Full disclosure

Anyone remember a while back when I wrote about the elaborate behavior system we were using with the older three kids?

Well, um, we chunked it. Actually, it was a little tapered, a little chunked, but it's gone. I figured, since I'd had a decent amount of interest in it, in all fairness, I needed to report that.

And part of its demise was related to that talk we heard this summer, the one I mentioned a post or two ago by the two young ladies regarding parenting, based on how they were parented, etc. Wanna know what #1 was? "Spank your children."* Seriously, they said it was the most significant part of their upbringing and in the upbringings of the kids they babysit and went to school with.

Now, this was to a crowd of people who'd all had plenty of teaching on "how." This was just a reminder "to." And "how" includes not in anger, with reconciliation, and a host of other things. But it was significant enough for them to put it as #1.

We'd already been tapering the whole elaborate system, but that kind of put the final nail in the coffin. We needed a lot more immediate consequences, so we announced that spankings were back (not that they completely went away, just that they had seriously declined). And, just to clarify, spankings at our house are usually swats on the back of the hand or the palm. Only in severe circumstances (lying, mostly, but repeated disobedience, as well) do we spank on the bottom. That's just how we've shaped our discipline system.

And you know what? Life's been a lot more peaceful (I said "more peaceful," not "peaceful;" you take what you can get). And that includes my own heart. One of my famous sayings with my kids is, "No, I'm not going to get angry [a little self-talk there]. I'm just going to give you spankings." Consequences, reconciliation, and move on. It works wonders for my stress level.

Basically, boundaries are firmer, obedience is up. I think it's working for us.

There. I said it. Now, you all know I'm not nearly as erudite as previous posts might have suggested. But we're going with what we feel led to do, and I guess that's more important than my esteem in the eyes of the internet world. :-P

And, just to balance the heaviness, I'll share a fun incentive system we used this summer when we were traveling: each older child got a mini package of Skittles per day (12-15 Skittles included). For each act of disobedience, they gave up a Skittle. At the end of the day (which turned into the next morning, because we were having some bedtime issues), they got to eat what was left. The best part? Guess who got the Skittles they gave up?

*Caveat: If you have anger or past abuse issues that prevent you from being able to safely (whether that be physical or emotional safety) spank your children, or even if you're just flat opposed to it, please hear me: I'm not saying that your children are not going to turn out. I think any child given firm boundaries and a lot of love is going to be fine (okay, I'm not promising that they're not going to make sin choices, not promising that about my own children, either, but I just don't want this to come across as a formula; just our choice for our family at this point).

He's got mouse skills.

My just-turned-three-year-old has mouse skills. I've never had a three-year-old with mouse skills. I've seen them (LGG and AJM come to mind). I've just never had one.

From about age 2, Z knew that hitting any key on the keyboard (kids' computer; he's pretty well trained to leave mine and ML's alone) would take it out of sleep mode. He liked to see it light up. He also learned around that time which button turned the screen on and off, in case it was off when he was hitting said keys.

At about 2 1/2, Z figured out that pushing the space bar would stop and start whatever episode iTunes happened to be resting on. If he was lucky, someone would have left the computer on iTunes and an episode clicked. Then, he could just tap and watch. Only once did he watch a teensy weensy bit of a LOST episode.

A few weeks ago, he discovered the scroll wheel on the mouse (he'd realized a long time ago that the mouse did something; he just hadn't coordinated it all yet). If the computer was on iTunes with either "Movies" (mostly things I've ripped off of DVD's) or "TV Shows" clicked, he would use the scroll wheel to select what he wanted (from the "album cover" shots), and then press the space bar.

Last week sometime, I realized that he had discovered which button on the screen took the "album covers" to full-screen mode so that he could see them better. And that he could maneuver the mouse to that button, click on it, and then use the scroll wheel to pick the show he wanted to watch (LOST was off of their section of that computer a long time ago, don't worry).

