Be who you are.

On our way to apply for passports, I was coaching the kids a bit.  They are young, and VERY imaginative (especially when they are together).  P will insist that she is Princess ____________.  She must be called by that name, will dress as she dresses, talk (or not if she's Ariel) like the princess, make her brother be the corresponding prince, and usually insist that I am some animal or villain. We were at a play place the other day and I found myself saying, "Ariel and Eric, five minutes."  I realized after I said it, that other parents had that familiar look, 'did she really name her children Ariel and Eric???'  I decided to end the suspense and tell them that they decide on new characters frequently, it was just fortunate that I figured out who they were so we could leave. 

Back to the passports.  I coached them and told them that they needed to be P and M, did an age check (both knew their ages), rehearsed mommy and daddy's names, and worked on birthdays.  We arrived (at the large post office) and waited for the passport lady.  She had to run in the back for a document and while she was gone, I lined up all of our necessary (and some unnecessary) papers and documents on her counter. "Well.. someone is organized.  I'll have you secure this stack of documents as you don't need them."  Well, I brought too much, better than too little.  And then came time for the questions.  Luckily, she asked who the people in the photos were (me and A), "mommy and daddy!"  Then asked who the little girl was in the photo, "me!"  Last one, how old is P?  "I am 4!"  The same smooth questions for M and we were done!  There was a fun stool, a height chart, and some clipboards.. fun, fun, fun for these two.

Passports should come in 4-6 weeks.  I love when things work out easily and you get to check an important "to do" off the long long list. 

Overwhelmed, Day #1

Today is the first day that my brain was on total overload.  I had 4 kids here, which always seems to coincide with my wanting to get an unrealistic amount of "stuff" done.  It started out with me just needed to gather passport information, which is totally doable during nap time...  IF you have nap time.

Here are the things my mind FORCED me to do:

Complete passport applications for P and M.
Gather all necessary documents for the passports.
Finish my grad school application, request transcripts, and pay the (stupid) $50 fee.
Do 5 loads of laundry.
Empty and refill the dishwasher.
Sweep the kitchen floor and wash the rugs.
Clean out two and a half closets (only 4.5 more to go!).
Box up stuff to sell or donate.
Call about A's medical for Qatar (which we have to repeat in country when we arrive...).
Called the prospective realtor about how to handle the current realtor.  Had A do the handling and now we can hire the prospective realtor.. 
Finish organizing my education board on Pinterest (seriously.. my mind wouldn't let me leave it). 
Took the kids to get passport pictures taken. 
Oh, and blog. 

I'm about to deal with putting the toys that I had in the sale pile [which are now all over the house] back into the sale pile, scoop up the copious amount of black beans that my children were playing with [it was pancake batter duh..], take apart the Thomas track and hide it again, and finish my daughter's closet while she's gone and can't insist that size 2T still fits her 4T body.

I feel like I've had way too much coffee and I didn't even get around to making any today.  Here's hoping these days are few and far between. 

Gotta have a passport and the dreaded closets.

A and I both have had passports since our N. Africa days, and I got a new one after we got married.  We're good on passports, but our littles... not so much.  It was on my "to do" list this week, along with closets.  You can guess which one I wanted to do more.  Here's the deal:  cleaning out closets means I actually have to figure out what to do with all the stuff we won't use/won't ship/don't need.  The snow and freezing weather doesn't exactly facilitate a garage sale and to be honest, I don't want to post it all on craigslist and then manage all the e-mails.  I just don't want to. 

Back to passports.  I went here to figure it out.  It was an extremely easy website to use and walked me right through the paper work.  I filled out the applications on-line, printed them out, gathered birth certificates, passports (for A and I to prove we are US citizens), social security cards (not sure if we need them, but I don't want a hold up), and went to get P and M's pictures taken.  I expected a little booth, a few pictures, choose the best one, print them out, $5-$10 later, we'd be out the door. 
We went to CVS, the cashier grabbed a little digital camera, pulled down a screen and waited.. 
Me:  It isn't for me..
Her:  Oh.
Me:  It's for the kids.
(we both look up at the screen, which is taller than both kids)
Her:  Um..  Can they stand on a stool?


Wow.. That's safe.  Against my better judgement, I stood my children (one at a time) onto the top of a stool, coached them on standing VERY still, and stepped back just far enough to be out of the picture (I was quite sure I could catch them if they tumbled).  Click with the tiny camera and we were done.  5 minutes later, they were printed and we were checking out.  $25!!!  Are you kidding me?

$25 (picture fee) + $210 (passport fee) = .. seriously, just pay it.  Do not calculate, think about it, or wonder why it costs so much.  You must have passports. 

