Day 2: An Egyptian Restaurant

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at an Egyptian restaurant. We dined outside. The weather while on the warm side, wasn't unbearable. The kids and I enjoyed watched two women make flat bread. The would knead the dough, then shake the bread until it flattened enough, then cook it in an outdoor oven. Egyptian flat bread is delicious--chewy and thick.

We enjoyed our rice pilaf, fresh salads, and grilled meat. A perfect pick-me-up in the middle of a very intense day.

Day 2: The Sphinx

Miss B was very anxious to see the Sphinx. That was the one thing she said she wanted to see in Egypt. We watched several documentaries on Netflix about the Sphinx and pyramids.

But actually seeing the Sphinx in person was kind of anti-climactic. It was surprisingly-small, dwarfed by the pyramids, and in such bad condition, that I ended up feeling rather sorry for the poor thing. Our pictures look far more impressive than the reality of the poor Sphinx.

Day 2: Riding a Camel--another dream fulfilled

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you would know that I have this thing for camels. I have also longed for years to actually ride a camel. Last spring at the Jandriyah festival my boys rode camels, but they weren't letting ladies ride, so I wasn't able to ride with the boys. I was sad, but not exactly surprised. I had hoped that I would get to ride a camel, but didn't plan on it. Imagine my delight when we drove behind the pyramids and then were able to ride some camels.

I was wearing a skirt and had trouble actually getting on the camel. Somehow, when I tried to swing my leg over the camel, my leg got stuck in my skirt. About that same time, the camel thought he was supposed to stand up. Which put me a bit off-balance. However, years of riding horses stood me in good stead. Once I was sure the camel wasn't going anywhere, I freed my foot and got it over the camel.

Miss B was so scared and started trembling with fear. I kept reassuring her and reminding her that she had ridden a horse before. I told her to relax. The guy leading the camel overheard our conversation and we talked about riding horses and camels.

We walked a little bit and then stopped and got some great pictures.

When we turned around to go back, the guide let me actually "drive" the camel. There isn't really that much to it. Camels are glorified pack animals and pretty much follow the leader. Camels follow a lead on the reins and stop when you pull back on the lead. They also move when you kick them on their stomach. They respond to clicking with your tongue.

I don't have the best posture, but I don't usually look that hump-backed. I was leaning forward because the lead was really short.

Anyhow, I am blissfully happy about being able to ride a camel. Another dream fulfilled.

And my baby is THREE!

Happy Birthday Bubba J.

 I loved celebrating your birthday on October 27th. I love your cute grin, beautiful blue eyes, naughty faces--you have the most expressive naughty faces that crack me up even when I'm supposed to be stern, your delicious snuggles, and your happiness. I'm so grateful that you are a part of our family.

Thirteen for REALZ

Thirteen years ago on October 13th, I became a mother. My little boy was 6 pounds and 14 ounces big and a short 19 1/2 inches long. I can hardly believe that I have a teenager and that I have been a mother for thirteen years. It boggles the mind, you know?

At thirteen, my eldest son is funny but subtle. He is working on his stone Pharoah mask of no expression in reacting to all things. But sometimes, he can't hide his half-grin or twitch when he finds something funny. My boy is responsible and doing well in school. He's on the student council and enjoys fulfilling assignments for the group. He loves his electronic devices and playing games, whether they be board, ds, or computer games. Most of the time, he is remarkably patient and loving to his smallest brother.

My boy is kind of my guinea pig for my parenting practices. He's pretty patient with my mistakes. Happy Birthday, kid! Love you much!

An International Halloween

I am so glad that we are not living in New York right now. After last year's Halloween snowstorm/debacle, I don't think my kids would be very happy to miss Halloween yet again. (Last year in New York, we had a major snowstorm which knocked out our power. My husband was in Saudi Arabia, I was recovering from the flu and a cold, two of my children had fevers, four of my children ended up with lice, and we lost power for several days. It was, quite possibly, the crappiest Halloween I have ever experienced in my life. So I'm not missing home AT ALL today.)

It is a lovely thing to trick-or-treat in 85 degree weather. Our compound organized a nice day of trick-or-treating and a kids' party, which we decided to skip. Here is my crew: we have a ninja, a mummy, a bloodthirsty skeleton, a vampire fairy, and a duck.

My oldest son who is now 13 (13!!!! I have a teenager!) dressed as a mummy and opted to dole out the goods to all the trick-or-treaters. 

T and J opted to ride their bikes around the neighborhood without adult supervision. It was so nice to let them be on their own without worrying. I really love the freedom and security of the compound!

