Monroe Sherwood News

Monday, November 11, 2013

HALLOWEEN 2013!!!! The smallest pumpkins ever, but who can afford them here?

Kiwi make pretty good pumpkins with some paint :)

Minecraft is EVERYWHERE!!!!

Gangster Minecraft Creepers!!! Very Creative

A day out in Doha!

Museum of Islamic Art...designed by I.M. Pei We still need to visit the inside :)

Working out on the Corniche

Jay gets one off of his bucket list...skating at the mall :) He did awesome!

SUPER DUPER LOOSE TEETH!

Headed to a birthday party slumber party with a Teen Beach Movie Theme??? I guess he is a biker named Brady from the show.

Add caption

Miss Bella...our sweet cat! Jay took this photo and brought it to school and now she is their class mascot! :)

Sweet boy.

Zig Zag Towers...very cool architecture.

ADAM's Choir Festival Performance

GAME NIGHT WITH FRIENDS! Adam and the ladies :)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

We are on vacation for 10 days right now because of one of the two most important feasts in the Muslim religion. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, which began on Tuesday and continues until the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Eid al-Adha commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice of his son, Ishmael, to Allah as an act of obedience. Allah spared Ishmael after seeing Ibrahim's devotion and instead gave him a sheep to kill. In the Bible version, he is named Abraham and it is Isaac, not Ishmael, who is almost sacrificed.

The three-day festival also marks the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Prophet Muhammad's birthplace. Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetimes.

On the Eid, many Muslims celebrate and pay tribute to Allah, who gave mercy to Ibrahim, going to a mosque for morning prayers followed by slaughtering animals. Much of the meat is given away to others as a symbol of Muslim’s willingness to give up on behalf of Allah’s command. The sacrificed animal is cut in thirds, with one third eaten in a celebratory dinner by family, one third offered to friends, and the remaining portion donated to those less fortunate.

Worshipers of the holiday typically wish each other “Eid Mubarak,” which is the standard greeting during observance of Eid al-Adha, meaning “Have a blessed Eid.”

We have been enjoying our time off, indulging in opportunity that we would NEVER have had before. We started the week at Fuwairit Beach up north, sunbathing and enjoying the Gulf waters, just the four of us. The temperatures have been beautiful and seeing the cooler temps back home in Minnesota and Wisconsin have given us cause for celebration as we are still recooping from the harsh winter we endured last year. We joined some friends from school at the Four Seasons Hotel on Monday and lived it up in a huge suite, at the pool, and on the beach. It was absolutely phenomenal and the fun and relaxation we came away with was completely worth the money :) We did get a discount because of where we work so that was helpful, thank goodness. This isn't bragging, mind you...it's just quite surreal to us to be able to do some of these things now that we are where we are. It's a privilege that we don't take lightly and are embracing every experience that presents itself...big or small. We are definitely missing our family and friends back home, but facebook, facetime, viber, and skype have been brilliant in keeping us in touch and getting our fix.

Date night

Four Seasons Paradise

Our babies...intertwined at bed :)

Not sure Santa can deliver, kids :)

please don't fall, please don't fall

Here's to vacation...the apple juice was a wonderful vintage.

Hotel room balcony

Fuwairit Beach

Sand man or Mer man or something

We could get used to this, Mom and Dad!

What? No winter here?

Monday, October 7, 2013

Out and About!!!

Outside the City Center mall

Sunset at the dunes

Beach Bum

Beach Party

Birthday Party at the beach

Riding in a gondola with my guy

New Car...FINALLY!!!

The Emcee and his Daddy

We have been busy getting ourselves more independent over the past couple of weeks and I have to say that it feels glorious!!! After a comedy skit of driving tests, signs and actual road, for the Americans only, Jon was awarded his driving license. While I promise that I did indeed pass, I wasn't given a license because my residence permit has yet to come through. I'm really ok with it seeing as the driving here is quite stressful. Jon is doing a brilliant job and dealing with my gasps and screams remarkably well. He even found a great deal on a car that we settled on. We're now the proud owners of a Kia Mohave 4x4 V8 that we feel pretty safe in and can really haul a** if need be. It's an amazing feeling of freedom and we have been making the most of it. Seeing as gas is a whopping $1.00/gallon, we're actually planning on doing some exploring. We've actually found our way out to the singing sand dunes, where when you step or jump onto the sand it sounds like a choir of flatulence...quite amusing and beautiful. We ventured out there with some friends we met from Sweden and had a sunset picnic. It was nice, but trash is an issue here so that was a downer, but over all, a beautiful evening. Jay was invited to another bday party and this one was up north at a beautiful beach where the kids explored and swam and just enjoyed finally being outside. It was warm, but we got there early and left early so it was tolerable. Adam is doing well and really becoming a leader in his classroom. He was one of the emcees for the all school assembly and did a dynamite job being enthusiastic and fun...reminds me of his Grandma Maribeth. He was also selected to be a part of a writer's workshop with a visiting author and he's been absolutely over the moon about this special privilege. The boys continue to learn and thrive in our new environment which is all we had hoped for. They come home with new Arabic words every day and are learning the Qatari national anthem for big events. Jon and I are enjoying work and trying to find our way and learn as much as we can about where we are living and working. We have been here for nearly 7 weeks now and it is flying by. We have a week off next week for the Eid Mubarak which is a very big holiday here. Many people are flying out and vacationing elsewhere but we will be here in Doha, getting our house more homey with finishing touches, exploring the outside world now that it isn't hotter than the sun, and we have splurged for two nights to take the boys to an amazing hotel. I'll fill you in on that next time. We had a visitor this week as well...Brad, my good friend, Eileen's husband works out of Doha and had a couple of courses to take in town before heading offshore, SO...he got to be our very first houseguest. Albeit for two nights and he's gone all day, but it's been so fun to see a familiar face and catch up on everything. The boys were especially excited as they recently saw Brad, Eileen, and their 3 boys in Ashland in August. It gave them a slice of home comfort, which was really sweet to see.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Settling in AND the promise of wheels!!!

