YouTube Tuesday: Mr. Fancy Pants

Yep, pure and unadulterated childishness. A little Army of Darkness and a music video starring hilariously manipulated World of Warcraft characters. (I think. I've never played WoW, but that's my best guess.) Enjoy.

O Christmas Tree

I love putting up the Christmas tree. I wasn't planning on doing it this year, though, because we are going on vacation. Yep, we're going on vacation. Where to? Somewhere we've never been before. It feels too exotic to even say. Ooo, a destination Christmas! I feel embarrassed even mentioning it. We *don't* go anywhere for Christmas. We already travel in the summer. And, contrary to popular opinion, we do get sick of airplanes. Our options were a bit limited because we did *not* want to deal with jet lag. I didn't even want to deal with a trip at Christmas, but when you are practically handed tickets, we couldn't pass it up. So, we'll be in Thailand for two weeks. Boom.

A Phantastic Pho

"Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). The soup includes noodles made from rice is often served with Vietnamese basil, mint leaves, lime, and bean sprouts are added to the soup by the person who is dining."



This is the soup that will be served in heaven. This is not a picture of the soup I made. I wish. My first stab at making this seemingly simple soup went surprisingly well. At least it was edible.

There is this great chain of restaurants in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland called "Pho ___" (insert random number) They all have a different number; 75, 43, 88. I don't know if there is a system to the numbering, I just know they have awesome soup. The clear beef broth is flavored with onion, cilantro, ginger and various other spices I don't even know the names of. You pick two meats to put in the broth. There are also noodles. You are given a plate with bean sprouts, cilantro, lime and a carousel of sauces including Srirache and soy.

As I was wandering through the produce section of Jawad's (the local supermarket) I was struck with a moment of inspiration, or insanity. I saw all the ingredients in front of me and decided to try making Pho that night. Once I got my shopping bags home, I unloaded my loot. I had looked up a few recipes and decided to try the most simple one. I had even devised a plan to remedy the potential "Ewws" and "It's too salady!" responses from the kids.

So when I put the colander in the sink with the intention of draining the noodles, imagine my surprise when I looked down at my hands and saw that I was on auto-pilot and draining my broth down the drain! I lost about a quarter of my liquid gold! Oh well, there's always next time, right? Everyone actually liked the soup. It wasn't up to true Pho standards, but it'll do. We definitely will be trying this again.

Happy ABC to me!

There was a furniture & antique auction/fundraiser at the school a couple weekends ago. I intended to go, but didn't have the opportunity. The week after said event, I read in the school bulletin that they were having an after auction sale and selling items at 30% off the beginning bid price. Sweet. See, inaction does pay! I got to stroll through the two rooms that were jammed with mountains of stuff. I say 'stuff' because most of it we could all live without; they'd just clutter up someone else's house. I had a few items in mind, from the picture sheet they emailed me. I'd had my eye on these scroll benches since before the auction. (they sent out a catalog) The little price tag said $175; so 30% less than that is $122.50. After seeing them in person, I knew they were meant for me! (yes, there are two benches.) Happy Anniversary, Birthday & Christmas to me!

The Epitome of Calvin

Picture taking is just my hobby, I don't profess to be a professional. I have no formal training, I just like taking pictures. You learn quite a lot about yourself when you engage in any sort of activity. I've learned that I'm not that good with people; taking their picture, I should say. I prefer a sweeping landscape or lush garden or inanimate objects. So I've pushed myself outside my comfort zone whenever I take pictures of the kids or people. Like school picture time, when they come home with the sheet of thumbnail pictures and I don't like any of them. I say to myself, "I could do better!" And then myself replies, "Yeah, but you didn't! Will you?" I have to tell myself, "Yes, yes I will." And the whole task of getting their Fall school pictures done before Spring is upon me. So I usually fold and go with the school pics. But this is just one example in a whole string of instances. The point is, I am pushing myself to do new things and improve upon what can do.


