Lately...

We've had a few bugs around here, requiring extra naps...

...and down time...

Poor Brother is currently on antibiotics for his second ear infection in eight months.

He'd never had one in the 5.5 years before we moved here. 

This recent article - although definitely wide/vague in terms of factoring future environmental improvements and their impact on the rating - confirmed what I've laughed at all along..."the weather", ie, the air, pretty much sucks here. 

Luckily, we've all bounced back alright, and these two are up to their usual shenanigans...

...and being cute...

...and crazy...

....and crafty...

...and playing with the neighbors...

The kids and I met a school friend at a park the other weekend...

This park had some of those crazy steep bouncy slides that scare the crap outta me the kids love...

We also tried out a new Five Guys in our area. Would you believe we'd never eaten at one before, even in Portland?

It was tasty, and I laughed out loud when we were leaving and Sister says in a very serious voice, "Momma, I counted. There were SIX guys in there."

My little legalist =).

We headed out to eat the other weekend at a local park area...can you spot the two cuties on top of that bridge?? Dave and I love it because the kids can explore the area, while still being in sight, while we wait for the food and enjoy uninterrupted conversation =)

After we ate, we walked around a bit and let the kids play at the playground. 

Sister took this picture of us =)

We went and saw Lego Batman, 

...which ended up being pretty funny...

I got out for another ladies night to celebrate Bahrain Tina's belated birthday, and Galentine's Day with Tina and some of her lovely friends...

...an evening of good food, and great conversation.

David was in Cambodia for about a week for a work conference, so I told the kids they could each invite one friend over after school the first day he was gone.

Sister and her buddy did some painting...

...and Brother and his buddy were a constant stream of outfit changes...

...and different battles....

A funny note about this playdate; Sister's friend had her nanny accompany her along for the playdate. I don't know if this was because her friend is very shy, or because the mother sent her over with play clothes (we'd brought her home from school with us, so she still had her uniform on), or if it was just a way to keep an eye on her at a new friends house.

It didn't bother me at all, it was just a new scenario for me. 

I introduced myself, and asked her if she wanted some coffee, she accepted, and I made us each a cup and then brought them out to the kitchen table so we could drink them and chat. 

After a few minutes of conversation, I went into my bedroom to change out of my work clothes and into my mom clothes (ie, yoga pants and a Target vneck), and when I came back out, she wasn't at the table. I figured she was checking on the girls in Sister's bedroom, or perhaps in the restroom.

A few minutes later, she still hadn't reappeared, so I went looking for her...and found her in my kitchen, washing my dishes. 

I was like, um what are you doing?!?

"I help clean, madam" she replied.

Um, no.

"You don't have to do MY dishes!" 

"It's fine madam, I don't mind..."

"Well, I do. Please, that is our mess. Not yours, and not of the family you nanny for either. Please just come relax"

She hesitated, but then followed me back to the living room and sat back down at the table.

We ended up having a really nice chat, and I learned a lot about her life and situation here. 

She is from the Philippines, and has four children living back there, with her husband. She is here on a two year contract to nanny/maid for this family. She spoke of her work lovingly and said they treat her very well, and she is grateful for the good work, so she can send the  money home to her husband and kids.

Definitely never had a playdate like that in Portland.

And lastly, while Dave was gone, the kids and I also did a little shopping...

...and met some friends at Trampo to play...

...and have some lunch with Spiderman...

And now David is back home (hooray!) and this past weekend we celebrated National Day and Liberation Day...pics to come soon!

Momma Brag

WARNING: This post contains unabashed pride for my children, and little else. I'm just here today to share how awesome they are.

In the private British school the twins attend, they have Arabic class four out of five days a week. 

The teacher speaks very little English, and the entire class is taught in Arabic.

On Sister's first day of Arabic class, she cried, because she didn't understand anything and worried she'd get in trouble.

Bless her sweet little heart.

After her regular teacher explained to her later that she wouldn't be expected to understand everything, and that immersion was a fantastic way to learn, she was all for it =)

I'm so proud to say that after only four months of school, both our kids are "working at" the same level of Arabic expected of the rest of the class - who are nearly all native Arabic speakers.

They received their First Term reports in January, and of course I was incredibly proud of all their accomplishments, this portion made me smile the grandest...

I had a chance to speak with their Arabic teacher (via an interpreter) and she confirmed they are reading, writing, and speaking very well, and comprehending even better.

This has been proven to us a few times over...like when our Haras, whose English is very limited, was trying to ask David, whose Arabic is limited, a question, and David was not quite understanding fully what he wanted, and Sister was able to offer assistance and explain to David what Abdu was asking.

Let me tell you as a 35 year old who has tried over the last year and a half to pick up some Arabic; it is HARD. It's a language with many challenging sounds. I'm so proud of our kids for working so hard at this. 

And they are proud of it too, which makes it even better =)

We chose this season of our lives to live abroad for several reasons, but the twins' age and it's relation to their language retention was one of the largest reasons, and I'm so glad it's panned out like we'd hoped!

Now, I just have to catch up in my learning so they can't talk about me right in front of me without my knowing it...

The Boy and the laundry basket; A Love Story

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Al Shaheed Park

Last month our family finally made it out to visit Al Shaheed Park. 
It's a newer park that's opened since we've arrived in Kuwait, and we've been meaning to go check it out for months now, but had yet to make it happen.

But finally on one windy, chilly Saturday afternoon, we headed out to see this place we'd heard so much about. 

It's located in the heart of Kuwait City, so surrounded by beautifully creative buildings...

We'd been meaning to arrive mid-afternoon, but didn't end up getting out the door as early as we'd hoped (classic Kendra), so when we first arrived we were hustlin' a bit because I thought we'd need daylight to really see it all...

The kids were big fans of the lighted water fountain shows...

Brother asked us to take his picture in front of these fountains, and just like the time before, I was struck by how grown up he is becoming....

The kids were particularly enamored with these gold structures... 

The sun setting behind the Liberation Tower...

After a few selfie fails, we managed a pretty good one...

David snapped this picture of Brother giving me some love. 
I adore it.
I also can not believe how giant he looks next to me. How is he so tall all of a sudden??

The park hosts the "Wall of Martyrs", which was sobering, but really beautifully done...

I sure love these monkeys of mine...

We were near the airport, and the kids asked if they could lay down for a bit and watch the planes fly overhead...

Family selfie??
Crushed it. 

But just to be sure, we asked a stranger to take a family pic as well =)

Throughout the park there were several sculptures...

We walked around for a long time enjoying the lovely landscaping and serene atmosphere, before eventually making our way back over to the fountains, which were now even more fun to watch light up after the sun had set...

My cute little Peanut...

The twins were having fun guessing which color the water would turn next...

...clearly, Brother won this round...

We had such a nice evening together, strolling around. And we ended up being grateful we were there so late in the evening, as the fountain shows were so vibrant and the city lights sparkled everywhere...

This was one of those evenings where Kuwait felt so beautiful I could hardly stand it.
I'm so thankful we made the time to visit Al Shaheed Park, and will definitely be back again soon.