"Mommy, this is NOT a good day for you, is it?"

It feels like FOREVER since my last post and I have to admit...I missed it. 

This blog is like my new addiction. I guess as far as addictions go this is way better than something like drugs, or alcohol, or Oreos. 

We have had a crazy busy and but insanely wonderful past few days. So much has happened, it's not possible to put it all in one post. So I'll just break it up a bit. Believe me, there were WAY too many shit show stories to put in one post. I swear, I am a walking disaster anymore. 

In my quest to throw a great 4th of July BBQ (or 'cookout' as my husband calls it - so weird) I went to 4 different grocery stores! That's right 4 DIFFERENT GROCERY STORES. 

One grocery store is enough of an adventure in this heat with two kids...but I had to really outdo myself and go to 4. 

Yep, that's life in Bahrain. 

I would do just about anything for a Safeway or Giant or Costco right about now! Not to mention what I would do for a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods. It's sinful, the things I would do. 

There are a handful of different grocery stores here and they all have their pluses and minuses. So to make a specific dish you will most likely end up at several different stores, and you will pay a fortune. It's a good thing you save so much money on gas because you need it to be able to afford food here. (Yep...I have still only spent $15 on gas in the past 3 weeks! Take THAT America!)

I was able to get almost everything for our BBQ. Though it about cost me my sanity and an entire paycheck. 

The Exchange on base has some staples - but the selection is VERY small and the prices are still insane. Do you know what it cost for a half gallon of Organic Milk??? $10!!!!! Insane. And you can't always count on them to have basics like boneless skinless chicken breast. I can't live without that stuff. 

So, after getting what we could at the NEX (Navy Exchange for my non-military readers) I decided to venture WAY out there (8 miles away) to visit GEANT. I had heard that this store was kind of like a Target and a big grocery store all in one and NEEDED to check it out. 

My friend Jessica and I decided to take on this adventure together. So we put GEANT in our GPS and headed out. I guess technically GEANT is in the beginning of the 'Red Zone' AKA that 'we are not allowed to go there zone' but it was completely fine. 

Not only was it fine...it was AMAZING!!!! 

Okay, the grocery selection was amazing. My experience was probably one of my biggest shit shows so far. 

First of all, GEANT is located inside of one of Bahrain's many many malls. So before we went in I decided to be a good mom and get Caden some fresh squeezed orange juice from Starbucks. Well, I ALSO needed Caden to push Davis in his stroller so I could handle the grocery cart. So I ended up placing his orange juice in the bottom of the cart. Well....as I was picking up a new mop for our maid, I plopped it in our cart and SPLASH...orange juice everywhere. 

I imagine that would be what it's like to have your water break in the middle of a store. That was my first thought randomly...did my water just break?! What was that?! Umm..no I'm clearly not pregnant, so this was a totally irrational thought, but I thought it. 

Nope, it was Caden's fresh squeezed orange juice, all over the ground. 

As Jessica put it, "At least we are in the mop aisle" Of course it wasn't an aisle that we were alone in. There were a bunch of other people there to witness my accident. 

Here's Caden cleaning up my mess. 

Just joking, I didn't really make him clean it. By the way...I'm buying a NEW mop because my maid came downstairs and angrily declared, "Madam...I HATE your mop!" I was instructed to buy a new one before she returned. So yes ma'am...here is your new mop. 

Not long after the Great Spill I realized that my shoe felt extremely funny, so I looked at the bottom of it and realized that the heel of my cute new flip flops was breaking off. 

Great...one more thing to worry about, so from then on I kind of slide/stepped my way through the grocery store trying not to make it any worse.

About 5 minutes after the shoe discovery I realized that my new Old Navy linen-cotton blend pants were GROWING. They kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. 

By the end of the shopping trip I swear I was tucking the waistline up under my bra to try and keep them up. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad...but they are about 2 feet too long and the crotch of them was at my knees.

So imagine, me pushing D in his stroller, slide/stepping behind it trying to keep my pants up and my shoe from breaking while also trying to pull my grocery cart. 

I. Was. A. Mess. 

(Seriously - I can't make this stuff up. This is my real life.)

It got to the point that Caden looked at me and said, "Mommy, this s NOT a good day for you, is it?" 

Poor Caden. He must be so embarrassed by me. Then again...NOT poor Caden. Poor Mommy - guess who once again decided he had to use the potty for #2 in the MIDDLE of our grocery shopping?! AGAIN! What is it with his timing? 

Anyways - while I clumsily made my way through the store Jessica looked effortless wearing her sweet baby in her Baby Bjorn carrier while I schlepped along behind her. Some girls have all the luck. 

We went down nearly every aisle and kept saying, "OH MY GOD!!! They have ______"

Chobani Greek Yogurt

Ezekiel Pasta

Aminos ? I don't know but Jessica was excited...

Daisy Sour Cream

Organic Valley Cage Free Eggs!!!! ($8 for a dozen, but I totally bought them!)

The list goes on and on. 

It was awesome. Almost as awesome as when Jessica pointed out the American Flags to me. I was pretty oblivious at this point, clearly I was just trying to keep my pants up. 

Apparently, GEANT puts American Flags on all of the American products. I just thought they had some 4th of July spirit going on. It was so cool though. 

This wasn't just ANY old cheese aisle!

GEANT is definitely our favorite new grocery store and I can't wait to go back, even though I looked like a total disaster walking through it. 

Oh, and by the way....my slide stepping wasn't working very well. By the end of our shopping trip the heel had totally ripped off of my sandal, and it was flapping away behind me as I walked. Good thing my pants were SO LONG they pretty much hid everything. 

However, you couldn't miss the fact that to get through the parking garage to my car I now had to "Pony Step" to keep my shoe on. Yep, every step with my right foot I had to pick up my leg like a pony or high-knee before putting it back down again. 

I'm going to start a new trend. 

THE shoe. So sad, these were my favorites.....

All in all, it was a success...an EXPENSIVE success, but still a success. 

By the way, I couldn't figure out HOW I had spent so much money at the grocery store....then I saw it. 

BROCCOLI!!

As I started to prep the broccoli for our delicious salad I realized that I paid over 10 Dinar on broccoli alone. That's almost $30 on broccoli!!! Seriously. Insane. 

Good thing everyone LOVED the broccoli salad - or else I would have been super sad. 

Note to self: Find Cheaper Broccoli!!!

I'm not kidding though, groceries are going to be our biggest expense while here. I can' hardly believe it. Not  just expensive but totally inconvenient. After our marathon GEANT shopping trip I still had to go to Al Jazira for pickles (the only place I've found with good pickles) and Alosra for decent lettuce and white onions. No ONE store has everything you need. Heck,  I would settle for 2 stores. I'm just hoping things go smoother once I figure out where all of the good ingredients are (plus maybe next time I'll have pants that fit and shoes that aren't broken). 

OH....and THEN I thought, "I would love to have some fresh flowers out in our new house" I saw these beauties at Alosra and was about to buy them...

Yeah...that price tag...it says $20 Dinar. That's over $50!!!! For 4 hydrangeas...they are FREE out of my mom's garden back home. You've got to be kidding me?! $50. No need for fresh flowers here.

Despite my usual mommy shit show, our 4th of July BBQ was wonderful. We had a ton of food, and a pretty good turnout. It feels wonderful to be making some good friends. I still have to admit, I was definitely sad when I went online on the 5th and saw everyone's 4th of July posts. 

I can't wait for next year....but hey, this little guy had a GREAT 1st 4th of July. Somehow this is the ONLY picture I took all day. 

His cuteness makes it all better. At least I have my boys. 

and That's 'Watts' She Said....