Midweek Ramblings....

A bunch of randomness...


Remember how John was done with turnaround? Well...apparently that wasn't the case. He had one day when he had regular hours, that weekend off and then it has been chaos. Somedays he is home an hour late, somedays it is two and even three and I never know. I almost wish we were back in turnaround as it was predictable and he was getting paid over time. It is really hard and frustrating to don't know when or if he will be home and it has especially been hard on Peyton. I just want to cry....mostly because....


7 days until we depart on our cruise! And 6 days until we fly to Rome! As excited as I am.....I am a little stressed about finishing up packing and doing everything all on my own and watching two kids at the same time. Next week is super busy with friends leaving for the summer and saying good bye and so I need to finish this weekend with both kids, a birthday party to attend and well....it makes me want to cry :(


I forgot Graham's extra clothes today at swim lessons. He swims before Peyton and so he has to sit in the stroller and wait during her lesson and I like to make sure he is changed out of his clothes. Since we leave right after Peyton's lesson, I wait until we are home to change her. I found extra clothes in the bag...Peyton's extra 3T clothes and surprise, surprise...they fit. Not really his color but they did the job. I can't believe they fit him...well, I kind of do believe it but still!

I was making lunch and in came Graham....pushing Peyton in the baby doll stroller!

Graham and Peyton were playing peek-a-bo in the back seat on the way home from Khobar. Such happy kids for it being way past their bedtimes!

Graham is getting around 4-5 teeth all at once which means he is MISERABLE! He is not napping at all and just fussy. He walks around asking for me and that is fine but when I carry him he is still fussy. Nothing soothes him. No medication, chew toy, nothing! Not fun!


My hair dryer died. Not normally a significant event but our house is wired for 110V appliances while the whole rest of Saudi is 220V which means that they carry very little to no 110V stuff....especially not a hair dryer. We do have two outlets in the kitchen that are 220V so I am now drying my hair in the kitchen and storing my hair dryer next to my baking stuff!

I am doing a color consultation class on Monday. It is by an independent consultant with a program called House of Colour based out of the UK. The description from the website is that "through an expert Colour Analysis, Make Up tuition and assessment by Personal Stylists, you learn everything you need to become your own excellent personal shopper." You learn about what colors and styles work best for your body and skin tone and it sounded like fun. A friend asked me if I wanted to do it with her and I thought it would be fun and since John has been working so much, I seriously doubt he has had the time to do anything for Mother's Day so I told him it would be my Mother's Day gift. 


Praying hard that John is off from work this weekend....or at least is getting paid if he is at work...and hoping that I can finish packing.

Big Girl Bike

Today John fixed a pretty big issue in the turnaround/shutdown so since he was in the good books for his successful job he decided to ask if he could leave for the afternoon which would allow him time to drive us into Khobar to do some needed shopping. So, he called and told me to be ready to head out around 3:30 PM and we were ready and waiting for him!

Our major reason we wanted to go was to get Peyton a big girl bike. She has a small tricycle thing that she got for her second birthday. I realized when she did Sports Day  last month that not only had she outgrown her bike significantly, we were also failing as parents in teaching her how to ride a bike....so, we needed to remedy that and the first step was to get a proper bike. Of course, that is when John started working the turnaround so it never happened. But tonight we made a trip to specifically get her a bike. We had browsed the last time we were out and she remembered every little detail of her favorite one and described  it impeccably as soon as I told her what we were doing. 

We did have a couple of other errands to do before the bike store and she was so patient in stopping at some stores, eating dinner and by the time we made it to the bikes....she was about to explode with anticipation and excitement and immediately ran to the one she remembered.

She managed to stay awake the whole way home which was impressive since she normally falls asleep in the car pretty easily and we let her stay up late to put her bike together. I know that first thing in the morning we will be outside practicing! It amazes me how grown up she is! 

Sports Day

I have said it before but it is worth repeating Peyton's preschool teacher is wonderful! We are so thankful to have found her and appreciate everything she does for the school. Yesterday she organized a Sports Day for the kids. This was on her day off (we don't have school on Wednesdays) and she did it over two weeks...the older kids last week and the younger ones today. She made delicious Indian food/snacks for the moms, had snacks for the kids, medals and went above and beyond. We are so thankful for all that she does for the kids!


I had someone come watch Graham so he could have his morning nap and I could focus on Peyton and it was tons of fun. She was much more in her element and in a better mood than the ballet night and I enjoyed my morning with her! She was an all star in the ball/spoon race and won that!


Here are some pictures from the day...

