Bedtime routine

Our bedtime routine has always consisted of story-time ever since the twins were just babies....we have pics of us reading Hop On Pop and Fox in Socks since they were just little....but now it has a whole new meaning.... now they are old enough to enjoy our treasured chapter books from our own childhood!!!!! Our current nightly routine still consists of bath, then silly game time with daddy, then story time with mom which until this year was just their favorite picture books...but with the start of first grade and their love for reading growing fast ....we've started reading chapter books together as well... Our first fav... Beverly cleary....we are 4 books into the Ramona series and they just can't get enough !!!! Mommy reads first then they read with their flashlights until we have to say lights out guys....we have school tomorrow !!!! 

Above is silly game time with daddy which is part puppet show part rough house time lol 

Here are g and t looking ahead to see what happens next in our chapter books 

Ty is looking at the book we just finished Ramona the brave 

Grace is looking ahead to see what will happen now in Ramona and her father !!!

Kids Winter Concert

It has been another busy few weeks. Last week seemed like a health test. My asthma kicked my butt as it seemed an elephant had decided to sit on my chest. Once the weekend came and after seeing the dr here, I felt better but Tyler was somehow exposed to peanuts at a birthday party even though I was super careful as always! So he was puking his guts out all weekend long. 

So after that horrible week for me and weekend for Ty we were all more than ready for this fun filled week to begin. One of the nice things about school here in Baku is that because they do start early (August 18/19) we get a week long break in October and THREE weeks off for winter!!!!!

That makes this week the last one of school for us until the new year! 

So Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I spent my mornings helping Grace and Tyler and their classmates get in and out of their costumes for their winter concert. I cannot quite describe the feeling of internal happiness I have had this week being able to just "be there". No strings attached. Just "available" to help the kids. My heart has been so full being able to watch them with their friends learning and growing and being happy. I love that they are still at the age where it is "ok" to see your mom in the hallway and come running out of class to give her a big giant leap and a hug with several kisses! I dread the day they look away embarrassed to be seen with their mom.

After waiting so long to have these miracle babies of mine, I never forget to count my blessings and that fact that I am able to stay home with them while we are here in Baku. I have never wanted anything more than to be a mom. But now that I can be a mom and be with them too, my heart is very full.  I don't need anything for Christmas.  I have everything I need already.

At the winter concert, each grade level represented a country and sang a song or did a dance to show how that country celebrates winter and the new year. The kids were able to learn about so many different countries and how they celebrate and that is so important to me. I want the kids to learn we are all one in the same. That is a big reason why we are here.....to teach them that even with different families and languages and traditions, we are all human.

The first grade represented Russia! Tyler's class did the Nutcracker Ballet.  Each class performed their own song (there are 4 first grades) and then the whole first grade did a song together.

 Here is Grace last night. We curled her hair for the concert. She loves to sit at her desk and create. She has been making Christmas projects there for our whole family for over a month now.

Here is Grace walking to school this morning. She found a stick and turned around to use it to sword fight the boy who was following her who happens to be her partner in the winter concert. (Who also happens to adore her and show off whenever able.)

Grace and Ty at school before the concert.

 Ty on the way to school. Grace found a orange crepe paper she gave him. He loves to use it to pretend he is part of a different class's ribbon dance that he loves. He has memorized the entire concert, every grade level and their song and wants to be able to be a part of it all!

So after the concert, I headed home for a bite to eat. Then I ran back to school to set up for the kids 1st grade class winter party. Being a room mom I this year for both classes I had to help plan and organize the party.  So the kids meet in 1 room after recess and sing holiday songs together and then the teachers split them up into 4 groups. 1 group plays games, 2 do art projects, and 1 decorates cookies. Then they rotate every 15 minutes or so. I decided to be in cookie decorating group because I wanted to make sure Ty didn't get any peanut exposure. We met with a few other room moms/dads and kids last night to bake the cookies all together then today the kids just decorated them. It was fun.  
Grace decorating cookies.

 Grace's teacher plays the guitar and sings Feliz Navidad for the whole 1st grade. I forgot to tell you he is a HUGE Dave Matthews fan like Grace and Daddy so of course we got him the live CD for Christmas!

 A selfie of Grace and Ty and I in Grace's classroom as all the 1st graders got together at the end of the after all the stations were done to sing one last song and get gifts from Santa.

