Part One: Paris: A Peice of My Heart

From boot and jacket envy, to slippers and hijabs.  From aged cheddar cheese to shredded edam.  From washers and dryers to washers and drying racks. From a dishwasher to hand washing dishes.  From seat belts, traffic control, and patience to mopeds, traffic and honking. From cloudy and rainy to sunny and warm.  From 100euro meals to 70dirham meals...

The differences span wide yet the similarities are definitely prominent.  Paris was hard to leave for several different reasons.  First, I was no longer the minority.  I was white in a mass of white french people.  Joe and I both often got stopped by "tourists" and asked for directions in French.  I blame it on the fact I am so well traveled now (haha).  Okay, I really chalk it up to my scarf, pea coat, and boots.  I blended in and it felt really nice.  Actually, it made me quite homesick.  I had access to my family... at all times.  I had access to more of the foods I love from The States.  I had access to STARBUCKS (gasp!).  Joe has access to Crossfit.  It was the most normal life has felt.  Now, to clear up some possible assumptions, normal isn't always good.  Right?  We enjoy our life in Marrakech.  We have made amazing friends, shared wonderful experiences together as a family, seen beautiful places, met beautiful people.  Life here in The 'Kech is a different life-- a life I actually prefer at most times for reasons to be left unsaid.  However, Marrakech is not a place I would find myself landing in forever.  The experience of traveling overseas and exposing my children to life outside of The States is where I could land forever.  Where that may be?  The question still stands for me too.  I don't think you ever truly know until you dive in head first and just find happiness with exactly where you are and who you are in that moment.  That breath.  That life. 

So, for that reason among many others, I would say that Paris will forever have a piece of my heart.  We created some amazing and fond memories that light up my heart when I think of them.  I promise to tell you all about our trip now and bore you with more life lessons later:).

Day One:
Chad, Claire and I made our way to Paris via Easyjet.  A direct flight from Marrakech Airport to Charles de Gaulle.  Unfortunately, Joe didn't arrive until the following day so Chad, Claire and I cozied up in an Ibis Airport Hotel just outside of Terminal 3.  We watched Friends and Spongebob in French and went down to the restaurant for dinner.  We all zonked out pretty early... probably out of pure excitement for Daddy's arrival the next morning (and maybe because Mommy had two kids and too much luggage that could have toppled me over if it wasn't for my beastly strength:)).

Yep... THAT yellow bag.

Day Two:
Upon awaking, my arms were shaking and my mind couldn't focus on much else than just getting to Terminal 2 to finally see the man we had been waiting weeks to see.  We checked out of the hotel, packed our bags on our back, and hopped on the shuttle to Terminal 2.  While we waited for Mr. F, we enjoyed some hot chocolate and the kids played while I stood scanning crowd after crowd immersing from the arrivals doorway.  Finally, I spotted the man I couldn't wait to hug, dressed up for the occasion looking incredibly handsome.  His face, his smile, everything about seeing him was perfect.  Fortunately, the kids were not looking in the crowds anymore because we had been there for a quite a while.  Mr. F walked over and was able to surprise both kids.  Happy's reaction was priceless.  She looked at Daddy and got wide-eyed.  Looked shocked, puzzled and got very shy/happy.  She almost looked like she was living a dream.  Wasn't sure what was real and what might be an illusion.  She kept hugging Mr. F and looking at his face.  Chad''s reaction was as simple as a gigantic hug and lots of questions and talking:)  Just perfect for my little man. 

We walked over to the VEA Shuttle station to board our bus to arrive at our Hotel... in Disneyland Paris!  We decided to spend two nights and three days in Paris Disney for Christmas with our little munchkins.  We boarded the bus and started the 45 minute transfer to Disneyland.  As soon as we started driving a few things went through my head.  1) I felt like we were driving to Portland.  The green, the rain... all very similar to the drive to the valley in Oregon.  2)  It was green!  It was wet!  I loved it!  (Coming from a desert this site was incredibly refreshing). 3) I felt complete.  I was with my family, in France, on our way to Paris Disney.  Could life get any better than this exact moment?  We were dropped off at Sequoia Hotel and checked in and apparently I signed us up to be apart of a Garden Club (okay everyone, feel free to oooooo and ahhhhhh).  I didn't realize this until check in.  I proceeded over to a "special" check in area and was seated in a seat with chocolate candies at hand (more ooooos and ahhhhhhhs are appropriate here).   A lady gave me all our information for our stay including fastpasses, food vouchers, pool vouchers, park tickets, etc...  Unfortunately, we had to wait an hour until we could check into our room.  So we waited, played, talked, did all those things families do.

