The McDonald Family Blog

2009-12-10T02:23:00.000-08:00

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

2009-10-28T03:39:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Callie taken in our park where there are two large trampolines. Our neighbour, Josh, who is six months older and a prolific bouncer has taught Callie well! Either she learns how to jump or she spends all her trampoline time on her bottom with Josh bouncing around her!!

Tourists at Home!

2009-10-28T02:48:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact we have been in Bahrain now for over 6 months, until very recently we just haven't had the chance to explore and take in the sights. Being a small island there really aren't that many but we are now dedicating our weekends to getting round them all over the coming months. I was a bit lacking in enthusiasm at the start of this project as, although day to day Callie and I are settled and enjoying all our social activities, Bahrain is somewhat backward, run down and reminscient of a huge building site in a lot of respects so I didn't hold out much hope our trips around the island would be all that interesting! Thankfully, so far I have been proved 100% wrong! Our first venture out was to Bahrain Fort, not too far from our house. Despite the total rubbish signposting leading to much unnecessary driving around unpaved streets, the place was amazing... and FREE! We have long been complaining about there really being no parks or places to walk here, so the first positive of the fort was that we could easily get here (now we knew how!) late afternoon and enjoy the beach area around the fort as well as exploring the fort itself which is huge. There's even a lovely coffee shop with outdoor seating overlooking the beach too plus a museum! Callie had a wonderful time, leaving us wondering if she is destined to be an archaeologist when she grows up, spending almost an hour digging in the sand and picking up rocks! Just as well it was late in the day and she was heading home for a bath anyway!

The following weekend we headed off into the desert to visit Al Areen Wildlife Park down in the south of the island. Again, I confess to being very pleasantly surprised at what was on offer here and we passed a most enjoyable couple of hours wandering around lovely gardens and getting really very close to the animals - obviously not the threat of being sued here the way you might in the West!! There were lots of animals and much more exotic than I imagined it would be! Callie again had an absolute ball and was most taken with the goats (not so exotic!) - she can now say "maa, maa" for goat so from an educational point of view we got our money's worth! Again, a great place to come for a walk now the weather is cooler and, amazingly, very cheap entrance fee and cafe! There's also a bus tour to around the park taking you to see giraffes etc, which we'll do next time. We'll definitely be back!

Just last weekend we took our lives in our hands and decided to take Callie for a tour of the Grand Mosque, a place requiring calm and quiet! Hmmm! On arrival I had to get fitted out for my abaya before being allowed anywhere near the inside of the place, which irritated and intrigued me at the same time. I was annoyed that Jamie could just walk in yet I couldn't, but I was fascinated by the outfit and what it would be like to wear after having spent six months observing the local women in the mall. Surprisingly, I quite liked the abaya - it was light and floaty and made a nice swishy movement when I walked, but I hated the head gear! It could be that I was distracted throughout the tour as my head scarf thingy wouldn't sit properly and kept sliding off my head making me anxious I would get thrown out for improper behaviour! Callie was also quite keen on the abaya and spent a large proportion of the tour playing hide and seek in it, complete with loud "boo!" each time she emerged echoing around the prayer room! Thank goodness the cleric found her amusing and the prayer hall was empty! Being the Grand Mosque, it was pretty grand and also interesting to get a bit more of an insight into Islam courtesy of our very thorough tour guide and all the free literature you could leave with (which may actually be designed to convert us!) Anyway, another successful trip which Callie enjoyed, having free run of a giant room with very plush carpets (made in Scotland by the way!) and posh lighting (we're very into lights at the moment!)

Tumble Tot!

2009-10-18T09:35:00.001-07:00

Since the beginning of September and the start of the school year for older kids, Callie and I have been busy, busy, busy with lots of new activities and friends. Honestly, Callie has a more active social life than I think I've ever had and she's just turned 16 months! We are increasingly finding there just aren't enough days in the week and we are having to be selective. We are still enjoying our swimming lessons with Tara and can now climb up the ladder to the slide and come splashing down into the water with great enthusiasm at the end of each lesson! (I do catch her at the bottom!) In fact all things involving climbing, sliding, swinging and jumping are a huge hit at the moment, therefore, it's no surprise that Callie has taken to gymnastics like a duck to water! Above is her in action on the rings and bars but she also does beam, floor and trampoline for good measure! Now we've been attending the class for a few weeks and she knows what to expect, she watches the demos and then is off to be first in the line! She just points at the apparatus and takes off.... a bit of work to do on taking turns then!