 Tyler and Madeline decorating cookies.

 The best part of the whole day was walking home when Tyler and Grace were asking each other about their favorite stations.....Grace said definitely cookie decorating but not because it was the most fun, only because that is the station Mommy was at. Tyler then said, me too, Mom today was the best day ever because you were at school! 

And thus my heart just melted....

The Christmas Tree.....

We used to have a nice artificial Christmas tree that we always set up the day after Thanksgiving. Somehow, it got lost in the shuffle of moving and we didn't end up with it here in Baku. It probably ended up in storage. So Barry and I went to a market called Sederak as we had been told we could find a fake tree there. WOW! The place was SOOOO big! There was a lot of stuff....and a lot of dirt...and there were trees....but one place wanted 200 manat for a tree! I wasn't willing to pay that, I personally would rather make a tree using green construction paper! But luckily for us there were SEVERAL artificial tree stores there and we found one a bit more reasonable....for 90 manat we got a very nice looking fake tree that actually was MUCH easier to put together than the one we had in the states. Only 3 parts....the top, the middle, and the bottom! Nice! We also found some nice suitcases for our upcoming Christmas adventure. We got 2 small suitcases for the kids and 1 medium size one for me ALL for 40 manat. Not bad....and then I found 2 hats that came with scarves as well both for 10 manat and we got the kids hats too for 4 manat for both. We finished shopping around 2pm and the kids get out of school around 3 so we had a little bit of time to stop at the "Terrace" restaurant right next to their school for a cup of tea. Then we got the kids and headed home to decorate. I think we did a great job! Oh we also got the lights (2 boxes for 4 manat) and the star tree topper (I think it was 3 manat) today as well. The kids loved helping put the tree up, lights, ornaments and it looks good. A perfect Azerbaijani tree for the Craft family. Here are the pics in the wrong order.....I tried to fix the order, can't figure out how to do that on the blog though....

 Time for tea after getting the tree....

 Ready to find a tree.....

 Our tree came from this store.....

 I get the medium blue suitcase and Ty gets the little blue one and Grace the little red one. The hats and scarves are next to them. I'll take pics of those on me later....

 Daddy and Ty putting the star on the tree.....a teary moment for me...can't do this ever without thinking of Timmy in A Christmas Carol....am I the only one?

 Got the bottom and the middle fluffed out...now for the top while Grace unwraps our ornaments and Ty plays with the beads.....

 Grace and Ty really like the tree.

 This strange car we followed to the school....what the heck is on top of this car?

 Barry got a close up as I drove past it.

 The tree is finished and looking good.....the present underneath are some Gracie has been working on for weeks now.....for mommy, daddy, and tyler....she has been creating away using tons of recyclable materials from our trash lol....her teachers would be sooo proud!

 Another finished tree pic.

 Mommy helping with the beads and the lights....the kids did a great job on the ornaments and spreading them out perfectly mostly by themselves!

Thanksgiving in Baku

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 
Unlike Halloween where many of the expat families celebrated along with us, Thanksgiving is not a holiday celebrated among the expats at all.  Most of the families here are from London, Canada, Scotland, Africa, etc. Only a few Americans......so......

We have been ordering food via amazon for the past month. And I think you might be amazed to find out how much of the food we eat at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner comes prepackaged! We ordered: green beans, gravy, stuffing, yams, and corn.

The Embassy helped several of us American families order turkeys from Georgia (the country not the state) as they have a commissary (military grocery store) there that we don't have here. 

The kids were so excited about Thanksgiving they woke up at 6:30am!!!!!!!! 

Barry was getting ready to stuff the turkey and realized other than the legs, the turkey had no bones!!!!!!! It is not easy to stuff a turkey with no bones! 

While daddy worked on the turkey, Grace and I walked to the market to get maslo (butter) and milk (moloko: russian)/(azeri:sud) for our potatoes. I found very large potatoes at the market the other day so Grace and I peeled them when we got back from the store.  Grace and I made the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. Grace really wanted to "cook" more so we made turkey cupcakes....and the set the table. She was SUCH a great help! We were all ready to go by noon and the turkey was done by then too but our friends who were joining us weren't due to arrive until 3 (their kids went to school that day and we had kept ours home) so we watched a movie called Saving Santa. Dinner was wonderful and the kids had fun running around with their friends afterwards playing hide and seek. It was a great evening and we were sad to see it end....especially knowing the kids had to go back to school the next day....but at least it's Friday and their school is having a winter fair tomorrow where they can go to "santa's secret workshop" and adults will help them buy gifts for their moms and dads and wrap them and make a card. They are looking forward to that then 2 more weeks and they are off school for 3 weeks! 

