Yesterday I went to EK clinic to take the blood test to check for chickenpox immunity and when I got there I was told that the bloodtest they took when I went for my initial appointment was to check some immunity so they already knew I was immune to chicken pox. Great stuff! In the afternoon then we got N, our houseboy home. Today was his first day of work and since the kids are still on xmas holidays I cant take too much time showing him around so we decided to give him some simple and straight forward task for now. R and I have to push unpacking the last few boxes too now. N was asked to clear up, clean the floors and also clean the kitchen, cupboards, fridge, microwave etc inside and out. We thought it would take all day but he was ready before lunch (still doing a good job) On his own initiative he then cleaned the big windows at the back and when we came home from playground he was cleaning the tiles out back. How different from the Ethipian! N is happy and content, asnwering with a smile, patiently listening to the kids and showed A on his globe where Sri Lanka is etc. He doesnt do things without asking first which is great! I hope we continue on the same positive road. Tomorrow will be his day off this week, him and his wife wanted new years eve off today and that is fine with us, gives me and the kids some time to ourselves tomorrow with R away. Even though its nice to have someone to help out, its also slightly tiring until you get used to it, its a bit like having a guest in your house even though he is not a guest.

Now I will update you on the whole maid issue and Im not sure if I should laugh or cry with what Im going to tell you now. I dont know if I mentioned it before but we have decided to open a new world of maid by also looking for male maids. R was not convinced from the start cause he said men dont clean as well as women. I know its not right and after having had male cleaners coming over with the agency we have hired once a week R was proven wrong and he said he wouldnt mind a man, especially after the trouble we had with M. When we landed in Malta I got an sms from a friend here in Dubai where she told me that her maids husband is looking for a job as a houseboy and that he would love to work with us if we were interested. We felt that it would be a great arrangement as we would have a happy houseboy with his wife around the corner and that would help a lot. The plan was that we would meet him when we returned but in the meantime the chaos begun. Our friend´s daughter got chicken pox so their maid could not move in with them when she came her from Sri Lanka as she hadnt had chicken pox as a kid. Instead she moved in with a third friend for the time being and N, our houseboy had obviously been there to visit his wife. All was well and good until the third friend´s daughter also got chicken pox and we had to assume that both N and his wife had been exposed to it. After lots of hassles they both got vaccinated as it seemed if given within 5 days the chicken pox might not break out at all, or at least make you less sick. My mum is not sure if I had it as kid or not and I can not take the vaccine as it is a live one which is dangerous for me I couldnt meet him when we got back home. His visa was going to expire on the 29th so we couldnt delay anymore. We decided to take a chance on him as two sweds had said he is such a nice man and R met him to complete the paperwork needed and everything went well until they needed to stamp his "entry stamp" in his passport and we didnt have it! The man made en exception and R would be allowed back to stamp the passport the following day but here comes the worst part of the story, the previous employer is refusing to give us the passport unless N leaves the country! There were no legal reasons behind this, with the papers we had for them they would still get their 2000 dhs that every employer has to pay as a deposit for the employee until he leaves the country again. R tried everything, talked to the manager of the hotel who actually hung up on R with the words "this is our policy, please understand our position and pay for a ticked to Muscat or Doha"!  The ticket ended up a mess too when we were told that N coldnt travel today as his passport would not be ready from where it had to be picked up and the tickets for th 29th were more expensive than today. I called and called to talk to the right person as she kept "being out on lunch break" (for 1 hour 40 minutes!) before she confirmed that they could have the passport ready for N to travel in the evening today. I booked the ticket and when I paid I realized I had made a mistake and booked his ticket under his two first names, none of his sirnames! Called flydubai in panic and was told they cant add names to the ticket but he will be allowed to travel as long as both names are listed on this passport. It didnt sound right and I was beside me with worry that he wouldnt be allowed on the plane so half an hour later I called back and talked to someone else who gave me the same answer, it didnt matter what the names were, as long as there were two, and they were both on the passport. It didnt really calm me though, it sounded so wrong but there was nothing else I could do until he tried to check in so I had to wait and see. Have been worried all day but now N is on the flight to Muscat, returning back with the same flight and will be back home again in 2 hrs. Where is he staying now? Since his wife could move back to her employers the "third friend" has again had to take in someone elses maid short term. Thanks to ppl that help others!

