They might be heading your way!

We had a fun week, despite a round of colds that is still slightly lingering. Although last night we had some excitement. Eric and I were both in the office late in the day, which I generally try to avoid as it's the girls' bewitching hour. BUT I had to contact some people in DC for work and for that we have to wait until at least 4:30 our time.

Eric and I both got home around 5:30 to find Caroline and Molly packing. They were running away. I probably should have at least pretended to be upset by their departure, but I laughed and found it very amusing. I can remember "running away" myself when I was little, I wrote up a goodbye letter and sat on the front porch until I got tired of waiting for someone to notice, then I went back in and threw away the letter and that was the end of that.

So we have put the following together, Imelda was trying to start dinner, not easy with 3 cuckoos also demanding your attention. And the girls were playing in their play kitchen next to the real kitchen. I'm guessing they weren't exactly quiet and she probably asked them to play in another room, that part is a little sketchy. So they decided to move the play kitchen to the living room. Makes sense, but no. Imelda put a stop to it and that was not what the girls wanted to hear.

So they went upstairs to pack. They each had a shoebox, filled with their favorite stuffed friends and Molly drew a map and Caroline wrote the following letter:

Bye for ever and ever. By your friend Caroline and Molly. We have left.

When we asked where they planned to go, Molly answered "Back to the Oakwood!" Yeah, cuz that was fun!! And Caroline answered "To the Dead Sea!" We've been talking about our upcoming trips when the grandparents obviously.

So this is what we have to look forward to with 3 drama princesses!

A new year, a new promise to blog!

Once again, I'm resolving to blog more. I'm sure this will fizzle, possibly quicker than my resolution to eat healthier and exercise more. But I'm going to try.

We have a new addition to the family, Ms. Imelda! After two months of anxious anticipation, she came to us the day before Thanksgiving, and boy have we been thankful for her! She got here just in time for the holiday madness and has been amazing. The girls adore her, although she is strict when necessary with them. Julianne lunges to be in her arms, Molly enjoys helping her in the kitchen (but she still doesn't eat anything!) and Caroline has never ending questions for her.

She's introduced us to lots of new, yummy foods and has brought a sense of relief. Our mornings are not as crazy getting ready for school, I can work without the stress of getting home in time to get a sitter home, and Eric and I have been able to spend more time with Caroline and Molly, doing fun things, knowing Julianne is being loved and cared for.

We took the big girls to see The Princess and The Frog this past weekend. It was our first movie experience here in Kuwait. The theater was nice, new, clean. Kind of pricey, but it's not something we do a lot, so we splurged. When you buy your ticket, you have to pick a seat, like a concert, and they have a family section and a bachelor section.

We were told they do cut certain scenes to meet the local standards, but I didn't think a Disney cartoon would be subjected to much, it's a kids movie!

WRONG!! There were at least 4-5 scenes cut, not with any skill either, just a blunt out and then back in. And of course they cut the big one when the princess kisses the frog! Kind of key to the story line, but our girls didn't seem to notice or be bothered by it too much.

Everything is an adventure here!

First Day of School, Part 2

This past week was Molly's turn to start school...FINALLY! She's been watching Caroline get on the bus everyday for the last few months and wondering when she'll get to go! So last Tuesday, Caroline, Molly and myself (I have to ride due to her age) loaded up and rode to school. We're still getting used to our new routine and having to get 3 of us out the door by 6:30, but it's coming along!

We arrived at the school and Molly took off leaving me with Caroline, who wanted me to walk her to class ;) I explained that I was there for Molly's first day, just like I did with her on her first day and that she needed to go and find her friends. I turned and Molly was already on the playground making friends and having a great time. She only found me when she needed to find the potty!

Of course the day was not as easy for me watching my little one run off without a second thought! I'm thrilled at her confidence and enthusiasm, but sad to lose my buddy from the last 3 and a half years! Although, Julianne has filled her shoes well. We're getting some uninterrupted time together and lots of giggles!

We also had a couple of Halloween activities over the weekend. Here's the 4 Ros fairies! We had games, a haunted house and trick or treating here at the embassy followed by a campout on the lawn! To be honest, I didn't think the girls and Eric would last until midnight, but they proved me wrong and only when the flies came out at dawn to they come back to the comforts of the house! Then the girls' school had another Halloween party last night with lots of games, candy and fun! Needless to say, we're off to a tired start this week!

Finally, a green thumb!