So, I decided to give his Dr. Seuss's ABC CD-ROM that I'd bought as his "school software" for this year a trial run. Sure enough, he totally got moving the pointer around the screen to get the different items to do their thing (it's just a point-and-click software; no game to it). And he got that clicking on the arrow in the bottom right moved it on to the next screen. That is, of course, if it wasn't the "B" screen with the bubble that was blown huge and popped. That screen we do.not move on from. Unless forced. Which happens when the rest of us in the room can't take it any longer.

After reading on someone's blog that their three-and-a-half-year-old was playing on Starfall.com, I was curious. So, today with a little extra time I had (read: when I had planned to exercise), I sat Z in my lap in front of the computer, and we checked out Starfall. I really had a hard time believing it. He even gets the fact that you can't click when the cursor's not a hand. Where did he learn that?!?

I let him choose which letters he wanted to play through. One of them had a puzzle as the final section. He very deftly clicked on the pieces and put them in their places (just a simple shapes puzzle, lest anyone be too impressed). (Fortunately, the program grabs the pieces when you click on them. I think click-and-drag would be a little much even for Mouse Boy.)

I apologize to anyone who's thinking, "What's the big deal? All my kids were playing on the computer already at that age." None of our older three were, although they're all fine with it now, so it just took me by surprise.

Plus, it's really cute!

I'm sure some day some girl will be impressed with his great skills.

Cute Sayings

I received the following e-mail from my father today: Would you send me some cute things the kids, you, and/or ML have said lately? We were talking about that at lunch today—me, S, and B—and I was having to dig a bit.

S & B are the ladies he works with. S has elementary-ish-aged kids at home. B has grandkids. Apparently, to be cool, you have to have cute kids sayings to share at the lunch table. Kind of like junior high, only different.

Seriously, S & B are awesome ladies and love to hear all about my kids and send them things when my parents come to visit, etc. I wouldn't want to let them down. Plus, I recognized the potential for a two-for-one: an e-mail to my dad, and a blog post topic*. Cha-ching (in spite of the fact that I write that out all the time, I actually never/rarely say it IRL [in real life], just so you know).

So, here was my response (only I typed out the names; I'm not so concerned with security in my e-mails to my father):

Cute things the kids have said recently:

ZL, when asked how old he is will say, "Ba three!" I have no idea what the "Ba" means, but he says it every time. He will also sometimes say, "Ba three!" when you ask him how he is. You have to really emphasize, "How are you?" if you want to get "Fine, thank 'oo"

We did some Christmas shopping this past weekend. While agonizing over a selection of Berenstain Bear books for JW to choose from to buy for MA (he has enough trouble making choices for himself, much less others), I had the great idea that he could just get all of his siblings iTunes gift certificates. They would all love getting to choose show episodes, and he wouldn't have to make any choices himself. His response? "Do I still have to spend any money?" :-l The child hates to let go of a single kirsch. He's saving it, because he might need it when he's an adult, you know.

MA, after reading a couple of the American Girl books, now has a Polly Pocket named Jo-Hanna. I gently explained that, even though the name is written Johanna, it's pronounced Joanna. Nope. The Polly's name is Jo-Hanna.

MS, hm, he doesn't say that many "cute" things anymore. Witty, yes, but none are coming to mind right now. Unless you count the fact that he delights in holding up gruesome video games or DVD's at stores and saying, "Look, I found one that's just perfect for our family! Let's get it!" To which I always reply (with false cheeriness), "Oh, wonderful! Let's!" or something like that. Kind of a reverse psychological way of letting me know he's internalized the family values.

So, there you go. I realized as I was cutting and pasting, that he asked for cute things that ML and I had said, too. Not too many off of the top of my head. I'll have to ponder that for a little while. I'll get back to you, if I think of anything.

*Beats telling about the dental visit today during which all six of us got our teeth cleaned and only two threw fits (not me, this time!). Although my dad would probably be pleased to hear that I'm taking care of my expensive, more-straightened-than-they-would-be-without-those-braces-that-mom-went-back-to-work-to-pay-for teeth, too. No cavities! Woo hoo!

