Doha Travels

Salam-alaikam from Doha!

Max, Angie, Adrian and Nina arrived a couple of nights ago. They got over their jet lag pretty quickly, gave us their colds, and so we started our adventures.













Libby took us to visit the local souq (marketplace). Twisting cobbled passageways and pointed archways lead you through an incredible assortment of both antique Arabian artifacts and cheap crap from China.

































I'm not sure how half the structures remain standing here, but they do.

An unassuming little shop we popped into turned out to be a falconry. It's a popular sport here. There was a video loop showing the falcon hunting and killing another bird. These things are fast and deadly, and often worth incredible amounts of money.

I bought Jesse a robe, and myself a head covering (a dish-dash) like the man in the above picture is wearing. It really came in handy the next day when we drove out into the desert.

Yesterday, we rode out in a convoy with other Westerners to the inland sea. Driving in SUVs across the dunes was totally exhilarating and unlike anything else we had ever seen or experienced. We all took turns driving - I was pretty good too!

The dunes were beautiful.

The inland sea. The dunes just end at the sparkling turquoise water. Although it was cold and unrelentingly windy, Max went snorkeling. All he saw was a sunken SUV. Saudi Arabia is just across the water.

Today, we are driving across the country to the other coast to dig for 'desert roses' (crystals structures) and fossils. Yahoo!

Arrival

After 24 hours of travel, we arrived in Qatar around 10:30 last night.
Totally tired but very excited!
My Dad and Step-ma arranged to have an escort meet us at the airport.
While we (and others who had paid for the same service) sat in a glass enclosed
designer lounge drinking mini-cokes and popping roasted nuts, this lady took our passports and then sailed us past the waiting lines through Customs. Sweet.













It is wonderful to see my family again. They drove us back to their villa in the scary fashion that driving is accomplished here, stopping along the way to get a shawarma which from now on will be the benchmark I hold all shawarmas to. Ditto for the Indian meal we had tonight.
The food here is good.

Today Jesse and I slept in and had a leisurely cappucino filled morning chatting with the lovely Libby (Step-ma). At lunch we met my dad at a Lebanese restaurant.










We ate fresh grilled fish, just baked bread, lentil soup and salad. After dinner, we tried Turkish coffee. Jesse didn't know that the grounds settle to the bottom of the cup and are not meant to be ingested, and took a swig to finish the last bit. We all almost fell over laughing.













After lunch we went to the mall, as shopping is the national pastime. We wandered around,
mainly staring at the black shrouded women buying trendy and expensive European fashions to wear under their veils and robes.
A sand storm blew in this afternoon.













We drove home and settled in to relax with a movie and some
fine Indian cuisine. The rest of the party is being picked up at the
airport right now (my sister, brother and their partners). I can't wait!
We have plans to drive out to a desert cave tomorrow, and
visit a Souq. This might fulfill Jesse's trip requirements:
Find a scorpion
Buy and wear the regional male dress (a thobe).

I called home last night to say that we had arrived, and Violet was
doing really well. We are so lucky to have Oma, Grandpa and Aunt L
looking after the girl. I don't have to worry about her, so I can enjoy
myself here fully.

Hope you're all well!

Holla from the T dot

We hadn't been to Toronto in ages, so it's especially nice to be here.
Violet's main agenda since we've arrived is to not let Nana! out of her sight and to watch as much tv as possible.
As soon as we arrived, she was running ornaments to Nana! to help trim the tree.
I started to get that Christmas feeling about then.
























I've been so distracted with the adjustment to working and planning our trip that I haven't really thought about the holiday. We are also trying out a 'gift free' holiday, so no malls or shopping. As a side note, the gift free concept only works if you remember to tell everybody, otherwise there are awkward moments where you are explaining this great no-gift concept with a present in your hands.

Right now, Violet is carrying her new pink shoes around and saying "shoes! no no no no no". Yesterday we went to the shoe store, where UV started a meltdown when she tried some shoes on that lasted the whole walk home in my arms. It was weird.
I think it stems back from when I took her to buy shoes a day after her immunizations, and the clerk holding her foot still to measure her sasquatch sized feet was too much like being held down for a needle. So, the result is that she loves her beautiful shoes, and carries them around, but will not wear them.

This week has been a big one in terms of new tricks. Some highlights:
-Counting to ten. She has a little trouble with 3 and 4, but otherwise it's perfect.
-Finding a bobo on my hand and kissing it better
-Singing the theme song to "Elmo's World" perfectly
-Saying "thank you, mama" as I changed her diaper
-Picking up a piece of pita in one hand, a spreading knife in the other and daintily smearing dip on the pita. She put the spreader back, took a bite, and said "hummus!". It was hummus.