I really can't complain when it comes to the kid department. My kids are so tolerant of my picture hobby; they can cheese it up when the need arises. I've also learned a lot from them. You can't force a smile or pose, they have to want to do it. So I encourage the face wiggles and even have spontaneous non-serious "picture time". Here is what I have to work with. The other day when we were out, I told Grant to sit down and let me take a few pictures. He took the whole "face wiggling" exercise to a whole new level. I've erased more pictures of him than I keep. Oh well, at least be grateful for the ones I get.

Stone Soup

Jacqueline's kindergarten class had a Stone Soup Feast for the parents. She was very excited for the whole shindig. They even went shopping at a store for the vegetables and other ingredients.

They made invitations and Jacqueline was tickled pink that she got to deliver them herself. The class made the place cards and place mats for their guests. They also made corn biscuits and butter! Yes, their own butter; shaken in a jar & everything.

The soup was . . . interesting. I couldn't get past the whole "children prepared this" part and politely stirred my soup around and pretend sipped. Bless their little hearts, but I can't account for where their hands have been. It's the Monk-ish part of me.

Thanksgiving

This year was the first in a long time of Thanksgivings that we haven't had people over for dinner. We even did it last Thanksgiving, amid boxes and unpacking. I just wasn't feeling it this year.

We still had a great time. The kids are getting old enough to engage in games the whole family can enjoy. Mairyn & Eliza honed their chess skills. We all played Apples to Apples Jr. and Farkle is always a sure bet for fun!

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy having a holiday that isn't celebrated by the country I am living in? That means if I forgot the ice cream or run out of milk and butter, the store is open and fully stocked. On Thanksgiving morning, we indulged in an old tradition of doughnuts and milk for breakfast. Spencer & the kids went out to Krispy Kreme (yes, they have that here!!) while I put the turkey in the oven. We couldn't accompany the tradition with the usual Macy's Parade, but we had plenty of other things to do. We had dinner about 2 pm. The weather was gorgeous so we took advantage of it and played outside. The evening wrapped up with the traditional watching of "It's A Wonderful Life". The younger two lost interest after the first 45 minutes or so. But the older girls finally can appreciate more of the message and minutia that is a fine Jimmy Stewart show. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

Insert Good Excuse Here

If feeling in the Christmas spirit was hard in Cairo, it's even harder here in Bahrain. Oh hi, it's me again. I've had my internal dialogue on all month, it's your fault you can read my mind! I've had a major case of the "I don't cares". The sick cycle of guilt has been rotating on me. It goes something like this:

"Crap, I haven't blogged in a few days. Oh well."
"I haven't blogged in a week! Double crap! I'd better make the next post really good."
"Crap-ola, this is a record, two weeks! I'll do . . . ooo, something shiny!"
"Whoa, over three weeks. *BAM* (that was the sound of Thanksgiving hitting)"

And so it would continue; the feeling of duty to blog, then guilt over how long it has been, followed by the knowledge that anything will be inadequate to make up for the lost time. Finally the avalanche of all insurmountable odds to right my blogging wrongs buries me and I crawl under a rock.

Well no more, my friends. I know, you're all shaking your head going, "Yeah, we've heard this one before." I can't promise the world, but I can try. I've got a backlog of pictures that need showing and the holiday season coming up. I need somewhere I can procrastinate my time away while I should be doing other duties.

Here is a shot from yesterday when we went to the Bahrain Fort. This is why someone always lugs the tripod around on our outings. And that someone usually ends up being Spencer, bless his heart. And he loves the fruits of my hobbies just as much as I do!

Halloween Time!

Greetings from Luigi, a Sock Hop girl, Pippi Longstocking, and a fairy princess!

Oh, and Uhura.

YouTube Tuesday: Move me

I'm not feeling particularly eloquent today, so I will let the video speak for itself.

It moved me.

Embedding has been disabled, so you have to go to the link.

Just click it. You'll be glad you did.

