So many new things

Now that we have found a place to live, I can concentrate on other things that will affect my daily life. Tody we will try to locate and see two pre-schools in the area. I also found a pilates gym right down te road from our apartment, so i am excited to have the chance to tone up again.

The numbers in Arabic are different than what I am used to. While most places have both Arabic and 'regular' numbers on a price tag, some off-the-path places do not. So, here is my lesson plan for th next few weeks:

Also on the lesson plan is dealing with the Kuwait Dinars and fils (Dollars and cents). It is a thousand based system, versus a hundred based at home. Eash Dinar is worth about $3.50 US, so I will have to do a bit of math until I get used to what things 'cost'. I am sure in a few months I will stop converting, and just know what the price is! I say this, but after 7 years in the USA, I am still converting Farenheit temps into Celcius in my head! So...we will see how I do.

We are planning on heading to the mall after Robb gets home fro a work meeting. I was in such a tizzy trying to leave, that I don't have much in terms of birthday gifts or cards. This will give me an opportunity to use my Currency skills! (or, most likely, I will just hand over the plastic and Chase Bank can do the math!)

Kuwait Day2

We had another sleep in this morning, so a late start to the day. We went to Robb's office here and met some of the employees, and the agent. Spoke with the agent's assistant, and she has us set up for the cat transport...one of the top concerns about the move. We lucked out and the agent also owns one of the 3 animal hospitals here in Kuwait, so they are all set up with the import/export of animals. whew. We made a few appts with people to look at apartments tomorrow. Because we are not yet residents, we have to go through the agent to lease an apartment, so we will look at some in the next few days with an escort.
The talk of the town this week is the weather. It has been remarkably cool, and the small sprinkle of rain that fell yesterday was apparently about 1/3 of the total rain for the year...I don't think it barely wet the pavement!!! Also, while we were recovering from jetlag, a large, sky darkening sand storm blew through, another rare thing. We missed it, but everyone is commenting on it.
The girls continue to attract pats and smiles and general affection. Bizarre. They are letting it get to their heads, and smile and wave at EVERYONE now. The 'black ghosts' are normal for them now, so no more looking for rocks to crawl under.
There are 4 pools here on the grounds, and Robb took them to the one nearest the beach today...apparently in 31C, it was too cold for them. Maybe they will like it here in August afterall...freaks.

I forgot my camera on our latest excursions. Tonight we went to the Al Kout mall for a Mediterannean dinner, and they have musical founains there, a smaller version of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We went to our second grocery store, there is no lack of variety, and prices seem OK...we will find cheaper areas and Friday markets once we settle, and purchase fruit and veggies for the week there. But, until I am comfortable with that, I am fine paying a bit more for the safe mind set of a large grocery store.
The malls here are just like Texas...there is nothing I can't here that i can get at home. It really is quite like a replica of the Galleria. Again, i am fne with these big box stores until I know what is available elsewhere.
Hopefully pictures to follow tomorrow, I will pack my camera in my purse right now...

Kuwait - Day 1

We have ventured to Kuwait with the intention of finding a place to live when we move next month, plus maybe check out a few pre-schools and get a general feel for daily life here. The traveling went well, it was a long day, but that was expected. A bit of a wait for the visa once we got here, but it may have seemed longer because we were tired. It also could have been because I was looking for a rock to crawl under after Saige pointed to all the 'black ghosts' (aka - women in burkas). I swiftly corrected her and we left without incident. The first night of sleep hopefully reset our clocks, so we can be on a routine schedule. We didn't get up until noon today, so our itinerary was shortened to exclude apt. hunting. We decided to head to one of the malls to get a few essentials (hair dryer, IKEA items for the company apt., groceries so we don't need to eat out all the time). We were prepared for the girls to gawk and point at some of the non-traditional sights they would see back in Texas, but I was not prepared for the gawking in the other direction. I lost count how many times people, everyone from grown men to young ladies, came up to the girls, mainly Jessie, but Saige too, to 'pet' their hair, touch thier cheeks, give them a hug. The blonde hair and blue eyes and light skin were too irresistable. i was quite taken aback by the boldness of this, and it made me uncomfortable. In the end, it was all in a very friendly, non-intimidating manner (all asked to touch the hair or cheek, except for the odd person just patting them on the head as we walked by). And my non-shy kids were more than happy to dole out hugs and smiles. I will still never let my guard down, no matter how many times this happens. It is a very safe-feeling place, and children are free to be kids, as far as I can tell already.
Back at the apt, we went out to the pool area to meet one of Robb's work colleagues, who also lives in the complex. We ended up spending the evening visiting and Saige played in the water with the other kids, not wanting to leave. Dinner was served in the form of PBJ toast and fruit, as it was too late to headout to eat. The weather is really nice, but expected to heat up as the week goes on. Until tmorrow....

Conversation with the cat

Saige: Pepsi, when we were in Canada, what did you do?
Pepsi: -silence-
Mommy: What did she say?
Saige: She said she played with Myko nicely.
Saige: Pepsi, when we go to Kuwait, do you want to come with us?
Pepsi: -silence-
Saige: She says she is scared of flying.

So...I guess the cats are undecided about this trip they have no idea they are going on...although they are told several times a week about it. Poor kittys will have a LONG day!

Title Change

So, I got the go ahead to officially change the Blog Title and announce the big news. The "Isaac 4" are moving to 'The Land of Sand" - Kuwait. It's been in the works for a while, but the ducks are in their rows, and plans are made. It was a tough decision to up-root us and the kids to move to a very much culturally different place. But, the kids are young, and we decided now or never. It should be for a period of about two years. We fly over next month to locate an apartment and possibly school/pre-school for the kids. Then the big move will be at the end of May. Exciting times....let the adventure begin!
We will now test my blogging skills, since this is the real reason it was created (as Robb questioned my cat blog, he then gave the go ahead to blog on more exciting things!)

Crazy Cat Lady

Robb likes to call me the Crazy Cat Lady because I have two cats that adore me, and swarm around me the moment I sit down or the kids are in bed. I put it down to the fact that I rescued both of them from a life on the street, and they've got it pretty easy here. Tonight I was giving them their nightly treats, and the new package I opened was called Party Mix. I fed a few to each cat, then as I walked away I said, "Party On!" Did I really just say "Party On" to my cats? Ugh

Great Urban Race

Yesterday, a friend and I took part in a fun fund-raiser for St. Judes research Hospital. The Great Urban Race was in Houston for the first time. The concept is teams of two (who have to be dressed identical, or have a 'theme', get clues they need to solve to get more clues as to where they need to go to get credit for locations they go to. We had 12 clues that ranged from solving a cryptogram, and search a wrod, etc that tells you to go to say a clock to take a picture of all teammates at certain times, so the timing of locations in important. We have 12 stops to do total, and it took us around downtown and Mid-town and Montrose area, by foot and public transport...no other help was allowed. We finished in about 3.5 hours. A must do again if it ever comes back in to town....

Our team name was 'Hot and Spicy'...and we only had a day to get our costume in order....next time we will be more prepared, both in what to expect in the game and costumes!