Costco

I went to Costco with a friend last night, mom's night off.  I found a couple of treasures for a gluten free family!  Excellent and well priced GF all purpose flour (in a 5# bag!) and large loaves of GF bread.  I immediately began calculating how much flour I could ship with us (5# of flour x 10 = 50#, which is the same as the weight of a piece of luggage)...  Do I want to spend the cash to ship it?  My friend suggested we ask if Costco ships, we did.

C:  Excuse me sir, does Costco ship internationally?
Man:  I don't think so, but we do have locations EVERYWHERE.
C:  Oh!  Do you have one in Doha, Qatar???
Man:  Hmmmm, I'm not sure, but I know there's one in Japan...

Just FYI, there isn't a Costco in Qatar, but there is one in Japan 5,050 miles away... 

Those cheese puffs are pretty amazing too.. GF too!

A new way to play.

Undoubtedly the biggest concern in our move to Doha is the well being of our children.  P and M are fun kids and are very smart for their ages.  They are very perceptive, like most kids, and ask question after question about everything.  We haven't kept our move a secret from them at all, we want them to be able to prepare (as much as is possible given their ages).  We've talked about what we will take (toys and books are of utmost importance of course), how we will get to Qatar, people we will miss, feelings we have or may have, but most importantly that we will be together.

There is some confusion on their parts as the concept of moving is so abstract in their minds.  They can't and won't fully grasp it probably until we are actually there.  But I have noticed it coming out in their play times together.  They have played games like, "flying to guitar" (yes, they call it guitar at the moment), "packing all our stuff," and "new languages" (it's always a treat trying to figure out what they want in gibberish...).

It is worth noting that you MUST wear shoes on the airplane and pants are also required.  If wearing boots, they MUST be zipped up (according to the "airplane man").  When packing it is best to heap everything you want to take in a giant pile... add to it often.  Every empty bag in the house should be filled up and drug around said house.  Put those bags in the most obscure places so mommy and daddy have no idea where they, or their contents, are.  Just a few of the joys of the months before the move to Guitar. 

Here are a few pictures of the heap..  That took a while to clean up. 

Here's another fun game.  A "map" on the floor and shoving all the princess in the car and carriage to transport them to Qatar.  Not sure how the cash register comes into the game, but it works. 

If you've moved overseas, what did you notice about your childrens' play leading up to the move?


A few notes and updates:

I'm still hoarding stickers.
Our houses haven't sold yet, but we're having some good showings.
We're still waiting on passports to get here.
We found out that our laptop and ipad are 110/220v and can be easily used in Qatar!

Eating oreos while brushing your teeth.

Getting two houses ready for listing and showings with two little
kids is just like the quotes above.

Here are a couple pictures of the kids "helping" me out.  They really are great kids and good helpers, but things just take a lot longer with their sweet help.  Maybe, just maybe I needed to slow down a bit.

Midnight discovery - 1

I mentioned in an earlier post that I've had trouble getting to sleep as there are issues with turning off the thinker once I lay down.  My mind goes into overdrive and I finally relent, get the computer, and answer the question(s) that kept me awake.  To be honest, it's the one time of the day where I can have total quiet (with the occasional snore from A) and think by myself.  Luckily, it snowed all night, which prevented us from getting out this morning (positive spin on more snow [I got to sleep in a bit]).

On to the discovery!  There isn't much about living in Qatar that makes me nervous or worried.  After living in a Muslim country in N. Africa for five years, I feel like adapting will just happen.  It isn't always fun figuring out where to buy toilet paper, but you do it because you have to.  The one thing that has had me thinking a lot is the driving.  I'd heard that Qataris drive on the left hand of the streets (with the driver on the right side of the vehicle).  I'm not nervous about the traffic, crazy (non-law-abiding) drivers, round abouts, or road rage.  I grew accustomed to that quickly.  It was all of that, combined with feeling like a fish out of water on the "wrong" side of the road. 

I had visions of accidentally turning the wrong way down  a one-way street, having to weave through on coming traffic, before having police stop traffic so I could get off the street.  Or, I'd just not drive and have to wait for A to get off work before we could leave the house.  Neither of these seemed like good options for me. 

So, last night, I was reading some ex-pat blogs to get an idea of the transition to driving on the "wrong" side of the road.  I went back to the blog that I remembered having topics about driving when a light bulb came on.. This is a BRITISH blog!  They drive on the "wrong" side of the road! Doh!!  So, for them it is driving on the "wrong side," but for us it is the "right" side.  Sigh of relief (sorry Brits).

I went on to start studying up on driving rules and practices, which seem familiar (in terms of N. African driving).  I got side track on actually buying a vehicle, which vehicles to buy (I get the idea that a 4x4 is the vehicle of choice for safety and dune hopping), and how to maintain vehicles.  I was getting into classifieds when I heard, "K, you may want to sleep some time soon..."

Since A was clearly awake, I tried to let him in on my discoveries...  I can't say that he was nearly as excited as I was.  Of course traffic laws at midnight, might not keep most people awake.  I am an exception. 

Making hummus

Tonight was lentils and rice night for us.  P and M love it and A and I do too.  I make the lentils and rice with caramelized onions, then throw in some fresh hummus and Lebanese bread.  So good.  I had this meal for the first time when we lived in N. Africa.  A friend invited a bunch of teachers over for lunch and served us a ton of "traditional" Palestinian foods.  To be honest, many M. Eastern countries claim the same cuisine as their own food, but I don't mind.. it's delicious.  Oddly, my kids won't eat sandwiches, but they love lentils and rice. 

So, I was making the hummus (I used canned beans - shame on me!); I squeezed the lemon, stirred the tahini, went to open the can and the can opener would not move more than an inch.  It started to frustrate me as I pried the can open and could only get a few out at a time.  I immediately began calculating how many times I might make this meal before we leave (in right around 6 months).  I needed to see if a new can opener would be "worth it."  The food processor whirled around as I decided it was most certainly not worth it as we probably wouldn't ship it. 

The bottom right.. That was my hummus can exactly!

Then I caught myself.  "I'm doing it again," I thought.  I'm forgetting that we still have 6 months to live, 6 months to learn and grow, and 6 months to eat hummus!  I know that sometimes I get so caught up in what's about to happen that I forget to live in today and forget all the charms that today will have.  I realized I've been doing that in other areas too.  I packed up my home school units last week as I was organizing the storage room in which they are kept.  They aren't packed away by any means, but rather organized into totes by theme.  There's no issues with getting them out except that I keep deciding it "isn't worth it." 

It IS worth it.  If I "check out" too early, everyone around me will do the same.  Days will get long and boring, I will not leave this season of life well.  I've been overseas, I've seen this happen and it's not fun for anyone around the person.  I have to stay engaged (even while packing, organizing, selling two homes, and being otherwise absorbed with this move). 

The hummus was great.  It will be even easier next time with the can opener that I put on my "to do" list this week.  I may pack that can opener just as a reminder to myself every time I use it.