Tomorrow, we go to the passport office.  I've been coaching P on NOT going in character.  She's one of the princess most of the time and often renames M.  During these sessions, I must call them by their character names, or they don't answer me.  I'm bringing chocolate, that should help. 

A is taking the kids to a movie at the library tonight so I have time to do more organizing.  The more I organize, the more my house looks like a pit!  Oh well, the season of transition is upon us. 

Your face says it.

I don't have much of a poker face.  My reactions just come right on out.  That said, I'm pretty perceptive of other peoples' reactions to me also.  Sharing the news of our upcoming around-the-world move has garnered some interesting reactions to be sure.  We currently live in Indiana, which is not the most global place, so when people hear Qatar, their faces contort in all kinds of funny ways. 

There's the cautious excitement:

I was in Auto Zone the other day to get the battery replaced in our van.  A few weeks back I spent a week in Michigan caring for my nieces (one of whom had a tonsilectomy).  We were pretty much snowed in all week and I didn't think to start the van.  Apparently, that kills a battery pretty easily.  In any case, it had to be jump a couple of times to start and we decided just to replace the battery vs going to the dealership for service..  So I stopped into Auto Zone.

There was a nice older gentleman who waited on me, he kind of reminded me of my dad.  After a quick consult and battery test, he concurred that it was indeed the battery and set about gathering the parts to fix it.  In conversation, it came out that we wanted to keep the van in excellent shape because we were going to be selling our vehicles in the summer. 

"You're selling both your vehicles, what will you drive?"
"Oh, we're moving overseas, so we won't be needing two vehicles here."



His sweet face broke into a sort of cautious excitement.

"Is is for a job?"
"Yes.  My husband and I are teachers."
"Oh, wow.. that sounds like quite an adventure."
"We're hoping so."

We went on chatting about it and he knew about the indoor ski resort in Doha because he is an avid skier.  The younger gentleman behind the counter overheard our exchange and chimed in:

"Uh.. where are you going?"
"Doha.  It's in Qatar."
"Is that it Africa?"
"Um, nope.  Middle East, just off the coast of Saudi."
"Oh, cool, that should be a fun trip."
"No, we're moving there."
"Forever?????"

Enter the blank stare.

As the older gentleman and I walked out to the car (after finishing the conversation with the young [confused] man): 
"Hey sorry about that.  I didn't mean to create a spectacle of your moving.."
"Oh, no problem.  I guess it is kind of odd that we are moving over seas.  We do get that reaction a lot."
"Yeah, some people (like him), don't get why anyone would want to move away, but I had an opportunity like you have a while back..  Wish I'd have taken it."

I tried to give him a tip or buy him lunch for putting in the battery, but he just said:
"Hey, no tips ma'am..  And none needed on this one, have a good day and enjoy your adventure."

I liked him. 
Here are a few other reactions I've had:

Total Confusion

#1 - total confusion

Person:  So, are you moving there to run away from someone?  Because if you are, there are other ways of dealing with the person..

Me:  Um... no.

Mind Blown

#2 - mind blown

Person:  You're moving WHERE???
Me:  Um.. Doha, it's a city in the country of Qatar.
Person:  Gah  Mah... What??  Why would you do that???
Me:  Well, we like living abroad, and we
Person:  Wait.. Isn't that like in the desert?
Me:  Yes it is.  Nice and warm. (since this has been the worse winter since '82, I thought he go for it.. um no)
Person:  BUT, it gets REALLY cold at night.
Me:  Well, normally the coldest it ever gets is around 50 degrees. 
Person:  (clearly not listening to me)  Well, my uncle was in 'Nam and he said that when he was over there.. it was SOOO cold in the desert at night.
Me:  (realizing this wasn't going to rebound)  Hmmm is that so?  Ok, well have a great evening then."
Person: You too.  Hey, and I'll take my snow ANY day of the week over that..
Me:  Ok, you enjoy your shoveling then.  ;)


In fairness, there are times that I find myself in disbelief that we are actually going to be in Qatar next year.  It's an amazing opportunity for an amazing adventure and there are many answers to the inevitable question:  WHY?

Here are a few:

A and I have wanted to be back overseas for 6+ years.
We want to raise P and M with a world view that they experience (not that we try to teach). 
We just really like other cultures and learning about them. 
We like the slower pace of life that a lot of other places provide.
We like to travel.
We like hearing other languages and learning to understand them.
We like meeting new people that are TOTALLY different and then finding out that we have a lot in common.
We like the emphasis that many cultures put on education and how much they esteem educators.

The time we spent overseas was the single most profound learning experience to date and we LOVE to learn.   

There are 7!

