A break from The Big Book of Curries

After a full week of cooking from The Big Book of Curries, I’m a little tired of the ginger, garlic, lemon, coconut milk, curry, and rice combo, and have decided we’ll take a break for a few days. It’s a nice cookbook, and the recipes are elaborate enough to be interesting. As always, we add about three times the spices the recipes call for, which makes the food to our taste, but that’s what we do with most anything we cook. We’ll definitely use this cook book a lot in the future. For today though; bakes potatoes, a green salad, and steaks.

Going to the movies in Beirut #2

I took the boys to the movie theater yesterday to see Megamind in 3D. The theater was absolutely packed! Lines to buy tickets, lines to get candy, and all seats occupied. The Lebanese are a little better than the Egyptians at standing in line, or actually, they have a sense of what this might entail – as opposed to the Egyptians whose culture does not include anything like it at all. Still, there were a lot of university student aged kids who tried to get ahead. At one point when we were in line behind two children and their mother to buy popcorn, a guy came up and stood right next to William, trying to get ahead of the boys in front of us. He was holding up money, ready to make his order. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I said to him, “Are you seriously trying to get in front of these KIDS? You’re trying to butt in ahead of KIDS who are about to buy candy? No. There’s a line. Get in the back of it.” and I pointed to the end of the line. He looked very intimidated and backed off, just to send his girlfriend up a few moments later. I told her the same thing, and she too backed off. Everyone around me gave me appreciating looks. Goodness.

The movie was all right. I have a weak spot for Will Farrell, which helped. He does Megamind’s voice. The theater was not ideal for 3D however, and we didn’t get the best of seats, but all three boys enjoyed it so much, it was well worth it. Next time we’ll go on a weekday though, when it’s less crowded. The boys want to see the new Harry Potter movie, which is out today, I think. Living within walking distance of a movie theater is fun. Now if only we could find a baby sitter so that Courtney & I could enjoy it too.

Visiting the Beirut Souks and the Mega Toy Store

Yesterday I packed up the boys and walked downtown. It’s about a 20 minute walk through busy streets, but there are sidewalks, and the traffic moves fairly slowly, so it’s not so bad. It was a beautiful day, and we had a view of the sea almost the entire way. Yet, it seems people here don’t walk very much, because on our way, we probably had at least ten taxi drivers ask us if we needed a taxi.

We had two destinations in mind: H&M and the Mega Toy Store. No, that is the actually name of the toy store. Also, I was under the impression that H&M was part of the famous Beirut Souks, which I had been wanting to see for a while. It was very easy to find, but goodness. I was coming from Cairo, where a souk is a local market with fruit vendors, meat vendors, bird cages, chickens running around, stenches you can’t even imagine, people yelling, discussing prices, along a dirt road in a narrow alley, clothes lines up above, and the Beirut Souks were nothing like this. It looked like a giant outdoor extra fancy mall, with women in D&G jeans, high heels, and Armani sunglasses chatting on their Blackberries, while their dressed up children sipped chocolate milk at an overprized café. More women in clothes directly from the Versace window, having lunch with their girlfriends; really, it was like a set from Sex in the City. And there was I, with a giant jogging stroller, in my Eddie Bauer jeans and blouse, pink flip flops bought at the end-of-summer sales at Walgreen’s last year, and my boys dressed in soccer shirts from last year’s league, matching their torn shorts.

We entered the store with caution, but soon felt at home: H&M is Swedish after all, practically ours. William picked out clothes to try on in the fitting rooms, and August’s entertained Abraham by showing him the various Sesame street shirts, while I browsed through the store. Soon I noticed that my kids were by far the best behaved ones in there. There was a girl about eight, wearing a dress that must have cost a fortune, her hair obviously done by a professional, screaming at the top of her voice, stomping here feet in the ground, demanding something from her mother (who was obliviously chatting on her Blackberry). Two other boys, about the age of William, were walking around taking most things they could grab off the racks, “dropping” them on the floor, and a few other kids were just running around, yelling, out of control, no mothers to be seen. These women were not shopping with the kids, they were just bringing them along, probably because schools are out this week due to the Eid. I was surprised not to find more nannies or maids in tow, actually. I wonder why that is.

