Marine Corp Ball

Thanksgiving....

10 hours ahead, and one day later.... We had our Thanksgiving. These are the days it stinks being away from all our friends and family :( We did have a nice dinner though, with some friends. We had our little 9 lb butterball, yes they sell them here :) The temperature conversions, and lack of other convenieces made it a little challenging. I know they have everything we need here... somewhere, just not always sure where, and not when i need them. Now i will know what to get ahead of time for next year though.
Here are the things we couldn't find, in my hour and a half search at the tiny randall's like store called Abella's....
Kosher salt - in my annoyed call to the hubby he says, maybe they call it halal salt, still not sure if he was kidding or not... then when checking out, the little fillipino sacker says we have that! So refraining from hugging him i follow him back to the spice aisle, only to have him say it was here, sorry mam... yeah, me too :(
Nilla Wafers - for the banana pudding monkey so wanted. So in my call to the hubby again, we decide vanilla shortbread might work, so to the pudding aisle i go, only to find they are out of that too....
white wine vinergar - got apple cider vinegar to soak the turkey in overnight, and it was actually pretty good :)
Pumpkin- i knew i should have gotten that earlier! Luckily our friends went to the good store and dubai, and she made a fabulous pecan pumpkin pie!! God bless her for that!
Tea - still don't know how to make the iced tea here.. it never turns out right. I'm going to master that this week if it kills me.
So those are the little things that for some reason stick out of thanksgiving. We did have brocolli rice casserole, and heavenly twice baked potatoes. Our friend brought those too, and it's like all the gooey goodness of a baked potato in a 9 by 3 dish. I made sweet potato casserole, and it was really good too. And for the first time stuffing, not the stove top kind. It was good but not as good as my mil's, and not as good as stove top :)
We topped the evening off with some lego rock band. The thing i was most thankful for this year though, and even though it was a sad day to not be with all our family, is our family unit of 4 was all under one roof. Pizza, or dry turkey couldn't have ruined the day for that :)

Sandy cameras

So the lovely camel photo we took, which frankly wasn't all that great... did some damage to my camera. So now, whenever i turn my camera on, and the lens pops out, it makes this grinding noise. This noise, in turn, gets this nasty look from my husband to me. Those of you who know him, i am pretty sure can picture this look in your minds. We've all received it at some point. :) As if i knew, getting out of the car and climbing up the hill on the side of the road would put me shin deep in powdery sand, that would in turn flip up into my camera. We do that so frequently in our lives. Climb up the side of the roads to take pictures of camels in the middle east. Did that yesterday didn't you? So that is my little disgruntled, tad bit grumpy vent on my camera. I've gotten compressed air to blow on it, it got some out, and then a brush but it seems to be in the gears. I've got to find a camera shop to fix it, and it seems they prefer nikon and fuji here to canon. I'll just run down to wolf camera, oh wait... there isn't one :)
So that has left me to use monkey;s camera, which had some issues we have fixed, and my iphone. We do have some pics to put up, but he took off with the card that had mine on it, and i can't find it, so those will have to wait until this evening i suppose. Theni don't know how to get my iphone pics onto this macbook, not the laptop, because this is a macbook :)
So this is our weekend we had. We went to the marine corp ball. We had a wonderful time. The emirates palace, what little i saw is absolutely amazing! I found a dress at a lovely store called monsoon. With the help of a wonderufl friend back home, and her fashion sense i found some great shoes and jewelry to go. I do have to say this, these emerati women are short, and have small feet. So either the stores here don't cater to white women with big feet, or the other white women with big feet bought all the shoes. So i ended up wearing heels. I hate heels, i don't like to stand out, and i don't like to fall. I am 5 ft 10, i don't want to tower over the other people. Plus, i have worn heels maybe 3 times in my life. Do i really want to fall at a fancy dinner? No... But the shoes were gorgeous... Hubby looked so handsome in his tux. We ended up having to buy one, but found it at a decent price. And gee, it's only been 15 years since i've seen him one. Which was wait, oh at our wedding:) We rode in a limo with some friends. We ended up coming home earlier, so we got it to ourselves, which was nice <3
I took midget to the Jonas Brothers concert, we went with a friend from class. She was upset, and thought she could touch them and be right up front, i felt so bad for her! She did have fun though, but eventually it got to loud for her. But it was a good first experience, and we had alot of fun with her friends. It was so crowded! And i believe back home it would have been mostly tweens, and teeny-boppers, but here there were grown adults, and even older boys there alone! I think back home we would have thought they were a bunch of pedophiles or something! Monkey spent that night hanging with the boys playing games with some new friends. He liked that alot, and he needed some man time :)
So as soon as i have figured out where my memory card went, and how to get my pics off of my iphone i will post those.
Now to drive back into town to get a check to the hubby to get my car! Woohoo!!!

