H1N1 has made its' way to the Ukraine

We had a nice day, studied Jazz with the boys this afternoon, we learned about Dixieland and Swing Jazz, the boys had fun, we found a nice site on pbs kids. Isa ended up with a busted lip thanks to Ibrahim and him tusseling over the remote for the tv. Idreis and Ish were happy to get out of here and go to practice with Khalid. I took the others to the "kid's gym" as Inayah has named it, the indoor play area. They had a good run for a hour and we walked there so the walk back was a little brutal for them because of the weather conditions and lack of nap for the day, but we made it. It is getting cold here and definently need hat and gloves and layers on. My cheeks were rosey when we made it back.
Managed to get them all in bed by 9:30, only to find out from Khalid that the team has cancelled next week road trip because of H1N1 and then I get online and do some surfing, to also learn that they have closed schools here for 3 weeks....... Now if you have been reading, you know what that means...., 3 more weeks of homeschool! Dont' know if I should scream now or later. The links I found are here under H1N1 and Influenza A. I have to admit I am a bit on the weary side... I don't know if the vacine is safe, but I do know they don't even have it here yet... we did get the regular flu shots before we left. The ironic thing is when we were walking home from the playland I saw a man with a medical face mask on, and I thought to myself, I wonder why he has that on...., now I know why. I know the best things we can do is keep our hands washed, etc.. good thing they have all been breastfed and have all those extra infectious fighting immune systems. Some good information from the CDC, and I know that hand washing and other common sense tools are the best way to fight flu and other sickness.
I'm still a little scared, okay a lot scared... but can't let fear be my guide.

This Is It !!!

We tried to go last night to the movie, it is showing in English for a week, unfortunately it was sold out. We were all bummed. But, we were able to go this afternoon. The movie theater was really nice, chandilers, pillars and red leather cushioned seats that reclined, really nice... the popcorn was good too. We all enjoyed the movie, when it first started I started to tear up but no tears fell, I guess my heart was tearing up inside. The music was good and it was fun for all of us to sing the songs. Inayah was singing so loud to Beat It, that when the clip in the movie was over, she was still singing, "Beat It!!" all loud, the whole theater had a laugh together. She also made sure to tell me that, "Michael Jackson is my favorite singer and Barack Obama is my favorite president", and also wanted to know where he is buried at so" we can go visit him". Inayah was up dancing for about the last half of the movie, trying to imitate the moves of Michael. Isa fell asleep 3/4 the way through the movie, full on popcorn, juice boxes and M&Ms. Ibrahim had to show us his crotch grabbing moves in the dark when Billie Jean came on. I glanced over a few times to catch Khalid up out of his seat dancing and popping. It was special to share as a family, especially remembering how we stayed awake unitl 2am listening to his music and watching the music videos the evening that he passed away.
I liked the movie and it was for a me a nice closing to his life. Michael Jackson was a wonderful humanitarian and if anything else I hope people leave this movie with a desire to help create change in the world. As we left the movies, it was slightly drizzling outside, perfect for our slightly sad mood. I opened the heavy doors and yelled out, "MIIIAAACCCHHHEEAAALLL!!!, WE MISS YOU!!", Ishmael looked at me and laughed because this is not the first time I have done this. Idreis followed in suit with the rain as his eyes filled with tears and his cheeks held onto them until they fell onto the cement and joined the puddles that were already there. He cried the entire taxi ride home and up the 6 flights of stairs. I reminded him that, AllahuAllam, Allah Knows Best, and that we have to pray for his family, and children, and mother/father. Because as much as we think we miss him, they miss and love him even more. Sure to be a Michael Jackson music evening on the sixth floor.
We saw the movie at www.kinopalace.net for anyone who may read and want to catch a movie in English.

So we are at the park and Ibrahim, Isa and Inayah are jumping and sliding on one of the blow-up bouncers, you can pay 15 uah and jump for 8 mintues. Another girl comes to jump and we can hear English faintly, so I ask the father if he is from the States, and what do you know, he is from Cold Springs/St Cloud area. I told him that we were from MN, but I don't think he belived me. Maybe he thought me and the Six would jump him in broad daylight or follow him home??.. Who knows, either way, it was ironic and kind of cool.

