Happy Halloween!!

TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS' CHILDREN AND TO MY FORMER FABULOUS STUDENTS...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.....AND BE SURE TO SAY THANK YOU AFTER GETTING YOUR CANDY!! TRICK-OR -TREAT!!!

Party Girl Comes Alive!

Yes, you know who...ME... Last night Cara, Dana and I hit the number one bar/nightclub in Dubai. It's called the Barasti Bar at the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Hotel... It is right next to the Palm and located on the beach. It had a very Polynesian theme to it and has three levels of outdoor fun. The downstairs is beach level and is where the real party kicks off! Live DJ's spinning tunes, drinks galore, and the most stunning view of the Atlantis far out on the Palm. We also saw fun dinner cruise boats lit up and of course the beautiful Arabian Gulf. We arrived at 8:00, thanks to Jon my drop-off taxi guy! It was jam packed and already was "happening" at 8:00. I know Cara from playgroup. She has lived here for two years and is from Canada. Her husband Craig has lived in Dubai for eight years. And Dana, by now...you all know Dana! The three of us had a blast. It was fun to be out as friends & adults and not moms! Funny though, I think Fayth's photos came out of my clutch a number of times to show her off to drunken people!! I won't go into great detail...just know...Boozie Suzie made a return!! I was home by 1:00 and had mama mama in my face at 7:30 am ...oh, how life changes when you can't just lay in bed all day to recoup!! Cheers!! P.S. I know what you are all thinking...Do Jon & Suzanne ever go out together? Well the answer is going to be yes next Thursday night. I have gotten up enough courage to hire a baby sitter and we will be going out as a couple!! Hurray!! Then Gramie Lynn comes to town for a few weeks and she will also be "handy" to have around so Jon & I can go out together! We may even hit a movie or two (High School Musical 3 of course!) It's very difficult being in a foreign country and trusting anyone to watch your child!! Let's just say, don't anyone ever take grandparents, aunts, neighbors, friends, etc...for granted when it comes to babysitting at the drop of a hat!!

Max's First Official Playdate

Today our friends Max & Dana came over to our apartment for a playdate. It was Max's first official playdate. He moved to Dubai when he was four months old and now he is almost nine months old. As you all know...playdates, that are real playdates, (not just moms drinking coffee while child sleeps in carrier) really don't happen until kids are at least sitting up. Well, today Max was such a good boy and loved all of the fun new toys Fayth had to offer. She did however; baulk a few times and shout MINE!! I then, did the teacher thing, and went into the whole sharing spiel!! We all know that's the age!! Max and Fayth actually napped in the same room while Dana and I shared stories and of course my scrapbooks. We "noshed" on food, as Dana would say, and had a spread of hummus, pita, olives, cheeses, crackers, veggies, watermelon and more! It was all and all a perfect playdate. Can't wait for more to come!!

I Walked Into This...

If this photo doesn't speak a million words...I don't know what does!! I turned on the TV yesterday morning and told Fayth I'd be right out of the shower. I can actually do this now and trust her. I still take the quickest shower...not relaxing one bit!! Anyway, I walked out into the family room as soon as I hopped out of the shower and saw this!!! It's like a little "Jon" chilling in front of the TV. I about died. I RAN so quickly for the camera and got it!!! All the things she loves...her blankie, her binky, her chair, her dolly and her new love the TV!!!!!!!! I even love how her legs are so relaxed!! She was just quite content!! I love this photo of my girlfriend!!

Ladies Night Out!!

I have been waiting to post this blog so I could include a photo but I haven't received it yet so I thought I'd better write before I forgot. I will post the photo however as soon as I receive it. Last Wednesday, myself and four other ladies from our apartment decided to go out. We had seen each other at the pool, play area, and around the common area outside and Ann and I got up "enough courage" to say..."Let's go out!" Well, it's all history from there and we are going to make this a monthly outing. Our group included, Ann from London 37, Aysun from Turkey 30, Zeina from Paris 36, and Nina from Lebanon 33. All of the ladies speak two to three languages except me of course...(I do however speak a little German from camp as a kid & a little Spanish from being a teacher of various Hispanic kids). Their English skills are all pretty good. Some are more comfortable speaking fluently than others. Zeina and I are the only stay at home moms while Nina and Ann have full-time live in maids/nannies. They all have children except Aysun..and after all of our stories, we may have scared her a bit!! Ha ha... We walked to the new "Address Hotel" (OMG...just gorgeous!!!) for cocktails poolside and then hit the Mango Tree at Souk Al Bahar. We had yummy Thai food for dinner. We are going to take turns planning the evening. Aysun is on for November! I look forward to our many nights out together. It's just amazing to think I sat around a table with four ladies from truly, all over the world, and yet we still all have so much in common!! We are all women of course and have similar interests!! We chatted about kids, nail salons in town, hair dressers, make-up, where we shop, daycares, what to do around town, our families, and just about everything else. You name it, we chatted about it and it was a great "Ladies Night Out!"