 

Last days in Malta were as hectic as the first, had good intentions to update but just didnt have the engergy. In the evenings I was as tired as I was in the beginning in Dubai and I could go to bed as early as 8 pm. Now we are back home in Dubai, me with a mega cold so this will be all for now. Need to rest and hope for quick recovery ;)

 

...I miss Malta a bit. Had a great relaxed afternoon at a friends house and even though we havent met in a couple of months it still feels the same. Sooo nice to relax a bit, kids can play a bit on their own, her kids play with them a bit and everything goes. Thanks for a lovely time A!

We have really been busy these last few days, I thought we would have time to relax a bit but I was mistaken! We have met R´s family, looked for more curtains, travelled with the new busses, met R´s friends etc etc. Finally the kids are going to bed at the normal time and me and R can hopefully stay awake a bit longer than 8 pm!

We just came home from the cinema. We watched Arthur Christmas and even though I was sceptical from the start I must say it was a lovely film and I was really taken in. Grandpa Santa was hilarious! Left cinema feeling a bit christmassy :)

Here are the pictures from J's ballet lesson, how much pink can you fit in a room?

 

yet its better than yesterday....Yesterday we woke up at 3 while I got to sleep until 5 this morning. We're getting there I guess.

Yesterday we went to the kids old school and visited everyone in the morning. The visit took forever as we met both teachers, other staff and friends (parents) but it was a very nice visit. After that we went to look for fabric for curtains for the last two rooms in the house. Took waaaay too long as there wasnt enough of the fabric that would have been perfect for the living room so after looking and looking and looking we decided to only to the kitchen in the end. In the afternoon we managed a siesta before we went to Valletta, via Candynavia in St Julians. Now I can enjoy some non alcoholic mulled wine and glutenfree gingerbread cookies. Thank god for Candynavia!

A with his best friend from Malta



With last year's teacher Ms. A



Both the kids playing in the pre-nursery area with Ms. T



A with Bertie in Upper Barakka gardens Valletta



It wasnt particularly cold but the kids insisted on hood, scarves and gloves, oh the novelty of such exotic clothes :)



Christmas lights in Valletta

We have landed on the rock. After a long trip we have now had dinner and getting the kids to bed. Dinner was great, we passed my favourite supermarket on the way to the parents in laws flat and bought the best marinatd meat. Kids got ravioli for the first time in 5 months. Everyone is happy and tired now. We were happy to find that the internet is still connected at the flat so I should be able to update regularly, tonight will be a VERY early night. Its only 18 Malta time but we have been up for 16 hrs!

A´s class have a mascot, Bertie Bear and each weekend one of the kids get to take BB home. During the weekend you are expected to document what they child did with BB by sticking pictures and writing in a special book. A very proud A got BB home on sunday for the whole of Christmas so now he is coming with us to Malta. We already started thinking about where to take pictures of him. A crib should be obvious, then I guess something in Valletta, a maltese balcony, A´s old school and a boat or a horse carriage. Any other suggestions?

Yesterday I got the email I was waiting for, J got a spot at DESS when school starts again after summer. No surprise really but it feels good to have it on paper, you never know....

When I went to see the doctor in oktober he ordered some blood test for the kids to check about gluten intollerance as it is genetic. Tonight he called me and told me that J´s results showed slightly too high levels of antibodies but it will be enough to keep an eye on it with blood tests every now and then. A on the other hand has way to high levels and needs to do a biopsy to determine if she is coeliac or not. Bloody cr@p. I feel really sad and low. Fine, its not the end of the world to be coeliac but its not easy either. Try to explain to a child how it works and why he cant eat some things he used to eat?  Darn darn darn...

One could think today is the third of Advent swedish style. Im having a relaxed and cosy morning with the kids on the sofa with swedish rice porridge simmering on the cooker. Hubby back from his flight, looking forward to a day together.