Practice Compassion - Narayan Krishnan

Little Monsters

No, I'm not calling all Lady Gaga fans. I'm talking about what I made for the kids. I've been on a Silhouette kick lately. I know, I got it for Christmas and I'm now just playing with it. In my defense, though, I was working up until the minute we were evacuated in March, then we were gone, and then we were back with a long, hot summer & 4 kids in the house. I've been learning the machine since they've been in school.

I love my Silhouette. I was surfing through the Silhouette Studio shop and stumbled upon an unfamiliar price. $1.29?? What? Images usually range from .50 cents to .99 cents. I looked closer and saw that it was a "kit". Ah, mine eyes hath been opened! No, I didn't buy the kit, but it gave me the idea. I drew monster bodies, hair, horns, eyes, noses, mouths, teeth, arms, tentacles and feet and had my magic machine cut them out for me. Can you imagine cutting out all those shapes? Blerg.

Yup.

Watch out. I actually decorated for Halloween.

The bats? Courtesy of my fine skillz on the Silhouette.
Have I mentioned how great it is?
(really, how many times do I have to mention it
before they send me free stuff?)

How is your eyesight? Have you checked it recently?

YouTube Tuesday: Thwarted

It's not like I'm already having a hard time blogging. Then Bahrain has to go and arbitrarily block a video. Why do I say arbitrary? Because we found that video on YouTube since we've been here in Bahrain. My girls have watched it as recently as August. It's not a great video; but I wanted to share it and I can't. It was the music video for the song "Step by Step" by ...... drumroll ...... New Kids on the Block. Yes, my girls are listening to a group that I listened to at their age. I was in 6th grade (same as Eliza) and 11 turning 12 years old (same as aforementioned daughter. yikes) My friend Tiffany lent me her brother's tape; I had to promise to be careful. I think I blasted the tape everysingleminute that I borrowed it. They were the *original* boy band. I had a NKOTB nightshirt; all the girls liked Jordan Knight, though Donny was #1 in my book.

Anyway, this video is the best I can access from this country. It's pretty recent; they did a reunion tour in Summer '10, I think? You know what Mairyn said about this recording? Their voices did not sound the same. Yeah, that's what happens after 20 years. Yikes again. But they still got the moves; that robot-like move they do at the beginning of the song? Swooned me 20 years ago on MTV, still swoons me now. I wish I could show you the original music video. It was hot; like white T-shirt & vest, acid washed jeans hot. H-A-W-T. If you're in the U.S., look it up. I'm sure it's not blocked there. ;-)



And in other news, I'm working on this song right now. I heart Ok Go.

"O" is for October

"O" is for 'October' and 'October' is for 'Order'!

That's what my mantra is for this month. I have made it through almost a month of school. (yipee) A rhythm of life is beginning to emerge. We're still getting some of the extra-curricular activities nailed down, but things are pretty smooth. For the Mama at home, some days I can hardly keep my head above water, and others I actually have time to myself! I have many interests, goals and hobbies. I actually have my own "space" in this house. The problem is that "my space" is a disaster.
It is: my office (i have my own desk & computer)
the sewing room
craft central
resting place of my guitar
and the last refuge of anything that doesn't have a place.

If you break this last year down we have: August to mid-November: get to Bahrain, wait for our stuff; Mid-November: get our household goods & start a new job the same week; Mid-March: Evacuate to the U.S.; End of June: Get back to Bahrain; July & August: Keep 4 kids & 2 adults sane through the sweltering heat of a Persian Gulf summer. Lo and behold, here we are, one year later!

I have had to "re-find" things because I forgot where I put things when I unpacked. And then we come to my office and there are things that really haven't been unpacked. I wish I could get over my pride and show you a picture of the disaster that is "my space", but I can't. I can say that I am sick of rifling through piles of bags & boxes. I can't do anything until this space gets whipped into shape. So that is my goal for October; order.

The Power of Zero

I like that my kids are old enough to get themselves basic snacks. I love making them food & goodies, but sometimes it's nice when they get themselves some crackers & cheese. They've all had to take my "Proper Use of a Microwave" course before they are allowed to use it unsupervised.