SOLD!!!

Yes, it's official...150 East Margaret Terrace is no longer our home. It was a wonderful home for eight years and yesterday a young couple moved in and now it is their home to make memories in. We will REALLY miss our neighbors and the entire neighborhood. Let's just say, with the way the market is we feel lucky we SOLD! We certainly did not get anywhere near what we "had in mind" however, we now have "Peace of Mind!" Yeah, I can finally get some sleep and get rid of a zit I've had for a month!! Stress free Suzanne...signing off!!!!!

Baking Halloween Cupcakes

After our morning at the beach and long afternoon nap, we decided to bake some Halloween cupcakes using the fun paper cups and sprinkles from Gammy!

Camera was back in action...

Don't know if you noticed...but our cupcakes have NO frosting. Fayth and I searched high and low at about four grocery stores for a can of frosting. No such luck. So, we made icing out of powdered sugar. They just aren't the same without all the yummy, sweet, frosting!! However; my galpal is a great little cook! She loves to help in the kitchen!

Beach Babes

Today we woke up and hit the Jumeirah beach. It is about a ten minute drive from our place. We stopped and got donuts, iced coffee, and a diet coke for Jon of course, and hit the beach at about 9:30. The Arabian Gulf water was beautiful about 90 degrees, crystal clear, and very very salty. Fayth got one gulp and spit it out! We started a "tiny" sea shell collection for Fayth. She loved looking at the different shells. We had a great morning at the beach and plan to do this more often. The weather is FINALLY getting to be beautiful...about 90-95 degrees out and not humid! No photos today...didn't want a sandy, salty, broken camera!! God, what would I do without my camera!!

Hello Wine "Mums"

Last Sunday I woke up to the best email!! In Cary, two former parents of mine, now friends, host a "wine party" every October. Well, I was no longer going to be there child's teacher last year so we took our parent-teacher relationship to the next level and I got invited to the famous Trout Valley Wine Tasting Party!! Needless to say, I have become friends with a lot of my former parents. I just happen to really like the families and moms in Cary. Anyway, I obviously missed the wine party that happened last Friday. I woke up to a sweet email with attached photos of about 10 or so of my former moms holding a sign that said, Hi, Suzanne! It was really sweet and put a HUGE smile on my face. So...here ya go...I hit the town last night with four new friends, blog to come later, and I had Jon take this for all of YOU...

P.S. I said "mum" because that is what 90% of the people around here say...and I think it's cute!

Happy Halloween!!

As you are preparing for Halloween...costume shopping, make-up shopping, perhaps sewing and buying fabric, buying tons of candy & making treat bags, school party planning, etc...we are sitting in Dubai very envious!

However; I promised you Fayth would "don" the outfit Gammy sent her...so this is as good as it gets in an Arab country!! She still looks so stinkin cute in my eyes!! We plan to have Fayth go from room to room and we are going to buy her a few candy bars and practice saying, "Trick-or-treat!" Believe me or not, that was daddy's idea!!

Thanks to Jill & Steve, our former neighbors, we have adorable Halloween towels hanging in our kitchen and a cookie cutter shaped like a pumpkin. The head piece is a great accessory from Gramie Lynn and we are going to bake cupcakes with cutie paper cups and sprinkles that Gammy just sent us!!

See, we are spoiled, and loving every minute of it!!

Trick-or-Treat!!

Friday Roadtrip

Today was the start of our weekend. Now that we have our own car Jon wanted to take a little road trip and head out of the hustling and bustling emirate of Dubai. In the United Arab Emirates there are seven emirates. We decided to head north and go to the Emirate called Ras Al Khaimah. It was a little over an hour to get there. We enjoyed the beautiful views of sand dunes, camels, camp sites (where people actually live), and goats!! Just think of it this way, you are in downtown Chicago headed out to Schaumburg, by the time you hit Des Plaines it goes from HUGE city with skyscrapers to pure desert! It's just unbelievable. Here are some photos on our way to Ras Al Khaimah...

Once we entered the Emirate we didn't really have a plan. We just wanted to check out another emirate. It was a quiet fishing city. Quiet enough where GOATS were eating and walking along the "main drag." We stumbled upon a road that led us to a drive along the coast. Now, I kid you not...Get it..."kid" baby goat...there were goats chillin' on the road right near the Arabian Gulf. It was an unbelievable site. Fayth just starred and laughed. I think all of us were dumb-founded.

