New Year's resolutions

For many, over in Bahrain, New Year's Eve is this coming evening. For us in the States, it's tomorrow evening.... either way, it makes me sit back and contemplate resolutions. In the past, I've tended to set some type of goal or want for myself, sometimes achieving it and sometimes not. I've been known to make lists of things I intend to change, try to achieve, give up and whatnot. To some degree or another, I've usually wound up being disappointed in myself for not sticking w/ it or not doing it well enough (that Virgo side of me) or at all, sooooo.....

Nowadays, I try not to set resolutions or if I do, I try not to set more than just a couple. Can't say that I have any for the coming year. I think about things I'd like to change or do differently, but I'm not dead set on changing something in my life... or am I????

I know I'd like to lose some weight, but crap... what happened to my motivation??? If I can't get motivated after having 3 women ask me if I'm pregnant, then nothing will motivate me! And I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing that question!! Ok, I have a poochy tummy, but lordy, I don't LOOK PREGNANT!!! Or, at least, I don't think I do.

I'd like to start cutting a lot of sugar out of my diet, but coming from someone that loves candy, it's gonna be hard. I can pretty much mentally psyche myself out w/ things in order to stop certain habits or to not eat certain foods/drinks and such, but for some reason, it's not so easy when it comes to candy. I desperately love candy .... on days. :)

Ok... so, I've listed a couple things. I'd rather not think about it too much or I might start making lists again! ;)

How about you? Do you have any or are you flying solo this year?

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

few holiday photos

These are some pics of my family. The first is of my mom with Naief. Then you see the one with my sister, her husband, my niece, mom and me and Naief. The others... well, I think you can figure it out :)

Happy holidays... tomorrow is the big day :)

Tomorrow is Christmas! Wow... it came fast! Weird, but when I'm in Bahrain, it seems to come and go w/out much hoopla and this year I'm really feeling it. Didn't think so at first, but there's just something about Christmas Eve and Santa coming that makes Christmas a little bit different.

Altho, I haven't had a visit from Santa in years, Naief will be visited tonight and I just can't wait to see what happens tomorrow morning when we all get up and he sees all his goodies under the tree. I doubt if he'll get overjoyed, since he was more estactic over the paper at the Christmas party we went to last night than his actual gifts... but I don't care... I'm just thrilled that he'll get to enjoy all the fun w/ his cousin, Katelyn.

Btw... he ADORES his cousin. Makes me wish I had a little 7 year old at home for him to play with, but maybe in the coming year we'll get around to making a little playmate for him! ;) He loves to pull her hair and try to attack her. He follows her around everywhere and gets so bashful in the mornings when she gets up. It's just too cute.

Last night while at the Christmas party, my sister's friend, R, had this walker that we let Naief play with... different than a walker in Bahrain in that this is the kind that you stand up with and push to walk, instead of sit in and ride around. To my utter amazement, he walked with it!!! I was overjoyed and tried to get it on tape for Hashim but it was too dark in her house and I only got a small amount of footage. But... R let me borrow it, so I have it here so that Naief can get used to it. He's already tried it this morning and loves it. My sister wanted to get him one of those, but I told her not to bother because I didn't think he could use it, but now I'm thinking we outta get one to take home w/ us... not that they don't have them there... so, I should probably just wait.

R has two little girls and a little boy. Her youngest is 6 mths and while holding her, Naief was also in my arms and just smiled and started touching her. It was so sweet. I was a bit afraid he might try to slap her or pull her hair, which is his latest big thing, but he didn't. He didn't even cry or get jealous... I was proud! ;) Matter of fact, he behaved so well last night. At first he was a little afraid for me to let him down, but probably after 10 mins. he wanted to get down and crawled around everywhere, even going outside.

Oh yeah... he NOW loves the grass! With a little urging from his cousin, he went out onto it yesterday and seemed to love it. We also took him down to the park and he got to swing all by himself for the first time, and played in the sand for the first time. He was very interested in the sand. Got some cute pics of him in it, so I'll try to post some later.

We're having a Christmas Eve party today with all of my BILs family and some of my sister's friends coming. We've been cleaning house all morning and I must say that my sister is one helluva cleaner... getting down on her hands and knees to scrub things... and I thought I was a clean fanatic! Then tomorrow we're going to dinner w/ my BILs family to a mexican joint... different than what I've had in the past, but sounds yummy to me!

Oh yeah... almost forgot. Last night at the party, I was holding Naief and there were some friends of R's there and her brother, well... one guy asked me Naief's name and I told him what it was then he started asking where it came from, what it means and whatnot, so I tell him that it's Muslim , then all of a sudden he says, "I'm a Jew". I didn't know what to say. I just stood there and he walked off. I wasn't sure if he was trying to be rude or just being funny. Later that night I realized he was only joking around and was a really nice person... but that really stunned me at first.

Ok... I hope you all are doing well... enjoying the holiday festivities and looking forward to Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone.... and

HO HO HO!!!!

few pics of Naief in California

Thought some of you might enjoy these pics of the baby, his cousin and my sis while here in Cali.