A *new* van!

(Read the title with a game show host voice, and you'll get the emphasis I was going for.)

No, the van's not "new," but it is the newest car ML and I have ever owned, and it is truly above and beyond what I could have asked or imagined. I never dreamed I would be driving such a vehicle here in the Middle East.

A little background: we arrived in this country in May of 2003. In October of that year, we finally had enough money to purchase a vehicle. And I use that term loosely. :-P It was a 1985 Peugot 505 station wagon (and I love the fact that I found a link with great pictures and a reference to which movies the car had appeared in :-).

Okay, it was a vehicle. And it was a very strong vehicle. One that collectors groups form around, especially on the internet, and people seek out parts for to keep theirs going. It was just that ours had apparently previously been a long-distance taxi (unbeknownst to us at the time of purchase), and had been jury rigged to no end to avoid putting money into true repairs. It was not super reliable. However, it had nine seats, three in each row, and we knew we wanted that.

At the time, only gasoline vehicles (as opposed to diesel ones) could have seats for more than six passengers to keep people from running illegal taxis. Diesel was much less expensive, because it was government underwritten, and the theory was that no one in their right mind would run a taxi on expensive fuel. For the most part, that was true. We think ours was used in another country. Or between ours and another country.

Oh, and did I mention that it was the best we could afford at the time that would fit our family (with a little room for expansion/guests)? And that we were really tired of taking taxis with three small children? And the little fact that we felt strongly that we were being led to purchase this particular type of car and even this specific one, warts and all?

Slight problem, though, it was a standard, and I didn't know how to drive one. However, to get an automatic, which would have meant a newer, much more expensive car, was out of the question. I made a couple of attempts at learning, but the car was never really reliable enough for me to want to risk being out with the kids and it breaking down, so there wasn't much incentive. ML does all of the driving while I ride along, bum rides, or take taxis when I need to be somewhere while he's at work or home with the kids.

Fast forward a few years: it's 2006ish, and we're thinking we might be about ready for a larger, more reliable vehicle. We start looking into the options, and a Mitsubishi L300 or a Toyota Hiace are what meet our specifications. Again, we want ample seating, but this time we're looking for a van. The above to options were the only ones sold locally at that time without looking at the American mini-van imports, which are way out of our price range.

And even the Hiaces are a little expensive. Slight problem with the L300's: they didn't make them past 1985. Newer would have been nice. :-l

However, once again, we were led to just what we could afford, and it was being sold right in our neighborhood. So, we bought. Again, nine seats, three in each row, and a "bench" behind the front row on which children can perch in a pinch, to boot. We took six adults and four children on a road trip to Jerusalem in this van one time. Oh, the memories!

Only, once again, it's not super reliable. And it's very difficult to shift gears. For people who already know how to drive standards. Not the best car to learn to drive a manual on. Did I mention that the gear shift was on the steering column (reminds me of the Aggie joke about the brights dimmer)? ML continues to do all of the driving (riding, bumming rides, taking taxis continues).

Fast forward again to this past spring: we go through an evaluation point at which we seek to understand whether this is still where we're supposed to be. We feel like it is, but we feel like a part of staying and thriving, both for the kids and for me personally, is me being able to drive. That would either mean us buying an automatic vehicle or an easier-to-drive manual.

Originally, we toyed with the idea of getting a small automatic for me to squish the kids into for daily running around as a second car and keeping the L300. The L300 was having more and more mechanical problems, though, so we decide a newer, better van is the best idea.

In our price range, the Hyundai Santamo or the Kia Joyce seem to be the best options. Both have three rows, but only seat seven, because the front and back rows have just two seats. The Joyce is roomier, but supposedly less reliable (as in, a dealer who had both to sell told us not to buy the Joyce, even though it would have netted him more money). The Joyce is also available newer, as the Santamo's imported into this country only go up to 1997 (apparently, the demand increased in some other country, and the importers here stopped being able to find them). We were hoping for something newer.

