couldn't help but think about were all the people who died to make this building. I recall a story of a Nepali man who was working on the construction and fell to his death on the 151st floor and found on the 129th. Could you imagine? Nepalis don't do well working in the Middle East construction. They are used to high altitudes and cooler temperatures. Plus, they don't make their superiors aware of their condition and many dehydrate without saying a word. The claim is sent to the insurance as a 'heart attack'. I think if I was hanging off this building doing construction, I would have had a heart attack as well.

Dubai never ceases to amaze me with all the shops and retail they are able to attract. They had a massive store devoted to candy. The picture above is about 1/4th of the total store. How many Hot Lips or Gummy Bears does one need?
The Dubai Mall is quite the sight. I spent 5 hours there and barely saw half of the mall. The place is massive. I also found Aeropostale there. I know I am too old, but I love the fit of Aero's jeans. As long as I can name a few current pop singers, I feel I am qualified to wear the clothing. I also know who Lady Gaga is and I can sing a few of her songs, which means I can wear my hair in pigtails periodically. When my kids can start singing along with me, that might be the point I must stop.

I got to ride the Metro home and it was awesome! There is something about riding a Metro in a city. You feel a kinship for some reason to the city. There is a sense of belonging. The Metro is efficient and the stops are appropriate. I thought that if the metro system was designed anything like the roads in Dubai, it would be a mess. Surprisingly, not so.

I was one of the only white people on the Metro. I didn't pay for the 'First Class' ticket, which was a whopping 2.50 dollars. Instead, I paid my one dollar and rode with the common folk. Mainly because I am not snobby like that. I am so humble too.

It is good to be back. I will now return to my other job, blogging. Ah, if it only paid as much...

One Less Birthday Party Option

A new Chili's Restaurant has opened in Doha. It has a huge play area with slides and toys. Axel and I were talking about taking the kids there to enjoy the fun. As we drove past one evening Xavier said this:

"Mom and Dad, when it is my birthday I do NOT want to go to Chili's"

Hun? Why would a child not want to enjoy some Americana for his birthday, especially when some hardcore playing could be had? Strange. In response to my confusion, Xavier said this:

"Because I hear they sing, they dance, and they make you feel nervous."

Ah, agreed.

Arid

Photo taken two weeks ago in Doha

I recently heard about the snow storms in the eastern US and Canada. It is hard to believe since we have been sweltering here. Luckily, however, for the past two days there has been a chilly breeze in the shade; I am talking a whopping 65 degrees! Everyone is dying. How can I let my children outside without sweaters and socks????? Surely their internal organs are going to freeze! Comments like these keep us Canadians smiling.

I returned from Dubai a few days ago and it has been difficult to adjust to the Doha landscape. It is pretty sad when Dubai seems like a lush garden, but it really does. It may be brown and slightly boring here, but it has my kids, so I will stay.

Just before I left for Doha, Axel and I came across an old village out in Education City. It is about to be bulldozed so we decided to take a few pictures of what is left of this 'ancient' city.

It is truly amazing to me that black gold is the only thing that has caused this place to develop. The real question is, 'What will happen to this place after the need for oil is no more?' I have a hunch Doha will look quite similar to this. So, you actually could be looking at the future, not the past...

Signage Part 3

And the last installment is.....

I am home, I am well, and I am not ready to blog....yet.