First Ballet Performance

Practice leotard, sweater, shoes, tights and bag...$100

Lessons for 3.5 months...$150

Recital Tutu and Headband....$18

White leotard and tights...$45

2 Tickets to Swan Lake performance...$5

Flowers for ballerina...$15

Babysitter for baby brother...$17

Seeing your ballerina melt down before, during her dance and perform 60 seconds of the whole recital.....priceless?!?!

After weeks of doing great going to ballet, a fabulous dress rehearsal the night before and being incredibly excited all day...ballet recital night came it was a bomb! 

Peyton feel asleep on the way to pick up John and so she napped for about 45 minutes in the car. Rule of the day....when Peyton naps in the afternoon she wakes up miserable and cranky and sure enough...it was bad. She finally woke up and got out of the car and just started sobbing which defeated all the work I did to put her make up on and keep her from touching it for the past hour before we left. She agreed for me to walk her backstage and we sat there forever talking, reassuring, talking, pleading, bribing and finally I was able to leave. I prayed a prayer that she would be able to do it, calm down and have fun and then just before it was about to start I see someone holding her and looking for me. I walk down in front of the whole theater during the welcome message and head backstage. I talk to her, convince her to dance for me and I would stay back stage and watch her and wait for her. She went and essentially stood on stage looking for me the whole time...take a look....she is on the far right...behind some kids looking off the stage for me the whole time...

After her brief but very moving performance...she rushed into my arms. She was proud of herself but I could tell that she was not going to leave my side. I had mistakenly read the program and thought that the little kids only had the one dance besides the last part where everyone comes out and bows. The helpers asked if I wanted to stay backstage with her...probably to see if I would convince her to do more and I said no, not realizing that there was another dance for her class and we went and sat in the audience and watched. I am kicking myself for not seeing if she would have done the second dance but I didn't know there was one and I didn't want to sit backstage for an hour to have her go out and bow. 

She LOVED watching everyone and sat very still and then we left at the end. She did give me and John a hug and told us she loved us in the middle of it which was pretty sweet.

When we left she received her flowers I got for her earlier in the day and she was very proud of them. We tried to take some pictures and then came home. Not how I thought the day would go at all! I wish I had stayed yesterday during dress rehearsal and taken a video because I know she did great then but how would I have known that today was going to turn out how it did!

Oh and because my plan to take pictures outside before the performance was ruined due to some unforeseen circumstances, I tried to get some pictures when we left...which as you can see did not work and I essentially got some of the crappiest pictures I could possibly get of my ballerina. I think I might make her wear her outfit another day and let me take real pictures of her.

Oh well....she did look pretty precious in her tutu and....tomorrow we are hoping for better success at sports day at school and then we are off to ballet again on Saturday....


Update....someone posted some pictures from the rehearsal the night before and I have a cute one of her dancing....I know there were several other people who stayed to take pictures so I am looking forward to seeing those....

Ballet class

While we were back in the States, I went to a dance store with Peyton and bought her ballet shoes, a leotard and tights. I knew that there were ballet classes in Saudi and I didn't put her in them in the fall because we had swimming and I wasn't sure if she was ready to be a class setting like ballet since we were having issues at swimming and also I didn't want to overload us with first being there. Well, I thought she would be ready now and so when we got back I talked to the teacher and she went to her first class the Monday before we left for Oman. 

Here she is all ready for class....

Although normally parents are not supposed to stay during the class, I asked if I could stay during the first one to get a feel for how she did in there and if this was something we would want to continue. As soon as she got in there two of her friends told her to come sit with them which I thought was adorable and they both helped her with what to do and when. It was pretty sweet. Peyton did great, followed instructions and did really well. She also had a blast and I could just see her light up with joy while she was dancing around. 

She missed this week because she was sick but we are excited about Saturday and lessons then. They also have a performance middle of March and I had a coworker of John's bring over a white leotard and tights for her since it is part of the required costume for Swan Lake....yes, they are doing Swan Lake! How cute is that!

Halloween Cuteness

We went to a Halloween play date yesterday and had lots of fun...well as much fun as you can have when supervising your toddler doing arts and crafts and her resisting any assistance while your baby is sitting on the floor crying....but we did come home with two fun crafts and some play time with new friends.

And...I came home with the most beautiful mermaid and fiercest pirate ever!

Swimming Lessons

Since we arrived we have been taking swim lessons twice a week. The instructor is certified by the Australian Swim Coach Association and is wonderful. She is very educated and passionate about swimming. She spends four days a week doing lessons plus several evenings with the swim team. It is something she loves and it shows.

Peyton has been improving significantly and I am very fortunate for the opportunity to do lessons with her. She is now able to swim to the bottom of the pool and get a toy, can turn around under water and kick back to the wall in case she falls in, paddle/kick with head down to the wall from about 2 ft away, do streamline off the wall for a little bit and overall has a LOVE for swimming and is very comfortable in the water.