After having purchased a few pajamas, we walked over to the Megastore Building. The toy section was in the basement, and it was quite a feat to get down there with the stroller, but we made it. It was the most expensive toy store I’ve been in here in Beirut so far, but the selection was also larger. I even found pegs for peg art, which I’ve been searching high and low for, since this would be perfect for Abraham to do while we’re doing our school work around the table. The peg art boards were sold out however, though the shop holder told me they would be getting more before Christmas. All the Lego was double the price anywhere else. They had some really cool things though, and I’ll go back there for some Christmas shopping closer to the holidays for sure. All we got for now was a little bucket of Play-Dough for Abraham, and on the top floor August picked out a movie that I way over-paid for, although it was nothing compared to what the boys really wanted; the complete collection of Harry Potter movies, and all the Star Wars movies. I myself eyed the complete seasons of the Wire, which I’ve heard is great, as well as 30 Rock, but there was no way I was going to spend that kind of money.

Noticeable was that none of the mothers and children we had seen just a block away in the clothing stores were in the toy store. It was just us.

Our walk home was a bit unpleasant; Abraham wanted to play with his Play-Dough in the stroller, but since this meant it would all be lost on the ground on our way home, I had to pack it away, and he screamed (for a good solid 15 minutes) himself, hysterical, to sleep. I had thought we might take a look at the TSC signature store (which was also in the Souks), to find out what that is, but it would have to wait. Finally home, Abraham woke up happy, and the boys were excited to wear their new pajamas.

Another dinner from the new cook book

Tonight we made another recipe from the new cook book, and it was probably the best one so far: Lebanese Chicken and Apple Curry. What was so Lebanese about it, we couldn’t figure out (is curry a typical Lebanese thing? Or apples?), but nonetheless, it was amazingly tasty! In fact, everyone was so hungry and excited when it got on the table, along with the pita bread and fresh mint leaves, that I didn’t get a chance to take a picture. Tomorrow, Thai Prawn with glass noodles.

Sunday night dinner

For our anniversary this year I gave Courtney a cook book, but since he doesn't have time to cook for the moment, I've been using it - to everyone's delight. Every day this week, I’ve been making something new. Tonight I made an extra effort and chose a couple of recipes: Vietnamese Beef Pho (which is like a noodle and beef spicy soup), Quail Eggs with Masala-Spiced Sea Salt, and Cumin-Spiced Moroccan Carrot Salad (which was really easy and surprisingly tasty!), all served with Spring Rolls with Chili Sauce (which I bought freshly made at Idriss). It was awesome! Abraham had four (4!) quail eggs!

Ice cream in Beirut

In Cairo, the only ice cream we ever found that wasn't refrozen several times and way overpriced was Nestle ice cream at Carrefour. Since Carrefour was a good 20 min. taxi ride away though, we a) didn't get it very often, and b) always had to refreeze it ourselves when we got home.

Here, we've discovered you can buy decent ice cream at the grocery store across the store. They even have Haagen-Dasz that has not been refrozen, and although a little pricey, it's, well, it's an option.

The other night we got Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream, and Chocolate ice cream for dessert, and Abraham really liked the chocolate. In this picture he's asking for "moh."

Midweek reflections - towards Mid-November 2010

…on work

My husband, the Professor, is literally working night and day for the moment. A teacher and a department colleague by day, an author by night, and a travelling conference speaker in between (although there really isn’t any time in between right now), he has no time at all for family, household or even sports. He’s not getting enough sleep either. I am left to manage everything: the boys and their schooling and activities, all our meals, all the cleaning, cooking, washing, laundry, you name it. I don’t even have a tennis partner. It’s an unsustainable situation; we’re all getting really, really tired and I find it absolutely unbearable at times. I constantly have to remind myself that it is only for another month, and it’s really going to give us a huge push forward. “Come mid-December and we can relax. Come mid December, and we’ll relax.” Deep breath.

…towards an education

As August finished Spelling Workout E this week, and since the next book, Spelling Workout F, is supposed to be for sixth graders, I decided to hold him back a bit in the spelling department and focus on perfecting his writing instead. It has always been hard to get him to write. When he does, he doesn’t do it half bad, but he has such trouble coming up with ideas, and he really, really doesn’t like the actual physical work involved. “Do I HAVE TO write a final draft? Can’t we just pretend that all these insertions, corrections and edits ARE the final draft? We know exactly what it will look like now anyways! Pleeeease, mama?” I am determined to get August to where he will not make these kinds of complaints or requests any more, and now is as good as a time as any. I’ve designed a curriculum and set out a method. Let’s all hope it works!

