The Big Six-Oh

My language teacher is turning 60! Today, she celebrated by reserving a table at a cafe for twenty-two of her friends. It was a brunch with a variety of cheeses, variety of bread and pastries, cold lunch meat, green and black olives, fruit, french fries (yep, you read that right), tomatoes, cucumbers, cooked cold eggplant, a cold dish of tomato sauce and veggies, and endless amount of hot tea. To commemorate her birthday, she chopped off her mass of curly hair and now she looks cute with a mop.

D got passed around and held by the ladies:

The cafe sits nestled on the side of a small mountain and it has an incredible view of the sea and the mountains beyond. It was a gray, rainy day so when the rain paused long enough to go out of the cafe and admire the view, I snapped a picture with my phone and sharpened the light and shadows so the clouds would stand out.

Friday, we took baby D to get her visa. It was also another rainy day. We took a bus, a ferry, and a tram to arrive to the headquarters for her visa application. We had an appointment and a number. We arrived on time but they'd already called our number long before. It's a very strange system. So, we had to go to some guy who gave us a number to go to and we waited at the window belonging to the number we received. We eventually got the application approved and the fee paid and after lunch, we returned home by tram, ferry, and bus. It took 6 hours from the minute we walked out the door to the minute we arrived home, including lunch and two stops to feed D. D did pretty good sleeping in the carrier and it was easier than struggling with the stroller on public transportation.

A Snapshot In the Life

For a while, I've wanted to post what our day-to-day life looks like as expats, but our days are generally never the same. We have a few things that are regular (weekend gathering to honor the Father, language sessions, etc) but rest of each day is always different. Something is always happening - appointments, guests, etc. So, I decided to post about our day today and show how it's not much different from life in the U.S. Today was Tuesday and I don't have language on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I concentrate on taking care of the girls. Here goes:

7:00 wake up and feed baby D. G goes to his desk.

7:15-8:00 get A up; A eats a bowl of cereal while I eat oatmeal and D hangs out with us in her new booster seat with the tray. G comes in at some point, eats breakfast, and starts decaf coffee for me. He disappears. I feed D mashed banana, which she rejects, and try rice cereal, which she also rejects. She's not a fan of solids yet. A dances around, trying to help feed D, driving me crazy. I clean up the breakfast mess. Coffee has now finished perking so I drink a cup and relax a few minutes while reading the news (ahem, in interest of full disclosure, also Facebook) on my phone.

8:00-9:00 put D down for her nap. Start a pot of coffee for G. Exercise (burpees, high knees, jumping jacks, push-ups, wall sit and repeat) during and after which G proceeds to critique my form and demonstrate the correct form. Slightly irritated. A watches and mimics me. She was helpful earlier and brought me my running shoes and weights - she knows my routine. D wakes up after 30 minutes and I begin to seethe in frustration at her short nap, which sends me into a foul mood.

9:00-10:00 After leaving D in bed to fall back asleep (she doesn't), get her up, feed and change her. Play with A and her play-doh while G showers. Then I shower. We discuss taking the living room rug to get cleaned because the previous night, D was on the floor playing and had a big diaper blowout and stained the rug. A big stain. The rug needs a good cleaning, anyway. D fusses and rubs eyes so I put her down at 10am or so. She starts screaming bloody murder which shreds my nerves. I'm furious because D never used to scream when being put down and now it's almost daily occurrence lately. Where's my easy baby? 

10:00-10:30 I snap. Yes, I snap. I'm tired and already feeling pressure from language and work. I rant and growl about D's bad naps and her new screaming fits at being put down. My foul mood then turns G's mood foul also. We have a heated discussion. He's frustrated with my frequent frustration with D's chronic short naps. Not quite an argument or a fight. No yelling, just venting. He reminds me D may still be jet lagging and she is teething, too. And did I have my quiet time in the Word today? No, G, I haven't, my morning has been a blur. Why don't I do it now? Because I'm in no mood to do even though I know that's exactly when I should do it. How am I going to have it with two girls around and no one to help? Just go to your language lesson already, G. I pick up D to calm her down.

10:30-12:00 G leaves. I immediately gain self-control. Interestingly enough, I rarely have these rants and fits of frustration when I am alone. It's because I know I'm the only one who has to  keep it together and when there is someone else around who can hold it together for me, I then will give vent to my frustration. I put D in the swing. Then A and I eat lunch. D naps nearly an hour. Get her up, feed her, change her.

12:00-12:30 It's sunny so we decide to go to the park. It takes nearly 20 minutes to get D bundled up and A into her jacket and snow boots, my diaper bag ready, and myself bundled up. G comes home from language in the meantime and brings in our doorman. The doorman goes to our kitchen sink and uses the faucet to explain that the water will be turned off. I'm glad laundry from the trip is mostly caught up and dishes are clean. 

12:45-3:15 The girls and I go to the park. Two kids strapped into car seats and stroller in the trunk. My first time driving alone with TWO kids. My first time to the park by myself with two kids. When we arrive, it's time for D's nap again and I figure I will push her in the stroller until she falls asleep, but I freeze when I realize I need to supervise A, also. She's asking me to play with her but I have to push D to sleep in the stroller. She understands and happily plays by herself, not very interested in other kids today. Push the stroller and keep an eye on my big kid. I do figure eights next to the playground. D falls asleep. Victory. I enjoy the wintry sunshine and my nerves are restored.

