and the mom of the year award goes to...

NOT ME.  The past few weeks have been hectic, at best.  The Mom Crowd's latest post is titled "7 tips on running a marathon."  For those of you for run, well, good for you.  I've never understood the motivation to run, only to end up back where you started.  For me, being a mom of three active boys is running a marathon in and of itself.  I feel like every day I'm just racing to get to the finish line, which happens to be my bed to fall into, only to be woken up a few hours later by a teething baby.

The past two Fridays have been very bad mommy days for me.  Last Friday, while doing my hair, I gave baby bulb something to play with.  It was the bottle of my vitamins.  He likes shaking the bottle like a rattle.  Bad choice.  Yes, it had a child safety lid.  Apparently, it was either not closed properly or my curious nine month old figured out how to get it open.  What I do know is I looked down a few seconds later to find him attempting to get one of those pills in his mouth.  I still can't be sure if he actually got one or two down his throat, but I caught him in time to know it wasn't more than that.  I immediately called the Poison Control number (thank you, internet and Vonage) and was able to learn that based on his weight and the mg of iron in my vitamins, he would be fine.  However, ten pills could have been fatal!  I shed several tears that day, held my baby close, and all was well. 

This Friday, it was Teddy Bear's turn for near disaster.  We were at a small playground where I was participating in a garage sale.  Managing three kids and trying to sell some zero to nine month baby clothes while Abu Tulip was working was a bad idea.  I left my table briefly to run my oldest next door to his soccer game.  I asked another mom to look after him, but there was just too much going on.  A bunch of  little boys on a merry-go-round and my three year old fell and split his forehead open.  I didn't even see him fall.  A parent brought him to me, and I knew immediately he needed stitches.  So off to the hospital we did go, and three stitches later Teddy Bear is a happy boy.  He even wanted to get back on the merry-go-round when we returned.  Friends helped look after my boys and table, and we were back in under an hour.   As Friday is a day off, the roads were clear and the ER was almost deserted.  Arab Medical Center staff were kind and efficient, and I was so thankful my first experience in the ER with my own son went so smoothly. 

I know I have too much on my plate right now, and am struggling with what to do.  I am teaching English part time to rowdy fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, and am starting to see so much progress in their learning.  I sing in a choir which I love, and next weekend we will be traveling as a family with the choir to perform in The Holy City.  Along with playing piano for church, and teaching Sunday School in Arabic, I'm wiped.  The boys need their momma, and I need a break. 

My friends with older kids all smile with that knowing look - those treasured, hectic days of raising young children.  "It's all a blur," they say, "but I wouldn't change it for the world."  I'm trying to enjoy those special moments with my boys.  Their laughter, especially Teddy Bear's knock knock jokes and Oliver's Down by the Bay rhymes are getting me through the days. 

What about you?  When the laundry is piling up, your son needs help with his homework, and you still haven't cooked dinner, what helps you to get through the day?

~ Um Tulip

Who does what

Don't normally post silly forwards but this one caught my eye. I'm grateful for a husband who makes me coffee each morning. I'm not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination. Abu Tulip is heading to a work conference next week and I'll be alone with the kiddos for five days. Along with figuring out how to manage them on my own, a big worry is getting my coffee fix each morning in the midst of feeding and clothing three little boys in time for school.

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."

The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the B ible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says........ ..."HEBREWS"

Cincinnati Chili

For those of you from Ohio, the idea of putting Chili on spaghetti noodles is, well, normal.  I didn't know about ordinary chili until I was in high school, as Cincinnati style chili was a staple growing up.  Leftovers the next day were always coney dogs.  When we travel, I always bring Skyline Chili spice packets back with me to make at home.  However, here in Amman, there are two chains, Chili House and Chili Ways, that are much like Goldstar Chili and Skyline in Ohio.  Except I don't think they have oyster crackers. 

This Wikipedia article gives some info, the most important bit is that four Jordanian brothers started Goldstar in Cinci in 1965.  Chili House was started in Amman in 1985.  Obviously, it's all in the family. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Star_Chili

I actually prefer Skyline to Goldstar, started by Greek immigrants in Cinci in 1949.  I even had a cook-off with a friend here in Amman a couple years ago.  He was from Cinci and preferred Goldstar.  Needless to say, his favorite place to eat in Amman was Chili House.

So, Mommabean, you are invited to our home for chili.  Ahlen wa sahlen. 

~ Um Tulip

Oliver gets called a duck in class

Oliver is my oldest.  He's in an Arabic school, and doing his best to keep up in Arabic.  He has a lovely first grade teacher.  I'm also working at the school, part-time, in the English department.  Yesterday his teacher told me about a situation in class.  I just have to share it.

She was going around the room writing "batal" بطل on each child's hand.  This word can be translated as "hero" or "brave".  He often has this word written on his worksheets when he does a good job - and for my perfectionist son, it is often.  The teachers go on and on about his neat Arabic handwriting.  For those of you who know my handwriting, his is better than mine.  I'm not worried about his handwriting, but I do want him to speak!  But I digress. 

So the teacher was putting this on the kids' hands to show them they were great students.  As she was writing this on his hand, Oliver turned to the teacher and asked, "Why are you writing 'duck' on my hand?"  I'm sure the wheels in his brain were turning, "is duck a good thing or a bad thing?". 

The word for duck is "bata"  بطة and as the 'l' sound in Arabic is just a little different than the English 'l' he did not recognize the difference in the two words.  I'm glad he learned his teacher thinks he is a "hero" and not a "duck" !
                                                  ~ Um Tulip

Seen around town....

Our city turns 100

A friend just wrote about the centennial celebration that took place on Friday.  He did such a wonderful job that you all must take a look here. 

As usual, life is keeping me crazy busy which means no interesting posts.  Unless you want to hear me rant and rave about a classroom of 20 fourth grade boys.  Advice on discipline?  How to implement cooperative learning in the classroom?  How to get them to speak only in English for an hour straight? 

Until later, Um Tulip

Beauties of Technology: Khutbeh across the ocean

We just got back from a fascinating trip to Jerusalem, but that's not what I'm going to write about.  Still collecting my thoughts on that one.  However, the night before we left we attended a Khutbeh (engagement party) of the sister of some good friends.  The engagement ceremony is formal and includes dancing, cake, and fancy dresses.  It is much like a wedding, just not quite so ostentatious.  It involves the parents agreeing to the marriage, jewelry, and lots of pictures.  After this ceremony the couple is now allowed to date, be seen in public as a couple, and start preparing for the wedding.

The family of the bride-to-be includes seven sisters, one of whom lives in America.  I'll call her R.  As her baby sister is going to be married, she wanted to be part of the Khutbeh.   Another sister brought her laptop with a USB internet connection and set up Skype for the duration of the ceremony. 

As sister S was dancing with her fiance, sister R was also dancing in a fancy dress, in her dining room in California, right along with her.  It was a beautiful site.  The seven sisters were all in tears, so happy to share this moment as a family, even though R was so far away.  The family moved the laptop around the room, swaying to the music, offering her cake, and did everything they could to have her participate. 

As one who lives far away from family, I was really touched by the family unity I saw and grateful for the way technology has helped us all feel a little closer.

~ Um Tulip