Did you know???

Did you know even when you move to a foreign country on the other side of the world, life still goes on?  Whether you want it to or not, it has to.  Not to mention the fact that if you have a 2 year old with you, it forces you to make life fun, interesting, and worth while for them.  

Here are some pictures from our first week here in Saudi.  As I mentioned in my previous post, Ramadan is going on here, which requires us to "tweak" our lives a little bit to adhere to the rules/regulations of Ramadan.  When Ramadan is over (in a month) we will be able to gain a "real" experience of life in Saudi.  For now, we generally make one trip a day (in the mornings) and spend the rest of our time on the compound hanging out with other people, swimming, cooking dinners, as well as normal house stuff.

Did you know we moved Gavin into a big boy bed? Here he is sleeping in it!  He has rocked this whole transition and has yet to get out of his bed once!  Woohoo!  I can't wait for his bedding to get in and turn his room into a shrine of boats, trains, and trucks.    

Did you know there is a lack of motivation when it comes to unpacking suitcases?  As of late last night, our suitcases were still opened, filled, and sitting in the middle of the floor.  It doesn't help when you don't have people in your home, going upstairs.  It kinda takes away any desires to get things in there place.  However, I was tired of walking over them so I'm happy to say all our bags are empty, we combined several of them into one, and they are ready to be pushed into a corner to sit for quite some time.

Did you know it is possible to have this type of view directly over looking a beach and never once want to go outside to enjoy it?  Okay, not really, but it is extremely HOT here (that's not a complaint, but a fact).  Our days have been messed up with our sleeping (until now-- HIP HIP HOORAY for us, we all three slept through the night last night... Jet Lag is OVER, baby), so we've been taking naps during the day and not really making it outside to the beach.  We are planning on going out there one evening after dinner to play while it's "cool".  By the way, this picture is taken from our balcony. 

Did you know you can find pancake mix, syrup, eggs, and milk in a foreign country to eat for breakfast?  We even found Gavin's Nesquik powder mix for his milk.  Here's a pic from the breakfast I told you about in my previous post. 

Did you know it is possible to have fun while living in a foreign country, away from family, close friends, your home, and your "normal" life.  We have hooked up with all the "young" couples living on the compound, including our besties from the states, the Sperling's.  There are 10 of us plus 2 little (almost) 2 year olds and we've kind of been attached at the hip the last few days and nights in some why.  The other day we all went to the pool and swam.  It was a lot of fun and as you can see, the girls all flocked together and visited on one side of the pool while the guys... well... 

... they had cannon ball contests to see who could make the biggest splashes.  It was quite entertaining to watch.  The guys took turns judging and jumping.  An even more entertaining moment came when they decided to dive into the pool and see who could hold their breathe underwater and swim to the opposite end of the pool.  It seems guys always need some kind of competition in their lives.  So be it!  I'm glad they got to "play" that afternoon. Gavin enjoyed the pool, too.  I just wish we would have put his floaties in our air shipment.  Now, we have to wait at least another month til they get here.  For now, Brooks and I are just taking turns holding him in the water.  There is a baby pool, but it's a little too deep for Gavin and he had some difficulty standing on his toes to keep his head above water the whole time he was in there.  

Did you know regardless of where you live your child still has the capabilities of getting hurt?  Check out his lip..  This was literally 10 minutes after he fell, he knocked himself out from crying so much.  His lip is feeling much better and the swelling has gone away completely.  

Did you know it's possible to throw a dinner together with 8 people in a matter of an hour?  Our friends, The Railey's (who both graduated from LSU--- GEAUX TIGERS !) invited everyone over for a mini BBQ.  We each brought our own meat to grill and pitched in with the sides for a delicious meal and great time of fellowship.  (Sorry, I caught everyone off guard in this pic)

Did you know it is completely and 100% possible to "lose" your child in a home that looks EXACTLY like your own and not know where he's at?  Well, that happened to us, for only 20 seconds, but still.  Brooks went to the restroom and Gavin followed behind him.  Everyone else was sitting at the dinner table when I realized Gavin had gotten very quiet.  I just assumed he had gone into the bathroom with Brooks.  For some reason, I decided to get up from the table and go check.  Gavin was not in the one and only room he had to have been in for where he had walked towards in that part of the house.  Needless to say I began calling his name and he wasn't answering.  I ran up the stairs, no Gavin, then ran back down stairs checked again with Brooks to make sure Gavin wasn't with him.  I looked behind a plant, water cooler, curtain... no Gavin.  All of a sudden I heard giggles coming from under the sink.  Gavin had climbed into their cabinets, closed the door, and managed to be incredibly still and quiet for a short time.  I went and got the camera real fast, once I knew he was safe, and snapped this pic!  

Did you know that sand makes everything dirty? This picture was taken on our first night here.  Brooks took Gavin outside on the back porch with him and here is what his feet looked like after only 3 minutes.  Gross!  This has caused a huge conversation back and forth of us hiring cleaners for the outside of the house AND maids for the inside.  However, this is still up for discussion-- I'll let you know the outcome soon. 

Did you know it is possible to filter water so much that there is absolutely NOTHING in it?  That is what they've done with the water in Saudi.  It is 100% drinkable and can't really harm you, however it has been stripped of ALL its nutrients and minerals.  It has NOTHING in it.  I didn't realize this at first but became aware of it after days of drinking NOTHING but water to help keep my body hydrated (and for the baby).  Now, we just put Tang or tea in our water to help it gain some nutritional value.  Brooks and I are talking about purchasing a water filter/cooling system since we can purchase the large gallons of water at our compound store for $2, plus, the workers will deliver them to your house and replace the empty jugs. 

On another note, that doesn't go along with my "did you know" theme... this morning Gavin and I had to go to a medical center to have some blood work done as well as an X-ray (for Gavin).  Apparently, even though we did 4 hours of extensive medical work back in the states to get over here, Saudi wants to make sure the US didn't alter any information regarding our health and so they check for themselves.  I took a picture of the facility we went to, but then realized I caught the sign of the place.  For security purposes, I can't upload the picture, however, let me just say this.... Brooks assured me MULTIPLE times before getting there that in no way shape or form would this place resemble any kind of hospital or medical place that we would go to for any kind of baby appointment or for medical care for myself while pregnant or post pregnancy.  That is all I'm going to say about that.  I MADE the people let me lay down in a "bed", which they had to go find a roll of the tissue paper to cover the bed.  You know, the roll that is attached to a majority of examining tables in the US.  Anyways, everything went well.  Brooks went into the X-ray room with him since I couldn't and he was not interested in being in there with all those machines.  He screamed his head off, but let them "take a picture" of him, and he walked out and asked for a lollipop.  

I need to run.  In order to keep Gavin occupied inside with very few toys, and to allow me time to write this post, I allowed him to dump 3 packs of paper out on the floor, empty out his drawer in the kitchen, as well as play with a bag of straws.  Now, it's clean up time.