 Then at 3pm, I walked back over to the check in area to get our room keys.  Upon sitting down at the desk, the lady took our name and looked incredibly distressed.  She was phoning frantically, speaking in French... I knew something was wrong just didn't know what.  Finally, she explained to me that our room wasn't ready but she could offer us a suite as a replacement.  The panic was written all over her face. 

Lady: "I know you booked on the lake side and would like a view of the lake.  I can offer you the suite which is much bigger."
Lexie: "Ok, that will work."
Lady: "Yes, (with visibly shaking hands) Here are some pictures of the suite."
Lexie: I smiled and said "We are really fine.  The suite will work wonderfully.  Thank you."
Lady: (Audible sigh of relief)

I genuinely felt awful for her.  She must have dealt with upset people not having their lakeside view room ready... but really... lakeside room versus suite??  We will take it!  We headed up to our suite and dropped off our bags, put on our coats, hats and mittens and proceeded to walk to Disney.  It was a short 10 minute walk and we were at the entrance.  It truly was magical.  Lights decorated the Castle Hotel, wreaths and garland dangled making the entrance look absolutely gorgeous and grand.  The excitement was apparent when you looked at both of the kids. Especially when Chad spotted the castle!

Oddly, the cold and the drizzling rain didn't matter to any of us.  We just put on our hoods and called it perfect!  We walked around Disneyland in the dusk into the darkness expressing our excitement and joy to be together in such a magical place for the kids.  We decided to wait in our first line.  We decided that It's a Small World was a perfect place to start.  The Castle was lit up and changed colors as time passed.  We waited just a short amount of time and hoped in together on the boat.  The ride was magical.  Claire and Chad were captivated by the music, moving displays, colors, and all of the beauty captured on a boat ride.

Small World Castle

My sad attempt at a family picture on the ride...

A mesmerized little one

We walked around a bit more in the cold and wet weather.  Chad, Claire and I coming from Marrakech were COLD.  Joe enjoyed my bundledness because Paris was warm coming from Central Oregon.  I braved the elements and soaked in some more adventures.  While walking around, we decided to place the children in some awesome chairs and hats... Mad Hatter Style!

 

Wait... he isn't a child... or is he?? :)

The kids became enthralled with the carousel and both of them were pointing and wanting to ride it.  Joe and I had hungry bellies but decided... why not?  So, we waited in a (luckily) very short line and were able to jump on some horses all together.  Claire was a trooper, but really did not want to get off the horse when it was time to exit the carousel.  Chad enjoyed acting like a silly six year old riding a real horse.  Me... I just loved watching them enjoy the simple things!

After the carousels, Joe and I called it.  Time to go eat-- Christmas Eve Dinner... but where?  We knew a lot of places would be packed in Disney Village, but we tried anyways.  We tried to eat at two different places but they were booked with people eating with Santa and Characters. (I swear they must have hired like 12 Santas, 5 Mickeys, etc... they milked making money off that!)   That night, we ended up eating at Rain forest Cafe.  Chad did NOT want to come in the restaurant because there was a snake hanging from the ceiling.  Joe nor I noticed the snake initially.  Chad has a hawk eye.  I had to prove to him that the snake was fake regardless of the realia of it.  I touched it, stood under it... pretended I died... the whole sha-bang.  He finally came in.  The restaurant was definitely a rain forest... everywhere.  Floor to ceiling.  Animals on steroids (okay robots), fake rain, vines, rain forest noises.  Everything.  We ordered cocktails and food.  Mr. F was exhausted, rightfully so.  Paris is nine hours ahead of Redmond, so our dinner was about his morning time-ish.  We ate (some okay, overprices, not impressive food) and walked back to the hotel.

The kids put on their new Christmas pjs compliments of Nana.  Chad claimed he looked like Papa and Claire claimed she looked like a princess.

