Nov. 24, 2009

Dissecting a Brain

     The boys learned so much from dissecting the heart, that when learning about the brain, we had to dissect one of those too. I asked for a beef brain, but that wasn't possible. So, we had to do with a lamb's brain. This was a little hard on me because it was just so tiny. So, while daddy was home this week, I thought it was a perfect time to have brain dissection and he could take the lead.

They looked at the left and the right hemispheres, the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brain stem. They learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Rob messed them up by pretending to lick it. Robby and Justin said that it was the grossest thing he has ever done. Rob said, "So far..." I was just excited to get it out of the fridge. Thomas says that he is still working on getting me a beef brain though. And now we're learning about the eye and are supposed to dissect a beef eye. We'll see how that all works out.

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Nov. 23, 2009

What I Am Thankful For

I am thankful:

1. For my husband, Rob and that he can always make me laugh.

2. For my four little boys who are so much fun to be around.

3. That we are all happy and healthy.

4. For my faith.

5. For being able to teach my children about their faith and that they have grown in their faith this year.

6. For winning $200 in groceries at Panda. That really helps us pay for our Thanksgiving feast.

7. That we have made good friends here in Saudi and that some of them are able to join us for Thanksgiving.

8. That  I have received my Master's degree and that studying hard for tests and writing paper days are over.

9. For a nice house.

10. For a nice, quiet compound where the kids can grow up playing with their friends.

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Nov. 20, 2009

My Big Win

     The Pandas here in Saudi are having a promotion that someone here in Saudi wins their groceries every minute. Well, I had no idea that this was going on Nov. 17. I had to go to the grocery store on an off day to get some kitty litter and my husband told me to spend lots of money (which he never, ever does) to get groceries and get ready for Thanksgiving. So, I go and get lots of stuff and I'm really nervous because I'm afraid that I won't have enough cash, so I keep asking him to subtotal. Then, I hear a terrible noise which I am very annoyed at and then, three guys start talking to the cashier in Arabic and then, I am really annoyed because I know they are talking about me. So, I put my head down trying to be invisible. (The last time they were speaking about me in Arabic was because the Mottawa was there and my hair wasn't covered.) Then, the guy behind me starts helping me with my groceries and tries to put his spaghetti noodles on my pile of food. I shake my head at him and use my hand to shoo him away. Of course, if I had known that I had just won 800 riyals of groceries I would not have done that!! But, the manager had to come up to me in English and tell me to put my money away and that all my groceries were free. I was still skeptical though because the promotion signs were in Arabic and I was clueless. But, after drilling the manager, I was convinced that this was real and it slowly set in and then, I was really, really happy. My friend notified me later that the whole thing was probably recorded and playing on a loop at the store. Now, I wish I could have a do over and be happy because now I look like the foreigner who doesn't care that she won a lot of groceries!!

    Now, I have the motivation to learn Arabic! Even though, Rob has informed me that they were Bangladeshi and probably speaking Urdu. Still, it wouldn't hurt for me to be a little more aware of what is going on around me so that I can realize when something really good is happening!!!! Now I know what that noise is and I am very excited when someone wins!!!

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Nov. 16, 2009

Reasons I Like it Here

     1 Saudi people are very hospitable, generous people.

     2. Safe place for kids.

     3. The location is a great starting point for traveling and exploring this world.

     4. Great place to study the geography of the bible. It is all right here.

     .5. Great Food

      6. Saudis believe in the same God as I do. They love  Abraham, Moses, and Jesus too.

      7. We can swim eight months out of the year.

     8. Arabic is a widely spoken language in the world now and there are many opportunities to learn it here.

     9. Living here has made us focus on what is really important. It has been easier for us to set goals and reach them here.

   10. Cooking Western food is very easy here. In other countries, it has been a lot more challenging. We have a full- size oven and Western food is available to us here.

    11. The houses are big and fire-proof.

   12. The Western community comes together and really helps each other out.

   13. We get to go to parties at the embassy.

   14. We have English channels on our tv and can even watch sporting events we like, like the World Series.

    15. We can use Skype to call our family. Then, it seems like they are not so far away.

   16. I never have to change before going out because I can just throw my abaya on.

   17. Saudis have many children, so we don't have people counting us in amazement as we're walking down the street. 

18. There are many inside play places for the kids.

   19. It's fun to camp out in the desert.

   20. The Gulf is very beautiful.

   21. They have many of my favorite restaurants from the U.S.

   22. Flying domestically is very cheap.

   23. Saudi Arabia is a very mysterious place and it's fun to explore it.

   24. Domestic help is cheap.

    25. It's a very fun place for 4 boys who love to dig and play in the sand.

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Nov. 14, 2009

Saudi- A Totally Different Place

     I was walking with my friends the other night and we have all been here for awhile. We were discussing that when we first got here to Saudi we were all wondering why it couldn't be more like the U.S. I told them that I didn't understand why that is, because when I was in Taiwan or Thailand, I expected it to be different; so, I never moped around wishing that it could be more like the U.S. But, this is a common problem for people moving here to Saudi. One of the reasons for this is because Saudi is a rich country, so we think that more things should be available to us. Part of it is also because businesses here do try to lure people here by saying that there are American compounds. There is one community here that is little America. When going there, you can trick yourself to believing that you are in an American neighborhood. But, most people do not live on compounds like that. Most are small and made for the purpose of keeping everyone safe. All of my friends agreed that it takes a good year to adjust to living here. After the second year, I feel a lot more comfortable here and it has become home.