Little toes and Speedo's

View on the way there..

midget took these two <3


one of the pools

midget in her hotel robe..

monkey running up to slide for the 5000th time :)

Isabella getting her spa day!

monkey in the pool

the terrace

view from our terrace, can you believe this is in the middle east?

in the lobby at check-in, the kids were thinking how long would it take to get to the pool?

A family ready to relax :)

monkey playing in the fountain.

Midget and dad splashing in the water

midget actually fell asleep on the terrace.

monkey sliding into theh pool on the waterslide

My sweeties!
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I had to do it, i made him stop on the way home... my camera is now filled with sand after getting out of the car and make us all tromp up a hill to get a picture :)

He was loving finding all the hermit crabs!

That is a happy, relaxed adorable hubby, pre-toe incident :)

We went on our first ever "holiday", as they call them here. Lots of people were leaving town, so we looked into it, and it's surprisingly affordable! We were quite excited, and found a great deal at the Hilton Resort and Spa at Ras Al Khaima. It is a fabulous, FABULOUS resort. Hotel does not describe this place! we had a 2 bedroom suite, it has a living room, a hallway, and bathroom that frankly i could have died happy in. The shower is a glass enclosed one with a rain shower head. I thought we had one back home, the rain shower head, it said it was on the box, but i know now it wasn't :) The kids loved taking their showers, and were each in their for at least 30 minutes!
We also had 2 balconys, one which was really a terrace, it had 2 lounge chairs, and a table set. Midget was in love with the terrace, she turned it into a spa for us. The hotel even puts rose petals on the beds, which were then promptly stolen by midget to be used at her "spa". Isabella her doll, was quite pampered on this outing! Monkey was all about the pools, he was asking to go all day every day, and we did. He also loved, loved, loved, the buffet. They had fish, crab, sushi and cakes galore. Plus the boy loves mango, and they had all the mango juice you can handle. Midget has now learned of the chocolate fountain, heaven help us all.... However once her dad saw the snotty nosed kids sticking their hands on the marshmellows after wiping their noses, we all lost a bit of desire to use the fountain :)
We went to the local souks, but they weren't like the ones in Sex and the City, so i am holding out for those style. Nor were the people as nice as they are in town here. We decided we will stick with the brits at the hotel :) So we stayed there and went to the beaches. Let me just say this, i don't get it people! Speedo's were everywhere!! Maybe i am an uptight american, and anyone who knows me well knows i am uptight. Having said that, sitting on a nice terrace, enjoying a nice relaxing lunch is great. Heaven on earth, it was until i had to keep telling my son to stop laughing at the 70 year old men playing soccer 15 ft away, even if i couldn't help myself, nor could the hubby, as it's hard not to laugh at them in their speedo's!!! OMG, i have never seen such a sight in my life. That being said, they were in remarkable shape!
Apparently the brits like their bikini's and speedo's, and enjoy letting the little girls go around topless. I saw an 80 year old woman take her bikini top off and put a shirt on right in front of me on the beach, thank heaven monkey missed that one. ;) So, here's to hoping that hubby dosesn't pick up on the speedo trend....
Now to the disclaimer section, when relaxing on the beach after snorkling with your children, watch out for those plastic beach chairs! If you are a wonderful loving husband, trying to help your loving wife out, by rinsing out your childs sand toys, watch those toes, if you hit one on a chair you can break it! Hubby did just that, broke his little toe. So there was no 4 wheeling, nor boat rides for us. He went to the hospital and had to have his toe re-set. The hotel was worried sick over being sued, and he made it clear it was his fault. So the vacation was a learning experience, mostly relaxing at a gorgeous hotel. We had a lovely time, until hubby broke his toe :( All in all it's a fabulous resort, just be warned of the topless ladies and bouncing speedos!!

