A Silly Little Jingle

Our boys are of an age where they are curious about their bodies and all their functions. It's natural and normal to be so at this age. We are constantly reminding them what is sociably acceptable and not. And, we as most parents are concerned about their physical, mental, and spiritual safety. Even though we often feel as if we live in Mayberry International we try to stress the importance of keeping private parts private. I found some great books online for children to teach these principles but due to our limited resources here we've had to come up with alternative teaching methods. We came up with this song, after Ethan came home singing songs about safety belts and street signs, to teach our boys a few things so that if they are ever in an uncomfortable situation this will come to mind and they will know exactly what to do.

Warning: You may never think of the song Jingle Bells quite the same way again.

Private Parts
by Chris and Michelle Jenkins
Private Parts, Private Parts they are just for you.
Don't pull down your underwear unless you wet your pants.

Private Parts, Private Parts they are just for you.
If someone wants to see them, I'll tell you what to do.

Tell your MOM! Tell your MOM! Tell her what they did!
Private Parts are just for you so let's just keep them hid.

Now I know this doesn't cover (haha no pun intended) every situation or teach them everything they need to know but it's a silly song that they'll remember and hopefully keeps them on the right track and away from harm.

A Few Funnies

A few recent funnies starting from youngest to oldest.

Graham....
loves the Monkey Flight App on our iPhone. When he wants to play he asks for Monkey Dump instead of Monkey Jump. Then the other evening he climbed up on my bed and announced he would take a Monkey Dump off the bed and did just that.

Also, I'm sad to say, sometimes my older boys call people "Poo Poo Heads". Graham has grasped onto this and often, under his breath, when he's upset with you he'll call you a "Purple Head." Right now it's cute but when he realizes his mistake and starts using the original phrase he too will get the, "We don't say that in our family," lecture too.

Ethan....
has a habit of leaving his backpack and bike in the driveway when he comes home from school. I don't mind so much as he is usually on his bike the rest of the evening. I generally pick up his backpack on my way in. Yesterday as I picked it up it was UNUSUALLY heavy. I thought what does this kid have a bunch or rocks in here.....

Sure enough that's exactly what he had about 8-10lbs. worth. I'm still not sure why.

Zach...
woke me up about 2 am this morning with crying from his room. As this is completely unusual for him I got up to investigate. When I asked him what was wrong he told me he had a bad dream. He dreamt he got a Lego magazine in the mail and it started raining and got all wet so he couldn't read it. Not your usual nightmare but still devastating to him.

Then this afternoon he received a really cute card from his Great Grandpa Naquin. It said: Grandson- There was quite a hubbub in heaven the day YOU were born...

They couldn't decide whether to make you HANDSOME or INTELLIGENT, so they ended up doing both.

After he read it he started laughing saying, "That's so true. I am handsome and intelligent."

We agree completely!

I Got Off Easy This Time....Sort Of

This handsome young man just turned 7.

As far as cakes go this time I got off easy....sort of. Zach was eager to have a Ben 10 Ultimate Alien character on his cake. When he began to describe how to draw it I knew my frosting skills would not match the description. I offered to print off a picture and stick it on the cake but in the end he had an even better idea. He drew the picture then I stuck it on the cake with seven candles in the shape of a seven. There wasn't much debate about what kind of cake either, a vanilla with chocolate cream cheese frosting. So I went to work thinking this would be a breeze. Until at the last minute the day of Chris had to say, "Don't you think those cake layers are kinda small. Shouldn't it be four layers." Zach quickly agreed then they all went back to work and school leaving me to quickly get another two layers mixed, baked, cooled, and frosted!

The cake was huge and oh so yummy!

Zach and his birthday buddies worked up an appetite practicing their Ninja moves before dinner and dessert.

I made Zach's Ultimate Favorite Peas, Bacon, and Cream Pasta. I was glad that his two best friends liked it too.

After a hearty rendition of Happy Birthday followed by the ever popular ooh la la cha cha cha a birthday wish was made and candles blown out.

Zach's first gift was accompanied by a homemade birthday card. Zach was so sweet to Max telling him what a great job he did on the card and how much he liked it.

"M" moved here this summer and spent some time at our house while his parents settled into their new teaching positions. They couldn't help but become inseparable with the same love of all things Star Wars, Legos, and Wii. His other friend "C" got back into town just in time for the party. He surprised Zach with a super cool gravity defying Hot Wheels track the next day.

I think Zach was excited about his family gifts to. He finally got the Harry Potter Blu Ray set he has wanted for ages. He is pretty bummed that he's not old enough to watch them all and keeps trying to convince us he is mature enough.....we'll see. Lastly he got three Magic Tree House books. He's been asking for more and more chapter books and we have trouble satiating his reading habit. (Yahoo! Gotta love that as a parent.)

