Here’s the problem. I clearly have a full diaper. But I still have to tap my butt like a baby to let Mom know. So what does she do? She says in a sweet voice, “Do you need a new diaper?” No, I just like tapping my butt. Yes, lady! I’m carrying around 10 hours worth of pee here. Geesh! It’s like a water balloon. Help! So we walk hand-in-hand, just in case she forgets what she’s doing or loses her way, and I lead her into my bedroom. I walk over to the dresser. Trying to keep her attention, I point to the stash of diapers. Focus lady! She lifts me up and lays me down. She takes off my Mickey pajamas and then finally removes the water balloon I’ve been lugging around. Whew! Then she grabs a vroom-vroom pull-up. No, not that one! She asks, “You don’t want this one?” What did I just say, lady? Then she stands me up and tries to get me to step into the vroom-vroom pull-up. I said no! She asks if I want the Elmo diaper. Yeah, sure. So she lays me down again. Wait, no not the Elmo diaper! Stop! Again she asks, “You don’t want this one?” What did I just say, lady? No! Yuck and double yuck. Vroom-vroom, clearly. So she finally gets the right one. Then I point and tell her I want to put it on while lying on my bed. But no, the queen-of-all-things has the audacity to say, “No, we’ll change you here.” But I wanted to stand and step into it! Finally she lets me stand and get dressed like I want to. Then she puts me down! Can you believe it? And she opens my drawer and says, “Pick out your clothes for today.” Like I can do that? “Do you want me to pick them out?” Yes, please! Wait! I want the Mickey t-shirt. Let me find it. This one, now help me put it on. Wait! I hate that t-shirt, what are you doing to me? Get it off! This is one I want. Yes. Now shorts. Wrong ones! Not those! Hate and double hate those. You’re doing it all wrong! Let me pick them out, geesh! Now help me, lady! No, don’t pull them up! I can do that. You did it wrong! I didn’t get to do it! Do it over, do it over! Take them off! Wait, she’s leaving. She’s walking out the door. She’s abandoning me forever. What did I do? Why does she hate me so much? Oh, good, she’s coming back. Now dry my tears and carry me so I can rest my head on your shoulder. Wait! I need my puppy. No, don’t put me down and tell me to get my puppy! Hold me and go get him! Okay, have puppy, have shoulder to wipe nose on. This was exhausting. I hope this was just a phase she’s going through.
Bahrain? Huh.
An Egyptian friend of mine who has lived here for years told me that when her husband announced they were moving to Bahrain she asked, “So… where exactly is Bahrain?” It’s not an unusual response. Most people know it’s in the Middle East… maybe. But that’s about as far as folks get. So let me help you out.
Bahrain is an island in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. It’s to the east of Saudi Arabia, southwest of Iran, and northwest of Qatar, which is northwest of United Arab Emirates where Dubai is and where parts of “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and "Fast and Furious 7" were filmed. Clear now?
It has a population over 1.2 million, however half of those are non-nationals. It’s listed as the 23rd smallest country in the world encompassing just 780 square kilometers (301 square miles). It measures approximately 31 miles long and just 11 miles wide. Essentially it is one-third the size of Rhode Island. Yup, it’s small.
It’s made up of a bunch of islands, with the main and largest island known as Bahrain Island. Researching on Wikipedia (only the best will do) I was surprised to learn that they claim over 80 islands, including many artificial (“reclaimed”) islands. Love those little facts.
When I first saw the shape of Bahrain it reminded me of photos I’d seen of Martha Graham in her Lamentation dance. You decide.
Bahrain has an extensive history, dating back to the Bronze Age (4000 BC) when it was home to the Dilmun civilization. It is believed to be one of the oldest civilizations in the Middle East and artifacts from the Dilmun era are still being excavated.
It has had a litany of rulers including Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Portugal (for 80 years in the 1500s), then back to Persia, Oman, and eventually Great Britain in 1860. During the second World War, Bahrain declared their support for Great Britain and conducted a fund drive and was able to raise enough money to purchase 10 fighter planes for the RAF. But it wasn’t until August of 1971, that Bahrain was finally able to declare its independence.
Economically, it’s lucky that it has oil and natural gas, because less than 3% of its land is farmable. As much as 92% of it is desert and I can speak personally that dust storms are a regular annoyance and health hazard. Temperatures range from the low 60s in “winter” up to 130+ in the high heat of summer.
It might not be the hot-spot to visit in the Gulf, but as a place to live and raise young kids, we're really happy. There are days we wake up and feel like we're living at a country club, and there are other days we are reminded we're living in a dust-worn desert. Either way, it's always sunny in Bahrain!
Kitchens, Castles, and TeePees (oh my!)
When we first arrived in Bahrain, before all our stuff arrived, I asked my then-four-year-old what she’d like made out of the boxes. In Jordan, she asked for a library (with loaner kittens and a Jacuzzi). Amazingly, our library made out of two large moving boxes, lots of duck tape and some paint, lasted over two years! So I wasn’t sure what to expect this time. When she asked for a gas station I can honestly say I never would have guessed that. So, my first project was to make a gas station for our three Cozy Coupes (yup, three of those suckers). Thanks to the gods of Pinterest, I whipped one up pretty quickly. A bit bare bones, but it functioned as required.
