- Colin is off on his Discover Oman adventure with a group of 6th graders. Sound like fun yet? This is where the entire Middle School heads out to explore and adventure in some part of Oman. The high school does some larger scale adventures that Colin hopes to attend someday. For this trip, they are hiking and camping through an area a couple hours from here, and then meeting up on the last day in Nizwa to explore the souk and fort (this is also what we did with Andrew and Skip). Colin managed a text to me this evening that said he was "ready to be done with this circus". Well, he is with a group of 6th graders... I don't think that evaluation would be much different.
- Aberly has become very comfortable and happy with her nanny, Priscilla. She is happy to see her each day and has come to grasp with the reality that mommy goes to work each day and that Priscilla will come each afternoon. She likes to have extra cuddles and a few books once Priscilla arrives before I put her down for a nap before I leave. I always come home to a very happy girl who is having fun with her nanny. I also always come home to a little girl with some cute hair-do that she has let Priscilla do, something of course, that she wouldn't allow me to do. It usually involves fancy French braids, pigtails, or the two combined.
- I got to get away for a quick overnight with a group of gals to celebrate our friend's 40th birthday. We had a slumber party at another gal's house who also lives by the beach. It was so fun to hang out, talk, eat, and drink without any kids or hubbies. Lots of girl time and a great time to further forge relationships here!
- Colin and I had a fabulous date night before he left. We got dressed up and enjoyed a dinner out at a local hotel restaurant on the patio, and then attended the South African Ballet Company's performance at the Opera House. The show included some modern ballet with African drumming and music, and was mixed with excepts from many famous ballets like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. It was a fantastic show.
- I got the odd reminder today of how "out of touch" I am with American news sometimes. I learned of Whitney Houston's death at playgroup from one of the Filipino nannies. I try to check it at times, but often I find it too sensationalized and empty to pay much attention to. I have to admit I don't miss American's news that much. I can get much more accurate and truthful news abroad. And it is news that matters, you know? Anyways, it didn't surprise me to hear the news. She has been troubled for so long. It is sad, of course, to lose such a talented person.
- Lastly, I have had the opportunity to develop a friendship with an Omani family here. They live next door to our friend's home in our neighborhood. They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who has started coming to our playgroup a few days a week. She is developmentally delayed and after getting to know them a bit better, we've finally found out that she suffers from epilepsy and so we are guessing that her seizures have caused the issues we are seeing (she has low muscle mass and is still learning to walk, she can only use a few words, etc...). She is a beautiful little girl and we have all seen her grow and come out of her shell just having her in our playgroup. She loves watching the other kids and is learning from them. Hamdy (Hahm-dee) and Seusan (Sow-sen) are the mother and father. They both lived in the US for awhile and attended college there before moving back to Oman. They met through mutual friends and dated before getting married. I was surprised to hear this as I had read that arranged marriages were still done here, but Hamdy told me it wasn't the case very much anymore. They have lots of pictures of them and their family around their home and are so kind. They recently had their 2nd child, Tarik, who is now about 3 weeks, but is in the hospital because of having a stroke due some hemorrhaging in the brain. He is stable now, but in the hospital (where they and Hamdy's mother take turns being there each day) and the doctors hope to do be able to do tests soon to figure out what happened. Our hearts go out to them to have two children suffering health wise. We are excited to get to know them better and share our lives with each other. Hamdy was very open in talking to me about their lives and about our different countries, and Seusan was so blessed when I told her I would pray to Allah for Tarik. And it's true that I did and will continue to do so. Praying to Allah is praying to God. We worship the same God, just with different names. I hope this may open doors for further discussion in the future. Being able to talk with a Muslim about religion would be awesome.
- Aberly has become very comfortable and happy with her nanny, Priscilla. She is happy to see her each day and has come to grasp with the reality that mommy goes to work each day and that Priscilla will come each afternoon. She likes to have extra cuddles and a few books once Priscilla arrives before I put her down for a nap before I leave. I always come home to a very happy girl who is having fun with her nanny. I also always come home to a little girl with some cute hair-do that she has let Priscilla do, something of course, that she wouldn't allow me to do. It usually involves fancy French braids, pigtails, or the two combined.
- I got to get away for a quick overnight with a group of gals to celebrate our friend's 40th birthday. We had a slumber party at another gal's house who also lives by the beach. It was so fun to hang out, talk, eat, and drink without any kids or hubbies. Lots of girl time and a great time to further forge relationships here!
- Colin and I had a fabulous date night before he left. We got dressed up and enjoyed a dinner out at a local hotel restaurant on the patio, and then attended the South African Ballet Company's performance at the Opera House. The show included some modern ballet with African drumming and music, and was mixed with excepts from many famous ballets like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. It was a fantastic show.
- I got the odd reminder today of how "out of touch" I am with American news sometimes. I learned of Whitney Houston's death at playgroup from one of the Filipino nannies. I try to check it at times, but often I find it too sensationalized and empty to pay much attention to. I have to admit I don't miss American's news that much. I can get much more accurate and truthful news abroad. And it is news that matters, you know? Anyways, it didn't surprise me to hear the news. She has been troubled for so long. It is sad, of course, to lose such a talented person.
- Lastly, I have had the opportunity to develop a friendship with an Omani family here. They live next door to our friend's home in our neighborhood. They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who has started coming to our playgroup a few days a week. She is developmentally delayed and after getting to know them a bit better, we've finally found out that she suffers from epilepsy and so we are guessing that her seizures have caused the issues we are seeing (she has low muscle mass and is still learning to walk, she can only use a few words, etc...). She is a beautiful little girl and we have all seen her grow and come out of her shell just having her in our playgroup. She loves watching the other kids and is learning from them. Hamdy (Hahm-dee) and Seusan (Sow-sen) are the mother and father. They both lived in the US for awhile and attended college there before moving back to Oman. They met through mutual friends and dated before getting married. I was surprised to hear this as I had read that arranged marriages were still done here, but Hamdy told me it wasn't the case very much anymore. They have lots of pictures of them and their family around their home and are so kind. They recently had their 2nd child, Tarik, who is now about 3 weeks, but is in the hospital because of having a stroke due some hemorrhaging in the brain. He is stable now, but in the hospital (where they and Hamdy's mother take turns being there each day) and the doctors hope to do be able to do tests soon to figure out what happened. Our hearts go out to them to have two children suffering health wise. We are excited to get to know them better and share our lives with each other. Hamdy was very open in talking to me about their lives and about our different countries, and Seusan was so blessed when I told her I would pray to Allah for Tarik. And it's true that I did and will continue to do so. Praying to Allah is praying to God. We worship the same God, just with different names. I hope this may open doors for further discussion in the future. Being able to talk with a Muslim about religion would be awesome.
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