Home Sweet Home

1 broken water pump on the truck
2 blown tires on the travel trailer, complete with body damage
3 weeks out of town
4 days spent driving home from FL to TX
Finally home in our own beds...PRICELESS!

We had a very eventful trip home from Florida and are happy to finally be here. When we pulled up in front of the house and let Bella out of the truck, she ran laps around the front yard like a steer that had just been branded. I guess 4 days in the back seat with Artem will do that to a dog. None of the RV resorts we stayed at on the way home had Internet and I missed posting my Not-Me Monday which I had planned to vehemently deny receiving candy nipple tassels for Christmas from my always-thinking-of-me husband. As soon as we get settled in I'll get you updated on that story, as I'm sure none of you will want to miss that and my mother will probably appreciate an explanation.

Favorite Things Friday...A Day Late

My friend Tiffany started a Favorite Things Friday on her blog and I've been meaning to get on board and join in the fun. Since I haven't posted Disney pictures yet or Christmas pictures, I thought I would do a picture post and combine them with both events. In a nutshell, I'm lazy.

1. I love Artem's smile. His whole face lights up when he smiles and he always has so much expression on his face. People tell us all the time how animated he is and how much expression he has.


2. I love my thrill seeker. Artem loves to ride rides at amusement parks and is not content with the little rides. He wants to go fast and he wants to go high. He cried when he couldn't get in the wind tunnel and skydive with Randy and now when he watches Randy fly his powered para glider he tells me, "sky?" and points into the sky and nods his head "yes" like he wants me to tell him that he can go in the sky with daddy.

3. I love how friendly Artem is. He waived at all the people watching the carousel as if he were a rock star and they were all there to see him.

4. I love my littlest race car driver. Artem loved "driving" the cars at Disney but could not see over the dashboard but Randy said he looked out the side of the car when he was steering. I would love to return to Disney when Artem is 16 or so and see how tall he is at that time. I have a feeling he'll be towering over mama. I have a picture of me sitting with my father on a bench at Knott's Berry Farm when I was about Artem's age and we went back when I was in high school and recreated the same picture on the same bench. I would love to do that with Artem.

5. I love how my son can sleep through the loudest parades. Artem has no interest in the characters at Disney so we decided it would be a good time for him to take a nap. I thought we might get 10-15 minutes out of him but to our surprise he slept through the ENTIRE parade and beyond, despite having front row seats and being so close to all the noise.

6. I love how Artem always wants to read. We were waiting for Randy to bring our truck around the house to load up to see family for Christmas Eve and Artem took a minute to read a book. Whenever it gets quiet in the house, I can always find Artem and Bella in his room reading books. It's something I hope to foster in him for a long time.

7. I love Artem's sense of style and how he's not afraid to wear his sunglasses at night. Lately he's learned to put his hand in his pocket and he looked like such a big boy in this outfit. All he needed was a pocket full of change and he could jingle it like the old men do at church.

8. I love how excited Artem gets when he opens presents. He opened up a tractor on Christmas day and he squealed, "Oh WOW!!" The whole room started to laugh at his innocence and excitement.

9. I love footed Christmas jammies pulled snug over toddler pot bellies and diapered bottoms. It makes me smile when I watch Artem shimmy down the hallway to bed with his little rump shaking side to side.

10. I love being a mom to this incredible little boy. This was the best Christmas and it would not have been possible without the love of my little guy. Being his mom was my favorite present this Christmas.

Not Me Monday

I've been quietly following McMama's blog for quite some time now and have finally decided to get on board with "Not Me Monday".

*I did NOT spend my whole day with my underwear on inside out. I'm always wondering how I could spend 10+ years in front of a classroom full of children and run it with smooth, steady efficiency. But I become a stay-at-home-mom to take care of ONE child and I can't even get myself together enough to put my underwear on the right way!!

*I did NOT go to the mall for some much needed "mommy needs to get away by herself for awhile b/c she's one phone call away from the nuthouse" time to shop for ME and come home with more stuff for Artem than I bought for myself. But in my defense...have you seen the new tractor line by Gymboree?? I rest my case.