…on the food we eat in Lebanon

Ever since that horrible food poisoning week earlier this fall, we have practically been eating all our meals at home. A couple of times we got take out Chinese from Chopsticks, and a couple of times we ordered pizza (Dominoes – there’s no Papa John’s here L), but that’s about it. For the rest, we’ve [or I guess it’s just I have] done weekly menus with a big shopping, and our five major meals - breakfast, snack (usually fruit), lunch, snack, and dinner - take place around our dinner table. It’s a lot of work, but at least I know we’re eating well, we run a much smaller risk of getting sick, and we can eat food that we know is good and that we like. I let the boys choose one meal every week. Not only do they feel like they have a say, but it also helps me come up with things to cook.

…on our home

Our home is perpetually messy! I live with four males that have no sense whatsoever of order or tidiness, and I can make all the chore lists, threats, pleads, and cleaning sessions I want; they just don’t think the way I do about leaving socks on the floor, cups on the coffee table, empty toilet paper rolls in the bathroom, toys and books EVERYWHERE, or shoes in the middle of the hallway. With all these meals, and with our family spending so much time in our apartment, you can thus imagine that there is a lot of cleaning that is constantly required. Today I ran into one of the owners of our building, who also is one of our upstairs neighbors, a very friendly lady, and she said she knew of someone who can come by and clean our apartment once a week. What a help this would be! I hope it works out (I will find out next week).

…on the upcoming holiday

Our first Eid Al Adha in Egypt was amazing, in that I studied and discovered a lot about [Christianity and] Islam that I actually didn’t know before; things that make these religions very different - and not so different. I found the Muslim community I lived in encouraging, in that people really worship, and encourage worship in the society, even if it’s not to Allah. Religion is an important part of everyone’s lives, and this feast especially, which is a celebration of faith, was a demonstration of this. I am very glad I got to experience it, and our decision to name our son who was born in Egypt, Abraham, was certainly influenced by this inspiring holiday. A lot of people complain about the killings, the blood and stench, but these things don’t really bother me. I can think of several equally gross things elsewhere.

This year I’m looking forward to the experience of Eid Al Adha in Lebanon, and I’m excited to see if it’s anything like in Egypt.

…on the future

Today we – the boys and I - walked over to Mothercare and bought a couple of no-spill cups for Abraham. We made a big deal out of it so that he would get excited, and I think it worked. My idea is to get him to seek out his cup (containing milk or vitamin juice) whenever he gets thirsty or snacky, instead of tugging on my shirt and asking for “nam-nam.” Am I weaning him? Not really. Just encouraging alternatives, now that he is getting older, and imagining a future where I don’t have to buy my underwear in the maternity/nursing section.

Not a soloist, that's for sure!

I don’t get out much without the boys. Since Prof. Husband works pretty much all the time right now, and we don’t have a nanny and haven’t found a baby sitter yet, I just can’t. I have one night a week however, that is only mine (or at least for a couple of hours), and what I do is, I sing. I joined a choir one of our first weeks here. It’s a big choir, and the director is awesome. I get to meet people I wouldn’t usually ever talk to, I get to sing, use my brain, and not nurse, or dress, or cook, or clean for a while.

I love singing. Ever since I was little I’ve sung in a choir, joined groups, or done solos at school. I don’t have an amazing, breathtaking voice, but I have a strong, solid voice with a nice vibrato, and I’m really good at finding – and keeping – a pitch and a count. This makes me a great choir member, and I’m used to being put in whatever section needs help or a push. When this choir director heard me sing, he decided I would sing with the alto section this year. I was happy, because I like the alto section; it’s a little more challenging that the soprano section, which usually sings the melody.

For our Christmas concert this year we are doing a couple of pieces that require solos, and today, whoever wanted to try, was allowed to sing the solo part of their choice. I signed up for a gospel solo, which I had been trying out for at home. When I heard the others sing before me, I thought I had a pretty fair chance at getting the part, however as I stepped up to sing, I got so incredibly, acutely nervous, that I choked up – I mean really; I couldn’t hold a note – and completely and utterly blew it. I’m trying not to think about how awful it must have sounded, but I know it was bad enough. It didn’t come out the way it had at home at all. I’m disappointed. It would have been so much fun.

Why do I suddenly get nervous like that? I used not to. I was the talkative, forward, open and fearless girl. What happened? Most importantly, how can I work on it?

Maybe I miss television a little bit...

