My Automobile

We have a new car!

Well, new to us, sort of: the husband just arranged to buy a 2011 Honda Pilot in Qatar.  It's exactly like the 2011 we traded in for the 2012 Pilot we have now...with a few upgrades: leather seats, a sunroof, and a rear camera.  Nice! 

Now, I'm still terrified of driving in the Wild, Wild East of Qatari roads, with kamikaze roundabouts, lorries with a license to kill, very few traffic lights, and massive, ever-changing traffic diversions, but at least I will be driving in a familiar car, so that's good, right? 

So, now the husband just has to work out all the financing (it's a very different process there--for instance, the bank takes out insurance on the car...maybe?  We're still learning the details.) and, before we leave here, I have to sell our current Pilot back to the dealership.  But, if all goes well, at least this will be one part of our transition that will be completely smooth, moving from one Pilot to the next--and those leather seats will help!

Happy Thanksgiving!

When you're in the midst of a big move like we are, holidays get toned down quite a bit.  Last year, the husband and I and the rest of the bishopric and their families hosted a big Thanksgiving celebration at the church with three or four turkeys and lots of people and even more food.  This year, I had made the executive decision that I was not going to cook and instead I made a reservation for us at Claddagh Irish Pub where they have a huge traditional Thanksgiving buffet, free for kids 5 and under.  Done and done!  Tradition without doing the dishes--excellent!

However, our kind home teacher and his family ended up inviting us over to their house and there was much fun, food, and festivities (and only a few meltdowns).  It was fabulous, and I was thankful for the invitation and the fact that I still only had to "cook" two pies (and by cook I mean, of course, heat from frozen and/or defrost: thank you Marie Callender!).  I did also make Virgin Apple Cider Sangria, which was very easy and very yummy: 1/2 a gallon of apple cider, 1 bottle sparkling white grape juice, 1 liter gingerale, chopped apples, and pomegranate seeds--delicious!

The day before, we went to the library to get some books and DVDs to last us through the very cold and very snowy Thanksgiving holiday we are having.  It snowed Tuesday night and most of the day Wednesday and more Wednesday night and even more this morning, so we also went sledding today on the new snow.  My boys are so funny about sledding.  J really shies away from most physical activities but will gladly walk up a steep hill over and over again if he gets to sled down it.  On the other hand, E is my rough and tumble, very physical one, but he can only ever make it a third of the way up our favorite hill before he needs someone to come down and take his sled for him and be his moral support for the rest of the way up.  This time around, E fell off the sled and hit his head on his first ride, but he rallied and made it a few more times.  J had fun until he decided to roll down the hill and lost his mittens on the way down and then began to cry because his hands were freezing.  And I lost my car keys on a sled run down to rescue E, so I was searching for a panicked ten minutes until I found them, almost completely covered with snow (power of prayer, people!).  Sledding is very exhausting for all of us, it turns out!

Meanwhile, the husband invited one of his "unaccompanied" new friends to Christmas dinner.  Unaccompanied is expat talk for a spouse whose trailing spouse and family haven't trailed along quite yet.  The husband asked if his friend coming over was alright and of course I said yes, though since we will arrive two days before Christmas, whatever we eat will be what I find in the store on my first ever grocery shopping expedition in Qatar, so I can't wait to make, eat, and describe that meal!  But we're bringing games and DVDs and little kids, so that's festive, right??  And I think the husband is endeavoring to get a Christmas tree still after he didn't get one at Ikea on his first try (yes, there's an Ikea in Qatar, and they sell Christmas trees, too--a Scandinavian Christmas miracle!), so it will be homey and everything...I hope!  I'll let you know how it goes!

And because it is obligatory but also a really good idea, let me say I am thankful for these three boys:

Yes, the lighting is all kinds of crazy here and it's also October in Cleveland.

Yes, I have my pants on my head.

Yes, I fell down and messed up my face the day before class pictures.

