NO Test for MEEEE!!!!!!

I went to the driving place to take the written test, hopefully pass it, and sign up for a time for a driving test. Upon arrival at the desk, they ask where I was from and if I already had a license. I happen to have my handy, dandy Texas license with me and they told me that I didn't need to take any tests. I just needed to go over to a place "over there" (with that he pointed off behind him). Come to find out, "over there" is actually on the other side of the city by the University.

I headed over there with a buddy who had gone to "over there" before and knew it was. We find the building, head up the third floor without any signs, to an unmarked office and gave the guy a copy of my Residency Card, my passport, and my Texas DL. He said, "okay, come back in 10 days and we'll give you a letter to take back to the driving place and you can pick up your license!"

So no test for me! Praise the Lord!!

Written Test Tomorrow

Tomorrow I have my written part of my driving test to get my license here. Its been nine years since I've taken a written examination on the actual rules and laws of driving. If it was a test based on the way people actually drove here the answers would look like this:

A: honk your horn
B: cut the guy off
C: call his father a donkey
D: all of the above

One or all of these answers would be appropriate in every situation here. Now whether on not that is on the test who knows. It may be that I have to take it more than once to pass. We will see.

Its Raining, Its Pouring.....

Yesterday and today it has been raining cats and dogs.......

The old man is definitely snoring.....

Yesterday evening all three of us went to my doctors appointment so he could take out my stitches (which isn't pleasant). After the appointment B and Noah hung out in the lobby while I, armed with only my dinky 1 dollar umbrella, went out and faced Katrina's younger sister. (L, I am with you dude, I need to get a "beast" to keep me dry. You get what you pay for!) My dinky umbrella did really well against the winds and the rain until I got outside and opened it. Then it commenced to flip and flop and undo and invert for the next half hour while I waited for a taxi. Which, B just informed me, had all the Arabs in the lobby and B laughing! Where's the love!?!

We get in the taxi and head home and about half a mile from our house the taxi, which had been coasting down hill on fumes for the past ten minutes, finally ran out of gas. It was bumper to bumper traffic, so we really had no choice but to get out and book it the rest of the way. I didn't even bother with the umbrella.

We laughed most of the way, partly because Noah kept trying to peak out of his blanket that was over his head and pull it off with his hand, and partly because it was just one of those situations you either had to laugh or cry.

So my name is Clayton, and this is my tale of woe......[sniffle, sniffle] :)

The Happenings of the Day

At about 11 this morning we headed out the door and walked down to the police station to pick up our Residency Cards!!!!! You can't read "residency cards" without smiling like an idiot and then shouting "WHOOOHOOO!!!" That's what I've been doing at least. We are now legal aliens, with the right to buy land, get discounts at tourist places, and own a valid driver's license until February 20, 2008. Which means no more long lines at the visas desk at the airport and we can apply for visas into other countries in the Middle East without sending out passports back to the U.S. first.

So WHOOOOHOOOO for Residency Cards!!!!

okay i'm over it. moving on.

After we pick them up we walk down the street to the InterContinental Hotel. Now when you picture InterContinental Hotel, please know that this one is every bit as nice as its sister establishments in the states. Its very clean, very nice and hosts the only nice Mexican Food restaurant in the city.
When we finish eating, we roam around the hotel lobby and head to the back section to see if the pool was open. The hotel is on a hill so the back of the lobby opens up where you can look down on the pool level. The pool area was empty save one 7 or 8 year old Arab boy running around holding himself... yeah, that's right. 5 Star hotel, business men in 1000 dollar suits behind us and a little kid running around the pool area below us...with his hands down his pants.
He then runs over to one of the palm trees and starts looking around. "No way!" we are both thinking as our noses begin to hurt from our faces being pressed up against the window to get a better look. There is no way this kid would drop his pants in the middle of the pool area in a 5 star hotel and wizz on a tree!

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind then we see little brown cheeks and the shade of brown darken on the tree in front of him.......

..........

I mean, what can you say to that?

Semi Mobile Video

As I said earlier we bought Noah a walker. He hasn't really gotten the hang of it yet, but I don't think he cares. He enjoys himself anyways.