Countdown begins, as the older three will start school on Monday. Idreis is a little worried about being the new kid and had a cry this afternoon about that, Inayah can't wait, and Ishmael is just too cool and laid back to be bothered... And one of the other American ballplayers has a daughter that will start as well, so he will already have a friend. The registration was a bit overwhelming but they all played outside at the school park so at least I didnt have to bother with them. Just a lot of paperwork. But they are all squared away, not sure how they are getting to school on Monday but at least we have a few days to get packbacks and get all of that figured out.

I got down on the 1's and 2's in the kitchen tonight, although I did find a great Indian restuarant that is not far from us, can't wait to go there,but will have to wait, because we went grocery shopping and seemed a bit wasteful to go out and eat when we had food in the fridge to cook..
Also found some white sugar at the neighborhood shop so now I may try and make some brownies tomorrow...???

Two Black Eyes

Not feeling the greatest healthwise, think I have some type of flu coming on.. who knows, just trying to drink a lot of liquids, feels like I have a headache in the back of my neck. Where is my doctor when I need him?!
We did make cookies this afternoon, they turned out okay, I did not have white sugar so substituted syrup instead. They taste a bit off to me, but the children like them so I guess that's all that matters. I had to measure by the eye as I don't have any measuring cups, so that could have been the problem too. I'm sure they have white sugar somewhere, I had the brown sugar thanks to my packages, which 4 have still not arrived... why I paid for priority 6-10 days...
Idreis and Ish cut up the vegetables for the Curry while the rest did cookie patrol. It was interesting to see how much better they all get along when they are working together for a common cause. There was at least no arguing for that 1/2 hour of cutting and baking. We all worked listening to the very best of the Jacksons.
We left the sixth floor and took a walk out, so glad that I brought the sling, much easier than lugging the stroller and forces Isa to walk. The one I have is made by Munchkin and is called Jelly Belly. We walked around for bout a half hour and found ourselves in front of a huge toy store. They all picked something out, Inayah a baby doll in a crib, and the boys all remote control cars, Isa got a lego car. We had to walk the rest of the way back home in the dark which I was a little aprehensive but it was only about 3 blocks and we made it back in here safely. The boys flew to the upper level to make ramps and play with the cars, as I finished getting the kiwi cut for dinner and made the rice for the curry, I peaked in on Inayah playing and poor Inara was sitting in the baby crib with the new baby. Now the baby crib is a little over a foot long and about a 1/2 foot wide. Inara was just as happy as could be sucking on the baby dolls bald head. Inayah was pretending to feed Inara, and she went right along with the imaginary play, opening her mouth to eat air food. It was too cute. They are sitting around now playing Uno minus Isa. Khalid and them won the game, he had 33 points 6 assists.
I'm about to serve dinner and relax with the Wall-e puzzle that I bought at the toy store.
And it's Isa with the two black eyes, one thanks to Idreis and the other thanks to ??? who knows.. how it happened.

Back In The WebWorld

Okay so I have spent the last few days missing my life at home. It finally hit me that I am going to be here for awhile, which is fine, that's not the part that bothers me or makes me tear up. I miss the simple things, I miss my lifestyle in the States. I quickly have been reminded how much I like ripping and running and jumping in the truck and hitting the road. I miss my hair stylist and my short walks down to Lunds, my good life like Kanye says. I miss my clothes dryer in the basement, sick of hanging clothes, although I do know it is better for the environment. The simple treats of an Uptown massage and a call-in to The Fish House for a number 6 add 4 shrimp. Whaaw whaaah wawww!!!

okay enough tears and crying

I did learn my first Russian word, I am planning to bake some chocolate chip cookies with the children tonight after the pizza comes, so anyways, I had to buy some butter (Maslak), we went down to the mom/pop shop downstairs and bought some with the help of the Point It book that G&G gave us.

Today will be the first of four spent without K, they are on the road again.
Headed out now to finally really go to the zoo.

