Home base in Doha, Qatar

This is not Mandy's house--but it might as well be--it is the same house she has, just across the street from her.
First floor living room.
Dining room.
Some of the stairs.
On the second floor is Gabi's bedroom, Crews' bedroom and the master suite. For some reason, I only have photos or Gabi's room--maybe because it is so absurd for a 4 year old. This is one view of it
This is the other side of it. yep--two beds for a 4 year old.
This is the second floor play area for the kids and TV watching area. Note the marble floors which are all through the house

This is the window in my room on the third floor. The only other thing up here is an office, and the maid's room.
Which means we have this whole monster deck to ourselves. This pic in no way shows how big it is. These doors are the general entrance to the deck. My entrance is around the back there, where I also have sliding doors to access ir

This is the back patio--just outside the living room--this is where we had dinner tonight.

None of these photos demonstrate how absurd this is--5 bedrooms, 6 baths, Mandy does not even know how many square feet. Its massive and gorgeous. I have my own thermostat in my bedroom so I have it set on vacation mode--very cold--its awesome. This is one of the many perks of Ed's job--this compound is very secure and the only people that live in here so far are people who work for his company. Its absolutely beautiful and even Mandy was laughing her ass off showing me around last nite--it is so excessive--but they deserve it for as hard as he works. And who would not want to live like this if they could get away with it. It cracks me up that even the 2 year old Crews has his own bathroom, and they have not ever used the bathtub in Gabi's room because there are so many others. My room is huge too and the bathroom is all marble and granite--so fancy. Trying to get used to being called madam by the maid/nanny Amy is really weird--cracks me up--but I could sure get used to it! It is standard to have help living in here, but I can tell it is a little awkward for Mandy and Ed to get used to it--but its perfect for Mandy's work schedule and the kids school stuff- it affords her a lot of work flexibility.

I am on the verge of collapse so i am giving up for the nite--hopefully I get this jet lag kicked over nite and can catch up with stories of the insanity that went on today. One of the funniest parts was a discussion Mandy and I had before we went out today--back in the day, I had a friend who we boated with when I was in law school. We would be at the lake lounging in the middle of the week, and he would say "Wonder what the poor folks are doing today?" and we would crack up because we WERE the poor folk. Over the years, that became a catch phrase that has come up on every trip or big event. When i said it to Mandy today, she deadpanned right back at me "We do not know any poor folk". I almost peed on myself laughing

Now everyone who knows us knows that is a HUGE load of crap--lots of days we are still the poor folk. We both know how lucky we are...and are so grateful for all the opportunities we have had. But never before has it been so clear how far from southern Illinois she is now...but still same ol Mandy she always was. Just living like the queen of the manor now--but her acknowledgment of how excessive these living arrangements are demonstrates that no matter how you dress her up, she will still always be a Mt Vernon girl at heart.

On that note, I better start resting--cuz I sure have to be up tomorrow to work out and get some sun before the pedicure lady makes it here to fancy me up. I am even embarrassing myself looking like this. Yep--I could get used to this.

Stay tuned for the pics from our adventure at the Intercontinental Bay Club today--