Семья пережила ливень в Атланте и переезд в Катаре: чемоданы промокли, но вещи остались целы

- one bottle of children's liquid medicine leak somehow (not sure how because the bottle isn't actually broken) - one bottle of hair detangling spray leak (fortunately both the spray and the medicine were double-bagged so all the mess was contained. I haven't even tried to rescue the detangling spray yet but/because we found detangling spray at the store. I will get around to investigating this leak someday soon, I'm sure). - one suitcase open and inspected by TSA (Miriam's suitcase with all the Magnatiles inside) - 18 suitcases get stuck waiting to load the plane in the pouring rain in Atlanta, but miraculously nothing that shouldn't have gotten wet inside got wet. We had one cardboard tube (with much-wanted posters inside) that got wet all the way through (like one end of the tube was completely soggy). I opened it up to check things out inside and the posters were all snuggled down at the other end of the tube, so they didn't even get a little bit wet! Incredible! Sure, we had to unpack everything as quickly as we could and lay out ten million articles of clothing to dry before they molded inside our suitcases...but nothing got ruined, which is pretty neat. All our carry-ons and Miriam's luggage were spared from The Great Luggage Sogging of 2026. Friday, August 14, 2026 Packing casualties One week We have now been in Qatar for a week—and what a wild week it's been! On the one hand it's quite the relief to be here—to have all the waiting and preparation work over and done with. It's shiny and new and exciting and everything feels full of potential. We look out the windows at the twinkling skyscrapers surrounding us and think, "Wow! We did it! We're here!" But on the other hand, we (or at least I) find ourselves asking, "What. Have. We. Done?!" We used to know what life was like—it was a patterned, predictable, stable. And now...let's just say that I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed. So I thought perhaps was a good day to share pictures of our old home (as we contemplate what we need in a new home, which has so far been a rather major stressor for me). I still can't believe we managed to empty this house. Here's Benjamin in his room upstairs. Several children also have claim in this bedroom. I think Benjamin, Alexander, Zoë, and Phoebe all were in this room at some point, in various configurations: Thursday, August 13, 2026 Wunderground...wunder...what? I showed Andrew my earlier screen shot from Wunderground: "That's the temperature you cook chicken to!!" Miriam exclaimed. Google is much more conservative in their feels-like estimates—only 129°F (53°C). Celestial Patterns and Perspectives and things Wednesday, August 12, 2026 Miriam and the libraaaaaaar...ian After we finished with our school work, we took the metro to the Qatar National Library. I really like the metro (I just wish it went more places). It's very clean, riding in the family car was perfectly chill (though Andrew really felt like a duck out of water because he was the only man in the car; without us he would have to ride in the "standard" cars, which he reports are also just fine). Here we are ready to hop on once the doors open: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Pool days We went for our first swim at the pool on Sunday. Here's the first picture I took...before I realized that I needed to wipe off the camera lens after going outside (in addition to wiping off my glasses): A nighttime walk On Saturday (our first day in Qatar) we went to the food court (at the mall! in our basement!) to find some dinner. We also found a yellow submarine playground, which Phoebe rather enjoyed. Monday, August 10, 2026 A special treat I think this makes the third post in a row that includes ice cream. Phoebe had ice cream on the plane. We had ice cream at IKEA yesterday (which Phoebe threw up). And now I'm going to write about ice cream again. Moving is wonderful. But also stressful. And it turns out that a little bit of ice cream really can help soothe raw emotions (particularly with preschoolers involved, but I am pretty sure that drowning sorrows in ice cream is a rather common trope). ***** Today was our first somewhat official day of school. True, we just got here and are still getting over jet lag. True, we're in temporary housing so will have to move again in a couple of months. True, I feel like just being here is a pretty big learning experience. But it's been a long and rather hectic summer and we really needed to build some structure into our days. ATL to IST to DOH We sent several pictures of ourselves at the airport to our families, but for some reason couldn't manage to satisfy Oaklyn and Ireland. I sent a picture of the boys and they wanted to know where Zoë was. I sent a picture of me with all the kids and they wanted to know where Andrew was. I sent a picture of Andrew and they wanted to know if he was traveling alone or whether we were still with him. So we tried to get everyone in this selfie: Sunday, August 09, 2026 Phoebe's ice cream adventures in IKEA and disorientation in the GCC I really will write about our flight(s) one of these days, but in all honesty they were pretty standard (albeit business class) flights and we are busy discovering the world around us. Today we took a field trip to IKEA so that we could get some kid-friendly dishes for our apartment...and to get out on the town and have a meal since we haven't quite figured out how to cook at home yet—we're still getting everything set up. Years ago (approximately 20 now!) my friend Bridget gave me the advice to pack simple just-add-water things in a suitcase like instant oatmeal or ramen just so that I would know there would be something to eat upon arrival. And we did bring a few things (and have a Carrefour in our basement, as the kids like to joke), but while we're getting settled this was a nice treat. After having lunch we wandered around to look at things and try out couches and beds and pick up a few essentials. Then as we were approaching the check out counter Andrew saw a sign announcing ice cream cones for 1 QAR. That's like 0.27 USD! Phoebe has been dropping hints that she would appreciate an ice cream cone for days now. Walking around the mall yesterday she pointed at some kids rapturously licking ice cream cones and said, "Look—some parents did get their kids ice cream!" as if to tell us, "See? It can be done!" We've been telling her no a little too much for her liking. She is not the only child who feels this way. But at 1 QAR a cone we decided the answer could be yes today. We ordered five ice cream cones (I didn't have one because I didn't want to take out my braces again) and the kids sat and ate them at the tables by the exit.