The Biggest Update Ever ( by the laziest blogger ever)

Hi! Long time no talk.
It's been so long that I should read what my last post was about, but I don't have time, so I'm just going to get into it and pretend like I know where I left off.

SO! I finally moved to Riyadh, I'm actually loving it here. It's pleasantly well equipped with all of the shopping/food I could want and for a girl like me that's all I could ask for. Don't know what it is about burgers in this city, but it's a good thing that I don't mind eating burgers.

 Our apartment is shaping up, with some huge pitfalls along the way. One of them is that both of our bathrooms had working toilets when we got here, and they both managed to EXPLODE at the same time, too. Got that fixed, and the handyman cracked all my tiles whilst changing a freakin' hose. How? I don't know, he carries a hammer and smashes up Saudi's bathrooms for revenge or something. Oh! and we got our place painted, and I was relocated to the mall for HOURS because I'm pregnant and can't breathe in fumes/I'm a mother and I wont let my toddler breathe in fumes. After an exhausting mall day with tons of toddler tantrums I got home and there was paint ALL over my tile floors in EVERY one of our 6 rooms that now requires a razor and some elbow grease. Well guess what. It won't be my elbows or their grease cleaning that up. Nope. I'm in my third trimester and I am now qualified to lay down and eat bon bons all day, Dr's orders!

Other than that we're pretty blessed to have found the furniture basics we need for unbelievable prices, I thank ikea, and random souks with sweet spots for a Canadian accent. Actually, all credit is due to my husband the haggling king, even though he usually wastes his time, sometimes he can talk things down even a 1000 SAR. I don't know how he does it, he can be pretty scary though. We officially have a Tv unit, couch, kitchen table (no more eating on the floor YAY!), water cooler, full kitchen, bedroom set, and a washer/dryer unit. That's more than we've ever had as a couple I think, so alhamdulilah.

In all of my 23 years on this earth I have NEVER been so tired/in pain. I've even endured face breaking surgery and a natural delivery of a giant baby- but omg I'm such a baby when it comes to back pain! I had a little with Elly but this time around I'm really feeling it. It's been 3 weeks almost and apparently there is nothing that can be done except have the baby! So, most days I take it easy but after walking/cleaning I'm done for the day and it's really put a halt on what we can/can't do. I used to feel like a superwoman, but I now know how taxing pregnancy can be and totally regret if I ever thought anyone was lying about how crappy it can be sometimes. Thank God, I'm healthy, it's really just this ongoing pain thing that's got me down.

Without any surprise this baby is as big as Elly was, measuring a week or more ahead just like her big sister. Yep, and it's another girl! I'm not 100% convinced since they had also told us we were having a boy early on, but whatever this little one is I don't mind. I'm just happy she's healthy and I take comfort in every kick.

My due date changed as well, it's May 25th as opposed to June 1st, but knowing how long my last pregnancy went I still think we will have another June baby on our hands. We've started seeing a Dr at Dallah Hospital, I like this hospital a lot more than any I've been to in Saudi Arabia and I'm actually getting excited to go through the birthing process again. My main concern was the Dr, and both of our candidates are pretty good. One is a regular OBGYN who is incredibly honest but full of information. We'll meet with the other next week, inshallah, a British midwife, I believe. She handles natural births and so I hope we can click with her.

Elly is 21 months now and thriving. Mashallah, she's talking and singing all day. Her vocabulary seems to boom over night, and she knows almost every word in BOTH languages which just shows how teaching your kids the OPOL (one parent, one language) method really seems to work. Our OBGYN thought she was 3 years old, and was surprised when I told her she wasn't even 2 yet. She's a strong, bright little girl whose toothy smile lightens my mood every day. She still nurses, and we've decided to let her wean herself because she's not showing any signs of letting up. She also reminds me more and more of my  mom and brother Richard, which is more than any of us could ask for after his loss. She's daring and cheeky like him, she's full of a similar energy and my parents have pointed out a lot of her mannerisms are a lot like his. Even her hair. I really take comfort in the similarities, and though it makes me cry and miss him most of the time, I know I carry a little of him with me at all times.

Somehow I think this next baby will be a lot like me, and by a lot like me, that means a lot like my brother Robert, too. That's the beauty of family, they'll never really be gone. Little pieces pop up all over the place, and it doesn't matter if you like it or not, but that's the nature of it all.