 Joe passed out pretty fast.  Chad stayed up like a night owl and I kept having to tell him to go to sleep (Santa had to come and I wanted to sleep too!).  Once Chad fell asleep at around 1130p, I finally was able to dig through Joe's American Treasure bag (whoop whooop!) and wrap presents (minus tape equals creative folding and smashing) and jaunt a Santa note.  Finally, I climbed into bed and fell fast asleep anticipating what the kiddos reaction would be come Christmas morning.  

Day Three:

Christmas Morning, we all awoke towards 930a because the combination of the hotel and dark clouds kept our room rather dark.  The kids woke up and started rustling around the things Santa left of the table. They opened a few gifts and discovered some items full of awesomeness such as these towels:

Once they finished their few gifts, we got the kids ready in their Christmas outfits, complete with winter jackets, hats, gloves and rain boots to fight the elements so we could have a full and wonderful day at Disneyland.  I may have provided these festive glasses to help start the day right.  By their faces, you can tell my boys absolutely loved sporting them!

We walked our way back to the gates of Disneyland.  We started towards Adventure Land and the first ride of the day was a roller coaster called "Big Thunder Mountain" taken by Mr. F and Chad.  Claire and I played in the streets while we waited for their return.

The came running back to Claire and I and Chad was filled with excitement and joy.  Mr. F explained to me that Chad absolutely loved the ride and was grinning ear to ear the entire ride.  We proceeded to try to go find Santa Claus.  We heard that he was making an appearance somewhere in Disneyland Paris.  We ended up finding him and having quite the visit.  Claire refused to get close except in my arms.  Even then she was very aggressive with staying away.  She kept saying "No Santa Claus!  No Santa Claus!  Bye bye!"  We ended up with a few photos of myself with the kids because Claire just wouldn't go without me.  

 

After Santa, we walked to the next cabin and Minnie Mouse and Goofy awaited our company.  Claire had a very sad and similar reaction Minnie and Goofy.  She was extremely interested but only wanted to observe-- from afar!

After our visit with Santa, Minnie and Goofy we decided to go try to eat some lunch.  We headed down the road and passed "Pirates of the Caribbean."  Happy was asleep in the stroller, so Joe and Chad jumped in line and Happy and I waited for them to hear all the stories.  Chad was excited talking about all the pirates and skeletons.  We headed towards the village where the majority of the restaurants are.  However, as we were crossing, we noticed that the parade was about to begin.  So, we jumped up to the rope line and waited.  Eventually, with a lot of patience, we got to see the Disneyland Christmas Parade in action!

After the parade, we found a little restaurant to eat at.  After lunch, we decided to take one more ride.  It was Chad and my turn to go take a ride together.  We hopped in line for a ride where we got to drive.  I found out I am terrible at controlling the cars.  Chad kept telling me to just go straight and I will be fine.  A lot of Chad and mommy laughs!   

We hopped off and Mr. F and I took the kids shopping for one Disneyland souvenir of their choice.  We walked into a couple shops and the kids decided on their toys.  Claire picked out a soft Rapunzel doll, Chad picked out a set of Monster's University figurines that provided hours of entertainment the rest of the trip!  Then, Chad was eager to do try swimming, so we headed back to the hotel to try out the indoor pool that we had access to.  We all put on our bathing suits and made the cold trek outside.  We walked in and saw the pool.  It was fun!  A water slide, a small pool covered by rocks and floaties for the kids to use.  Chad and Claire has a grand time!

 

 

 

 

After swimming, we were all hungry for our Christmas dinner!  We toweled off and headed to back to the main building of the hotel.  We ended up having some drinks in the bar and then heading to the buffet restaurant for a very late dinner!  About 930pm, in fact! 

 

 

 

We ate our dinners and headed up for bed.  We needed to prepare for our last day in Disneyland and then prepare for our arrival into Paris.  Once we got back, the kids were exhausted and fell asleep quickly.  Mr. F and I packed all of the bags so tomorrow we could focus on spending our day in Walt Disney Studios. 