However...structured swimming lessons and the strong willed child don't go very well together at times.....actually most of the time. I am doing Mom and Tots lessons with her not because she is at that level but because she has a hard time focusing, doing what she is asked at the time she is asked and she needs me in there to discipline her. We spend a large amount of swimming sitting on the wall, counting to three and working through learning to follow instructions. It is beyond tiring for me. The past three lessons no one else showed up which has been great because I have been able to get more tips, suggestions and next things to work on with her from her teacher and push her to the next level that some of the other kids might not be at yet I have been able to really work on the discipline issue without worrying about disrupting the class. Peyton loves swimming, and I love seeing her progress and I know this could be a great outlet for her but it has been so difficult and discouraging every day when I am fighting to get her to kick etc and she is just being silly. But we are sticking with it until we leave to head back to the States...so 6 more weeks of swimming...

Maybe I will get my reward when I am sitting in the stands at the Olympics watching her.....I can dream.....

Oh....and someday I will have pictures of us at swimming but during our lessons that is the last thing I am thinking about trying to get.

Need Help...School Drop off

So I need help/suggestions on how to handle drop off at school better for Peyton. She has been in school here for about three weeks now and although we are no longer have screaming throw down fits, I am tired of the whining/crying and just general difficulty in getting her to school. She has been going to some sort of school since she was 14 months old and I don't know what to do to make this more enjoyable. And I know she has fun once she is there because she tells me she does and also the pictures her teacher sends every week shows her engaged and having fun.

Here are the issues....

• As soon as she wakes up and I start getting her dressed she starts with the whining,"I don't want to go to school, I stay home with mommy."
• The whole morning she whines, complains and tells me she is not going to school
• When we get to school she either refuses to walk or she walks incredibly slow.
• When we get to the door, she hides behind me and won't go in and starts the whining, fussing. Then when it seems like she will go, she stops and yells, "wait."
• When I leave she just cries. The teacher has told me it is only for a couple of minutes and then she is fine.

Here have been my responses....

• I have tried the comforting approach, validating her feelings and then planning fun things to do when we get home.
• I have tried making it a game and a "big girl" thing where she gets to walk herself and it is all about being independent...resulted in her sitting on the curb saying she wasn't going.
• I told her I would bring prizes when I came to pick her up for something to look forward to and would bring fun cereal, a lollipop etc
• ...and then I bribed and said I wouldn't bring the prize if she cried.
• I have tried to be stern and say that we are going to school, no whining...lets go, see you later and that is that.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions? Or am I doomed to have her cry it out every day until she graduates high school? That should be fun...

The Big Birthday Party

We have had a busy couple of weekends, starting with Peyton's big birthday party last Thursday. She has been talking and talking and talking about her birthday party and I tried so hard to make it everything she had been wanting. We felt so blessed to have all our new friends here come and celebrate Peyton with us and it reminded me that we are getting settled.

I brought over some ice cream themed party materials since I wasn't sure what she would like in the four months since we left. I was going to do Dora and I am glad I didn't because I think Dora has been replaced with any of the Disney Junior cartoons since that is all we get here.

We had lots of fun, a lot of craziness with all the kids and a good first birthday party here in Saudi! We had cake, ice cream sundaes and played outside with silly string!

Peyton's friend Gavin joined us and as soon as he arrived they were attached at the hip. They play so well together and I love that they have been friends since they were six months old. Gavin celebrated her first birthday and missed her second because they had just moved to Saudi and so it was nice to be able to have him there to celebrate with her this year. They are such good friends and so cute together.

Happy Birthday Peyton...I can't believe you are three and we hope your party was everything you were wanting. We look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you and so thankful for every day we have with you! Happy Birthday Pumpkin Pie!

Peyton's First Day of School

Today was Peyton's first day of preschool here in Saudi. Since she just misses the school cut off date she will be going to an informal preschool in people's houses for this year and next and then she will be in the formal Pre Kindergarten class at the Aramco school. The preschool I chose for her this year is done by an Indian woman and her co-teacher in her home and has 12 kids. They get to do mini field trips throughout the year (the mailroom, the grocery store, clinic, helipad) which I know Peyton will love.

She was really excited leading up to it and kept telling me how she was going to have fun, do show and tell and was looking forward to me leaving....UNTIL we got there! Then it was a giant meltdown!

We got ready, had a nice breakfast, she picked her Pee Wee School backpack from last year as the one she wanted to take with her, got dressed and made sure we had a red accessory for red day and picked her show and tell item which was her red lady bug pillow pet and off we went.

