THREE and A HALF plus ONE MONTH and 11 DAYS...

Eleanor turned three and a half on the day we returned to Kuwait (August 12th).  We (SOMEHOW!) managed to maintain our half-cake tradition in the midst of closing up the house and packing our bags, but a post on The Growing Nornado has yet to happen.  And so, I give you an update on our pre-school gal...

1)  Her new favourite word is "ANNOYING".  She used this word to describe Uncle Trey's whistling the other day...

2)  She can sing (practically!) every lyric to High School Musical's "Start of Something New" and "Get'cha Head in the Game".  Knowing this, you'll understand why she thinks they sing "baby songs" in music class.  (Sorry, Mary! xo)

3)  Free Willy.  OMG.  Do you have ANY IDEA how many times we've listened to the Free Willy theme song?  Or how many times we've watched the movie's highlight reel on YouTube?  She even watched the documentary "Keiko's Journey Home" on the way to school yesterday.  For those of you who don't have an orca-loving little person at home, Keiko was the inspiration behind the Free Willy movies.

4)  She's still OBSESSED with footie pajamas.  Her preference is for fleece (her Minnie Mouse ones, in particular), but she has - a few times - branched out to the new popsicle/flamingo ones she got from Auntie Gem!

5)  She starts ballet on October 1st!  She has been asking to do ballet for some time now and we finally found a class that suits our schedule!   We also gave her the choice of doing t-ball, but I think she considered the uniforms involved and decided that the sport with PINK would be the best one.  I see one WILD ballerina in the making...

6)  She's the opposite of quiet.  In fact, I don't think this girl has the quiet gene.  (Although she hushes other people remarkably well...)

7)  She LOVES school!  And we love having her at school with us :)  We are so proud of her for adjusting to a new routine, making friends, riding the bus like a big girl and sharing her stories when we get home from work.  It's so wonderful to see her excited and thriving in a new environment :)

8)  She loves both of our cats, but she reminds us often that Winka is HER CAT.  We're still working on being more gentle and there is a strict "you can't pick up the cats" rule.  Also, she asks me daily if she can pick them up when she gets bigger.  And usually this leads into a discussion about how she is already big.  #manipulation

9)  Favourite foods:  cheese, tomatoes, peanut butter, and SPRINKLES.

10)  She says that she wants to be a painter when she grows up.  I can't even believe how far we've come since the days of "messes-are-the-worst".  A speck of paint or water or WHATEVER on her skin used to throw her into full-blown Nornado mode.  Now, she does stuff like this:

Although Juliet is becoming increasingly more wild, Nory still manages to take the cake as the Parkinson's MOST ENERGETIC FAMILY MEMBER.  The girl is a strong-willed mover and a shaker and I'm thankful and frustrated and in love and impatient with her all at the same time.

We love you, Eleanor Douglas!  Never, ever stop being YOURSELF :)

NARRATING the CAMERA ROLL...

 ^^^  Chelsea, Courtney and I have been going to a fitness class on Mondays and Wednesdays after school.  The instructor is TOUGH and the workout is KILLER, but we seem to laugh our way through it and we all still show up to the next session.  Also, we love shaky, post-almost-dying selfies :)

 ^^^  We have THE VERY BEST security guards at our building.  The girls adore them and I can think of a hundred reasons why.  The guards bring them flowers, carry them to their carseats, and play with them in the courtyard.  We are so fortunate to have these incredible men in our community!

^^^ Last weekend, Phil went to work on Saturday morning and the girls and I adopted six puppies.  We had to bath every single one of them WITH REAL SOAP AND WATER at least ten times.  #AreTheyCleanYet?

^^^  When Nory was quarantined inside the house with hand, foot and mouth, we permitted the use of her bike INSIDE THE HOUSE.  Well.....we never really un-did that rule after she recovered and so......now......we deal with the repercussions.  The girl is officially ONE WITH HER BIKE.  Thankfully, our downstairs neighbours have this theory that "that's what a house with kids is supposed to sound like."  #BestPeople

^^^  We are obsessed with our cats.  We went from being totally anti-cat to "EVERYONE IN THE WORLD SHOULD GET A CAT!!!"  I can't explain it.  I know it sounds weird.  BUT, we are OBSESSED.  And clearly they are obsessed with each other too ;)

^^^  How cute are these invitations from Etsy?!  Emily and I are hosting a baby shower for our sweet friend Sandy and the theme is "superheroes"!  It's a little out of our realm of knowledge (ha!), but we've created some really fun things and we can't wait for Sandy to see it all next weekend!!!

^^^  Every week, Nory's teacher (who is the MOST FABULOUS!) sends us a newsletter including what they have been learning in class and what they will be learning in the upcoming week.  Last week's focus was circles and the colour red.  This week's focus was squares and the colour blue.  Here's a piece of her artwork that is currently on display.  You can see that she INSISTS on being called "Eleanor" at school :)

 ^^^  I like to screenshot things that STICK WITH ME during my daily Instagram scroll.  Here are two from the last week that I really, TRULY believe in.  

PICTURES OF STUFF. (I'm so creative on this Sunday evening.)