We are currently waiting with anticipation for Callie's music class to start which has been postponed since the beginning of September due to the threat of swine flu! Yes, you heard right! All schools and nurseries in Bahrain have had an extended summer break this year with the youngest pupils only starting school again this week due to a government dictat. Fortunately (yet strangely) this ban did not extend to baby groups so most have continued to operate but not so the music (as her own kids are not in school!) Anyway, I am really looking forward to starting this as we haven't really done anything that is 100% music based before and this is the area I struggle with the most, not having the most melodious of voices! We did try out Kindermusik which Callie really enjoyed, but it was so expensive I just couldn't justify the cost for a one year old when I am paying less for her to attend gymnastics and swimming combined! Bahrain is just so pricey... we were so spoilt in Houston with such high standards of living for very little cost, sigh!

Anyway, at least we have playdates (and lots of them!) over the course of the week which cost nothing most of the time and have allowed Callie to gain a wide circle of friends at a very tender age. Most of her friends are a bit older, some as much as six months, which has its good and bad points. It's great that she can learn some valuable new skills from them such as how to play with play dough without putting it in her mouth, but not so good that she has just started copying some of the nearly two's contrary behaviour! Surely that should be another few months away yet!?! I thought it was the 'Terrible Twos' not the 'Terrible Not Quite One and a Halfs'!

Cyprus

2009-10-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

On returning from our wee jaunt to Scotland, Callie and I discovered we only had two weeks and a day before we were off on our hols again, yippee! (Daddy's comment about us being on a "permanent holiday" suddenly had a ring of truth to it, oops!) Anyway, after much research and deliberation back at the start of the summer we decided that Cyprus was our best option for a chilled out family vacation as it involved only one, fairly short flight, no time difference and tempertures at least 10 - 15 degrees cooler than Bahrain! Neither Jamie and I were hugely excited about the location having been to Cyprus before and experiencing a week of miserable weather, but we were certainly looking forward to a quieter pace for a week and not the usual mad dash round Scotland most of our holidays have become these days! However, on seeing the weather forecast for heavy rain during the first part of our week, I was all set to stay home! I certainly didn't want to be cooped up in some grotty villa with a cranky one year old sans toys watching the rain bounce off the patio windows! Fortunately, the weather forecasters in Cyprus are obviously about as good as those in Scotland and never get anything right as the rain came to very little, just a couple of short showers which coincided with Callie's afternoon siestas, whew! The villa also turned out to be a revelation! What a find! The place was spacious, well equipped, spotlessly clean and, as advertised, close to a beach. It also had a lovely patio area and our own pool, which we jumped into and quickly scrambled out of - freezing is not the word! Luckily our local beach was fantastic - quiet, sheltered, clean - absolutely perfect for Callie who had a whale of a time toddling in and out of the water, filling up her bucket with stones and emptying them out, making and destroying (hmm, mostly destroying sandcastles - hers and other children's!) and checking out the boats in the harbour and all the cats hanging around waiting for the fishermen to come in with their catch. Callie also thoroughly enjoyed the attentions of Granny and Granda Mac who came over for the week too meaning that Jamie and I had a bit of sun lounger time! I managed to get through two and a half books so I must have had some time off! We all agreed that, although Cyprus isn't the most attractive of places, for a no hassle, chilled out week in the sun, the villa and location were great. We might even go back next year and for two weeks instead of one!

Scotland Again!

2009-10-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

During our trip to Scotland in May, whilst I was panicking at the thought of being stuck in Bahrain for the whole summer and all that entailed (see previous post!) we decided that Callie and I would take another trip to Scotland in August to a) beat the heat and b) have something to look forward to! Yes, I think we did need some time out of the Sandpit by then as it wasn't good for Callie to be inside all the time, plus during August the heat was definitely cranked up another notch! However, when the trip came around it felt more like an added bonus than a desperate necessity!

