'All the flavor of Baileys without the alcohol'

...what's the point!? Haha Some products here make me chuckle. I still bought it though ;)

Birthday Brunch takes a turn for the worse.

Last weekend we decided to try a smaller hotel brunch for a change. We invited some friends along to help celebrate my birthday too. The morning started out great. The girls looked really sweet in their new matching dresses.

The buffet looked delicious.

I only got to try a small plateful before the kids got restless and I offered to take them over the the special play area set up for the brunch. The kids were having a great time jumping on the trampoline and going down the small slide when unfortunately Neko slipped going up the slide steps and fell backwards into the wall.

The fall was not far but the slide was too close to the wall and the back of her head hit the sharp edge on the granite baseboard. I knew right away from her cry it was more than just a simple fall. I was a little taken aback picking her up to find bright red blood gushing out!

It was hard to get a close look - she was not happy, and not letting anyone get close to it! I could barely hold a napkin to the back of her to get pressure on it. I figured it should get looked at in case stitches were needed.

The next flow of events was quite crazy and included getting in a car with a complete stranger, having to drive to 3 different medical centres all closed because of it being Friday/Holy day, ending up at the Hospital, getting dropped at the wrong place, getting in another car with a stranger to get dropped at Emergency. Long story short, Neko was great through it all, ended getting 'glued' back together, and her spirits were high for the rest of the day. Apparently unaffected because she was back to jumping on the couch that night!

These picture make it look way worse than it was.

Neko thought it was funny that she looked like a Mummy after getting treated.

A scary stressful day, but so glad she was okay. Thankfully even if a scar you'll never see it...and they didn't have to shave any of the precious few hairs she has now in the back!!

Walking the Corniche at night

Last weekend we had fun meeting up with a friend and her kids for a play and picnic dinner at the Museum of Islamic Arts Park. It was fun to see the lights come on across the water in the West Bay on all the tall towers. We discovered a great cafe at the end of the corniche with comfy chairs looking out on the view. Can't wait to go back on a Mom's night out or date night!

Not something...

...you see everyday back home beside the Spongebob stickers!

Hair clips anyone?

I went to check out this store last week that I had heard had things like beads and craft supplies, but what I wasn't expecting to find was rows and rows, and rows and rows of hair clips, bows, and elastics. It was an overwhelming insane amount of them.

These pictures only show about 2 of the 20 isles of them.

The crazy part is I only found about 2 that fit my aesthetic for the girls and really none for myself. Apparently there is a great demand for tacky hair things though here is Doha!

Night out in the Souq

After a long work week for Doug, meaning a lot of time on my own with the kids (including my birthday) we decided to get a babysitter to take a night off together. We enjoyed a really nice night in the Souq Waqif. It literally translates to "the standing market" and sells things like traditional garments, spices, souvenirs, handicrafts and art.

The last time we visited was in the summer and it ended in red blotchy faces and the girls in tears....too hot! Last evening was lovely and I won't dare say almost chilly. In the past people have asked "where are all the people in your photos", well this is apparently where everybody is on a Thursday night (like Friday night back home).

We spent some time just walking a checking out the crazy sights like neon coloured chicks anyone?

You can find pretty much any kind of bird here including baby ducklings. Or perhaps you'd like a kitten, bunny, or a pet eel!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Syrian food on an outdoor upper patio looking over the Souq. I'm now so anxious to try more of the restaurants in this area.

We then walked through an arts area with people doing live work at their crafts. I really enjoyed this and saw some beautiful things.

This picture doesn't quite show how pretty these lights were.

Handmade pulled glass T-Rex ornament, awesome!!

And shouldn't all good date nights end with some disturbing taxidermy?

Best part perhaps...coming home to two kids sleeping peaceful, 2 loads laundry done - folded and ironed and my kitchen floor washed :)