Update part 1

When did I become one of those moms?

That is all I could think about a few days ago as Eden threw up in the car on our way to Jeddah, and I refused to turn around, then threw up again in the store where I just pushed her (she was in the umbrella stroller) to the side until she was finished, and refused to leave until all my shopping was done. Yes, uber sensitive, keep my kids home at the slightest hint of a runny nose mom, did that. I let my child puke into a diaper at the grocery store because I was intent on finishing the business I was there to do!

Wow, I've come a long way.

We are here in Jeddah, leading a charmed life of ease for the time being. Our laundry, meals and vacuuming are taken care of (my friend that lives here still can't believe we have carpets, she tells me i'm very spoiled), the weather could not be better, the grounds are nothing short of paradise and we have toys and art supplies to occupy our down time. It has been a restful transition, even with the kids being sick.

Last Friday we took the kids to the doctor's office. I was really nervous about this trip, we had no idea what to expect---how the system worked, how we were expected to pay, what we were going to pay, how dirty it would be (i heard many horror stories about the hospitals in Italy, as well as Egypt). So when I say "we" I really mean "I", Neal was in the background talking me through it, telling me it wouldn't be that bad, it wouldn't cost a lot etc. However, I was not keen on setting my children up as guinea pigs for our first test run with a doctor in a Saudi public hospital.

Happily, it was not that bad. Tommy had been running a high temp of over 103 every night since we landed, 3 nights total before we took him in. He threw up one of those nights. Eden had a bad cough. Both had terribly mucousy fluids running out of every hole possible. Tommy and Eden both looked as if they'd been slugged in both eyes, on top of it, Tommy's eyes would not stop running.

It all went well. There were a couple of odd things of course, like the ambulance pulling up to the same door we did, a guy getting out all bandaged, walking in on his own, down the hall, no assistance, no to-do, just very matter of fact. Another man out of the ambulance with a baby all bandaged going down an opposite hall, looking terribly bruised. No fanfare, no extra help, just like that. done. Seemed so strange to me. Then the ambulance left, no sirens, no gurneys. nothing.

We didn't have to wait long to be seen, we didn't have to make an appt to come back, in fact, even though this was the 'emergency room', when I asked the doctor if we needed to make an appt to see him again, he looked at me like i was crazy. After a pause he said, "No, just come." That was that. Tommy and Eden now have their own pharmacy here at home, lots of meds prescribed, they seem to be working, though the cold is still lingering the sore throat (Tommy had a throat infection) and cough (Eden had bronchitis) are both going away. Tommy is eating, they are both playing, antibiotics end tomorrow, and we now have an entire arsenal of cough syrups and nose sprays for future use (one of which is a thyme and ivy concoction, all alcohol free, which smells fabulous).

Our housing here is temporary, then we will move into an apartment for 6 months, until we go home for the summer, then move into our 'real' place of residence, assuming it all works out 'as planned'. I'm hoping we will meet lots of new people, that there will be kids for Eden and Tommy to play with, and that this very foreign land will feel a bit more like home.