I'm excited that my mom will be here at the end of May, inshallah. I can't wait to have her back, making me food and taking care of me. I wish my dad could come, but we'll be going back to Canada for 6 weeks in Sept/Oct with the new baby.

Even though life here is hard at times, I've got a lot to look forward to and there is no doubt how blessed I am. I know time will fly and the baby will be here, and before I know it we'll all be travelling home. I'm taking comfort where I can get it.

The Toddler Hygiene Schedule!

This is our new schedule, I plan to implement it starting this week.

I'm going with experience and pediatricians instructions. Contrary to belief, you don't need to bathe you baby every day (unless they got messy), and since we use water to wash her butt after we change her diaper she is always very clean. I think this schedule is fair, it's not unrealistic and doesn't push it. It's so simple and pretty much a 'no duh' type of thing, but it's about the timing and it's always a good reminder. I ALWAYS bathe her in the morning, and if not, that night (which has been terrible for her curly hair). I don't wash her hair more than every other day because 1) Shampoo is bad for hair, 2) Her organic shampoo does a good job keep her hair clean without greasy residue, 3) Unless she's dumped food in her hair it's not good to get into a lifelong daily hair washing routine when you can easily train hair to wash every other day. 

About the nails- I always cut nails before a bath because under-nail bacteria is really gross and the bath will wash it away before she gets to put her fingers in her mouth. It's a good practice NOT to cut wet nails, so always cut before a bath, not after. The Thursday she doesn't bathe, I do it while she naps so she doesn't even notice, and usually I don't need to trim/check her toe nails, they grow slower so I think I'll only attempt them on Thursday naps. It's a great habit to brush your baby after every meal, but it's not very realistic right now- I'm VERY happy with having it done WELL every night after dinner (however we do have a practice of washing out her mouth with after after a meal, thanks to daddy).

Hope this also helps other moms who need a bit of a reminder, let's not lie... it get's hectic sometimes! It's easy to forget nails before it's too late, and they scratch themselves. ;)

Day -> Item	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
Brush HAIR	Every morning	->	->	->	->	->	->
Brush TEETH	Every night	->	->	->	->	->	->
Wash HAIR	Morning		Morning		Morning		Maybe
Bathe	Morning		Morning		Morning		Morning
Cut NAILS	Before Bath			During Nap			Before Bath

Things to accomplish before Baby #2

I'm someone who needs due dates on my to-do lists. I like anticipating everything being done by a certain time and the pressure to complete things before a certain date motivates me. Usually, when I have a daily to-do list, I give myself an allotted couple of hours (2, usually) and it's like a game as I whiz through my daily chores. It's especially nice when I have 15-20 minutes left over to do extras!

The thing with a baby due date is that I can't push it back. There isn't much leeway. The types of things on my list need a bit of time to be completed, too. That means time management. For me, I view 'the sooner the better' as extremely true. If I wan't something done in 3 months, and it takes 5, then I better start now because there are certain things I don't want to deal with WITH a newborn!

So here is my list of to-do's before baby #2 arrives. I'm unsure of how many I'll be able to accomplish, but they're all pretty detrimental and it would be nice to get a move on!