We have our own taxi driver who we call regularly, and he was outside at 5pm to pick us up after 2 hours at the Kyiv zoo. We had a really nice time, and I have to say the Six were at their top behavior, I had really no problems and so that was wonderful. We saw some really cool animals, peguins, lion cubs, and a lot of snakes which was fun because we have been watching about them so much on Animal Planet. Inayah also took note that many of the animals were not taken are of very well. One of the zebras had wounds, the rhino had something going on top of his head. She has been watching too much of Animal Rescue, even though she is right about the condition. I am sorry to say that MN Zoo has them beat, although they have just celebrated their 100 year anniversary this year. The poor elephant was dancing instead of the normal crazy pacing, we all teased that he was doing the 1..2.. step over and over and over. The animals were very friendly and a lot of them came up close to the fences. But the overall attempts to create habitats were not the greatest. They did a nice job in the Reptile House, but then at the same time, they had the lions, pacing leopard and lion cubs in the same building... a very nice assortment of snakes, crocs, lizards and also a lot of birds throughout the zoo park. We didn't make it to the walkway or park part of the zoo, 2 hours was enough walking for Isa although I did bring the stroller. It seemed like they had a whole entire park to walk through besides the zoo. Hialrious to see skunks and racoons on exhibit. None of the monkeys were out, in fact all their cages were empty. Also the bear section was empty or being renovated. The wolves were also pacing and pacing which was sad. We all shared a cotton candy which was 3.50 greivans. Fun thing too was we were able to see the tiger eating meat and also one of vultures/falcons, and also the baby zebra (my favorite) I will list all of the favorites.
Ishmael= The whole Reptile house
Idreis= the crocidiles
Inayah= the snakes
Ibrahim= the horses
Isa= the zebras

On to the first baking project sine we been here. The oven seems to work good, the muffins and cornbread were a hit. I will just have to figure out the conversion temperature so they dont burn up.

3 + 3 =06 and 3X3=09

Simple equations right? Well look a little closer... I am 33 today with six children and it is 2009. Just a little numerology for my BIRTHDAY!!! I was able to sleep in which was nice and had a nice American breakfast with Aretha Franklin in Spanish Harlem. Thank you to my mom for my webcam cake it was delicious! Very sweet email from G&G, made me tear up.

I don't know why we thought it would be a good idea to take Six children shopping for a jacket. Needless to say we didn't buy anything except an outfit for Isa but we did have a very nice walk around the neighborhood and I was able to see a few stores that I will be visiting again minus a few children. We just came back from dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Tokio, it was like a Kiev version of Benihana's minus the yummy yummy sauce. We had a nice time. Of course the finale of the evening was Isa not making it the bathroom for a number 2 visit. Luckly he had longjohns on, which are now in the wastebasket of the bathroom at Tokio. I was like Whoah!!, this tops my evening and reminded me that I am a mother first. Cake and icecream back at the apartment. I will post pics tomorrow. 33 and Tired.

'Things have Changed"- Inayah

I should be sleeping, waiting on Khalid and Ishmael to come home but I might not make it. At least was able to get the little boys to sleep in their room and not on the livingroom floor, which has been a campground for the last few nights. Inayah has been on www.ixl.com which is a great website, you can try it for free for a little while, I went ahead and paid for a month membership. They all have been using it and all seem to like it. Idreis has spent the last hour trying to build a card castle, he has not gotten pass the second level, but each time it falls, he sighs, and starts again, so determined. We didnt do too much today, took Idreis back to the dentist to have his cavity temporarily filled, he will go back for the third visit on the 31st. We walked down to the big store, still no cash, but my goldcard worked just fine, so we bought a few things, managed the three bags up the stairs. Isa is such a helper, only thing is I should not have given him the bag with the pickles, he somehow managed to bust the glass and the bottom of the flight, so there was a big pickle juice spill as we walked in and a pickle juice trail leading all the way up the stairs to our door... Oh well.. We Skyped with a few family members today and that was fun, it is nice to see everyone. Makes us feel just a little bit closer. Looking forward to my birthday tomorrow.
Inayah had Idreis' first grade teacher and they were both comparing their time with her. Both remembering times with Mrs. Bielke during the lockdowns and emergency drills. So, when Idreis was informing her on his version, she politely and snickerly said, "Things have changed", we all cracked up.
Dinner was a bit of a joke, well lets just say, thrown together, but everyone ate. Pickles and cheese for starters... dont know what kind of cheese we purchased at the store but one of them was like a smokey string cheese and the other one... really could ahve used some crackers, I jsut hope it wasn't goat cheese or something, but they ate it. Then they had bananas and pears followed by french fries and steamed shrimp... The one cool part of being overseas is you can always blame the dinner on the lack of having a Lunds around the corner to pick up what you need.
Khalid and them won the game, he had 14points and 6 assists. I'm sure Ishmael had a blast on the road.