Just before the boys settled in for a movie Graham pulled out the light sabers for a quick battle with"M". Graham so thinks he's one of the big boys and puts up a good fight. Several times he got hurt came over to me for a quick kiss on the wound and went back for more. Poor "M" didn't have anyone to kiss him better after Graham got several solid hits.

Bogart

The Brits call them Boggies.

In America we call them Boogers.
So would it be appropriate to call this.....

BOGART!

My oldest child, ever the artist....

has created some very modern art using Boogers (red, brown, and green) as his medium. Sadly my lens would not focus clearly on this one foot by one foot section of wall I recently discovered while changing Zach's bed sheets. What I thought were marks from a picture frame, upon closer inspection were something else entirely.

Oh the joys of motherhood! Zach has now been asked to keep a bit of tissue on his night stand to avoid any touch ups he may be inclined to add to this..... piece of work.

The Secrets of Al Hasa: Feasting & Gara

On the way to lunch we passed something I'm used to seeing in Al Hasa....local's garbage. What I didn't know is that the field that now holds refuse was once, like many others, a thriving rice field. I knew Al Hasa was know for being the largest natural oasis on earth, the largest natural oil reservoir, and acres and acres of date farms but this was the first I'd heard about rice.

I think the biggest secret we discovered is that Al Hasa has resorts and many of them. They are tucked away surrounded by walls so you really don't know that behind all the garbage is an extremely relaxing peaceful spot. Our guide said that many Saudi families are too large to gather at hotels so they come to spots like these.

Other than eating poolside, a bit nerve wracking with the little ones, we had a lovely lunch. There was this, interesting;), water feature and a small zoo that kept the older kids interested until it was time to move on.

In the afternoon we headed out of town about 12 kilometers to the Gara mountains. These sedimentary rocks became a refuge for the villagers during the hot months. Our guides' grandfather lived there and said the village was desolate during the day as the entire village went to sleep in the caves. Then in the cooler evening everyone came out and it was business as usual.
Zach and I missed this part of the trip. Zach chose to stay on the bus and read while I napped next to a sleeping Graham.
Chris, Ethan, and the rest of the crew enjoyed their time exploring.

Just before the Gara mountains is the famous Al Garash Dougha or Pottery Factory. This workshop has been passed down from father to son for many years. The pottery making goes through several stages. First the mud is gathered from the Harra Springs, then mixed with red and white mud and left to ferment for four days. Then it is spread out to dry and sprinkled with fine white sand.
Hanging from the ceiling was a unique fixture. I was told it is for making yogurt. After it is filled with milk then it is tied to a camel and the shaking forms yogurt. We did make another stop at a date processing factory for a quick tour of a sticky conveyor belt and bargaining for dates. Again it would have taken too much time to get Graham in and out of the car seat so we just remained on the bus.
At this point we would have been happy to just head home but we again returned to the resort for another wonderful meal.....grilled meats on yummy fresh flat bread.

Thin bread is made in clay ovens or on a piece of metal called Tawa. The dough is prepared in a big bowl before it rises. Tawa is then place into the fire and small piece of dough is put on top. Then it is spread by hand, or in this case slammed down with a big pillow, to cover the whole surface. The process was really fun to watch. I could not get enough of that hot yummy bread and since his set up was adjacent to our table is gave us easy, a bit too easy, access to the goods.

A little after 8 we loaded up to leave only to be stopped by the tour company and given a parting gift of dates and a woven flag. That was a very nice gesture to remember our day. As the kids drifted of to sleep we assumed that meant a struggle for baths and bed when we got home. Lucky for us they were too exhausted to even cry or fuss. Ethan practically slept through his bath and they all went down with out a hitch. Hallelujah!

The Secrets of Al Hasa: Amiriyah & Mullah House

Our next stop was a beautiful architectural piece of art built in the old Islamic fashion.

Amiriyah was the first school built in Al Hasa (again we would have driven right by had we been on our own as it's located in the commercial district).

Many princes, country decision makers, scholars, and writers were among the first graduates.

Today it hosted a new generation.

When our tour guide picked up this piece of wood and asked us what we thought it was for, of course I said for beatings and line writing. I was only half right...it was for writing on.

The inner courtyard has been beautifully cared for and each school room displays different items such as: type writers, school books, ink wells, etc. I was surprised that they didn't care if you touched or picked up the items displayed. Of course, there were some things behind glass as well.

And again the ceilings were covered with palm leaf thatching and date palm trunks.