She also spent some time with her Great-Babcia


















It's been just me and UV so far, as Jesse has to work until the end of day Friday. I'm glad for the time it's just Mama and UV, but we are both looking forward to seeing Daddy this evening. I've been missing this handsome man and his sassy hair.

Opa

There are some people that you want your kid to especially appreciate. Jesse's grandfather, Opa, is one of those people. He has a young spirit and is remarkable spry, even in his 90's. He and Jesse's aunt came for a visit a couple of weekends ago.
Violet bonded instantly with her Great Opa - it was so fun to watch. He won her over right away by taking her picture, and then letting her see it on the screen. Three minutes later she was grabbing his hand and taking him to her room (yume!) to play. Quite the honour.
















UV had a good time with Aunt Rhea too!
She taught her some sort of nutty Dutch game
that Violet liked.










In other news:

The job's ok. I'm working for The Government. I certainly work with lovely people, but my days are nowhere near as fun as when it was me, Oma and UV just hangin' out. I only have a couple of days left before I'm on holidays though! We'll be in Toronto next week to visit Nana! and then...then...Jesse and I are off to Qatar for 12 days to visit my Dad and Stepmom. Eeep! UV is staying home with Oma, Grandpa and Aunt Lauren - her closest family after me and Jesse. I have ended any discussion of bringing her. I know it is possible, and single parents with 3 children under the age of 5 do it all the time, but we're not going to do it. I'm trying not to think of how much I am going to miss her, and just concentrate on the incredible experience we get to have.
Eeep!

A Christmas Party

Violet really enjoys going to Jesse's school for visits,
as there are usually 15 students crowded around
her at all times saying "aaaaawwww, she's so cute!"
Tonight we went for a sweet little Christmas party just
for the teachers' children. It was really fun.

The jazz band was in full swing when we got there.
Violet stood for a long time and stared, but then got into clapping and dancing.












I cannot resist a drumset (I was a drummer for
two days for a band called Satan's Child...but that
is a story for another day....Hi Mom!).
UV and the Mama Machine
rocked it out pretty hardcore.














She ran and ran and ran around the library.
AND THEN SANTA CAME!












In this picture, Santa is pointing at the only parents who forgot to bring a present for their child (for Santa to distribute). Violet received a present, despite our goof, because friends came to the party even without their niece (who couldn't make it because she was sick), and brought two presents anyway.
She was pretty unhappy
about the Santa situation
until he handed her the present.
Then she could have been
sitting on a bunch of snakes
and wouldn't of cared.












Thank you, S&E. She loved the monkey.
Lots of hugs and kisses for the monkey.




































After the Santa excitement wound down, Violet moved on to other pursuits.She got the concept of a chalkboard very quickly.












Tried to explain it to Jesse.












But that was tiring work.














She snuggled with her monkey all the way
home in the car.
N

Smile

I asked her to smile for the camera.

Teeth

I knew I would get the job.

The first problem I have with this job is missing my daughter very much. But, it's been three days and already getting easier. The first day was extremely difficult - I almost came home at lunch. Just to have that waking-up-from-her afternoon-nap snuggle. It's a squirmy one, but lengthy.

For Violet, it's been considerably easier. She yells "don't let the door hit you on the way out!" as I leave (although it sounds more like "byeiiiii!") as she takes Oma by the hand to play in her room. She's never been one for separation anxiety. I don't feel left out (too much), but am really happy that my girl is so happy. My mother's heart is at ease, and that is as much as I can ask for. She does yell "MAMAAAA!" when I come home, and that feels good.

As you can see from this picture, she has inherited nothing from me but shiny hair. The next time someone says "she looks nothing like you!", I will point out our shiny, shiny hair.

The second problem I have with this job is the keyboard I have to use. It's one of those ergonomic things, undulating like a wave. My hands are typing about 2 feet apart, and there are some extra keys where they have no business being. Like ù. Also, the buttons like the 'shift', 'control', 'alt' and 'delete' key are labeled with some kind of hieroglyphic script instead of just, oh, WORDS. Totally incomprehensible, and I'm sure it cost a fortune.

Onward...

Violet has discovered the joy of brushing her teeth as many times in a day as possible. We've told her that she has to sit on her stool to brush her teeth, so she frequently runs to sit on her stool, and yells "teeeeeth!". She even throws a bit of a tantrum when we tell her she'll have to wait. Violet's temper tantrums are very short, not even 10 seconds . She just stomps her feet really quickly and emits a high pitched squeal. Kinda funny, really. Here she is, circa this evening.

