My husband's in the States for a conference this week, so it's just me and the kiddos. And let me tell you, it's hard to go from having 4 adults for 2 kids to one adult and same number of kids over the course of three days. However, we've actually been doing OK. My son asks me at least twice a day, "Where's daddy?" before he remembers where he is, and since the kids go to bed by 8, I'm a little lonely in the evenings. Our neighbors, however, have been a great help. They've offered us rides around town (since we have no car at this point) and watched my son while I take a nap with my daughter (which I need now, b/c I've discovered I don't sleep well w/o my husband).
I think this is a good "trial run" for the fall, when hubby goes to Scotland to start his PhD. My mother-in-law will come for a while in September (hopefully with her husband), and we'll make a trip to the States in October for a month to stay with family. I've toyed with the idea of staying longer, but I really want my son in pre-K here to prepare him for kindergarten. He needs to bring the Arabic up to speed, and what better way to do that than throwing him in a room full of other four year olds that don't speak a lick of English? (Oh boy, can't see that one blowing up in my face later on!)
BTW, hubby took the camera to the States, so no pics until he gets back. We miss you honey!!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
My family's visit
I feel kind of lame that my mom and grandma were here in the Holy Land for two weeks, and all I did was post stuff about our new furniture. So, here are a couple pics from their visit. And remember, if any of my readers make it over here, ahlan wasahlan!
My son and I on the Sea of Galilee
Mount Tabor monastery, also known as the Mount of Transfiguration
Beautiful view from Mount Tabor
We had a wonderful time with my mom and grandma, playing tourist and also just having fun. Sometimes it's the little things you miss, like playing Cribbage in the evenings with my mom (which, for those of you who know what I'm talking about, on one occasion I had a 28 hand, my best EVER!). I hope to see them again in the fall, but for now I'll just have to enjoy my summer here without family.
My son and I on the Sea of Galilee
Mount Tabor monastery, also known as the Mount of Transfiguration
Beautiful view from Mount TaborWe had a wonderful time with my mom and grandma, playing tourist and also just having fun. Sometimes it's the little things you miss, like playing Cribbage in the evenings with my mom (which, for those of you who know what I'm talking about, on one occasion I had a 28 hand, my best EVER!). I hope to see them again in the fall, but for now I'll just have to enjoy my summer here without family.
Monday, June 2, 2008
New Furniture
Nothing makes a person feel more American than good ol' fashioned, manual labor. It's one of the things I like about IKEA -- I feel like I'm doing something, some kind of direct work, before I am able to use my own furniture. And I actually enjoy working with my hands. Both my parents are handy around the house, so I guess I inherited their love for piddling with stuff to make it work.
My mom and grandma have been here for the past week and a half, and they both recently indulged me with a trip to IKEA to get a dining table and chairs (as well as the random impulse buy stuff that's so hard to pass up. Dish towels? Four of them for super cheap! Why not?). I had looked at some furniture stores around my neighborhood, and while the quality was generally good, the CHAIRS were so expensive -- easily $100 a pop. They were also a little too ornate for my taste. I mean, they're obviously made for a formal dining room, but I have two young kids and no desire for fancy chairs. I'm just not that kind of person. I like things simple and neat. You can always dress it up later.
Anyway, we found a great table, perfect for our needs (and our space!), as well as some basic chairs. They delivered the merchandise to our house this afternoon and my mom and I spent some time putting everything together. Even my son jumped in a helped out a little!
Mom helping with the table
Amelia pitched in and helped with instructions
and then promptly started to eat them!
AND, for the grand finale! (drumroll please)
Ta-da! My mom and I worked on it all afternoon, and we got it done (there are also four chairs not shown in the picture that we moved to the kitchen)! Please note that my poor table will probably never look this nice again. It'll soon be filled with coloring books, keys, piles of Newsweek and mail, as well as other random stuff. but for now, it's our eating space, and it's making me feel just a little bit more at home.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for purchasing this lovely new table for us, as well as my aunt Patsy for donating money to buy 6 of our chairs. You guys are the best!
My mom and grandma have been here for the past week and a half, and they both recently indulged me with a trip to IKEA to get a dining table and chairs (as well as the random impulse buy stuff that's so hard to pass up. Dish towels? Four of them for super cheap! Why not?). I had looked at some furniture stores around my neighborhood, and while the quality was generally good, the CHAIRS were so expensive -- easily $100 a pop. They were also a little too ornate for my taste. I mean, they're obviously made for a formal dining room, but I have two young kids and no desire for fancy chairs. I'm just not that kind of person. I like things simple and neat. You can always dress it up later.
Anyway, we found a great table, perfect for our needs (and our space!), as well as some basic chairs. They delivered the merchandise to our house this afternoon and my mom and I spent some time putting everything together. Even my son jumped in a helped out a little!
Mom helping with the table
Amelia pitched in and helped with instructions
and then promptly started to eat them!
