The Great Flood of 2013

When we moved to Saudi Arabia, I never would have expected that we would have to deal with flooding rains...much less flooding from the second story down!  But then again, never in my wildest dreams would I have anticipated being here in the first place!  So here's the story...

On Saturday, November 16 it rained for the first time since being here!  It was awesome!  And when I say rained, I really mean that we had a few nice showers.  We all had a good laugh when the ISG kids were sent home early the next day because of the threat of rain.  We really thought it was crazy when school was cancelled on Monday and it turned out to be a sunny day.  Then I thought it was just getting ridiculous when I got a text Tuesday morning telling me that even Connor's little preschool would be closed for the day!  Then Wednesday, November 20 happened...

I was a raging insomniac for most of my pregnancy and the last few weeks were the worst.  I didn't fall asleep until about 2 am that day.  At 3 am I woke up to Harry getting out of bed and rambling off a few choice four letter words.  I asked him what's wrong and he told me that our room is flooded!  He had woken up to what he thought was the sound of me taking a shower.  In reality it was the sound of water running over the stairs and falling to the first floor.  We were both really confused while trying to find out where the water was coming from.  Is the toilet overflowing?  Is the shower leaking?  Do we have a leak in the ceiling?  Nope, none of the above.  Turns out it was coming in from under the door that leads out to the balcony.  It also turns out that the balcony has drains on it for in case of a situation like this...who knew!  And in an evil twist of fate, our drains were covered!  You see the balcony has a small barrier around the bottom so when it rained really hard in such a short amount of time it basically created a little pool.  When the water got high enough, it started coming into our bedroom.  We literally had at least an inch of standing water in our room that made its way out of the room and started falling downstairs into the living room.  The floor is ceramic tile which was very slick so I stayed in the bed...laughing hysterically as I watched Harry walking around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do.  All we had were bath towels, a broom, and a dust pan!  At some point Harry noticed the covered drains so the water started to go down a little faster.  A few friends of ours came over to help after they got their places dried out...this happened to a whole bunch of us!  They came to the rescue with a squeegee broom which helped speed things up!  Have a look at all the fun we had for a couple of hours!

In the midst of all this I was having contractions.  I had been having contractions for weeks, but they were getting stronger and more regular the whole day before and throughout the night.  After a couple of hours of sleep I decided that we should head to the hospital for me to get checked.  I was starting to get worried about the road conditions and I certainly didn't want to be stuck on them during an emergency situation.  Take a look at what our drive to the hospital looked like!  It was absolutely crazy!!

I had to snap this pic while I was in the ER waiting to be brought up to the maternity floor.  Only in Saudi Arabia would you see something like this...

I was very disappointed when the doctor wouldn't admit me, but stay tuned...because less than 48 hours later we were in a mad dash to the hospital! 

Life in Saudi - The Bright Side

Since my last post was full of my frustrations I decided that I would come up with things that I actually like about living here...and yes, there are many things that I do like!  Some things are specific to Saudi while others are just things that I love about our life right now, things that we wouldn't have the opportunity to experience had we not moved.

First is probably the most selfish reason why I love being here.  I don't have to work!  I was a teacher for 7 years before we moved.  Now this may not seem like a long time, but ask anyone in the education field and they'll tell you that 7 years is a lifetime these days.  They should throw you a party if you make it past 5 years.  Seriously!  I can't tell you how many times I was sitting in the office at our house in the afternoon, at night, on the weekends...working...listening to Harry and Connor playing and making memories.  I feel like I don't have a care in the world now.  Not because I literally don't have a care in the world, but because I know what it's like to feel completely overwhelmed almost all the time.  Not having that feeling is amazing!  It's like I actually enjoy life now!  Some people said things like you'll get bored, I could never be a stay at home mom, yada, yada, yada!  I've felt bored maybe once or twice since I've been here and I was able to appreciate being bored!  Being able to stay home allows me to do things that I never had the time or energy to do, like cook.  I looked forward to cooking and I'm really enjoying it.  It's hard to explain, but basically I feel like a wife and a mother now instead of a teacher that's married and has a son.