*I did NOT grab my camera first to document the partial beheading of Mrs. Snowman while Artem and I decorated a gingerbread house before attempting to rescue the first lady of cold.


*I did NOT just polish off a medium sized bag of frozen almond M&M's while enjoying the silence of a house with a sleeping two year old and a snoozing Labrador inside. Nope, not me!

Christmas Card Carousel

I love receiving Christmas cards, especially the cards with pictures on them. I save them and put them on my refrigerator so I can look at them all year. I'm always amazed at all the talent people have that design Christmas cards, which is why I turn to my friend Katie for our cards. I know my strengths and weaknesses and designing Christmas cards is NOT one of my strengths.



My friend Tiffany had a link on her blog for a Christmas Card Carousel at Faith's blog and thought it would be fun to share our card. For those of you that aren't regular followers of our blog, Randy works in United Arab Emirates, and Artem and I split our time between our home in Texas and our home in Abu Dhabi with daddy. We attended our first (and last??) camel auction this year and were shopping one day in Dubai when Randy found these camel hats. They screamed "Christmas Card Photo" to me and the rest is photography history.


(click to enlarge)

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's....Daddy!!!

Our family has been in the Tampa area for the past week enjoying the incredible Florida weather while the rest of the nation seems to be gripped by some ugly, cold weather. Randy's latest toy is a powered para glider and after waiting several years to be able to own his own, he finally got his toy this week and has been busy everyday learning how to fly the glider.

Artem and daddy feeding bread to the fish:


Artem and I joined Randy on the bay today to see him fly. I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before Artem is wanting to join daddy in the sky.

The engine that powers Randy's para glider:

Randy preps the engine before he attaches the wing:

There he goes! Randy said he saw bottle nose dolphin and lots of huge fish in the ocean.

Artem spent his time collecting shells and stuffing them in his pockets:

Our time in Tampa comes to an end tomorrow and we are returning to Randy's parent's house for Christmas. But before Santa makes his arrival, we'll make a stop at Disney World on Friday and have a day at the Magic Kingdom. I know Artem won't have anything to do with the characters so I've given up on seeing him with Mickey, but Artem LIVES for thrill rides and I can't wait to see him on the rides.

Kreative Blogger Award

So my buddy Tiffany awarded me with the Kreative Blogger Award back on November 30th and I'm just now getting around to posting it. I'd like her to believe that I'm holding out until she adds my name to her "Frequently Visited Websites" on the right hand side of her blog (HINT HINT HINT) but the real reason I haven't posted about it yet is more along the lines of returning to the states, parents visiting, packing for trip to Florida, Christmas shopping, chasing after a two year old, etc.

So without further delay, here are the rules for the Kreative Blogger Award:

List six things that make you happy. Pass the award along to six more bloggers. Do not give the typical answers and go for the less obvious, as you all know that family, friends, God, etc would be on the list.

1. Flannel makes me happy. Anything flannel. Flannel jammies, flannel sheets, flannel shirts (okay so that one is a bit redneck), flannel lounge pants. Love it all.

2. It makes me happy when Artem dances. The boy has a terrible case of "white boy" syndrome, just like his mother, but what he lacks in rhythm and style, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

3. Travelling makes me happy. I'm not content to look at pictures in a magazine, I want to see the real thing. I'm lucky to have a husband that loves to travel and a son that doesn't mind being on the go.

4. Sunroofs and 75 degree days make me happy. I put in my favorite "Best of the 80's" cd and sing my little heart out.

5. It makes me happy when Randy calls me "Sugar...Baby Cakes". He's done it since we started dating and it always makes me smile.

