El Mono

The main reason why I started this blog was to keep a journal of our time in Egypt and to add things from our everyday life.  One because it's a great way to keep connected with family and friends, and two because I'll forget about 99% of the things I've written (or will write) about.  Plus, having a spell check is awesome.  I don't want to look back in 20 years and be embarrassed that I would of put spell check as spellcheck.  Which I originally did.  I'll admit it.

So, on to talking about monkeys. This one in particular is about 7 inches long, has light brown fur and smells like Gain, baby lotion and, sometimes, pee.

El Mono was purchased in a frenzy by my mom who had taken on the responsibility of watching Benjamin at the mall while I tried to grab stuff at Gymboree on sale.  Gym Bucks!  He, being the child that requires constant movement and excitement all hours of the day, wasn't too pleased that she had stopped in The Gap to pick something up.  She saw him eye that monkey and knew it was love at first sight.

Mono is actually from a British company called Jelly Cat.  They make great stuff animals that are a great size for toddlers.

Mono is really a Brit.  Pip pip old boy.  Bob's your Uncle.  Spot on.  Tea and vit-ah-mins.

There she saw El Mono and tossed it at Benjamin in hopes he would chill out.  He did (which is a miracle) and a strong buddy-ship was created.

Seth and I started to call this new monkey El Mono because of a gift one of our friends gave Benny for his 1st Birthday.  My First Words En Espanol....or My First Words in Spanish for all you non bilingual types.

Our baby's baby's name didn't come from Top 100 Baby Names of 2009.  

El Mono literally means The Monkey.  We thought it would be cute since we were living in Houston at the time and mono is really easy for a 16 month old to say.

5am.  Mok, Mono and blanket time.

Cheers with Dad.  Mono likes formality. 

Mono is one continental kind of guy.  He has crossed the Atlantic twice, lived in Cairo for almost a year, seen the Giza Pyramids, been to the Red Sea, traveled to Dubai, and thrown around the dreaded Charles De Gaulle airport.

A trip through the desert just isn't right without Mono there.

Going to Dinner at our resort in Ain Soukna.  Mono just loves a  buffet.  

El Mono started to be attached to Benny at all times shortly after we moved from Houston.  And thus began our constant asking "Where is M-O-N-O?" when we're about to put him down for a nap or bedtime.  And thus began the constant fear that M-O-N-O was nowhere to be found.  Sometimes Mono is under the couch and sometimes Mono is found in our silver drawer.  I guess he wanted to polish our stainless?  Mono always turns up despite all of our mini panic attacks at not being able to find him.

Except for this past Monday....

Benjamin started going back to daycare (aka "nursery") this week.  I decided to get him before his class ate lunch this week for several reasons.  One because he really doesn't seem to eat very well while he's there (too many distractions), two due to his not eating very well he's a total low blood sugar grouch supreme when I bring him home and three, the most honest reason, I was going to miss him!

We began the whole process of getting breakfast cooked (cinnamon toast), milk poured, diaper changed, me into some kind of workout gear (spinning bike how I've missed you...lots of stuff to burn off), Benjamin into layers because it's cold in Cairo, post breakfast snack packed (PB sandwich, no crust, cut into fours, strawberries, juice box), a change of clothes handy, and into the car.  I've arranged for a driver to come pick us up at home which has been really great.  No more trying to get a cab at a busy intersection all the annoyances that come from that!  Plus, it's just safer and gives me peace of mind.

Last but not least is finding Mono.  He's safely tucked away under a couch cushion.

Okay, spot check.  Everything in it's place.  Mono's tail in Benjamin's hand.

Benjamin starts to cry the minute he sees where we're going.  Poor guy has been with mom and dad 24/7 (except for the lovely mini vacation we took in NOLA...thanks mom!), and has been pleased as punch to keep it that way.  Sorry pal, if mom has to get back on a dreaded spin bike you have to enjoy some playtime and learning with your peers.

I do my thing, shower and then get a cab to pick him up.  Only doing the driver in the mornings because I plan to walk to pick him up...just not right after spinning this week.

I do the usual spot check of all his things while Benjamin is in my arms and NOT letting go.  He had a good day, but seeing mom come back must be all that awesome.  Plus, who didn't love getting out of school early?  Lunchbox, check.  Backpack, check.  Artwork, check.  Kid, check.  Mono, check.  And home we go.