My husband and I took B and Bubba J around the compound. B concocted her costume as a vampire fairy all on her own. She had very specific ideas about her clothing and face paint.

 Bubba J wore our beloved duck costume. My Mother-in-Law made this adorable duck costume 12 years ago when our W was just a little tot. All of my kids have worn the costume. It brings such wonderful memories to me when we pull it out and put it on another little one. Bubba J was so funny and really got into his role as a duck. He walked around quacking like a duck. Instead of saying "trick or treat", he would quack.

We enjoyed walking around the compound, knocking on the doors with Halloween decorations. Our group was truly international with kids of all nationalities chattering in different languages. I enjoyed chatting with friends, sharing the experience of our kids having fun together.

Yup! It was pretty much a perfect Halloween. 

What I Like About Living in Riyadh

Often expats and Saudis ask me, "Do you like living in Riyadh"? The answer is definitely yes. You may wonder what I like about Riyadh. In no particular order, here are some things I enjoy about my life right now.

Seeing camels. I get such a kick out of seeing camels curled up in the back of pickup trucks on the roads. I also enjoy seeing camels in their natural desert environment. I think they are beautiful animals.

Swimming. I love taking my kids to the pool often. I like to swim as well, but I don't always get in the pool with my kids. Sometimes I am content to just sit by the sidelines, reading a book, and keeping an eye on the water shenanigans.

My husband doesn't go on business trips now. 2011 was a tough year because my husband spent a significant time traveling abroad and throughout the U.S. I am so happy to have him home every night. I sleep a lot better too!








I like the plentiful fresh fruits and vegetables found at the market. I especially love that zucchini is always in-season and inexpensive to buy. If you are blessed with a bounteous zucchini harvest, I am your girl to help you with it!

I like exploring new places and cultures. Variety and differences cause me to think and ponder my own culture, values, and ideas. Even when the scenery isn't beautiful, it is still interesting.

I like making friends from all over the world. I have met some really great families here. I appreciate hearing new perspectives and learning about different cultures.

I like hearing the call to prayer five times a day. I don't love the disruption that the call brings if you are trying to do something. But I do like this idea of unified and frequent prayer.

I LOVE having a helper do the heavy cleaning in my home.

I like trying new food, especially local food.

I like how much freedom my children have in the compound. They are able to play with their friends without a lot of adult interference.

I absolutely LOVE the desert. It is amazingly beautiful.

I do enjoy the ease of compound living. We have a lot of great amenities that make my life very comfortable.

If you live in Riyadh, what do you enjoy about it?

Searching for the Edge of the World: Part 1

Yes, I am aware that it is 2012 and we know the world is round. The Edge of the World is an amazing place in Saudi Arabia. Blue Abaya wrote a great post with pictures about this amazing site. Saudi National Day was on September 23rd and the King decreed that we should have Saturday off as well. (I know, Saturday and Sunday are the weekend, right? Well, in Saudi Arabia, our weekend is on Thursday and Friday).

When you have a four-day weekend, you have to do something fun, right? Of course! Fortunately, ex-pats are wonderfully flexible and spontaneous. We asked some friends if they had plans on Saturday and they said they were open to suggestions. We decided to find the Edge of the World together.

From experience, we've learned that going to the desert in a group is wise. Within a few minutes, we had a group of families willing and able to go to the desert. On Saturday, we met at a mall, where I stared at the never-ending construction taking place around Riyadh. Once all the cars were gathered, we were off, headed north out of Riyadh.

We drove past some tent cities. There aren't really tent cities but there are a lot of old, run-down tents gathered in small sections of the desert. If you've ever been on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, you find that the two areas are very similar.

Eventually, we passed the tent villages and came to a  small village. After driving through the village, we passed a plantation of date palms and fields with green crops growing. We even passed two men on a donkey cart, being pulled by a donkey.

Once past the fields, things were pretty deserted. We drove for awhile and then turned off the main road onto a dirt/gravel/sand track. At this point, the men started to grin and show off a bit. I don't know why, but men really get a kick out of driving on roads like this. The kids loved the bumpy track and enjoyed bumping along.

Soon we started to see camels grazing around Acacia trees. A camel herder riding a donkey wandered around, keeping an eye on the camels, and, I imagine, the strange foreigners who kept gawking at his camels.

I enjoyed looking at the trees and vegetation, sparse as it was. The ground was hard and rocky in places, and then in other places was like gravel quicksand.

Our caravan found a track, drove down it until we found that the track was washed out. While we all had four-wheel drive vehicles, we simply couldn't get past some of the barriers. So we turned around and tried a second path, which led nowhere. Finally a third path looked interesting.