It's raining today, cold outside and there are so many low lying clouds that you can't see the mountains in front of my sister's place.... I love it. :) I've missed the rain, but, so far, there's no thunder or lightening or such.

Anyway... hope you like the photos.

Here we are

Gosh... it's been almost a week since being in Cali and haven't gotten into an argument w/ my sister one time... okay, maybe a tiny little spat, but it ended quickly, so all is happy on the Jahooni and Um Naief cloud! :)

Naief is still trying to get used to the time change. He's waking up at midnight wanting to play... which last night my sister got us up, played for a while, and he slept until 8:30 this morning!!!! What a relief since he's been waking up at 4:30 and 5 in the morning every day.

We've been spending our days shopping for Christmas presents, stocking stuffers... and even a few things for myself... yeah, how could I not, especially since they're carrying Vera Wang at Kohl's now and her pajamas are to DIE FOR!!!! Oh my gosh, they are sooooo soft... your skin melts in them, believe me!

Stocking stuffers are the hardest to get... I rack my brain trying to come up w/ things to fill stockings, and buying for hubby has always been the hardest for me, but this year... with a little help from my sister, I was able to get things to fill his stocking w/out a problem!

And mentioning stockings, I COULD NOT believe the difference in sizes of the stockings between me and my sister and Hashim's was quite small comparetively speaking (and yes, we're talking about sister jealousy here! ;) ). My mother made me and Hashim stockings two years ago and sent them to us filled w/ goodies, so this year she tells me to bring them w/ me - which I did - and what did my wondering eyes see when I got here, you may ask??!!! My sister's stocking is two sizes bigger than mine!!! Yep! Even the dog's stocking is bigger than mine and hubby's !!! Oh.. and if you know me, that was a no go, so I marched in to my mother and told her right off that that would have to be fixed :)!! So yesterday my momma made me and hubby new stockings!! and now sisterpoo is complaining that mine is bigger than hers! Can you believe it!?? I can... but I laugh because it's been how many years that she's been getting gobs more stocking stuffers than me... matter of fact, there have been years that I haven't even gotten a stocking from my mom... so this is only fair, the way I see it! ;) hehehe AND... found out this morning that she actually measured the stockings last night when one of her friend's was over.... uh huh.... she can hardly stand that my stocking is as big as hers now!!


And... and all of you might figure, I miss my husband a lot. This is the first vacation I've taken w/out him and for it to be such an extended length of time, well... it makes me sad on days... but the daily shopping excursions have helped w/ that somewhat! ;) Altho, I know Hashim is not too happy to hear that! But hey.. I haven't had Christmas w/ my family... well, my sister in about 5 years and ... my mom, well, it's been about 9 or more years, so I see this year as special. Coz who knows when the next time will be that I get to spend the holidays w/ them and such an extended length of time!

My sister has a dog and it's been a difficult task in getting Naief used to him. If I sit Naief down on the floor, the dog is usually all over him... not being mean or anything, just wanting to lick him and it scares Naief a bit, so he usually cries and doesn't want to do anything but be held, which is hard for me. He's also not particularly keen on being held or watched by my mom... crying when I leave the room and when I left to get gas the other day, he went into a complete crying fit, and then when I took a shower, my mom thought she was gonna have a panic attack because of the way he started acting.... so that's been hard, to say the least. I feel like I have a siamese twin and it makes it hard to do anything... but I'm trying to see it as a good thing and know that soon enough he won't even want me to hold him... but it's hard.

Anyway... this has been our time in a quick nutshell. We have a dinner party to go to this weekend, so I'll be making a pie to take - one of my favorites - and then I'm gonna do some baking over the next several days... making some Christmas cookies, brownies and such. The nice thing about here is that they have ready-made pie shells, which is nice. Never tried them, but have heard their just as good as the real thing, so I'm gonna give 'em a whirl this time around.

Happy shopping everyone... and Happy Eid to everyone in Bahrain!

Miss you Hashim!

soon enough

Tomorrow is the big day... we'll be leaving home at around 11 p.m. to head to the airport w/ our flight taking off at about 2:00 a.m. I'm pretty much packed... just getting the last few odds and ends ready and making sure or trying to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything.... and for some reason, I keep forgetting to get my socks out. I always tend to forget to pack socks.

My nerves have calmed pretty much, thank goodness. We pick up Naief's visa to the UK tomorrow, so I'm hoping that when we go thru immigration here in Bahrain, there won't be a problem. I'm taking his birth certificates, a letter from Hashim stating that it's okay for me to be traveling w/ the baby (alone), and I hope that about covers it. I won't be pulling out his American passport, unless needed, until we get on American soil... except at the airline's counter here in Bahrain... so it's my hope that it's smooth sailing at all points.

Gave Naief the sleeping meds last night to try them out. They made him hyper for about an hour 1/2 and then he fell asleep. Slept this morning until about 7 and took two bottles while asleep, which I thought was great. I was afraid they'd knock him out to the point that it was like he was in a coma, but it was very mild. I'm not for drugging the baby or anything, but since this is the first time to fly w/ him and because he hates to sit in one place for longer than 2 mins., it seems, and because I'm a bit of a nervous wreck w/ the thought of not being able to handle him by myself, I decided to go w/ the med. And really, I'm glad I have. I think it'll be perfect ... it'll let him sleep soundly and will allow me to get a little rest myself.