 

Day Four:





 

We ensured all of our bags were packed and ready to go, dressed the kiddos warm, and headed down to the Garden Club Breakfast.  Remember how I somehow apparently signed us up for the "Garden Club?"  Well, included in the stay is a continental breakfast but two characters make their rounds to the kids at the tables.  We got to see Pluto and Donald Duck that morning before we even stepped food outside of the hotel!  Chad was very excited!  Claire, still pretty darn apprehensive:)  We went back up to our room and called the concierge desk to send up a cart to our room.  The man came up and snagged our bags and we went to check out.  Checking out and storing our luggage only took a couple of minutes.  Mr. F went to book us a taxi pick up for 5pm, so we would arrive at our apartment in Paris at 6pm.  Today, our day was dedicated to Walt Disney Studios- essentially what we would associate with the newer characters and movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc...  Honestly, by this day, I think Mr. F and I were ready to move on from Disneyland.  The lines, the people- it was just time for us to rest and relax a bit in adult world!  We went on a few rides, but unfortunately due to being the day after Christmas it was PACKED!  The lines had estimations of waits upwards to an hour.  It was hard to justify waiting in line for an hour when you only had four hours to play!  We started in Toy Story land and jumped on the Slinky Dog ride.  Chad wasn't impressed, but Claire did not want to get off the ride.  We walked around for quite a bit and landed near the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride with a mere 15 minute estimation wait- we ended up waiting in line for about 40!  However, as you can see, it was well worth the wait. 

 

 

 

We decided to walk a bit and we came across the Monsters Inc. statues which was the only characters that Claire was completely comfortable with!  She loves her Michael Wazowski! 

 

 

 

Oddly enough, we ended up running into another parade, so we popped up the kids upon our shoulders and watched all the new characters including Mary Poppins, Lilo and Stitch, and Ariel! 

 

 

 

Chad and I ran over and found Buzz Lightyear!  He got to meet him and say hello!  Claire and Joe went and observed Minnie Mouse from afar:) 

 

 

We decided it was time to go fill our bellies and gather our bags to meet the taxi.  We stopped at Planet Hollywood to eat some late lunch/early dinner.  Definitely an American meal.  We talked, watched previews and laughed right along with our kiddos.  When about 430 rolled around, we decided to start the short jaunt back to the hotel to snag our bags.  We waited about 10 minutes for the taxi to arrive and started the 30 minute drive to the city of Paris to our apartment for the week. 

 

 

 

Once we arrive d in Paris at our apartment, we had a quick check-in session with the lady from the rental company, Laura.  She was very sweet and showed us how to work the appliances and we said our goodbyes and off she went.  Joe ran down the street to gather a few dinner and snack items along with some beverages of the adult persuasion.  We ate, the crashed as soon as our heads hit the pillow.  We were excited for the days ahead-- we wanted to be full of energy so we could explore.

 

 

That concludes Part One of our Paris trip-- Disneyland Paris.  A magical way to spend Christmas and the days surrounding.  We got to watch our children's eyes brighten up at the sound of the music, the twinkle of the lights and the familiar faces of those characters on movies that capture their imagination.  We are blessed and more than happy we got to share this experience with our two munchkins!


We love and miss you all at home!

xo

Lex

Cheers to 2014: Live it

My life does not consist of a white picket fence nor a dog playing fetch in the backyard while the kids run and scream playing.  I don't water flowers.  My balcony is bare of any living organism except those bugs that may have made their home there.  My home is void of 'proper' art, Pinterest projects, or framed photography.  Furniture is scarce and it looks modge podged together.  Visitors can easily tell that our home is considerably 'under developed.' 

What you will see is that the first wall in the entryway of our home is covered with my two children's artwork from home and school.  My white tile floors are dirty until our cleaner comes to clean once a week.  (Let's admit, it isn't just the tile floors... bathrooms, bedrooms, stoves... it is ALL dirty 15 minutes after the cleaner leaves until she comes the following week).  My children dance, cook, and eat with me in the kitchen.  We have accidental scrapes on the wall from rolling in the chair.  Our pouffes have a consistant home next to the coffee table for coloring and artwork.  The most expensive paint I have ever bought (imported crayola) is nearly gone because we use and paint with our hands and fingers freely.  My kids ride their scooters in the house (gasp!).  My refrigerator is littered with impromptu drawings, alphabet magnets, and Christmas cards from friends.  There is shredded cheese on the floor from the little fingers eating it straight from the bag.  You will notice that rarely is anything in its place. 

Unfortunately, it has taken a lot of life lessons to teach me that THIS is the exact way I want to live my one life.  At the ripe age of 18, I thought that I wanted to live my life with the white picket fence, the dog, the newest, the latest, the cleanest, the matching, the vision of perfection because it would mean I was living perfection.  What I learned quickly is that the vision of perfection can often be FAR from happiness.  At 29, I made the most rational decision there was- and decided to move my family across the world to discover this.  Only then did I really understand my epiphany with complete understanding.