Anyway, off Callie and I trotted for just over two weeks with the family. Great fun! Having successfully negotiated the lengthy flight without Jamie thanks to Candice's suggestion to introduce Callie to the joys of stickers(!) we spent the first few days with Granny and Granda Mac before embarking on our usual whistle stop tour of Scotland! Unfortunately, Callie was not on her best form initially, having just got over a virus not long before we left only to pick up something else on the plane (thankfully not swine flu!) She coped pretty well but was certainly not herself the whole of the first week of our trip which was such a shame for both her and everyone we had organised to catch up with! Needless to say she bounced back and was back to being a bundle of energy in no time! I certainly think the one thing I'll remember from this trip home is just how much Callie longed to be outside in the fresh air having been cooped up for months in Bahrain. I didn't really think that much about it before we went to Scotland but after witnessing Callie get up every single morning (even when not very well), head straight for the front door in her pyjamas and bang on it for out, I was left in no doubt! Fortunately, she was able to get out for a while most days as the weather was mostly reasonable. Also, Granny Mac had thoughtfully invested in pair of wellies for her so even if it was wet she could still splash in the puddles. However, the wellies were not a hit, possibly because they were a bit big on her, and got kicked off at every opportunity! Barefoot at the duck pond, hmmm, very hygenic!

I think Callie's favourite place this visit had to be the beach at Cullen where my parents stay. She worked out that most of the times she got into my dad's car she ended up at the beach so, on being let out in the morning would go to the car and bang on the door to indicate it was beach time! When she was told the car was locked she immediately toddled back into the house, picked up the keys and went straight back to the car, the smarty pants! No flies on her then! Pictures are of Callie paddling in a rock pool ("Get my feet out of here this minute, Granny!") and building (or destroying in Callie's case!) sandcastles with Granda Cowie, plus C chilling at the park! By the beach in Cullen there is also the golf club and Callie was further impressed by the putting green, not to mention the yummy scampi and chips served up for lunch in this particular establishment! Callie whiled away several hours of her trip dropping golf balls into the holes, pulling out and replacing the little flags, which were just her size! I won't get my hopes up that she might turn out to be the female Tiger Woods just yet though!

Back with the McDonald clan up in Inverness, Callie was again very well entertained with trips to the park, the river and the wild life park. Unfortunately, on that particular day Callie was not in the best of moods and was especially put out when Granda Mac put some bird food down near her feet causing the ducks to peck her toes! She usually loves birds but I guess the close proximity was a bit too much for her! Above is Callie with Auntie Em and Uncle Richie, Granny and Granda Mac.

As much as I enjoy my daughter's company I must confess that the highlight of my trip home was a whole day away in Aberdeen catching up with friends and doing some shopping in peace! It's amazing how much I was able to achieve without a one year old in tow, although every so often I found myself looking round for her, forgetting she was in Cullen with Granny and Granda! This will certainly be repeated at Christmas, hopefully overnight as well!

As usual the time flew in and we were back on the plane for Bahrain in no time. Callie thoughtfully decided to not sleep the whole way home but, hey, at least we had the stickers! Looking forward to our third trip to Scotland for Christmas with the added bonus that we have to go super early so Jamie can get a new work visa! Having said that, Callie might not be impressed with the dark, miserable December weather we're likely to get! In fact, I think it'll be a rather nasty shock for her.... oh well, at least Santa will visit!

Our Summer

2009-10-17T02:58:00.000-07:00

After my initial panic that Callie and I would be abandoned for the summer and left to swelter in the sandpit with nothing to do and nobody to play with, I am pleased to report that we actually had a fantastic time here in Bahrain. Returning from Scotland after our trip in May filled me with dread as we weren't settled and the long, hot summer was looming before us. I just wanted to get on the next plane out, convinced it was going to be unbearable. So much for my pessimism! If anything the summer allowed Callie and I to really find our feet, work out which groups and places were best for us and, most importantly, cement friendships. I went from worrying about being lonely and miserable to not having enough days in the week in a heartbeat! I don't think I've had such an active social life since I was a teenager! First off, Callie and I did lots of swimming with Tara so I've now got a very happy and confident little water baby on my hands! The lessons have been wonderful and we're still swimming at the moment, although the water is getting a little chilly these days! When are they going to get that pool heater installed!?! Callie and I (mostly me!) can't cope with sub 30 temperatures! You'll never see us in the North Sea! We also found that a number of the play groups were still going on so headed to our favourite at Chaoss every week. Busy, busy, busy! I guess all the mums left on the island had the same idea! Oh well, it worked out well for us in the long run, allowing us to make new friends and set up numerous play dates throughout the summer. Callie even made some girl friends at last after being inundated with boyfriends since she was born! Finally, Callie discovered the merits of Magic Planet, the soft play area in Bahrain City Centre Mall. I first took her back in June when she had been walking for a couple of months but she was seriously unimpressed and wouldn't even go into the main section. She just burst into tears! Going back again at the beginning of August, I had my doubts she would be any different but nothing could have been further from the truth! She was in, up, through and down the slide before I had a chance to blink! She's also become a big fan of the cafe next door which fortunately serves mostly healthy organic options (plus a delicious selection of cakes and muffins for pudding!)

