‘in-sha-allah

Caution: The following message comes from a place of frustration, and anger. Viewer discretion is advised!

Great news! We got our first shipment of goods (for non-military folks, that means we got some of the stuff the army shipped to us). When we packed out our house, they made us break all of our stuff into three categories. First, what we needed as soon as possible (Unaccompanied Baggage). Second, what we want, but can live without for a couple months (Household Goods). Third, stuff we don’t mind being kept in storage until we get back. We got our Unaccompanied Baggage, which isn’t supposed to be more than 1,000 lbs, this weekend. We decided that we needed our kitchen, and the boy’s clothes/toys ASAP, so that was what was in the boxes. Now that all of that is explained, let us fast forward to this weekend.

The movers got here and unloaded all the boxes. We were so excited… until we found out 9 were missing. No, not a typo… 9 (enter most offensive language imaginable here) boxes missing. Now, I think this was just to mess with me, and family harmony, but they brought Hunter’s bike (and not Mason’s), Mason’s Captain America shield (but not Hunter’s), and only half of Austin’s baby saucer (the one damn toy I was excited to get. That baby is too heavy to carry around all day). Those assholes! We are hoping the lost boxes got mixed up with our Household Goods shipment, but we won’t know until it gets here. Oh, did I mention that our Household Goods (which are shipped by boat) hasn’t left the port in California yet. We have been living in a staged house for the past month, and who knows when we are going to get the rest of our stuff. Although, I do have to say, cooking with my own kitchen items has been very therapeutic.

Talking about needing therapy, this next story is one of Bookie’s favorite to tell. There is a wonderful phrase people use in Arabic when speaking about the future, in-sha-allah (which means “god willing”). This is how you would use it, “After work I am going to the store, in-sha-allah”. Culturally (especially when talking business), in-sha-allah is a death seal on any plans. It is kind of like a “yeah, sure, i’ll do it, whatever you say man”. With that cultural lesson, here is my story. Last week (literally 7 freakin’ days ago) the internet guys (from a lovely company named Batelco) came to run our fiber-optic cables and set up our internet. I couldn’t understand what was going on, but I could tell that they were having issues with something. The leader of the posse (there were four of them) came up to me and explained that there was a part that they needed to fix in the house, and that they needed to come back. As he was packing up and getting ready to walk out the door, I asked him when he was coming back. On his way out of the the door (literally one foot over the threshold) he said, “We come back tomorrow”, then as the door was closing he muttered, “in-sha-allah”. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! At first, I tried to talk myself out of what I had heard. No Shannon, he didn’t say what you thought he did. He was just singing a song… under his breath… as he was walking away. Yeah, that is what happened. Nope, 7 days later and he still hasn’t come back. Bookie even tried calling and texting him. No response. So now, I am sitting here (once again) cursing my internet situation. Since my last post we have run out of data twice. I wish I could say that the problem will be solved soon, but I am pretty sure that would be a lie. Our internet situation is absurd. Okay, I am done being a Negative Nancy! I really do love being here, and I have had a lot of fun. I am just ready to get our personal belonging and for the house to be set up. Now, off to kiddy talk.

If there was any question about the gender of the children I am raising, Hunter verified it yesterday. Hunter and Mason were fighting over the afore mentioned Captain America shield. Hunter wanted to play with it, and Mason didn’t want to share. You know, typical sibling stuff. Now, I don’t know the specifics of how this happened, but Mason started screaming and crying. When I asking him what happened he said, “Hunter peed on my shield”. To my knowledge, Hunter had never done that before. I called Hunter over and ask him what happened, and he said, “no mommy, it was just a little splash”. When I saw the shield it is apparent that there was nothing little about the amount of pee that was on that shield. Hunter pissed on it like a dog marking his territory. He was sent to his room on timeout, and when I asked him why he did it he said, “I’m sorry Mommy. I just forgot the rules”. What!? What do you mean you forgot the rules? How did not peeing on anything other than the inside of a toilet escape from your memory? That little boy…

Hunter and Mason are both very popular with the neighborhood kids. Correction, Hunter has become Mr. Popular, and Mason has been joining in on the fun. Every day at 4:00 (if we aren’t already at the park) the big boys come and knock on our door. Hunter gets so excited. He runs from where ever he is and hops around like a little kangaroo out of excitement. He grabs his gun (and now a lightsaber… thank you grandmommy), and runs out the door. Mason goes running out behind him. Mason will generally play for about 30 minutes before he gets tired of the big boys. He then comes running home to hang out with his favorite woman… ME! (mom still wins once in a while).

I know that nobody cares about me (correction, maybe friends care about me, but I know the family only cares about the boys), but I am going to be selfish and talk about myself for a little bit. After years of bugging my wonderful husband, I am finally getting Scuba Certified! I am so excited. There are a lot of really cool diving sites off the coast of Bahrain, and there are some pretty cool things in some of the places we are visiting (Oman, Saudi, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, etc). I start my certification classes tomorrow, and should be done in two weeks! Did I mention that I am so freakin’ excited!!!!!!!!?

I also got to meet the U.S. Ambassador the other day. I didn’t know who I was talking to at first, and then after a few minutes Bookie said, “Yes sir, Mr Ambassador”. I cannot remember what I said before that moment, but I really hope it wasn’t anything too bad. It was an embassy function, so I don’t think I talked about Mason tea-bagging (if you aren’t familiar with the term, enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2WPPGC9V0 …Once again, you’re welcome) his brother. So, that was pretty cool!

If that last video didn’t help brighten up your day, here are some family-friendly pictures! Enjoy

We took Hunter and Mason back to the cooking class

Mason loved the Shepard’s Pie

Hunter did too, although you wouldn’t be able to tell from this picture.

While the boys were cooking, we explored the mall, and found this aquarium. Austin loved it

Austin didn’t think the napkin on his head was as entertaining as I did. Come on mom. So embarrassing.

Every morning, the boys sit in the kitchen and eat breakfast together

Austin is learning how to use a sippy cup. He cannot figure out why biting doesn’t work.

Hunter being Mr. Popular and playing soccer. He was playing goalie (and doing really well), and scoring a few goals as well. Take that big boys!!

And, I found this at the grocery store:

I don’t know which gland they are referring to, but I don’t think I want it!