The Best 5 Beaches in Dubai

disclaimer:  I wrote this quickly and didn't proofread ... enjoy!


I can't believe it's already Wednesday ... this week went FAST .. TGIThursday tomorrow .. seriously. 

(pretty funny eh?  love it!)

Soo .. at the beginning of the week, Mark cashed his furniture allowance money and Mama got BUSY shopping.  I bought appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher and washer/dryer) furniture for our family room, a kitchen table, a bedroom set for Mark and me, Paige, Brooke and Max .. bedding for everyone but Brooke (Brooke gets the cute stuff from home) .. pots, pans, dishes, silverware, knives, cooking utensils, kitchen towels, pot holders, shower curtains, bathroom towels, a few rugs and man .. THAT IS JUST THE START .. We're moving into our Villa on SUNDAY .. PRAISE THE LORD!!

I'm definitely having fun getting the new stuff for the house, but let me tell you, the kids are NOT having fun.  ha ha .. I try to do most things while the girls are at school, but poor Max just has to stay with me and bless his heart, he does pretty well .. but he's wanting "friends" and "toys" .. I had a hard time pulling him out of Brooke's class today.  I'm trying to find him a "nursery" (mother's day out) to go to, but like all of the schools out here, they all have waiting lists to get in .. it's maddening.

I was (with Max) at the coffee shop by our villa having lunch the other day when about 20 moms came in after a work out .. they all had kids in strollers .. and some were Max's age!  I asked one of the moms about it and she said that there's exercise classes EVERY DAY where the kids can go and play in the back (they don't have regular child care options like 24 hour fitness back home) .. I was THRILLED.  That will be a great option for both of us .. it'll give him friends and toys to play with and I can get a workout in! yay! 

I SO can't wait to be settled.

I've been meeting some friends through the girls' school.  I went to coffee with a group last week, and I'm heading to the park with all of them and their kids after school tomorrow afternoon too.  Their names are Melissa (from Spain, but lived in the states for a while .. speaks spanish and english really well), Aey (she is from Thailand and goes by "Aey" because her real name is way too long .. love it), and Annabelle (she is from Canada, but lived in Austrailia for 8 years before moving to Dubai .. she lives on the palm .. kinda fun). 

OH .. and I have to tell you about my neighbor, Nidhi (pronounced Ni-dee)!!  She is Indian, but lived in Dallas for like 9 years before moving to Dubai.  She came over yesterday and she is SO great ... I had hired a cleaning service to clean our villa before we moved in.  Nidhi asked me how much they charged me .. I told her .. and she marched over to them and, in Arabic, started telling them that they can't take advantage of me because I am her friend .. she went on and on and on ... I got a good rate.  LOVE HER. :)  She said that her neighbors on the other side are from Sweden .. or Switzerland, and the husband's name is Mark, and they have a son named Max ... hysterical.

I've hired a gardner .. we pay him 250 dirham per month to take care of the lawn.  He comes every day and waters the grass by hand with a hose,  cuts it once a week, and fertilizes when necessary.  For an additional cost, he will plant flowers (that he gets from the garden center for a discounted price), trees, do landscaping and wash the cars.  (250 dirhams is about $70). 

People come to the house to offer services like gardening and maid service all the time.  I constantly have business cards on my front door.  I'm assuming those things will slow down after we've been in the villa for a while.  Today a Sri Lankan woman came asking for part-time maid work.  As soon as we get settled, that service is next on the list .. not sure if we're going to have someone live-in or if we're going to do the part-time thing, but I'm getting pretty excited about it.  It's such a new concept.

Tomorrow at 9 a.m. a curtain guy is coming to measure windows and show me fabrics for our window coverings.  After that some time (Insha'Allah), the TV installation people will come.  The TV was delivered today, but the installation team comes tomorrow .. hysterical.

I think that's all for today .. Mark took a day trip to EGYPT today.. he gets home tonight .. he's actually been traveling quite a bit .. China soon .. went to Europe the 2nd week we were here, Oman, Abu Dhabi .. the man gets around!! 

sorry for typos, etc. 

...'til next time!