Here's us at said cafe, PQ, with our buddies Claudia and Amelia, Candice and Ava and Angela and Daniel! I have to admit to spending quite some time lunching and having coffee during the summer... for research purposes only you have to understand! Obviously, I need to have a comprehensive list ready for any visitors we might have during our stay in the Sandpit and am now confident Bahrain has some excellent options should any family and friends drop by!

Can it really be that long!?!

2009-10-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Having had a busy couple of months (plus a lot of procrastination on my part!) I logged into my blog to find I haven't written anything since July! I knew it had been a while but honestly, I don't know where the time has gone! As usual, because my blogging is so sporadic I don't even know where to start! I'll have to have a good think and make a decision before I post something worth reading... maybe tomorrow!

Eating Habits!

2009-07-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

I promise you before I took this clip Callie managed to stab and eat at least 10 pieces of melon unassisted, honest! Of course, as soon as the camera is out she cheats and then loses interest in forking altogether as the camera is so much more interesting... sigh!

Feeling Guilty!

2009-07-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

After too many nights of having to get up and rescue Callie's dummy (pacifier to my American friends!) which keeps rolling out of her mouth and off the bed onto the floor, Jamie and I decided it had to go! Thursday night was crunch night after we were woken at least half a dozen times by angry squawking! Friday morning saw me furiously researching the internet to try to find a humane way of getting rid of dums but there was nothing obvious, so we just went for the inhumane route instead and poked a big hole in it! Friday afternoon we put Callie down with her "broken" dums.... She was NOT pleased! She realised straight away something wasn't right and kept taking it out of her mouth and handing it back, politely requesting another... Unfortunately, she was out of luck! We then endured approximately an hour of serious complaint, with Jamie wanting to cave around the 45 minute mark. Fortunately, me being so "hard and unsympathetic" (Jamie's words, or rather a more polite version of!) paid off and she dozed off roughly 20 minutes before her nap time would have been over. Success! Since then we have had minor histrionics but mostly Callie has gone off to bed without much fuss and has slept better through the night. Last night we didn't have to go in at all, woo hoo! All in all, although I still feel a bit guilty about taking away such a prized possession from such a little person, Mission Dums has been more successful and much less painful than anticipated. Well done Miss Callie! What a big girl!

Big Tall Girl!

2009-07-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

We took Callie for her 12 month check up and vaccines a couple of weeks ago, her second trip to the docs since we arrived in Bahrain. Fortunately it passed without incident and she was a trooper when it came to her MMR and Hep A jabs. Obviously, she screamed the place down during, but recovered quickly and trotted off to the fish tank in the waiting room to see the fishies again before she left without so much as a whimper! She has also been completely fine since the jabs. However, the interesting information to come out of the visit is that Callie is apparently now in the 98th percentile for height, just short of 32" and the 75th for weight at around 24 pounds. Given she was a wee scrappy thing when we left Houston and only measured in the 40th percentile for both height and weight, we are quite shocked by the change. Having said that, we shouldn't really be that surprised as the amount of food that kid can shuffle away every day is frightening! We're now psyching ourselves up to take Callie for her first dental appointment, confident it will be a challenge given her aversion to having her teeth brushed! Also, having just read Gina's blog about Carter's first trip to the dentists, I'm even more concerned... there is absolutely no way on this earth we'll ever be able to floss Callie's teeth! We can barely get a toothbrush in there! Hmm, maybe I'll leave it till we get back from Scotland...!

Abu Dhabi - June 2009

2009-07-14T04:01:00.001-07:00

After many hours of toil (not to mention blood, sweat and tears!) I have finally finished my entries for May and can move onto June, whew! It seems the key to blogging is to have everything just thrown onto the page and it sorts it out when you post, but if you make it all nice pre post it totally arses it all up for you! Anyway, I digress...

The second week of June saw Callie and I jetting off again! Jamie had organised a business trip to Algeria and Libya for part of the time my parents were over but unforunately we didn't quite work the dates out correctly! He ended up taking off when my parents were also off in Abu Dhabi, hence Callie and I decided to have another wee vacation even though we were just back from Scotland. (Jamie may be starting to have a point about my being on a permanent holiday!) Anyway, we went for a few days as there didn't seem much point in us staying home alone when all my family were only a 40 minute plane ride away. I'm so glad we made the effort as we had a great time all together which hasn't happened very often in recent years due to our dispersal all over the globe!