As of tomorrow, we have been in Qatar for 1 month. So much has happened, including experiencing some of the stages of culture shock. It has been a whirlwind to say the least. Unfortunately, I got a monster head/chest cold that lasted all week and even kept me home one day...blergh!!! Feeling tons better and now it appears Jon is heading for the same diagnosis :(. Really hoping the kids stay healthy. Adam started swimming class and is doing fantastic at the 50meter laps...it's insane how far that is to me...exhausting. Jay was invited to his first bday party and had a lot of fun. Jay is really starting to make some connections with some of the kids his age and enjoying all of the playing that goes on around our neighborhood. The compound is made up of mostly expats so these are the kids that he's met here and also goes to school with them. He has a couple of Arabic children in his class that he enjoys as well, but due to extremely large families and time that is spent with them, it's not as likely for there to be play dates outside of class. The boys learned how to write their names in Arabic while in their Arabic classes last week... I am quite lost with the language and letter system but am sort of trying. Most people speak English everywhere we go so that is very convenient. Jay won a "caring" award at school during an assembly for all of KG & 1st grade. I was so proud and so was he. The only boy to get one out of 5 recipients. Caring is one of the pillars of the whole learner that is taught at school thru IB PYP (international baccalaureate primary years program). We have finally been told that it looks like we will be taking our sign and road test for our driving licenses!!!! Omg... This is sooooooo exciting...to be on the verge of independence!!!! Another difference is that we are only able to purchase our alcohol/pork permit later in the term so we are looking fwd to it. There is only one place in the entire city to buy these items and how much you can purchase is directly correlated to your monthly income. Very interesting! Imagine Wisconsin on this system, during Packer season. Jay was given a bike by a neighbor and is riding around with his buds, feeling quite cool. I made the mega trip to ikea and finally got us on the map for dishes, glasses, enough forks and spoons, and hints of color to contrast all of the white. It's starting to take shape around our house/condo but it still needs a few more touches to start to feel like home.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Excuse me, has hell officially frozen over?

Lots going on this past week, and we are definitely ready for the weekend. After last weekend's antics of blood, stitches, hospital ERs, and the anticipation of starting new jobs, new school, and new friends, we were pleasantly surprised to have made it through the first week relatively unscathed. Jay limped his way around and was extra tough through the pain of his poor toe. Adam was extra supportive and independent in a lot of ways, making it easier on the rest of us who needed it :) It was so nice to actually be working in their school and running over to peek through the window or check in with a classroom staff to see how everything was going with my guys :) What a relief it has been to be right on campus with them. Jon is right up the walking path at the senior school about 5 min. walk, so we're quite the family pod before and after school.

The mornings come awfully early around here, 5:00am and on the bus to school by 6:15. Phew. The boys are making friends, melting hearts, and finding their way which is all we can ask for. Adam starts swimming class next week in the school Olympic sized swimming pool after school and Jay may take on something else as those darn stitches are cramping his style in the pool. Adam had a rough spot on day three as I received a call from the school nurse...he had puked in the cafeteria, or ran to the bathroom puking, or was also still puking in the nurse's office. I only knew that puke was involved and I was not looking forward to my poor guy's condition. But like everything that has come our kids' way so far, he was a champ and overcame it like it was it small potatoes. Of course ibuprofen, hugs, snuggles, and lots of Mom sympathy helped too ;-)

We realized half way through the day yesterday that it was September 11th. WOW! All the emotions and memories of where we were and what we heard and how we felt all those years ago. Who would have ever thought at that time that 12 years later we would be living in the Middle East. Not us, that's for sure.

We went downtown Doha to check out the City Center mall and some of the downtown. It was a nice trip and we found a nice restaurant to enjoy. I did make a major boo boo on this trip, however. It is very much frowned upon to show public displays of affection, even with your spouse, and I totally forgot and gave my man a big hug and smooch at the ice cream counter. HOLY CRAP!!! I remembered at the last minute and so did Jon and we quickly separated and walked apart for a bit, feeling extremely self-conscious. Whoops!!!

There were a few rough nighttime tuck ins and talk of a pet came up numerous times. PET??? NO WAY!!!! I mean, we've had a gecko lizard, two hermit crabs, fish, beetles, frogs, and dead mosquitos over the years, and most recently, a cockroach that went right back outside. Jon inherited a couple of turtles in his classroom that the boys named Toff and Airo (The Last Airbender Cartoon) and I was hoping that was going to do the trick, but this Mom is soft and desperate. But I do not do animals, people. I can barely take care of myself and my family, let alone a hungry, hairy beast of sorts that doesn't use the toilet, wear a diaper, eat it's own waste. BUT...a woman I work with (self proclaimed "cat lady") rescued a cat from school grounds, took it to the vet for all the bells and whistles, and asked if we would be interested in taking it in. ME??? Cat??? Animal of any kind??? Thinking of my kiddos desperate to love and adore a furry friend, I caved and said, "sure". I mean come on, did the Vikings win the Super Bowl or something? That is the only way to explain this phenomenon. Hell has to have frozen over. We will see though, it's mostly a trial basis to see how everyone reacts allergy wise and how the cat responds to kids. Will keep you posted.