The funny thing is, the next thing I love about being here is Harry's work.  I know that as time goes on he will have to start working more, but transitioning from a life of shift work and endless overtime has been awesome!  He is home every night and every weekend!  They have been extremely helpful and understanding about my pregnancy and everything that comes with having a baby under the circumstances.  It hasn't always been easy and we've hit some bumps along the road, but in the end it has always worked out and lots of people have gone above and beyond to help.  They have even started to allow him to work from home until the baby gets here!  We are so grateful for that considering the site is an hour an a half away from where we live.  Jameson will be the first baby born here with the project so we are kind of like the guinea pigs when it comes to the logistics of everything.  We are learning as we go because no one has "been there and done that" yet.  It's pretty neat that he will be the first Dow/Sadara baby born in KSA, but it definitely has caused some stress and confusion at times!

Considering that I dread going out to do things like shop, going to the doctor is actually easy (at least all my experiences at SAAD hospital have been)!  Much, much easier than in the US!  You can almost guarantee that you will be seen at or within a few minutes of your appointment time.  You definitely don't sit around wondering why you have an 11:00 appointment when it's 11:30 and you're still in the waiting room!  The Saudi girls at the reception desk are a real pain in the rear to deal with, but I just give them the same attitude right back and continue along my merry way.  Even though the nurses and doctors get you in and out in what feels to me like record timing, they are still very thorough.  I brought Connor to the doctor for the first time last week.  His appointment was at 10:15.  We were walking out of the hospital at 10:35 to go back home.  In 20 minutes we saw the doctor and got two prescriptions filled at the pharmacy.  Walgreens doesn't hold a candle to this pharmacy.  They are extremely efficient!  The doctor puts the prescription in the computer and then gives you a slip of paper with a barcode and your file number on it before you leave their office.  Then you go downstairs to the pharmacy, give them the paper, and they give you a number.  You sit down and wait for your number to appear on the screen to let you know which window to go to.  When it's your turn, you go to the window to get the medicine and instructions...that's it!  The longest I've waited has been probably 5 minutes!

Even though my last post was mainly about how I was so annoyed with not being able to drive, it's really nice to have drivers, especially the good ones!  Trust me, you don't want to drive here!  There are a handful of them that we love and are so happy to see when they come to get us!  It makes the car ride a whole lot less awkward when you can talk to them as if they were a friend.  And as weird as it sounds some of them do start to feel like one of your friends...especially when you see them every day.  Almost all of them love Connor and he has started to remember them by name.  A few have become protective of us when we go out.  The other day we were on our way to Babies R Us when I realized that we forgot the gift cards at home.  We were almost there and prayer time was almost over so I told Harry that Connor and I would wait in the mall for prayer to finish while he went back home to get the gift cards.  Harry texted me on his way back to tell me that the guy was hustling to get there and back and that he didn't like leaving us there.  We weren't in any danger or anything.  I think he just didn't like the idea of us being there without someone.  The guy that is on call to bring me to the hospital stopped by yesterday just to check on me and ask how I was feeling.  When you think about it, these guys are here to work just like Harry is and have to find friendship in strangers just like we do.

We spend a lot of time together and our life is really laid back!  We don't have many options when it comes to things to do around here, but that is okay.  We do things as a family that we probably wouldn't do together back home because there are so many other distractions, places to go, and people to see.  We take walks around the compound while Connor rides his bike, have lunch outside on the patio, play games, watch movies, and read books.  It took me three days to make a crib skirt for Jameson's bed, but it didn't matter!  I've got the time!  I go to coffee morning with the ladies on the compound once a week.  We laugh and have a great time and just walk back home whenever we feel like it!  Some may disagree, but I enjoy not having somewhere to be everyday.  We lead sort of a simple (sometimes lazy) life here, but I love it!

I love living on a compound!  It really feels like we are in our own little world inside these walls.  Actually, when I think about it, we kind of are in our own little town...smack in the middle of Khobar.  Our friends stop by to visit and we stop and chat with people sitting outside while we are on one of our walks.  We can let Connor ride his bike without much worry...since none of us can drive, there isn't much traffic on the road!  He knows how to get to and from the clubhouse and he can tell you where a few people live.  His favorite thing to do while riding his bike is jump the speed bumps.  We walk to the restaurant for dinner on Fridays while the cleaning guy is here.  If we have a craving for ice cream or a cold beer 0.0% alcohol malt beverage we go to the store in the clubhouse.  Before we came here I was completely obsessed with the tv show Lost.  I watched every episode of every season in a matter of about two months.  I often joke with Harry that we live in the little village on Lost...the one they live in when they go back in time...minus Jacob, the smoke monster, and the Dharma Initiative of course.  What makes it feel even more like Lost is that the maintenance guys and yard guys all wear overalls, the Coaster buses, and the fact that we are kind of self sufficient in here.  Speaking of the guys that work here...Connor loves them and they get a kick out of him too.  He loves to get way ahead of us when he rides his bike.  I guess he feels independent without us right beside him.  We laugh as we watch him waving and saying hello to the guys as he rides by.  Some of them stop him and give him a high five.  It's quite funny!