I mean, I don't know.  I was looking through my photos from the last few weeks and noticed a bit of a trend.  So.................here you have it:  PICTURES OF STUFF.

ONE // I love this picture even though it reminds me of nails on a chalkboard, HOT KUWAIT WEATHER, and the final days of summer.  So basically, I have no idea why I love it.  I just do.  P.S. The ice cubes are to toss in the blow-up pool.  Without ice in August, the water from the hose is just too darn hot :) 

TWO // We purchased a BAZILLION BEADS from a family who is leaving Kuwait.  This is a JACKPOT FIND given the usual cost of purchasing them here and the inconvenience of finding this fabulous variety.  I only made the mistake of leaving them on the table overnight once.  The following morning, after the cats did some late night beading, we learned our lesson and decided to store them in a more sensible location :) (#amateurs)

THREE // Last Thursday night was the Middle School Open House at our school.  I made a last minute decision to change things up this year and, rather than delivering a Powerpoint, I put the parents to work!  My guests visited five different stations around my classroom, with the hope that they would get a real feel for my classroom environment.  Here is station two, where the parents got to learn a little more about ME! :)  I think it was a big success!!

FOUR // I really think that Lego/MagnaTiles have the best reputation for uniting ALL AGES.  It's incredible what a 1.5 year old, a 3.5 year old, a 6 year old, a 10 year old, and a 30 year old (ha!) can build when they play with these building materials together.  It's my go-to activity when we host a range of kiddos :)

FIVE // Nory is becoming more and more colouring obsessed.  I love making a tea/coffee and sitting at the table to colour with her.  Sometimes we work together on the same picture, other times she demands that we have our own pages.  Either way, it's a quiet time activity that allows us to just CHILL and CHAT :)  ALAS (there is always an "alas"), the excitement of it all has been clouding her ability to re-cap the markers.  (Although, I bet her teacher would tell me that she never, ever forgets to clean up!)

There you go - five random pictures of STUFF! (Ha, you're welcome!)

Wishing everyone a happy week ahead! XOXO

Playing by THE PALACE :)

One of the prettiest buildings in Kuwait is located along the highway and so we get to see it twice a day as we drive to and from work.  We're not sure if it is a house or a chalet or what, but our three year old is an expert in the "princess" field, so we trust her judgement when she tells us it's a palace.  It sure is beautiful and on last night's pre-dinner mission, we learned that it is EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR when the sun begins to set.

Isn't it fabulous?!!! 

The girls had a great time running around "outside the palace walls" and climbing the piles of sand in the area nearby.  We decided that we really were on a "Princess Sofia Adventure" (#DisneyJunior) and we weren't going to let the humidity stop us from exploring some more.

We got back in the car and drove down the road to a place where we could play by the water.  It seemed impossible at first, with most of the waterfront areas being private, but eventually we found a GEM OF A BEACH that seemed undiscovered.  The girls collected seashells, drew in the sand, and watched a kayaker come in and clean away all the ink inside of a squid!  It was SO COOL!

It wasn't until Juliet wanted "uppy" and Nory was drenched (in her own sweat!) that we returned to the car to head home.  We will definitely be going back to one of our new favourite spots in Kuwait - right by the palace! - so we can play at the park that we didn't have time for :)

Who knew we'd discover so much AWESOMENESS this Eid holiday?  #StaycationDoneRight ;)

Comments that make you STOP RIGHT THERE.

I recently confessed that we're in the thick of TANTRUM SEASON with Juliet.  One moment I'm admiring her calm, while the next I'm chasing her around the flat, begging her not to smash my eyeglasses on the tile floors.  There is none of this in-between stuff - she's either a complete angel or a total TY-PHOON.  

The other day, after a PARTICULARLY INTERESTING afternoon of parenting, we were riding the elevator in silence until Phil remarked (in fear), "WHAT IF JULIET IS THE BAD ONE?"

To which I exclaimed, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"

To which HE responded, "WHAT IF NORY IS THE GOOD ONE?!"

To which I insisted without an ounce of confidence, "NAHHHH.....NO WAY."

But, YOU GUYS....

WHAT IF....

ALLLLLLLLLLL THIS TIME,

we've been misled?

I've been calling it a "season" (as in, a brief or temporary period of time) and now I'm thinking that ONE SEASON is a thing in some geographical places and

WHAT IF....

ALLLLLLLL THIS TIME,

the wild child is, in fact, Baby #2?

That face.  OY.

Y'all can keep chuckling over there.  

I'm going to embrace the Wild Child's naptime and CHOOSE TO believe in a tantrum SEASON over here in Kuwait.  Where the leaves are not going to change colour.  And the snow isn't going to fall.  

Playing in the "BACKYARD"

Yesterday afternoon, we packed up the car with toys and snacks and drove out to the desert so that the girls could run for miles before bedtime sunset.  It only took about 20 minutes in the car (with a Free Willy Theme Song/Wheels on the Bus mash-up on repeat in the background) before we arrived in the PERFECT SPOT.

IT. WAS. AWESOME.  

Some pictures pour vous....

We're hoping to recruit some friends to come play with us the next time we drive out.  It really is the prettiest hour to enjoy the desert :)