Rain Rain Go Away, Cant Get Off The 6th Floor Today

Long, long morning, followed by a long long afternoon. Thank goodness for Martha Stweart and Big Lots, I found some craft projects there before we left and purchased about 5 craft kits, they were only $2 a pack, well worth it on a day like today. One of them which was four puppets to assemble. They were much easier to do then the pipe cleaner barn animals. So I am now watching puppet shows they couldnt seem to get it together enough to do a puppet show together so we are watching indiviual puppet shows. Idreis made an elephant, Inayah a bear, Ibrahim a tiger and Isa a monkey. Ishmael is out of town with Khalild. I braided Inara's hair in four cornrows today and it looks really cute. Her and Isa have the sniffles and a cough. Besides the rain, I have only American dollars, and cant walk to the bank with two sickies in the rain. We are also out of water, not sure if the tap water is okay, I have seen people filling their bottles with water at the park, but not gonna chance that one either. I am going to try and scrape up the change around here and walk 3 buildings down to the small mom/pop shop. Headed out now.

Ramadan in Ocotber !!

Three boxes arrived today and Khalid just brought them up the flight of stairs, Inayah and Isa were the first to discover them. We unpacked them and which much delight found Bisquick, syrup, pudding mix, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and Isa's favorite; cereal. He is going to be very happy in the morning with his Frosted Flakes. For those of you who know of Isa's cereal addictions, I have a funny story. So now, he eats his bowl of cereal and instead of asking for seconds and thirds he now just says, " I want oatmeal now".. Hilarious

I also was able to finally get my hair conditioner and Ms. Jessie's products which are perfect for people with natural curly hair. No more Frederick Douglass jokes for Khalid. Inayah will be ready for the runway. It was like Ramadan over here as we ripped open the boxes... still missing at least four boxes with all of my Thanksgiving items that I need to make our meal.

Headed to the zoo or back to the indoor playland. Either way gotta get off the sixth floor.

Made it tot he playland, the walk down was the same as the walk home, Isa... hollering all the way. We all sang The Ants Go Marching, but he could have cared less and literally yelled and screamed and cried without tears the whole walk back, I didnt even dare meet eyes with all the people staring, and I wasn't even holding his hand tightly, although I felt like screaming with him. They didnt really play that nicely at the indoor area, Inayah had about four crying fits, and Idreis had fun terrorizing everyone. Ibrahim actually won the best behavior award (his first), but he did nice and he is so strong, they have a firemans pole there and he pulled himself up it, six times. We are both cooking dinner now and he is helping wash dishes. He has been on the same pan for the last 15 minutes but it keeps him from bothering Idries who is feeding Inara some baby food. So, two Ibo tips (vacuming and dishes).

Cold and Windy... I Need A Jacket!

Okay you all know I had to at least give myslf a shout out!! Another birthday overseas, and K will be on the road again, so another birthday that I will be spending alone, with the children. Yeah!! WewhHewh!!! I dont know if anyone knows of SpryoGyra they will actually be in town the night of my birthday but we wont be going because it is a late show.. I did comtiplate going, because the ad does say all ages, imagine all of us at that concert. It is the final day of a 3-day jazz series that is going on in Kiev. http://www.jazzinkiev.com/

I know my mom hated that color of font, so changing it for her. We managed to get up and out today by 1145am, to go and visit the British school here, so far they are the top pick, and are the only school that has offered a discount for multi-children attendance. Inayah decided to stay in the classroom with the teacher while the rest of us went through the remainder of the school, so like her to want to be alone and in a classroom. The class sizes are small in all the grades and nice mixture of boys and girls as well. After that we went to T.G.I.Friday's, I had a chicken salad... not what I wanted but trying to eat healthier. The children were behaved and we all managed to squeze into a booth with Isa sitting at the end in a highchair.

