So yesterday was Saturday. We got up early and took a trip as a family to the grocery store/mall. It was cool having the fellas join me for a change, especially G3. You know he's getting to the age where he would much rather be alone in his room than hang out with his amazingly awesome parents.....actually come to think of it, he's always been a loner! Hee hee hee. I have no problem with it. He is is own person. He knows what he likes and doesn't like.
So we got home put away our things and got settled in for the rest of the day. I was stretched out on the couch, Ville was on the lap top sitting in the chair, and G3....was in his room! As I started to dose back off, I hear our door open......and in walks a rather small human. Blonde hair, blue eyes, looking down at the electronic device he held in his small palms. As the door was opening, I could see Ville rising from his seat at the same time saying, " Hey, can I-" When we both saw who was standing there we both were like WTH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? DUDE! WHAT IS HAPPENING? He just stands there for a minute, looks at us and turns back around. CLEARLY, Lil Wolfgang (not his name) was in the wrong flat!! Ville follows him asking, "where's your dad?" I was to shocked to pay any attention to what his response was. My husband, "The Teacher" (always in teacher mode when kids are around) follows him out, down the hall to the other couple of flats on the first floor. They eventually made it out the front doors, down the sidewalk and back down along the back walk path. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD.
DISCLAIMER: I am not my husband! Let me just put this out there. Those who know me WELL, and I mean REALLY WELL, know that I woulda sent him out my door and told him to go find his people on his own. I don't do kids. I'm not mean. I just don't do other peoples kids. My days at Alpha Montessori are in the PAST!! I loved it while it lasted it, but I am a different person now. I have patience for a choice few of children that are not mine. Chances are they are only the ones who belong to those who follow this blog. Don't get me wrong, Tam love the kids......just not all the kids! You feel me?
So, I'm standing outside waiting for him to return. He comes walking down the side walk, grinning and shaking his head and says, " you betta blog about this!" Turns out Lil Wolfgang (again, NOT his name) had walked away from a cookout his parents were attending at a flat not far from ours. Upon seeing Ville walking behind him they say, " Oh, there you are!" Ville was like, "yeah, he kinda wandered into our place mistakenly." They were like, "oh okay." UMMMMMMMMM.......................OH. OKAY? That's it? No, thank you so much? ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? YOUR KID WANDERED WHO KNOWS HOW LONG AROUND THE COMPOUND AND YOU ONLY SAY, OH. OKAY? You CLEARLY did not even notice he was really missing.
Now, I'm glad to know and am very appreciative of the fact that our place of residence is very safe. Secure. Gated. 24 hour security. Obviously, we had our door unlocked, which helped facilitate this entire escapade! But DOGGONE IT!!! WATCH YOUR DARN KIDS!!!! I am amused, but annoyed at the same time. This is definitely the most bizarre incident since we got here.
At the end of the day, Lil Wolfgang made it back safely to where he had wandered (unnoticed) away from and we had a good laugh. Here's hoping if that happens again, that this is the same outcome! Watch your kids people!! Watch 'em!!
Know that I love ya! Mean it!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Reflections/Observations/STRUGGLES
Hey darlin's! I'm doin absolutely fabulous and I pray that you all are as well.
Things are still going well. I reflect daily on all the blessings that God has so graciously given to us and most times I am at a loss of words. Just this week alone we have had His word manifest in our lives. He is a RESTORER!! No doubt about it. Things that had been taken, are now being given back. "......some 30, some 60, some 100 times as much as had been planted"[Matthew 13:8] Without a doubt this was a great leap of faith for us and as we are blessed we will bless as well.