We drove until we found a little spot to get out and stretch our legs. The gulf water had to be 85 degrees...it was so warm and the water was beautiful. I must say it is a lot different from Dubai. Dubai is so clean and litter free...like workers mop the streets...this beach area was rather dirty. However; we still had a wonderful time dipping our toes in the sand and playing around.

Then we hopped in the car and headed home. We played "I spy" and tried to have Fayth look and find camels the whole way home. Truthfully, I don't think she saw one. By the time Jon or I spotted one and pointed it out we'd be going past it and Fayth wouldn't know where to look. She kept saying "doggie doggie"...so we think she was terribly confused!!! Never the less, it was a wonderful drive and fun Friday!

As we entered back into Dubai, I tried to take a photo of all the pink flamingos in the natural bird sanctuary...It will form a border to the "Lagoons" in the upcoming years. Yet another HUGE development coming to Dubai.

Yummy Pancakes

Fayth has become a HUGE fan of Mickey Mouse clubhouse. She says TV about 20 times a day and says, "Mickey Mouse" in the cutest little voice ever!! This has just started since we moved here. We never really watched TV at home because we would not have very many hours with her and I wanted to do things with her rather than watch TV. Well now, being home all day and entertaining a 20 month old, a little bit of TV isn't so bad!! It happens to be a cute cartoon and a good learning tool if I must put my teacher hat on for a moment. So, needless to say, we have been watching about two MM clubhouse programs a day!! The other night I felt creative and made her a special dinner while she was watching Mickey. I'm sure you can only imagine...

I know, I know, pancakes for dinner...Hey, Jon was out with clients and it's a quick easy dinner for me to prepare. She loved em! She of course went straight for the eyes and nose first...M&M's...her favorite. Now, no comments about how TV is bad...I don't want to hear it!!

She won't know what hit her when we go to Disney next summer with the Evenson gang...between the princess outfit and love for Mickey...she will be ready to hit Disney with a vengeance!

Another Adorable Hand-Me-Down

Thanks to our cousin Chloe we had fabulous hand-me-downs that we saved in the crawl space for years hoping that one day we would be able to use them. Well, we have worn everything and worn them proud!! We have passed them onto our friends Dave and Robin!! Unfortunately, there came a point where we had to tell Jill, Jon's sister, to stop giving us hand-me-downs because our crawl space was filling up and we still had NO CHILD!! Now I am kicking myself...but...

Our friends Scott and Lori have two of the cutest girls you have ever seen...Gabby and Sophie. Lori has been sweet enough to save a TON of the girls clothes for Fayth and we are enjoying them currently here in Dubai. We have a closet of shoes, swimming suits, dresses, so much more from the girls. The long winded reason for this blog...I put Fayth in one of the outfits the other day and I think it has to be my favorite. It is a Hanna Anderson two-piece with flared chocolate pants. She wore it to play group and looked like a fashion diva!! Thanks to the Debevec Family for ALL OF THE WONDERFUL...hand-me-downs!!! We miss you guys!!!

In the one picture, Fayth is too busy reading, "Fancy Nancy" to look at the camera & in the other she is crabby because she is hungry and thirsty and I was trying to get a good photo!!

Poof!! A Princess!!

Yes, she is a true "princess" in every sense of the word lately!!

Thanks to Gramie Lynn, we received a box today filled with loot and have a new dress-up princess outfit with a homemade wand and all!! Not for Halloween...just for make believe!

Now, I know what you are all asking yourselves..."Do they celebrate HALLOWEEN in Dubai?" Unfortunately, the answer is NO! Many of my former students have emailed me asking me about Halloween and Almond Joy candy bars! We will not get to celebrate the holiday so have fun trick-or-treating and craving pumpkins!! I can honestly say, I miss the "fall." The leaves changing, pumpkins glowing, kids dressing up, and all the fun decorations that go along with Halloween are making me a little bit sad. So, be sure to send us photos of YOU...all of YOU...dressed up in costume!! And, as I promised...stay tuned...Fayth has a special Halloween outfit from Gammy coming soon!!

All I have to say is Thank Goodness for Grandparents!! And the Papas...we love them too, just know, their hard earned cash is mailing these boxes at about 60.00 a POP!!!

Housewife!

Yes, you heard right, it's official, I'm labeled a housewife! My visa reads "housewife!" Yesterday, this thought crossed my mind as I sat on the balcony and fixed Dolly's stroller. Fayth has a hand-me-down stroller, from cousin Chloe, and LOVES the heck out of it. If all Fayth had for toys were her books, Dolly, stroller, and a few "doggie, doggies" she'd be just fine!! Anyway, this stroller has been pushed more miles than the Avon three-day breast cancer walk! The fabric on it finally fell apart and needed some repairs. I of course, being the newly labeled housewife, thought this is nothing I can't handle! I soaked it, scrubbed it, laid it out to dry and started searching the apartment for something to use to fix it. I had cute grosgrain ribbon in Fayth's room tied to a few baskets...well no longer! Got out some needle and thread that was sent to me in a care package (thank you Gramie) and stitched away. I fixed the top of it, the seat, and the side by the basket. I must say, the stroller looks brand new and it is now even cuter than before...the ribbon added a nice touch!! Housewife!! I can handle that title!!