Idreis is at the dentist still, it is 630pm now and his appointment was at 4pm, hoping they are just in traffic. Oh!!, the traffic... now I have driven in plenty of rush hours, Istanbul, New York City with Charles & Arlene, and Los Angeles, but the traffic here is ridiculous and not just at a particiular time of day but all day, and seems to be in all areas. So glad to have a driver and be able to take a quick power nap in the van. Today we actually traveled in two taxis, and they drove us to all of our appointments. Not sure what is going on for dinner, but Isa is begging me to make oatmeal... Not gonna happen.

Still have not made it back to the zoo, but did find a dolphin show that is daily. Also found a great website http://www.inyourpocket.com/ and it has all the restaurants you would ever want to know about. I even was able to find Indian, a New York Steakhouse and Turkish.. We went to Tike when Rosa was here, and this is Turkish as well, we knew of it from Istanbul. I miss Turkish food, it was so nice to have that meal together.

Inara is teething, one of the bottom teeth has cut through and the gums for the second one are just very swollen, she is still in good spirits and smiled at me this morning when she first woke up. Frozen washcloth in apple juice and also just me massaging her gums seems to work well. Still no crawling, but getting a lot of stomach time as needed for her age.
Back from the dentist and has to gargle and brush 6 times a day.. dont know how that is gonna happen as we barely can get him to brush twice a day..

Looks like dessert is happening before dinner tonight since K just brought home popsicles.
Still dont know about dinner plans..

Glad to have my sweater on, going to make some tea and relax.

Embarrassed to say thatwe found out that Fridays delivers and so we had that for dinner as well, on my defense I did try and search the internet for about an hour for a Chinese place that delivers but was unsuccessful. We need to go grocery shopping because it is getting bare inside of the fridge. Oatmeal is running out and the Nutrigrain bars are gone..

The Six ended up watching Finding Nemo on Ishamel's laptop because for some reason it does not work on the dvd player that we bought over here. It is funny when I took this picture I did not even ask them to pose and how ironic they are all propped up the same staring into movie land. Idreis and Ishmael had a sit-up contest, Idreis won with 55, it was too funny, I will have to video tape the next round.

Six Little Monkeys Driving to the Zoo

First time we are all home alone, as K is on the road. Chilled out this morning, made sure the older three took their spelling tests. Then decided to head out to the Kyiv Zoo, we all jumped in a cab Turkish style, Ish had Isa on his lap in the front, and all the rest of us squished in the back. Got over to the zoo only to find out it was closed on Mondays... taxi cab back to the apartment.. needless to say we were all disappointed, Inayah was more on the pissed side, "So, we're just gonna go home?, I mean we could go bowling." I cooked dinner early and then left it covered with foil and we walked up to the park/ We walked around and they played and ran. I bought some bubbles from the pony ride crew, and blew them for all the children. We ended up with about six Ukrainian toddlers around us, two sisters in matching jackets enjoyed them. Inayah met a girl who was her age and spoke English a bit, the girl had a good time practicing her English. It is so funny to see the stares and watch people attempting to count the blur of children that run past them. We decided we wanted to learn how to say, "Hello, why are you staring?", in Russian. We all laughed together thinking about that. So many young people drink so leisurely, and so much public affection from young couples. Walked back home and since we were not able to make it into the zoo, feeling guilty, I bought some Sprite for them to have with dinner.... Okay, truth is I haven't had a Coke since we have been here and since it was my first day alone with them since I have been here, I need a drink!! and I derseve it!!

So to all my Coke drinkers, this one is for us.