Now, to top off discovering my happiness in living with each breath with a minimized nearly unplugged life, I have also discovered that I am who I am.   I have come to terms with the fact that I do not have to please, like or be liked by everybody.  I have thought about past and current friendships realizing that there are just some people out there that we choose to let go of because purely and simply, it is not a relationship that is healthy for our own being or they type of person we find happiness in associating with.  I am fully aware that in the past I have inquired and asked people's opinions regarding decisions I needed to make and I confided in individuals some of my struggles and secrets.  Unfortunately, it usually ended with wishing I had never said nor asked anything.  These days, I have one confidant- he happens to be my best friend, my partner, the most incredible father to a little girl who lights up my world, and an amazing man to my beautiful and kindhearted son.  We choose who we let in and know the delicate parts of our hearts and the deepest parts of our soul.  I am also fully aware that people have strong opinions about me and my decision to move my family across the world.  Some have decided to live vicariously through me, others have decided to be in shock, others have disagreed with the sacrifices we made in order to make this opportunity a reality for my entire family.

 

I initially cared about all of these opinions.  What would people think?  What would they say?  What are people thinking?  What are people saying?  Well, now I honestly just don't care.  Keep in mind I say this with the best intentions although it comes across as possibly inconsiderate or rude.  But here is why I find myself not caring about other's opinions about my life:

I have one life to live.  I am truly living it. Yes, my life comes with a daily grind which includes groceries, transporting, work, doctor's visits, bedtime routines... but it also includes time to stop, time to breath, time to play, time to dance, time to paint, time to talk, time to read, time to laugh, time to appreciate all the wonderful that surrounds me; all parts of my life I seemed to be missing before.  There exists an overwhelming amount of choices in our world and decisions we feel forced to make at such a young age-- plans to make pertaining to stability, responsibility and future well being.  Somewhere along that road, not knowing what your plans were for the next ten years was a sign of irresponsibility.  Why?  Why does living in today with happiness, with question about the next couple years mean instability?  In my eyes, it means opportunity.  I have discovered that I enjoy a life that is made with open plans and opportunity for life to HAPPEN.   In my life that has come with immense sacrifice and purposeful change.  However, I have had the opportunity to live for the moment with my children alongside me.  I have exposed my children to several cultures in a mere four months.  I have taken my children to live in Africa in an Arabic culture where they are constantly kissed, cherished and smiled at by complete strangers as we walk home from the bakery or doctor or grocery store.  I have taken them to Paris to see, touch, and hear about history that our American culture is missing.  I have danced in front of the kitchen window with a two year old in a princess skirt because she wanted to... in the middle of my cooking extravaganza for the week.  I have looked deep into my son's eyes and had conversations with him regarding questions he had about differences in people.   I have taught, loved, played, celebrated, and impacted children from all over the world in my one classroom of twelve.  I choose to let my life 'let it be as it is' because it is beautiful just the way it is.     

I do not write this blog post to criticize the way anyone has chosen to live their life.  Instead I write this blog post to commend you if you are living your one life you WANT to be living.  Even if for you, that means the white picket fence and the dog playing fetch.  Maybe, instead, this blogpost got you to think about what you really want to be doing with your one life.  Maybe you aren't there yet.  That is okay because essentially it has taken me 30 years to really even begin to understand my journey and in those 30 years, I made a lot of mistakes, learned a lot from those mistakes, and I continue to make mistakes and continue to learn.  I am still learning who I am and still discovering exactly what makes me- well- me.  In however you may be living, just make sure you are living the way you want to be living with those you love alongside you.

Cheers to 2014; Another year filled with opportunity. 

Live it.

Much love from my family to yours.

xo

Lex

Celebrating Eachother

Moving to Marrakech has provided my family many sets of welcoming arms.  My children, Joe, and myself are utterly loved and cared for by so many people.  We had the chance to celebrate one of these beautiful people for her birthday in our home.  Danielle has been an amazing teacher partner, kiddo helper, and well just one incredible and fun lady!

We arranged the apartment for many guest for a fun game night and set out the "spread" of snacks and drinks, and waited to welcome the arrival of other guests.

