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Bounce, bounce, bounce!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!