6. Green lights when I'm in a hurry make me very, very happy!!

Now I must award 6 creative bloggers:

1. Katie

2. Melissa

3. Karyn

4. Ondrea

5. Alexis

6. Rachel

Good Clean Fun

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel today and I was looking through their classic toy section and found a whoopi cushion. I have never had a whoopi cushion before and couldn't pass up the opportunity to have some fun with Artem and fake farts. I'm sure the stern Russian judges would just LOVE seeing this video and what we've done with one of their children!! ha ha

Planes, Trains, and Grandparents

There's no place like home! It is so good to be back on US soil. Artem and I flew home just in time for Thanksgiving. Artem did a good job on the flight home except he only slept 5 hours of the 16 hour flight so I had to keep him entertained for the remaining 11 hours. I'm not ashamed to say that I put the head phones on Artem and played "Dora the Explorer" on the airplane TV as many times as I could get him to watch it. I think I may have over done it though, as it looks like Artem is now in love with a little Mexican girl with a bowl cut hairdo. After a 16 hour flight, 5 hour layover in Atlanta, and another 2 hour flight to our town, Artem announced to the plane full of people as we waited to deboard, "All done, no more, airplane, no more!!" I hear ya little buddy.

As soon as we got home my parents arrived the next day to spend two weeks with us. Randy wasn't home for Thanksgiving this year which meant that I had to deep fry the turkey on my own, not my specialty, but it turned out pretty good. My father helped, but he had never deep fried a turkey before and I think I scared him when I was getting everything ready and brought out the fire extinguisher. Purely a preventative measure. Artem enjoyed his first Thanksgiving and ate all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes but I think he had the most fun with the black olives.

My father is a HUGE train fanatic so I surprised him with a 3 hour train ride through the Texas Hill Country. Artem is a big fan of "choo choos" as well and both of them had a great time on the train ride. Three hours was just the right amount of time to take Artem on his first train ride and something we would definitely do again.

Randy arrived home on December 2nd and is on vacation until January 8th. We have a few days here in Texas and we'll be on the road again, this time to Tampa, FL. Randy bought a powered para glider (PPG) and is picking it up and getting flying lessons in Tampa. We are taking our travel trailer to Tampa and I booked a nice spot in a RV park on the beach, so while daddy is flying, Artem and mommy will be hanging out on the beach, (crossing fingers for good weather) and spending time in the heated pool. They are forecasted to have sun and mid 70's while we are overcast and 48 degrees right now. We are SUPER excited to go to Tampa because we are going to see Ariana and her family. Ariana and Artem were both at the Fryazino orphanage together so it will be fun getting both of them together again. After a week in Tampa, we'll head to Randy's parent's house north of Orlando to spend Christmas with them. And what would a trip to Orlando be without a visit to Disney World?? We are planning on visiting the magic kingdom on the 19th and are looking forward to Artem's first experience with Disney. The boy LOVES thrill rides, so we are sure he will have a good time there.

Christmas will be so different this year for us now that Artem is part of our family and we can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning. Before we left Abu Dhabi we were at the mall and found a 5 foot tall dancing Santa. Artem was very leery at first but after a few minutes warmed up to Santa and started dancing and clapping to his pre-recorded Christmas carols. It was such a cute scene until a little Emirate girl walked up to Santa and knocked Santa's head off. Artem looked a little traumatized after witnessing Santa's decapitation so hopefully enough time has passed since the beheading and Artem will be ready to see Santa again.

Lastly, I have had a few people leave comments about how I get the background paper on the blog. I have not forgotten about you, I've just been busy getting back to the US and having company but I wanted to leave a link for people that would like to try to customize their blogs. I have found Suzzane's directions EXTREMELY helpful and easy to understand when customizing my blog and hopefully she'll be able to help you with your blogs too.

Dubai x's Two

Our little man turned two this past weekend and we went to Dubai to celebrate Artem's birthday. I love Dubai, it's completely different than Abu Dhabi and I feel like a rock star when we go there. We went to Dubai back in October for my birthday and stayed at Le Meridien on the beach and really enjoyed the resort. Our low-end-cheap-poor-people room wasn't available at the time, so they upgraded us to a huge corner room with gorgeous views.