For the Expat-to-be

As I mentioned earlier, I have been trying to exhaust the sources of information available to me on by visiting any and all blogs, websites, listservs, etc. or reading any books that have anything to do with Qatar in particular, living in the Middle East more generally, and, even more broadly, expat life as a whole.  I'm nothing if not a researcher, of course, so this part of the process has been fun for me, though also a little aggravating because it turns out there isn't a whole lot of information available on the specific topics I am wondering about.  Luckily, I have also been able to leverage my network of well-informed friends, family, and new acquaintances to fill in the gaps and, slowly but surely, all of my questions are getting answered.  Hooray!

Along the way, I have found some really sources I keep returning to again and again.  First, I've mentioned her before on From Frank to Frivolous, but I'm even more grateful now for Design Mom's chronicle of her experiences living in France for over two years with her six children.  In particular, I recommend this post about finances, the suggestions from which the husband and I have gone about implementing almost verbatim.

This year, A Cup of Jo did a series on motherhood around the world and one of her posts, 12 Surprising Things about Parenting in Abu Dhabi helped me envision life in Doha with small children since, from what I can gather, raising children in both cities is similar.

"Moving guides" have often been filled with woefully obvious information, though a few, such as this one in The Telegraph have contained useful information.  My sense is that folks feel like there is only one audience for these kinds of pieces: the complete neophyte, never left the country or even the county before, who has absolutely no idea about travel or living abroad at all.  Clearly, this isn't me, and I'd like to hope there are more than a few like me, who have traveled, even lived abroad, who are open to trans-locating but would like a bit more substantive, country-specific information.

Of course, I have been very interested in kid-specific information as well and came across the term "third culture kid" in my research.  My children are so young (almost 6 and almost 4) I feel like if we spend our anticipated minimum 4-5 years in Qatar, they will certainly be TCKs by the time we leave and these issues might be really important for them at that time, whether we move back to the States or not.

Pre-apocalypse chic

Right now, I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor in my room, since I already sold my bed frame and split box spring to a friend of mine in advance of her baby coming and her parents/in-laws visiting.  The guest bedroom downstairs has only a frame and a box spring with an air mattress near by, waiting for my sister-in-law's visit.  Each bed has one set of sheets to its name.  My kitchen cart and kitchen shelving unit are in the garage, along with the boxes and baskets of food and supplies they used to hold indoors, meaning I have to run out to the garage when I remember that that's where I will currently find dried cranberries, corn tortillas, or paper towels, among other necessities.  It's a little like living in someone else's house, actually: nothing is where you think it would be, and you always feel just a bit off kilter somehow.

Such is my pre pack out life.  Almost all of the possessions that we will be shipping are in boxes are on one side of my garage, along with the kids' bikes, golf clubs, sporting equipment, and tools.  The other side of the garage is filled with stuff to sell and stuff to take to a junkyard/dump, when and if I can ever locate one nearby.  Inside the house, every room except the boys' room has been stripped down to the bare bones, with items to sell boxed up and relegated to the garage or the jam-packed  sun room.  My room contains six large suitcases half filled with things we are going to carry with us on the plane, and the guest closet contains our carry-on luggage.  Eventually, in less than three weeks actually (gulp!), those suitcases and carry-ons will be packed and stored in one room, closed off from the movers, all the stuff to sell will be sold or given away, and we will be living with even less than before as we get ready to live out our final week between when we pack our shipping container and when we leave on the airplane.

Meanwhile, we are trying to eat down the contents of our kitchen cabinets and cupboards.  I say "trying" because apparently, in another life, I experienced the Depression, and thus have a VERY well-stocked pantry.  Plus, as happened today, when I run out of something (I used the last of my white and brown sugar and my cornmeal, see below), I have to fight very very veryveryvery hard not to replace it with double what I had previously.  It's a compulsion, this, I know.   Don't judge me!  As it is, I will be donating lots of non-perishables to someone when I leave--Merry Christmas indeed!

