Poland 2009

Ahh the wonderful Polska!

Last time I was in Poland was in 2000, I just started going out with Steve and was about to start University. So many things have changed since then...

I travelled alone with Lea and all was well until 3 minutes before our second to last flight was about to land, in all we took 4 flights. Just as we were about to land Lea vomited all over me, but I mean all over. I was able to wash her up and change her, but I unfortunately did not think of bringing a change of clothes for me, note to self for our next trip. Our last flight is when Lea has had enough! She wanted to have nothing to do with sitting on me or next to me or being held, she was just fed up, regardless how the flights were I was happy that we made it there safely.

It was great being there for 3 weeks before Steve joined us just enjoying time with my Babcia (grandmother) and not doing much. I don't think Lea has ever spent so much time outside; she was always entertained by someone and was not bored for one minute. Lea's first tooth come out at 10 months and started eating table food. My Babcia cooked for Lea every day and when we came back to AD there was no way of going back and cooking baby food for Lea. It makes things much easier for her to just eat the food we eat.

In my eyes Poland hasn't changed much, it's more developed and there are many more western stores available, but besides that it's the same thing. I just feel at home when I'm there, the air even smells better!

For 3 weeks before Steve arrived we didn't do much. We took long walks and spent most of our time with my Babcia who was nonstop cooking for us (YUM!) Once Steve arrived we shifted gears, we started touring and for 2 weeks we were on the go. We visited Wroclaw which is the 3rd largest city in Poland and it's the city that my Babcia lives next to. Then we visited Lichen which is a Holy place where the Virgin Mary has appeared many times, then Ksiaz, Auschwitz, Krakow (we both fell in love with the city, it's just so beautiful there), Wieliczka (a salt mine that's just out of this world), Czestochowa home of the Black Madonna and where about 1.5 pilgrims come every year.

Steve loved the food and every time we ate out it had to be Polish food. I don't think he was ready for all the history but he got through it and I'm sure that something stayed with him. I on the other hand felt like I revisited all these places again and it was great seeing it from a tourist's point of view. Lea was great, adapting well everywhere we took her. She also discovered the power of her voice on this trip as she would try to scream over every tour guide we had and loved to voice herself in Churches, museums and the salt mine :-)

All in all we had a great time and I'm very happy that Steve was finally able to see where I'm from.
Here's the link to our Picasa Web Albums where you can see all of our pictures
 http://picasaweb.google.com/Weclask

We are back!!!

I know it's been a LONG time, but I finally got around to updating our blog. We were on our first family vacation to Poland and Greece. I was away with Lea from Aug. 10 - Sept. 19 and Steve joined us on Aug. 28th. When we returned to Abu Dhabi Steve left the following morning to Boston and I tried get us back to a routine. which I'm still trying to do :-)

Our holiday was great and it helped me a lot being away from Abu Dhabi. We skipped most of the unbearable heat and by being away I kind of changed my perspective about here. I now know what I like and dislike here and I feel comfortable enough to stay here for the next couple of years. I will even go as far and say that I really like it here and I'm glad we made the decision to move here.

Ok, enough about that boring stuff. In the next couple of posts I will upload some pics from our vacation and keep you up to date on what's going on with us.

Miss Lea @ 9 months

Lea standing up!

Look what I can do

Miss Lea has surprised us today with her new skill. She has learned how to stand up on her own. She first did it holding herself up on the coffee table and then I took pictures of her in her crib.

Steve is trying out for the NBA

Steve signed up for a basketball league. He is part of a team of 5 and they play against other teams (I think there are 7 or 8 teams in total) every Monday night. He was so excited, but after the first time he came home discouraged and almost gave up on the entire thing. It turns out that most of the guys that play have played on a team before and some are even ex college b-ball players. Steve came home saying he has no skills and that he was so nervous around these guys that he didn't even try to shoot the ball. I told him not to give up and to try it at least one more time.
Well in true Steve style he didn't give up, rather he went on a mission to learn everything and anything that would improve his game. Everyday he goes to the basketball at our gym to practice his skills. He reads basketball blogs and watches videos on line that teach him about foot work, how to shoot and dribble. He has even found some guys at the gym that play just for fun every Tuesday night, so now he plays with them as well. This is all to improve his game so that he can feel confident and comfortable playing on the Monday night league. I say he is trying out for the NBA! His body is slowly falling apart, last night after he came back from playing he had to put Tiger Balm on his knees and other joints because he was sore :-) but he's not giving up. He got his confidence back and feels great when he comes back home from playing on Monday nights.
Here are some pictures of Steve practicing. I have to admit he is getting really good.

Steve's #1 fan.

What is wrong with this outfit?

I told Steve to dress Lea while I got us ready to leave the house. There was a dress with sandals on the chair that I asked him to dress Lea in. There was a pair of pants on the chair as well so Daddy thought it was part of the outfit!

Lea is finally eating chunky food!

Miss Lea has finally decided that eating food with chunks tastes good!

Waking Daddy up

On the weekends Lea has the pleasure of waking up Daddy in the morning. She loves it! She gets so excited just being in our bed she doesn't know what to do with herself.