I love that we now have friends from all over the world, while also realizing how small the world really is!  Connor's best friend here is from the Netherlands and even though I'm not sure where all his classmates are from, I know that none of them are from the US.  I have made friends with most of the ladies here and I've had a great time getting to know them.  A few of them even got together and gave me a baby shower!  I definitely didn't expect it, but I loved that they did that for me.  About 30 ladies came, some from other compounds, and some that I had never even met!  You quickly realize that while we come from different countries and cultures, we are all very much the same.  One day we are hanging out with our friends from Canada or stopping to chat with someone from Argentina, and the next day we run into someone from Lockport, Louisiana while grocery shopping!  I know that our lives have already been enriched just in our short time here!

I love the iced tea here and I've also come to like the abaya (most of the time).  I don't know why the tea here is so good, but it is!  They serve it with simple syrup as a sweetener, not packets of sugar or splenda.  The weird thing is that it usually tastes different everywhere I go, but 99% of the time I love it!  It will definitely be one of the things I miss about living here lol!  Now that the weather has cooled off some, I actually don't mind having to wear the ababya most of the time.  It definitely has it's advantages because you don't really have to think about what to wear...it doesn't matter anyway.  I can't tell you how many times I've brought Connor to and from school or gone to the grocery store or the mall in my pajamas!  You could, if you really wanted to, go without a bra...just saying...not that I know anything about that ;)

And last but certainly not least, the best thing about life in Saudi right now is that we have only days left before Jameson arrives (hopefully).  We are so looking forward to becoming a family of four!  I'll leave you with the only "belly picture" that you're probably going to get!

 
            

Life in Saudi - How I Really Feel

I can hardly believe that Connor and I have been in Saudi for 2 months!  Unreal.  We have settled into our temporary villa and although I don't think this country will ever feel like home to us, we have managed to create a pretty homey environment for ourselves.  That being said, I am over the "honeymoon" stage of culture shock and miss a lot about my little life back in the boot.  This post may come across as complaining and I'll probably look back on it and think geez, it wasn't that bad (and it really isn't) but I've had a few bad days and I feel like complaining.  Consider yourself warned.  I used to beat myself up when I felt down because we have a great life here and I don't want to feel like I'm not making the most out of it, but I've realized that it's okay to have bad days.  Living here is a huge adjustment and it's not always easy to deal with everything that comes with it.   