We may try the zoo again tomorrow but hopeful to go to Meridian School for a visit and also take Idreis to the dentist. Idreis won the laugh of the day when he said, "It's geting serious!" We all cracked up. Ibrahim wins again for pest of the day, he may hold this title for the whole visit as he seems to know well how to get beneath all of our skin. One thing is for sure, we are all getting our legs in shape walking up these six flights of stairs, as you can see in the video. Isa is getting quite good at them, the first week we were here he would make it halfway and then be like, Oh, my legs, my legs", now when he gets tired he just wants someone to hold his hand.

Rainy Day

It was gloomy when I woke up today, I dreaded the idea of thinking of being inside the whole day with them. We all just relaxed for the most part all morning and afternoon. Ishmael went to practice with Khalid and I couldn't stand another moment on the sixth floor so decided to take the others for a walk. We went to the bigger grocery store that is like a bootleg Walmart. It is about six blocks down from us. We went to the upper level of the store and purchased some silverware, as we have been washing dishes after half of us eat or using spoons when we really need forks. I also bought some bleach for the downstairs bathroom that had the aroma of a four and two year old that dont quite know how to aim (so glad to have that cleaned), and a comb, so that Inayah can get some braids,
Khalid teased her today and said she looked like Frederick Douglass.


After purchasing those items we headed to the childrens area to get a puzzle. To all of our suprise, there was a indoor play area, bigger than McDonald's has too. They were all excited, and so was I because I know they hadn't had any excercise besides the down. So from what I could tell, parents can drop their children off while they shop. It was $20 greivans per child. The two ladies working spoke a bit of English but one of them seemed bothered by my lack of speaking Russian. The kids had a good time playing.
Tacos for dinner and movie night

Jehovah Witness Attacks in Russian

We made it out of the apartment after a long morning of home schooling. I think we will all be happy when a school is chossen. Althought they are all doing well considering mom is the teacher. We headed down the Six flights of stairs and out the lobby door, the sun greeted us, I had no idea that is was so warm, we are all over dressed. Of course, I am wearing black... Bad choice. We didnt really have a destination but decided not to go to the park because we always got that way. We head down a busy street,which they all seem to be since we live downtown. I wish that I could read the signs, heck read anything. The only sign I can manage to read is in bright red and says, "Tattoo", so when all you body artists come and visit, we can go there.

A few more blocks down Inayah notices a little girl and waves to her. We turn left up the block and the next thing I notice a lady trying to get my attention. She waves her hands around in a universal sign languge to ask me if all six of the children are mine, I nodd my head yes. Next thing she pulls out a magazine. I am steady shaking my head no, no, no and saying, "English, English". All I can make out from her Russian is. "Jehovah Witness". I laugh to myself, thinking, they are even persistant and overbearing Jehovah Witnesses in the Ukraine. She attempts to turn the page of the magazine and starts rambling again. I pat her on her shoulder and smile, shaking my head NO, one more time and then we continue on. This happened to be the mother of the little girl Inayah smiled at.

Isa is home sick and walks the apartment saying, " I want mommies house, I dont like this house, i want to go home, i want to watch movies in my room, I want mommies home." Poor baby, he keeps getting his shoes and jacket thinking we can just walk next door and be home.



We had our usually Friday night dance off, not sure who won but Idreis had some new moves and Ibrahim footwork was one of the evenings highlights. Ishmael put together a thought out routine and Inayah ended her dancing with the splits. I would call it a four way tie.

El-Amin's 33pts, Not Enough...

It was a had been a rainy evening, I finally found the energy to push myself off the couch at 4pm, still suffering from my own personal jetlag and then dealing with the lack of sleep from the Six, I was literally sick with sleep. The driver would be back to get us at 630pm.

Waited for Sacscha on the block underneath the protection of a boutiques over hang, he is late, traffic and weather conditions. Finally pulls up, we all make our way into the van. At least I can drift back to sleep for the ride, we all did.

Arrived at the game a few minutes into the second quarter, we are down six. Momentum is upbeat, the big men are getting hammered and one of them is in foul trouble. A few nice jumpers and drives by El-Amin. The game is against a team called Kryvbasbasket. Isa is begging for "Something" by half-time, and we are still down 39-43. Ishmael and Idreis made it out on the court for a few shots and show for the crowd.

