Third time's a charm...

Update on the ducky situation...As it is almost 4 pm, I consider it a success that Levi has worn the duck outfit today without spitting up on it! Such trivial things on this blog... :) I should be napping.

So the boy doesn't like ducks?

James here. He does like rolling over though. Lately, he'll roll over from his back to front, then get frustrated because his face is in the carpet. Oh, well. Today, I reached the end of the internet. Although, I guess that publishing this blog would extend the internet further, so I didn't find the end; hmmmm. The islamic month of ramadan starts on Sunday. No eating, smoking, drinking (even water) or sex during the day. Of course, in private, you can do all of them. They even say you shouldn't eat or drink in your car! Sounds like a good time to leave town so that's just what we are doing.
We'll go up to Austria for Steve's wedding. Beth will stay for about a week and I'll just run up for the weekend to save a few vacation days. The following weekend, we'll travel to a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean called the Maldives. Should be a fun week of sitting around, napping and sitting around. Maybe we'll do some snorkeling or fishing.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, James.

What does Levi have against ducks?

The last two times I have put Levi in this cute ducky outfit, he has spit up in it before we even are done with breakfast...I'm beginning to wonder if he's got something against ducks! Maybe they aren't manly enough for him! But it's so cute!
Micah wanted in on the picture taking action...gotta love the first-thing-in-the-morning hair!

Painting

Taking an idea from two different friends, I had Micah paint her hands and feet onto a canvas and I put two bible verses with it. She really loves painting but we don't do it enough!

Psalms 119:48 and Isaiah 52:7

She also got to do her own abtract piece!

Blog Ownership

You know what they say about blog ownership; its 50% opening it, 50% having your name on it and 50% whoever posted last. Well, well, well, look who owns the blog now. James here again.
Things are going really well. Levi and Micah are both sleeping. We had some good turkey tonight for dinner. Beth says that she doesn't want trivial things like what we had for dinner (pig tomorrow night) on the blog. "Now the blog doesn't make sense" she says.
Tomorrow the carpenter is coming to install the baby gates. The ones we had at our old place aren't wide enough for the stairs we have now. It has taken 2.5 weeks to build these gates. They had better be good. I'm sure Beth will post pictures when they are installed.
We still only get Olympic coverage in Arabic. Right now it is....tennis...pretty boring. It has been mostly soccer. As if the other 9 channels we have showing soccer in Arabic weren't enough, we obviously need to see Olympic soccer too. Our outstanding ESPN channel is airing a game with Larry Bird in short shorts vs the Lakers. At least there is a three point line, they aired a game last week that didn't even have the three point line.
Time to go.

Ha Ha! Look who's posting now! James here; Beth has left me for "shopping" this afternoon with 2 head of children to look after. With hard work, determination and a bit of luck, they are both sleeping. I'm sure Beth left thinking that it would be just a wild and unpleasant afternoon here while she leisurely shopped. Things are going well. It's hot outside and cool inside. We can't get the upstairs air-conditioner at a good temperature. 73 F means it is freezing in the TV room while 74 F means I'm sweating in my sleep. I'll try to tape over the TV room vent again once my perfect children are awake again. Tonight for dinner is some sort of kebab from the grocery store. Today's lunch was TGI Fridays. Yup, there is one of those here too.
We're gearing up for Steve's wedding in Austria in just 3 weeks. Then, the week after that, we'll travel to an island chain in the Indian Ocean called the Maldives for a beach getaway from Qatar. We are finally using all of the Hilton hotel points I accumulated while working in Colorado. I'm sure Beth will post pictures.
I suppose that's enough. I guess Beth will see this an reprimand me for usurping here blog. Oh, well. I hope she brings home ice cream.

First guests in our new place...

I get together with a precious group of ladies every week and this week we met in our new villa! The kiddos all play while we try to talk over their noise. It can get quite chaotic at times! Our husbands would probably go crazy if they saw how wild it can get. Sometimes I wonder if I've had a full conversation by the end of the morning...Or if I walked away from someone mid-sentence because of some intervention needed. We attempt to take prayer requests and pray for each other during the week. It has been a great group of friends and we continue to add more children...with five ladies we have 10 children ranging from 4 months to 4 years...with more to come in the future, I'm sure!