Getting out of the cab involves getting Benny, all the things mentioned above, his stroller and avoiding the kids across the street that always want to come into our house and destroy it.  I was distracted, so I didn't do my usual Where is Mono spot check.

Lunchtime, watch a little Megamind, and then off to nap.

Where's Mono?
 Search the usual spots.
Nowhere to be find.
Search the sometimes spots.
No Mono.
Hot flash of panic sets in.

A quick mention about how Benjamin won't go to sleep if he doesn't have Mono.  He won't calm down without Mono.  Plus, in a way- okay a big way, Mono is kinda like my comfort object too.  He was purchased when Benny was still a baby, my Mom got him for Benny and anything my toddler loves (short of trying to pet stray cats) means a lot to me.  His "woobie" is my "woobie".

So, you can see why the hot flash began to set in...

I then retrace my steps and think of all the times I saw Mono with Benny in the past hour.  My last mental picture of Mono is Benny holding him and getting into the cab.  It stops there.  I then recall what a pain it was to exit the cab, make sure we had our things, make sure we had our stroller, hold his hand while managing to carry stroller, etc...

and then I imagined Mono in the back of that cab headed who knows where.

Panic set in full mode.

Luckily Sara was here, so I was able to have her watch Benny as I went out to retrace our steps.  Full on Find Mono Mode.  I had tunnel vision to the 10th degree.

I have two spots where I find cabs.  One is by the CSA where there are the two usual guys parked there.  They're friendly and if I say "Bank, Metro, Bee-bee" they know I need to go to the ATM, to the grocery store then to pick up Benny.   The second spot is one that I tried for the first time that day.  It's also close to our house, but new/less they know me cab drivers.  I speed walk up to the spot where I got the cab.  Luckily one of the cab drivers there spoke perfect English, and I was able to tell him that I left Mono in another cab drivers car.

"What's his name?"-other cab driver
"Uh...it was difficult to pronounce.  Like Tajjjjaaahhhaaa or something like that"
(It was possibly the most difficult to pronounce Egyptian name I've ever heard)
Other cab driver stares at me blankly
I describe what he looked like
Other cab driver knows who I'm talking about and calls the guy
No answer
I'm starting to tear up
I ask other cab driver to keep an eye out for him and explain about Mono.
I begin the short walk home that ends up being very long due to me trying to fight back tears.

I ask Sara (who speaks perfect Arabic) to ask our Bawab (doorman/errand runner/car washer) to go see the cab drivers a couple times that day to see if there have been any developments in the Case of the Lost Mono aka Mom Forgot to Spot Check.  She goes to talk to him while I take a deep breath and try to take on nap time sans Mono.

In my mind I see poor Mono in the back of a cab and some stranger picking it up.  They have a mustache and they're laughing maniacally about how we left a monkey in a cab.  How they'll be rich, rich I say!  when they send us a ransom note. Meanwhile we're up all night with a crying toddler who's missing his best friend.  I then call Seth and explain the situation while mixing in a huge sob between words.  I was a wreck.

Benjamin and I go to my room to lie down.  I was hoping beyond hope that he would drift right off to sleep and the door would knock and Taaaajjjjaaahhhhaa would have Mono.  Benjamin actually closed his eyes...could it be?...could he be going to sleep without Mono?! Then he looks up at me, smiles, and says "Mono.  Wan Mono."  Yikes!

What to do?  I pat his back, give him Giraffe, pray

Then I hear Sara "Ms Kristen?"
I jump out of bed and saying prayers that some miracle has happened.  Then I see the brown fuzz that's been so loved that's it's in mini-dreads, the smiling face and the little tail that's so easy to clutch when you have 2 year old sized hands.  I breathe the biggest sigh of relief I've ever had in my life.  Forget getting an extension on that paper I forgot about, forget finding $20.00 in change to deposit so I don't get over drafted, forget all that. Mono was safe at home!

Benjamin, not being the wiser that we almost lost Mono, grabbed him and held him tight.  He then laid down and went to sleep in 5 minutes.

So, where was Mono?  Did Taaajjjaaaaahhhhaaa come through and deliver him?

No.

Mono was chucked by his owner under the stairs and was hiding under a stroller we never use.  He was in a new hiding place.