I've been having trouble getting to sleep at night.  Probably the result of too much on the brain.  Selling two houses, two vehicles, preparing two children for a [huge] move, and a few other minor things could be the culprit.  Last night, I got into bed around 9 and the last time I checked it was 1 a.m. . I was almost asleep, but at 12:30 my eyes popped wide open when I realized that there are seven closets in this house!  Seven...  If I clean and pack one a day, it will take me a week..  A week on closets. Good grief there's a lot to do. 

Hoarding stickers

The reality of our upcoming move is becoming more and more clear to me.  I'm the point person on most things dealing with our move as I'm home during the day.   A is more than willing to help, but it just isn't possible on a lot of things because of business hours.  It isn't stressing me out [yet] because we are still several months out. I do find myself doing some odd things though.  Things like waking up at all hours of the night to add items to my mental lists of things that need to go in our checked bags vs things that need to go in our air freight vs things that just won't make the cut.  Do I need one stick of deodorant per month?  It's a hot climate.. I want deodorant that won't give me a rash (the last time I lived overseas, I found it hard to find deodorant that didn't react).

I've been analyzing toys; do they use it 1) often 2) rarely 3) never?  How far will we get educationally next year?  Believe me, it isn't that I don't think I can get things when we get there, it's just that making a huge transition like this is made easier by bringing certain things along.  This is especially true with children. They need familiar, I need them to have familiar. 

Hence the title.  P and M are loving stickers.  They love cutting paper, putting fancy tape on it and loading it full of stickers.  This has put me on a sticker quest nearly every time I go into a store.  M loves all things with wheels and balls.  Diggers, basketballs, cars, bikes.. he loves them all.  I found a GIANT sticker book with all things wheels and balls!  P is a pink princess.  Princess stickers are easy.  I've stocked up on Valentine's stickers, Easter stickers, transportation stickers, ball stickers, princess stickers, and other random ones.  I don't know the draw, but buying stickers brings a smile to my face.  So, we have loads and loads of them and there's no indication that I'll stop with the stickers any time soon. 

We've got about 900lbs allotted for shipping.. I figure stickers and deodorant can't weight that much, right?

Single parenting and getting things done...

I have the utmost respect for single parents.  Seriously, you guys are amazing.  A was gone all last week to TX for a conference.  We got a serious snow storm just after he left (seriously like an hour later) that dumped about a foot of snow.  Thankfully I had good friends come to help us dig out because our driveway is HUGE!  We got another 6" or so on Saturday afternoon/night...  Needless to say, I'm looking forward to not shoveling and dealing with snow next year.  Luckily, being a single parent for a week didn't completely stop me from getting some things done.



I've been trying to be less task oriented.  It's not my nature to just sit back and relax, but I'm trying.  By trying, I mean that I force myself to stop and play with my littles, I force myself to shut the "get 'er done" part of my brain off (for a while).  It's really hard for me to do, but I'm making progress.  I was raised in a very German family, which is what I attribute my busy-bodiness too.  I remember always hearing my Grandma say that "idle hands are the devil's playground."  That was our cue to get moving.  I've actually been working with a therapist on dropping this particular personality trait.  Well, maybe dropping it is a bit harsh, a balance is more what I'm looking for, because at times it serves me well.

Preparing for a move overseas with two littles in about six months has pushed my getting this done habit into overdrive.  In fact, within two days last week I'd nearly cleared my to-do list from my last post. 

1.  I called the car company about buying back our vehicles.  I talked to a guy named Tim..  He was uber NOT helpful.  In the meantime, we've talked to a few friends/family that might be interested in taking over our van and/or car.  We're hoping to go that route vs the dealership to avoid paying any large sums of cash for either vehicle.

2.  I called the new realtor and met with him on Thursday.  Let me just say, A-MA-ZING!  Seriously..  He was super.  He isn't a salesman, which I liked the most.  Our current realtor is your very typical salesman.  Initially, this caught my attention as he made a lot of promises.  I guess that's what it's supposed to do.  Unfortunately, he hasn't really come through on all the promises he made.  The new guy seems very knowledgeable and had some excellent suggestions.
               a.  Change our learning room (which is the first room you see upon entry) to a simple sitting
                    room.  This required a lot of moving around, patching, painting walls, getting a couple
                    of small chairs, and clearing out the office for our learning room (I LOVE craigslist).
               b.  Get better pictures up on our listing.  The ones that our current realtor has are very dark
                    and not attractive. 
               c.  Have an open house and get the word out with his contacts.
I've excited.  Of course, this means we need to get our current realtor to cancel the last 3 months of our contract with him.  He wasn't thrilled when I gave him the news, but I'm hopeful.