1. Night wean Elly. I want to wean Eliana fully by the time she's two years, lucky for us I'm due around her birthday so hopefully I'll be able to do it. Elly still feeds 8+ times a day and eats full meals. At night she nurses to sleep, and in the middle of the night she'll wake up for comfort food. Every morning, when she wakes up, she nurses twice- one lazily as she's waking up, and the other before breakfast. Nap time, she nurses (2-3 hours later) and then the rest are on demand through the day. Obviously I intend to nurse baby #2, so a full feeding schedule for the both of them poses as a challenge. I want to at least NIGHT WEAN Eliana before I'm 20 weeks pregnant. From there, we want to...
2. Sleep Train Elly. Like our feeding schedule, we sleep on demand. It's always worked for us and since we were both stay at home parents it was just fine. Now I work (not for much longer, though) and my husband will be going to work full time. Things are about to change and a strict schedule is needed NOW more than ever! Obviously, I'll let her sleep as much as she wants on sick days, but right now she sleeps 11 hours at night and an hour or less in the day. Sometimes two naps. It's extremely unpredictable, except for the fact that her natural rhythm get's her napping at least 2-3 hours after she wakes up. I would like to have her napping the same time every day, sleeping the same time everyday, and sleeping without boobs/being in our bed. I intend to nurse and co-sleep with the new baby, and since Elly is such a big toddler I can't see having 4 in the bed anymore. I would like to night wean her and promptly get her in a toddler bed beside our bed. I'm not ready to put her in her own room right now, maybe around 31/2. 
3. Have a hygiene schedule. Right now Elly showers when I shower, I brush her teeth when she lets me (every day, usually, but not well), and changing diapers/clothes happens when it happens. I've noticed, being a clean mom with a clean baby is hard work. Having two must be a different story! I'll admit I'm not prompt or good at nail cutting, she needs a haircut, and I DON'T brush her hair every day! So sue me! But, I want that to change. She's not a baby anymore, she's a little girl, and if this next one has as much hair as she does I've got my hands full. I want to create a checklist/schedule for her in particular so we can create a solid hygiene routine and so mommy can stay on top of it all!
4. Independent toys. Elly is independent (for being an attachment-parented child with two stay at home parents). I'm proud of her social skills, she speaks well and catches on to things quickly. I'd like for her to keep occupied when I'm busy and daddy is at work, since a lot if about to change in her little world. I'm on the look out for toys which are SAFE and creative so we can nurture that little brain without having to be 100% present. I'm not unrealistic, I know she'll need me 90% of the day, but right now she is glued to my side- she'll do things, but only in the same room, and only if she can show and tell.  I don't rely on TV, and I don't plan to. I'd like to give her freedom. The next apartment will have a VERY safe baby proofed play room, so that's something I want to plan. 
5. Baby proof. Since we're moving again within the next couple weeks, I plan to baby proof from the get go. Painting and repairs will happen before we move in, the next thing will be getting on our hands and knees and baby proofing like pros. I'll always watch her, but I'm so scared that in my sleep depravity and shared attention that I might miss something and she'll have her first real injury- stats show that after the 2nd child the risk rises tenfold! (Pretty sure I was the one who almost pulled down the TV on my brother!)I think the timing of our move is perfect, and we'll be able to create a completely safe environment for her. Also, we'll be able to buy baby safe furniture and baby gates- my two favourite things!
6. Dedicated one-on-one time. I'm a loyal person, I always have been. I feel a bit torn about sharing my love and attention with two, three, four, or five. I never want Elly to feel neglected so I want to start creating one-on-one time with just Elly and Mommy. This seems easy enough, but on top of baby care and chores it's easy to overlook. I NEED to do this so I can stay as connected with her as I am now. It's not something I'm willing to lose. Private picnics, cooking together, reading books, and a special night time cuddle.

These things are all routines, they all require time. I never stuck her to a strict routine because I believe for children her age she didn't need a schedule but for her needs to be met on demand. Now she understand yes and no and stay and go and simple things, so I can hopefully use her understanding in training her. I really hope to have it all done within the next 7 months. Lets hope!

Pregnancy Week 4/5?

YAY! Yes! We're pregnant and expecting our second little love!

First of all, I have to say that I completely had no idea but woke up and realized I hadn't gotten a period. It was as simple as that.

 I tested on a whim and the first test was faulty! Water marks, weird disappearing test lines, totally not believable. So, hubby ran out to get another and it showed positive right away! YES! POSITIVE!

I thought this week was extra hard on me because it was my first week at work, but lo and behold, I had a little cutie in my belly!

We're absolutely ecstatic!

Symptoms:
Cramping.
Some bloating.
Fatigue.

Obviously there are no real changes, I felt like I was getting my period for about 10 days now. Haha. Nope! I have no nausea, no headaches, nothing like that. I really feel great!

Last time, with Eliana, I found out at 5 weeks. I'm about 5 weeks today.

Alhamdulilah. We're filled with tons of joy and big dreams for this beautiful baby. I'm praying for this child to be safe, healthy, and for this pregnancy to go well!

