A New Rhythm

Finally everyone is sleeping when they are supposed to be and life is finally taking on a regular rhythm.  In contrast to last week when Chloe was ready with her backpack packed and by the door at 4:30, we are now barely making it up in enough time to eat, get ready, and run to the bus stop.  Damon is out the door shortly after and Julia and I are busy with play-dates and activities at home.   Chloe doesn’t get home until 4:15 and we have a snack while she debriefs us on the day’s events.   Then finally the sisters get some play time together while I cook dinner.  Then it’s eat, bath, stories, and it’s almost time for bed!  Damon has had events almost every night this week, and if that’s any indication of what this position will be like, then he’s going to be busy!  I was able to attend one event with him and met the Ambassador and his wife there.

Snuggling with Daddy-0

 We still have no permanent internet connection which means I’m not able to get messages out while Damon’s at work.  We are waiting for our residency cards and then we’ll be eligible to sign up for a plan.  I’m looking forward to that!  And, having a car I can drive!  Although, I have met a lot of neighbors getting rides here and there.  Everyone has been very nice about that.  On the bright side, our first shipment of stuff is coming next week!  The air shipment arrived last week and its getting processed through customs.  Should be at our door in a few more days.  Yeah!!  Roller skates and scooters and lots of other goodies!

teaching Julia how to play a song

Chloe had a music class performance on Wednesday.  I was able to get to that with Julia and it was very cute.  For their finale, they did a performance to a children’s book (I will love you forever).  The teacher did the narration and the students played various instruments as sound effects.  Chloe was part of the xylophone choir and did a very nice job!  If you know the story, the xylophones played when the rocking chair went back and forth, and back and forth.  And she played in the chorus.  I was impressed with the school – they have so many teachers!  They have a separate teacher for art, music, PE, a librarian, and a counselor that comes in and talks to them about friendship and other life skills.  PLUS, the classroom teacher has an aide.  WOW!  It’s a great school and Chloe is enjoying it a lot.

Chloe at the music class performance

 

Next week is Spring Break and I should have some beach pictures to share!

First Week -- Transition

We started off our first week with a bang!  Day one - St. Patrick’s Party at the American Club.  We had balmy weather with a warm breeze – very nice after a cold winter in Virginia.   There was a playground for all the kids and tables outside so the adults can visit while the kids play.  The girls met a lot of new friends already.  Julia was up to her usual and figured out how to get up to the front courtyard by herself.  And, when she couldn’t open the sliding door (to get to the movie room) she pulled the metal screen door, started to climb up and reach for the handle.  Thought I’d intervene at that point.   She’s clever!

View of hills from roof

The next day was a block party in the “compound”.  We live in an area with 8 houses, all leased by the Embassy, which has a gate in the front so it is referred to as a compound.  On party night, everyone brought out their tables and chairs and we ate together in the shared driveway while the kids played with scooters and bikes.   It was fun to meet the neighbors and see where everyone came from and was going to.  Half of the families will be leaving this summer for their next posts.

The rest of the week was spent trying to figure out how everything works and recovering from jet-lag.  That has been exhausting.  Until a day ago, the girls were waking up every night at 3:00 AM and STAYING awake.   You HAVE to nap in the middle of the day, but it’s hard to figure out how much to nap so everyone will go to sleep at a regular time and hopefully wake up at a regular time.  So far, we haven’t made a lot of progress!  It’s hard to have a “normal” schedule when you’re so tired all the time.

And, then we have to figure out all the plugs, switches, appliances, locks, gates, phones, etc…  Something rang -- where is it, what is it, and who could it be??  It turns out it was the door phone for guests to call in when they arrive at the gate.  I had to press a button to open the gate, but which button??  Had to press a bunch in order to find the right one.  Don’t know how many doors I opened that day!  I haven’t figured out that system yet. 

I already managed to lock myself out of the house!  One of the housekeepers came with a ladder to scale the wall and let me in.  The front door has multiple locks and then you walk out into the courtyard, which has a locked gate, and from there is the compound driveway with the locked gate in the front.  I had just stepped outside for a moment, hadn’t brought my keys (the front door was open), and the courtyard gate closed behind me.  And, with the courtyard gate closed, I was locked out!  Oops!  Won’t do that again!

