Dilly's 4th

Sedona finally had a birthday a few days ago. Ever since her last birthday she would declare that her celebration was next. It seemed like August would never come. The funny thing was, as soon as her day arrived, she almost became too shy with all the attention. Attention isn't given too often to the middle child. It seemed like a good idea in theory, but why are all these people staring at me?????

Her day began with presents. She received the coolest assortment of Melissa and Doug food, which is something she loves. She makes a mean prawn sushi, but tell her to hold on the wasabi. It can be overpowering to the palate.
Hours later we held a swim party with all the traditional summer crap food (hot dogs, chips, and popsicles). It was a little risky providing food because it was in the middle of Ramadan. I was praying the food police would not arrive and jail us all. Yummy and illegal.

Sedona's cake was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, with chocolate butter cream. She insisted on this particular cake over any other cheesy princess or castle cake. For 40 riyals at Carrefour, I was not going to argue.

I planned two activities for the party. One was water balloons and the other was a bunch of balls that could be chucked at any small child with very little damage. The small balls were exciting for about 2 minutes until they all drifted to the corner of the pool never to be played with again. Brilliant.

The party was also a great opportunity for me to catch up with my girlcation friends. One went to Bali, the other to Holland during the summer with their families. I tried to tell them that Kuwait was WAY more fun, but they were not convinced. That's what I get for trying to make them jealous.

It was 3 and 4 year old madness with smashed cake and half drank bottles of juice everywhere. Most importantly, I think Sedona had the best time. She was thrilled to see all her friends and share her special day. My life has never been the same since you were born, Dilly Do. Here's to a new year of bigger smiles and longer hair! Love you.

Humble Pie

Sarita driving on her birthday

Sarita just started driving. She is finishing her 40-day driving course and seems to be doing well. We take her out periodically and even though we aren't Catholic we cross ourselves before we go figuring it can't hurt. Truthfully, she does well. She will be taking her test next week.

Our daily routine in Doha after school includes taking all the kids to the pool to wear them out. We pile in the car and Sarita does the long 30 second drive to the compound clubhouse. It is good practice for her and we enjoy the fact that we can send her home if we forget anything, which is inevitable.

Two days ago, when Sarita was driving everyone back home, she made a small dent on the right bumper because there was a children's picnic table in the driveway. Honestly, it was a dumb place for a picnic table in the first place and I confess that I almost dinged up the car twice because of the same thing. I didn't care much, but Axel felt the need to give her a wee bit of crap about it. It was more of a tease--making fun--but a slight hard time nonetheless.

Guess what???

Axel arrived home early from work today. Why, you ask? He happened to run over a cement divider and ruined the A/C.--not the best thing to wreck in the middle of August in the freaking Sahara desert. The dent he produced is three times the size of Sarita's mess up. Oh, and he has been driving for over 20 years.

As one would say, 'What goes around, comes around'. This time it is much larger and 100 times more expensive. Damn universe.

The drive of shame to the Kia Dealership

Fight 'da Food

I have been going through the painful process of trying to potty train Asa. In other words, I constantly linger in close proximity to the bathroom while my wiggly son runs around looking malnourished and sickly. My tactic is to fill his little mouth with as much fiber cookies and juices as his little body can handle. Talk about potty, insert cookie, pour juice, and repeat.

His reluctance to sit on the potty was beginning to drive me insane. I knew he had to do his business and so did he. It was a battle against wills and he had won one too many times. In a moment of desperation I bribed my two year old with my iPhone. Just the day before, he learned how to play the highly sophisticated game, Fruit Ninja, and it was the one and only thing that brought him to sit comfortably on the potty.

Now, Asa begs to go on the toilet so he can 'Fight 'da food.'

So thank you, Steve Jobs, for your magnificent invention. It has helped me in my parenting trickery and one step closer to discontinuing my stock in Pampers.

More Oil Paintings.

This is Axel again. More oil paintings! Honestly I need to start burning some of the ones I don't like. My storage place is getting full...