The Weekend

Enough time has passed that I can now speak of last weekend.

A long, long time ago, I made a promise to Jesse. Never thinking that I would have to honour it.
Guns'n'Roses had reformed and was touring (Jesse's favourite band of all time). He had been to see them in Toronto, but shortly after that the band had split and stopped touring. It was at this juncture where I committed my folly. I thought I was safe. I said,
"If they ever come to Ottawa, I will go and see them with you".
Now you see were this is going.
Last Friday I attended the G'n'f'n'R concert. It was pretty fun, and very rockin'. The crowd was full of people who had emerged from their parents' basements, where they had spent the last 15 years teasing their rock'n'roll hair and keeping their sneakers clean. The band didn't go on until MIDNIGHT. I'm too old for that.
On Saturday, good friends from Toronto came to visit. Obviously, they were impressed by our awesome hosting skills.

We've had a pretty chilled out week since then. The basement got finished, and Oma has moved into her lair. Lunch in Wakefield with Grandpa and Oma, plans to meet with friends, going to the gym....

And then the bombshell.

Job interview today. I assume I'll get the job because I'm a wonderful person. I am thinking of throwing the interview by burping my answers.

How many moms have spent a night before starting work again as I did? So very sad and trying to snuggle your child without alarming them with tears. I had lunch plans on Monday, for crying out loud!

This job isn't going to last forever. I will be at home with her again. She has the best Oma ever taking care of her. And at least we'll still have bath nights together.

A Post in Three Chapters

Chapter 1
The Vortex of Doom
After an enlightening conversation with Nana a few days ago, the "behavior vortex of doom" can now also be referred to as "growing up".
I can hear all you parents out there, chuckling knowingly.

Chapter 2
The Renovations
Ah, friends. The kitchen is still not complete. A replacement cabinet seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth, and for Thomasville to replace it, they must first plant the sapling from which it can be made.

The plumbers were here today fixing the bathroom sink and giving a quote for a putting a second bathroom in the basement. The plumber had a quick look at the sump pump as well, just because, and apparently it's not a sump pump. Let's just say that the words "sewage" and "pit" were used in the same sentence, and if J is reading this before he has talked to me, he may want to call home. Heh.

Chapter 3
The Artist
We all know UV is a genius. Ever since we hooked her up to that computer and then it started smoking because she was smarter then that computer, we knew. I'm going to go ahead and add 'artist' to the mix. It's not surprising, since our families are both very artistic.
Crayons are the media of choice, but the walls next to her fort attest to the fact that paper need not be her only canvas.
She spends a good part of everyday drawing, or asking me to spell her name, or to draw things for her to identify. It's difficult to draw for her, as she puts her face as close to the junction between crayon and paper as possible. That way she doesn't have to wait so long to discover what I'm drwing. Oma showed her how to draw a circle, and she practices those methodically. Today she drew a spiked line and said "hand!" and then "toes!"













Her specialty is to fill every single page of my notebooks with
a scribble or two. I do love my new stationary.
She does seem to favour the left hand (yesss! I win!), but she doesn't use it exclusively.











Apart from that, she's cracking us up in the evenings with goofy antics and singing "Happy Birthday".

She does have an image to maintain...

That whole 'immunization' story Violet? We know the truth. Nose job.

Monday

What a blah Monday.

A few days ago Violet entered into some sort of whiny, sleepless and irritating behaviour vortex-of-doom. Since then, we've seen only glimpses of her usual sweet self (usually while asking for a cookie). Perhaps a spinning spiral of clouds appeared in the middle of the living room and she inadvertantly stepped into it? Whatever. I want my child back.

Good thing she's still cute as a button.

And this is why Daddy doesn't get to dress her anymore

Magically, he always finds the things in her dresser that I'm saving for when she's three, and then combines them with what I'm about to put away for being too small. But, really, it's because of the pig accessory.

Changes

Oma has moved in!








We are now a multi-generational abode. She moved in last Thursday and Violet hasn't let her out of her sight since then. She woke up from a nap today calling for OMA! instead of the usual MAMA!. It's been a very smooth transition for all humans involved. However, if anyone has any advice on how to get two cantakerous cats to like each other, I'd love to hear it.
'Battle to the death' is not an option.
The only drawback to this new arrangement is that I now must tear my still beating heart out and go find a job.

