Fresh Squeezed!

Image taken from Salt And Pepper

Had fresh squeezed orange juice today.  It was so good.  I don't think I'll ever be able to have Tropicana (or any other brand) again with the same feeling.  That stuff was F-R-E-S-H. 

The downs

I am having such a hard time.  Life with two kids is full of ups and downs, but right now it feels like a heck of a lot more downs than ups.  That's part of why I haven't been writing a lot in this blog.  I just feel so down about things and it's not something I want to remember in the long run, or share unnecessarily.  Anyone with kids in a similar situation can understand... or maybe it's just me.  Whatever.  In the end, I often just feel like curling up in a ball at the end of the day and shutting down with a book or browsing online.  I don't want to think or plan or work for tomorrow.  It's all I can do to get through today.

I also feel terrible about my lack of patience with the kids.  Even little J. doesn't get off scott-free.  I'm just so short of everything - brains, time, patience, creativity...  (that list goes on obviously). 

Sorry to be such a drag today.  Sometimes tomorrow is better.  I hope. 

Fresh life

We arrived to Lebanon safe and sound this past Friday.  Our days have consisted so far of adjusting to the time difference, catching up on sleep and staying cool!  (The heat is almost unbearable, especially for little monkies!) 

Yesterday we took M, his uncle and his cousin swimming.  It was heaven!  On the way back, we stopped by their garden and picked some cuccumbers.  (When I say garden, I mean a very large garden that includes, among the typical fare of vegetables and herbs, fruit trees and a small olive orchard.)  It is a little kid's paradise! 

We also stopped by their neighbours, who keep cows, for some fresh milk.  It was still warm from the cow!  M's grandmother (Teta Amira) made it into fresh yogurt and pudding... which we enjoyed in the evening with homemade meat pizzas (called lahmeh bajeen in arabic).  Yum!

Needless to say, we are enjoying the simple life here!