What to do on these sleepless nights (days)

First of all, might I apologize for the two posts prior to this one. Try as we may, we can't figure out how to reverse their order on the blog. If you read them it is obvious that Elvis has left the building should come before Um.....just kidding. You would think that would be an easy fix. Nope. 

Secondly, if you can't sleep at 2 am, maybe writing in this blog will keep you occupied. So here goes. 

This is our third night to sleep in this hotel and every night has brought a new experience for me. As you have read, the first night we were all wide awake at 3:45 am. We had no food in the room so the kids just ate some of my weight watchers snack bars I brought from home. They were hungry so what were we to do?

We remedied that by being able to go to the market the following day. As many of you know, we have a friend (Gina) who has been in AD since last November, working as a principal with the ADEC. She came to pick us up and took us to get our mobile phones, which you have to have (among other documents) to open a bank account. No one has an address here. In order to receive mail we will have to get a PO Box. So the way you get bank statements is through your phone. Although we will not be setting up our bank accounts until Sunday, getting the  phone in advance saves us time on Sunday. Gina also took us to LuLu's, which was definitely be a place I could have spent hours in shopping for most anything. However, we did have a list of essentials; bread, jelly, peanut butter, Oreos, etc. We came back to the hotel around 1 pm and ate some lunch then had a nap, all of us. We set the alarm for 4 pm thinking if we could shorten the naps this would assist with jet lag for the kids. 

Gina picked us up at 4:30 and we headed to Lebanese Flower, a local favorite for Lebanese food. It was yummy. The kids wouldn't know because they slept through the entire meal. When we woke them up, we really didn't. We just carried their sleeping bodies from the room to Gina's car, into the restaurant and back out to the car for the ride back to the hotel. Jack woke up on the ride back to the hotel and Millie was awake when we got back to the room. Around 7 pm we went swimming and were sure this would tire them out. When we got back to the room from the pool they were hungry. Cold French fries from the restaurant would have to do. They both happily ate and then dropped off to sleep around 10:30. Jack slept straight through until 6:30 am. Millie was awake from about 3:30 until about 4:30, but she was really just rolling around and restless. 

Each morning we have breakfast at an all you can eat breakfast buffet. Vegas has nothing on this place. It's wonderful. We try to eat a hearty amount so that only one other meal (and possibly snacks) are needed for the day. After breakfast, Gina picked us up and we headed to Ikea to look at what we would want to buy to furnish our new home, once we are in it. We get a furniture allowance and Ikea seems to be the place where we can get   the most for the least. Right about this time I got a little stressed. Primarily because we had visited Gina's adorable place the day before, which is model home like. It's beautifully and tastefully decorated. I'm not a decorator. My brother got that talent in our family. Fortunately, Stuart and I went online and put together our wish list way back in May. We printed it out so that I can stay focused. Gina's advice was to complete one room at a time. I'm taking that advice. Really? If decorating a place with someone else's money is my biggest stress right now I think I'm going to be fine. 

On the way back from Ikea, around 3 pm, the kids fell asleep. We woke them around 6 pm and were going to go to the pool. A pool party for 21 year olds and older started at 7, but we thought we could get in a quick dip prior to the party. Funny! It seems that everything is 'Insha

Allah', Allah willing. But in the situation with the pool party seems it started early so we were not allowed to go in. Stuart remembered there being some board games in the lobby. There was a mean game of Snakes and Ladders and Jack was schooled on the basic moves of chess. Once back in the room, showers for the kids, PBJs all the way around for dinner, and bed by 10. 

So, why am I awake? Remember that pool party? Apparently it was a party with very loud Techno music that was scheduled to go until 3 am. Although we are not in a room by the pool, the beat is still heard and a felt on our side of the hotel. I can't even imagine what the rooms are like who can really hear it. 

It's 3:15 am right now and I can still hear the party carrying on strong. So when will it end? Insha Allah!