My favourite season

I'm going to miss autumn.
I'm going to miss the smell of firewood burning.
I'm going to miss breathing in the crisp cool air.
I'm going to miss the crunching of colourful leaves under my feet.
I'm going to miss being enveloped by soft fabric, my sweater and scarf.
I'm going to miss the smell of pumpkin pie.
I'm going to miss the grey sky.
I'm going to miss the look of rain drops on dark stone.
I'm going to miss the sound of leaves rattling in the breeze.
I'm going to miss autumnal comfort food, warm and aromatic.
I'm going to miss walking slowly around a beautiful small town as I take in all of the beauty that autumn has to offer. It's truly my favourite season, everything about it makes me calm. Nothing is better than my husband's warm hand in mine and the sound of my little baby kicking in her stroller as we walk around orange mums and carved pumpkins before maghrib. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Everything was silent, no car horns, just the sound of leaves swirling at our feet and distant laughter from rosy cheeked school children.
What am I going to do without the most comfortable season of the year?

If autumn lasted longer back home I would have never left it behind...

UGH. Too many choices.

Everyone fights to have the ability to choose. People spend time and money to have the right to choose... and then when we're faced with too many choices we naturally want to throw our hands up and say, "Ya Allah give me whatever is best for me!" Which is by no means a bad thing to do, but it all becomes so overwhelming that we sit back and make excuses for not making up our minds.

This week I've been so frazzled. We moved to our apartment in Makkah to stay for good while we worked out my working situation. I had an offer from one school, then two, then three. All had amazing perks, and really, really bad things which made it seriouly hard not to just give up and stay at home with my baby. 3 callbacks... that's more than what I expected and it's great. I'm not complaining. Oh wait... I am. It was TERRIBLE.

I mean, even getting to the first interview was this emotional explosion. I didn't expect it, but the idea of leaving my baby for the first time really hurt me and I spent a week procrastinating because I didn't know if I was ready to leave her.  I got over it, I motored on.

With school A, I saw them first and I loved the manager who interviewed me and I adored the location and the building. I was incredibly happy to land that job, that is, until my brother in law told my husband that the pay was extremely low. For 4 hours a day, 4 days a week I thought it was amazing. It was the hours that won me, just enough that I could get out of the house without feeling like I was going to die if I didn't go home. I liked the method of teaching, I completed the online course, I was ready.

Then I got callbacks from two other schools...

I thought, because of the pay issue, I might as well see what I can get! I rushed to school B. School B was very prompt in replying. They told me to prepare 2 mock lessons, 5 minutes long. The language barrier between the woman on the phone and I had me completely confused and I was really nervous that I would get there and make a fool out of myself during my mock lesson.

I got to school B and I told the front desk I wanted to see Mrs. so and so and she waved me up the stairs. Ok, hella rude, but I ignored it. I walked upstairs and poked my head into 3 offices before finding Mrs. so and so. I got there and she was nice enough, that is, until she made a comment about me being big and tall and that I didn't look like a good candidate for teaching kids because I might scare them! I sucked in a breath and didn't respond. She then got the demo ready, and my mock student ended up being students. They liked my kids demo and then I went into the subject matter that Mrs. so and so had me prepare- grammar in 5 minutes. I turned to the white board and they started whispering in arabic behind me, giggles, and I remembered Mrs.so and so's comment and tried not to think about it but I could feel the sting in my eyes. I wanted to cry, since getting there it DID NOT go well. Mrs. so and so was rude, these mock students who would be teachers I work with could see I was not in my game, I felt like a major idiot. I bombed my grammar lesson.

Before meeting with Mrs. so and so they pulled her aside, probably to tell her I was incompetent. She walked into her office, looked me up and down, and told me that I was hired and she wanted me to work Sunday. She also told me that the demo bombed and she didn't care because it was a stressful situation to be put in... I didn't want to like her. I already saw how they worked there. I didn't feel good at all. The pay, however, was excellent. Beyond excellent. As soon as I left I felt sick... would I really sacrifice happiness for money? Maybe. If I could suck up my pride and walk in there again. It was unlikely.

Then I headed to my next interview, a bit shaken, emotional. It was a really well funded facility, clean, lots of young teachers. I met the manager and we started talking. She was friendly and sociable, she told me she liked me right away and it boosted my confidence enough that I forgot about school B. She told me school C was the largest in the world, and it looked like it. She couldn't give me an accurate idea of what my salary would be, somewhere between 6 and 7 thousand. Later into the interview things got unprofessional. She told me she fired someone because they didn't say Hi, she told me I was taking the spot of someone who she was going to fire for gossip. She offered to hang out and smoke shisha (not something I do...). I was getting a weird vibe, they all seemed very... close. She was the 'popular' girl at work, the boss, and that scared me. A lot. I still don't know what to make of them. They have a driver, the funding, great vacation pay, all the good stuff. But they scared me a bit, and not knowing my salary does NOT help me make a decision.