Anyway on Saturday, about mid-morning snack time, I'm in my room and Grant comes running in, "Um, Mommy? There's smoke coming from the microwave."

What the what?! I sprint to the kitchen and sure enough, the microwave is open and there is smoke billowing from inside. There isn't any actual fire, so the girls and I scramble to open doors, shut other doors and get the smoke OUT! While I'm windmilling a dishtowel in the direction of the door, I notice Grant is nowhere in sight. I call for him and he slinks into the kitchen. I asked him what happened. He said, "I think I put 'three-zero-zero' instead of just 'three-zero'. I told him he's not in trouble, just pay attention next time. I'm not one to throw stones, I've put various food items in for 'four-five-zero' instead of 'four-five', etc.

Is the cheese on bread done?

No Drive

I finally found the picture hard drive. That's a big deal. In such a digital & nomadic lifestyle we lead, backing up our pictures is a must! Also, between the laptop & desktop PCs, pictures & music can get scattered easily. Music purchased on one computer, pictures put here, etc. I try to round things up at least every three months. During "picture heavy" months (i.e. holidays, birthdays, vacation), I'll do it once a month.

Well, when we got back at the end of June, we had all three drives. After Mairyn's birthday, I could only find the music & document drives. The picture one was nowhere to be found! That little drive has *everything* on it. Everything since June 2003, which was when we got our first digital camera. I searched high and low. Nothing. I knew it had to be somewhere, but it was always nagging me at the back of my mind, "Where is that drive?" Finally, three nights ago, I found it! And in quite an accessible place. It was with the other LARGE external hard drives. It is small, the size of a passport. Not that I hadn't checked that place a dozen times already. Oh well. All is right in the world, my pictures are safe & sound.

I have spent the last two days updating the drive. Transferring files from different computers to the central photo loading zone and freeing up literally GIGS of memory. It's just always so stressful when I'm deleting duplicate files that the computer found and it asks me "Are you sure you want to delete this file?" Yes? Didn't you just tell me it's a duplicate?? Anyway, I've been stumbling down memory lane, looking at everything! I also discovered a file of scanned pictures that I forgot I had! See, our children straddle the digital & film world. For Eliza & Mairyn; the best camera we had was a WalMart disposable box camera. And then before Spencer left for Jordan (May 2003), his parents gave him a digital camera. So our digital picture files begin with June 2003.

But the downside to all this is that I don't have hardly any physical pictures of the two younger kids. I was *very good* about putting pictures in albums. Not scrapbooks, just picture sleeves in an album. That, for me, is organized. The kids love flipping through them! But those hard copy pictures end when Mairyn is about 1 year old. So I'm going to make some albums that include the rest of our children. You know, actual proof that we have 4 children, instead of a 3 1/2 year old and 1 year old, as our albums would lead you to believe!

Here's a gee-whiz collage I whipped up for myself. I wanted to compare the babes and I actually had pictures of all 4 at about the same age, 2-3 days. (eliza & mairyn's I scanned in)

top L-R: Mairyn (3 days); Grant (2 days);

bottom L-R: Eliza (2 days); Jacqueline (2 days)

All together now: Awwwwww!

YouTube Tuesday: It gets me

Do you ever reach one of those music plateaus and go, "I need to find some new stuff!" And then after fruitless hours of listening to 30 second segments of lame-o songs, you still don't find anything? I sometimes wonder why I even go to Amazon for song hunting. YouTube is the place to be. Vevo is awesome. They have music videos. Vevo rocks, not only because of the music, but because I can watch their videos here in my realm outside of the United States. Yes Hulu, I hope you're reading this. You give me unending frustration with that confused emoticon and message, ":-/ We're sorry, this is not yet available in your country." Vevo may not have instant T.V., but they do have (just about) every artist's music video you could dream of.