School assembly....

So the kids had a big day at school today. Midget and monkey were rockstars! Monkey helped lead the assembly, and ran the media presentation. He is such a whiz kid with the technical stuff.. Midget read a poem with 2 of her friends for rememberance day. The British veterans day. They all did a great job, and it was a nice program, wait.. let me get in touch with my british/arabic self... "it was quite lovely wasn't it?!"
So cute. So here is the rememberance day, they do some nice things. At 11:11, they all take a minute for a moment of silence. The poppy's were all over the school. The poem midget read was about Flander's field. Here's the poem:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I wish we did the moment of silence back home, they honor their veteran's quite well. Happy veteran's day to our vets back home also. We thought of you today :)

No dryer....

My brand new dryer is still not working... I am afraid these clothes piles are going to form and try to kill us all in our sleep. The guy came and took the dryer, kept it for 3 days, brought it back and it still doesn't work. Very, very annoying. So now, i have resorted to using my lovely staircase to dry clothes. All the little twirly vines are great to hang the dedicates :) Who knew incompitent me could be so resourceful... Desperate times lead to desperate measures.
We had a good day yesterday though. I went and picked up a co-worker of hubby's wife. Well i eventually picked her up, after taking a 20 minute detour. Somewhere on the way to shwama or something, but i found my way there. We went and had lunch, and then to pick up the kids. It was nice to be around another texan :) Her husband picked her up around dinner time. She's doing remarkably well, especially being pregnant. As hubby says, she is a trooper!
So I will spend my day again waiting for my dryer guy, fun times. But Friday, Friday i will be driving off to have a relaxing weekend, think happy thoughts!!

Villa pics....

Here is our entry way.

Here's the living room, love our house by ikea :)

The open space by the stairs, too big to be a hallway, so we want to make it a space to read... sure thing :)

The dining area

The playroom


Here's one of our bathrooms, it's the washroom right near the kitchen, very convenient in getting the kids to wash their hands :)

Still getting the upstairs sorted out a bit, but we will get them up soon too. Right now there is mounds of laundry since my new dryer is taken out to be fixed. Amazing that that 50 dollar pair of washer and dryer set we got at a garage sale didn't break and is probably still going strong, and a new one breaks in the first few weeks! Remember that set grammie and grandpa, best set ever!!!

Busy weekend

I told you we were busy!

Here's my new lamp, i got a baby one :)

These are the lamps, but in a chandalier, aren't they beautiful?

Lots of chritsmas decor, i even got some ornaments at crate and barrel

Part of Ski Dubai

Spider from halloween, that is our skylight above the stairs:) ignore the sand that covers it ...hehehe

My happy, tired camper!

We had a busy weekend, but a relaxing one. My little man arrived safe and sound from camp full of exciting stories. He had an amazing time, he was even the first one up to the top of the mountain! Turns out my little couch potato loves mountain climbing?! Something a little hard to learn about your child in Texas :) he went snorkeling and brought back some corral for me, i feel the love people! They kayaked and discovered a "secret" island. So much fun! We still haven't heard all the great stories. He was so wiped out he slept until 10 a.m. one morning and went to bed by 8 last night!
We also dragged him to the mall of the emirates yesterday, hubby went with his friend/co-worker/other girlfriend after work one night. So i was crazy jealous and he wanted to take us. It only took 45 minutes to get there, so we went. I had seen the most amazing lamps, and you know i had to go on and on about them you know who :)
After hubby tried to get me one, found out they cost a bit more than we realized, and that they came in a billion colors thought it would be best to bring me. he was right, and wrong :)

Weekend...

