It has certainly been a while since we have done one of these wool-gatherings.  Life has been busy! (or at least too busy to spend in front of the computer).  We have some exciting news!

New Additions, New Transitions

So I suppose the biggest news for us is that we have a new addition on the way.  We are expecting our second child (another boy) at the end of December.  Because of timing, we will be having him here in Saudi Arabia. (I will try to get Lindsey to write a post on medical care here in Saudi Arabia). So far, the thoughts of having a child in a foreign country is not as scary as it might seem.  It certainly is much cheaper!  The unfortunate knock-on effect is that our traveling opportunities will be severely limited this year!

     There he is!

Lindsey will go on maternity leave from the beginning of 2020 until our Spring Break at the end of March.  Luckily, she gets 10 weeks off on half-pay.  The plan is that she will take an additional two weeks unpaid as well.  This has caused us to start planning and budgeting for a decrease in earnings/savings for a few months.

Other considerations

A new baby brings the need for a lot of organization!  In our last post, we talked about structure and routine in our ‘New Schoolyear Resolutions”.  Hopefully, this will also help with the increased costs associated with a new baby and decreasing earnings as a result of maternity leave.

We have a lot of ends that need tieing up.  We have started to find a babysitter that we like to help out with Simon.  Another thing to think about is increasing our meal-prepping to prepare for lack of desire (or time) to cook with a new baby.

Our travel horizons at the moment are fairly sparse.  Because of our inability to fly (and increased cost) we have decided to explore our local area more (within driving distance).  There is always trips to Bahrain (we just went for a couple of nights over the Saudi National Day weekend), but we have an Ocober holiday coming up and are going to explore Saudi Arabia a bit more and maybe take a trip to Kuwait.  More information available when we know more!

Since we will need to wait for a passport for the new addition, trips in 2020 are uncertain at the moment.  We may try to get a trip in for Spring Break in April or Eid in May, but it may be somewhere close (short plane ride) like Abu Dhabi.

Side Hustle Summary

The summer means side hustles for me!  Most of my side hustles revolve around my work with the International Baccalaureate.  I grade the exams as well as lead workshops.  This exam session, I graded 220 TOK Essays and 301 History Paper 2 exams.  I also led two online workshops.

2019 Side Hustle Summary (so far) = $10,194.10

Our bookshelf

Having access to a library has been a gamechanger for us! It is nice to not be reliant on limited supply for your reading habits.  One particular book that I enjoyed was Artemis by Andy Weir (author of The Martian).

This was a nice easy read about a colony on the moon and the inhaitants who live there.  I like the fact the Weir makes sure to be scientifically accurate while still telling an interesting story.

Busy, Busy, Busy

All in all, things are busy here.  Hopefully, I will carve out the time to write a bit more, but to be honest, with a new baby on the way it is doubtful. We seem a bit stuck into the everyday routines of life at the moment, but we are still talking the time to enjoy the things that matter.