Anyhoo. The more important news is that I wrassled Violet's silk threads of hair into pigtails. It was a moment I've been waiting for since I heard "it's a girl!". I thought I'd have to sit on her and stuff her mouth with marshmallows to get it done, but she was surprisingly compliant for the pigtailing procedure. Yesterday I asked her if she would like pigtails, she said yes, and then sat patiently while I put then in. Woah.
She looks like a big girl and it's breaking all our hearts here.
Another milestone hit yesterday was her first three word sentence, followed shortly by her second three word sentence. "Mama, shoes on!" she said while bringing my shoes to me. She then opened my closet, looked around, and said "Wow! nice shoes!". That's my girl.

A video

I keep a list in my head of things not to do with any more children we might have:

1. Eating cereal from straight from our bowls. It's like having a hungry puppy at your feet.
2. That the park can be accessed from the backyard. Now our backyard is only a means to a better place. We'll change her mind once my herb garden is in next spring though! Herbs!
3. The knowledge that pictures and videos can be viewed instantly on digital cameras. This one really is the worst. Because of this, it's nearly impossible to take videos of Violet. Once the camera has been spotted, she tries to get behind it to view herself. I've tried my best to explain the process, but, y'know, she's a baby. I'm trying to get a video of UV that won't take 20 minutes to download.
Well, for you hardcore UV fans out there willing to wait...there's a DOWNLOAD button at the bottom of the screen once you click on the link:
http://savefile.com/files/222198

In other news:
In the car ride home after picking J up from work, Violet asked for a balloon 45 times in a row. We were counting.

Since J and I like nothing more then to curl up with books on the couch, it should be no surprise that Violet likes it too. It's very funny to hear her reading to herself. Sounds like Hindi.

N

Boooeeeee?

The title of this post is not a reference to Hallowe'en, but the sound of Violet requesting a movie. I do not exaggerate when I say she asks to watch a movie about 300 times a day.
I've heard Baby Einstein movies referred to as 'Baby Crack' and I must agree. For now, she watches it once a day. I can't say I'm not tempted to pick the 'repeat play' option on the menu and go get my nails done for the afternoon. It is educational.
Once I agree to let her watch her movie, she immediately runs to her fuzzy banana yellow chair and sits herself down, waiting for it to start. Occasionally I've put the DVD in, then gone to prepare dinner forgetting to hit 'play'. The menu screen alone is enough to hold her attention for at least 5 minutes, so I'm not concerned about ADD.
The second the credits start rolling on the screen is when she starts asking to watch a movie again.
Last week I just kept repeating "no" after every request. She stopped for a few seconds, looking at me, then said "news?". Nice try.

Gracias, Dora!

Let me just say that I will never end a post by saying "I'll write more tomorrow". Because I won't.

A couple of days ago I was sitting around with Aunt L, who frequents our abode. Violet was playing with her toys quietly, while L and I discussed which hunk on Lost we would like to pitch our tent next to.
I like to toss out words for Violet to repeat, because she'll say anything. It's so cute.
I called out "uno!", but instead of hearing it back, heard "dos!". Um...Apparently Violet can speak Spanish?! As I wracked my brain trying to think of how she can possibly know this, I remembered the 'Dora the Explorer' book that friends had given her. It in there is a part that reads uno, dos, tres! So there you have it. She also calls out "two!" if you say "one!".
She really amazes me every day.

Nana was just here visiting for a couple of days. Violet LOVES her Nana. We miss her already!
We were out for dinner last night, and Violet was getting antsy. What better distraction then the mysteries of Nana's purse? Violet rifled through the contents until she came upon a shiny tube....lipstick! And then Nana taught Violet how to put on lipstick. Violet couldn't get enough of it, and took it seriously. Pursed her lips out as Nana pretended to dab it on. HILARIOUS. I've tried to capture the pout on film today. This is what she does when you say "lipstick".

Violeta-Uki-O!

We went to a very nice wedding this weekend in Deep River. In fact, I was a bridesmaid!
Except for the part when the bride realized she had forgot the groom's ring (in the middle of the ceremony) it went smoothly. Ha! These are the memories they will cherish later. Probably even by now.

Violet travels very well. We bring her to most places we go, but she is a handful at weddings. The combination of large standing crowds, drinks left on the edges of tables, baskets of nibbles in reach, and the need to keep her relatively quiet results in one high maintenance toddler. Oh yes, and add to that the past-bedtime factor. Oooo eee.
Actually, what happens is Violet turns into an anime robot, Violeta-Uki-O!.*
Shown here:

























There's no good way to segway to other topics from here, but she did learn some new things this weekend. I'll write more tomorrow.
N

* This picture is from a war my sister and I have going, where we both manipulate photos to come up with better opponents. Back and forth. I use UV, and she uses whatever creatures she can come up with. Violet's totally winning. YOU HERE THAT SIS?