We're Back

Our visit to the states ended on Monday, December 19th and we headed back to the Land of Sand to celebrate Christmas and to make it back to the Kingdom before my ability to travel was forfeited.  

I can honestly say this was THE EASIEST 24 hour trip we've taken, in every aspect.  Logisitcs-- everything worked out.  We used up our entire luggage weight allotment for all 7 suitcases, packed our new double stroller into its travel bag, and successfully made it to Saudi with out anything being searched, taken, or confiscated-- woo hoo.  Physically- Brooks was with me this trip, which just makes traveling 1,000 times easier.  We click, know what needs to be done, we're understanding with each other, and we can easily navigate and control our 2 kids with few issues.  Emotionally-- as hard as it was to tell our families goodbye and knowing that it was going to be 6 months before we're back home in the states... I was sad- we all were.  However, we're you're away from your own routines, beds, home, stuff, etc- sometimes, you're just ready to get back and feel some normalcy.  Not to mention, knowing we HAD to go back at this point because I was already 33 weeks, was a bit of motivation for me to be "okay" with leaving.  

Flying back to Saudi is always a million times easier because we leave at night (around 8pm) so to the boys, it's their bed time.  They were both quick to go to sleep once we got them into their pajama's and after settling down they slept at least 6- 8 hours.  At one point, the seat belt sign came on so we were required to remove Miles from the baby bassinet that is attached to the wall, which caused him to wake up for a few hours between his nighttime sleep.  This was the hardest part and Brooks handled it all.  He let me sleep since I tend to get sick on the plane when I'm pregnant, but after 2 hours, Miles went back to sleep and Brooks was able to go to sleep.  Once the boys woke up, they played, ate some food, played some more and were pretty content.  Before we knew it we were arriving in Doha, Qatar.  

We let the boys play on the indoor playground and run off all their energy.  They had a blast and were extremely thankful for the freedom to go and do as they please.  Brooks and I got a little break, picked up some refreshments, and off we went to board our next flight.  

Our flight into Saudi never bothers us. It's fast and quick and at this point we're just thinking let's get there and be done traveling.  Well, when you're as far along in your pregnancy as I was... apparently, the airline has MANY restrictions and concerns and it was quite entertaining how many times we were stopped and questioned for my medical certificate with approval to fly, not to mention the numerous airline attendants who came and probed me in various ways.  Brooks and I were grateful for their concern, but we also thought it was entertaining... This flight lasted 50 minutes and you would have thought I was being admitted into the hospital with as much questioning was going on.  It wasn't a big deal to us... we just found it hilarious that NOT A SINGLE PERSON SPOKE TO ME ABOUT BEING PREGNANT on our flight from Houston to Doha, which lasted 16 hours.  Go figure, huh?!?!  

We arrived in Damman and got off of the plane as quickly as we could.  We never know what customs is going to be like and we're always eager to get their before the crowd, so we grabbed the boys and took off.  As soon as we got in line, Brooks pulled out our passports and we quickly realized one was missing.  We both kinda went into panic mode and he ran back to the plane to look for it.  10 minutes later he came running around the corner, while the boys and I were still waiting in line and thankfully, he had his passport with him, that he found in the overhead bend compartment.  Praise the Lord!  We maneuvered through a few lines before finding one that was going the fastest and made it through quickly.  We got all our bags, found our driver, and loaded up the car.  

As soon as made it home, Gavin took off into the house.  He wanted to see all of his toys.  He was so excited, he peed in his pants... okay, so he really didn't pee in his pants, but he couldn't wait to play with his toys that he walked away from the potty before he was done and got his pants all wet.  He played pant-less the whole time Brooks and I unloaded luggage and got settled in.  

It's been nice being back.  Spending Christmas here without family (my parents were here last year) and all our friends (most are all back in the states since they were all here last Christmas) was a little different.  We've been busy getting the house situated and reorganized.  We're having to plan for bringing Brooklyn home as well as adding more toys and gifts from Christmas into the house so it's been hectic trying to figure everything out as well as dealing with jetlag.  Thank goodness Brooks had last weekend off so he was home with us Thursday and Friday and helped out A TON.  He was able to help me out during the night with the boys, too.  Right now, both boys are waking up around 1am and staying awake until 4 or 5am.  Brooks is back at work so I do my best to let him sleep and I keep both boys in Gavin's room to play or watch a movie.  I'm hoping and praying we only have another day or two of needing to adjust to the time change.  I only let Miles take one nap during the day, to help him sleep at night and Gavin hasn't gotten to take a nap in the last 3 days... it's not working though.  At least, we're keeping ourselves busy.