This is why the gates need to be installed! The carpenter was supposed to be here a week ago! (My plastic gates are too small.)

Naomi and Katie

Daniel: "Look at all the drawers I pulled out!"

Lydia looking pretty!

Libby actually got all the toddlers to sit down at the same time!

Four 2-year olds and one 4-year old

Micah showing Hanna and Priscilla her sand table outside - maybe someday it will be cool enough to play with it again!

Miriam and Levi

"So, what do you think of our parents so far, Levi?"

Looks like you could use another muffin!

Katie, Lydia, and Micah

It ain't Mattel...

Throughout our time here, Micah has received some pretty cheaply made toys from local fast food chains. (Probably wouldn't pass the lead-free test.) This last one didn't even make it home in one piece. I thought it was funny how this body was just left inside the door by the same person who thought it was so precious in the car!

My favorite junky toy she got once was a plastic lady (similar to the one above) holding a whip on a carriage being pulled by a horse - seems pretty normal so far, right? But for some reason sitting in front of the lady was a bright green buddha. Now why didn't I get a picture of that!? Thanks, Al Tazaj Chicken!

Don't worry. She doesn't play with them for long...they find the trashcan as soon as she's moved on to something else. :)

Levi's Favorite Things

Lately Levi really likes his hands. I don't know if he is going to become a hand sucker like his daddy was or not. :) Time will tell...

Interesting news today

Saw this article in a local newspaper today and it kind of made me laugh. I'm interested in watching some of the events but I don't think to this extent...

Gulf Arabs ‘risk heart attacks in Olympics’
Published: Wednesday, 6 August, 2008, 01:38 AM Doha Time
DUBAI: A top cardiologist has warned television viewers in the United Arab Emirates to try to stay calm during the Olympics because they were particularly vulnerable to suffering heart attacks while watching sports. Klaus Kallmayer, head of cardiology at City Hospital in Dubai and the German Heart Centre in Bremen, said cardiovascular incidents increase during sporting events as spectators get caught up in the moment. “Watching a stressful sports game involving the national team can more than double the risk of an acute cardiovascular event. And the UAE’s poor cardiovascular record means spectators here can be even more at risk,” Kallmayer said in a statement. “Sports enthusiasts who prefer watching the proceedings from the sofa rather than engaging in physical activity themselves should be aware that statistically the comfort of their living room is no safer than actually competing,” he said. Kallmayer said he did not wish to scare people away from watching the Games but cautioned them to avoid exceptional stress levels. – Reuters


This one also caught my attention-
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=234171&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

I guess I'll forgive him...

Well, third dinner - no dessert. :( This one was also a buffet so he couldn't bring anything home. At least I scored some brownie points for having lone evenings and putting the kids to bed by myself for three nights in a row. I imagine if there's some shopping I want to do this weekend... ;)

Levi's second swim

We went swimming again with Levi this afternoon and I thought it would be a lot like the first time so we didn't take the camera. I wish we had because Levi actually fell asleep in the pool this time! He had just woken up from a nap before going to the pool but I guess he wasn't done sleeping! I thought it was very funny how relaxed he got in the water!

Dessert update...

No, I did not mean to say "desert". If you read my previous post, you know what I'm talking about. Just to let everyone know, two of the three five-star dinners are over and I did not get dessert from either one! To James' defense, the first night was a very expensive place. It would have cost $30 for dessert! Tonight was a buffet so that would have been hard to bring unless he smuggled some out in his mouth or pocket...(Hmm, which would I prefer?) But he did order me some chocolate cake from KFC since that's what Micah and I had for dinner. Too bad I had to share with Micah - she's surprisingly quick with her fork when chocolate cake is involved but very slow when it's anything healthy. KFC even delivers as do many other fast food places here! I'll let you know about tomorrow night's final dinner! :)

5 Star Dinners

Okay, so I don't have any new pictures to post but I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I would...
I'm sitting at home this evening while James is having a lovely five-star dinner with work people tonight. If that weren't enough, he also has one tomorrow night at a different five-star hotel. And if that weren't enough...he has one the night after also! Yes, that's right, three five-star dinners in a row...all while leaving his lovely (and understanding, I might add) family home for the evenings. At least I can hold out hope that he'll bring me home dessert one of the three nights! (Read: Hope he brings dessert all three nights!) :) I'm glad James gets to eat so well!