We also looked at a Kia Carnival, but it was just flat out out of our price range, so we dismissed that option.

At this point, our plan was to transfer all of the money we'd saved/been given into the country, and then head out to the "Free Zone" where all of the imported cars go first. The advantage to shopping out here is that they are all in one place. The disadvantage is that it is huge (as in, a couple of square miles of individual dealers with a variety of vehicles each). However, we thought that this might be a good opportunity to practice learning to listen to "to the right or to the left" with the kids, so we're up for it. :-P

However, while we're waiting for the first part of the process of transferring the money, our ex-pat friend LAKG saw a mini van for sale along the route she takes back and forth to her kids' school. She wrote down the phone number and reluctantly passed it along to us (while she would love to have a new van herself, they've decided that this is not the right season).

It was a Kia Carnival. And the asking price was just above what we'd been hoping for (significantly less than the other one we'd looked at). And that was before negotiating. And it was a pretty color. :-)

We took a friend of ML's with us to look at the car. We *loved* it. The price was fair (he came down a little, but it was really a good price to begin with). It had nine seats (sensing a theme here?). And we felt like it was truly a gift. As I said, I never thought I'd be driving this kind of vehicle in the Middle East.

Then, began the arduous process of transferring the money into the country to pay. I won't bore you with the details, but the whole thing went much less smoothly than we'd hoped.

ML's parents arrived September 30th, and we still didn't have the money/car. So, we took one last trip to Petra in the old van, which was probably just as well, because at least we already knew its quirks/what to look for.

Finally, on October 8th, we took possession of our new van! What a blessing! I've enjoyed being able to take the kids to the park, drive to visit a former neighbor at her new house, run to the grocery store, etc. Yay!







Hanging out in the new wheels.




Saying goodbye to the old. We annointed it with bubbles. And we had to have at least one picture of ML where he has spent many, many hours getting us (and himself and our various paperwork, etc.) to and fro.

Do all things...

A few days ago, I came across the following verses in Psalms: As for me, I shall call upon GOd, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice. Psalm 55:16-17

And my first thought was, "Now there's some grumbling and complaining I could put up with!" :-P

You see, we have recently cracked down on grumbling and complaining in our house. We've never allowed a lot of it, but after hearing two godly young women (16 & 18) speak this summer on what they felt like their parents had done right (as the oldest one was leaving to go to college) and what they were grateful for parents doing well when they babysat and what they saw their friends struggling with (without naming any names or being in any way specific) due to ways they'd been raised differently, and one of the top things was "Don't allow whining," we took a good look at what we were allowing and started calling a spade a spade. No huge punishment crackdown. Occasionally there's punishment, but mostly it's just pointing out that someone's grumbling, complaining, or whining and that it's not allowed.

As per Philippians 2:14-15a (I used to hate it when people truncated verses that way, until I realized that it's not like the numbers were put there from the beginning or anything. :-): Do everything without finding fault or arguing. 15 Then you will be pure and without blame. You will be children of God without fault in a sinful and evil world.

And, of course, the Steve Green song (which was apparently a paraphrase, since I can't find a version that says exactly that): Do all things without grumbling or complaining. And prove yourselves to be blameless children of God.

So, when I read that verse, it made me smile at first, but I also realized I should help them to make their requests known to Him (as well as their thanks).

My Day Yesterday

So, I don't think I'll be as specific as I was yesterday about day-before-yesterday, but here's a basic outline of how our Friday went (which is like Saturday in the US, without the soccer games).

Up at 7:15ish (that Monk episode, remember?). Abbreviated devotionals and Bible reading. Kids had muffins and peanut butter, applesauce muffins this time. I grabbed a Larabar, and ended up eating 1/2 of it in the car (hm, gotta remember to eat that other 1/2 before it becomes mush in the bottom of my purse...). ML and I showered. Various kids were directed as to what to wear.