We have two ways to view the video. The first one is the higher quality one and is about 10MB. The second is lower quality and about 4.5MB. I'm facing the dilemma of size versus quality versus download time. If it was up to me I would upload the video at a higher quality and you guys could just stare at that little bar that says downloading for 30+mins. My son is worth seeing in crystal clear imagines no matter how long it takes. However, I am extremely biased and probably in the minority. What would be better for y'all? Low quality and quicker download time or High Quality and longer download time?

For now you can choose which you would like, but let me know which you would prefer.

Semi Mobile Video High Quality (10MB)
Semi Mobile Video Low Quality (4.5MB)

Noah's 7 months

We've put all of the pictures we've taken of Noah this past month up on our flickr site. You can view them by clicking on the moving pictures under "Our Photos" on the panel to your right. :)

A Random Bit of Randomness

Here is a catch all post of this week.

Gall Bladder - I went to the doc yesterday and got my bandages removed. It is amazing how gross stitches are.

Our Residency - I turned in all the paperwork to the local police station for the processing of our residency (the equivalent of a Green Card). They said I can come pick them up on Saturday (insha'allah). That's not to bad. Its been about a month process. Once I get the aqaama, I can go sign-up to take the driving test and then I can drive!!!! (insha'allah)

Good Gifts, Good Father - Last night we bought Noah a walker. He loves it! We had some serious issues putting him to bed, because he wanted to be in his walker. Jesus said, "How many of you when your kid asks for some bread would toss him a rock? Or when he comes to you and wants some chicken would give a rattlesnake? No, of course not. You give good gifts to your kids, even though you are sinful. How much more then does you perfect, unsinned Father in heaven know how to gift the perfect gift." This morning Noah woke up and has spent the morning in the walker. It brings a smile to my face to see him so happy. I've gotten a glimpse of how much joy my Father gets when I love the gifts He has given me.

With that said, we are going to get a video up of our "semi-mobile" son soon.

Later,
CB

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Between the pipes in the wall busting, the boiler being retarded, Noah and B being sick, and, of course, me getting hacked on February has officially made it on our lists of things not to repeat next year.

That's right, we will be finishing 2008 with only 336 days.

With all that said though, God has been gracious to us. His strength has been ever present, and his comfort always near by.

Switchfoot is right when they sing "The shadow proves the sunshine." Without the shadows we never really truly know how good the sunshine is or appreciate how bright.

Oh...the pic of me and Noah has nothing to do with the topic. It's just Noah making his "James Bond swoon over me look." Its just a great picture.

Validation

*WARNING: DUE TO SEVERAL COMMENTS I NEED TO WARN YOU THE FOLLOWING PICTURES MAY BE DISTURBING AND NOT SUITABLE FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR SMALL CHILDREN*

You always wonder if you are really sick or if it is just in your mind. You think, "well, maybe its just in my mind." Then you go to the doctor and he tells you that you have the flu, or pneumonia, or in my case, gall stones. Well even then I thought,"man, it's probably just one or two tiny ones and I am just a wienie. Let it be known. I AM NOT A WIENIE!! These pictures are real. The are the actual stones taken from my gall bladder. We counted close to 14 in all. This is my validation.....

My Gall Bladder full of stones!

This is the big one next to a U.S. Nickel!

A Song for My Gall Bladder

I figure since I am divorcing my gall bladder tomorrow morning that it is only proper to write a song about it. So this is what I've got so far:


Verse 1:
You've been there all my life.
This quarter century gone by.

If my heart must be known
and the truth hasta come out,
then here's all I've got to say to you:

Chorus:
I've never known such pain
and never felt such hurt.
You been a pain in my side
and its better I cut you out!
Whoooaaa whooaaaaa I gotta cut you out!

Verse 2:
I musta done you wrong for way too long
for the way your treating me.

Well that's just fine, I guess I'm to blame
but remember this you ol' naggin' pain
here's all I've got to say to you:

Chorus:
I've never known such pain
and never felt such hurt.
You been a pain in my side
and its better I cut you out!
Whoooaaa whooaaaaa I gotta cut you out!

[harmonica solo or a really high screaching guitar solo depending on what genre]

The Bridge:
you gotta leave, gotta leave real soon.
the longer you stay the more I know
we could never make it in the same room.
Soooooo I'm showin you the dow (you know, it's "door" but with the country accent so it rhymes)

Chorus:
I've never known such pain
and never felt such hurt.
You been a pain in my side
and its better I cut you out!
Whoooaaa whooaaaaa I gotta cut you out!

