It’s hard to believe that we really only have a couple of months left in Kuwait. The last time we left, I had a feeling that we may return one day {though I had no idea it’d be so soon}, but that’s not happening this time around. Our time here is nearly done and there will not be a round three. So, with that in mind, we’ve been trying to get out and enjoy Kuwait as much as possible in these final months.
Another week, another round of Preschool Book Club with our lovely online friends – Buggy and Buddy, Sugar Aunts, Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, and Homegrown Friends!
This time around our book was Freight Train by Donald Crews, a colourful book centred around the different types of train cars and their colours. The story follows the train through tunnels, by cities, over trestles, and eventually into the night where it disappears out of sight.
With it being spring break currently, this year’s Easter fun was sort of spread out over several days to accommodate meet-ups with friends and some planned family outings. Not that Miss G minded one bit… I’m pretty sure she would have continued the celebration all week long if she could! ☺
Ahh… Such a great morning! Some very good friends of ours here in Kuwait hosted an Easter egg hunt / party for the munchkins in our play school co-op and it was fantastic. After meeting up at their house and getting a group photo of all of the munchkins {so cute!} and then one of each mom with her littles, we headed to a nearby nursery for an egg hunt. There was grass(!), greenery(!), and a beautiful kept playground(!), and the kids had an absolute blast working as a team to find all 100 eggs left by the Easter Bunny. After we were all sufficiently sunned and sweaty, we headed back to the house where the kids traded in their eggs for prizes and the host treated us all to a delicious brunch. It was a wonderful morning and I’m so thankful to have our family of friends here to celebrate with while we’re away from our families back home in Canada. {It goes without saying that it’ll be very sad to say goodbye to them come June, but I’m currently in denial about all impending goodbyes. ☹}
When you live in Kuwait, you don’t get all that many visitors. For our families, it’s pretty much on the opposite side of the world, and it is Kuwait after all… I know that sounds bad, but I don’t mean that in a negative way. I’m truly happy that we’ve spent 6 years here and living in the Middle East has afforded us plenty of luxuries and opportunities to see the world {hello, Italy, Ireland, Thailand, France, and Germany}, but if we’re being honest, Kuwait is simply not a place that is high on many people’s ‘to see’ list.
This afternoon, after a lovely morning out of the house, Miss G and I got started on the first of our homemade Easter treats. After seeing some milk chocolate lollies covered with pastel-coloured candy sprinkles while at Dean & Deluca last, I knew we could very easily make our own {healthier} version and that’s exactly what we did today… We made dark chocolate fruit and nut lollies and Miss G is pleased as punch about having a bowl full of these pretty little lollies sitting in our kitchen!
For a brief period of time, I told myself that I could make it through the last few months of our time in Kuwait without a Hilton membership once it expired. Then I came to my senses, visited the manager to arrange for a pass that would take us through to the summer, paid the ridiculous fee, and breathed a sigh of relief. I also arranged for a pass for Brad’s mom to use while visiting, and I’m so glad I did. It sounds dramatic, but this place is our sanity in what can be a somewhat chaotic country. It’s where we escape the unbearable heat and spend hours in a chilled pool. It’s where we come to use a safe and clean playground. It’s where I come to spend some ‘me time’ walking at night. It feels normal and oftentimes, that’s exactly what we need.
Oh, how I love Preschool Book Club weeks! Grae and I always have a great time reading our book and exploring it further through playful activities, and this week was no different.
The weather forecast called for rain and a dust storm, but we did let that come in the way of the beach day we’d planned with friends. Instead, we packed up family-sized bento of snacks and our bag of beach toys, convoyed out to Khiran, and hoped for the best. The afternoon worked out perfectly – the weather was warm but not too hot, the kids played happily, and the rain held out just until we were packing up to leave around 5 o’clock. It was a lovely day that ended with a filthy munchkin and a long bath, but all good days should end that way, shouldn’t they?
While I quite like the super simple no-fuss chocolate play dough we made on vacation with an empty pantry, it just isn’t quite as lovely as our usual play doughs, and that’s simply not right when you love play dough as much as we do. ☺ So today, during quiet play time, I set off to re-vamp our recipe and create a super soft and squishy chocolate play dough that was every bit as good as all of our other doughs… And I’m happy to report that I succeeded! Here’s the recipe…
Finally. The Beautiful Oops instalment of our Preschool Book Club with our friends from Buggy and Buddy, Sugar Aunts, Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, and Homegrown Friends. We love this book!
Spring on the horizon means that it was finally time for us to say au revoir to the Christmas and winter play dough kits we’ve had around for months… New season, new play dough sets – that’s what they say, right?? ☺
