Fall Fun

Here is my imagination of fall in Houston:

A crisp morning that makes you walk a little faster.
Beautiful, clear, blue skies.
A fabulous feeling inside knowing the dog days of summer are over.
Happines at wearing new fall-colored clothes.
Warm, cozy dinners like a casserole, meatloaf, or roast.
Beginning to prepare for the holidays by making lists and scheduling events.

Am I a little homesick?  Not too bad.  What is making me homesick?  Everyone on Facebook talking about the cooler weather.  The temperatures are still over 100 degrees here, but the mornings are cooler.  My consolation is that after Christmas when the miserable cold sets in in Houston, I'll have beautiful springy weather in Dubai.  Enjoy the fall!

Oh, Brother

This here is Big Bubba.  Big Bubba takes protecting his sisters seriously...as long as it falls within the parameters of what he wants to do.  Big Bubba doesn't want anyone to hurt his sisters...but it's okay if he hurts his sisters.  Big Bubba tells his sisters what to do....but don't let them tell him what to do.  Big Bubba takes being a big brother quite seriously and can be heard telling his sisters, "I'm the oldest."  Does it matter that he's the oldest by 1 minute?  Big Bubba is also not embarrassed by the term Big Bubba...but guess who is?  His momma.

When Boston was just a sweet, loving, innocent, fresh baby, my dad started referring to him as Bubba.  I told my dad, "Don't call him Bubba."  I didn't like it and only wanted Boston to use his real name.  My dad continued calling Boston Bubba and eventually taught Olivia and Sophia to call him Bubba as well.  I was in denial the first 50 times I heard Sophia calling Boston Bubba.  I would quickly correct her by saying, "Oh, you mean brother." 

Shortly before we moved is when Big Bubba came into existence.  Boston gave himself that nickname when speaking in the third person to his sisters.  I can't fight it anymore.  I have to now accept that Boston proudly calls himself Big Bubba because he has the job of loving and protecting his sisters.  Tonight Sophia wanted to take a shower with her brother.  Big Bubba sweetly helped her by setting the water temperature, warning her that the water might be too hot, washing her hair, and bathing her.  Andy and I proudly watched them in their sweet brother sister moment. 

P.S.  My mom's brother died 22 years ago.  My cousins and I all proudly called him Uncle Bubba.  My mom tells me stories of what it was like growing up with her brother.  The stories usually involve him hurting my mom and her sisters or them doing something mischevious like putting rocks in their Dad's gas tank.  I pray Olivia and Sophia will have plenty of childhood memories of their Big Bubba.  Of course, Andy and I will sweetly remind all of them of their childhood if they forget. :)

Gas

Andy's advice to me when we moved here was to never let the gas tank get below 1/4 tank because there aren't many gas (petrol) stations near where we live.  Yes, sir, Andy.  Well guess what he does on a regular basis?  He lets his gas tank get so empy the light comes on. 

Tonight before dinner he needed to get gas.  That means we have to drive completely out of the community.  This is so out of the way because we ate dinner across the street from our neighborhood.  Anyways as we are approaching the only way out, there is a huge line of traffic.  "Uh oh.  This isn't good," he says.  He checks to see how many kilometers we have left.  0.  That's right 0 kilometers left, and we still have to make it out of our community, 5 miles down the freeway, u-turn, and then 5 miles back up the freeway. 

First he turns off the rear air, then he turns off the radio, then he turns off our air.  So now we are still sitting in traffic with the windows down.  I start praying, "Dear God, please get us to the gas station."  I'm imagining Andy pushing his car out of traffic, me having to walk a long ways, being late for dinner, who to call to help us, getting ran over because of the crazy drivers.  Basically my nerves started getting to me.  I also start chewing Andy out about not taking his own advice about getting gas.  Poor Andy had to listen to me fuss for about 40 minutes.  Yes, 40 minutes with the traffic on 0 kilometers to get gas.

God answered my prayer because we arrived safely at the gas station and were able to turn the air back on as we coasted into the lot.  0 kilometers turning into 10 miles was a nice miracle. 

P.S.  we weren't late for dinner

Spa Day



Before my body scrub and massage

  In all of my 33 years I have never been to a spa.  What better way to experience the relaxation and grandeur of a spa than when my mom and sister visited.  After very little debate on my part about the many, many spas from which to choose here in Dubai, I decided on the Atlantis Dubai.  That was an excellent decision.  The hotel was exquisite and the spa was oh so delightful.  I'm ready for another visit!

In the changing room

Looking at the hot tub

The 2nd lobby for the spa

Outside the spa.  This is after which is why our hair looks funny.  That chandelier looks like a piece of fruit here.

In the hotel lobby

That is intertwined glass.  Isn't it beautiful?

Mom and Elizabeth outside the hotel

Mom and me outside the hotel

The FIRST Day of School

Boston getting dressed

What an emotional day!  Excitement, sadness, and nervousness.  It started with excitement for the kids getting dressed in their new uniforms, family pictures, and sadness hit when we were heading to school in the Warren Family Bus also known as the budget car and Mystery Machine.  Boston kept looking at me to see if I was crying.  I hid it from him but not from Olivia.  Andy and I were both crying when we left Olivia's classroom but had the tears under control by the time we made it down the hall to Boston's classroom.  We were pros by the time we left him :).  The nerves hit as I was shopping with my sister, mom, and Sophia.  I worried if Boston and Olivia were having a fun time at school.  They enjoyed school tremendously and are ready to go back tomorrow.