AND, for the grand finale! (drumroll please)
Ta-da! My mom and I worked on it all afternoon, and we got it done (there are also four chairs not shown in the picture that we moved to the kitchen)! Please note that my poor table will probably never look this nice again. It'll soon be filled with coloring books, keys, piles of Newsweek and mail, as well as other random stuff. but for now, it's our eating space, and it's making me feel just a little bit more at home.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for purchasing this lovely new table for us, as well as my aunt Patsy for donating money to buy 6 of our chairs. You guys are the best!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Been gone for so long
I've missed blogging for the past three weeks. Even though I probably post, on average, once a week, it's been a great outlet for me and helps me collect my thoughts after a busy day with two young kids. These past few weeks have been packed; we had to move, get our visa situation staightened out (lesson: anytime you deal with the government, prepare to wait a LONG time in a very busy room), and have guests for a week. Now, the last thing wasn't that difficult -- our guests are some of our best friends and pretty low maintenance people -- but getting the house clean and arranged was time-consuming. Add my hubby's job on top of that, and it can drive a person (briefly) insane.
So, imagine my relief when a friend of ours called two nights ago, telling us there was an American Christian musician that was giving a free concert at a hotel nearby, and then offering to babysit while hubby and I had a little date. How could we possibly say no?
The artist turned out to be a fairly well-known guitarist, Keith Cooper, who was with a tour group visiting the Holy Land. He played about six songs before sharing his testimony, and I loved, loved, LOVED his blues-y, coffee-shop rendition of "Old Rugged Cross" (my all-time favorite hymn), as well as a brilliant handling of Tchaichovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" from The Nutcracker Suite. You can check it out at YouTube. Sorry I don't have the time to upload the video right now.
So, things are settling down here finally. We still need to finish furnishing the house, but we are on the downhill slope of a mountain that we felt we would never get over. The Lord has been good to us, providing for all of our needs. Also, we look forward to a visit from my mom and grandma in a couple of weeks!
So, imagine my relief when a friend of ours called two nights ago, telling us there was an American Christian musician that was giving a free concert at a hotel nearby, and then offering to babysit while hubby and I had a little date. How could we possibly say no?
The artist turned out to be a fairly well-known guitarist, Keith Cooper, who was with a tour group visiting the Holy Land. He played about six songs before sharing his testimony, and I loved, loved, LOVED his blues-y, coffee-shop rendition of "Old Rugged Cross" (my all-time favorite hymn), as well as a brilliant handling of Tchaichovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" from The Nutcracker Suite. You can check it out at YouTube. Sorry I don't have the time to upload the video right now.
So, things are settling down here finally. We still need to finish furnishing the house, but we are on the downhill slope of a mountain that we felt we would never get over. The Lord has been good to us, providing for all of our needs. Also, we look forward to a visit from my mom and grandma in a couple of weeks!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
If there were such a thing as a perfect day...
...today would be that day! It all started with my daughter sleeping until 7am (9-7, not bad for 7 months old). Then, we had a good breakfast, a "picnic" lunch outside, and my son has been SOOO obedient. The weather outside today is gorgeous, but not hot. So I'm hanging out laundry while my son plays (nicely) with his little sis.
The only thing that would make this day better is if our future landlord called and said our house is ready to move into tomorrow. Yep, that would make my day!
I guess I wanted to blog about this because, well, days like this come along so infrequently and unexpectedly, and I wanted to just enjoy my day of being thankful, since sometimes I struggle with this. It can be lonely sometimes over here, and there are many days I am frustrated by my (lack of) ability in the language, our house situation, and even my kids. But, like going into labor, there is always rest between the painful parts, and often the situation is over before you know it. Like labor, while you're going through it, you feel completely helpless at points and just give in to the pain. But, it's just temporary, and the rewards are worth every painful step.
The only thing that would make this day better is if our future landlord called and said our house is ready to move into tomorrow. Yep, that would make my day!
I guess I wanted to blog about this because, well, days like this come along so infrequently and unexpectedly, and I wanted to just enjoy my day of being thankful, since sometimes I struggle with this. It can be lonely sometimes over here, and there are many days I am frustrated by my (lack of) ability in the language, our house situation, and even my kids. But, like going into labor, there is always rest between the painful parts, and often the situation is over before you know it. Like labor, while you're going through it, you feel completely helpless at points and just give in to the pain. But, it's just temporary, and the rewards are worth every painful step.
Friday, April 11, 2008
A FABULOUS meme!
Dawn tagged me in a meme to talk about dream hobbies, so here's the question:
What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had all the time, tools, and money you needed?
1. Review Hotels: Yeah, I know! Someone who gets paid to travel the world and stay at fancy hotels? Sign me up; I've done so much traveling that I should be an expert on this already. I know what I want from my hotels, as well as what other people expect. It would requite a lot of traveling, so it would be a little hard on the family, hence not realistic for my life at this point. But who knows, maybe when the kids are out of the house in 20 years or so?
2. Dance ballet: I took a ballet class shortly after a got married and LOVED it. Even though I was probably the most uncoordinated person in the class (I think I was the only one who had NEVER had a ballet class in her entire life), I definitely saw some improvement in my dancing by the end of the summer. If I could devote a couple of hours a day to this, I think I'd be pretty good in a few years.