Now for a lil interesting sidebar.....you know how when you go to the salon (hair, nail. ..) you chit-chat with the stylist or nail tech? Because 9 times out of 10 you already know them? You're a regular? Right? Yeahhhhhhhh, not so much here. I mean DEAD SILENCE!! I had to put my headphones back in while she did my nails. I think because there is such a difference in "class designation" labor workers are looked down upon. Not just construction or maintenance, but also grocery store cashiers, nail techs, taxi drivers, nannies, housekeepers. These are the lowest of the low here. They even make the nanny dress a certain way. It's pretty darn sad to me. But at the nail salon, the patrons hardly said 2 words to these chicks. Some were being worked on by 2 people at a time. I don't know if my chick was afraid at first or what, but I made her talk to me. I make it my priority to smile at them and acknowledge them as much as I can. ESPECIALLY the ladies I see in the mall. Who knows what they experience on a daily basis. It's taking a bit of getting used to, to say the least.
Still meeting new faces. Still getting to know the country little by little. Here are a few snap shots of our compound. Enjoy. Know that I love ya! Mean it!
Oh yeah, PLEASE keep your girl in prayer. I am still tryna get this sleep thing worked out. On a mission to get both an Aloe Vera and Lavender plant to put in the bedroom. Heard they both emit oxygen at night to add in sleep.... well see. I'll keep you posted....falling asleep as I type right now!!
#STRUGGLIFE
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Just checkin in on ya!!!!!
Hey everybody!! It has been FOREVER......I KNOW!! I sincerely apologize for not updating like I promised I would. A whole heck of a lot has transpired since my last post, so let's get to it.
We are adjusting well to our new home! G3 loves his school. He received a Chromebook for his personal use.....which he loves. He gets to bring it home everyday and I believe he even gets to keep it through the summer! Talk about FANTASTIC!! I was able to spend the day with him last week attending classes with him and eating lunch together. He seems to be flowing nicely with the new environment and classmates. He has always been able to entertain himself without the need for others, and he is true to himself here at QA. He does interact with the other students, but he hasn't found a certain group to hang with. And his dad and I are okay with that. His teacher all had glowing observations to report to me. Not sure if they felt they had to because Ville works there or not. But they did. I know my son. And I know that his education is his top priority. He's gonna do what needs to be done. Most of his classes are male only. I think he has maybe 2 or 3 that have female students joining him. He has a swim class twice a week after school. And he plays soccer with Dads and Lads every Friday with his father. All in all he is adjusting well and he has a smile on his face. That's all we can ask.
Ville has mostly male only classes as well, but he does teach 2 classes with females. Just like in America, the girls have to be reminded not to visit so much with their neighbors and to put the cell phones away! Teenage girls are pretty much the same wherever you go. They males are your typical guys. All in all the knucklehead here is nothing compared to the knucklehead in CMS. He has found a group of American teachers and admin to hang out with once a week as well. They do morning breakfast together on Friday's. He too seems to be making the adjustment to a new school, coworkers, admin, and culture. I wish I could share with you guys about one of his students, but I can't. Just know that this world is definitely not as big as we think it is!!!!!!!
I have been doing my own exploring!! I have attended two meetings with the Qatar Expat Women's Group. Most are from countries other than the US which is interesting. I have made at least 2 connections with ladies I've met there which is really cool. They meet every Monday at one of the hotels near downtown. There is a overnight desert trip planned for November that I am looking forward to attending. They set up a huge tent. Feed us dinner, take us on a camel ride, go 4 wheeling in the desert. We will sleep under the stars and wake up to the sunrise on the beach! How darn cool is that? I can't wait!! I have also gotten to know one of Ville's coworkers pretty well as well as his former coworker from Harding. (we have her to thank for helping facilitate this move over here) They both are really genuine people and I have a great time with them! Look at me.....makin friends and stuff! AND, I'm starting to put together the skeleton for a book.........I know right?!