Callie took to Uncle Jonathan very quickly despite only having met him once before and very briefly... she obviously recognises he's a bad influence who will lead her astray and so was right in there! He also has a lovely tank of tropical fish which she was fascinated with! However, I'm not so sure the fish were all that enamoured by her attentions, what with all the banging on the tank for four solid days and the lights being kept on much longer than usual so she could see them better. They must have been totally dazed and confused by the time we left, not to mention relieved!

To be honest, we didn't get up to a whole lot other than eating loads and wandering in the malls as it was way too hot to be outside and alternative inside entertainment is limited! We did find a large ball pit in one mall that met with the approval of two of the party who spent some time bouncing about and throwing balls at each other... don't know who's the bigger kid, Callie or Granda!?! The highlight of our trip was lunch at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi's 7* hotel. Yummy! It was pretty pricey but we lucked out as we didn't have to pay for Callie and she probably ate more than anyone! It turns out she has something of a penchant for lobster and duck! Trust her to have expensive tastes! All in all we had a lovely afternoon of grazing in plush surroundings with champagne on tap and all had to go home for a nap afterwards!

How much noise do you think I have to make before they throw me out!?!

A rare photo of the Cowie clan all together!

At Granny and Grandad Mac's

2009-07-13T04:37:00.000-07:00

At the park with Mummy and Daddy... I liked the big slide the best!

Feeding the ducks with Granny and Grandad...

It was going well till one pecked my finger, hmmph!

This had better be easier than yesterday!

2009-07-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, having now calmed down from yesterday's tantrum, I'm going to attempt to add some more photos to finish off the May section of the blog... wish me luck! I think I'll need it!

I hate blogs!

2009-07-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

After having had at least 30 attempts to publish those last four photos and two captions I've decided that this blog is the most irritating and infuriating thing in the world! I can't even contemplate attempting another post involving photos I'm so mad right now! Can someone please tell me why it is that, after I spend forever arranging my photos and captions and previewing them to check everything is sitting correctly, when I publish my post everything suddenly shifts to create the biggest dog's dinner you've ever seen!? Help me before I totally lose patience and throw my laptop out the window! Thank you!

At Granny and Granda Cowie's

2009-07-12T04:56:00.003-07:00

Down Cullen Beach... no rain but a wee bit chilly! Yummy, the sand tastes delicious! In the back garden playing in the sunshine (believe it or not!) Football or dollies - hmmm, can you guess what I liked the best!?!

At Auntie Em and Uncle Richie's Wedding!

2009-07-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Giving Auntie Em and Uncle Richie a lucky horseshoe.

With Granda Cowie in my pretty dress - I kept it clean all day!

Auntie Em and Uncle Richie's first dance - Callie giving it big zzzz by now!

Blowing bubbles with Granny Mac the morning after!

Some Serious Catching Up to Do!