Also big this week was Chloe’s FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!  Our work sponsors took us to the school on the weekend and we happened to find out who her teacher was going to be and have a peek inside the classroom.  It was a very cute classroom with lots of play centers around the room and a reading loft.  She has had a wonderful week and I’m glad we had her start right away.   The principal already approached me on the first day to ask me if I was still interested in substituting!  So, I may be doing that as soon I can get over this jet lag!

Arrived in Oman!

With about 20 minutes to spare, we left Arlington on March 15th with our 9 suitcases and additional carry-on bags as well.  Despite an "upgrade" we paid for, we were stuck at check-in because United has apparently done away with customer service and you have to do everything yourself.  The self check-in systems don't like Diplomatic Passports, apparently.  Finally got checked in and they had moved our seats, seats we reserved months ago.  THAT got sorted out, but then it was off to security with all our carry-on bags and a sleeping 3 year old.  Fortunately had our stroller, so it was do-able.  But, I still don't understand why you must take shoes and jackets off a sleeping child in order to go through security.  Amazingly she stayed asleep!

Got to our gate, which was the last one at the end of the terminal, only to find out that the gate had changed and we had to walk halfway back.  Hmmm..  And, there was a plane change... AND there was another seat change.  And there was an hour delay.  Finally got on the plane and found out we were the first row in the section, which is great for leg room, but not great when you're trying to entertain two young children and won't have any access to your stuff -- no under-seat storage.  In all, the flight went great and the kids did much better than I thought, even though the video system wasn't working and we couldn't watch Tangled.  They ended up sleeping most of the time.  And Chloe did even complain much about the food!

Got to Kuwait with about 40 minutes to spare, found the gate for Omani Air and realized that we didn't have tickets!!  You're supposed to go to the transfer line (think bus station way back when...) and get your tickets there.  We didn't have time for that!!  But, in the end, it all worked out and even our luggage made it on the plane.

We were greeted at the airport by an Omani national working for the Embassy -- whisked us over to the Diplomat line and got us through customs in just a few minutes.  Two of the FS officers were waiting for us after going through customs and we were finally going to go "home"!  How exciting!  And how nice to sleep in a bed ... 

(They charge by the MB over here for internet .... pictures will be limited until we get a permanent account....)

Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum

 
We found the perfect escape from the icy cold wind -- the Smithsonian's Butterfly Pavilion.  Tucked inside the Natural History Museum next to the creepy-crawly insect "zoo" is DC's butterfly refuge.  It's warm and balmy inside -- don't need a jacket in there!

 Friends from our building joined us for this mid-week outing.  








The pavilion was full of large, colorful, exotic species of butterflies.  Julia had on her sparkly red ruby slippers and the butterflies frequently flitted down to inspect, much to her surprise.  Fortunately, we did not have any butterfly mishaps.  I was a bit afraid one might have been stomped by acccident! 

After we were done with the butterflies, we went to check out the rest of the museum.  So much to see and not enough time!  We were lucky enough to go through the insect area just as they were taking the tarantula out for a feeding.  The tarantula stayed in his portable cage, much to the kids' relief.  They stayed pretty close during that demo.  On our way to the BIG bone dinosaur exhibit, we found some of the smaller animals in the museum.  The swordfish was one of their favorites.

We stumbled upon the hands-on Forensic Lab in one obscure corner of the museum.  The kids assembled their own skeleton and learned about all the different bones that make up your body.  They didn't do too bad, either!

We finally made it to the Dinosaur area.  Just enough time to browse the big bones and make a plan for our next visit. 

Chloe and Caden by T-Rex

Mt. Vernon in Winter

Ever since our first visit to Mt. Vernon, I knew I wanted to go back in the winter and see the estate covered in snow.  However, I didn't know that snow would be so scarce this winter!  While it was dumping in various parts of the East Coast, it definitely was not here.  So, the first chance we got, we went.  And that was not until the end of January. 

It was a gorgeous day -- sunny, a few wispy clouds, and the snow had just fallen a day or two before.  Julia seemed most intrigued by the mud from the melting snow and was not too interested in hiking around.  With a little coaxing, we enjoyed some time on the trails before going inside to the museum, dress-up in period clothes (kids only) and enjoy a treat at the cafeteria when we were all done.

Both girls fell asleep on the way home and I enjoyed a quiet, scenic drive on the George Washington Memorial Parkway with the setting sun casting pink shadows on the icy river.  Another wonderful outing!

View of Fort Washington from across the Potomac River