8:19 out the door. I noticed the time, because we said we'd leave at 8:00 or 8:15. Not bad. For us. Picked up JF & JBF and RH & SEH. They sat four across in the middle of the van (oops, still need to do that post), MS sat in the middle up front, and the three younger kids sat in the back-back. Love having a nine-seater van!

9:15ish arrived at W. Academy, a small school for ex-pat kids in the capital. in spite of the fact that a good friend was the principal there for several years, we'd never actually seen the building. And if we hadn't had directions, we certainly wouldn't have seen it this time. Ex-pat schools don't exactly label themselves prominently these days. :-/ For a rummage sale, though, we will go to the ends of the earth.

Seriously, we were hoping to find a few things being sold by those leaving or not needing them anymore. The school does this yearly as a fund raiser. You pay a registration fee to have a table, and they have a bake sale, so that's where they make their money. Specifically, I was hoping for a crockpot. I'd love a 220 v. one, but I'd even take another 110 one, since A) I'd really like to have two, and B) the lid of my current one is cracking (which, if you know my cooking style, is traumatic).

No crockpot. Nothing much of value to us, really. I got a couple of Dr. Seuss books I'd been wanting us to have. ML found a couple of books for himself and a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book that MS and JW have been devouring. Actually, MS made out the best of all of us. He found several Star Wars figures that they've been having the best time with, and he got MA a purple dragon beanie for Christmas (shhh, don't tell).

The F's and the H's made out pretty well, though, so I guess it was worth coming. Oh, and I got to have some fresh, homemade sushi! I discovered about a year ago that I love sushi, so this was a nice treat. Although the majority of the kids that attend the school are from the US, many are from other countries, and apparently, some are from Korea, because this was touted as "Fresh Korean Sushi." It had crab, tuna, carrot, yellow bell pepper, and cucumber. It was so yummy!

From there, we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. The F's and H's had other plans and were splitting off at this point (after stashing their purchases in our car, which was quite a feat, because I had about 10 bags of give-away clothes waiting to be donated as well as our stroller in the back already; fortunately, ML has good genetic packing skills).

If we'd made a good haul at the rummage sale, I would have been willing just to head back home. It was killing me, though, to think of having spent all that money on gas for the trip ala fadee (sorry, for nothing). Even though gas prices are going down here, it's still a chunk of cash.

So, we decided to drop our friends at the park where they were going to picnic and head to the mall to get some Christmas shopping taken care of. Dropped them off. And then remembered: it's Friday, it's 11:00 AM, and the mall doesn't open until 2:00. :-/ Well, the food court opens at 12:00, but the stores, not until 2:00.

Fine, we need a few import items only available in the capital, and MS wants to get JW's Christmas present at the bookstore at Cozmo (a British department store/grocery store that now has a bookstore and an electronics store). We head there. Traditionally, ML heads to the bookstore with the older three kids, while ZL and I do whatever grocery shopping we have to do. This time, MA decides to stay with me. This probably has something to do with the cute kiddie-sized carts they have and the fact that she spotted one as we entered.

I don't have much to get, just MA's rice milk, and I check for a few things that have been mysteriously absent from grocery stores here recently. Nope, they don't have baking spray, yellow cake mix or decently priced wheat pasta either. This happens here. Something that's always been available will just disappear for a few months. And then reappear. With no explanation. Except when there's new packaging. That's apparently an explanation. Here, they can't quite seem to time getting old packaging off the shelf and new packaging to replace it without a several month gap. But these items are made elsewhere. They're imports. Guess the shipping was off this month. Whatever. We can definitely do without them. At least they had tricolor pasta. I'm holding onto the illusion that that, at least, is better than white.

They also had mild salsa, a cheaper Oxi-Clean alternative, and the rice milk. ML & I went back and forth as to whether it was cheaper/better to get things to eat at the grocery store or eat fast food at the mall. There is Subway, so we at least wouldn't be eating greasy, but we decided on lunch meat, cheese (for everyone, because this is one of the two stores in-country that carries goat cheese now!) and crackers from the store. I was also able to get some pro-biotic yogurt drinks for the non-dairy-allergic ones among us and 100% orange juice for all of us. Oh, and the crackers were organic stone ground wheat (on sale BOGO; cha ching). So, I think all in all we netted a better health benefit than eating at the mall.