The team rallied a few times in the third, a few steals and executed offense, but Budivelnik was never able to gain the lead, although tied it at least once or twice in the second half. El-Amin had a few threes in the last mintues of the games but it was not enough for a victory. He finished with 33 points, 7 assists, 1 steal. Game final score was 97-92.

Still raining when we leave the game and a bit chilly, We found a pizza spot called New York Street Pizza, the large is the size of a small and is cut in four pieces. Price is not bad and chicken with cheese and pinneapple, the children loved. Isa didnt made it to dinner as he was fast asleep as soon as we walked into the apartment. They watched the movie Chilly Dogs and I decided to retire early for once and prayed for no 1am cereal demands.

MyMorning

Been awake since 5am, thanks to jet lag from Ibrahim and Isa, feeding them for the second time today, they were up at 1am for cereal. Dishes done,, kitchen cleaned up, wondering why I stayed up so late last night. 3 bathes out the way, baby back to sleep, cooking breakfast for the late risers. On my way to make fajr now. I would love the over-time hours if this job even paid.

Only visited one school today, it was really nice and amazing what the children were studying. There was a painting from a student in the hall way with the earth at the center and four gold/yellowish balls surronding the earth and in the corner printed in 4th grade penmanship were the words " We are only here for a short time", Very touching and almost made me cry... very wierd.

Dinner at a Greek restaurant that was good, Isa only managed to break one glass and Idreis spilled water all over the table, Ibrahim fell asleep after the warm bread and olive oil was served. Im not sure that we ordered any Greek foods, I had chicken breasts and rice.

Rosa is leaving in the morning and then the real challenge begins.
Finally punching ou at 1:24am

TheFlightOver

The flight over was not bad at all, all of the children did great on the first flight to Amsterdam, movies, snacks and psp games kept all of us sane. I felt bad for the mother two rows in back of us who had two screaming children aboout 80% of the flight. The eyes rolls and sighs from other passengers were loud. I was just glad it wasmt for any of mine. The six hour layover was the WORST. We attempted to find the layback chairs that Grandma Dot told us about... of course they were all full. We passed a lot of people asleep on black cushioned benches, but it looked too much like a bus depot for me and I had my babies and my two Louie bags, there was no way that I was going to drift asleep for even a minute on the fake couches.. Off to the Yotel to pay for a rook for 5 hours of slumber... that was booked.. check back in a few hours, this is like at 6:30am, Inayah is begging for McDonalds,which is not going to happen. We walk back and take over a section of the McD's area, try to make everyone lay down, at least I did pack each a blanket for the plane ride, those came in very handy during the layover.. Rosa checks back at Yotel.. no rooms still. 7am, we are all a bit delirious, we move to the black bench section Idreis is layed out on the floor and has made a pallet for himself. I know the man to the left of us has to be pissed because he was sleeping hard before we arrived in his section. There has to be a room so I check back.. now why the lady told Rosa there was no room and I walk up and Clare is giving a room away?, You know I am about to snap, I think twice about it, because we need to sleep!! We get a room until 11am at the Yotel.. hmmm lets just say it was like a VIP cell block with a double bed, when we all got in and closed the door... we were like sardines. I attepmted to find a place for everyone, put the stroller in the shower, tried to shove Idreis into a liitle cubby space, and then started thinkng about fire codes as we were all blocked in by the push cart storing the carry ons. How would we all get out? I wondered. Hmmm.. I cant sleep in here, it's too tight. Ishmael and Ibrahim and Inara and me all leave the room and slowly trudge back to the benches, We luckly find two that have been pushed together to form a half decent twin bed, Ishmael crashes, I stay awake for a bit, now mind you, it is like 2am in the morning for all of us. I have my eyes half peeked watching Ibo, who decides he should have a second wind. He is hungry so we leave Ishmael asleep go and get him a slice of Sbarro's and a smoothie. His belly is full and he passes out using Ish as a pillow. I put one hand on the stroller (which Nari is sleep in) and the other hand on my purse (hidden under the blanket), close my eyes and airport sleep on the fake couches.
Next flight is a breeze, 2 hours, we all sleep.
Arrive safely to our destination and put half our bags in a taxi because we all couldnt fit in the van.