Surprise

I never knew I would be so excited about what happened tonight.  I never knew I had such a desire until I had a small glimpse a couple of weeks ago of what this would lead to.  Several months ago Andy said it was a bad idea and too much work.  What am I talking about???????????????  The kids are bathing in their own bathrooms!!!!!  Woo hoo!!!!  No more sharing a bathroom with my children after 5 long years. 

A couple weeks ago, Olivia and Sophia decided to take their bath in Olivia's bathroom.  After much encouraging by Andy to Boston, Boston was finally convinced to take a shower in his bathroom.  I heard all of these discussions while I was cleaning downstairs and took off running upstairs to give the children everything needed for bath time that was in my bathroom.  Olivia and Sophia had their shampoo, conditioner, and soap.  Boston had his shampoo, soap, towel, and jammies ready to go.  And then something surprising (it shouldn't have been too surprising since we keep having odd problems in this house) happened.  The shower didn't work.  Water came out of the faucet but no water came out of the shower head.  I thought Boston would have been happy by such a development.  But noooo.  He flipped out.  Screaming, crying, crying, screaming.  All over a shower head.  All over a shower that he didn't want to take in the first place.  The drama.  As a result, he had to take his bath in his sister's bathtub. 

Fast forward to tonight.  Boston's shower is fixed, and he took a shower in there all by himself.  He was so darn cute and little in that shower.  I started singing, "Oh Happy Day!!"  He finished faster than I could get the camera, so no picture of Little Man in the shower.  A picture might also destroy his right to privacy! 

Hopefully having the children bathe in their bathrooms will continue because I'm really tired of sharing my bathroom.  At first, when the twins were babies, sharing a bathroom made sense.  I didn't have to go up and down the stairs to bathe them in the little bathroom, one less tub to clean, and I wanted to keep the new (5 years ago) towels new.  I'm now tired of picking up bath toys to take my bath.  I'm now tired of picking up their clothes.  I'm now tired of them being in my bathroom.  I've decided my room should be a sanctuary with no toys or any other item belonging to my children in there.  Andy has the responsibility of teaching them to clean up after their bath.  Hopefully they will learn to take pride in keeping their rooms and bathrooms picked up and orderly. 

Up for tomorrow night:  shower, bath, and brushing their teeth in their own bathrooms!!

Kids Swinging

Boston finally learns how to swing, and they all try something new.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/user/andychristi#p/a/u/0/6Sj7zglC4FE

Toy Story 3

Tonight we took a family trip to see Toy Story 3 3D. This is quite possibly the first time we've seen a movie as a family. Two reasons for this (1) I don't like going to the movie theater and (2) Sophie is just now at the age to take a chance on a movie. Sophie went to a movie when she was 15 months old and fell asleep for all of it. She stayed awake for the entire movie tonight while sitting and being cuddly on my lap.

Boston and Olivia were super excited about going to the movie theater. Olivia wanted to skip church so we could go straight to the theater. Andy said, "We can go to church and go to a movie." His response dumbfounded her. She said, "Really? We can do all of that in one day?" After church, lunch, and a quick nap, we headed to Mall of the Emirates for our movie. What makes this movie super special is that is was 3D and 4 of us wore our super cool glasses. Sophie refused to put on her glasses for the picture above and only briefly put on her glasses during the movie.

Toy Story 3 was very sweet and made Andy and me cry. Children moving away from home and starting their own life is bittersweet. I'm already experiencing nerves about my children starting kindergarten. Simply put...I don't want them to go. I want them to stay at home with me forever. Boston wants to stay at home forever as well. Olivia cried today about being gone so long for kindergarten. Even though I wanted to tell her she doesn't have to go, I put on my good mommy hat and reassured her that it will be the same amount of time as the days of summer camp.

I even convinced my wonderful hubby that we should eat out for dinner. But where to eat that wasn't crowded because of Ramadan? Johnny Rockets. We had hamburgers, french fries, 1 hot dog, and a milkshake. It was a delicious dinner that ended our family day rather nicely.

P.S. I think we'll all start going to the movies more frequently together. I'll put aside my feelings...fears....of sitting for 2 hours instead of doing something productive and the possibility of getting lice from that chair for the sake of creating family memories for my children.

Nighty Night

An interesting development occurred when we arrived in Dubai on May 21st. The children started sleeping in the same bed. At first it was because all 5 of us lived at the hotel for a week until we moved into our house. Our room had 2 queen size beds, so Andy and I had one bed and the kids had another bed. I don't know how them sleeping together developed at our house but it did and it continues...for better or worse.

