Guest Post: The good life, by Lili McCowan

My parents know nothing. Everyone seems to think that Mama is the boss of the house, but it is really me. If you spend any time around here, it will quickly become clear to you that there is no room for debate in this matter. They ( I mean the rest of the family) try to resist, they try to discipline, when they should just accept the simple fact- LILI IS THE BOSS- and everyone's life would be so much easier.

As is, I have started talking so I express myself verbally when I can. I like to live on the edge so when climbing up and down the hard marble stairs, I say 'by self' or '[insert the name of well-intentioned helper] go away! Sometimes I try to turn around and give a little push to get this important point cross. This has caused me to lose my balance and almost fall- clearly not MY fault.

I also like to try other things by myself and try to teach patience to the other members of the family- for example, I do this by insisting to get into the car seat 'by self' (or egyedul), even if this is a 10 minute process (since I might get distracted by the many interesting things the world has to offer). If I am assisted, I have to resort to other methods to reinforce the lesson- I will scream, for up to 45 minutes, about how I wanted to get in the seat 'by self'. I don't enjoy this, as I would much rather be listening to my favorite song (Bango Margit- Hosszu fekete haj, which I just call 'fekete haj') but I am hoping this will remind my parents to be more patient the next time.

Sometimes talk just does not get my point across. I will need to hit, kick, punch, pinch, pull hair, head butt, scream really high pitched or throw things (usually utensils) to get the attention I deserve (editorial comment- no spitting yet). At this point, my parents have stepped in and tried to impose discipline (i.e. do what worked for my brother )Ha, I laugh! At first, I was unphased by the timeout stool and just sat there. Then I started getting upset and my parents thought they were making progress. To throw them for a loop, every once in a while I will now DEMAND to be put on the timeout stool when I have done something wrong and sit there smiling. My parents are at a loss, because I am the BOSS.

Now don't get me wrong- I have a lot of emotion. Period. It goes both ways. I hug, and kiss and say I love you totally unsolicited. I make sure my brother also gets treats (as long as they are not mine). I prefer to have both my parents in my twin bed with me, with their arms tucked under me. I love talking to everyone on the phone or skype and will demand that people talk to me ( and only me, especially now that I have more to say) ('Lili beszel'- Lili talking) ( I actually remember overhearing that my mother did something similar at this age, though not on skype).

Anyway, I think I have made my point here. But just in case you are not convinced, watch the video below. My poor parents are so clueless, they were worried about Miki getting spoiled by a nanny, so he has all these chores like clearing his plate after dinner, making his bed, washing himself in the tub, cleaning up his toys etc. What do I have to do? A big nada (even though I do try to help) so I have the time to think of new ways to 'educate' them but also just to enjoy life.

Desert Roses

Surprise, surprise- another outing into the desert. We were invited by a colleague of mine ( a 6 year veteran of Doha) to dig for 'desert roses'. We were excited to go along on any kind of adventure, especially since the weather is really nice these days. Geologically completely ignorant, we pondered about what desert roses were and whether it was right to just go and 'dig them up', but decided not to worry about it and just try to enjoy the day. Well, now we know. Desert roses are not plants, they are rock formations- gypsum with sand inclusions which form a rosette pattern ( there is apparently also a barite form but as I said I know next to nothing about this). The place where the desert roses are found is, well, in the middle of nowhere (literally). We were following another car which at a random point ( thanks to GPS) took a turn off the highway and drove off into the desert. This was our first real 'off roading' experience as we had to drive probably about 15-20 km to get to this spot. We of course made the obligatory stop at a camel farm (where once again there was mutual picture taking) and then headed on.

 

So we arrived into this basin, where the sand was slightly darker ( more wet) and set to work!

This was serious business- little kids worked, big kids worked, while some of us encouraged and admired their work.

 

These are some smallish desert roses, there were also much bigger ones 'we' found.  It was a windy day (as you can see above) but no matter, for Miki and Lili ( and all the other kids) it was like a giant sandbox.  With giant holes ( we were not the first ones to come up with this idea). The kids reminded me of prairie dogs sticking their heads out from the ground ( see pictures below, I am not crazy).

 

After the digging, we of course had a huge picnic and went on some little hikes, where some signs of life were spotted.  To summarize the day in Lili's words "I like it the desert. I like it the camels".  What more can we ask for?