3. Ceramics/Pottery: I like working with my hands, especially with things that won't die (like plants). I've done pottery on a very basic level, but if I could invest more time in it, I would be so happy!
So there you go. Let's tag Allison, Miriam, Kinzi, and Crabby Mommy. Keep it going, girls!
What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had all the time, tools, and money you needed?
1. Review Hotels: Yeah, I know! Someone who gets paid to travel the world and stay at fancy hotels? Sign me up; I've done so much traveling that I should be an expert on this already. I know what I want from my hotels, as well as what other people expect. It would requite a lot of traveling, so it would be a little hard on the family, hence not realistic for my life at this point. But who knows, maybe when the kids are out of the house in 20 years or so?
2. Dance ballet: I took a ballet class shortly after a got married and LOVED it. Even though I was probably the most uncoordinated person in the class (I think I was the only one who had NEVER had a ballet class in her entire life), I definitely saw some improvement in my dancing by the end of the summer. If I could devote a couple of hours a day to this, I think I'd be pretty good in a few years.
3. Ceramics/Pottery: I like working with my hands, especially with things that won't die (like plants). I've done pottery on a very basic level, but if I could invest more time in it, I would be so happy!
So there you go. Let's tag Allison, Miriam, Kinzi, and Crabby Mommy. Keep it going, girls!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Becoming the Woman I (Used to) Hate, Bomb Scares and Racist Disney
What do all these things have in common?
Well, nothing except for the fact that they all were a part of my day.
The first one occurred while I was cooking dinner tonight. I was making spaghetti sauce from scratch, and about halfway through, I realized something: I was not using a recipe. And I had been doing that for several days now. That's right, after (almost) five years of marriage, I can successfully throw together a meal with whatever the heck I have stuck in my fridge. Now, when I first saw my mother-in-law doing this a few years back, I thought, How does she do it?. My mom is a decent cook, but she always shopped-by-recipe and had meal plans for the week stuck up on our refrigerator. I rarely ever saw her make things without using a recipe (or measuring cups and/or spoons), so cooks who could just "eyeball it" completely baffled me. But now, I can say I have joined their ranks.
The bomb scare happened while I was watering my garden this morning. Usually, this is a pretty peaceful and painless procedure, but right in the middle of dousing some Birds of Paradise with the hose, I heard bomb sirens go off ALL OVER THE CITY (haven't heard those since the good ol' 80s). And I thought, oh crap, who's bombing us now? I ran inside to find the Dean of Students on his way outside, and I frantically asked him what was going on. To which he replied, "It's just a drill." Good grief, why couldn't he have warned me about that when he first arrived? We don't have a television or anything, so there was no way we could have known. And one minute later, my neighbor calls to assure me everything's OK. Thanks.
Number three was during our evening movie time. While the students are in class, I usually have a movie or some sort of distraction to keep my son entertained, since he's holed up in the guest bedroom with us. Tonight's magical presentation? Dumbo. Yes, a movie fraught with drunkenness, racism and physical abuse. The ACLU and Animal-rights activists should be all over this one. Cracked blog has a hilarious list of the history of racism (or racial stereotyping) in Disney's Cartoons. I'm not sure if it's really funny or really sad. Maybe a little bit of both.
Well, nothing except for the fact that they all were a part of my day.
The first one occurred while I was cooking dinner tonight. I was making spaghetti sauce from scratch, and about halfway through, I realized something: I was not using a recipe. And I had been doing that for several days now. That's right, after (almost) five years of marriage, I can successfully throw together a meal with whatever the heck I have stuck in my fridge. Now, when I first saw my mother-in-law doing this a few years back, I thought, How does she do it?. My mom is a decent cook, but she always shopped-by-recipe and had meal plans for the week stuck up on our refrigerator. I rarely ever saw her make things without using a recipe (or measuring cups and/or spoons), so cooks who could just "eyeball it" completely baffled me. But now, I can say I have joined their ranks.
The bomb scare happened while I was watering my garden this morning. Usually, this is a pretty peaceful and painless procedure, but right in the middle of dousing some Birds of Paradise with the hose, I heard bomb sirens go off ALL OVER THE CITY (haven't heard those since the good ol' 80s). And I thought, oh crap, who's bombing us now? I ran inside to find the Dean of Students on his way outside, and I frantically asked him what was going on. To which he replied, "It's just a drill." Good grief, why couldn't he have warned me about that when he first arrived? We don't have a television or anything, so there was no way we could have known. And one minute later, my neighbor calls to assure me everything's OK. Thanks.
Number three was during our evening movie time. While the students are in class, I usually have a movie or some sort of distraction to keep my son entertained, since he's holed up in the guest bedroom with us. Tonight's magical presentation? Dumbo. Yes, a movie fraught with drunkenness, racism and physical abuse. The ACLU and Animal-rights activists should be all over this one. Cracked blog has a hilarious list of the history of racism (or racial stereotyping) in Disney's Cartoons. I'm not sure if it's really funny or really sad. Maybe a little bit of both.
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