This is one I did from an oil painting book I bought. It is kind of cheesy, but I like it.
After I painted the waterfall I had lots of paint left over so I did this portrait. Terah hates it for some reason. I like it.
The first acrylic painting I did. It was weird painting it after doing so many oils. The paint dries really fast and doesn't mix well. I used a kind of sparkle acrylic. It looked good. I also put gold leaf on it. I like it. It is a Klimt though I really changed his colors.
One of Nephi I did after he killed Laban. I tried to do the sword of Laban as Damascus Steel. Even though it wasn't even invented then, I love Damascus Steel. Meh...
One I did from a photo of Xay and Heavah playing in Mombasa during our Kenyan trip. It was a great picture, but not a great painting.
Garden of Gethsemane right after the Atonement. Based on a VG.
A really small canvas one. A VG again. It didn't turn out so well except for the pine tree.
Trying to have the sun showing on the tops of trees. I just used a big brush on this one. It is a larger canvas.
Another really small canvas VG. Actually I really like this one. It is almost my favorite of the newer ones. I am going to do more of these.
Another small canvas VG one. I really love how he did the blue on the tree trunks. It is why I wanted to duplicate it. He was the master.
THis one has a lot going on. I made a cut out of the head. Used a spray paint that comes on like stone (has lots of great texture to it too). THen I painted green and yellow for moss and then added gold leaf. After all that I was not so happy with it.
Close up of the Klimt's "The Kiss" I did to show the gold leaf. It was a fun one to do.
Here is the whole picture. It is a large canvas and I guess Terah liked this one as she put it downstairs. She always says she likes them, but when she puts them downstairs I know she REALLY likes them. You can see the gold leaf better here. I changed it a bit to make it look more like Terah and me.
Four canvas I put together and painted all at once and then took apart. I put too many flowers on this one. I should have made them bigger and fewer of them. I do like the background sunset. I should have stuck with that.

That's all for now! I need some more ideas! I am running out of Van Goghs to do and there is only one more Klimt I really like (showing the three stages of womanhood. Google it, it is a sweet picture). After that I think I am going to do a Gaugan and a Chagal.

August Bromley Update

I always feel like I am copping out when I resort to these summary blogs, but what to do? The Bromley household has been busy and in constant motion. These are the noteworthy items:

1. Asa has reminded me that 2 year olds can be work. I forgot because Sedona was the dream toddler (which says nothing of what her teen years will be like, I realize this). He is lovely in many respects but his creativity has made its mark on every inch of this home. If he is missing--ever--every adult in the home says, 'Where's Asa?' in a panicked tone because his absence simply indicates another marked wall or soiled linen.

Asa's personality is unlike any other child in the family. He is overly confident and is pure solid mass. Nothing intimidates him and he holds his own. He goes to great effort to make each family member laugh and he has a very sophisticated sense of humor for such a small kid. Every family member gives him respect and deservedly so.

We are attempting to do potty training this week. It is pure torture. He knows how to do it, but when you ask him if he has to go potty he says, 'Um, nope.' Two seconds later, he reports that he has made a big poop on the carpet, 'Come see...' His cute smile through the whole process makes me almost want to not push at all. Then again, I keep thinking about how this will be the last of diapers and I can't wait to make that milestone. All in good time, all in good time.

2. Sarita started a driving course that should be ending in a couple of weeks. She is giddy with excitement at the possibility of having the freedom to drive. She won't be doing much of it, but when we need milk at the store, she can run and get it. It is a good investment. Plus, I am all about empowering her. Just this past summer she has learned how to swim, learned how to drive, and even started to become computer savvy. She is awesome. Have I mentioned that before?

She goes to her driving lessons everything morn and has to memorize the signs and signals. She asked me to help her learn what each sign means. She has to memorize clear and concise statements like the following:

I told I could be no help because I needed it translated, you know, into real English.

3. Heavah and Xavier started school this Sunday. Although the summer wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, the day could not have come any sooner. The touching game was in constant play, and a few furniture items have been 'antiqued'.

These photos give you some indication of what the steamy hot weather has been like in Doha lately. The whole country is a sauna. Its lovely.

Handsome Xavier - First Grade

Sweet Heavah- Second Grade

(No edge blurring was done for this photo. That is just pure, nasty humidity.)

4. Spinneys has arrived in Qatar. This is big, big, big news. It has been the source of our excitement for about 8 months now. We used to go to Spinneys in Dubai, it was our neighborhood grocery store. One of the big appeals for Spinneys is the secret pork selection. No pork selection here, but it at least has Life cereal.

The opening of Spinneys is extra special for us because it will be across the road from our new house. We are moving from Al Fardan III to Al Fardan I. It is a smart move for us. Al Fardan I has 2 other LDS families there, and a killer pool. The house is more spacious, but doesn't have as many bedrooms. The biggest perk is that Axel could almost walk to work and/or the airport from home. The move will happen in October, cause, well, its been a whole year and we are due for another move...

