MOVEMBER FOR LADIES.

It's so much easier.  And way less embarrassing.  (Although Phil may argue that it's way less "awesome").  Nonetheless, thanks to ALDO I can officially raise awareness too!  Check out my "stache":

The good news is that it comes in THREE DIFFERENT COLOURS.  Today I sported a silver one.  Tomorrow?  PERHAPS BRONZE! 

Can you colour-coordinate your mustaches, boys?!!!!

Didn't think so.

The verdict:  MINE RULES!  (And my students agree with me!)

Our First 10K......

As an ALMOST FAMILY OF THREE!!!!!

Saturday morning we woke up early (what else is new?!) and headed to the corniche to participate in the annual charity run.  Many members of our Kuwait family were also in attendance and together we enjoyed beautiful weather and personal achievements, all the while supporting a good cause! 

Phil and I chose to walk the 10K and I only had to use the washroom three times in the 2 hours we were there (haha).  Alas, the bladder issues and back pain made the finish line seem THAT MUCH SWEETER and we were greeted with big cheers from the crowd (and some of our students!) as we crossed to receive our medals.  There were photographers waiting to take our picture too and they asked to snap a few shots in order to capture my baby bump!!!  It was as if no one had ever seen a pregnant lady on a race course before.....

Anyways, the day was a SUPER DUPER one and Phil is convinced that Baby P secured first place as the event's fastest 7 month old fetus!  She sure did like that nice, long walk.  The minute I got home to rest, she was kicking for me to get up and go some more!  (Too bad my back and legs were hinting at exactly the opposite)! 

YAHOO!  We did it!  Next time, we'll be walking or running in style with the stroller!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to our crew!  WAY TO GO, EVERYONE!  You ROCKED the race course!!!

DECK THE HALLS!!!!!

FINALLY!!!!  We are officially in "Christmas Mode" at the Parkinson residence.  The tree is up, the stockings are out, the advent calendar is ready, and my sparkly snow leopard is decked out in her Santa suit!  Our Christmas music has been reacquainted with the iTunes program and the dishtowels and napkins have been replaced with seasonal items.  All that's left to do is bake and shop.  Perhaps we will begin the latter activity today....

For now, here are some pictures from last night:

Phil was my "putting up the tree" sweetie.  He did a great job - completing the task with lots of holiday cheer.  Check out that Santa hat!  I didn't even ask him to wear one!

Have you ever seen a reindeer cook?!  I was busy in the kitchen making the pizza dough and baking some peanut butter brownies :)

Phil always insists that I am the decoration girl.  But I always insist that he is the "star" man.  HOORAY for teamwork!

This is my new favourite decoration.  How clever is Mr. Tim Horton?  SO CLEVER!  How thoughtful is my Daddy?  SO THOUGHTFUL!

Our guests arrived with holiday cheer, too!!!  Emily was sporting some antlers like me and Shannon opted for a sweet little elf hat :)  Thanks for your enthusiasm ladies!!!!

Waking up this morning to a living room decorated for Christmas was THE ULTIMATE way to start my Friday.  I can't wait to cozy up with Phillip tonight and admire the tree all lit up :)   

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON, Y'ALL!!!!!
XOXO

We Have Company Coming For Dinner.

So I dressed up!!!!!!

The house is busy getting dressed up too!  Phil just brought out the Christmas boxes!!!!!!

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR (DECAF) TEA.

Well....first of all.....there would be no SMALL TALK until we finished reading the latest book to join the Parkinson Home Library - "Little Miss Christmas".  I don't believe it either, but Emily found a biography about me at her kindergarten book fair today.  Weird that I didn't know about it in advance (or receive a complimentary copy!), but I'm happy to have it nonetheless! 

After reading the story.....one or two or three times.....we would get into the OTHER stuff:

*  Today was SPORTS DAY for the middle school.  Phil was responsible for organizing this event which involved many hours of preparation and great attention to detail.  Of course, the day went GREAT and the kids went home happy.....and somehow FULL OF ENERGY.....STILL!  Way to go, hun!  Your hard work sure did pay off :)

*  It's raining.  And thundering.  And lightning.  This is very uncharacteristic of Kuwait, but Phil always says that planning a sports day is the best way to bring on the rain!  The rain held out for most of the day, thankfully, and we only lost about 10 minutes off our game schedule.  I chose to walk home after school (in an effort to de-sugar!) which many on-lookers found hilarious.  Especially when I had to hobble-run in parts as the rain picked up!  Whatever - I made it home in record time and not too, too soaked either :)

*  On our "free" day off on Sunday we accomplished many things around the house.  Phil put up 7 new pictures and a full-length mirror.  Tidying up and organizing were also on the agenda (do they ever come off of it?) and in the evening I enjoyed a nice STEAMED MILK outing with some wonderful ladies.  Phil stayed home to check sports and get prepped for football :) 

*  We went to our first doctor's appointment with the new OB/GYN on Saturday afternoon.  The hospital was nothing like I expected but we survived meeting #1 and now understand how things work in the place.  The doctor asked me to purchase a glucometer to test my blood sugar at random points throughout the day and she's hoping that diet and exercise will suffice!  She says that my body wasn't used to too much sugar pre-pregnancy, which is why we might have seen such high numbers after consuming a BAZILLION grams of it in my glucose tolerance tests.  We have since tested my blood two times and both times the numbers were PERFECT!!!!  Speaking of "perfect" - the doctor used this word to describe Baby P!!! 

*  Is Bach Can's Whitney the Courtney equivalent?  Did Brad not learn from Ben's mistakes?  No further comment on this situation.  Except for that Brad needs a new wardrobe. 

*  Tomorrow is our last school day of the week!  I vote for three day weeks from here on out.  THEY ROCK! 

Phil is at basketball practice.  The maid is here spic and spanning the flat.  And I'm laying here cozy in bed :)

SPOILED & SIGNING OFF!
XOXO

HELLO TRIMESTER #3!!!!!!!

I can't believe it either. Weren't we just dreaming about the possibility of a Baby P?  Didn't we just find out I was pregnant? The past 6 months have gone by like WHOA!!!!!

So here we are.  27 weeks pregnant!

We get to meet our daughter SO SOON!!!!!!! 

P.S.  I'm sporting a "Jessica Simpson Maternity" shirt in this picture!  GOOD FIND, eh?!

Late Realizations!

Having a tea and watching a movie.....

Lindsay:  (smiling) Not going to school is WAY BETTER than going to school!!!!

Phillip:  (laughs) I've known that my whole life.  And you're just figuring that out today!

WE REMEMBER.

Let the Celebration CONTINUE.....

Get this:

We wake up at our usual 5 a.m.

Phil makes me scrambled eggs and toast.  I shower and blow-dry my hair.

We sit down to have breakfast and I decide to scan the Facebook newsfeed.  We see something about the Amir cancelling school today.  Huh?

Phil checked his phone to find a text message from the school declaring today a holiday.  I checked my email to see that we received notice at 2 a.m.  Did we read that right?!  INDEED WE DID!!!!

TODAY THERE IS NO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a "Christmas miracle".  

Happy 50th Anniversary of the Constitution!

Let's celebrate with a fireworks show. But not just ANY fireworks show. One that continues for 64 minutes, costs 4 MILLION DINARS, and attempts to break 7 Guinness World Records!

We only lasted for about 30 minutes, but during that time we enjoyed the view from our building's rooftop! (Hooray for nothing but ELEVATOR TRAFFIC).

I can't wait to hear more about it tomorrow.  Or watch the remainder of the show on Youtube! 

But for now.....it's BEDTIME!  GOODNIGHT ALL!!!!