Once we got to basketball practice, which was at Jack's school, we discovered that Jack was the largest and most skilled child there. The gym at his school does not have a basketball hoop. I'm not super sure how this will pan out, but there are many skills that need to be taught that don't involve a hoop. The fact still remains that basketball is played more effectively when there is a goal.
Practice was skill-based and Jack had a good time. His partner, while passing, was about his size but was very undisciplined. His nanny was trying to control him and teach him the skills. Um, I thought the people running the clinic would teach the skills, and trust me, little nanny from the Philippines was not an expert. Poor Jack had to endure the shenanigans of that local boy.
A good defensive stance is always important.
The dribble was a bit high.
When basketball practice was over, we changed Jack's clothes and headed to rugby practice. Jack ate his PBJ and talked about how hungry he was going to be after rugby practice. His conversation with me reminded me of how much he has matured since this time last year.
Monday morning when we awoke there was a message from my sister in law. They wanted to Skype to tell Jack happy birthday. It was so good to talk to them. We do miss them so.
We then Skyped my niece who is now in college. She's so grown up.
Monday was school as usual and grade 1 teaching as usual. Things are getting more comfortable and students are starting to follow routines better. Each day becomes easier, thank goodness. The afternoon was a meeting at the Kindergarten school right next door to my school. Stuart was at the same meeting. He acted as if he didn't even know me. Ha!
In these meetings we discuss different strategies we need to use to further the education of all students. Really, the training is something that all of the teachers need, not just the western staff. I call this 'job security'.
Monday after school we headed to Action Zone to celebrate Jack's birthday. Whereas we used to spend several nights a month at Action Zone or Fun City when we first got here, we haven't been for a while. It becomes more of a special time when you aren't there every other night.
The kids played games and ride rides for over an hour. This was the first time Millie has rode the 'bigger' rides. She looked very grown up all of the sudden.
This was a ride that reminded me of a mix between the Tea Cups and the Dumbo ride at Disneyland. At one stage I had to have Jack stop moving the wheel so it would stop spinning.
The kids spent some time on the bouncie slides.
There is no such thing as Health and Safety in this country. Millie, although she was strapped in, was flying all over the place, especially when Jack plowed into the wall or another car. Sometimes I do think the US gets a little to 'padded' where kids are concerned.
The last time Millie was on this ride you couldn't even see her head over the bar.
After we had spent all of our money and bought prizes with our tickets, we headed to the food court for a bite to eat. Cathy, Kayleigh and Claire joined us for dinner. Once we were home, the kids were bathed, and we Skyped Grammie and Pop so they could tell Jack happy birthday.
Once the kids were ready for bed, Stuart and I got ready for rugby training. Oh yeah!
Just as we were leaving the house, Jack had a meltdown and didn't want Kayleigh to read him books. So I stayed behind and Stuart went on with Cathy. In the end, I read him his book and off to bed he went. I then headed to training.
There may have been one other person out on the field that was older than myself, but not quite sure. My vision of a women's rugby team has been changed. Our rugby team is full of moms, wives, and girlfriends who have boyfriends, not stereotypical at all.
The training started with a run around the field. I was huffing about halfway around but would have never stopped running as not to seem weak. We did some stretches, lunges, push-ups, and drop downs (which is exactly how it sounds - drop to your belly and then get back up). Without having to state the obvious, I was definitely shown to be very out of shape.
As we ran through different drills, I was painfully aware of how little I knew about rugby and the rules. I watched carefully and took note of every action. I also asked a lot of questions of the other players and the coaches. Everyone was so patient.
At one point I was asked to be in the scrum. That is the time everyone crouches down and hugs (or at least that is what it seems like to me), and each team tries to drive the other backwards. I did okay for my first time In a scrum.
After that, the captain of the team, Clare, was showing me exactly how to be in a scrum. When the time came for me to push forward, I did. She responded with a giggle and then she said, 'Yeah, no one is going to push you over.' I have always been very 'strong' from the waste down, but my upper body is quite weak. Hopefully it won't be long until I am a bit stronger. It was much more fun than I thought it would be. I am very excited for the possibility of playing in the October tournament.
School was stressful on Tuesday. Getting all of the teachers to supervise the lunchroom is a very difficult task. We have some very strong Arabic teachers who are very helpful in the canteen. However, we are not always thrilled with their tactics in getting children to behave.
Lunch lasts for 20 minutes for the girls and 20 minutes for the boys. I will tell you, the boy's lunch is the longest 20 minutes of my day. Each day it is like waiting for hell to bust wide open. For the most part, the boys stay in their seats and eat their lunch. There is that rare child who runs around the canteen and creates chaos. And sometimes there is a fight, or on Tuesday there were two fights. These always seem to happen the last 5 minutes of canteen.