The two little shoppers and I joined the other three upstairs at the bookstore. ML chased ZL through the store (the reason why I normally take him shopping with me; I think life will be a lot more peaceful once he learns how to read, which doesn't look to be too long at the rate he's going) while I priced a few potential Christmas gifts. I didn't end up buying anything, but MA spent some of her money on a Berenstain Bears book, and MS bought JW's Christmas present (hm, I never did ask him what it was; ML approved it, so maybe I'll just wait and be surprised).

We had lunch in the car. The weather was beautiful, so it was actually a pleasant experience. Then, we drove to the mall.

Hm, it was only 1:00 when we arrived. Remember that Monk episode? ML and I were a little sleepy, and ZL was dozing off, so we instructed the older three to read quietly, reclined our seats, and took a power nap. :-P I'm sure the mall guard at the nearest entrance (we were in the parking garage near one of the doors into the mall) thought we were crazy foreigners. Oh, well. Guilty as charged.

Refreshed by our power nap, we head in at about 1:30. Just enough time to herd everyone to the bathroom, change Z, and start hitting the early-opening stores. We head to the British Hastings-type book/video/CD store and check out a few more Christmas options. We decide on Asterix books for the older two boys (shh, don't tell that, either).

Oh, I forgot to say: our family tradition is a book, a DVD and a toy/game for each child, hence all the book shopping. Next, the DVD shopping.

We were telling JF the other day about having a couple of kids' movies that had soundtracks both in Arabic and in English. We bought each of the older kids one a couple of years ago for Christmas. We have a Madeleine one, Treasure Planet, and Monsters, Inc., I think. They were supposed to help their Arabic learning. Turns out they don't just spontaneously watch them in Arabic. Imagine that. Guess we should push that more.

Anyway, I wanted to add to that collection, both for their benefit and for ML and I to watch to further our Arabic (I also know that these will be cool for them to have as they grow up; souvenirs of their childhood in this area of the world), so we headed to a store I remembered having original DVD's with actual multiple soundtracks (as opposed to copies, which usually only have English with Arabic subtitles or only Arabic, which seems kind of cruel to give as a Christmas present: "Here, have a movie that you really like in a language you mostly don't understand." :-) We ended up with Jungle Book and The Incredibles, with the understanding that we'll skip that weird demonic JackJack scene at the end. (You know by now that you're not supposed to tell, right?)

The power nap was wearing off, and all our feet were getting a little sore, so it was time for coffee. Starbucks, here we come. Yes, Starbucks. There's one on every corner here, too (not opposite corners yet, but practically every corner nonetheless). Fresh squeezed orange juice for the kids. I love that about Starbucks here. They all have those big orange juicing machines. Nice to have a healthy option. For the kids.

While there, we ran into the national manager of ML's center and his brother. We knew they were meeting JF and RH to watch a movie, but it was going to be at another mall cinema. Turns out the times at this one were better, so they were waiting for them. Also turns out that it was the manager's birthday, so we bought him a frappachino. He is one of MA's favorite people in the world, so they had a great time being silly while we wait together.

JBF and SEH were just about to head back to our city on public transport, so they were happy to hear that we were leaving and could give them a ride back. Perfect timing. We hit one more store to look for cheap toys to go in the kids' "sussy bag" that they get to pick from when they finish a workbook. None to be had, so we headed to the bathroom one more time and loaded up the kids.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. We dropped our friends off at their houses (deciding that the guys definitely got the best end of the deal, since the ladies had to carry all of the purchases up to their houses, which are on the 4th and 5th floors), went home and vegged. Oh, and ML and the kids talked to his parents on the computer, a weekly tradition. No Monk episode this night, though. We were a little tired.