After a small blog break Im now back. Was pretty drained emotionally after the mess with the maid but to update a bit we did take her back to the agency on Monday morning and it was such a relief to get rid of all that negativity. This week has passed quite quickly, R has finally arranged a front for the dishwasher and we found some drawers for the bathroom unit so now I can oragnize a bit. Right now R is in Manchester for 24 hrs and I sent him a shoppinglist, we need some winterclothes for the kids for Malta. Then we are busy until its time to leave, tomorrow tennis and playdate in the playground. Saturday we have the Christmas fayre at DESS and on Sunday we have to start packing up as R is away Monday and Tuesday. Flight then leaves early Wed morning, Im quite excited now. Can´t wait to actually travel together with R for the first time in ages! Just hope I dont have to be nagging to get some family time together just the four of us....

...in bed. Hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

A did really well at tennis today. It was great to see but he got tired in the end and lost focus. I took some video of him, his coach said he would upload it online and if I see it I will link to it.

Today hasnt been a good day, that´s for sure but I have to grateful to the person I dont even know who spent 40 minutes on the phone with me and M today trying to solve this problem. So it turns out that M wants to talk to the agency cause she wants a new employer even though she said we are kind to her and that her workload is not too heavy but for the reason that our cooking makes her vomit! :O I dont know what to say about this as

A. She lives in our house as an employee and we can and may cook whatever food we want, she just has to adjust. I never heard about a maid complain about cooking smell but employers complaining about the smell from the maids cooking
B. The food we cooked yesterday was pasta and some fried meat and veg and for dinner we had pizza and leftovers heated in the microwave

I mean, hello? What does she mean? The lady that helped us over the phone said she told M to grow up and realize that she is in a workplace now and that she needs to take care of her self. That she should be happy she is with a family that respects her and that she is not meant to be eating our food either. She will be getting money to buy her own food so she can cook whatever she wants. Even though she came with us to the supermarket yesterday and asked her many times if she only wanted to buy pasta and tomato sauce she wanted other things so today I dropped her off at Spinneys hope she did buy a few things. I´ve been feeling bad about this all day but in the afternoon I decided to let it go, this is not my problem! The agency that got her here give a 3 month guarantee so they will deal with her. If they want to give in to her demands for a new employer she can go, she is not irreplaceable but I think the agency will set her straight on this and say that her demands are crazy. Until then she can hide in her room if she wants to, its better than seeing her grumpy and suffering face. Im not even sure I´d want her to stay even if that is what she decides to do after having talked to the agency but she has been good at cleaning and she makes the beds hotel style, I have no idea how she can stretch everything so well :) I will just have to wait and see what the agency tells us, until then I dont have the energy to care...

...unexpected praise! A person that follows the blog said, and I quote "ever thought of taking up writting - luv the blog think it is great" and "its like reality tv in writing, read it regularly - sort of bridget jones type diary but on family life". It was lovely to hear and sort of made my evening. I see the blog as a place to vent and clear my head from time to time and its nice to hear that someone likes it. You know who you are, thank you!

Its been a busy last two days...Wed evening we picked up M, our maid. They were very delayed, both with the flight and in the traffic on the road from Dubai to Sharjah. She only had a small bag with stuff so we took her shopping for some clothes yesterday but she only picked a skirt and a cardigan so I guess she thinks she has enough as it is. The language is a problem though, she understands a bit but speaks virtually none but she has shown us that she has stomach problems. Regardless she still worked hard yesterday, cleared up, did dishes and always wanted something else to do although we had told her to take it relaxed and slowly get used to our routines. Today she came up to me saying she wants to call the agency but today is Friday and therefore its closed and I dont manage to understand what she wants to talk to the agency about. Asked her if she wants to go home, "no", does she want to see a doctor? "no". Now I have basically forced her into her room with water and crackers to rest. I dont see a doctor for stomach problems, those things there are no cures or meds for, you just have to wait it out. I was thinking that maybe she is homesick and wants to go home but doesnt dare telling ME that. But on the other hand, if she wanted to go home she wouldnt have been up early this morning to start cleaning? It seems she wants to keep us happy? Regardless, this is just what I needed with R leaving this morning for two whole days :S I havent given up hope though as I got in touch with a woman on a forum for expats that speaks both english and amharic that will help us clear out any misunderstandings but she seems to be asleep still so we have to wait a bit longer to find out exactly what´s going on.