We sported some amazing holiday garb... such as these puppies...

Yes, you know you want a pair... spread the Christmas spirit.  Danielle has planned some Birthmas games for all of us to play and she had a whole spread of prizes to offer those who won.  What I learned is that as much as I LOVE Christmas-- I know nothing that will help me win Danielle's games.  I can sing the songs but I don't know the names of them, I know the story of The Grinch, but I don't know the tricky details, although I enjoy traveling, I really have not been ANYWHERE to support my knowledge of important geographical artifacts, etc... However, my team did win one game.

This game required our team (Diego, Kat, Aisha and myself) to blow up balloons and shove them in a pair of pantyhose.  Then, one of our team members was to wear the pantyhose a top their head.  Our team belted out Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and once we finished we could call it a win... well, as you notice Deigo sporting the pantyhose so well... we tied with the team next to us.  (I'm calling it a victory regardless:))  Happy was interested in the whole hat/pantyhose... she chose to try it out herself.

It was a great night with a wonderful group of people... all coming together to love and celebrate our beautiful Danielle's Birthmas. 

As for the rest of life, it has been "quiet" in the adventure realm.  I have been very busy with two wonderful kids loving on me all the time and working full time here at ASM.  I can't believe it has been a month since Mr. F has left... but we are approaching our trip to France to reunite for a while. I am giddy with excitement because this man always makes me smile and laugh!  The best kind of medicine ever! 

Anna, Nick and Maia invited the three of us to take a carriage ride around Marrakech for one of Maia's Christmas presents.  This is definitely a very touristy thing to do-- but we admit that we have really wanted to do it!  Why not ride in a horse and carriage while surrounded by taxis, mopeds, and crazy drivers?  At least you feel like you can be relaxed and take in the sites of the city rather than hang on for dear life.  For example, the other day while riding home, we spotted two men on a moped.  The driver-- well, driving.  But his passenger was holding a TALL piece of glass set between them, bobbing in and out of traffic...whaaaat?  Hilariousness.  Craziness.  Loving it all in Africa.

Claire was not enjoying the sun in her eyes:)

We ended the carriage ride at Dino's, a gelato parlour.  Claire threw a nice big fit for me because she didn't want to get out of the carriage... oh my.  At least I know what to get her for the next holiday.  We really enjoyed seeing parts of Marrakech we hadn't seen before.  The ritzy hotels and riads, the fountains, and parts of the medina.  It was lovely. 

The kids slept well that night.  They decided to have a slumber party in Chaddy's bed.  That is until Claire decided to climb out and find my in my bed.  These two are amazing friends and brother and sister.  They couldn't ask for a better relationship.

 



On Sunday, we went to a Christmas bazaar at the French Institute.  It was fun to see all of the vendors and their crafts.  I purchased Chad's presents for his teachers at the bazaar as well as some proper American cookies (yum!).  I should have purchased more cookies as they really are amazing and the supported a great cause.  Claire and Chad also saw Mickey Mouse.  Chad loved him while Claire was extremely interested but extremely apprehensive and a little afraid.  She wouldn't take her eyes off him but wouldn't get close. 





We are looking forward to our holiday in a matter of days!  France... here we come!

Nothing Prolific

On the way to work, I saw a man leading a cow on a leash.  In the middle of town. On a sidewalk.  A cow... on a leash... in the middle of town... on the sidewalk.  I laughed in disbelief.  I may have played a scenario through my head of them going to the ATM, but more seriously, they AT LEAST walked by the ATM.  They were in the middle of town.  Not nearing the edge of town.  No.  That would be normal.  This, well, was odd.  However, no one else really seemed to mind or pay notice on the streets.  Interesting... is this a daily walk with a pet?  Not too far of a stretch.  I also may have imagined what the guy would do if the cow decided to run or got scared.  All too many amazing scenarios to think about.  I could probably continue to entertain all of you with just pet cow scenarios.  But... I won't.

Have I mentioned that Mr. F left to go back to America?  I am sure I have, probably immediately after he left and the waterworks began.  I miss this guy.  We miss this guy.  The kids and I are feeling his absence.  Apparently, Chad thinks he is the fun one.  Win for Mr. F, fail for mom.  I miss his cooking, his face, his help raising our kids, his face, his laugh and banter, and his face.