(I hope no one's expecting such novels from here on out. I think this is going to be an exception, rather than a rule. Just trying to keep everyone's expectations realistic.)

Excuses, excuses...

Our internet was down yesterday, I promise! I unplugged the modem when I went on a visit (MS was home, and we try not to leave the internet on when kids are here by themselves), and it never recovered. Thank goodness a guy who works for the phone/internet company owes ML a favor and gave us a replacement one he had. Otherwise, it could have been a week before we would have gotten the problem solved (it's a company-issued ADSL modem).

So, my plan for yesterday was to post a day-in-the-life-of rundown of what happened. I guess I'll just have to do that today (for yesterday, because it was slightly more interesting/typical than today, although today was interesting, too, so maybe I'll just do both to make up for the lost day).

6:15 Wake up: I want this to be earlier (see next item), but when I was setting it earlier, I was going back to sleep and not getting the kids up on time. Hopefully, I can progressively move it backwards.

Go to the bathroom (read two Psalms; hey, if I didn't multi-task, I'd never get anything done)

6:30 Get kids up: Yep, that's when we get our kids up. Why? Because we're sadistic, slave-driving, up-with-the-sun kind of people. Um, actually, because we discovered that, for some reason, this was the magic hour at which they have to be up in order to fall asleep before 11 PM consistently. And, trust me, it is *not* good for children to be awake until the hour that their parents need to go to sleep, because, either the parents (especially the mother) get no time to themselves or they stay up past when they should to get that time. So, we get the kids up at 6:30.

Journal and worship while supervising the kids with their devotionals and Bible reading. Worship music playing on my computer at the table nearby (having closed the e-mail program earlier so that it wouldn't tempt me).

7:30 Serve kids breakfast: Pumpkin muffins with peanut butter (ZL had a plain muffin and a banana, since he's allergic to peanuts). I'm pretty sure this was the morning I had bananas and homemade peanut butter and milk. Yum!

8:00(ish) Start School: This day, we had "kitchen school." I had a pile-up of dishes to do, because we'd been without water earlier in the week, and I still hadn't gotten back on top of them, so the boys (and MA occasionally) brought their school books bins into the kitchen and worked on the floor/stepstool. ZL watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers on the computer in our room (he got these on DVD, but wasn't really watching them, so I pulled them off into iTunes, and we're getting much more use out of them), as he has been doing recently while we get school started.

10:30 Break to Get Ready: I get myself dressed, and direct MA & JW as to what they need to change into.

11:00 Ready to Go: I have a visit with a new neighbor that's recently moved into the building. All of the women in the building are going to visit her. Change ZL and put him down for a nap.

11:30 Go: My downstairs neighbor and landlady is finally ready to go, so we head upstairs. I leave MS at home working through his schoolwork list (JW brings the rest of his non-computer work with us) and looking out for ZL, who will sleep for 2-3 hours.

The visit consists of Saudi coffee, tea, cake, more Saudi coffee, pudding, and Turkish coffee. And lots of chattering. The women in the building love this opportunity to catch up on what is going on with whom as most of them don't see each other outside of these large group visits (they all have 4-5 children and are very busy). Occasionally, someone actually asks the new neighbor a get-to-know-you question, although she is actually in the room for very little time, because she is busy serving all of the above.

JW works nearby until he is finished, and then goes to join MA, who is watching cartoons. I call MS a couple of times to check on him. He's fine. ZL's still asleep.

Once the Turkish coffee is served, we are free to go but stay to visit a few more minutes. I hear from ML that Z is awake downstairs, because he has been out running errands and dropped by to leave me some items I'd asked for. Z is watching Blue's Clues, so is not likely to wander and get in trouble, but I know I need to leave soon. We stand to go but then need to tour the new house, so that takes a few minutes. There is much postulation as to whether the rooms are larger or smaller than the ones in our own apartments, especially the kitchen, although the landlady assures everyone that they are all built to the same specifications (which makes sense, since the building's sides and stairwell go straight up :-).