Next was a kitchen. My first cardboard kitchen in Jordan I went all out with design, paper maché, recycled plastic knob caps, paint, etc. The knob caps lasted about 2 days before being pulled off. But everything else lasted almost three years. I did that in the pre-babies nesting craze and everyone enjoyed it for the years to come.
This time around, I had three little ones vying for space, so I re-designed it to make it larger, modular and with more surface area. I also made the design and decorations a lot more simple. No paint, no shelves, no paper maché this time. Just white duck tape to cover things up, a thick black marker, an exacto knife, and a piece of fabric.
Initially I did try to make my own faucets out of plastic bottles for the sink (which was a plastic basin just resting in the hole), but those were quickly ripped off. So I opted to buy a Little Tykes toy sink (which fit in the hole perfectly) and a bag of stove knobs that I jury-rigged using bolts and large washers so they could actually be spun. I thought about having an oven that opened, but decided against it, drew it on and just went with the under-the-sink area.
For added insanity, I also made a microwave and a fridge. I had this vision of all the play food being neatly stacked in the fridge. Silly, Mommy. I think the empty fridge will be re-purposed soon.
To follow on from the "library" in Jordan, I thought maybe we’d try a castle this time. The issue I found was that the moving boxes we now had in Bahrain, were not the same type we had in Jordan. They were smaller and less sturdy. Which meant I needed to be a little more creative. I managed to do three castle parts that I then attempted to tape and glue together. I did some simple cut-out windows, some battlements, a glued-on red velvet “door” and some simple sponge-painted bricks for effect.
The kids enjoyed it (so did the cats), but because it wasn’t as sturdy as our library, and after a few run-ins with bigger kids who liked to climb out the window, we saw it collapsing into ruins after about 9 months. Recently one night, seeing parts lying flat on the ground, I dragged the pieces out to the trash and bid farewell.
Okay… so next project? Well, we were coming up on a double three-year-old birthdays, so I started poking about on the devil’s playground, also known as Pinterest. And I found it! TeePees!!
I spent a few days looking at pictures and mentally designing it in my head. Then I had it. So after school drop-off one morning, I drove over to my pvc-guy. That’s normal, right? I wandered into the small sanitary-ware shop and found the same guy who helped me last time. I told him I wanted more pvc (I’m still finishing up the first project: cat beds). So I followed him back outside into the 108+ temps, and we walked down the side alley. Back in the US, I probably would not have felt comfortable following a man into a dusty side alley, but I’ve lived in the Middle East long enough to know that all good things are in back dusty alleys. Same was true here; the pvc stash.
All the pipes were 3 meters long (almost 10 feet). He got one out for me but I felt it might be too thin and wobbly, so I asked for a thicker one. This was perfect! I asked how much it was. Wiping off the thick brown layer of dust so he could see the numbers, he made a quick phone call and then told me it was 900 fils (about $2.30). I told him I’d like four. So he pulled them out, and then taking a filthy rag, kindly dusted them off (sort of). He tied them together with thin wire and then carried them to my car. So for less than $10 I had my teepee frame!
With some help and a step-ladder, and far too much input from an obnoxious Bahraini kitten, I managed to get the basic frame put up using large zip-ties. Then I had to find a covering. I first tried an old queen-sized sheet, but it just wasn’t big enough. So either I was going to have to do some cutting and sewing, or I needed to find another solution.
The solution came in a queen-sized comforter cover we didn’t use anymore. I sliced it open down two sides and essentially just wrapped it around. It’s far from perfect, with yards of fabric pooling on one side, and a split zipper on two sides. But I did sew up the two “door” sides to make them less tatty.
I then used scissors to cut little holes on either side of the poles and tied ribbons around them to secure the sheet in place. I also threaded ribbon through the top of the doorway to close it a bit.
With the old comforter in place as bedding, and some fairy lights that I had a local electrician add a toggle switch to, we were all set!
It’s not nearly as Pinterest-picture-perfect as I would have liked, but considering my time and brain constraints, I’m happy with it. And even better, the kiddos like it, too. And who knows, I just might opt to curl up in there with a book and a cup of tea one morning while the munchkins are at school; providing I can nudge over one of the cats, that is.
The Fairest Piñata of All
There are moments when I have a good idea. Lately these are few and far between, so when they happen I have extra appreciation (with a little added self-fanfare for effect).
My recent good idea came in the aftermath of my five-year-old's birthday party. Since I was running with the party-planning momentum, I planned out the upcoming double third birthday party I'd be having in a few months. One of the big hits from my five-year-old's birthday was a piñata. I opted for the string-pull piñata instead of the whack-a-mole version and it was a hit.
While still reeling from the high following the five-year-old's party I found myself looking at DIY piñatas for the next party. Thankfully Pinterest saved the day and scrolled this across my screen: a punch box!