Boston and Olivia shared a bedroom from the time they were born until they turned 2. Olivia and Sophia have shared a room since Sophie was born. All 3 would have a slumber party occasionally, mainly when my Mom spent the night, but slept in their own beds on a regular basis. Fast forward to our life here and every night they fall asleep in one twin size bed.

I think it is quite sweet that they do this, but I do have my concerns. Should they start sleeping in their own rooms when school starts? Are they becoming too dependent on each other? Will there be bedtime fits when and if I split them up? I don't have the answers to these questions yet, so they continue to sleep together with arms and legs tangled together.

P.S. Andy took this picture last night standing on top of Boston's bunk bed ladder looking down at the kids. He took loads of pictures before all 3 were all in the same frame.

P.S.S. Yes, they are all sleeping on the top bunk. Yes, that is Sophia on the edge. Yes, some government safety organization recommends children not sleep on top bunks until they are 5. Yes, Sophia is only 2. Yes, we are being unsafe parents. Yes, I did worry about this last night and what the grandparents would think.

Jerry, Princess, and Sissy Part 2

I've become quite fond of these little fishies. In fact their bowls are in the kitchen so I can see them throughout the day. Boston has asked several times to move Jerry to his room, and I keep telling him no because of my own selfish desire. What selfish desire can I possibly have towards these fish? Well I'm a quite talkative person by nature and since I don't really have any adult friends that I can talk to throughout the day, the remaining people to talk to are my children and Jerry, Princess, and Sissy. Talk to them? This phenomenon took me by surprise as well. Here's how it happened.

After we had the fish for a couple days, their cups became really dirty. I did some research on the Internet and learnt :) that these fish would be happier in a bigger bowl. I took the kids on a surprise trip to the fish store after camp one day and bought new bowls, water cleaner, and a fish net. I then set off to move the fish to their new home. Well as I was moving them, I started talking to them. Guess who responded the most to my sweet voice? Sissy. If you remember Sissy was the least active fish. In fact, Andy and I didn't think Sissy would survive long. I was concerned about these sweet fish making the transition to their new home, so it made sense for me to keep them in the kitchen to keep an eye on them. Right?!?!? That's how our relationship began.

As a result of my love, affection, and feeding, Sissy starts wiggling her little yellow body anytime I walk near her bowl. Her fins start flapping and she looks right at me. I chat with her for a few seconds and sometimes give her more food. Princess and Jerry don't pay much attention to me. Sometimes they don't even move, so I tap on their bowl to make sure they are alive. Then they move just a tad. Maybe their affection towards me will grow the longer I take care of them.

Other interesting facts I've learnt about Betta fish:
1. They build bubble nests when ready to mate. All 3 of have done this. Princess first, Sissy built a small one, and Jerry is currently in the process of building his.
2. They get fiesty when a mirror is placed in front of them. Sissy got the angriest. Her gills flared up over and over. The kids really liked this activity.
3. They only like a small amount of food. If there is food in the bowl 10 minutes after feeding, then they are getting too much food.

FYI: Boston, Olivia, and Sophia do help feed the fish most every day. They are also going to help clean the bowls tomorrow. I also tell them to talk to their fish. They haven't done this too much yet.

Jerry, Princess, and Sissy

Sissy, Princess, and Jerry

After somewhat adjusting to leaving Allie in Houston, I felt the itch for our family to have a new pet. The kids also want a new pet but what to get? Nothing that is difficult to keep because of our traveling schedule. What came to mind? A beta fish that we saw at a fish store by our house.

Once the decision was made that the kids could each get a fish, Andy decided that Boston and Olivia needed to buy their own fish with their allowance money. The problem with this is that I'm sporadic with the allowance which means they don't have a lot of allowance money. Boston and Olivia had such pained expressions while Andy and I discussed this. The solution? They could spend some of the money in their piggy banks. And of course, since they've never spent money from the piggy bank, they had enough. Even though they don't look super excited in the pictures, they really are jumping for joy inside their little bodies.

Notice Sophie's fish tilted over.

Boston and Jerry (named for Tom and Jerry)

Olivia and Princess (named because every girl loves princesses)

Sophia and Sissy (named after Olivia)

Smells Nice

Yes, this is a garbage truck with flowers on it.