This time our low-end-cheap-poor-people room was ready and there would be no upgrades to the rock star room, but nonetheless, we still had a great view of the ocean, and the UAE jet ski races were taking place this weekend and it gave us a great place to watch the races.

I don't know why it is my fate in life to be surrounded by a series of "unfortunate events". The last time we went to Dubai, I wanted a massage for my birthday present. Randy booked the massage for me and watched Artem while I was gone. It was an 85 minute "Heavenly Massage" and I was told to get there 30 minutes prior so I could fill out health paperwork and enjoy the amenities of the spa. I don't know about you, but when I get a massage, I hate it when my legs aren't shaved and I can feel the stubble bending backwards as they work my legs. I splurged that morning and used a brand new razor so I could relax and not worry about my stubble. Razor stubble was going to be the least of my worries. I got there early, completed my paperwork and was then taken to the women's dressing area. The sweet girl told me, in very broken English, to get undressed and use the spa, sauna, jacuzzi, etc while I wait. She handed me a key to a locker and turned and left. The spa was VERY nice, straight from "High Roller" magazine and was impeccably clean but clearly lacking any privacy for changing. I looked all around but couldn't find anywhere private to change. I was trying to size up the locker and see if it was possible for me to fit inside of it to change when two older British ladies came in and immediately begin to disrobe right.in.front.of.me! I was trying to act cool and pretend like it was no big deal to see two 50+ year old British women buck naked right in front of me, but that song from Sesame Street kept going through my head, "one of these kids is not like the other, one of these kids just doesn't belong..." I finally retreated to the toilet and changed into my robe and came out holding my head in a, "I-just-had-to-pee-otherwise-I-would-have-changed-right-here-in-front-of-you-ladies" kind of look and made my way across the waiting area and into the jacuzzi area. As I got ready to sit down I reached behind me to gather my over sized robe and felt a void in the tush area and immediately got the sick realization that my robe was tucked into the back of my undies and I had just walked in front of the waiting patrons including 50+ year old British ladies that were nude in front of me two minutes prior. Nicely done Susan. Without giving you too many details regarding the rest of my massage, suffice it to say that they do things a little differently here in the middle east and no one told me that my petite masseuse would hand me what I initially thought was waded up dental floss but to my dismay ended up being a disposable thong that I had to wear so she could have full access to the area that I had just flashed to a room full of ladies five minutes prior. This painfully modest girl has decided she likes to the toned down massages of the US rather than the "all access pass" massages here in UAE, thank you very much.

So I tell you about that misfortunate event because even though it was traumatic, I still had a fantastic weekend in Dubai and couldn't wait to return for Artem's birthday this weekend. Upon arriving in Dubai this weekend I wanted to wash my face when we arrived as we were getting ready to go out to eat, and as I was washing my face, I reached for the first towel I could find. As I was using the towel, I thought to myself, "wow, this is really soft for a hotel towel" and started to look it over for the manufacturer's tag and noticed big letters embossed on the towel, T E D I B, "hmm that's strange, Le Meridien doesn't have a T or a B in it" and it finally hits me, that T E D I B is bidet spelled backwards and I just used the towel intended to dry one's nether regions on my face. No wonder it was so soft. Again, nicely done Susan.

But despite drying my face with the bidet towel, we had a nice weekend planned in Dubai to celebrate Artem's birthday. It was our intention all along to take Artem to Ski Dubai at the Emirates Mall but found out a few days before the trip that children under three years old are not allowed to enter. BUMMER! So we decided to take Artem to the aquarium that opened two weeks ago at the brand new Dubai Mall. Apparently half the population of Dubai decided to go that night too as it was so crowded we could barely walk around. The line to the aquarium snaked around like the entrance to Space Mountain and we knew there was no way Artem would be able to wait in that long line so after watching the fish and sharks from the viewing area, we decided to call it a night and head back to the resort. We ended up eating ice cream by the pool and looking for the moon, two of Artem's favorite things to do.