Soon enough.  I began planning our Christmas trip today and I have officially booked part of it...  I may cause many of you pain, but the stories of where and what we did will come to the blog in it's own time.  I am giddy with excitement!

This weekend was busy.  I actually had a "long" weekend, as Claire woke up with conjunctitivis in her eye on Thursday.  Luckily, I was planned and prepared coming from The States with pink eye meds (whew).  I was in denial and went to work... that was a BAD idea.  Her eye was gooping, she was rubbing and screaming... ugh.  So I arranged a ride home, made sure Chad had someone to bring him home and Claire and I drove home with Mohammed.  We started her meds right away and just rested at the apartment.  On Friday, I was up and at it... ready for work.  Claire woke up with conjunctivitus in her other eye.  Genius mom didn't think to put drops in BOTH eyes... argh!  I sent Chad to school with a cake and goodies to celebrate with his classmates and Claire and I braved the doctor.

My thought while walking to the doctor went something like this: "You don't HAVE to go.  Why don't you want to go?  Well, you DO NOT know the language enough to communicate medical needs, or what your appointment desire is for... But if Joe was here, he wouldn't think twice.  He'd go.  If Joe was here, I'd go... aka safety net. Oh, Lex, stop.  Be a good mom, be brave and GO!"

So off we strolled, down the street, across from Poly du Sud the private hospital to the Pediatrition Naiama.  I walked in.  Told them she had goopy eyes (insert eye gesture here).  Then the lady said "ummmhmmmm."  Then, we had a stand off.  An awkward stand off.  I stood holding Happs, confused.  The lady stared like I was CRAZY.  She then told me to sit.  Oh.  It is that simple?  No registration?  No forms?  Nothing? 

So we sat, for an hour.  Finally people just started getting up in the order they came in and walking back when someone walked out.  Oh, dang.  They don't call us?  I missed our first opportunity and was ready for the second.  We walked in and I tried to communicate with the nurse, we did ok.  At least got the job done.  Then, I was able to communicate about her eyes and that she needed the Hep A booster... WHEW!  The appointment was a success, with a Hep A vaccination, conjunctivitis and an ear infection diagnosed we paid our very small bill, got our insurance papers stamped and were on our way to the pharmacy. 

On my way to the pharmacy, I did the math of the total cost of the entire doctor visit.  Our insurance reimburses at 90%, so I had to pay the bill in FULL.  I paid roughly $30 for the appointment, $30 for the vaccination and was about to discover I would be paying $9 for two prescriptions.  That is a total of about $70 USD all said and done... and I will get 90% of that $70 back after the insurance receives my claim.  Holy affordable health care... unfortunately, not true for a lot of Moroccans. 

After the doctor, Anna and I decorated Chad's cakes for his party that evening.  We had tea and played with frosting.  It was rather enjoyable. 

Shortly after, we FaceTimed with Joe so Chad could open his birthday gifts.  We opened a new scooter (69dhs scooter from August is falling apart), new shoes and a door basketball hoop from Happy. 

At 530p people started arriving for Chad's party.  The community here is amazing.  The house filled up with familiar faces and children's screams, the snack disappeared and we then sang Chaddy Happy Birthday nice and loud.  We all enjoyed the tasty cake and each other's company. Cheers to 6 years old!

On Saturday, we had our ASM expat community Thanksgiving Dinner.  I perfected my quiche for an appetizer and marinated some olives to add to the spread of dishes.  I decided on the elevator, that I must be near 30 if I am baking quiches and marinating olives.  These are two things I would have never done in my 20s...

We at appetizers at Bridgette's, moved down to Aisha's for dinner and up to Diego and Kate's for dessert.  The people, food and company was absolutely amazing.  It was worth the wait and was a fantastic filler for missing family and friends at home.  Not a replacement... a filler:)  The holidays, especially this one without Mr. F, was hard.  I had fun.  The kids had fun.  But there was definitely an incomplete feeling... 

On Sunday, my children painted and we put together our homemade Christmas tree... we have officially warmed our apartment with decorations and the spirit of Christmas.  Christmas movies are playing in our house and music is blaring at any moment we have. 

This week has a lot in store... such as more workouts like these:

As well as field trips, report cards and professional development.  On the more exciting side... another birthday party and a possible day trip to the mountains! 

Much love to all of you back at home.

xo

Lex