I Feel Like Fast Food For Lunch...

All is well here.  Well kinda.  I have had a head cold over the past few days which knocked me around a little.  Along with 43 degree temperatures which didn't help me any.  I spent most of yesterday lazing/snoozing on the couch and willing myself to feel better.  I was in bed at 9pm last night and had a good 8 hours sleep.  

I got up this morning and showered, ready to come downstairs at 6:30 and who should be up and dressed before me, but Little Miss Monet.  She is enjoying Nursery School and was keen to be dropped off early.  *good sign*

Even as we walk into the School we get comments on her height.  I'm afraid she'll be getting this for most of her schooling life.  She is standing a good head above all the other kids and Lyndon wants to know why I have been buying her (a few) new clothes lately!  It is because she is growing so tall - lots of her dresses are turning into tops and some of her skirts are becoming mini-mini skirts!

She is not the only one growing.  My tummy is too.  I can hide the pregnancy quite well under certain tops and I guess I too have my height to thank for this.  I visited my doctor on Saturday for my latest check-up.  My Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) keeps changing due to the fact that baby#2 is growing well.  Another big baby is on it's way, but we are sticking to my original dates of when it is due.  I got this all the time with Monet too and she arrived smack, bang on her due date.  Currently this baby is weighing 500 grams.  Usually a baby this far along is roughly about 400 grams.  See what I mean?

I am hoping I can cope with the heat as I am sure it will be a long time till we see temps back in the low 30's again - it is averaging about 39 every day now - Abu Dhabi does get up to constant temps of mid to high 40's over summer, with the temp only dropping a few degrees overnight.  We knew what we were in for when we moved though so 'I no complain'. (A million bucks that I will complain though!)

And yeah, I feel like fast food for lunch!

First Week Down

Our first full week of Nursery School has now come and gone.  

It feels quite the 'norm' now for Monet and I to be out the door just after 7:30; me driving up the road (in horrendous traffic, let me tell you - some of the road designs in Abu Dhabi make you scratch your head and say 'Why the f**k would they design it like that?'), taking Monet into the building and saying goodbye.  

When I got to pick her up, leaving home at around 1:30pm and greet her out in the playground, with her being not-so-keen to come home.  She *loves* it.  She truly does and with that was a great relief for both Lyndon and I.

Yesterday afternoon saw her backpack stuffed with her folder of stuff done for the week.  If anything, I would say that what she is doing in class is more like 'Prep' stuff, rather than Kinder.  Practicing letters, numbers, dot-to-dot, colouring etc.  Each A4 piece of work is ticked by her teacher, 'Mrs Vicky', and things written like 'Great Work', 'Fantastic' etc., etc.,  

'Mrs Vicky' even said to me (I have bragging rights here) that it is good Monet is only coming for one term (Eight-week Summer holidays begin first week of July) as otherwise she'd be 'bored senseless - she is way ahead of the other students'....  Obviously the past 4 and a half years spent having constant one-on-one time, I was doing something right. (Well, that's what I like to think *heehee*)

Monet comes home one happy little girl.  She sings to us the songs she has sung during the day and is keen to go upstairs and play (and I actually don't mind going and playing with her for a while either.)  She's been in bed and asleep at around 8:30pm each night too, which is an achievement in itself for us, as she tended to be a bit of a night owl, but not anymore.  *fingers crossed*  (She still gets the 6 o'clock grumpies but hey, I let it pass, due to knowing she's tired.)

Lyndon and I  decided to reward her for great behaviour and a great first week.  

She's been 'bike-less' for a couple of months now with her Princess bike broken and beyond repair.  As her little friends in the street ride around she looks at them with envy, but not any more.  We try and not spoil her, not buying her any more than I would have when living in Cairns, but sometimes it is nice to lash out and buy something  just because.

Happy child = Happy parents...

First Day

Finally.  Our fully pledged Kinder girl!  Monet was so chuffed this morning to be headed out the door with her 'school bag'.

All went well on her first day of 'Nursery School', attending for three hours this morning.  She was fine and happy enough when I left.  (Remembering that Monet and I have spent practically every day of the past 4 and a half years together.)

She made a little friend (*phew*) and seemed to enjoy her time away from me.  She did say that she drew a picture of me in the sand and said she missed me which made me go all gooey inside.  

The Director of the Nursery said that Monet went really well and with us talking to her teacher, said she wanted another six Monets in her class.  That's our girl.

Tomorrow we start 'full-time' at Kinder, for a good 5 1/2 hours or so, five days a week.  Hopefully enough hours to wear her out and keep her happy.  And her mummy happy.  (I have a day set aside for housework, another for grocery shopping and another for a weekly lunch date with Lyndon.  Two days spare up my sleeve - bliss.  Though this all comes at a steep price as all Nursery Schools (along with Schools) are privately run...)

Our girl is growing up and my tummy is growing out!

Dubai Stay

We spent a night in Dubai on Friday.  We lashed out at on a night's accommodation in a two bedroom apartment in a high rise building on Dubai's main strip, Sheihk Zayed Road, a road that runs straight through Dubai's heart at 14 lanes.  The buildings there are magnificent.

From all our windows we could see the highest building in the world, the Dubai Burj.  (It felt a long way from our hotel room we had in Melbourne back in October, when we were excited to have a view of the Eureka Tower.)

On Friday we spent a little time in both the Emirates Mall and at Dubai Mall before checking into our room.  We spent a bit of time wandering the section of Sheihk Zayed Road we were staying on and we were in awe of the tall buildings which line the road.  