We did get to spend some time at the pool over the weekend and Artem gave his new floaties a try. In the past I've used floaties with Artem but he ends up face first in the water because he can't keep his bottom in the water. This time was much better and not only did he keep his tush down, but he figured out how to right himself when he got turned upside down and was able to kick enough to propel him to the side of the pool. We were so proud of him and finally had to pull him out for a break as he was severely puckered and his lips were starting to quiver from being cold.

When we were at the Emirates Mall on Thursday night, Randy found the funniest hats and he couldn't resist buying them. Do you think the good folks at Strasburg Clothing had this accessory in mind when designing the birthday jumpsuit??

Despite the obstacles we faced this weekend, we had another good weekend in Dubai and we think our birthday boy enjoyed himself too. Happy birthday little buddy!

Anniversary Surprise

This Tuesday Randy and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage and every year I worry and fuss over what gift to give him. I was determined to surprise him this year with something really cool which was not easy to do while living in a foreign country and not really knowing my way around. I scored major brownie points with this year's gift that I gave Randy on Friday...a skydive experience ! I know, nothing says, "thank you for 8 wonderful years" like hurling your man out of an airplane, but this one utilizes a wind tunnel instead of an airplane and is safer for the first timer.

The wind tunnel:

Randy did awesome and the instructor could not believe that is was really Randy's first time with skydiving. The bottom of the skydive tunnel was made of thick glass and Artem and I were able to sit and watch Randy and take pictures. His first session was 2 minutes long and the instructor helped him get the hang of things and then he had a two minute wait while another man took his turn. After that man was finished the instructor quickly briefed Randy on new things to try and Randy got back in for the rest of his session and did everything the instructor showed him. He was a pro and the instructor actually left the tunnel and stood at the entrance because Randy was doing so well.

Artem gave Randy some "have fun" kisses for his skydive. This picture melts my heart:

Randy skydiving:

Artem was fascinated with skydiving and was VERY upset that he could not get in the wind tunnel, you have to be at least 3 years old, but was very satisfied when Randy gave Artem his used ear plugs as a consolation prize. Not only was he happy to wear them, but he wore them for the rest of the night and on into dinner. Lucky mommy and daddy!! If only everything in life could be smoothed over with some used ear plugs...

Daddy's used ear plugs...SWEET!

Having a little snack with his used ear plugs:

Going to dinner with his used ear plugs:

STILL wearing the used ear plugs, see how dark it is outside?

9-1-1 Transcripts Released

Operator: 9-1-1 what is your emergency?

Frazzled Mom: I'd like to report that my son has been stolen...

Operator: Stolen? Are you saying someone took your child?

Frazzled Mom: Yes ma'am, that's what I'm saying, someone stole my son Artem.

Operator: Can you describe the child?

Frazzled Mom: He's two years old next week, 33 inches tall, 30+ pounds, brown hair, hazel/green eyes, adorable fat cheeks and dimples on his elbows. He smiles non-stop, charms the pants off of everyone around him, and answers to Artem, Doodlebug, Doodle-licious...

Operator: (Squad car #7715 we have a 3-11 in progress, please respond immediately) Ma'am, we are going to get someone out to your house right away, I've already dispatched the police.

Frazzled Mom: Will their car have a baby seat inside of it?

Operator: Excuse me? Did you want to know if there was a baby seat in the patrol car?

Frazzled Mom: Yes, ma'am. I need to make sure there is a baby seat in the patrol car so they can take this child that is in my house from me and make sure he gets to his rightful parents.

Operator: Ma'am, I'm confused...

Frazzled Mom: Yes, me too, whoever broke into our house and stole our sweet natured, adorable chunky butt of a little boy, left behind a screaming, hitting, "NO" yelling, tantrum-throwing little monster in his place and I need him out of here...

Operator: (cancel car #7715, you can return to your post) Uh ma'am, no one stole your child, the monster in front of you IS your child, he's just turning two and is going at it with guns a blazing!!