This song, "Hey Mama" by Mat Kearney is a gem. It's got hand-clapping but it's still got a rock-y edge. And booming drums; a beat you can really move to. I pump this song up when I'm in the homestretch in my workout. It gets me through.




So you only got one song from that odyssey of hunting, you're saying. Yes, one new-to-me song. Break your Heart & Dynomite by Taio Cruz may have been slipped into the cart at the begging behest of my 9 & 11 year old daughters. *sigh* What can I say? I'm a sucker for my kids. I still think it's cool that they have their own "taste" in music. Even if their taste is every song that is played ad nauseum (extra on the nausea) on the radio. It is entirely Mairyn's fault that we own Chris Brown's song "Forever". Do you have any songs like that, ones that you wouldn't listen to, but you like it because you like that your kid likes it? Still with me? Anyway, that's enough jibber-jabber from me.

Musings from the gas pump

I dread that moment when I look at the gas gauge and the needle is hovering near the 'E'. I've really got to get gas. I can't go any further. I only dread it when it's hot. You have to turn off the car (duh) to fill up and that means letting out all that nice, cool air and welcoming in the thick waves of heat just radiating from the heated pavement and car engines beside you. I try to do it when I don't have kids with me, so they don't have to suffer, but that means I have to go during the day. If I don't time it right, there are forever long lines. There is just one gas station in our vicinity. (meaning within a 20 minute drive)

Today, the lines are 6 deep for every pump and once I get in line, it is very shortly 3-4 deep behind me. Ok, I'm committed. No backing out now. Thank goodness it's not Ramadan anymore. I have an iced beverage and am waiting patiently. (because during ramalama-ding-dong eating & drinking in public is forbidden.)

The radio station I'm listening to can't decide if it's broadcasting AFN or this French language station. It does that a lot, though. Creep the car forward a few feet, it's Taio Cruz, then another inch and it's Francophone News. I have *got* to remember my iPod.

There are, of course, those cars/people that think they are too important to wait in line and simply navigate around the whole tangle of cars and back into the empty front slot. It usually happens once or twice every visit. (fyi, the pumps are one way pull in)

When my turn finally comes, Dudey doesn't even ask me which kind of fuel I want. He lifts the nozzle for 'Mumtaz' (which is the higher grade expensive stuff). I have to lean out the window and tell him, "La'a, Jayyid minfudlak." (no, no the cheap stuff, please) I sip on my icy bevvie gratefully and people watch. There is a ninja lady in the car next to mine. Her 3 or 4 year old is bouncing around on the front seat and trying to crawl onto the dash. On the other side, there is a white robed sheik with aviator glasses, staring at me. Ok, I will not be looking that way anymore.

The pump shuts off and I pay dudey for the gas and tip him a bit for sweating it out by the gas pump. I pull off and Sheik's glasses follow. Hope you enjoyed the view, buddy! Whew, it's all done. And it only took me 30 minutes.

Solid

The third day of school, there was an elementary open house. We got to meet the teachers, see the classrooms, etc. Eliza is officially in the Middle school, her open house is at the end of this week. Mairyn & Grant both have 'new to the school' teachers. They feel special. In Mairyn's classroom, there were a couple of getting to know you worksheets that the kids had filled out. This was Mairyn's worksheet.

I think it's safe to say that she feels comfortable in the new class.

Cool at 86

I know, it's not YouTube Tuesday. But I couldn't wait until Tuesday to share this gem.

This vid is called, "Webcam 101 for Seniors". Here's the article, --> 'Vid Turns Oregon Oldsters into YouTube celebrities'. Basically, Grandma & Grandpa (they would be *my* grandparents age, my children's great-grandparents) got their first laptop and were trying to figure out how to take pictures. Grandma unwittingly turned the video feature to 'record' and then continues to try to figure out how to take pictures, while Grandpa goofs off.

The great thing about this vid is that it isn't even adorable because they're trying to figure out the computer. It's them being so dang sweet and not even trying! They are a couple obviously still in love AND have a sense of humor. Remember, they don't know they're being recorded and are still acting like this. And I think they'll still have videos like this when I'm a grandparent/great-grandparent, only the super-geeks will be completely up to date on all technology! Watch, learn & enjoy!