Apparently Benny had Mono in his hands all during the exit the cab fiasco.  I should know better than think Benny would of left him in the cab!  I underestimated the powers of buddy-dom.  Or the codependency that my 2 year old has on his furry pal.  Not like I was the one reduced to heavy sobs at the mere picture of a lost monkey.  When Sara went to ask the Bawab to do us the whole ask the cab drivers about Mono thing he told her that Benny had "the monkey" in his hands the whole time.  Sara, who wasn't the blubbering mess that I was, found him.  Have I mentioned how much we love Sara?

Even as I type this Mono is right by his owner. Just hanging out and happy to be useful.

Cold Winter in Egypt?

It's cold in Cairo!  Not like the people who aren't accustomed to cold weather so they think it's cold cold, but actually cold.  I had no idea it would be cold here!

If I knew how I'd put the 10 day forecast right here, but I have no idea how to do that as my internet skills are terrible.  However, just know that the low tonight is 43.  To top all that off is the fact that homes in Cairo aren't built to retain heat.  They're actually built to push it out.  Last night Seth and I were catching up on our shows and we both looked like Nanook of the North. Even with our heater on we were freezing cold. Good thing I bought the entire fleece footie pajamas collection at Carter's for Benjamin (it was buy one get one free!).

That's us.  That's what we look like.

Also, when the wind hits you it's pretty jarring.  I've heard that's the desert wind.

I will say that's it's awesome to have actual consistent weather.  Everyday highs in the low 60's and lows in the 40's.  Every single day.  I'm loving that!  Not like when we were back home and it would jump from 70 to 80 to 60 to maybe 40.  Sadly it was not a cold Christmas in Louisiana this year.

So I'm glad that I figured what the hell and brought every single piece of clothing we own.  We're good on coats and layers. Which is nice.  Because we need them to stay warm indoors.

First visit back home

We survived!  50 hours of travel, 6 flights, at least 2500 miles on I10 and countless calories consumed.

Our first trip home as expats was amazing.  We had a great time and enjoyed every last minutes (the evening of January 9th being the one exception).

We arrived in New Orleans after flying from Cairo to Paris, Paris to The Azores, The Azores to Atlanta then Atlanta to New Orleans.  Why the Azores?  It's not like it's a regular stop or anything.  Shortly after we left Charles De Gaulle (aka the worst and most confusing airport ever ever ever) in Paris the captain came on the air and asked if there were any Doctors on the plane.  Several scholarly people went to the front to attend to a medical issue with one of the passengers.  We forgot about the whole thing until the captain came on the air again, and in that serious twang that only airplane captains have, said "Ladies and Gentleman, uhhhh, we're going to have to make a stop off the coast of Portugal due to a medical emergency, uhhhh, so just sit back and we will get you in the air again as soon as possible."  Me flying solo wouldn't of cared.  Me with a 2 year old cared a lot.  Of course you want the best for the medical emergency, but images of a crazed blonde child running up and down the aisle flashed into my head.  Luckily Benjamin was the perfect child during our 2 hour delay in the Azors and then went right to sleep and stayed that way all the way to Atlanta.  

I Googled the Azors.  Good thing we didn't get off the plane to see this ugly place. Eeeew...beautiful flowers and scenery.

We had to seriously book it in Atlanta.  We had 30 minutes to get off the plane, go through customs, change a poop diaper, go through security, go through security again (cause Seth looks suspicious.  I blame the beard), get on the train, go from I to B on the train, go from B1 to B15 and board the plane to New Orleans.  And we did it!  All while cursing (quietly so the 2 year old didn't hear) and calling my mom telling her we will probably have to sleep in Atlanta and get on the next flight.  This scene and song was in my head the whole time.  

There is nothing like stepping into your parent's house after you haven't been there in a long time.  Especially at Christmas. The smells and memories and warmth hit you all at once, and for a little minute you're a kid again.  I immediately did what I always do- look in the refrigerator for goodies.  I wasn't hungry, but who can resist delicious mom-cooked food and goodies at 3am?  This ended up being a common thing with me during our entire visit, and by the end of the trip i was sporting anything with an elastic waist due to that.  I opened the fridge and there I saw....

and

and all was well in the world.

We relaxed the next day because Mimi, Pop and Nanny were coming and we had to go to NOLA airport again to pick up Kellie, Hayes and  Nolan.  Busy and awesome day!