First and foremost I miss driving.  Not necessarily the act of driving, but more so the freedom it gives you.  I honestly did not think that this would be as much of an issue to me as it has been.  It's really annoying to have to figure out where we want to go and how long we will be there ahead of time.  We are truly at their mercy.  We depend on them to pick us up on time, know how to get where we need to go, and know how to drive safely.  There has been some crazy stuff going on with our drivers this last week so it has been even worse.  The Saudi government has been deporting thousands of people whose paperwork and sponsorship isn't exactly right.  Apparently this has caused some issues with almost all of our drivers.  We have a driver assigned to us during the week to bring Connor to school and pick him up every day.  His name is Prajeesh, but he has not been here to drive us all week.  I don't know exactly what the problem is, but there is an issue with his paperwork so Sunday we had Sijo assigned to bring us to school.  This was not a big deal.  Sijo is really nice.  He has driven us before.  He is actually supposed to be on call 24 hours a day right now to bring me to the hospital in the event of an emergency.  He told me that Prajeesh had to go to Bahrain, but he was coming back that evening.  Well Monday morning the car comes...it's not Prajeesh AND it's not Sijo.  Where are they?!?!  Now both of them are having issues.  He tells me Prajessh will be back that evening.  What about Sijo?  He's supposed to be on call to take me to the hospital!  This new guy was late picking me up to go get Connor that afternoon and I was really annoyed.  Then I found out that all the cars that day were cancelled so I felt lucky to have been able to get him to school and go to my doctor's appointment.  We went to the dispatch center when Harry got home to make sure that there was still someone here at all times that could bring us to the hospital in an emergency.  They assured us there is and the issues should be resolved that night.  Tuesday morning the dispatcher called me and said that the security guard at the gate wasn't letting the driver in the compound and that he's trying to figure out what is going on.  I called the front desk and he said that he's tried to call security but they don't answer the phone so he doesn't know what's going on either.  Apparently he got to the gate at 7:30, but the guards didn't come out of the shack.  He waited 5 minutes and then honked the horn to get their attention.  This in itself infuriates me.  What were they doing in there???  They looked at his ID and told him he can't come in and he has to turn around and leave.  Now mind you he was in one of the Limousina cars (that's the company that provides transportation to us), he had his Limousina ID, he had his compound issued ID, he was dressed in his Limousina uniform, and to top it off he's the same guy that brought us to school the day before!  He has driven Harry before...why didn't they want to let him in?  We still don't know, but they eventually let him pass at 8:15.  My opinion is that the guards didn't like the fact that he honked and just wanted to give him a hard time, but they didn't hurt the driver.  What they did was make Connor 30 minutes late for school.  On our way back to our compound I told him that he needs to bring a copy of his iqama with him that afternoon when he picks us up for in case security at the compound where Connor goes to school asks for it.  I also emailed the dispatcher and told him that from now on if we had a driver other than Prajeesh bring us, then they needed to bring a copy of their iqama with them.  He says okay and that Prajeesh would be back that evening.  Yeah, sure.  So the guy picked us up that afternoon...no copy...whatever.  Connor didn't go to school Wednesday and I was glad to not have to deal with all the foolishness.  Thursday morning our car got here.  It's not Prajeesh, it's not Sijo, and it's not Jay (the guy they didn't want to let in).  I've never seen this guy before, he didn't help me get the carseat in the car, and he freaking stinks!  He was really nice, but it quickly became obvious that he was new.  He tried to take the shortcut to school so someone had obviously tried to explain to him how to get there, but when we went around one of the round abouts (big circles in the road) he missed the turn off and went completely around.  Connor leaned over and whispered to me that he tried to take the shortcut, but he went the wrong way haha!  I had to give him directions the rest of the way, he almost ran into the back of a car, and he didn't have a copy of his iqama....grrrrr!  Harry emailed the dispatcher about the iqama issue...he says don't worry, Prajeesh will be back that evening.  I wanted to walk over there and slap him at this point.  When the guy picked me up that afternoon to go get Connor he still stinks.  As we are going down the road, the hood pops open.  Umm, okay.  So we pulled over and he starts to get out, but doesn't put the car in park!!!  Thankfully he notices right away when the car starts rolling and I didn't end up by myself in a runaway car.  At this point I want to cry.  I miss Prajeesh.  Is that weird?  He is from India and speaks very little English so we can't really talk about much during our rides.  I know virtually nothing about him, but even so I trust him.  We have a routine.  He puts the carseat in for me, helps me get Connor in and out of the car, and knows the fastest way to school.  He is a safe driver, but he also doesn't take crap from any of the crazies on the road.  We listen to the radio and laugh at those crazies.  And he doesn't stink!  On the way home the stinky guy tells me that it is his first time here.  No kidding!  I'm thinking, I would've guessed it was your first time driving anywhere...ever!  The poor guy was so nervous, but I was so over it!  If I don't see Prajeesh this Sunday morning, I may just close the door and go back to bed!

I also miss little things like my favorite candles, wine, the sprayer in the sink, wine, Raising Cane's, Zen, Goal Post, wine, and Hobby Lobby.  Did I mention that I miss wine?  Haha!  I'm not a big drinker and I couldn't drink right now anyway, but just knowing that I can't makes me miss it!  I never thought I'd say this, but I really miss Wal-Mart!  I know that I can always go to Wal-Mart for just about anything.  Over here I don't know where to go for certain things and even if it was at a particular store the day before, it may not be there now.  That's why we have a stock pile of cream of mushroom soup and baking soda.  When you see it, you have to buy more than one!  I miss normal store hours.  Everything here closes down during prayer time which happens five times a day.  Some stores are only closed during prayer, some close after the morning prayer and don't open again until 4:00.  Some have different hours on different days.  This is why I hate to shop here!  Most of the time I'd rather just go without.  I really miss the rain and the cool, fall weather.  It hasn't rained once in the four months that Harry has been here.  I really, really miss our hunting camp and all the fun we have there!  I even miss watching Lee fall asleep at night around the bonfire!  I could go on and on...