What I know for sure is, this so far is a wonderful adventure. We live in this big world that is just waiting to be explored. At least once a week I will be talking to Ville and say, "Babe, we live in a completely different country!" Or he will say, " I bet you didn't have this on your radar 15 years ago!" Heck, I didn't have HIM on my radar 15 years ago. I am truly thankful for all we have been blessed to experience. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has His hands all in an through this. I have no regrets. Are there somethings that I miss about home? Of course. But I will eat, see, and do all those things summer 2017. A lot of people may not understand why we chose to take this opportunity and they may question why. And to that I say, "why not?" This is our life and we aren't asking anyone for permission to live it. They don't have to like it. We're okay with that. Just know that we are fine. My biggest worry right now is getting my RP (residence permit) so I can go attend happy hour at the hotels!! We are tryna stack and save as much as we can. Travel as much as we can. And take full advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. That's it. That's all. Numerous times a day I say, "Thank you Lord." And he knows that that thank you covers so many things. So, if you have any concerns, please trust and believe that The Caldwell's are doin just fine. If anything changes I will let you know. Until next time.....Know that I love ya! Mean it! 
We are adjusting well to our new home! G3 loves his school. He received a Chromebook for his personal use.....which he loves. He gets to bring it home everyday and I believe he even gets to keep it through the summer! Talk about FANTASTIC!! I was able to spend the day with him last week attending classes with him and eating lunch together. He seems to be flowing nicely with the new environment and classmates. He has always been able to entertain himself without the need for others, and he is true to himself here at QA. He does interact with the other students, but he hasn't found a certain group to hang with. And his dad and I are okay with that. His teacher all had glowing observations to report to me. Not sure if they felt they had to because Ville works there or not. But they did. I know my son. And I know that his education is his top priority. He's gonna do what needs to be done. Most of his classes are male only. I think he has maybe 2 or 3 that have female students joining him. He has a swim class twice a week after school. And he plays soccer with Dads and Lads every Friday with his father. All in all he is adjusting well and he has a smile on his face. That's all we can ask.
Ville has mostly male only classes as well, but he does teach 2 classes with females. Just like in America, the girls have to be reminded not to visit so much with their neighbors and to put the cell phones away! Teenage girls are pretty much the same wherever you go. They males are your typical guys. All in all the knucklehead here is nothing compared to the knucklehead in CMS. He has found a group of American teachers and admin to hang out with once a week as well. They do morning breakfast together on Friday's. He too seems to be making the adjustment to a new school, coworkers, admin, and culture. I wish I could share with you guys about one of his students, but I can't. Just know that this world is definitely not as big as we think it is!!!!!!!
I have been doing my own exploring!! I have attended two meetings with the Qatar Expat Women's Group. Most are from countries other than the US which is interesting. I have made at least 2 connections with ladies I've met there which is really cool. They meet every Monday at one of the hotels near downtown. There is a overnight desert trip planned for November that I am looking forward to attending. They set up a huge tent. Feed us dinner, take us on a camel ride, go 4 wheeling in the desert. We will sleep under the stars and wake up to the sunrise on the beach! How darn cool is that? I can't wait!! I have also gotten to know one of Ville's coworkers pretty well as well as his former coworker from Harding. (we have her to thank for helping facilitate this move over here) They both are really genuine people and I have a great time with them! Look at me.....makin friends and stuff! AND, I'm starting to put together the skeleton for a book.........I know right?!
What I know for sure is, this so far is a wonderful adventure. We live in this big world that is just waiting to be explored. At least once a week I will be talking to Ville and say, "Babe, we live in a completely different country!" Or he will say, " I bet you didn't have this on your radar 15 years ago!" Heck, I didn't have HIM on my radar 15 years ago. I am truly thankful for all we have been blessed to experience. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has His hands all in an through this. I have no regrets. Are there somethings that I miss about home? Of course. But I will eat, see, and do all those things summer 2017. A lot of people may not understand why we chose to take this opportunity and they may question why. And to that I say, "why not?" This is our life and we aren't asking anyone for permission to live it. They don't have to like it. We're okay with that. Just know that we are fine. My biggest worry right now is getting my RP (residence permit) so I can go attend happy hour at the hotels!! We are tryna stack and save as much as we can. Travel as much as we can. And take full advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. That's it. That's all. Numerous times a day I say, "Thank you Lord." And he knows that that thank you covers so many things. So, if you have any concerns, please trust and believe that The Caldwell's are doin just fine. If anything changes I will let you know. Until next time.....Know that I love ya! Mean it!
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