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...