Our First Guests!

This past week in Dubai was the largest property development show in the world called "Cityscape." Four gentlemen from RJA, the company Jon works for, came to town for the show. The group included the Chief Operating Officer, RJA-International President, VP of Middle East/Europe and a senior consultant that is joining the Dubai office in January. I referred to them as the "BIG WIGS!" Well, we wanted to "show-off" our new apartment & the downtown view, so we invited the guys over for cocktails and appetizers. The only problem...we couldn't supply the alcohol just yet because in Dubai you must have a liquor license to buy any alcohol and Jon is in the process of getting his now. So, hurray...hurray...It was BYOB!!! Just like the college days!!! Truthfully, the guys had offered before leaving for the trip to each bring us a bottle of booze, from Duty Free, for our apartment until Jon got the license. Needless to say, we threw back a few, had some great varieties of cheese, hummus and olives and sat around our table and "chatted!" It was fun to show them our new "digs!" This is the first time I didn't whip out my camera...Honestly, my first vodka & tonic in Dubai seemed to be more important. It was fun hosting OUR FIRST GUESTS!!!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Every so often, Fayth is "lucky" enough to wear an outfit my mom saved from our childhood just in case one of her daughters had a daughter!! Well, my sister has one son and I was lucky enough to have a girl!! :-)

Anyway, Fayth on occasion has worn a dress or an outfit that was cute but more for a photo session for Mommy and Gramie and our photo albums. Well, this time around it is MUCH DIFFERENT!!! She got ahold of this "dolly" T-shirt, with braids on it, and won't give it up. I, too, loved the stinkin' shirt!! I keep saying, "Not today Fayth" and she runs to the closet and pulls it out. Well, I gave in ONCE again and of course had to take a photo!!! Let's just say the photo happens to be daddy's new favorite and he didn't even know it was MY dolly shirt!!

Bling Bling

Thanks to our "fancy" friend Hailey we are finally able to wear our "bling bling" homemade hot pink Converse!! They brought some attention to Fayth's feet!! So stinkin cute!!

Visiting the Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah

Atlantis Hotel, like the one we all know that is in the Bahamas, just opened a hotel at the end of the Palm Jumeirah a week ago. Well, of course, we had to go check it out. We decided to take a drive on Friday across town and visit their aquarium. Oh, my...the site as you enter the Hotel was amazing and on the other side where you park was the Arabian Gulf!!!!!!!!!! All I can say is, OH, "MY!" Just breath-taking!!!

Dinner Out With our New Friends!!

Wednesday early evening, we met our new friends, Dana, Alan and Max at my favorite place in Dubai..."Souk Madinat Jumeriah." It features 22 waterfront restaurants, cafes and bars and has a wonderful view of the Burj Al Arab (the well known sailboat hotel). It also has over 75 stores in an "old Dubai" souk feeling! We had dinner at "The Left Bank" bar and grill. We sat outside and watched the Abras (small boats) transport visitors and hotel guests along the creek for a relaxing ride. While they relaxed...our daughter who had not napped...was unfortunately not allowing US to relax! It was the first time she was naughty and I was actually embarrassed. Jon and I took turns walking around with her and trying to please her. The restaurant did not have highchairs so that was part of the problem. Thank goodness, our new friends, completely understood and we were still able to enjoy a "cold beverage" and yummy dinner.

Fayth has a fondness for their 8 month old son, Max...she calls him "Mac" and in the picture she is giving him a little smooch!! Lesson learned....."DO NOT GO OUT IN PUBLIC IF FAYTH HAS NOT TAKEN A NAP!!"

PlayGroup

Once again, I went to playgroup this week at the mall and met some more expats. We meet every Wednesday and I look so forward to it...so...

I have decided to start up a "walking group" on Mondays at the Mall of the Emirates. I invited my "new" friends to meet at 11:00, walk the mall for exercise, and then have lunch together with our children. I have gotten a great response...I invited six girls and so far five are meeting this Monday!! Hurray!!

Some photos of Fayth playing and "having a ball!"

School Girl

Even though Fayth is not in school, we play "school" everyday at her little table and chairs. I had to share a few photos because she looks so old and grown-up. Notice that she is eating goldfish crackers while fast at work...Brings back memories of First Grade...We ate our way through each and everyday!!