2009-07-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I started off really well and got totally into the whole blog concept, but as usual that fell by the wayside quicksmart despite my promises! However, I am determined to make amends and, although that means there will be stuff all out of order, hopefully it'll make some sort of sense! I'm going to start way back in May (yes, yes, I know that's now several months ago) as that was a very busy month for us - hence why I never did any blogging! The end of April/beginning of May saw all our worldly goods arrive by boat from Houston and us getting into our new house in Bahrain. We were very pleased and relieved that everything a) turned up in good time - early in fact! and b) was still in good working order when unwrapped! The timing could not have been better as our flights were booked for Scotland on the 7th May and we really wanted to get into the house and get it in some sort of order before we headed off, Jamie for two weeks and Callie and I for three. The last thing I wanted was to come back to a house full of boxes and no idea where anything was. We are really enjoying our new house and have settled in well. It is huge in comparison to our flat in Houston and there is loads of room for Callie to romp around and for her growing pile of toys to be stored! She loves doing the 'circuit' from the living room, through the dining room into the kitchen and out the other side, down the hall and back into the living room... honestly she must do it about 200 times a day! We are in a compound of around 20 houses so there is a lovely pool, tennis courts, squash courts, a playground and a small gym on site. The playground has just been revamped with loads of Little Tykes gear so Callie is loving it - pity it's over 100 degrees now and far too hot to get out at the moment! If she went on the slide in this weather she'd burn her bot! I'd like to say we are now super fit with all the opportunities for sport on site but that'd be a lie! Since leaving Houston we just haven't really got into much of a routine as far as exercise goes - it's still on the To Do list! As I mentioned we were off to Scotland for a large part of May and had a lovely time with family and friends at home. Our main reason for making the trip was Auntie Em and Uncle Richie's wedding on 16th May which was a wonderful day despite the torrential rain at various points during the event! The sun came out at the right times which was what mattered and bride and groom had an absolute ball. Callie lapped up the attention coming from all sides and was a wee star in the cathedral, only having a few tears at the very start just before Auntie Em came down the aisle, after jabbing her finger on Daddy's kilt pin! I think Emma and Richie went off to sign the register at the right time though as Callie was beginning to squirm! She could then get down for a run around the front of the church. She fairly played to her large audience, even attempting a climb to the pulpit before being rescued by Mummy! Her next piece of showing off was during the pre meal speeches, throwing in a few well timed raspberries when Grandad Mac was on the floor causing him to have to pause and regroup before continuing! Her performance has been captured for posterity on the wedding DVD which we look forward to viewing in the near future! The rest of meal she happily toddled around the venue and was missing in action on several occasions! The rest of our trip saw us spending time with both sets of grandparents and trying to see as many friends as possible without dragging Callie around too much. She really enjoyed her trip home, much more so than in November and we are so pleased she now seems to know exactly whose who in our family. She relaxed very quickly with both sets of grandparents and slept very well the whole time we were home - definitely an improvement on last time! She was, of course, spoiled rotten by the all the attention which was then continued with my parents flying back to Bahrain with us for a few weeks to be present for Callie's first birthday celebrations. I even managed a girl's night out with some friends from hockey - Raeleen, Lisa, Maz and Gemz. We had a lovely time celebrating their truimphant season as triple trophy winners, making me happy and sad at the same time as I realised how much I miss being part of Inverurie Ladies HC. Maybe they'll start a third team for me when I eventually come home as I don't think I'd cope with either first or second team standards! On that note, I'll have to finish for now as Callie is squawking! Will add some pics in the coming days and get on with my update now I'm on a roll!

Happy Birthday Callie Mac!

2009-06-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

Well, well, where has the time gone? We can't believe a year has passed already and Callie has blown (well, maybe not quite!) out her first birthday candles. It seems like it was only yesterday we were taking her home from the hospital and I was in tears that they were carelessly discharging us already because we hadn't a clue what we were doing! Then there were all those nights in the beginning of trying to get Callie to go to bed at 7pm and us pacing the floor for hours till she finally, three months or so later, gave in and went to bed at bedtime! Ah, those were the days! Only a year later and Callie is walking - or should I say running - around all over the house and getting into all sorts of mischief! I never would have believed babies could develop so fast until I experienced it for myself. It's been a wonderful journey so far and we look forward to continuing the fun and adventures in Callie's second year!

As regards Callie's birthday celebrations, we decided on a low key affair, just Mummy, Daddy, Granny and Granda Cowie, with input from Granny and Granda Mac via Skype! Callie had a lovely day playing with her new toys - a tent and tunnel, a pushchair and dolly, a shopping trolley with lots of plastic fruit to sample and a cool pink racing car paddling pool (currently full of balls). Mummy even managed to bake a cake - carrot - of which she is extremely proud, especially as Callie had a whole slice for her birthday dinner and wanted more! The end result, unfortunately, was that she went to bed full of sugar and spent the next hour and a half bouncing around her cot continuing the party! With hindsight, might have been better to do cake at lunch - note for next year! She also went to soft play at Bizzi Bees near our house for a romp around in the afternoon which went down a storm!

More stories and pics to follow soon....

The Kid Can Walk!

2009-04-12T23:36:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, Miss Callie is up and running!

It's only been two days but I'm exhausted trying to keep up with her!

She's very shaky and can only take a couple of proper steps without her walker but it looks like she'll have it completely mastered in a couple of weeks or so...

I know I should be excited for her, but honestly, she's going to be a nightmare to live with till she truly understands the word "No!" and can obey it!!!!

For Tracey and Betsy!

2009-03-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so she does look quite cute in her little bow but, as anticipated it all ended in tears! Flower ripped off closely followed by head band... Don't worry Betsy, I've repaired it for use another day!

Quick Pics!

2009-03-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, just a quick post this morning to add a couple of pics which is what Jamie was trying to do yesterday before he hijacked the blog! It's taking roughly half an hour to upload each photo so you're only getting two! These are just of us out and about exploring our new home. More chat very soon, I promise!