Frazzled Mom: Well in that case can you still send the patrol car out for me? I think I'm going to need to take a drive for awhile!

Trick or Treat...almost

I think one of the greatest joys of parenting is being able to dress your child up in an adorable, although uncomfortable, Halloween costume and parade them around the neighborhood for everyone to oohh and aahh over. The compliments on how cute your kid is somewhat makes up for the 16 trips to the naughty spot they will make the next day as you try to bring them down from their sugar high. Since I didn't give birth to Artem I don't have any of those, "I labored 3 weeks for you" kind of stories to threaten him with but I did fight US Immigration tooth and nail for his paperwork so that has to count for something and I was ready to use my trump card to get him into his heavy, somewhat constrictive, but oh so cute dinosaur Halloween costume.

I had been warned to bring a costume from the states as there wouldn't be many available here in UAE and I schlepped that thing across the Atlantic waiting for the big day that Artem could wear the over-priced, over-stuffed costume for an hour and collect a bounty of candy for his mother to eat, pardon me, for Artem to eat. Since arriving in Abu Dhabi the end of September, I've been promised over and over again that the weather is going to start getting "really" nice. I'm not sure what your definition of "really" nice is, but to me, 100+ degrees with 90% humidity in the middle of October is not "really" nice and I started having second thoughts about putting Artem in his costume. The week before Halloween I decided not to do trick or treating for Artem since it would be so hot and there was absolutely no sign of Halloween anywhere in this town. No pumpkins, no ghosts, no bats, nothing to indicate that Halloween was coming. I realize we aren't in the states but there is a HUGE expat population here in UAE and I figured there would at least be a smidgen of Halloween for them.

Halloween morning we were on our way to the beach, yes the beach and yes on Oct 31st, when we got a call that someone from Randy's work was going to have a Halloween party and we should bring Artem so he could trick or treat. Before the party we put Artem in his costume and he looked A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. but was not having anything to do with it. After only a few seconds of wearing it, he told us, "all done" and that was that. So I dressed him in his skeleton tee shirt that his aunt Amy bought him and we left for the party, but I brought the costume along just in case. Once Artem saw the other kids at the party getting dressed up he started taking an interest in what they were doing. Kids started coming to the door and yelling "trick or treat" and Artem loved watching them. I asked him if he wanted to get his bag and go trick or treating and he got very excited and said, "yes". I asked if he wanted to wear his dinosaur costume and he quickly told me, "NO" and shook his head. Okay 1 out of 2 isn't bad, so I grabbed his spider bag and out we went.

Ready to Trick or Treat:

Artem says: TREAT!


Artem didn't really understand the concept at first. He would say "treat" when he got to the door but didn't think much of the candy in his bag, (Artem isn't allowed to eat candy of any kind so it didn't mean anything to him) and was more interested in going into the houses that we went to. After about the 4th house, he stopped trying to go inside and started getting excited about all the stuff they were putting in his bag and he started to strut his stuff around the compound looking for the next house to go to. Everyone still ohhed and ahhed over him but part of me was a little sad that he wouldn't wear his costume, especially since it was the ONLY dinosaur we saw that night; ballerinas, Spider Man, and witches seem to be the hot costume here in Abu Dhabi. But despite my son being sans costume, we still had a good time trick or treating and he enjoyed his first taste of mini M&M's, while I enjoyed his Twix bars.

Artem's very first house:

Artem can't quite figure out why that lady just put a bunch of stuff in his bag:

After trick or treating, the party got into full swing and Artem came to life. I think I've mentioned before that Artem loves music and loves to dance. Our son WAS the party and people ended up standing around him on the "dance floor" watching him shake his groove thing and cheering him on. A few ladies tried to dance with him, but he said, "no" and came running for me. That's my boy! By 9:00 p.m. we called it a night and took our little dancing machine home to be put to bed so mama could enjoy the fruits of her son's labor...Halloween chocolate!

Our dancing machine:

Doing a somersault on the dance floor, I told you he has moves!

Happy Halloween!