No Dirty Cars Allowed

As I mentioned before image is everything in this country so there is a new law that came out stating that no dirty cars are allowed to be on the roads. If you leave a dirty car parked outside it will most likely be towed and you will be fined 300 AED which is about $100. The thing is that a car can't stay clean here for more than a day or two therefore it's not uncommon to see people dusting their car off with a regular duster you would use at home. At first I thought these people just wanted to save on the car wash, but now I understand that they are trying to save their car from being towed.

It's Official

We have bought our tickets for our vacation. Lea and I are going to Poland on Aug. 10 - Sept. 11 and Steve will join us on Aug. 28th. From Poland we will be going to Athens to visit our friends until Sept. 19th. We are so excited!!!

Something New

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with Lea and I cam across something new that I don't believe I have mentioned before. I'm trying to keep up with things that most would not know about the UAE so here's that something new. The cashiers at the grocery store are seated and the bags boys are dressed in pants, shirts and ties! Very formal...I know it's nothing exciting, but I think very different from Canada. Also you can ask the bag to bring all your grocery to the car for you at no extra fee, if you want to be nice you can tip them.

Check this out!

That's right! What you see above is a chrome Mercedes...this car was parked in front of our gym and I just had to take a picture because I have never seen one before. Image is everything here and I guess if you're driving a "chrome" Mercedes you really must be something.

I have lost my touch

Hello Our Blog Followers,
I don't know how it happened, but some how over the last couple of weeks I have lost my blogger touch. I can't seem to find anything to write about and especially nothing about the UAE. It's as if whatever we do is no longer new to me therefore I don't find it important to write about. Steve has brought it to my attention several times that our blog has become a Lea blog, which there is nothing wrong with that but I'm sure that you the followers would like a little update on us as well.
I really have no excuses besides the fact that Lea started crawling a couple of weeks ago and I can no longer just plop her on the floor where she will sit playing. We have now entered a stage of Lea's life where we are constantly on guard of where and what she will get to next! It's a lot of fun, but at the same time no break unless she's sleeping.
So what is new with us? Nothing really, summers in Abu Dhabi are pretty uneventful. It's hot, but I think we are starting to get used to it as we can feel the difference between real hot of about 45C and bearable hot of 39C. On the weekends we spend our days at the pool, we go to the gym 4 times a week. Go for walks on the Corniche in the afternoons and that's pretty much it. Life is simple and dangerously lazy.
I still have activities with Lea twice a week which is far less than having something to do everyday. Most Moms leave the country from June to September to avoid the heat. This is giving me the chance to catch up on some scrapbooking and other projects I promised to some people years ago :-)
We are leaving on our vacation in a month. Lea and I are going first and then Steve will join us about 2 weeks after. We are going to Poland to visit my Grandmother and to show Steve where I'm from and then we are going to Greece to visit our close friends in Athens. I am counting down the days already.
I've been trying to upload videos on our blog, but it takes way too long to upload even the shortest of videos that's because we have the worlds slowest Internet. I am trying to figure out how to connect the blog with our Picasa albums and videos. I will let you know once that is working.
I promise to do my best with this blog and to keep you in the loop about our life here.

Happy Belated Canada Day!

I know that we're a little late, but we wanted to wish everyone back home a happy Canada Day! Sorry the message skipped my mind since we really didn't feel like it was Canada Day over here. We hope that everyone had a great day BBQing, relaxing by the pool or going to the beach.
We have been just talking about how we miss summers in Montreal because the city comes alive and everyone comes out of their hiding after a long winter. We still haven't missed the winters...

Sending our love to all!


P.S. The big news on our side is that Miss Lea started crawling a couple of days ago and with each day she is becoming stronger, faster and does more distance around the house! It's a great way of making sure that we never sit now :-)

Doesn't she look comfortable?

I got her the pillow because her head would always hang forward when she'd fall asleep. At first she was trying to fight and rip the pillow off, but now I think she enjoys it :-)

Miss Lea @ 8 months

Happy Father's Day!

To the best Dad in the world.

Making new friends

Here are some pictures of Lea making new friends at the weekly Mommy and Baby meeting we go to.

Lea with one of the Mommies.

We decided to have a get together with the Dads too.
Lea and Treasa

Lea with Adel and Bianca.

@ the car wash

Lea and I take the car to the car wash at least once a week. The first couple of times she loved it and now she is scared. If I go to get the car washed she has to sit with me in the front or on my lap.

Sitting in the passenger seat.
Passenger seat didn't feel safe enough for Lea so she ended up in my lap.

It's getting messy!

With Lea eating more and more solids things are starting to get a little messy.

Lea's 1st time on the potty!

Today was Lea's first time on the potty! Right after her nap I sat her down to do her business and what do you know?! She did all of her business within 5 minutes!
I couldn't be more proud. :-)

The face of concentration...
Ohh! Something came out!

Not finished yet...

The end result!