 Grace with the Keebler elves that sing Jingle Bells. She missed them and made me put new batteries in them right away and tell her the story of where we got them. (Just a Christmas gift exchange.)

 Grace thought it would be cute if she dressed herself as a turkey! LOL!

 Showing off our turkey placemats.

 A selfie during movie time with mommy!

 Grace happy we set out our nativity set.

 Grace set the table.

 Grace and Ty love the Keebler elves singing Jingle Bells.

 Grace told me to take a picture of her holding baby Jesus.

 The meal! We had all the traditional stuff, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, friend corn, homemade bread from my bread machine, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, etc. And Ty actually ate his turkey (I mean chicken lol) and mashed and sweet potatoes. He said I don't like sweet potatoes. I said sorry I have a 2 bite rule eat them or no cupcake for dessert. Then he took one bite and said what is this? I like it! LOL silly kids....

 Dessert, our turkey cupcakes.....and our friends brought apple and pumpkin pie...yum....

Time to acclimate to our new home......

So we are slowly acclimating to life in Baku. What does that mean? Well, I am learning how to drive here for one.....and feeling quite proud of myself for being able to take the kids to and from school and get myself to a few different markets AND put gas in the car alone. Sure sounds silly considering these are things that are no big feat at home.....however most people here hire drivers to get them around town for many reasons but mostly because the traffic is insane and communication makes things tough as well. As I have said before while lanes might exist (ie. they are painted and are actually visible there on the road) the drivers pretend they are not. If you are in a left hand turn lane and you might be first in your lane to turn....within seconds you will be surrounded on all sides even if there are not lanes (or even pavement) there as everyone wants to be first to turn. SO once the light turns green, you are outnumbered......Some streets have street lights that turn the typical red/yellow/green and mean the same as they do at home....but most streets do not...instead they have many circles of death as the expats (non-locals including me) call them. Basically there is a "to each his own" mentally when driving here. Throw in the fact that I barely speak any Russian or Azerbaijani and it makes things extra tough. For example....getting gas....Barry tells me just say "fso" and give them $40 manat. "Fso" meaning fill it up...but he forgot to tell me they will ask which kind of gas would you like of course in either Azerbaijani or Russian and I am also not sure which type of gas to point to.....I know not diesel lol but not sure if it was premium or whatever the other one was? Oh well....live and learn he now says to point to the red one.....Shopping is another feat mostly due to language but also because the fruits and vegetables (and eggs) must be washed as soon as you get home due to dirt/bacteria/chicken poop (no lie) on them....yuck...so most people use vinegar or bleach water to rinse it all off.... but Barry and I prefer to use the $3 manat bottles of vodka (vatka) we can find here.....why not go all out? lol...The saying here is if you can't peel it or cook it, don't eat it. So putting away groceries takes a lot longer having to do all of that. Finding meat is also NOT easy. Chicken is easy to find. But the beef is behind a counter and you have to know what kind of meat you want (and I don't even know the difference in the states of what each kind is called) but also how much you want in Russian or Azeri. Once you do that, they often don't clean the machine so more often than not your ground beef ends up with lamb in it and it is a pretty strong flavor none of us in our family enjoys at all:( Not even Grace or daddy who are typically pretty good eaters....Luckily everything else is easy to find.....bread, juice, salt, sugar, flour, and you can tell by the picture on the packaging or the package itself what it is. 

So we are acclimating/assimilating.....aka learning how to live in a 3rd world country to our best abilities.....and I think we are doing just fine. Whatever we can't find....we are lucky enough to be able to order on amazon for the most part (with the exception of wine) and I am learning how to cook what pre-packed things I used to depend on in the states that I can't find here.....we make a lot of homemade bread, pizza dough, cookies, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, etc. 