Jamie's Input

2009-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

As this is the 'family' blog, I figured I should get some air time. OK, that is not strictly true - I've given up trying to up-load recent photo's of the youngster to send through hotmail, so thought I'd try this as Emma advised it was quicker. As you can tell by the lack of any photo's, quicker, my backside! We are making progress in windy & wet Bahrain. We found a house last week that we liked, and we'll hopefully get the lease finalised & deposit paid this week. At the 4th attempt, we managed to get a bank account opened today - with the level of difficulty experienced, you would actually think we had turned up in black & white stripey tops, with tights on our heads, carrying a bag with 'SWAG' written on in and that we were intent on emtyping their safe - not give them money! The CPR card still proves elusive, which means buying Em a car remains impossible, which in-turn means that I'll continue to get my ear bent on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. Apparently, once we have a house lease signed, we can then get a CPR card, but I'll believe that when I see it. Despite the lack of official documentation, we ventured round a few garages today,and got a feel for prices, availability & scope for negotiation. While I had some fun bartering with salesman, the end result was still the same - whichever car we end up with, my wallet is going to take a longtime to recover from this purchase. One thing that became apparent, is that the global economic crisis does not appear to have reached the small island of Bahrain. $25-$30K for a small GMC (without insurance or road tax). In Houston I reckon I'd get one free with a box of cornflakes! Any hoo, the purpose of me coming on here was to upload some photo's, but after 19 mins of trying, I'm giving up. I'm away to enjoy my weekend's quota of 1 small tin of expensive, imported beer. Cheers, J.

First Impressions - Part 1

2009-03-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we've now, amazingly, been in Bahrain two weeks. After a somewhat auspicious start we are starting to settle in and are becoming more confident we'll adapt to life in the Middle East. On arrival at Bahrain International we were met by a couple of Jamie's work colleagues who took us to our new temporary home and handed over the keys to Jamie's car. A great start as both car and apartment are fantastic! However, things went downhill quickly from there on! Buoyed by our enthusiasm for our new apartment and eager to test drive the new wheels we decided to set out for a look see that afternoon... what a mistake! For a tiny island the traffic ain't half bad and the driving is way worse than anything we ever saw on the freeway in Houston (no offence to my friends there!). We were just out of the house and straight into a traffic jam which didn't move for two hours! Woo hoo! Just as well it was a big car as Callie was able to walk around the back seat while we sat listening to every other motorist bar ourselves toot their horns incessantly, as if that was somehow going to miraculously make everyone start moving again! Two and half hours later we made it, via every other part of the island as the map was crap, to the supermarket. Things were looking up... that is until we actually went into the place! HEB it certainly wasn't and we were hard pushed to find anything half decent for ourselves, never mind for poor Callie. No Gerber - total disaster! I'm still trying to work out what to feed her! The next few days saw more teething problems and an increased desire to head home to Houston, which we didn't appreciate was home until it dawned on us we weren't on holiday! The majority of our discussions was on how long we could realistically give it before we could ask for a move as this was NOT for us! The final straw, or so we thought, was brunch with some of Jamie's work mates that first weekend. The food was excellent, but the experience left us even more determined we had to get out of here - all around us were bad cases of Brits Abroad mentality, with the majority seemingly hell bent on getting hammered on the cheap plonk they were serving as part of the buffet and making total arses of themselves! Oh, what fun we had!

Thankfully, we have now turned a corner and are slowly coming to the realisation that, given a bit of time and a certain amount of compromise, we can enjoy our time here. Going to playgroup was the make or break for Callie and I, and with some trepidation we made our way to CHAOSS last Tuesday after three days of house arrest. We currently have no car and there are no roads outside our apartment yet... Did I not mention it was a huge building site with tower blocks in various stages of completion on all sides!? I had heard that the taxi drivers here were maniacs and was not in the least bit keen to subject myself, never mind Callie to the experience, but cabin fever having well and truly set in and depression looming as I hadn't found very much to be positive about in our new home, I decided to risk it! Truly, it was the best thing I could have done! First off, the taxi driver was very good and there were absolutely no sign of mad driving at all on his part. Secondly, play group was a roaring success after a slow start, so much so that Callie and I headed to our second group the very next day! It looks like there are quite a few things on for mums and babies, in fact we could be doing something every day. Also, there are a lot more expat mums and babies than I expected, although like in Houston, most of the babies are boys!! Must be something about 2008!