I'm in a funk. I've been in it before. I've got this road block in my mind. It's time to bulldoze it into oblivion.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I've got this quote in plain sight of my desk. I pep myself up with it every day. I'm not going to beat myself up about the pictures I haven't posted. I am not going to let what I "should have done" affect what I am trying to accomplish; which is *anything* at this point. I'm working on gathering all the pictures (and other stuff) from the last 6 months into one place. They've been digitally scattered due to our transient life since March. Yeah, call me a spoiled expat brat for feeling displaced and inconvenienced because of my host country's problems. You wouldn't be the first.

Here is the obligatory "First Day of School" picture. All of them off to the bus at the same time. And they all come bursting in the door at the same time every afternoon. This is a first for me. Give me a few weeks before I start to miss them. It was such a long & hellish summer, we all need a break from each other. And there you have it; my first blog post with both 'damn' and 'hell'. I think I just saw a pig fly past the window.

YouTube Tuesday: We can't do that video!

Other than the fact that is is YouTube Tuesday, it is also the first day of school. Alhamdulla-freakin'-llah! It's about time. You cannot fathom the feelings that are coursing through me right now. I love my kids; I'm their number one fan. But three months and 6 days is way too long for summer vacation. Way. Too. Long. Especially when two of those months were spent inside the house because it was too hot to go outside and do summertime activities, like ride bikes or even swim. I have been ready for this day for a long, long time. 

And so to transition smoothly into the Video du Jour, I freaking love this vid. It is a recent find and I have probably watched it about 10 times. I love Ok Go. I love their music. I love their videos. I love love love them. The energy and fun of this collaboration just suits my mood so well today. Please enjoy!

Hook'd up

Slowly, but surely, the front hall decorating is coming along. All the hooks came and I've got them up. Of course there had to be the usual speed bumps along the way, but that was expected.

I changed my favorite from this (it's color was *exactly* the same as my walls):


To this:

Much better. Due to our walls being old, stupid and made of concrete, hanging them was quite an orchestration of power tools and colorful language. I couldn't get any bolts to go in all the way, so none of the hardware is flush with the hook, but they hold weight and that's what I wanted.



You see, the root idea behind this "Wall 'o' Hooks" began with the conundrum of this awkward entryway. People needed somewhere to put their bags, etc. when they come in. I have a shoe cubby and shelf, but it's got all of our stuff on it. So most guests would just politely stash their shoes or bags on the opposite wall, on the edge of the rug or somewhere. A coat rack would just be in the way. I love that this is wall decoration is both decorative & functional. I'm all about keeping things simple, so I'm always looking for the dual purpose in everything.

Yes, we did have cardboard boxes (with food storage inside) covered with a tablecloth for a side table in college. #1 reason: Because we were poor. But I see no reason to stop that habit (the frugal, penny-pincher) just because we're not eating Ramen noodles every day. (and we still have ramen noodles in the cupboards.)

Oooh, pretty shells!

Or at least we thought they were shells. I booted the kids out the door this morning before 9am. The heat index was 106F and it was only going to get hotter. (p.s. they all stayed outside for a grand total of 12 minutes.) What drew them back to the door (besides their rosy, sweaty faces) was Mairyn prancing back to the house with a handful of these adorable, petite shells. She had washed them off at the hose and wanted to save them. I got out a tiny bottle & let her drop them in.