Even though I have had a few sour puss days, the fact that I am so blessed is not lost on me.  I have learned a lot about myself in these two short months.  I am a lot stronger of a person than I thought I was.  I have learned many lessons about tolerance and patience (not that you'd know from reading my frustration with the transportation)!  I'm sure you've all heard people talk about immigrants in the US and how if they are going to live there then they need to learn to speak English.  I'm guilty of it myself.  You'll never hear me say it again.  Listen up folks...it's not that easy.  There are lots of people living in the US legitimately, trying to make a better life for their family just as we are here in Saudi but they don't speak English.  Well we definitely don't speak Arabic and we live in an Arabic speaking country!  I have gained a whole new perspective because now I'm the one that doesn't know the language.  I am in the shoes of the people I once talked about.  It is hard, really hard sometimes.  I've had people hang up on me because I couldn't understand them and they couldn't understand me.  I guess they thought this lady is a lost cause and they won't be able to help me so they just hang up lol!

Anyway...when I'm not being driven around by stinky drivers ed students or getting hung up on, I'm busy planning our vacations for next year.  We have London, Greece, and Paris and at least two trips back home on our list!  Having that to look forward to makes living in Saudi a little easier :)                   

Connor is 4 Years Old

I can't believe my little coconut is already four years old!  He has grown up so much over the last year, and he is really excited about being four for some reason.  Because of scheduling, we ended up celebrating his birthday for almost the whole month!

 

He ran fever the night before his actual birthday so I kept him home from school.  There really is no escaping allergies and sinus infections - even in Saudi Arabia!  During the day I took him to Jarir Bookstore to pick out a new videogame for his Kinect and then to Danube to choose a cake for us to have after supper.  He picked out a Disneyland game and a strawberry cake.  His birthday fell on a Sunday so we were able to Skype with everyone back home.  We were going to try and do a group session on Skype, but you need the paid version to do that so we had to improvise.  We set up our two laptops and two iPads so that everyone could sing Happy Birthday to him and watch him blow out his candles.  Quite unconventional, but it worked!

He even go to Skype with Parker, his best friend from back home!  It was so fun to watch them chat. 

Because most of the families we would invite to his party were going to be out of town for the Eid holiday, we decided to wait until the end of the month to have it.  Harry was actually off of work for almost the whole week for Eid so we went to Bahrain to celebrate some more and do things that we can't do in Saudi.  Plus, I could go out in public without having to wear an abaya and we didn't have to worry about places closing for prayer time!  We decided to go last minute so we scrambled and got a single exit visa so that we could leave the country and then come back in.  Somehow the memory card for my camera became corrupt and I lost all of the pictures from our trip!  Yeah, not too happy about that but c'est la vie!  On our way to the hotel we had the driver stop at the Al Fateh Grand Mosque.  It's one of the largest mosques in the world and allows nonmuslims inside.  They even do tours and give you lots of information about the mosque and Islam.  Prayer time is a huge part of life in Saudi Arabia.  Our schedule basically has to revolve around it when we leave the compound.  It was interesting to find out exactly what is going on during those times...well what is going on with the people who are actually praying.  After the mosque we checked into our hotel.  We stayed at the Kempinski because it is connected to the City Centre mall.  All of the activities we had planned were in the mall so it was the perfect place to stay.  This way we didn't have to worry about getting a taxi and we could easily go back to our room for naps and to rest.  After checking in we had lunch at PF Changs and then went to the movies to see Planes.  After a much needed nap we spent a little time at the pool and then finished off our day with a light supper at the hotel lounge.

 

Day two started with an early lunch at McDonald's, fun at the indoor waterpark, gelato, and supper at TGI Fridays.  There was "family seating" in the food court, but we didn't sit there because...well, because we didn't have to!  It was weird that I felt so liberated over something so small.  Connor had so much fun at the waterpark!  He hung out at the kiddie area for a while, but he was too afraid to go down the slides by himself and they were way too small for Harry to go down them with him.  We spent a lot of time going around the lazy river.  We must have gone around at least four times.  This is when I started noticing how ridiculous the people were.  It's like they don't know how to behave appropriately and they definitely don't have manners.  I don't think parents even know the meaning of discipline.  Harry ended up getting Connor to go down a few of the bigger slides with him and he loved it!  He could've done that for the rest of the day, but I was getting tired and couldn't stand much more of the crazy people!  Perfect example...as I'm coming out of the changing room, this girl tries to push me back so that she could come in.  I forcefully gently pushed back and said excuse me.  She laughed while the ladies she was with stared me down through the little eye hole in their head covering.  I just stared right back at them.  I won't have a confrontation with these people, but I'm definitely going to let them know that I'm not afraid of them!  I was beyond ready to get out of that place! 

