I do know that after school on Monday, I took Millie to dance. As has happened a time or two before, Millie fell asleep on the way. And, as has also happened before, she sat on my lap almost the entire class. This could be an example of wasted money. However, Jack got to play the Lego Star Wars game on the ipad with his friend Harry while their sisters danced, or in Millie's case, lounged. So it wasn't a total loss.
We got home, fed the kids, and bathed them. Millie was wiped out, although she insisted 'I not tired!' I put her to bed just before 7. Jack stayed up a bit longer while I went back to Natasha's house (lady's house where the dance class is) for a Nomad clothing party. I did it to be social and ended up buying something, like you do. I will post pictures of my purchase when it comes in, and know you all will be waiting with baited breath:)
Tuesday Stuart got a call from the nurse to say that Jack was complaining about an ear ache. Stuart gave permission to give him some pain meds and I waited for the dreaded call that said we needed to come pick him up. It never came, but I left school during my planning period (last period of the day) anyway to get him. He was bouncy and totally fine. He stated to me 'I feel fine. Nurse Sophia is the best nurse at Sunflower, ever!' There was a lot of enthusiasm from him, which made me smile. I spoke with the nurse and she stated he didn't have any redness in his ears. At that point I was pretty sure that the ginormous molars which had just poked through were our pain creators. She said that was quite possible.
Jack and I went to pick up a chair I had purchased on Al Ain Swap and Shop. This is the time of year to get good furniture for dirt cheap. All of the people leaving the country in July are trying to unload their things and make a bit of money while doing so. So an Ikea chair that retails for 550 dirhams became ours for 100 dirhams. What a deal!
I had one of those 'please don't ask me' conversations with Jack on the way to get the chair. Why is his dad NEVER around when he asks these things? Here is how it all went down:
Jack: Mama, how do babies get out of their mama's bellies?
Me: Well, sometimes the doctor has to cut the baby out.
Jack: You mean he just gets a knife and cuts the mama's belly open.
Me: Yep! (Whew, dodged that....or at least I thought I did.)
Jack: Is that how I got out of your belly?
Me: Nope.
Jack: So how did I get out of your belly?
Me: (Crap! Here goes.) Okay, I am going to tell you but don't go to school and tell anyone. Remember that anytime we discuss things about your private parts we NEVER talk about it with our friends or other people. Some kids' mamas wouldn't want them to hear something like this from another child at school.
Jack: You mean because their mama's think they aren't old enough to know.
Me: Exactly! So you know how you and I have different private parts, right? (Silence) Well, mamas have an extra hole like a slide that the baby comes out of. Do you understand?
Jack: Yes. Mama. (Long, pregnant pause- pun totally intended) I think I will just forget we ever talked about this.
Me: I think that might be best.
After the horrifying conversation with Jack, getting the chair and picking up Millie, the three of us headed to the pool. Stuart was already there because he had gone to workout just after school. We swam for a couple of hours. Millie has remained very confident in the water, even though she can't swim a lick. Her trick on Tuesday was to jump into the water with no floaties.....oh and neither Stuart or myself were within arms reach. So, the PE teacher at Stuart's school was standing in the pool very close to where she jumped in. I calmly said, 'Tim, could you grab her? She can't swim'. She is absolutely fearless. It scares me to death.
We went home to shower the kids and then headed to a mall in the north part of town. It's close to where Cathy and her girls live. We had never been there before so decided to check it out. Cathy and the girls joined us for dinner at a curry restaurant called Taj Spice. It was good but The Curry House is still our favorite.
This is Claire and Cathy showing the vastness of our booth at Taj Spice. It was so big that when dinner was over, Jack did a somersault on his portion of the booth. Proud moment for me. Again, so thankful we paid for those gymnastic lessons.
Being prepared, I put the kids' jammies in the car so they could be all ready for bed when we got home. It was only a 20 minute drive, but seeing how they are usually in bed by 7 and it was just before 9, the odds were in my favor that they would be asleep by the time we got home. Happy to report they were.
Wednesday was pretty non-eventful. We had our normal play date with Penny and Thalia, Karen and I went for walk, and when I returned Millie was screaming bloody murder. She had rubbed a heinous blister on her heel from her tennis shoes. Naturally the bath water caused the pain that fostered her screaming fit. When she did finally get clean Stuart put on a band aid and she chilled out. I ended up sitting on the sofa and cuddling Jack and Millie while watching Frozen. Although that was wonderful, it caused the kids to go to bed a little later than I had planned. So that was the second night they had a late night.
Despite the need for sleep, both kids were up by 6 am. Millie was cranky and whiney from the get go. Boy am I ready for 3 years old.