Anyway, think I'll leave this here for now and try to get another post on in the coming days... Miss Callie, unfortunately, is not very well at the moment, has a stinking cold and is grumpy as hell! Therefore, we're missing playgroup today and probably will tomorrow as well. She's supposed to be swimming on Thursday but, unless there is a miraculous recovery by then, I think that'll be off too. Boo!

Photos at the top are the view from our apartment balcony... Thought they'd make a nice change from Miss C!

Whew! We're All Set I Think!

2009-02-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

After a hectic few days it seems we are finally ready for the off! Our apartment is empty and the airfrieght and shipping are enroute to Bahrain. We are currently enjoying our last day in Houston chilling at Tracey's and later lunching out with Marina. Hopefully I might also manage to get my nails done and my hair cut before we head to the airport tomorrow afternoon, but I guess I could be pushing my luck on that front! I would like to say that the moving process so far has been relatively stress free and that Callie has been her usual cheerful self, but alas that would be a lie... I am now ever so slightly worried about her reaction to the 15 hour flight to Dubai! Apologies at this point to Betsy on Callie's behalf for yesterday's naughtiness - bottle of pink wine all ready and waiting at Tracey's to help you recover! A great time to be developing separation anxiety, although I suppose it is understandable given every time she has woken up from a nap at home recently, something else has disappeared! She is only happy standing up and cruising the furniture and will throw the biggest tantrum if put on the floor when mummy needs to get something done! Monkey! Callie is still not eating that well, although she did neck her cereal this morning quick smart after having refused it for the past four days. She is very determined - obviously getting this trait from her father! - and lately has only been keen to eat the finger foods she can pick up herself. She would eat puffs all day if allowed! On top of the separation anxiety, tantrums and eating issues, of course she also picks this week to work out how to pull herself up on the furniture and in her bed meaning she has to be watched like a hawk or she's into everything! Oh, what fun we are having! Roll on the 10 hour time difference and trying to switch night and day for Callie and it'll be even more excitement!

Food Issues!

2009-02-17T07:30:00.001-08:00

An early start this morning for a trip to the docs with Miss C as she has just sprouted a new tooth in a weird place and now has a cold, plus I was really wanted to find out how much she now weighs after being told she was a bit of a lightweight last visit! Good news - she is now 18lb 11oz and has gained 2.5lbs in the last five weeks! However, it was pointed out that she was in danger of becoming a blimp if she keeps going at the current rate! Consequently, I am now definitely not worried she has lost her appetite at the moment! Bad news - kids who get teeth in a strange order usually needs braces to sort them out...metal mouth Callie here we come! Ahh, I'm sure she'll still be cute!

Wow!

2009-02-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Three posts in the space of a few days... I hope you are all impressed! This will have to be quick though as the house is a tip and I suppose it'll have to be dealt with now that Callie is asleep. For how long, who knows as she is not feeling her best at the moment. Teething has turned into a cold so we are incredibly touchy as we are having sleep troubles... I don't know what's worse - her waking up coughing and then crying or trying to force the saline drops up her nose! I think most of the drops are in her eyes, ears and mouth so you can imagine how impressed she is with that! On a lighter note, I've added another pic - of our trip to the park at the weekend. The chute is a big hit, the swings not so much!

Diary Entry Number 2!

2009-02-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Just so you don't all think this is just a flash in the pan I thought I'd get another few words in quick smart! Our second last weekend in Houston has been busy but fun, starting with Jamie and I heading out to Big Texas for our first taste of country! Arriving with Tracey and Jaime was perhaps not the best idea as they took to the floor immediately, demonstrating their expert dance skills and leaving us Scots quaking by the bar at the prospect of a few lessons! Fortunately both were excellent teachers, especially Tracey who seriously had her work cut out dragging Jamie away from the bar and onto the dance floor, never mind teaching him a few steps!! All in all it was a great night, if somewhat bitter sweet. We should have gone before Friday and now have no opportunity to go back for another go, plus we realise we will soon be leaving behind some wonderful friends who we may not see again for some time.

Saturday morning saw Callie take to the pool again for her second swim lesson in the Shrimps class. Again, she was fine with it if not completely convinced or impressed by the experience! She's generally too busy looking around to be bothered with actually attempting any swimming and, as its around her nap time, conks out as soon as she is dried off and in her car seat!

Better Late Than Never!

2009-02-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been on my To Do list since Callie was born - almost 8 months ago - and finally I've got my act together and got my blog started! Of course, by started I mean taking 5 minutes to register and pick a domain name and another 5 minutes to scribble this wee note! I do hope it doesn't now take me another 8 months to write something else!