And the husband, who went on to Qatar without us to get his visa and residence permit all figured out while we finish up the semester here, has been gone almost three weeks now, which is also odd for us.  On the one hand, on any given week before now the boys might see their daddy for an hour every other day, with a bit more time on the weekends sometimes.  So we are all used to a somewhat absentee father.  But not having him home at all has taken more getting used to than I think I anticipated, particularly for E, who daily has to convince himself that "daddy is still my daddy, even in the desert." Pitiful, as they say in the South!

It's a strange life, this one filled with daily disconnection.  But, luckily, this life also occasionally comes up with some yummy food.  Tonight, I made Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler, and I would definitely make it again, even if I were not trying to use up the last little bits of all sorts of things!  Recipe after the jump....

Shopping spree (hopefully)

Right now, preparations are focused on getting ready for my Shop My House party.  Below is the email I sent out to my local friends.  As you can see, we are selling many, many things, even beyond the list of furniture below.  Since it's freezing here (literally, there is snow forecast for today), I couldn't have a traditional garage sale so I'm hoping this works instead.  If no one comes, I'm going to be making a lot of trips to Goodwill! 

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Come on down and make a deal on Wednesday, December 4th, beginning at 7pm!  Almost everything you will see will be for sale, including furniture (see partial list below), decorative items, boys' clothes (size 4T), women's clothes (sizes 10, 12, M, and L), toys, dishes, pots/pans (including Pyrex and Corningware), craft supplies, and on and on. 

Larger items will be sold via silent auction, and everything else will be priced to sell yard sale style.  Most items will be available for immediate pickup (with the exception of the beds, since we have to sleep somewhere until we leave!). 

Bring your friends, bring your tape measure, bring your wallet, bring your sense of humor: you don't want to miss the fun!  (Bidding in the silent auction will end promptly at 8:15pm, so don't be late!)

Updates from the front

I have been so busily involved the preparations for getting to Qatar that I haven't had time to eat or sleep, let alone blog.  And yet, I really should be doing so, if for no other reason than the fact that as I have been prepping like a madwoman, so many other blogs have been helpful along the way (and maddening when they look like they are going to be helpful and then peter out...much like my own blogging).  And so here, for the record, is a brief synopsis of preparations so far:

--This point probably deserves a post all by itself but right now I am too done with the topic to do so so let it suffice me to say I finally, FINALLY (glory, glory, hallelujah) secured a moving company in which I feel confident.  This is after putting down a small but significant deposit with another company and then being unable to sleep thinking about it one night and following my gut reaction with an extensive web search the next morning, during which I discovered that this company was at the very least disingenuous and at the very most a complete scam.  (When I tried to get my deposit back, they claimed I had electronically signed some document stating that the deposit was nonrefundable--things deteriorated rapidly from there.)  The only bright spot in this experience was that my thorough web searching uncovered MovingScam.com, a treasure trove of information and reviews of local and international movers.  I really don't know how I would have found the company I settled on without extensive use of this site and their Guide to International Shipping has become my bible in my protracted search.  Eventually, I had 5 visual surveys of our house and goods done by different moving companies, got 5 wildly different estimates, ran into 2 more scams while investigating those companies, had one other reputable company quote me double everyone else, had yet another company sign me up but then completely fail to follow up or respond to my concerns or even get back to me promptly (that same company also fired the woman I was originally working with), and finally, after all these red flags and problems, I went with company number 5, Corrigan International, the last one I found, just seven weeks before we were scheduled to pack out.  But not for lack of trying, people!  This whole process was awful, by the way.  International shipping is hard enough, but the amount of dishonest people involved makes the ordeal even worse.  Here's hoping it will all work out as planned now!

--One of the revelations I had while getting our visual surveys was that we were planning on bring far too much stuff with us.  To be fair, originally I was envisioning us getting an unfurnished place and