My school had a celebration of learning on Thursday. We all were in charge of an academic station for our entire grade level. It was an excellent concept, but past experience has parents believing that 'celebration of learning' means play day and no need to come to school. Only half of my students showed up and I had very few parents show up. The new school model is going to take some time, but I do believe there is great effort being made by all school staff, at least at my school, to drastically change the schools of the past. Like anywhere, there are great schools and marginal schools. I am at a great school. Stuart? Well, lets just say his is not so great. Behavior continues to be challenging for him, to say the least. We will have stories to share when we get home.
After school we headed to the rugby club. This may not have been our best decision. The kids were whiney and miserable. When we left Jack cried and carried on. Those moments are so difficult for me, not because I feel badly for him (although I should) but because I don't know how to fix it and get him to stop crying. All I want to do is tell him to suck it up. I am working on having patience, but it is slow going. Millie fell asleep on the way home as did Jack. They both went to bed without showers which, everyone knows, killed me.
Because they had three late nights in a tow, and we were able to sleep in, I thought for sure I would get to sleep until at least 7 am. Nope! Jack was up at 6 am. Why does this happen? I suppose in a few years I will be working on dragging them out of bed at 10 am or later, another thing to look forward to.
Coffee and some Netflix was on order for the morning. When all people were up we headed to the mall. Thursday morning I found out I am going to have an interview for a Head of Falculty and Vice Principal position on Monday, the 26th. So we needed to find me something appropriate for an interview. We didn't find everything on Friday. but I did find a skirt which I think is a good start.
The kids remained super whiney so when we returned from shopping they both went down for a nap. The 'guys' and their kids were coming to our house Friday evening while the gals participated in the Glow and Go 5K. Because we knew the kids would require some extra energy, the nap was a must. When they woke up they were in a much better mood for sure.
Cathy, Karen, Clare and I got to the Glow and Go event way too early. It was held at a place called Wadi Adventure. It is basically a wave pool and a simulated river rafting facility.
This picture is before the race. Because I have put on some weight since we got here and am now trying to lose it, I forced myself to wear my workout clothes I wore at my thinnest last summer. Not a good look but I am getting back on track.
The race itself was really fun. Cathy and I didn't run as much as Clare and Karen did, but we did run. For about 3.5 kilometers of the race we were on pavement and dirt. The last bit of the race was the fun part. We entered the wadi (like a desert wash in Arizona). However, this wadi is used for the river rafting so it is man made and filled, most of the time. They had drained a portion of it for the race. The further we went the deeper the water got. My thighs were killing me by the time we exited the wadi. The very end of the race we could either walk around to the beach area or we could jump in the deep end of the wave pool and swim to shore. We chose the swimming part. I think I should be able to claim I have participated in a biathlon. I ran and swam.
When Cathy and I got to the beach Claire and Karen were cheering us on. So, as obnoxious as I could, I ran through the water to the shore. The commotion caused the media person to start taking pictures of me. Watch me show up in one of their publications. Ha!
We had such a great time. 5ks are more fun when there is a bit of adventure involved. Fortunately we had towels so that my car wouldn't be soaked when we got home. Here is the after photo.
Water and dry fit shirts don't go together.
Saturday morning we got up, Skyped Grammie and Pop, and then headed to the pool. The Rouvis (Jack's fried from school and his sisters and parents) were at the pool as well. We got there about 9:30 am and after a few hours we decided we would go into the club and eat.
The baby pool seems to be the gathering place for all the fun.
Three hours later, we all returned to the pool until about 5:30 pm, which was about an hour two late because Jack had a meltdown when we left. Spending the day at the club is tough, but someone has to do it.
Because I was not happy with Jack's response when leaving the pool, which involved crying and telling me 'no' a few times, his consequence was that he would not be going to the pool on Sunday. It is an Islamic holiday on Sunday so we won't have school. After a bit of discussion with Stuart, it was decided that maybe the pool thing was a bit harsh and might not be as effective as taking away the electronic games for the day. Stuart reminded me that if we would have left an hour earlier the meltdown might not have happened, so we needed to make sure we were taking our responsibility in the matter. Plus, if he is missing the pool adventure but can't see how much fun everyone else is having, is that really a consequence? He misses the games for sure.
After the kids were bathed, fed and in bed, I headed to the mall. I think I have mentioned how manic the malls are on the weekends, especially at night. However, since I haven't been to the malls at night since we first arrived, I had forgotten. Let's just say it is wall to wall kandoras and abayas. Too many people. But I was on a mission for a blouse. I am sad to report I didn't get the blouse, but I did get banking completed, sunglasses purchased, and Stuart's laundry delivered. So it wasn't a total loss. Also, Cathy met me at the mall for coffee. She had to pick Claire up there later anyway so decided to come along. I left the mall at 10:30 pm and there was still a full parking lot. Crazy! Meanwhile my kids had been asleep for nearly 4 hours. Definitely a different lifestyle.
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