For some reason, I was feelin' a little down. For no particular reason, I just wasn't quite feelin' like myself. So I decided some fun needed to be had. This morning I packed up the kids, hopped on the bus and rode down to the market area with my dear friend for a little girl time and shopping. I honestly don't go down to the market a whole lot. Two white little kids attracts tons of attention, causes traffic jams... a little stressful you might say. But I thought we needed to do something "normal" and "normal" for me, means going shopping with the girls.

Eden had some birthday money to spend (compliments of some loved ones back in the US) and she decided she wanted to buy a new dress. A new pink dress (who's surprised). My friend and I (and Eden and Isaaq) wandered through the maze of stalls and stores that comprise the market. It's the most wacked-out form of organized chaos I've ever encountered, and I'm slightly afraid to admit, now seems normal in my world.We went through a couple of places to find this elusive pink dress. A few dresses were chosen by storeowners, hopeful for a sale, but none matched the detailed standards of Miss Eden. Store after store, and no pink dress in her size. As we sat in another store I was slightly amused but mostly confused when a man tried to sell us (me and my friend) some lingerie. Really? Really? What part of 'woman who is completely covered in head to toe in fabric' don't you get? Fat chance man. Fat chance. Someone should probably tell him that in a culture where men and women don't even typically eat together in public, that most women will probably not buy lingerie from him. My friend and I laughed about it and continued our shopping. We eventually ended up at a store that did have an adorabl purple maxi dress (that looked suspiciously similar to a dress we found at the first store we stopped at but oh well), and... Eden said she liked it! And, I decided that I'd probably get more bargaining leverage if I bought a dress as well, so I took one for the team and picked out one I liked too. And, my friend picked out a new outfit as well. It was really fun. Isaaq said he didn't want a new dress right now.

After we picked up a few more items we headed back to the bus to return home. Isaaq feel asleep on the bus, Eden just about did too. The market tends to wear us out. I like to think it's because we're famous, and it's just gotta be exhausting being famous. So us movie stars headed back home and feasted on some fresh oranges I'd picked up. They were great. Me, my friend, my househelper, and Eden sat and chatted for a while. Pictured are Eden and I in our new dresses. I consider our maxi dresses to be a steal at $30 for two. I saw some online that look strikingly similar to mine and were only $600 at Neiman Marcus. Deal!