Whoooaaa whooaaaaa I gotta cut you out! 3x

So what do you think? I think this could be a sad country song sung by George Jones or a really loud, screaming rock song sung by Stryper.

Noahisms

Noah has been a talking fool ever since he was about 3 months old, but he has recently added some new consonants into his vocabulary so we hear him say some of the funniest stuff at the weirdest times. He, of course, has no idea what he is saying, but we are amazed at him.

Wisdom from Noah:

bibadi-babadi-boo - this was said one morning while sitting by himself on the floor talking to his toys.

What's the big idea! - He was on the changing table awaiting a fresh diaper and clothes. B was by the trash can in his room and I was by his closet getting his clothes and we heard him yell it.

Where's Daddy? - I was at school and B put him in the window to see outside when he blurted it out.

Yaba Daba DOOOO!!! - this was said right after taking his medicine.

Good God - He says this about ten times a day. It is usually followed by good good good good god god god god goood good god god god gooood.

If you are seeking wisdom through out the day just remember these simple Noahisms to keep you going.

مرارتي مريضة

(my gall bladder is sick)

Yet again when things weren't hectic enough the evil gall bladder strikes again! I spent the majority of Sunday night in the E.R. explaining to them my problem. The poor nurse there was worried about my blood pressure. He said, "your blood pressure is high, are you okay?" It took all I had to just smile and explain to him that I felt like an angry cat was trying to scratch its way out of my gall bladder and that stress alone may be the reason my blood pressure was a little high......

So I've officially scheduled gall bladder surgery. I am almost 25 and yes, I am having organs malfunctioning and needing to be removed.

The grand opening is Thursday, the 15th at 11am here. So come one, come all!

Ironic?

Anyone else find this odd?

My Couch, My Living Room

I write this to you from my couch, in my living room. While that may not seem like a big deal to you, it means the world to me. You see, for the past three days, my couch has been in the entry way. I could write a blog and open the front door at the same time.
But not anymore! The leaky pipe is gone. The hole in the wall is gone, not only gone, but painted to match as well, and everything is moved back to normal.....

Normal, except for that now the boiler for our heating and hot water is being panicky and has stopped working......

So, I write this to you from my couch, in my living room....with my very cold hands.

Boy, when it rains, it pours....

Thank you guys for listening to our housing, life, and emotional fiascoes on this blog.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Right now a man is banging away at one of our interior walls trying to find a pipe. Its a solid foot and a half of solid concrete.

The strange thing is Noah, asleep in the next room, hasn't stirred....

Hopefully this guy will fix the problem and we can have hot water and heat without the leaking walls.

Long, Cryin' Nights & Wet, Stinky Mornings

For more on Noah's first night of complete abandonment, see the previous post....

and this is not a post about his diaper either!

This morning I walked into Noah's room and smelled this wet, mildewy smell. We had a similar smell coming from the living room too. The living room even had a puddle of water sitting in one corner. Come to find out that the pipe that carries the water for our radiators (heaters) has sprung a leak somewhere in the wall between Noah's room and the living room. So we will see what the verdict is once our landlord gets over here and assesses the situation.

Worse case: They knock out the wall, fix the pipe, and put it back in. (Anybody see Tom Hanks in The Money Pit?) That would be a bit in depth and disruptive to live.
Best case: They do something else less.....umm.....life disrupting?

We will see.

Lettin' Him "Cry it Out"

This weekend we decided to teach Noah how to fall asleep on his own......

These are a few of the words that have come to mind after the first night of trying this.....

cruddy, bad parents, what are the neighbors thinking, bad idea, no sleep, heart wrenching, needles in the eye, and a whole lot of other great ones that we can't put because this is a family blog.

With all that said, it wasn't that bad in retrospect. That doesn't mean we aren't looking forward to nap time or bedtime today, but it could have been alot worse.

The poor, little guy had an allergic reaction to his rice cereal at dinner, so putting him to bed wasn't too bad because we had Benadryl on our side. He was out like a light! However, the 1am to 2am spurt of viscous screaming was a bit rough on us, but then he slept till 6am.

But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger....or at least more tired.

With that said, tune in tomorrow for more bad parenting advice on "Lettin' Him 'Cry it Out."