3.  Vaccines...  More on this later.  No, I didn't schedule anything.

4.  No progress yet on passports.

5.  Scheduled my mammogram, but now am considering cancelling until I have a chance to talk this http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/confirmed-breast-screenings-cause-more-harm-good
over with my nurse practitioner. 

6.  Started checking on housing on craigslist, but there's a ton out there, it's just a matter of selling these houses first, and going from there. 

So, the new list for this week is pretty much wrapped around getting the new sitting room ready.  P and M have a play date with a friend tomorrow morning, so that will be a good time to force a break.  The only other thing I want to get done this week is to cancel our listings with the current realtor and start our listing with the new guy.  I'll post a link to it when it happens. 

Getting there from here.

The minute I heard "contract," my mind went into super planning/list making/crazy dreams mode.  There are a few things to take care of before the wheels go up and we fly.  That is part of what my intention for this blog is.  I can catalog all the things that need to be done before we leave.  Maybe it will help my obsessive planning self or maybe someone else who is just a step behind us.

Today is Sunday, which in Qatar will be our Monday.  The Muslim holy day is Friday, so the week runs Sunday through Thursday.  hmmm..  I need to find a calendar based on that schedule for P and M.  I guess I should add that to my list of "kid things to bring."  Yes, there's even a list for that. 

I get caught up in the magnitude of "the list(s)" instead of the fact that I have around six months to check everything off.  I'm working on  making weekly lists off of the BIG list to make it more manageable.  Here's this week's list (I should note that A flies out to TX for a conference on Tuesday and doesn't come back until Sunday...):

1. Call the car company and discuss buy back terms for our two vehicles.
2. Call the newly recommended realtor and discuss a possible switch as our current realtor doesn't seem to be very active in selling our two homes.
3. Call the doctor to schedule vaccines for all of us.  This one is going to be stressful as we've delayed P and M's vaccines until now.  No, we won't be playing "catch up" as many of the vaccines that babies get are no longer needed after age 2, but there are a few things that we feel warrant a vaccine before leaving the States. 
4. Start the passport process for the kids.  We have their birth certificates in hand and our passports, but have heard the process is a bit lengthy.  We're Following the list on this website for the passports.
5.  Schedule my mammogram and BRCA testing.  This is one I've been nervous about, but better safe than sorry.  Here's some information on the testing if you are interested.
6.  Begin the search for temporary housing in the event that both of our homes sell and we're for all intents and purposes homeless...

Well.. that's a bit more overwhelming than I thought, but what's a week without a goal?  Here's to getting it all finished!

And it begins

Welcome to Destination Doha. I am K, married to A. Our kids P (4.5) and M (3) keep us super busy, and we love it. I am home with P and M and currently home school (preschool) them. A works as the math curriculum coordinator for our local school district (of 32,000 students). We have been blessed with his job as it allows me to stay home with P and M. My degree in teaching high school will wait…

At this point, you may be thinking; Ok.. what’s with the title of this blog? I’m getting to that.

A and I met while teaching at an American academy in North Africa (he grew up in TX and I was raised in MI). I was there for five years, and A joined our staff my 4th year. We meshed easily and our friendship was so cool. We were able to lead the ex-pat youth group together, enjoyed basketball coaching (he actually coached, I was more of the encourager for the girls’ team), built relationships with our high schoolers, and loved the many adventures of living in a culture that was very different from our own. We loved it so much in fact that when we left (as a couple) we already couldn’t wait for another overseas adventure.

That was (gulp) 6.5 years ago… In that time, I survived almost dying (malaria and mono don’t mix), we got married, lived in three states (including three cross-country moves), had two children, A’s had 7 jobs and gained a master’s degree, gained two sister-in-laws, five nephews, and a niece (and there are two more on the way). It has been packed full of adventures.

And then that familiar itch began anew… Time to travel, time to fly, time to get our kids’ passports (and some stamps), and get out of the States again. Don’t misunderstand, we don’t hate America, quite the opposite. We appreciate the USA, we value our upbringings, and our time here. We just aren’t built to live here. It’s almost impossible to explain to anyone who doesn’t share that feeling. I try, I get excited in my explaining.. and then.. blank stare and polite nod.

So, my amazing (and slightly OCD) husband began the search. He create some AMAZING spreadsheets of everything you could think of. Going overseas with kids requires much more thought and consideration than when we both went (as singles) the first time. I was hired and left within about 5 weeks! Our first choices were Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE. A found a recruiting fair for international schools to be held in Iowa at the very end of January. While he is a qualified administrator, he longs to be back in the classroom. His resume and cover letter went out mid December and by the end of January we had two offers. One from a school in Hong Kong and one from a school in Doha, Qatar.

Destination Doha…