We drove along a very hard track where the landscape was completely barren without even the slightest bit of scrub brush. After driving this track for a while, we stopped and assessed our situation. We hadn't found the destination, but everyone was hungry. We set up rugs and blankets on the hard, rocky surface that was totally exposed to the sun and wind. There wasn't anything available for shade. The kids were happy to be out of the car.

After lunch, we decided to explore the area for a bit. There was a path down a cliff that looked promising. My kids tromped down the path with their dad. They are pretty intrepid explorers. T found several fossils. In fact, the whole area was very interesting. T gave us a lecture (he is SO his mother's child) about water and wind erosion and claimed that the area showed evidence of water erosion. 

Following this short hike, we decided we had better go back home and try looking for the Edge of the World another day. 

On our drive back, my husband noticed that one of the cars was leaking something, which turned out to be transmission fluid. One of the other cars towed the car with the leaking fluid while we drove ahead to the small village to find out if they had a mechanic available to look at the car. We found a garage and they found a hole in the transmission. 

While we waited for them to patch the transmission, the women and I chatted. Pretty soon all these men started walking around, staring at us because our hair was uncovered. We caused quite a stir. One of the little boys had to go to the bathroom, so his dad took him to the garage bathroom.  Facilities can be SO primitive here and this place was really bad. This sounds awful, but it is even worse because a lot of immigrants with horrible hygiene work at these places. Now imagine the most disgusting bathroom you've ever encountered at a gas station, and then imagine it 100 times worse. These toilets are holes in the floor with a place for your feet. The floors are disgusting with all sorts of yucky stuff on the ground. 

So this little boy couldn't hold it anymore and goes in this bathroom. On the way home, he decided to LICK his shoe. Who knows why a boy of 5 decides to lick his shoe following a visit to a really foul toilet facility, but he did. The next day he was SO sick, with a fever and everything. 

Finally, the car got fixed and we drove to my husband's outdoor office where we women availed ourselves of more modern toilet facilities. Then it was back home to Riyadh.

We later learned from a friend who had been several times to the Edge of the World that the path has changed and even he couldn't find it. I wonder if the authorities have decided to close off the path for visitor access.

Adjusting the Schedule

One thing I experience repeatedly as a mother is that just as soon as you get your schedule/routine figured out and everyone adjusts to it, things have to change. I think it is important for mothers to organize schedules and routines in their homes. I know I always cope/function better with my family if I'm organized and my children follow a predictable routine. Part of the reason staying at home works for me so well is that I have the flexibility to adapt our routines and schedules to meet the needs of our family.

We had a nice, easy routine for the summer. It was fun--wait, I did not say that. We SUFFERED through our routine and summer. Now that my kids are back in school, our routine has changed, and I'm floundering a bit, trying to get my bearings. Which means that at the moment, I'm trolling the internet, ignoring certain household responsibilities, and just enjoying the relative peace and quiet of my home.

Soon there will be a flurry of activities, like  coffee mornings, or expeditions to the Princess Souk, desert explorations, , and school events. So this blog will be picking up the pace again. I will also begin teaching a music class to a local preschool once a week as well as contributing a short piece to a local monthly newsletter. I'm looking forward to all of this.

I am also glad that my friends have returned from their vacations. I do manage, quite nicely, to keep myself entertained and happy with my family and hobbies. But it is nice to be able to visit and socialize with friends again!

How does the beginning of school change your life and schedule? Does it take you time to adjust to the new routine? 

Back to School

My kids started school on Monday, August 27th, 2012. They attend a private international school in Riyadh.  I have four children in school. I wasn't able to snap a picture of my eldest son, who started 7th grade, because he hightailed it for his advisory classroom as soon as he jumped out of the car. So you only get to see the younger three. 

 I need to get a better picture of my daughter's shoes. They are super cute. And with cute shoes, how can you possibly have a bad first day of school?

 Now that my kids are back in school I'm both happy and sad.

Happy because my house stays cleaner, we have more structure to our day, I don't get burnt out on mothering by lunchtime, I don't have to prepare 3 meals a day (I'm not a sandwich mom.), I get to spend time with my youngest, shopping is a lot easier without 5 kids tagging along, there are a lot of fall activities geared toward women, less time spent cleaning, more time playing on my own stuff. . .

Sad that I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. instead of sleeping in until 9 a.m., I miss playing with my kids, bedtime has to be much more rigid, having the kids around to play with their youngest brother, and HOMEWORK.

What are your pros and cons of having your kids back in school?