Well, it took us moving to the desert to actually grow something! We don't have the best track record with plants and landscaping, but the lack of green here prompted us to lay sod on our side and back yards. It really makes a difference! I wish I had taken before pictures so you could see!

The watering is a full time job! But at least the mornings are cooler now and it's quite pleasant to stand outside and drink my coffee while I water! It's completely worth it to be able to sit at our kitchen table and look at this view rather than dirt and sand. And we host shesha and cards night out on our side patio, so it's a much appreciated addition there as well.

Both pictures are of the backyard, the side yard already needs a good mow, so I'll post some more pictures of it nicely manicured on the picassa page. We also hung most of our pictures this past weekend, another huge difference in the house. The all-white walls get tiresome, so the pictures and mirrors help break that up. I'll take some shots of that (after the cleaning lady is done today ;) ) and post those as well.

We're starting to settle into a nice routine here. Caroline is getting along well at school and enjoying her ECA's (extra-curricular activities). And while Molly hasn't started school, the embassy has a little day camp everyday for two hours for kids her age and she loves it! She gets to play with playdoh everyday, sing songs, play with the big parachute and comes home with some fun art project everyday! That gives me some nice time with Julianne. We usually go to the store (much easier with just one child!) or I've started trying to exercise a bit each day in hopes of actually squeezing into my Marine ball dress by November!!

Eric is busy as can be at work, but he enjoys it. No two days are ever the same. He's still able to come home for lunch most days which is a nice break in the day for all of us! We're still working on getting a nanny, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. What fun that will be!

I'll post more on the girls later this week, until then...we miss you all!

The last couple of weeks

I have several places that I've been posting Ros family updates including here, our picasa page and facebook, so forgive me if it's been awhile. If you're interested in some recent pictures, check out the picasa page...

http://picasaweb.google.com/percudas/MoreOfQ8

We've been keeping busy with our first visit to the military base to check out the commissary, happy hours, shopping trips, nanny interviews and of course unpacking! We finally got our last shipment so everything is here (except for the missing silverware and blender!) We're still figuring out where to put everything in the house. We managed to unpack 13 boxes this weekend, so we have a little more room to move now! And the girls got their bikes, so they've terrorized the courtyard here.

The weather is getting better, or we're getting used to it. It's actually only going to be 100 degrees some days this week! It's not that bad on days that the humidity is low.

The embassy closed the pool and playground this month for maintenance, not the best timing especially since Molly's school was canceled until Dec. 1. But we took the opportunity to set up the old pirate pool from Uncle Jeff & Nicole in our courtyard! It's right off the dining room, so we've had our neighbors over a couple of times to enjoy the fun while the adults sit in the comfort of the ac!

Here's a picture of Caroline in her Gyurgian costume. It's a Halloween-like holiday to celebrate the midpoint of Ramadan.

We have a long weekend coming up and we're hoping to get the playroom/office unpacked and set up and maybe do a little exploring around town! It's the end of Ramadan so shops and restaurants should go back to normal hours.

Little Miss Fickle's grocery list was a little too frisky for Kuwait. This is a library book that Caroline brought home from school with the references to pork blacked out. Not the easiest thing to explain to a six year old!

First Day of School, Part 1

Today is Caroline's first day of Year 1 at the English School of Kuwait! In her words, she was a little excited and a little nervous. I think both had something to do with her being wide awake at 5am this morning! Eric was able to get both girls back to sleep for a bit before we started our big day.

You can see the uniform for the school, making the morning go a little smoother already! We had a quick breakfast before we both headed to the bus for the ride in. Traffic wasn't bad because it's still Ramadan, so after a quick trip, we waited in the courtyard for class to begin. Her teacher seems very nice and immediately introduced Caroline to another little girl who is new at the school. Caroline was very quiet all morning, but I'm sure her energy will shine as soon as she has her sea legs!

I told her her she could have anything she wanted for dinner, and she of course chose Old McDonald's! So we'll be heading down the street tonight for a lovely dining experience!

On the school bus!

Big week...

We have a big week this week, Caroline is starting school & Julianne is getting her 1st tooth. Eric just bought a new tv, ours was 13 years old and we didn't ship it. We're hopefully going to the commissary at the end of the week too...can you say BACON?! I'm posting this with one hand while I hold a sleeping Julianne, but I'll post pictures and tales of the week later! Until then, here's one from last week of Super Droolia in the piano/walker that Uncle Jeff bought Caroline 6 years ago!