When we chose not to take certain things with us to Lebanon, I didn't expect we would miss our television, mainly because I thought if there was a show we really wanted to watch, we could do it online. Our internet connection here however, does not allow us to watch anything. If we stay up really, really late, Courtney & I will manage to get through an episode of Grey's Anatomy or House. What I miss the most though, is being able to turn on Mythbusters or Survivor Man, or even Dirty Jobs, for the boys while making dinner. These are shows that they love, and shows that are not bad, either. I asked the boys yesterday what they miss from the days we had a television, and these are the shows they mentioned, and how they miss being able to watch them with daddy. William also mentioned Suite Life on Deck, which I find cute. (I'm glad Ben Ten didn't come up, or one of those other cartoons.) All in all, I think we're doing fine without a TV - obviously, somehow I manage to make dinner every day without it! (Although I'm seriously looking into ordering some DVDs of these shows for Christmas for the boys.)

Summer days; Pumpkin pie and Christmas music

The sun is shining bright from a sky that is intensely blue. It’s warm outside, almost hot, between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If I listen carefully I can hear the sea, the waves rolling, just a mile away from my home. We will go down soon for a Sunday walk along the Cornishe (waterfront). It feels like eternal summer by the Mediterranean Sea; vacation, flip flops, the strong, sweet smell of sunscreen and salt, sunglasses, light dresses, stop for a drink, people out and about, enjoying the heat from the happy sun on a leisure Sunday. Except, at the boys’ request, because we’re actually not far now - 'tis the season! - Christmas music is blaring out from speakers in our living room; voices singing about Christmas cheer, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, snow, and stars on a dark winter night. There's a scent of pumpkin pie - the smell of late fall and holidays - coming from our kitchen. Would you believe me if I said that I’m having a bit of trouble associating?

My favorite morning of the week

Although we are still looking for a way to integrate outdoor and/or sports activities into our everyday routine, we have at least managed to turn Saturday mornings into our default mega sports time. The whole family eats a big breakfast with eggs and whole wheat grain (cereal, porridge, or muesli) and then heads over to campus for an hour and a half of Taekwondo (the older boys), tennis (the Husband and I), general ball play (Abraham), followed by an hour of swimming class (the older boys), an hour on the treadmill (I), and a bit of ‘toddler and otherwise busy father’ one-on-one (Husband and Abraham). No matter what else we have planned or not planned for the weekend, I love everything about our Saturday mornings: not only do we get plenty of exercise and spend time together doing something fun, but strolling across campus is a treat since it’s relatively quiet, and as always, beautiful. (The view of the blue Mediterranean Sea still takes my breath away!)

Finally Friday!

Today we went to the campus playground after lunch so that the boys could play with their friends, and then the boys finished their (schoolwork) math when we got home, while I made dinner. I love Friday afternoons; as soon as the boys finish for the week, they let out a shriek of joy and pride, “Done!!” Their reward is immediate: all-you-can-handle-screen-time until bed time!

I remember when I was young and going to school, that Friday afternoons where nice, but to see the boys work extra hard on Fridays to finish early, is truly a blessing. They get such a satisfaction out of it.

Saturday mornings are busy, with Taekwondo immediately followed by swimming, all the while Courtney and I play tennis (with Abraham), still, Friday marks the end of the work week, and the boys’ contentment makes it all the more special.

Creating a daily routine in a new place...

I’ve been wanting to get a routine going that involves visiting the campus sports area and/or the playground ever day, but it’s hard. I keep thinking, “tomorrow will work,” but then something comes up and it doesn’t. It’s not that there isn’t enough time on an average day, I just haven’t figured out how to organize everything yet. On the days we have French (Tue-Thu), our schoolwork takes longer and we usually don’t finish until it’s almost time for me to start dinner, and so it’s too late to go. On Wednesdays I have choir, and there’s just not enough time for me to go to campus with the boys between school and that to make dinner, feed everyone, clean up, and get ready. This leaves us Mondays and Wednesdays, which are days I usually need for extra things, like grocery shopping, extra projects, or on Fridays I’m just too tired to go anywhere, especially knowing that Saturday mornings are intensive sports days. These are all excuses, I know, and I’m confident that I will be able to rearrange things to fit in exercise, but at this moment, I’m in a bit of a limbo. Sigh.

Our carved pumpkin, Halloween 2010

I can't explain exactly how, but in some way or another, I think this pumpkin looks like Will Ferrell. What is it? Do you see it?

Midweek reflections - Beginning of November 2010

…on the weather

I’ve actually grabbed my (very light cotton) sweater on my way out of the house a couple of times, although I have yet to end up wearing it. It’s still too hot in Beirut for it to be cold, but too cold for it to be hot. Makes sense, right? Because it gets hot inside, we keep turning the A/C on, but then we have to turn it off because it gets too cold. It may sound frustrating, but I like it. It’s perfect.