So now, after tons of STRESS I decided to follow my heart and stick with school A, the pay isn't great but the hours are. The environment looked healthy. They were very professional. Sometimes making choices is overwhelming, hard, and now not something I want to do for a very long time...

This Month! Eid, Eating Habits ( and one HEALTHY recipe)

Eid mubarak to everyone! I've been so busy!

Last week and four days after- I went into surgery for a chest infection. All good now, just healing! Not so happy about the scar but I'm really happy about feeling better before eid! My hospital experience was absolutely amazing and I hope to write about it soon.

Healing and hectic trip to Makkah- my MIL wanted to do Umrah and my husband and I had to travel to Jeddah for my job, so my SILs and MIL joined us for a trip to Makkah. It was really hectic, really stressful, worthwhile, and at least we got what we needed done. I didn't do umrah during ramadan, mainly because it was too crowded for Eliana and I didn't want to risk getting sick so soon after my surgery.

EID- Eid just SHOWED up among the chaos. We nearly forgot. Eid here is a weird, wonderful, festive, and fun experience. I'm so happy to have been here to enjoy it with my husband and his family. Eliana made tons of money and ate tones of chocolate, both things make me nervous! We started her back on Cloth diapers yesterday and let me tell you- it was a mistake. Whatever she ate yesterday was NOT good! Haha! I didn't enjoy being separated from my husband, was thrown in with people who don't understand me while he visited a village worth of family. I missed him, but I did go to a party! It was lovely. The fireworks are terrifying here, not so sure if everyone knows firework safety! Today is a huge village get together, tomorrow my FIL and all his brothers will all go BBQ in the outdoors with their families, all of the 100 or so of us! I'm really excited for it.

I've just been extremely overwhelmed with it all. On a positive note I've got my daughter back on a good sleeping schedule, 930-10pm nightly, which I know is really early for a Saudi kid. I just can't keep seeing her stay up until the wee hours for absolutely no reason. She gets really grumpy, plus my husband and I have some more free time this way!

I haven't been eating as well as I could be. I feel like I've had my fill of chips and fries and sweets and shwarama... maybe not my fill of shwarama, but a lot of it. Our Pomegranates and Figs on the farm are ready, however, so I've been feasting on fresh, organic, FREE fruit. I'm so excited about the variety we have in the farm, all seem exotic and extremely expensive (One Pom in Canada is like $2.50- $3!) I've had WAY too much rice, I'm getting so sick of it! Instead, a couple of nights ago I made up a huge Greek Salad for the family and it was a huge hit. I don't remember if I've ever posted the recipe, I'm way lazy to check. I adapted this recipe from one my Aunt made when I stayed with her before we moved here. It's to die for, it keeps so well and tastes better the next day...

ANOTHER GREEK:

Dressing:
One lemon, 1tsp chopped rind, rest of juice squeezed
1 tbs oregano
1 1/2 tbs parsely
2 tbs Balsamic Vinigar
1 tbs white vinigar
5 tbs Olive Oil
1 Garlic clove chopped finely
4 black olives chopped finely (I hate olives but the dressing really needs them)
1/2 tsp each Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients and let sit for an hour.

The Salad:
5 Cucumbers cubed
2 Green peppers cubed
1 Red or Yellow Pepper cubed
2 Tomatoes cubed
1 large or 2 small Red onions sliced thinly
1/2 feta, drained and crumbled (in Saudi Feta is wet-ish and creamy, I cut it into cubes and let it strain in a colander for 2 hours, it was dryer and more salad friendly when I added it in)
2 1/2 cups of cooked pearled wheat (some salt added)
1 can of chickpeas boiled

Combine all ingredients, feta being last. Pour on the dressing and allow the wheat to absorb the flavour, it's much better if you make this salad in advance.
This salad easily fed 11 of us, if you make it in this quantity it will last a small family 2 or 3 meals so it's perfect for us and I make it a lot. Keeps 4-5 days.