I liked the string piñata, but I had two minor issues with it. One was that I had to basically pull and shake out all of the goodies inside as the hole opening just wasn't doing it. And two, was that inevitably some of the smaller kids didn't get much. So I found myself going around and pilfering from one five-year-old to give to a three-year-old and such. With the idea of a punch box, however, they would all get the exact same thing. The fairness fairy in me was delighted.
I had everything I needed, large cardboard box, some cups, and tissue paper. But of course, I couldn't just do it that way, I needed to make things a little more difficult. I decided to fill the cups with chocolate coins, little cars, and blinking rings (to go with our princesses and cars theme). And in order to assure that everyone got the exact same things, I decided to color code it.
In addition to my three kids, we were inviting seven friends. This meant 10 kids with each kid having their own individual color. Then each kid would have 3 cups to punch, which meant I needed 30 cups and 10 different colors of tissue paper. No problem.
Step one was deciding the layout with the cups.
Then tracing the cups so the holes could be cut out. I needed to make sure that the holes were slightly smaller than the cup openings, but not too small. Had to make sure that little hands could still get in there.
Next was wrapping time. Depending on what box you use, you could either paint it, wrap it, or just leave it as is. I opted to wrap it in paper. Which also meant that I needed to cut out the holes again as well. *sigh*
Next I needed to get my tissue paper, cut out three squares of each color, and then randomly tape them down.
Finally it was time to fill the cups. I made sure there were 10 cups with chocolate coins, 10 cups with racing cars, and 10 cups with flashing rings.
Then I proceeded to flip them over and tape them down. It was a great way to use up a lot of miscellaneous tape we had lying around.
Finally, because I wanted to make sure the cups didn't fall off once the box was upright, I layered the back of the box with bubble wrap to put some pressure on the cups and keep them stable. Then seal it all in!
Looks rather simple when you write it out. However, the fact that I had to do it in tiny stages and it therefore took me several weeks to complete isn't surprising. Hopefully others will be more efficient and less interrupted.
All in all, it was a huge hit at the birthday party (and with my inner fairness fairy) and I would definitely recommend it.
Beaches, Beaches, Beaches in Bahrain
Being an island, and having 100 miles of coastline, you might think that Bahrain is just one big beach. This is not quite true. However, there are useable beaches and we are slowly seeking them out. One of our favorites remains the public beach at Budaiya Beach Park/Al Budaiya Park (coordinates: 26.208530, 50.446891). It's not pristine, but it's close enough. And considering we have three non-swimmers currently, its warm shallow calm waters are ideal for us. It's also rarely packed. Even on weekends, when families come out in droves, there is still plenty of space.
During a recent weekend down south, we happened to take a wrong turn and came across Al Jazayer/Jazayir beach. It was right on the coast and we could see small white caps and the water was exceptionally blue. We did a quick reconnaissance from the car to confirm that it appeared to be a public beach and made a mental note to return another day.
A week later, "another day" arrived. Since it was about half an hour from home, we thoroughly packed the car to the gills with swim gear, floaties, beach toys, towels and some more towels, clothes and some more clothes, sunhats, sunscreen, travel potty, and enough food and water to keep everyone alive for several days. We drove down, parked in the public lot, and dragged all of our gear and kids to the water.
The first thing I noticed was that the water was filled with lots of happy splashers.
The second thing I noticed was that there was no gear anywhere on the beach. There were a few public pergola-style concrete structures, there was a sun-beaten playground, there was a sun-beaten convenience store and there was one family huddled in the shade of the shop with some stuff.
But no piles of towels or coolers or people sitting in the sun. Where was all the stuff? I felt a bit like a hobo family with all of our gear. But we set everything down in a pile and got everybody ready to swim.
With floaties strapped on, we waddled down to the water's edge and found ourselves standing on a very pebbly beach. Not at all comfortable. We tried to go in a little farther but it just wasn't going to happen with three kids yelling to be picked up. So after a quick conference, we waddled back to our pile of gear, hefted everything back up again and shuffled back to the car having decided to instead go to our favorite beach in Budaiya (and made a mental note to get everyone water shoes).
Just to ensure this wasn't a completely wasted trip, we took advantage of the ice cream trucks milling about the parking lot. My husband, however, did not inquire as to the size he was purchasing. He walked back to the car and I asked, "Where are the ice creams?" He said, "They'll deliver them here." I was instantly worried. And it turns out, rightly so. The ice cream truck lumbered up to us and started handing out cups of ice cream holding five scoops each! It was more ice cream than my kids had seen in their entire lives. They were thrilled!
We finished our sugar implosion, dribbled it all over the car for posterity, hastily wiped as much sugary goo off the children and piled ourselves back in. We drove all the way home and then another two miles back to our favorite beach.
So, it was a misadventure with a good ending. We will continue in our beach explorations, however next time we might come wearing water shoes and (somehow) carrying less gear and maybe we’ll even share ONE ice cream. Stay tuned!
