There's nothing like a PANCAKE TUESDAY to bring you back to the blogging world....

Almost four delicious blueberry pancakes later and I am here!  It seems to me that a spontaneous breakfast-dinner at the IHOP is just what the writer's block doctor ordered ;)

So many options!

But wait!  I'm lying to you.  I haven't so much had writer's block, actually.  It's more-so been a giant desire to spend every single moment with Phil and Nory.  I missed them while I was gone and there's only so many missed bath-times and sing-along's a girl can take....

Anyways, HELLO to you all.  The rest of my time in Dubai was fantastic.  I spent Friday doing everything I don't so much do anymore.  I stayed in bed until the word "pathetic" came to mind.  I googled "best celebrity instagram accounts" to follow.  I finished several HOT CUPS OF TEA (HOT ONES, PEOPLE!).  I sat down for the duration of every meal.  I went for a beautiful walk through Germany (on the treadmill, but still!).  I took a shower without that mommy-paranoia that my baby was crying her eyes out.  I never ONCE switched to Disney Junior on the tv (I cannot make the same claim regarding the Disney Channel itself).  I blogged without interruption.  I started a book and finished it that same day.  I went dancing in the evening and even had some of the cold stuff!  I really embraced the Mama-On-Vacation thing.  It was good for the soul. 

My sister and I had a fun time together.  Saying goodbye was tough, but I have a feeling that saying goodbye will be much easier for me next year.  You know, when she goes back to her apartment that's only 20 minutes away from mine..... 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She is MOVING TO KUWAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

A Thanksgiving turkey has already been promised.  As have hours of free babysitting, right Auntie Dana?!  Haha.  (I'm only serious about the turkey.  I promise you it was a legitimate promise.  From her!)

Well, it's hump day here and we couldn't be happier.  The first week back after a holiday is always a bit challenging.  The good news is that we will be on ANOTHER holiday one month from today.  YIPPEE!

Sending warm hugs to those freezing in Canada!  (Likely ALL of you!)
XOXO

What we've been up to.......

***  WEDNESDAY  ***

After some shopping and lunch at the Dubai mall, we chilled out by the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world!

True Canadians - if there is a Tim Horton's around, you can BET we will find it!!!!

Taking in the musical fountains.  As you can see, we didn't rush the Timmy's consumption for front row seats!

***  THURSDAY  ***

Dana was keen on hitting up the spice souk.  It smelled amazing and it introduced me to a place I wouldn't have gone to on my own!  (The joys of traveling with different people!)

Another thing that was high on Dana's to-do list:  a boat ride along the creek!  It was my favourite part of yesterday - the weather was PERFECT and there was lots to admire!

After the boat ride, we wandered around old Dubai and ended up at the CUTEST little art hotel/cafe.  We had cold drinks and shared appetizers before heading back out for some more exploring.

Some more pictures of the World's Largest Sand Sculpture Festival!

These artists came a long way from sandpail-sandcastles on a lazy summer day!  How do they do it?!!! 

Today's Confession.

The other day I was watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (that's not my confession, by the way).  It was the episode where Gigi has her farewell party and she gives a speech thanking her parents for everything they have done for her.  Well...............I may have got too involved in this little speech and I MAY have cried like a blubbering fool.  It made me think about Nory growing up and going away to school.  And how I was leaving her for THREE WHOLE NIGHTS (first time ever!) and I really shouldn't be because she will be leaving for college in 17 years.  And if I want to have as much time with her as possible I should cancel my flight and perhaps quit my job........

She kind of looks like Kate Hudson.  Don't you think?

But then my rational side (yes, I have one!) told me that I was being a little dramatic (me, dramatic?!) and I decided to wipe my tears and take a deep breath.  I decided that in order to STOP BEING CRAZY I had to pack my bag, hop on that plane, and be a GROWN UP about it all.  So, I did that.  Here I am - writing to you from Dubai.  I've held it together extraordinarily well.  No tears at all!  Until a few minutes ago...

My sister got all dolled up and left our hotel room in search of a new, exciting teaching job.  As I was saying goodbye, I told her that I felt as though she was leaving for college and I was so proud of her and I got all teary-eyed and..............HA!!!!!!  She laughed out loud (OUT LOUD!), held her head up high, and walked out that door like a girl on a mission!

That's my sister for you.  Gotta love her.  Had she have given in to the emotional moment I was setting up, I would be sitting in this room crying all day long.  Instead, I shed only a few tears before putting on some more really amazing television shows! 

GOOD LUCK TODAY, SISSY!  We all love you so much! xo

I wasn't kidding about the salesman!

Introducing the photo evidence....

He helped himself to glasses in our cupboard, unplugged our washing machine to plug in some water device, and turned our normal water into swamp water.  ICK!

Then he handed us this brochure after using body language and his translation app to inform us that swamp water is NOT GOOD.