"Why don't you go find more so you can fill the bottle?" I was hoping this would encourage them back out after the H2O refuel. It worked and they went back for Round 2. For all of 26 seconds. The three-headed monster (Mairyn, Grant & Jacqui) came galloping back inside screaming, "They're alive!! There are snails in the shells!!" Sure enough, they showed me the little bottle with the itty bitty shells climbing up the sides. Eliza poked her towel-swaddled head out of her bedroom long enough to ask if she heard us right; that something was alive. (she had just finished a shower & was "getting ready". For what, I don't know)

That's when Grant suggested I run get my camera because I should take a picture. Ooo-kay, I guess I take a lot of pictures of everything. We thought we'd tip the bottle on it's side and let them crawl out on their own. I got too impatient and just turned it upside down. They all came tumbling out. The kids were afraid the snails might get squooshed, but I reminded them that they had first found these little guys as shells, they know when to pull it all in and retreat.

You're such a cut up!

'Tis the season for haircuts, I guess. Eliza has been bugging me all summer to chop her luscious locks. I'm not even going to lie, I love her hair. She's got amazing hair; a wonderful combination from both sides of the family. Her hair is thick, shiny, manageable, and has perfect highlights & low lights. (all natural) She has donated her hair to Locks of Love twice. Each time a big, thick ponytail of ten and twelve inches long. That's my secret plot to keep her hair so long; she can cut it when it's long enough to donate. I would be such a waste to let all that perfect hair just fall to the floor of the salon. (and because I can't bear to cut it) I keep telling her she needs to wait just two more inches.

I finally caved. It was one small thing I could do for her. She starts sixth grade this year. Yikes. I *remember* sixth grade. It doesn't seem like so long ago that Ryan Whats-his-face was tormenting me on the bus. Or the fact that I was *so*thrilled* to be taking art class, a class that I couldn't believe I was getting a grade for! Eliza has had her own set of worries. I couldn't help her with any of her anxieties or "what-if's"; but I could help by granting the desire to cut her hair.



Now she says she feels '..a bit more ready' for sixth grade.
Sixth grade. Again, Yikes!

Trying out a new "look" for school.

Oh, and here's what happens when I leave Daddy & Grant alone during "Haircut Time". No, it's not a trick of the light, Grant's hair was cut down to the nubs. That is a 'zero' on the clippers. His hair is so freaking blond, he looks like a cancer patient. I cut his hair short in the summer, but never that short. He likes the feel of it; spikey like Daddy's.

That's not a bite...

That's a bite!

But not a spider bite, an insect bite. Either ant or some sort of crawly thing. Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

6:53 a.m.: Grant comes into my room and props his leg up on the bed by my head. "This itches and hurts, Mommy." Well good morning to you, too, buddy. I take a look at his leg and there's this egg-sized red lump on his shin. Grant is a tough boy. He doesn't really complain (about pain or discomfort) so if he's complaining, he's not crying wolf. I could see that he was walking, so it probably wasn't a broken bone. *whew*

7:09 a.m.: I've gotten him dosed with Benadryl, applied some Cortizone-10, and put an ice pack on it. The Health Unit doesn't open until 8:30 am. We wait and I Google "spider bites" until then.

8:34 a.m.: I call the Health Unit and recount the previous two paragraphs. She recommends going to a local pediatrician. I'm less than thrilled. But take into account my experience, which is Egypt, the Land of Inefficiency. She gives me the contact info and I call the number for the office, make an appointment. The appointment is for 10:30 and they'll also need to start a file on him, so it might take a while. I call Spence and tell him I need back-up.

10:23 a.m.: We arrive at IHB and march into the lobby. Everything is clean, professional and efficient. From opening a file for Grant to us walking back to the car took 35 minutes. We saw a wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Beltagi. I told him what I had already done, he examined Grant and said, "Why did you come in? You've already done everything I would have told you to do." Well pat me on the back call me burped!

11:06 a.m.: Back at home; Grant & Mairyn are playing Super Mario Bros battle on the DSs and all is well. Better safe than sorry.

Grant is an all or nothing kid. When he reacts he REACTS! When he's okay, he's the epitome of mellow yellow. I've just never seen a reaction that leaves a lump the size of a deviled egg! Grant really knows how to react.