1:45 Arrive Home: a little wired from all of the sugar and caffeine. Direct JW and MA to do their computer school work (memorization songs and Rosetta Stone Arabic). MS has worked diligently while I was gone (Thank You, Lord!!!), so he is almost done with his schoolwork.

2:30 Lunch: Apple butter, butter sandwiches for the kids; a little cottage cheese and salsa for me, but I'm not really that hungry after the visit, even though I didn't eat all of the cake I was served.

3:00 See MA Off: a friend called and asked MA to go to the park with her, so she goes downstairs to wait once her mother calls to say she's on the way. This was the first time the girls handled the entire process themselves on the phone (although we got on at the end to confirm the details). It was very cute.

Miscellaneous: supervise schoolwork and switch out some more summer and winter clothes of mine (the kids' are done; yay!)

3:30 Back in the Kitchen: finishing dishes and making Applesauce Muffins to have for breakfasts and for the visit that ML is having at our house tonight.

Kids are straightening living areas (MA put away dishes before she left and straightened the visitor's area, I think).

4:30 MS is Done: He has worked diligently today, and we already did science read-alouds earlier in the morning (oops, forgot to put that in there), and we're done with history for the week, so I postpone literature read-alouds to the weekend and let him have some free time (although I have to call him back several times for math corrections and/or a job that I see is not complete).

5:30 Transition: MS gets into his Taekwondo uniform. I finish up in the kitchen and do some straightening. He leaves about 5:40 on the bus.

6:30 Exercise: While monitoring the muffins, which are still baking and grilling eggplant for dinner. Not easy. Especially when over 1/2 the time I'm wearing wrist weights. :-P

7:15 MS and ML Home: ML brings MS home when he comes home from work, because the TKD center is in the same building (plus, the bus home tends to be more rowdy than the bus there).

7:30 Eat Dinner: grilled eggplant sandwiches (with grilled onions for the adults and mozzarella for everyone except MA & ZL, who get goat cheese). The kids eat in our room, since the living area of the house is already clean for the visit. They watch TV show episodes while they eat. I read one of MS's school books, since there is no internet (normally, I would do some blog/post reading, since it's not a big sit-down family meal).

8:00 Get Visit Things Ready: I made up some Crystal Light, since ML's friend is diabetic, arranged the mini muffins on a plate, took glasses from the china cabinet to the kitchen so they could be ready to serve in. ML got the coffee maker ready, since we decided it was okay to serve American coffee, because he's been to our house before and had Turkish coffee here. I ended up being able to just set the things on the dining table for ML to serve himself, since they got themselves tea from our tea/coffee set-up when they arrived (RH, one of ML's co-workers came, too; the visit was with a student friend whom they've come to enjoy for his deep thinking and literary knowledge; they read Arabic folk tales together last night). Often, I will come out and make and serve the tea, baked goods, and coffee. Tonight, I just stayed back in the other end of the house (I love how this house is set up to make that possible).

8:30 Visit Starts: The guys hang out in the visitors area while I continue reading and the kids watch episodes and eat, if they're still at it.

9:00 Put the Kids in Bed: Usually we do this at 8:30, but I got a little bit of a late start.

9:30 Continue Reading: I venture out for some chocolate at some point in here. :-) Although I cover my head when out on the street, I do not in my own home, so I just make sure I have on a long-sleeved shirt and am not dressed slouchily when ML has guests.

10:30 Visit Wraps Up: ML & RH are nodding off (fortunately, this is a good friend, so he understands), so they call it an evening.

10:45 Watch Monk: For some strange idea, ML and I decided that it would be a good idea to watch one of the Monk episodes that RH & SEH loaned us before we go to bed, even though we've both already been nodding off. It was a decent episode, but I think we would have been much better served by going to bed.

11:45ish: Go to Bed.

So, there you have it. A day in the life of CBK. And now it is time for me to go to bed again.