What an odd, odd incident.  And just in case you're worried, we drink bottled water!

HEY MOMS OUT THERE!

Today my daughter threw up all over the floor at Tim Horton's.  She also wore socks as dirty as all get out because I cannot find ANY shoes that fit her chubby little feet.  She carried the lid of a cardboard shoebox through the mall - in her mouth - like it was her favourite toy ever.  And.........I had to run out of Juicy Couture because she became SO INSTANTLY STINKY that she required to be changed IMMEDIATELY.  

So.......why am I telling you this?

I'm telling you this because I'm not sure I would tell you all of these things in a normal blog post.  Most things that I write about on The Pearl Curriculum are edited to my delight and if I were to post something about this very day, it would likely ignore the mishaps we encountered and rather describe how much fun we had at the mall.  This would be true too (we had a blast!), but it might mask the thing that I want you to know:  this life of ours IS NOT EVEN A TAD BIT CLOSE TO BEING PERFECT!  I mean, it is perfect to me, but it's not "perfect" in the sense that everything we do goes off without a hitch.  (And I apologize if I ever made you think otherwise!)

Thank you to everyone who has sent such kind words our way!  It's really nice that you read and enjoy our adventures as a family.  Alas, it's 9 p.m. on a Monday night and my husband just mistook a salesman for an Arabic-speaking, water-testing, government guru who used our kitchen as his stage to turn normal water into swamp water.  Do you follow?! 

This is our life.  Perfect to us, but certainly not perfect.  Behind every "glamorous" story you read, there just might be a gong show ;)

Dear Eleanor

Right now I am reading a book called "Wonder" written by R. J. Palacio.  It is really good so far, although the storyline is not the happiest tale that's ever been told.  It's about a young boy named August who is attending school for the very first time as a fifth grader.  Being a new kid at school is really tough (I have some experience in this department), but being a new kid at school with a facial deformity is even tougher.  That's something that August has.  A facial deformity.  It means that his face looks differently than most faces, although he is just as much of a person as you or Daddy or I.  Unfortunately, the reality is that people can be cruel and August has a difficult time being accepted by all of the students at his school.  There are kids that make him feel bad about himself - calling him names or whispering hurtful things as he walks by.  As a teacher, as a mom, and as a person who tries their best to be kind, it is really difficult to read.  I have found myself in tears more than once, heartbroken that others would treat somebody so terribly.  But yet I keep reading August's story and through it all we learn about something else that August has - COURAGE.  This means that he goes to school every day even though he is afraid to.  It's an admirable quality in a person and your Daddy and I will do everything we can to arm you with this trait as you grow older. 

I'm only about 1/3 of the way through the book, but it has really got me thinking about the things that I want your Daddy and I to teach you.......

The biggest one is to BE KIND.  TO EVERYONE.  No matter what they look like, where they live, where they come from or what they wear.  You're special, my darling, but you're not better than anyone else.  You're not too important to say hello and smile, to hold open a door, to give a compliment or to help out with the dishes.  We'll teach you to remember people's names (because that matters) and to give back wherever you can (even in small ways).  We don't expect you to like everyone, My Girl, but we sure as heck expect you to be kind to everyone.     

Something else I want to teach you?  To BE YOURSELF.  No matter what anyone else tells you, the best person you can possibly be is YOU.  As you grow up, you will learn to appreciate people who are genuine.  Whether they are genuinely bossy or blunt or unbelievably negative.....so long as they are genuine, you will come to appreciate them.  So long as YOU are genuine, people will love and appreciate you too!  

One last thing, My Darling.  I want to teach you to STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.  If you see someone being mistreated, I want you to SAY SOMETHING.  Whether you say it to me, your Daddy, your grandparents, your Aunties, your Uncles, your teacher, or to the bully himself.....please oh please speak up!  This takes courage.  Remember I was telling you about courage earlier?  It's not as easy as it sounds, but I hope that in teaching you kindness, the strength to defend others comes more naturally to you.  

I know these are some BIG LESSONS and I know they aren't as simple as I make them seem.  Even your Daddy and I still struggle with them from time to time.  However, as long as you start each day with the intention to BE BETTER, the goodness in your soul will shine through! 

I can't wait to finish the rest of the book.  It's a little grown up for you just yet, but perhaps one day we can read it together.  For now, we will stick to "Penguin Says Please" and "Bear Says Thank You" - both of which will teach the same lessons I've told you about right here ;)

We love you, Eleanor.
XOXO

TODAY WE WENT OUTSIDE!!!!!

The weather was gorgeous once again and we weren't going to repeat yesterday's indoors-only embarrassment.  Kuwait won't stay a sunny 24 degrees forever!

We started with a walk along the Gulf.  This spot is my favourite!

We walked for about 5 km and Nory made not a single request to be removed from her snazzy new trike.  I'm telling you, it's LOVE.  And it's a fierce one, too!