YouTube Tuesday: Ramadan

It's that time of week again! One of my favorite channels is GoRemy. He's a genius. His parents are Iraqi and Lebanese; but he was born and raised in Northern Virginia. So he "gets" the culture, but isn't constrained by it. A rare man that, I hope, can have some sort of influence for good. One of his most recent parodies was even featured on all the major news networks. It's title: 'Raise the Debt Ceiling'. Pay close attention to "Sen. Fran Tarpington's" monologue. (1:26 - 1:35) Musical & magical!


"I got a monetary plan and it involves a lotta toner"

And maybe some of his Middle Eastern humor is only funny to me (it's so hilarious because it's true). You've got to listen to the lyrics a couple of times. He crams so much into each verse! This is his video addition for Ramadan.



Also, I think the magic of his vids is the re-watchability (yeah, it is to a word --> urban dictionary) I can't post all of his videos on here, but here's a few I recommend.

Hey there Khalilah
Oh what a day it's been!
The Falafel Song
Why they Fought
Hummus: The Rap
Shamkhwow
Saudis in Audis

Hook me up!

I have to be flexible with what I have. The walls change about every three years, so I can't make a wall grouping specific to that wall. Believe me, I'd love to. I just make sure all of my "decor" goes well together. I do have my "Middle Eastern Stuff" that I group together and can usually find a space.

I'm struggling with the front entryway/foyer. It sounds too ostentatious to call it the 'foyer' (i hear 'foy-yay' in my head whenever I say it) but 'entryway' is too small a word to describe it. It's bigger than the girl's bedroom. Also that monstrosity of Middle Eastern bling, a.k.a. the chandelier, is quite distracting. We walk through it multiple times a day; we cross it to go from the living rooms to the bedrooms, or bedrooms to the kitchen. The bathroom we use the most is also off this area. I'm slowly figuring out how I want it, but I need to get a move on, in just 7 days, we are nearing our 1 year arrival anniversary.

The long awaited hooks came! I didn't get a good picture of them all; little thieves absconded with a couple, in-between me laying them out on the floor, getting my camera, taking the picture, then realizing a few were missing. Oh well, it'll make the reveal all the more exciting.

I traced a paper shape of each hook and am playing with the arrangement. I'm a master at this staging process. I have two huge paper guitars on the wall in the living room, still waiting to be replaced by the real things. It's just that when you have concrete walls, the hanging process is more permanent. No changing your mind or backing down. Also, the whole drilling process isn't the easiest either. I have a cement drill bit, but the problem is the depth of the holes. It's very inconsistent, some can go as deep as I need it, other times I can only make a very shallow hole that won't hold the hardware I need to use. So then the whole arrangement has to be re-done. You can see why it takes me so long to commit to something. I have to have a couple of workable scenarios. Anyways, I'm at the paper shape stage. Let's see if I can get them hung before the end of Ramadan!

Art Ardor

One frustration I have with most art I like is that it is too small. I like big things on the walls; super big and small make good arrangements. Our house has *very* tall ceilings, so that helps feed my taste. But when you get around to putting things up on the walls, you find you don't have as much as you thought. Does that make sense?

Anyway, getting back to the original tangent that began this post, the trouble with art. I like it bigger than I can find it. So when possible, I make it. This is my latest production. I found a poster on pinterest, but I didn't like any of the colors or sizes.
12x24


This was also another "like it but i want it different" poster. It was a free printable, but I still didn't like any of the color combination choices or size. Just a bit bigger.....
12x16


I can come up with my own stuff. I made these paper doll art frames for the girl's room. And the dress is fabric modge podge'd on a canvas board.



I am in the process of making name buntings for all the kids. Once upon a time, I had planned to make one for each of them for Christmas. I made Eliza's in time for her birthday. I made this one for Grant in, like, 5 minutes. Mairyn's is still in the works, and there is *no*way* I am making Jacqueline's out of fabric. Her name is way too long.





So that's my anthology of 'Adventures in Art'. I don't think I'll ever be done. I wonder if I will get to the point when I can just open the boxes, unwrap the decor and throw it up on the wall? I don't know if I want to.