So beyond laundry, cooking, and then when the kids get home doing homework and playing with them....but without my own homework or lesson plans to do....I have actually found time to read books again!!!!!!....I have been pretty limited to online books and 1 a friend let me borrow.....but was ecstatic to hear today a bookstore with ENGLISH books just opened up! So of course I had to drag Barry and the kids down to Port Baku to see for myself what it was and what it had. It was definitely NOT a Barnes and Nobles....it was quite small for a bookstore.....but it did HAVE books in English! That is all I needed. Found 2 good ones for me and the kids each found one as well. The traffic home gave me a major stomachache (totally not kidding) but we picked up pizza on the way (called Pizza Holiday) and that and the wine we had when we finally made it home over an hour later made the stress stomach ache disappear quickly. 

So we are settling in just fine and getting used to life here, even if it isn't home and there isn't a Barnes and Nobles or a Target or even anything at all resembling a Walmart:( 

Here are some pics of the bookstore and my loot from grocery (market) shopping alone. 

 Grace at the new bookstore.

 My shopping spree loot.....chicken/coritsa (whole and boneless skinless breasts), pringles, butter/masla, cheese slices, baby cucumbers, tomatoes/pomodoro, milk (milla), apple juice, fanta soda, conditioner, carrots, laundry soap (actually found a free and sensitive one), eggs, and bread/corek. Made an awesome chicken Parmesan dinner with my market day loot that everyone loved (even daddy) and for those of you who know Ty....he asked for 2nds and 3rds on chicken BEFORE eating his spagetti!!! Now that is a successful dinner and a miracle! :)

 The kids and I posing just before we found the bookstore.....

 Ty at the bookstore by the art stuff (markers, crayons, paper) etc...

 Grace getting into the photo shoot at the bookstore lol...

 Ty back at the homestead enjoying his bookstore loot, a Peppa Pig sticker book!

My car arrived!

I was starting to think it would never happen......but .....my car FINALLY arrived!!!! I couldn't be happier.....with a car comes FREEDOM!!!!!!!!! To shop when you want, stay at school if and when I feel like it, make coffee dates....substitute teach....the possibilities are endless and I am so happy! 
I took my last cab to school with the kids this morning and dropped them off. Then a friend took me to the Embassy where the car was parked waiting for his plates and registration. I got in and it still has that new car smell!! Even at 1 1/2 years old! :) I followed my friend back to our house which was the best idea ever! Being able to concentrate on just driving and how different it is here and not having to worry about "where" you are going was VERY helpful. And that is an understatement. Traffic is always crazy here as is trying to figure how if someone is going to come into your non-existent lane or not. Some of the roads have lane markings and some don't and it really doesn't matter because even a 2 lane road turns into 3-4 cars wide eventually as everyone cuts each other off continuously. 
Anyway, I made it home but couldn't fit the darn thing in the garage. So I spent my day emptying the garage and finding new homes for all of the stuff I was storing in the garage: Christmas boxes, ice and roller skates, car oil and windshield washer fluid, and Barry's grill stuff.....thankfully this house is enormous so it wasn't too hard to find new places to put things. Next thing I knew, it was off to school to pick up the kids. I had no problem finding my way after watching several different cab drivers for the past 2 months of school. I even left early so I had time to stop at the market! I LOVE my new found freedom! I picked the kids up and they were so excited when I told them I had the car! Without having to rush to the cab they had time to play on the playground which they loved! When we finally got to the car they actually hugged it! This cracked me up because I wanted to hug it before I got in it at the Embassy but I was with other adults so I didn't. Kids don't worry about these things....I should learn from them lol! They were so happy to have their dvd player back and watched Toy Story 3 on the way home, their choice! 
When we arrived home, they said, "Mom, no more taking the "sheep road" home!!!!!!!! The cab drivers always took the road with all of the sheep getting slaughtered on it as I guess they figured it was faster. I don't think it is and we will not be timing it or finding out so we'll just leave it at that. We have had enough of seeing the slaughtering daily. 
 
This is the traffic jam keeping me home after picking the car up from the Embassy. It is not easy to see but this is what I call one of the circles of death here in Baku as there are no lights just a big circle where I am actually trying to go left under that bridge but there are cars everywhere some going left, some straight, some right with no lights and NO one using blinkers except my friend in front of me of course to tell me how to get home.
 TOTAL INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Here is my beautiful GMC Acadia all the way from VA, finally with diplomatic license plates and Alzeri registration and insurance all set to go.