Eventually, a brunch break was needed.  Nory tried her very first marshmallow for dessert!

Next, we visited the World's Largest Sand Sculpture Park (right here in Kuwait!).  I'm happy to report that a Canadian was involved in this grand-o production and I can't wait to post more pictures tomorrow.  You might not believe it!

Then we came home and Nory and Grandma built Lego castles, inspired by our afternoon outing :)

Travel the World in ONE SCHOOL DAY ;)

Our students and advisory teachers worked very hard to put together an "International Day" program for the school this past Thursday.  The day began in the theater, with performances detailing Kuwait's past and present, cultural dances from various countries, and a parade of flags that introduced the nations that would be featured throughout the middle school building.  From the theater, "borders" opened up and visitors got to explore different classrooms with each one representing a different country.  The classrooms were full of information and experiences that made you feel as though you were truly visiting that place.  It was AWESOME.  AWESOME!  Here are some pictures:

This slide popped up during the short play about Kuwait.  I found it to be HILARIOUS....

SOUTH AFRICA (designed and decorated by one of my grade 6 classes)!!!!  In this room there was a photo booth with safari animals, a bulletin board of colourful masks, and signs reminding you to "please not feed the animals" as you journeyed throughout the room.

JAPAN!!!!!!  Just imagine the excitement in this room when students discovered that they could give sumo wrestling a real try!

BRAZIL!!!!!!!!  (Or party central!)  The hype of this room was generated by the fact that Brazil will be hosting this year's FIFA World Cup!  Our students are soccer crazy, too, which made it a bopping attraction :)

SPAIN!!!!!  The grade 8's did a SUPERB job on the artwork in this room.  It was unique from the other classes with giant murals made of tissue paper.  I LOVED IT.  Also, they had a really great dance performance at the start of the day...which continued throughout the day.....in the hallways....of every grade level.  Ha!  Oh grade 8's ;)

KOREA!!!!!  I was a supervisor for the "Korea" students and so I spent half of my day in this country.  We had a blast together - listening to Gangnam Style on repeat, as well as some popular K-POP artists (like 21!).  As for this picture, you're looking at some ROCKIN' Korean anime created by one of my hardest working students.  He RULES!

HAWAII!!! (Not so much a country....but fun enough that they allowed it to be somewhat considered so?).  This room was certainly a fan favourite.  They had a tiki hut serving mocktails, a "hula girl" face-in-hole photo opp, and a Ben and Jerry's icecream stand!  What's not to love?!

MEXICO!!!!!!  Where we tried on sombreros and indulged in some guac...

Following classroom tours, all visitors got to indulge in an international buffet organized by the members of each country's food committee.  We had sushi and machboos and fresh fruit and zebra cupcakes and.........what didn't we have?!  The kids did an outstanding job!

I wish I could share more pictures of the day, like ones of my students in their amazing costumes.  Alas, I have this thing against posting pictures of students on the blog and so you have to believe that this day was TEN TIMES better than anything represented in my short blurb here.  Days like these ones are the days that make school the best invention ever.  It might have been a little more hectic than usual (ha!), but the students were engaged, excited, proud, and learning (something, at least!). 

WAY TO GO, MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!!!  Now it's time for you to travel FOR REAL.  (Although I'm not sure you'll have as much fun as you did on this whirlwind day of travel....)

New Wheels / Strollers Are Like Soulmates

Today we had a perfect start to the holidays.  It included a trip to the Avenues (like every happy Friday should!), some lazy afternoon playtime (like every happy Friday should!), and some SERIOUS Olympic viewing (our daily trend for the past two weeks!).  Tomorrow's mission is to soak up some sunshine since I'm a tad embarrassed that we didn't take advantage of the gorgeous weather today.  Oh well, that is what tomorrow's are for :) 

A quick photo opp at the mall.  Kuwait National Day and Liberation Day are next week and so festivities are everywhere!

The mall was extra fabulous today because Nory got to try out her new "trike" as we shopped.  It is THE ABSOLUTE BEST, being the first stroller-like contraption that Nory's genuinely ENJOYED for extended periods of time.......and we've tried about four stroller varieties.  Or five.  Or six.  But, who's counting?!  The good news is that THIS LITTLE TRIKE works for her and it will eventually transform into an independent trike when she's ready for it.  THIS LITTLE TRIKE might even be the reason behind last night's hissy fit.  Something to do with trike time ending and bath time starting.  A battle of favourite activities was in full swing.  As we say here, what to do?

Tonight we've enjoyed some good ole greasy appetizers (served on Canada plates and with Canada napkins, of courrse!) while cheering on Team Canada in men's curling and men's hockey.  We are thrilled with the curling results (understatement of 2014), but I'm not quite sure our eyes will stay awake for period three of the hockey game.  It's a little late for us old folk, you know ;)

On that note.......GO CANADA and GOODNIGHT!  Going to bed early proved lucky in last night's big game.......