We picked up Kellie and Co then went directly to visit Granny Mac.  I wrote about my Granny in another blog because my mom and I had just talked about how she wasn't doing very well.  She didn't have much time left.  It's because of that reason that Seth and I left a week earlier than originally planned.  I'm so happy to report that our visit with Granny was awesome.  We walked into her house to see a pot of seafood gumbo on the stove and all the party food I wrote about in that blog entry.  My awesome Aunt Patricia made sure that we had it because she wanted it to "be like old times" one more time.  Granny wasn't well, but she was still her usual sassy self.  She teased and laughed and asked us a lot of questions.  I got to say goodbye to her, which is something I'll always treasure.  My last memory of her alive is one of happiness and laughter.  Two days after our visit Granny fell into a coma.  She past away before Christmas Eve.

Normally we would of canceled our trip to Houston due to Granny's condition, but we couldn't miss Benjamin's Nephrology appointment at Texas Children's Hospital.  He got the all clear and everything looks good!  We will return next year, and however many once a year trips after that, but all is well in kidney land.  Visiting Houston was awesome.  We stayed with Benjamin's Parrin O and Allison (who is due in May!) and got to visit with most of our good friends.  I got to visit the new location of the Houston Food Bank and see the paver we bought for Benjamin.  It was great to see all my old buddies.  I also went to the Keegan building (my old office) for a potluck lunch.  I miss all of them a lot, so it was great to see everyone.

the not filled in part of the R had me worried, but i'm happy to report it's filled in now and easy to read

After Houston was all about Christmas Eve celebrations in Lafayette and Scott.  Going to Mass at St Peter and Paul was eventful.  Two year old's don't enjoy being pent up for two hours, so he took to playing with two older girls (older as in 4 and 5) who one whispered to me "He's cute but he's a copy cat."  Benjamin then came up to me and whispered "Shushubsheshubbb."  After Mass we headed to the Sonnier family get together where I ate tons of rice dressing.  I'm sure there was more options, but after my twelfth plate of rice dressing everything is a blur.

Christmas Day was in Baton Rouge at my parent's house.  We had a full house with my trio, my brother's family, my parents and my Uncle Tim, Aunt Patricia, Little Timmy and his wife Heidi (due in July!).  It was a great visit.  We ate and then spent the rest of the day and into the evening talking about Granny and telling stories about her life.  It was like our own private wake.  It was really special to have that time with them.

Granny's funeral was December 28th.  It was a beautiful day, the kind of day where she liked to sit outside and enjoy her backyard.  She lived an amazing life and past away at home with her three son's and two daughter in law's at her side. Hopefully we can all be so lucky to have a life filled with laughter, the perfect Bloody Mary, leopard print anything and wonderful family and friends.  My little Granny will be missed, but honestly Heaven just got better because there is one more sassy New Orleans lady to play Bridge and make legit seafood gumbo for everyone.

We were back in Lafayette for New Year's Eve.  Will (aka Pop) and Charleen (aka Mimi) treated us to dinner at Charlie G's. 

Another highlight of the trip was Seth and I's mini vacation within a vacation.  We stayed the night in New Orleans sans 2 year old.  We drove in time for lunch and ate at La Petite Grocery on Magazine.  Holy Cats is that place delicious!  It's amazing!  After our lunch and a walk around Magazine we checked into our hotel.  We stayed at Soniat House on Charters Street.  We then did a min pub crawl to different bars in New Orleans.  We stopped in Boondock Saints, Laffite's Blacksmith House and a Evangeline's (which was by far my favorite). 

We took a quick visit to Mississippi to visit our two furry children.  Brew and Hops are living the good life of bottled water, fancy pet food and daily walks outside.  Benjamin was happy to see them.  Hops was happy to see Benjamin.  Brew, as always, was indifferent.

Then January 9th....that ill fated day.  I can't put into words what happened, but I think this picture best represents our feelings 

There were times when I would get sad and feel like we miss out on so much.  That Benjamin misses out on seeing his Grandparent's, Aunts/Uncles and Cousins and they miss out on seeing him.  I then realized that we were home for Christmas, and it's not like you can live like that all year round.  You don't always have parties to go to or family dinners to attend.  People are not normally off weeks at a time just because.  After awhile we all have to return to our normally scheduled programs and get back to it.

For me getting back to it is getting back to spinning and pilates.  I ate my weight in ham, crawfish, crab, pumpkin pie, ice cream, rice dressing, fish covered in a cream based sauce, bread pudding, beer, red wine, spaghetti, cheeseburgers and fries.

See you all in December.  Happy 2012- I have a feeling it's going to be an amazing year!