We walked up to school happy as can be, walked it fine and then she saw another kid lose it and so she decided to join in. It was kind of chaotic and I normally would have just left but there was so much going on that I didn't want her to get lost in the shuffle or worse run out after me. I tried showing her things, talking about her day and nothing was working so finally I just kissed her and left and she screamed so loud. I got to the car and started sobbing and just sat in the car outside the preschool until a friend pulled up (who was dropping off her boy) and asked what I was doing. She said she would check on Peyton and let me know how she was doing when she saw me for breakfast later. I made myself leave and when we met up at breakfast the report was that Peyton was doing better.

As much as I worried about Peyton and whether she was settling in, I did LOVE the time I had with just Graham and the ease of one kid. We went to our weekly Saturday breakfast, took Graham to his 6 month check up (more on that tomorrow), went to the grocery store and then went to pick up Peyton.

When I picked her up she was playing with some musical instrument and told me she had fun and cried because she missed me. I had brought her a lollipop as a treat so she was happy about seeing that. We discussed how fun school can be and how I always come back and how we were looking forward to the next day. I hope we are on track for a better start tomorrow but when she went to bed tonight she told me she was "not going to school." We will see what she thinks in the morning!

Happy Birthday Peyton!

Today my precious little girl turns three! I can't believe how time has flown! I remember so clearly when we met you and how much you stole our heart. You will always be our little baby girl (even if you tell me that you are a big girl).

Peyton, I hope your birthday is everything you have been anticipated! You have been so excited to have your birthday and we are just as excited to celebrate you and celebrate the day we were blessed to become your parents.

Peyton, we LOVE you so much! I can not even begin to form the words to describe how blessed we feel to be your mommy and daddy. You have completely changed our lives for the better and we are so thankful for everyday with you. We are excited to see you grow more and more into the independent, opinionated, funny and loving girl you are becoming and we love you so much Pumpkin Pie!

Weekend Recap

We had a pretty good weekend...busy yet relaxing!

Wednesday night we had a family over for dinner that arrived here just a couple days earlier. They moved from Canada and John met them while he was swimming with Peyton earlier in the week. They have three girls and it was so nice to be able to have them over for dinner, dump all of the wealth of knowledge we have been given. They are a sweet family and we enjoyed having them over. John told me how much fun he had and I responded..."duh, they are Canadian so they have to be awesome."

Thursday we went shopping and took our car to Khobar for the first time. We didn't make it to the party supply store in time but did manage to get to the hardware store, toy store and a baby gear store to buy a portable/travel potty (more about that later) and then we headed to the grocery store. A very successful day and our car worked out great! Lots of room for me to sit in the back between the kids which is a most when you are driving an hour each way.

Our kids are adapting so well and are so good when we go out. They both go with the flow in their own way. Peyton runs around the mall, is loud but listens. Graham just hangs out in the stroller, plays by himself and just chills out until it is time to eat and he grunts at you. They have such different personalities and are such different babies.

On our way home we got to use the portable potty seat which is pretty much a requirement for surviving here with a potty training toddler. As we were heading home in the middle of nowhere Peyton yells that she has to go potty. We pull over, take out the potty seat, put in a liner that has an absorbent pad at the bottom and we have a potty. It is great! A huge help when there are really no bathrooms you want to stop at anywhere and it will be a must have when we drive 8 hours through the desert to see my sister in Abu Dhabi!

Thursday night John left again and headed back to Khobar to take a friend that we just met to buy a TV and other needed items. They had a successful trip and it was so nice to be able to use the car to help out another family and bless them with transportation to get the needed supplies.

Today I woke up early with Peyton and while John and Graham snoozed we headed to the beach to look for sea shells which turned into swimming with her clothes on. We had so much fun!

Then later we worked on painting Peyton's room a bright, beachy blue! It looks fun and I can't wait to see her curtains and rug in there. She helped out and it was fun hanging out with her and working together!

Off to another week in Saudi....one with friends coming back from vacation (YEAH), hopefully our shipment clearing customs and getting closer to our house, planning Peyton's party and our trip to Abu Dhabi!!

Jumping on the Bed

The other day we were bored...what else is new...I was running out of ideas quick and I also needed to start on my homework/practice for my editing class I am taking and I was running out of images that I wanted to even work on.

So...I decided to do a photo shoot. Peyton is tired of me taking pictures so I had to make it interesting. I saw some pictures the other day that someone did of their kids in the morning time waking up in their bed. Well, the lighting in our bedrooms is awful but I really wanted to take some fun pictures....so....I moved a mattress to our living room and set it up.

We had a blast! Graham was laughing and hiding behind blankets, Peyton was jumping and Mommy got to play with her camera...and it took up about an hour of our day!