…on the city

I was very much looking forward to venturing out of the city this weekend on a hike with the university faculty services, but then we found out it was only for adults, and obviously we can’t leave the kids at home. I was so disappointed now I’m looking into renting a car for a day or so to find the cedars by myself. I’d love to see some leaves this time of the year, and it would be nice to get out of town.

At the same time; I went to a lunch yesterday at the Movenpick hotel, and I couldn’t help but continuously commenting on how pretty the view was. From my seat by the window I could see the sea and the southern parts of Beirut with the large sandy beach in the front, and it was simply stunning. It is a beautiful city.

…on the people

The boys spent Halloween with friends, and I’m so happy to see they are more confident in their social relationships than when we arrived in Beirut in September. The first time we went to the playground after we first got here, they hung around me like they were physically attached to me, and didn’t even dare to say “hi” to the other kids. If you know my boys, you’ll agree that this is not like them at all. (It seems that four months of traveling with only immediate family can make any otherwise very social boy shy.) Now they’re back to their old selves though, and I’m relieved!

…on our home

Our Halloween decorations were very sparse but made our new apartment feel a little more like home. Today William and I picked up a pumpkin as well that I will let the boys carve before I cook it to make mashed pumpkin for Thanksgiving pie. As there is no canned pumpkin here either, I will continue doing what I’ve done every year for the past oh, ten - or so - years; bake a pumpkin, puree it, and then freeze batches of 1 ½ cups (which is what my Fanny Farmer’s pumpkin pie recipe calls for).

…on family

Courtney will be traveling at the end of this month, and since I have some obligations, by then I will have to have found a helper or a baby sitter that we can employ. These are times that I really miss having our extended family around. I’m sure there are perfectly great baby sitters out there, but really, grandma or uncle Michael would just have been the best. I read my childhood friends’ posts on Facebook where they describe romantic get-aways with their husbands while their kids spend the weekend at Grandma’s, and I feel really sorry that we are not close to our family. I know, I know, we are doing all these amazing things, bla, bla, bla, but sometimes, you know, I’m allowed to wonder why we’ve made it so hard for ourselves.

…on education

Let me just say this: the laser printer is the best invention ever! Timetables practice sheets? Print! Halloween theme pages? Print! Spelling tests? Print! Kids’ chore charts in extra large fonts? Print! A never-ending stream of Sesame Street coloring pages to keep the toddler happy while I explain the concept of Energy to the older boys? PRINT! Add the laminator, and our homeschool has all the resources a mother could ask for.

People that don’t homeschool but that are interested in finding out how I do it, often comment after I’ve explained “That sounds like SO MUCH WORK!” and well, yes, there’s research and thought process and material selection involved, but you know what? I think dealing with lunch boxes, gym clothes, silly-band trades during recess, principal’s office visits, report cards, parent volunteering, PTA meetings, kids left out, and all the other issues - not to mention getting up in the wee hours of the morning to take your tired child to school in any weather every day - sounds like a lot of work.

…on the past

Courtney is doing very well right now with a book coming out, another book contract on the way, and a third just starting up, articles published, his new job, and conference invitations. I am so happy for him for us, realizing that what we are enjoying at this moment is the result of ten years of very hard work. When we first met we were poor students; it’s a lot of work studying when you don’t have money for food. Then I got a nice job and Courtney could go through to graduate school. He studied hard and I worked hard to build my career. Then I got pregnant once and then again, and Courtney had to go through graduate school AND work, while I worked part time. Having kids while working, studying, and living away from family is hard!

Courtney has worked and worked and worked so hard on his research over these past few years, while I have worked just as hard taking care of everything else, and I mean *everything*. The funny thing is that while we were in the middle of it all, we didn’t think our life was exceptionally hard; we lead such a happy life. And now I’m happy we’re able to look back and enjoy the harvest!

…on the future

Courtney is traveling to Turkey this month and Belgium at the beginning of next month, and I’m worried about finding a competent and reliable helper/baby sitter. I’m actually thinking about buying a plane ticket for my mom to come for a couple of weeks, and not get a baby sitter. It’s not a permanent solution – we’ll need a sitter at some other point in the future too – but it would be so great. Can you tell I miss my family?

At the same time, while I’m dreading Courtney’s trips, I’m also looking forward to them, because once he’s back, all deadlines for this year will have been reached (for now at least) and we finally –after years really! – get a bit of a breather.