On the way to school by myself following this crazy truck full of hay! 

 The back of the hay truck before I turned and I saw that there were actually 2 trucks together with even more hay that I could imagine!

 The kids were so happy to see the car they actually hugged it!!!!!!!!!!

The kids in the car getting ready to watch Toy Story 3 and in such a good mood being super silly. 

More Halloween Pics from Baku

Halloween in Baku! 

Halloween started early this on on a Thursday evening after school. We headed up to the Embassy for a "Fall Festival" where many of the Embassy employees set up several different Halloween games and stations for the kids to play. We found coloring activities as well as a shoot the zombie game and a eye ball spoon race. They had candy and popcorn as well as treats. Tyler decided to wear his pirate costume and Grace decided to be Hermione.  It was fun for everyone. The very next day the school let the kids wear their costumes to school. Both Grace and Ty decided to be Harry and Hermione. They had fun. I stayed for the day and had coffee with another mom and then met with the assistant principal about possibly substituting. After seeing my resume she wanted to know if I'd be interested in a special ed job they have. I said no, I came to be here for the kids and the hours would have us looking for child care again with weekly staff meetings. Nothing will happen anytime soon. Paperwork for a work permit takes 10 weeks! Anyway, after that I went to Ty's class and helped the kids make cool bats and have a special snack we brought. Then I had lunch with Grace and soon after that it was time to go home. We had a quick dinner and we were off to trick or treating. Many of the the kids who go to school with them live in the houses next to the school. The houses were decorated and for an evening you could easily forget you weren't in a 3rd world country. The kids dressed as teenage mutant ninja turtles (Tyler as Michelangelo and Grace as Leonardo) and I got in the spirit too as Cat in the Hat. The kids loved trick or treating by school and running into all of their friends. Afterwards we headed home to check out our stash. We gave Ty's candy to Grace and filled his bucket back up with candy we had ready for him that was peanut free so everyone was happy. As we headed for bed Daddy dressed up in his skater/goth gear and headed out to a work Halloween party. The next day Barry and I spent the day making mini pizzas for our own neighborhood party. Barry made a homemade pizza sauce and I got the dough and cheese ready to go and manned the tiny oven we have. Then Daddy and Grace carved one pumpkin and painted another that daddy found out in town that actually smelled like a mix between cucumbers and squash while they were carving it. Tyler and Grace went back to their Harry Potter costumes again and had fun running around playing with the neighborhood kids at the subdivision's clubhouse. There was a ton of food and friends. Afterwards each family sent one parent home to pass out candy and one parent went trick or treating with the kids. I volunteered to go home as did Ty. Yet another way we are alike. Grace went trick or treating with daddy and we had just one large group come altogether. It was a fun weekend but I am all Halloweened out and ready to move on to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then the twins birthday which we have to plan soon as mail takes awhile. Here are some of my fav pics from the past few days events......

 Mommy as Cat in the Hat and Gracie and Ty as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ready to go 

trick or treating Friday night.

 Tyler AKA Michelangelo ready to go trick or treating.

 Grace AKA Leonardo in the car ready to go trick or treating Friday night.

 Posting with some decorations at the subdivision by the kids school where we went trick or treating Friday night.

 Grace showing off her loot after trick or treating Friday night.

 As the kids and I head to bed, Daddy is off to an adult Halloween party as a skater dude/goth Friday night.

 Saturday morning Grace and daddy look on the internet for pumpkin carving ideas.

 Ty wanted nothing to do with pumpkin carving so he took some time to play on his itouch and I worked on the pizzas.

 The finished pumpkins.

 We curled Gracie's hair and her and Ty got ready in their Harry Potter gear.

 Grace figuring out which glow in the dark bracelets she'll wear.

 Barry Saturday night at the party in our neighborhood with another mom who dressed up. I took the night off from dressing up.

 Grace and Ty and some neighborhood friends Ryan and Pippa.

Daddy posing with the witch that scared the daylights out of Ty the entire time we were at the party. he wouldn't go near her and yet kept staring at it.

The end of the party just before trick or treating. One of the games for the kids was decorating the kids as mummies using toilet paper. The kids then used the mess as a playground throwing toilet paper at each other and one girl decided to make a toilet paper/snow angel.