I'm thrilled to be going. Can't hardly wait. Packing is killing me though. I never know what to take, what not to take and wind up taking things I never wear. I promised myself I wouldn't do that again this time, but wouldn't ya know it, I am. But... I'm hoping that as tomorrow comes upon me, I'll have some type of revelation and know exactly what is needed! yeah, right.... but at least I can be dream...

My friend, S, will be having her baby in Feb., actually her due date is 2 days prior to Naief's birthday. I'm thrilled for her, but sad because I won't be here for it. I can't wait to hear the good news and to come back to see her sweet little baby! My sister and all her friends in Cali do this thing where they take food to all their new momma friends, and I'm gonna start that tradition here starting w/ S. Never realized how much something like that can help until having my own baby. My MIL sent food to us for weeks after the birth and it was so needed. It's nice to not have to worry about cooking, especially when you're tired and have a million other things on your mind!

I saw Henry yesterday. It warmed my heart to see that he's alive and doing well. My FIL has taken on two more of these birds and I'm really wanting to set them free. I told Hashim today that I want to become a caped crusader and set all these caged birds free!!! Imagine... seems like a crazy idea but I'm just the one to do it!! :) One of my blog friends, Jane, made an interesting point about caged birds. She said something like, "If God had intended for birds not to fly, He wouldn't have given them wings" or "If God had intended for birds to be caged, He wouldn't have given them wings". I so agree w/ this and will never buy another caged bird. Now, if I could only get my in-laws to see it this way!

And that's about it for me. I'm tired - need to sleep but can't because of my nerves - and am so anxious that I leave tomorrow that I'm beside myself. Today we were driving around Bahrain and I actually got sad. For as much as I think I don't like it here (on days), I really have fallen in love w/ Bahrain! Can you believe I'm saying this?!! The people are really good here... so many times, out of the blue, people will start talking to me about the baby. I get smiles from mothers and complete strangers, and just a general positive vibe from people who don't know me but love babies. It's a good feeling and it's nice to be experiencing it! And Naief loves the attention! And wouldn't you know it, but I can honestly say I'm gonna miss my FIL and MIL! Yes, pick yourself up off the floor, it's true! :)

up, up and away

I sure hope it looks like this for me and Naief. Went to the dr. yesterday and got traveling meds, but wouldn't you know it, they expire in January (so that means no meds for our return flight), and no other pharmacy in Bahrain has that med.... figures. We haven't checked w/ every one yet... but I hope to check w/ many more tomorrow before giving up.

Why does this stuff always seem to happen? The medicine we got is phenegran (sp??), which I've never heard of giving a baby prior to this, but the dr. gave it to his kids when they traveled and it worked perfectly he said... altho, they were hyper two hours prior to the flight. After that, they were out for the entire trip.

I've heard stories about different meds, one woman gave her child some drops and the children were in something of a coma state for most of the trip, if not the entire trip. Now... I'm not sure I'd like that, but it would be nice if it made him nice and relaxed, and he was able to sleep.

I'm thrilled at leaving, and from the way Hashim was carrying on w/ the dr. while we were there, it's obvious he's in a different state of mind w/ the fact that he's going to have the house to himself for practically 2 mths!!! He's beside himself... but hey, I'm thrilled to be going to the States and to be spending Christmas w/ my family (altho there were a few days there that I went back and forth about going or not going) - even got into a spat or two w/ my mom and sis - but, in the end, I'm dying to go, can't wait for them to meet the baby, and we'll even go camping in Arizona while we're there... and man, it's been years since I've been camping.

Can't say my temperament has been the greatest over the last several days. I've actually been quite stressed... if it's not worrying about the paperwork for traveling w/ Naief, his passport issues, how he'll be on the flight, flying alone with a baby, jet lag, missing my husband, not fighting with my sister, what clothes to take, what shoes to take, buying gifts, finding the stockings my mom made for us.... then it's the stuff here at the house. The kitchen sink started leaking again - this time it was a mini fountain coming from the faucet, the bathroom overflowing, the water tank overflowing, worrying about Salumi letting the cats out while I'm gone, the cats not being fed properly, the birds not being fed, who'll watch the house when Hashim leaves.... you name it, I'm worrying about it. But hey.... aren't all of us Virgos worry warts? I know I am.

I just know I need a break from the life here and from my in-laws. I'm longing for the rain that pours down in California, the thunder, the lightening.... the cold weather, the clouds, the birds, the great stores, the people, the restaurants.... just life in the States. I miss it. I need the support of my family, the unconditional love (ok... not always, but hey, at least we try), and, really, just feeling like I belong. I do here w/ a lot of ppl, mainly friends, with many of them being Bahrainis, but I miss that feeling you get from your own family. Even though me and my sister have this love/hate relationship, we still have a bond like no other... and I miss being around her and being around my mom.

anyway... I'm nervous... anxious, excited, thrilled, and ready to go. I'll post before... and post while there... so stay tuned :)