 

Day three started again with an early lunch at Potbelly's, fun at Magic Planet, bowling, and ice cream at Cold Stone.  Magic Planet was a fun place to spend some time.  It has little rides, bumper cars, and arcade games.  Connor landed on the jackpot on a game just like the one he hit the jackpot on last year for his birthday party at The Party Pad.  It was so funny and he racked up on tickets!  I was winning throughout the entire game of bowling until the last frame.  Harry and Connor both came back to beat me!  We couldn't escape the crazy people there either though.  A grown man thought he was going to cut the line at the counter, but the guy working wasn't having it.  He told him he had to get in line and it was awesome!  Harry had to track down one of our bowling balls after this little boy took it off of our lane.  It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but it was the lightest ball they had and there weren't anymore available.  I had to tell a little girl next to us several times to get back on her side.  Once I had to stop her from bowling down our lane.  And yes, her mom was sitting right there!  I'm sure my hormones and the fact that I'm uncomfortable and in pain most of the time added to my lack of patience and understanding for people in general, but they really are a different breed here!

 

We decided to venture out for supper and I'm glad we did!  We ended up at a place called Coco's which is in what seemed to be the downtown area.  The atmosphere was cool, the food was good, and the peach iced tea was amazing!  The iced tea at almost every restaurant we've been to here in the Middle East has been really good and this was probably the best.  I'd really like to know what they do that makes it so good.  The only pictures I have from our trip are of our night out because we took them with our phone since we didn't have our camera.

                

When we were walking down the street to find a taxi Connor saw this pink ribbon and said, "That's where Mimi works!"  Harry and I were both shocked because we never realized he made a connection with awareness ribbons and his Mimi's work with the American Cancer Society.  We had a great night out and an overall great time in Bahrain!  The next morning we had breakfast and then got ready for our short 1 hour drive over the causeway and back into Saudi.

 

Fast forward a couple of weeks and it was finally time for the birthday party!  It took me forever to find a place to have the party, but I finally decided to have it at a place called Ceramique a la Cart Café at the Al Rashid mall here in Khobar.  It turned out to be a great place to have a party.  The cake and transportation didn't turn out so well.  Connor requested a batman cake so I did my usual search for it on Pintrest and he decided on something cute and simple...easy right?  Wrong!  I got a few quotes for it from local bakeries and their prices were outrageous for a small cake to feed no more than 25 people.  I came across this lady on one of the Facebook groups that I follow.  I took a look at her page, she does good work, charged a reasonable price....perfect!  Until she messaged me the weekend before the party saying she couldn't make it because I don't live on her compound and it is too complicated to get visitors access and she couldn't get a car to deliver it to me.  I know people who have been to her compound.  There is a huge craft show there next week and a lot of the ladies from my compound are going.  So while you can't just show up and get into the gate, it is not "too complicated" to get a visitor in.  To top it off, the morning of the party she posted a picture on her Facebook page of THE EXACT cake that I sent to her to make!  Thankfully I found another lady who was able to make the cake he wanted.  It was a little on the dry side and it tasted just okay, but it was a batman cake so that's all Connor cared about! 

 

The party was at 11:00 so we scheduled the car to pick us up at 10:30.  Now the dispatch center, cars, and drivers are all here on our compound so they are usually pulling up to our door exactly at our scheduled time...not.that.day.  At 10:35 Harry called to make sure someone was coming and the guy said that the driver was on his way.  At 10:45 he called back.  "He's coming, he's coming."  I'm thinking okay...we can leave right now and still be there on time.  10:55 rolls around.  Still no car so Harry calls for the third time.  "The driver is waiting outside your villa sir."  What?!?!  He definitely was NOT waiting outside our villa or outside any villa down our street for that matter.  He finally shows up at 11:00.  The guy was very friendly and smiling away.  I just glared at him.  I wasn't going to fuss with him because chances are he was just following orders and had nothing to do with whatever the mix up was, but I wasn't going to be chummy either.  I was mad and needed somebody to be mad at lol!  Even though we were late to our own party everything turned out great!  They started off with face painting and then the kids were able to pick out the ceramic of their choice and paint it.  I was worried that things would get broken or they wouldn't be interested in painting, but they loved it!  The were so quiet, took their time, and really had fun!  They ate, danced, played games, watched the guy do magic tricks, and just had a fun time together!  His party was a little unconventional considering he had never met half of the kids there and he was one of only three Americans, but he didn't care :)