More Kuwait

Our visit in Kuwait was short but our timing could not have been more perfect. It was by mere coincidence that we arrived on the same day as the 20th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion. This was the headline of the newspaper as we drove in the taxi to our hotel:

We also soon found out that the invasion happened across the street from our hotel, at the Sheraton. With very little warning, the tanks arrived in the middle of the night and the Sheraton guests were expected to leave the hotel. We heard of an American guy who arrived on August 3rd. It was his first time overseas and only hours after he arrived, he had to evacuate the hotel with no where to go. He slept in a park for a couple of days. I am guessing that was his last time visiting the Middle East.

One of Axel's friends who had lived in Kuwait during the invasion described the confusion and instability that happened after the announcement was made that Kuwait was being invaded. He said everyone rushed to the ATMs to grab their money until all the ATMS ran dry. Most Kuwaiti men abandoned their families and fled to Saudi Arabia. To this day, many women and children still hold anger in their hearts.

Axel's friend's wife was 8 months pregnant at the time and they could not leave the country. Everything was so unstable and people locked themselves in their houses and rationed food. There were no flights leaving Kuwait and the borders were secure. The OBGYN even advised him to get his wife out of the country in any way possible because the doctor himself was fleeing. With no other option, Axel's friend drove his wife and family to Baghdad, which was the closest, and ironically, the safest place to get a flight. When he left he had no idea if he would ever return to his home again. It was a long 8 months before he chanced returning back to Kuwait. It was a slow transition, but eventually, he rebuilt his life back in Kuwait.

It was an incredible night and I felt so fortunate to hear a first hand account of the Gulf War and its impact on those living in Kuwait. Amazing.

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Our hotel was also adjacent to the Filipino Souq. There were some good finds in there:

I was tempted to buy this shirt in case I am ever late for something. You know, just to make sure everyone knows that I am here now, now. For extra emphasis the tiny letters on the bottom say 'My Heart now.'

I was tempted to purchase this soap for each one of my children. I could give it to them on their first date, in front of their suitor. Just to be clear.

Axel and I visited the Sharq mall, which was quaint and fun. There were several stores I had never seen before with some really interesting fashion. All the clothing is unflattering and purposely made not to show a woman's figure. It is too bad because the styles and fabrics were cute, but in a tent-like style. If I was pregnant, or looking for a moo moo, I would have made a few purchases.

The best part about the Sharq mall is the setting. It is placed right on the corniche, which was smelly, but beautiful.

Kuwait is one of the dirtiest countries I have visited in the Gulf, which surprised me. In both Qatar and Dubai, you can almost eat off the public bathroom floors (no, I have not attempted this, but would be fine if I had to). Kuwait had more graffiti and visible garbage, which in some ways made the city feel more 'real' than other Gulf countries. Sometimes sterile makes things less interesting. Case and point - Nepal.

An insane Kuwaiti woman sitting in the 125 degree heat

The Kuwait Towers

Pottery Barn Kuwait

One of the most impressive sights in Kuwait is the Avenues Mall. The first phase is the only part that is complete, and there will be a total of 3 phases--4 miles in length. It is supposed to be the largest in the Gulf, which is saying a lot after being in Dubai. So many Western stores can be found at the Avenues, Build-a-Bear, Ikea, Pottery Barn, etc.

The Avenues has so many American stores that cannot be found in other Gulf countries. You can really see a strong US influence in Kuwait. Even the city planning seems more American than European (like it is in Qatar). It was also nice to see so many people treat American well--somewhat of a rare thing here in the Middle East.

And, that's Kuwait.

Mid-Thirties.....

Dona is missing, she conked out. Too much partying for a 3 year old.

Another birthday down. When I was a kid, the distance between each birthday seemed like an eternity. The older I get, the more amazed I am at how quickly it comes. Didn't I just have a birthday? Didn't I just come to terms that I am a year older? Why do I have to do it again, and again, and again? I have tried to stop time. So far, it hasn't worked.

What do I see for the coming year?

- A diaper free life

- 3 children in school

- A possible move

- A tighter butt

- A visit to my 60th new country

- More iTunes and Apps

- A return visit to my home in Nepal

- One or two more girlcations

And the best one of all... appreciate every single day I spend with my favorite people--Axel and my kids.