Olivia getting dressed

Eating breakfast

Boston eating breakfast

Ready for school

Ha ha ha

Izzy and kids

Nonna and kids

Headed to the car

Rockin' out to "Buttermilk Biscuits"

Olivia in her classroom

Olivia coloring

Boston in his classroom

The elementary side of the school

Meet the Teacher

Meet the Teacher Day serves several important purposes for the teacher, student, and parent.  Teachers like it because they can see what their students will be like, they use it to determine how much parental involvement their class will have, and it's a way to get excited about the school year.  I loved Meet the Teacher Day and Open House when I was teaching.  I was energized and ready for school after those events.  Students like it because they see what their new classroom will look like which also determines the type of teacher they will have, they see who their new friends will be, and also begin to calm the nerves that are always present at the beginning of the year.  Now as a parent I see it from a different view.  My nerves were somewhat calmed by talking to the teachers, finding out what to expect, getting a glimpse of procedures, and checking out the students and parents. 

Sophia's teacher is Ms. Francis.  Her classroom is small which was a little disappointing, but it was colorful and full of toys and books.  Nonna had to carry Sophie to her classroom but that's okay because when Nonna is around, she has to carry Sophie.  Sophie won't have it any other way.  After Sophie adjusted to the new teacher and kids, she played with the toys with her brother and sister.  Guess what she said when I asked if she was ready to leave?  "No!"  That's a good indication that she will like her new class.  I am concerned about how she likes to "love" on people.  Her "loving" usually leaves her classmates in tears.   I'll have to mention this to Ms. Francis.

Olivia's teacher is Ms. Leanne.  Ms. Leanne's classroom seemed to be completely ready for the 1st day of school.  She appears to be a laid-back teacher with lots of experience.  She spoke with the parents individually and allowed us to read the information sheet and then answered questions as they occurred.  Olivia played with play-doh while I filled out paperwork and wanted to stay in her classroom while Boston and I went to meet his teacher.

Boston's teacher is Ms. Fiola.  Her classroom was orderly but the bulletin boards were not complete.  She addressed the parents as a group and discussed each point in the handout.  She seems to be very particular on how things are done in the classroom.  Either she is quite orderly or she knows from experience how things work best for her class.  Boston played with trains and colored while his teacher spoke.

My opinion on their teachers:  don't judge a book by its cover.  I'll wait and see what the school year brings.  I am excited to see how the year progresses.  My prayer is that these teachers will instill a love for school and learning in my children.  They are young and impressionable, and I want the person teaching them to exude patience, love, kindness, and peak their interest.  They have a lot of schooling ahead of them, and I want them to embrace education.  

Visit

My mom and sister are here which has left me little time for blogging.  Possible upcoming posts:  Ski Dubai, visiting with them, meet the teacher for all 3 kids, Burj Khalifa and who knows what else.  Ideas are swirling in my head.

Last Day of Lazy Summer

Back in May, I looked ahead to the 4 months of summer that my children would be out of school and wondered, "That's an awfully long time.  What in the world are we going to do?"  The kids and I were busy at first.  We had boxes to unpack, closets and toys to organize, house items to shop for, pools to explore, and the city to see.  Boston and Olivia had two weeks of camp in July, and then the lazy month of August arrived.  We settled into a relaxing routine of hanging out at the house, going to the pool, going to the grocery store, baking, and making dinner.  Not much happened last month, and it was so nice.  Now the lazy summer is ending.

My mom arrives Friday night Dubai time, and my sister arrives sometime on Sunday.  This week I've been preparing for their arrival by washing sheets and towels and making sure the house is spotless.  I want them to feel like my house is a relaxing hotel.  A place where they can throw their cares away and lounge in the soothing guest room that I created.  Is that an oxymoron with 5 year old twins and a rambunctious 2 year old?!?!?  I digress.....once they arrive, we will visit Ski Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, various malls, a Gold Souk, school orientations, mani and pedis, and hopefully a spa.  Not to mention a huge milestone for my twins....the first day of kindergarten also known as KG2 here. 

After that first day of school, there will be no more lazy days around the house.  No more looking at the clock at 9 am and realize that I'm still in my jammies, haven't even eaten breakfast, or *gasp* brushed my teeth.  This greatly saddens me.  Also, my mom and sister have to go home after school starts.  I would love for them to live with me, but alas, they can't.  This greatly saddens me as well.  I'm already worried about homesickness starting when they leave.  I wish I could prolong the summer and continue to anticipate their arrival so I won't have to face the difficult times ahead.  But my logical mind tells me, if you stop time and continue to live in the summer, then you won't ever get to go home.  That is true.  Little steps day by day.  That's how I lived when preparing for this move.  One daaaaay at a tiiiiime, Sweet Jesus.  Yes, you must go back and sing that sentence.  That's what I did when I wrote it.

I'll keep you posted on their visit, the first day of school, and my impending culture shock.  Please pray for us with these events happening.  I have to keep it together for my babies.  They don't need to see their mommy wallowing in the depths of despair when they start school and their Nonna and Auntie leave.  I'll save that for Andy.  He's so lucky!