Not far from the school in the Kut district is the Mullah House. Now, not having grown up under a ruling King or Kings it has taken us some getting use to how much they pay homage to them here in the Middle East. In some countries, not in KSA, every other billboard shows their picture and graces us with their achievements. But they do throughout show immense respect when they speak of their Kings especially those who have passed. All I know is that when the last one here died everyone in Aramco got an extra bit of cash in their check.

This house is where King Abdul Aziz stayed for three days after he regained Al Ahsa in 1913. I have yet entered an off camp Saudi home and have often wondered what it's like behind those high walls. This visit at least gave us a taste of what it use to look like. This picture was taken from and inner courtyard surrounded by rooms on both floors.

These cupboards were used for date storage.

An interesting infant cradle was in the small woman's sitting room. Adjacent to this is the men's much larger sitting room.

This kitchen was tiny! It did not seem adequate for a house this size.

Some of the traditional dishes from this area are:
Kabsa - Rice with meat, fish, chicken, or shrimp, onion, tomato, oil, cinnamon, cloves, black dried lemon, and other spices.
Mabzoul - Rice, tomatoes, yellow lentils, oil, salt, and spices
Qalba - Sheep meat, chickpeas, onion, tomato, and spices
Jareesh - Grounded grain, meat, tomatoes, butter, and sweet and hot spices.
Bread - Different types of bread are baked for different meals.
Lastly you would not be at a traditional Al Hasa meal if dates are not served and are often start the meal.

Ethan's favorite room was the weapon room as he pointed out all his favorites to me. Someone wise had previously attached these to the walls. By this time of the day the boys were used to picking up and handling what every they saw displayed.

Colorful textiles are mainly used in woman's fashions. Men often just wear the traditional white or gray Thobe, seen in the middle, with the Gutra on their head. Darra'a are the colorful dresses and Bokhniq (shawl) are the long glittering head coverings. But of course if in public these would be covered with an Daffa (Abaya) and a Milfa' a black piece of cloth wrapped around the head. And of course we can't forget the black piece of cloth to veil (to add mystery:) that cover the face called Boshiyah.

More to come....

The Secrets of Al Hasa: Camel Market & Old Fort

Although Al Hasa is only 45 minutes away we've never had a great desire to explore the city even though we'd heard there area few points of interest. It isn't the cleanest of places and driving there is always risky but when we really NEED something we can generally find it. When the SAEA organized a "Secrets of Al Hasa" trip we decided we might as well see what there is to see and do it all in one long day because if we ever set out on our own we'd surely get lost and come home in frustration.

AND I'M SO GLAD WE DID!

Yes it was a long day but we left on time and remained on schedule the whole day. The snacks and meals were provided in a timely fashion. The company was great (it's always nice to have friends along especially when their kiddos are the same age). And the police escort through the city made for a smooth voyage.

Our first stop was the Camel Market.

This is the largest Camel Market in the gulf and is just outside the city of Hofuf.

In addition to camels, other livestock is also sold such as sheep, goats, horses, and donkeys.

Some of the camels were real Divas. Not that they misbehaved but because they wore silver sparkly disco fever type harnesses.

Although the boys were offered a chance to sit atop a smelly dirty camel they thankfully passed on the offer. Instead we waded through the camel dung to have our family picture taken.

Our next stop took us to one of the oldest neighborhoods in Al Ahsa (Note the difference in spelling, it is not a typo. You rarely see a city name spelled the same twice.) In the district of Kut sits the Ibrahim Castle. We've passed this place lost many a times during trips to Hofuf but never knew exactly the significance. It was once part of the city wall built during the Ottoman occupation between 1549 and 1680. The mud, sand, and grass, walls are really impressive to see. They look as though a cannon shot or one good rain storm could take them down but neither of those things have ever happened here.
Some of the ceilings were exposed to show the date tree trunks that are embedded for support.

Inside the walls is the Al Kibba Mosque.

We were allowed to step inside once we removed our shoes. Because of it's dome shape there is no need for a speaker system....the prayers just echo off the walls.

Not far from the Mosque is a trap door that leads to...

this 5 meter by 5 meter dome which was a prison. If you look closely you can see some holes near the top. There are four of them which allowed prisoner to tell the time of day when the sunlight passed through them.

These long corridors were the soldiers barracks.

It was so refreshing to see something well cared for within the city. As it turns out as we continued our tour we discovered there are indeed other sites within the city that are also well taken care of. But honestly from the outside we would have just driven right by if we hadn't had a tour guide and escorts.

Just before sunset we stopped at this mosque. Until recently only ruins of the original Jawatha Mosque stood here. Now this newly redone mosque sits representing the first Mosque, after the Prophet's Mosque in Madena, to hold Friday prayers in this region.

The original was built 1400 years ago by the Bano Abdul Qais people after the converted to Islam.

More Secrets of Al Hasa to come....