     One thing that people have to watch out for coming here is that Saudis want us here for our unique abilities and skills. It's important to keep our values here and not let those things go. My husband told me an interesting story. He said that he was going up the elevator with another man who had worked in America and the man mentioned that he hoped that they weren't going to be late for their meeting. My husband looked at him and said that they were going to get up there and have to turn the lights on because everyone was going to be late. He was right. Then, the man said that next time they should just come a half an hour later instead of waiting around. My husband told him that it was important to be prompt and show other people that that is an American value. I thought that was interesting because it is so easy just to forget about those things and relax. But, it's important to never forget who you are.

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Nov. 13, 2009

Making the Right Choices

     Yesterday, we were walking through the mall and they have been hanging anti-smoking posters everywhere with the picture of the healthy lung with a picture of a smoker's lung. This is a very good visual. Well, Robby said something very smart to me. He said, "Why would anyone pick up a cigarette knowing that they are choosing that ugly lung?" I really don't know how this happened, but our boys are all very anti-smoking. I often wish that I knew what we did so that I could use it  in other aspects of their lives. They are so passionate about not smoking. I told Robby that when people pick up that cigarette, they think that they are just hanging out with friends and having fun with them, they don't realize they are choosing the black lung. I told him that it is comparable to when he does his math well and focuses, he is unknowingly choosing the path he wants, which is to be an airline pilot. He is choosing the pilot's uniform. But, when he hides his math or rushes through it, not caring, he is choosing a harder path, maybe a luggage handler's uniform. I think that this is a good visual for him too. I have always taught the boys that when they do good things, they get good things and when they do bad things, they get bad things. Sometimes we don't realize that there are so many choices in a day that determine their future. I am starting to encourage them to spend more time on pursuits that will help them acheive their goals. They have many airplane magazines and games and that is a better way for them to spend their free time, then watching tv or playing ds. We are starting to get a lot stricter about their tv watching. I'm always telling them to find some brain food. I explained it a little better yesterday by telling them that we don't let them eat candy whenever they want because it is junk food and no good for them, just like kid shows are like junk food for the brain. So, Justin said that he studies in school for eight hours and should be able to have tv junk food after that. But, then, I asked him if it would be healthy if he ate three meals of good food and then, three meals of junk food. I think they're getting it now. They haven't even asked for any kid shows since. We've realized that we need to be more disciplined in limiting it for them. Hopefully, as a family we'll make better choices from now on.

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Nov. 12, 2009

Post Halloween Fun

Not only did we have a great party, but then, our friends invited us over to have snacks with them on the night of the 31st. It was a good time. She made candy apples, but she said that they were only decoration because they were too hard. But, when we turned away, two of my boys were eating them. They were delicious after all! You can't turn your back on my boys with anything that is even slightly edible!

Then, Connor and Alex had some fun pretending to be Abe Lincoln with some fake hair I had bought for

the puppet show.

Justin and Connor enjoyed using the leftover face paint too:

What a goofball!!

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Nov. 12, 2009

Learning about Saints

   We learned about the Saints and how to walk the path to heaven by following the Beatitudes. Here they cut out feet and then, wrote one of the beatitudes on each one. There are clouds on there to that signify heaven. They loved showing Rob these when he got home to see if he could guess which foot belongs to who.

Here they drew a picture of themselves. They are God's family.

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Nov. 12, 2009

Dissecting a Heart

     Last week, the Panda driver was able to get me a lamb's heart to dissect, so we were able to do that. Robby really liked seeing the 4 chambers, the blood vessels, the aorta, and the pulmonary artery. It was really cool and I wasn't as grossed out by it as I thought I might be. I did have turn my head and take a few deep breaths; but, I got through it. The boys really enjoyed school that day. We also decided to look at the tendons of a chicken and the muscles of a steak under a microscope that day. The boys love to do experiments and look at things up close. It was a good school day.

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Nov. 12, 2009

Robby's Birthday Pics

I asked Robby what his favorite 11 year old memory was and of course, he said that it was going to America with his grandpa and Jeanne and seeing everybody. His second favorite was when his dad took him to Bahrain to see a movie on their last day of school last year. His worst memory was when he was grounded for a week in a half. Of course, neither of us could remember why he was grounded- probably chore related.

Here are some pics during his 12th year of life:

It's been a great year, Robertito!! You are the sweetest, most helpful boy. I love you so much!! I am very blessed to be your mom.

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