So I guess back in Texas we would say T.G.I.F., so what is it here T.G.I.T.? It just doesn't have the same ring to it. But Thank God, or Allah, or whoever you believe in that it's Thursday. My baby boy comes home today, and I am so excited he is. I have missed him so much! I can't wait to here about all the things he got to do at camp. Yesterday midget and I went to have a playdate with a couple of classmates. We rode home with them, and then hubby picked us up. The girls went swimming, and we all sat around the pool and "chatted", because people don't talk here, we have "lovely chats". We did have a wonderful time. It's funny how we were all from different places, France, London, Denmark and Texas. Ok, so me, i'm a bit of the oddball. But they are all so fascinated with Texas, it cracks me up.
It was cute though when hubby got there, you can tell he's so thrilled to see us sitting around and having a good time. I know he worried about us not settling in. We did have a great time. A couple of the moms were talking about ladies night at one of the hotel lounges. Yes, there is a lot of drinking in this muslim country! But people go to the lounges to "chat". Well they were talking about the mojitos, and the nachos. Midget's friends mom was all excited about the mojitos, all i could think of was nachos!! IT was really funny though, the french lady explaining them..
"They have the most marvelous nachos, this big platter of crisps with this sauce on it, and tomatos".
I promptly corrected her, they are not crisps, they are tortilla chips, and that sauce lady, it's not sauce, it's the nectar or the Gods! It's Queso woman, melted cheese!! Some things i can ignore, but after being gone from Texas this long, i am needing some Tex-Mex. This cantina laredo we go to, it's ok, but i could die for some La Casita!!

So here is the last update we got from camp. By the time most of you read this he will be home. You guys are lucky you got to miss him a whole day less than I did!

"
"Everything good at camp - students have just returned from trekking and swimming, they are all about to enjoy some birthday cake for Tony Matar. Students should all be back tomorrow by the end of the school day."

Almost done...

We have 2 more days, or a day and a half before my little man gets back... This house is WAY TOO QUIET!!! I never thought i would complain of that, but i would kill for some bickering between the two kids right now :) This is the latest update, we got it last night...
"Everything good at camp - students did mountain biking, kayaking and rock climbing today. All are in good spirits and everyone is healthy and happy."
Really, that's it? I wait all day for that??
This afternoon we are going for a playdate with some classmates from midget's class. her brother and sister are gone on the trip also, and a little girl from her class who lives nearby is also coming. Poor little thing speaks french, and is having to learn english as the days go on at school. It's so adorable though, she told midget she is her "best friend", and she said it in english, so midget was so happy :)

MY BABY....sniff sniff sniff...

This is the only pic i was allowed to take before he left, in an elevator :(

So yesterday morning, i dropped my first born child, my baby, my sweet little man... off for his first camping trip. He will be gone for 4 days, 4 days! 3 nights and 4 days. Can you tell this is killing me? Poor midget and i were missing him horribly last night. I never really realized how much life and energy that kid has, he is a handful, but a nice one.
So he is off to another one of the emirates on an adventure camp. They will be mountain climing, kayaking, stargazing and having a wonderful time i am sure. Lucky kid!! The tents are air conditioned, and the food is catered, so the boy scouts this is not :) Roughing it, not really.... I am so excited for him, and i am dying to be picking him up to hear all about it!

Here is our update we got from the teacher last night, i can't wait to get the next
one!

"All arrived safe and sound, playing problem solving games on the beach followed by dinner at 06:30pm"