3:15 - 7:00 Arrive home. It's a blur of activities - put D down for nap, paint with A, get D up and fed, play with D, snacktime for A, ticklefests with both girls, pick up the living room which isn't really messy, G hauls off the rug to the cleaners, discussion about dinner with G, A spills the water for her paint onto her toddler table and down the wall and cleanup ensues, on the computer briefly and sporadically for some research which turns into plain ol' browsing for half hour (i.e., wasting of time), play with A some more, watch A try to skate in her roller skates on our hardwood floor, etc. G cooks dinner (my love!), D down again for a nap and then up again, I feed D and then we eat with D hanging out with us in her chair. D shakes her head at us and we shake ours at her. It's a new fun thing for D.

7:00-7:30 No baths because the water is turned off. D goes to bed. A goes to bed soon after D but her bed breaks. Yes, her bed breaks. It's lopsided with the mattress sliding to the floor. It is broken beyond repair. My reaction: Oh. Well, it's time to buy a new bed. I don't really care. We pull the mattress onto the floor and put A to bed on that. She thinks it's fun. Discover that the water is turned back on so dinner dishes get washed and the kitchen is clean. Water turns off 30 minutes later.

7:30 - 9:30 Write this post while looking at bunk beds, daybeds, twin beds, trundle beds, etc. online.  I need to work on language homework but we need to take care of the bed issue. G and I discuss about what bed to buy in the light of the girls sharing a room when D gets bigger. Looks like a trip to Ikea is on the agenda for this week. Unexpected changes of plans are always happening. 

And now, post this to the blog. Work on language next. Unmotivated.

Just a boring day. 

Tropics in January

We were very blessed and very happy to visit G's parents in Thailand during the dreary, winter month of January. It had snowed two or three times so far in our city and the skies remained heavy with clouds for days by the time we left. We were definitely looking forward seeing G's parents and to the sunny climes of Thailand.

We took an overnight trip to Thailand, stopping over in Dubai, UAE (Middle East). The trip back home was during the daytime so when we came through Dubai again, we were able to see the tallest building in the world, rising out of the cityscape like a toothpick in the hazy desert. Since that is the main attraction in Dubai and we have already seen it, I guess we could check that city off our list of places to see, even though we never left the airport. Well, maybe not. It stays pretty warm there during the winter so it might be a good vacation spot to escape to and it's only 4 hours away by plane.

We met up with G's parents in Bangkok where we stayed for three days to recover from jet lag. We were in a beautiful, gated compound with tropical trees and plants all around, in the middle of Bangkok. It was there when I first started to feel the stress seep out of my bones as I absorbed the sunshine, the foliage (my favorite part), and the temperate weather. I mean, look at the picture below:

Doesn't this look idyllic?

Compare this view with the views from my apartment (see this post for pictures). Wouldn't you pick this any day? This picture doesn't even do justice to the profusion of trees and flowers around the compound.

There is a store about a 10-minute walk from this compound that carries a lot of American treats, including gluten-free stuff. We walked through the aisles and our jaws just dropped at the variety there. We started pouncing on things like crazed and starved people before we realized that we didn't need any of it so we just got what we needed for breakfast and snacks.

After three days in Bangkok, we flew south to Krabi and headed in a van to Lanta Island, taking two ferries. We checked into the resort which consisted of bungalows, a nice alternative to hotel rooms. We stayed in a duplex-type of bungalow: two connecting rooms in a bungalow. The resort was just gorgeous with the trees, flowers, and the beach. We enjoyed the view of the beach but we didn't spend a lot of time on it, surprisingly. A preferred the pool over playing in the sand, which was new to us, but she did play a bit in the sand when it was cooler in the evening.

Beach

Rigged up lights over a raw seafood bar, ready to be cooked

Islands

Tropical

The main pool area, the second pool is at the bottom of this picture, out of sight

Our bungalow, two connecting rooms

Sunset on the Andean Sea

Taking pictures with his other wife, the Diana F+ camera

I did a whole lot of this - sitting around and relaxing

I could post a ton more pictures of all the wonderful Thai details like the dragon motif, Buddhist spirit houses, variety of flowers, scenery, the strings of Christmas lights in the palm trees, different sunsets, etc., but it would make for a long post already.

In Bangkok, on the tail end of our stay in Thailand, we did some sightseeing and also spent time with a co-worker of ours. She was gracious enough to take us to a couple of sites. We saw a shrine and a wat where the reclining Buddha is. For some reason, when I heard about the reclining Buddha, I thought it would be the size of an ordinary man. When I went into the temple, my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe how enormous it was. It was like two stories high! It is made of stone and covered with gold paint. Crazy! The soles of Buddha's feet are inlaid with designs in mother of pearl.

We were sad to end our stay there and return to our wintry city. It has definitely made for some wonderful memories and we always enjoy new experiences in traveling. Besides the great weather, we loved the food, the tropical trees and flowers, and the smiling Thais. Thailand is called the Land of Smiles and it has lived up to its nickname.

We're mostly over the jet lag - for now. We get to suffer jet lag all over again when we go to the States for a conference at the end of March through the beginning of April. We will tack a few vacation days on that trip to see family briefly but apart from that, we won't go on another trip solely for vacation until July so stay tuned for that.