Yesterday after breakfast in a French Cafe, we drove along the main beach road in Dubai, which takes you past the magnificent Al Arab Burj Hotel.  No matter how many times we see the building, our jaws still drop when we spy it.  It is a magnificent looking structure.  There were a few helicopters buzzing around the top of the building, looking like they were going to land on the famous heli-pad but we never did see one land.  

We didn't stop there though, our plan was to have a little closer look at the Atlantis Hotel located on the end/top of Palm Island.

It was very busy there but worth the stop to go and have a little sticky beak.  Unfortunately you couldn't get inside the hotel (not even the foyer) due to it being 'for guests' only, which is fair enough because there were a lot of people milling around.  You do get to see the little shopping area, where the ceiling is truly fabulous...

There is an adventure/water park there, which looks like a lot of fun which we may do sometime down the track.  

We made our way home via the new (but rather ordinary) Dubai Marina Mall.  The view from there was rather cool though.  (I could handle living in one of those apartments.)

That was how we spent both Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Rather memorable, wouldn't you say?  This morning Monet had me up not long after 5:30am, so I am feeling rather exhausted already.  *phew* Lucky Easter Bunny made an appearance here leaving Chocolate Eggs near the front door.  Happy Easter everyone.

To see more of my photos of our Dubai weekend, I'll be posting them onto my Flickr account soon....

Chilli Lime Chicken and Pasta

Ooo I like this recipe a lot.  It is fresh tasting, light and easy to put together.  Nice to eat on a warm summer's day...

*Taken from Women's Weekly 'Meals In Minutes', pg 54, published 1998*

Ingredients

4 (680g) chicken breast fillets

8 large cherry tomatoes

300g fresh lasagna sheets

100g baby rocket leaves, torn

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon drained capers

2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind

2 small fresh red chillies, seeded, chopped finely

Method

Cook chicken on heated oiled griddle, in batches, until browned both sides and cooked through.  Cut chicken, on the diagonal, into 1cm-thick pieces.  Cook the tomato halves, both sides, on same griddle until just soft.

Meanwhile, tear pasta into large, uneven pieces.  Cook pasta in large pan of boiling water, uncovered, until just tender; drain.

Divide pasta among serving plates; top with chicken, tomato and rocket, drizzle with combined remaining ingredients.

Serves 4

Twitter Munchies

Thanks to everyone for your kind words on my previous post!  It is nice to be able to share my news freely now and if you saw more, well there would be no hiding the fact that I am (just about) 18 weeks pregnant.  

In case you didn't know I am now a regular 'Twitter' (writer?).  (Look there on my sidebar)  If I  am not blogging at least you can see me twittering away...  It was because of me starting this, that I was contacted by an Australian Company who sell (mainly) Australian foods to those overseas.  I had commented on Dave Hughes Twitter page about not knowing 'Samboy' chips were back in Oz and available in a twin pack (very old school!)  The next thing I know I am contacted by the Great Aussie Food Company, followed by me ordering from their site.  

My parcel arrived on Thursday, less than a week after being ordered.

Two packs of Twisties and a box of BBQ Shapes - the two products we have sorely missed since leaving Australian shores.  Sure, the postage and handling cost about triple the cost of the products enclosed but by jingo ringo, it was worth it.  

I think next time I might order Cheese and Bacon balls, a couple of Chocito Bars and some Peppermint Patties....  Lyndon is a bit peeved they don't ship Marathon Dim Sims!  *heehee*

So my question to you is, if you are an ex-pat, what food items do you miss from your homeland?  If you aren't an ex-pat, what do you think you would miss if you were so?

This Ain't An April Fool's Joke...

On January 1st this year I gave up two of my favourite beverages; alcohol and Red Bull.  Not a drop has past these lips since.  Pretty good hey?  As much as I would love to have a sip of an icy cold Red Bull on a warm morning or a 'drink' at 5 o'clock, I haven't.

Not really by choice I admit.

I went cold turkey, because I found out that I was pregnant.

I am now over 17 weeks pregnant and all is going very well.  I am seeing the Head Obstetrician at a hospital in the city every four weeks, who knows my history and monitoring me well.  My 12 weeks scan went fine (a big hurdle for me) and my bloods are normal, so everything is heading in the right direction.  

We have seen our little baby on the ultrasound screen many times now and so far, so good.  It is going to be (another) big baby, as Monet was.   

My last appointment was on Saturday just past, so I don't see my Doctor again for another four weeks.  

I have already felt a bit of movement 'from within', which is always a relief.  We were told that the baby has long legs (via Saturday's ultrasound), but I don't need an ultrasound to tell me that, I have already got a little poking in the tummy region!  

We are all pretty happy around here and the friends from our street are too.  Monet has been asking many questions in regards to having a baby (literally) and having a new little person in the house.  She was awfully worried at one stage on where the baby will sleep, as we don't have a cot.  She was relieved when we said that we will go and buy a new cot.  Bless her.  I think she'll be a great helping hand for me when the time comes.  

I am hoping I survive the heat of a Middle Eastern Summer.  I was worried enough about it, not being pregnant!  Thank goodness our air conditioning is ducted into every room and works wonderfully.  

So, that my friends, is my news I have been aching to tell you all but I just wanted to make sure everything was pointing in the right direction before sharing.  

It might also explain why I haven't posted any 'beer' shots lately.  *heehee*  As no beer photos, here is a fairy photo instead...