 

 

 

          

Las Dunas

We have pretty much settled into our temporary compound.  It is in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia which is about an hour an a half away from where our permanent housing is.  This compound is temporary for a lot of the people here.  Most of us will move to the Al Jude II compound in Jubail whenever construction is finished there.  Harry works in Jubail so a big Mercedes charter bus brings him and the other guys back and forth to work every day.  They spend 3 hours on the road so we are all very anxious to move!  Several families moved in there over the last few weeks, but major electrical issues were found so they all had to move out.  We were told it could be months before they let anyone back in....so who knows how long we'll be at Las Dunas!  We know that we will be here at least until Jameson is born anyway.  The hospital where I will deliver is just about 10 minutes away from the compound.  We were hoping to move pretty soon after he is born, but it may be longer.  Oh well.  That's pretty much how things go here in Saudi - you hurry up and wait for everything! 

Welcome to Las Dunas Garden Village!

Here are the two gates that we go through to get in and out.  Obviously the one on the left is closed and the one on the right is open.  Someone had just driven through before I took the picture.  The little pinkish looking building in the middle is where the guards are. 

   
Speed limit sign on the compound.

This is the clubhouse.  It's where all the amenities are.  Connor loves to go here to race us up the wheelchair ramp.  He says I'll meet y'all at the top and then runs up the ramp while we walk up the stairs!  It takes us literally about a minute to walk here from our villa so that is really nice!

This is our little grocery store.  It's not much, but they stock a lot of necessities.  It's nice to have when we need something last minute! 

Here is the restaurant.  The food is decent so we usually eat here when we don't feel like cooking.  A guy named Sonny works here every day!  He sees us often enough to know that Connor wants a spoon if he orders lasagna lol.  They will also deliver to your villa if you call the order in so that's really convenient.  We've done that once or twice.   

Next up is the pool area. This is the kiddie pool.  Connor is tall enough to reach the bottom so he loves it! 

Back inside the clubhouse...upstairs, first we have a hair salon.  Mr. Leto is the resident hair stylist.  He has cut Harry's hair a few times and Connor recently got his hair cut too.  He is from the Philippines and has been living and working here for over 20 years!

Conference Room/Library

Next is the gym which houses a few other amenities as well.  I spend a lot of time in here....yeah right!  Today was the first time I've stepped foot in the place and it was only to take these pics!  I WILL be in here after I evict this baby though!

Here is the squash court.  When it is too hot to play outside, Harry takes Connor in here to play soccer. 

Sauna

Steam Room

Hot Tub

Back outside is the tennis court.

This building is the Eastern Cement Company.  It's the landmark that we use when we are out of the compound to let us know we are almost home!

These are some of the cars that bring us wherever we need to go.  They are all Ford Expeditions, just different colors.

And finally, home sweet home!  Villa F7!

Beautiful curtains, right!  Hehe :)

I lasted a whole two days before I broke down and bought a new sofa and recliner.  I can't even describe how uncomfortable the ones that were in here are!  Everything else came furnished with the villa. 

Our shipment came in yesterday so Connor was excited to have all his toys from home.  We set up a play area under the stairs.  He calls it his and Jameson's clubhouse!

Downstairs half bath.  Notice the sprayer.  You will see them (instead of toilet paper) in every bathroom in Saudi.  We actually have a bidet in the two bathrooms upstairs.  Out of curiosity one day we asked Connor what happens when he goes #2 at school.  He told us that his teacher sprays his butt!  So he knows how to use it, but as for me and my house...we will use toilet paper haha!

Here are my abayas that I keep hanging by the door.  Of course one is purple and gold and the other is black and gold!

This is a little sitting room upstairs that we never use.  To the right is the master bedroom and bathroom and to the left is two other bedrooms and another bathroom.  Not really anything special to see.

Upstairs balcony.

This is our backyard.  The walking track, playground, and basketball goals are right back here.  It's nice to be able to let Connor run out the back door without any worries.

Our back patio.

Well that's the end of the tour.  Overall we are really comfortable here.  The décor is most definitely not my taste, but we have made it our home...for now!