Things I'm learning

Lea and I meet at least once a week with some expat Mommies for some coffee and chit chat. I usually come out of these get togethers with some new information about this country and yesterday's lunch was no different.

So I've learned from Mom's who have been here many years that;
1) If you hit a camel on the road (camels here are on the side of the road when you drive into the desert, kind of like deer in Canada) you go to jail as the camel is the national animal of the UAE.

2) When you get car insurance you have to make sure that the insurance covers blood money which is compensation of 200 000 DHS that will be paid to the family of a person you may kill in a car accident. Weather your fault or not you have to pay the blood money if the other person involved in the accident dies. Saying that it has been known that people run across high ways to comit suicide because they know that this blood money will be sent to their families back home. Even if it's not your fault you still go to jail for at least a couple of days.

3) When you get into a car accident with an Emirati you are automatically at fault! In order not to be in more trouble just take the blame and move on.

I think that we should start talking about other things cause all these horror stories about the hidden rules are starting to freak me out.

Sorry Again

I haven't been able to keep up with the blog again because our little Miss Lea was sick. She's much better now, but we had a couple of rough days and nights and once she got better we were trying to catch up on our sleep. She's much better now, but still on antibiotics for a couple of days.

Nothing new to report on our side besides the fact that it's getting hotter and hotter by the minute. As I write this at 11am it is 26C in our apartment, I can just imagine what's it's like outside. It's a little hard for Lea to be outside because the poor thing can't cool herself of so I don't usually stay out with her until the afternoon. We stay indoors doing our various activities and in the evening we go for walks or go to the pool.

I'll post some pictures of her and us later.
Till next time...

Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

So we just passed our 2nd year anniversary and we decided that each year we will take a family picture to see over the years how much our family has changed.
Steve & I went out for supper for some really good Thai food. Lea was babysat by one of the Mom's that's part of the babysitting circle we created here.

Here's a picture of us before Steve & I went out for supper.


A picture of us when we came back home. Notice I changed my dress...that's because the shoulder strap of the first dress snapped when I got in the car so I had to change...HA!

Lea @ 7 months

Our laptop died!

Sorry for no updates for the past couple of days, but our laptop has died on us. Steve was trying real hard to revive it for the past couple of days, but with no luck. In the end we went out a bought a new one yesterday. The cheapest one they had in the store so lets see how long this one will last. :-)

Did you know?

Here are more things I've learned about the UAE.

1) an Emirati is allowed to tint his/hers car windows (all car windows even the windshield) at 100% so that no one can see inside. Anyone else can only tint their windows at 30% max and are not allowed to tint the windshield.
2) The UAE is the 2nd in the world to have the highest number of people with diabetes.
3) The first hospital build in Abu Dhabi was in 1966!!! A little over 40 years ago before that they had nothing here.

I've been reading a book called Rags to Riches, it's the story of Abu Dhabi. It's a little outdated, but the author is real good at writing about the history of Abu Dhabi and how it came to be. His family was very close to the Ruler of Abu Dhabi so he had some really good insight.

Lea's Play-pen

We got Lea a play pen a few weeks ago, but we only put it up a few days ago. Since it's been up here's what we see...

Hosting all the Babies & Mommies @ our house yesterday

Every Monday Lea & I go to a group called Bumps & Babes. It's for Mommies with Babies. The Babies get a chance to play together and the Mommies get to chat. The weekly meeting is hosted by one of the Mommies and yesterday it was at our house. It was a nice turn out, we had 7 Mommies and 6 Babies. Here are some pictures, I know that they're not great, but there's only so many pictures I could have taken while hosting the event.

A Day @ The Pool

We spent yet an other day at the pool today, it's great we really feel like we're at a resort. Here are some pics of our little fish.

Lea is very happy when she's in the water.

It takes a lot of concentration to swim after the ball.

Yup, Lea is getting a little chunky.

She needs all the toys at once.

Just chilling on the stairs of the pool.

It's an Oldie but a Goodie

Lea was 5 months old here and we were shopping for a high chair for her at Toys'r'us. While we were looking around we sat her down while we went about discussing which chair we should buy. We looked down and Lea was just there looking at us. Steve took the picture with his phone.

Getting Busy

Sorry for not updating the blog for a couple of days, but I'm starting to get busy.
Every Monday Lea and I meet with a bunch of Moms with babies around Lea's age. It's really fun, the babies kind of play together and the Mommies get to talk! On Tuesday Lea started Song & Dance. On Wednesday we have a swimming class which Lea loves, loves, loves! On Thursday I usually meet up for lunch or coffee with a couple of the Mommies that I met at either one of the activities and then it's the weekend. I thought I would be bored here, but it doesn't look that way at all.
Today our plans are to go to the pool at our gym because it's real hot outside.
I'll try to take pictures of all our activities so you get an idea of how things are going.
Till next time...

She's almost there

She's got no teeth yet, but she's almost crawling! It's been a couple of days now and I catch her going from sitting position to all fours.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lea gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my first Mother's Day.

Shower @ The Beach

It was a nice day yesterday so we went to the beach & Lea had a nice shower with Daddy at the beach.