As boys were lining up and getting ready to go back to class, I saw several students standing on a table at the back of the canteen. This could only be one thing; a fight. I asked one of the male teachers to come with me towards the fight. When I arrived, I realized our special needs teacher was breaking it up. Whew!
No more did I round the pillar than another fight broke out in another area. I was on my own this time. I knew I couldn't touch the children so I grabbed the collar of their shirts, twisted, and pulled them apart. These boys are like nothing I have ever seen. Again, part of their activity is because they have to sit for more than 5 hours a day. Off to the social worker the fighters went and on with my day I went. Halas (finished)!
Tuesday was rugby practice again. Stuart and Jack went to the Rugby Club while Millie and I waited for the repair men to work out what was wrong with our washing machine. It has been making some unbelievably loud noises for quite some time. Since it will be a year old in about a month, we thought we should take advantage of the warranty. The repair men told us they would take it and bring it back in 4 days, to which I responded, 'You can have this machine when you bring me one to replace it.' He said, 'I can't do that.' I told him because the machine was not even a year old there was no reason it should break down and need four days to repair. I told him to go and call me the next day to let me know what he was going to do about the machine. Although it was Thursday before he called us, when he did we were informed they would have a loaner to is on Sunday or Monday. Thought so!
After arguing with the repair guys, we finally went to the Rugby Club. That evening I informed Millie that from now on she and I would have 'girl' time on Tuesday nights instead of going to rugby practice. She agreed that would be fun. Yahoo!
Wednesday brought about a training for our reading series. The training was really good but not super practical for teaching kids a second language. Oh well, there was great food and no fights. That's not all bad.
About an hour into the training I got a call from the school nurse telling me 'Jack has thrown up Sooo much in my office'. Oh dear! I told her I would be right there. I left the training, ran to school, picked up Jack, of course after getting the sorted details of the barfing episode (all up the walls, I digested dinner from the previous night, ect), took him home to be with Miss Janet, and returned to training. His barfing meant no rugby training for me Wednesday evening. Pooh!
The fun did not end on Wednesday. Mr. Andrew called me just before the end of our training to tell me that Millie was put in time out at school because she slapped another little girl across the face. When I got home I asked Millie if something happened at school. She told me exactly what she did. I asked her why she would do that. She had no response. I then asked her if she had ever seen another child do that to someone. She stated that Gabriel hit Nico like that the day before.
Because this information didn't come from her teacher I was a little disturbed. I wasn't sure what to do. The school Millie attends was supposed to be the same school as where Jack was attending. Because of building issues, her class had to be moved to another site. I can only assume that my contact information was lost in the shuffle, and assume that is the reason I have had no communication with her teacher. I am trying to give the teacher the benefit of the doubt.
I ended up writing her a letter to tell her I was sorry for Millie's behavior. I went on to tell her a few things Millie has told me about this boy, Gabriel. I ended by giving her my contact details, asking if I should have received a supply list or newsletter by now, and asked her to contact me the next time Millie has an issue, rather than sending word through Mr. Andrew. It was worded nicely, but I am sure she gets my point. I sent that letter to school on Thursday. However, as of the publishing of this particular blog, I have yet to hear from Millie's teacher. Argh!
Jack was fine for school on Thursday so I sent him. We think he may have eaten some spoiled lunch meat, but not really sure of the barf culprit. After school we felt it would be best to take it easy on everyone. We stayed home and watched some television, calling it an evening quite early.
The downside of calling it an evening quite early is that Millie calls it a morning quite early. She comes into the room just before six and announces 'Mama, it's time to wake up. It's light outside.' Now how can you say 'no' to that? I got up and went into the kitchen with her to get her something to eat. Around 7 am Jack got up and then we Skyped Grammie and Pop.
We went to church after Skyping, then to the mall for lunch and to buy Claire (Cathy's daughter) a birthday present. We got home just in time for Stuart to go to the rugby club. Millie had fallen asleep so I put her in bed for a much needed sleep.
When Millie woke up we headed to Wadi Adventure to pick up my Glow and Go goodie bag. Yes, I had signed up for the wadi fun run again. It just so happened it was Friday. We then headed to the Rugby Club to watch Stuart's match. Both teams were playing at the same time.
After the match was over and Stuart was nicely injured, I headed to the fun run. Cathy picked me up from the RC and we went to get Clare and Karen.
Earlier in the week, because I am so terribly fit (sarcasm), I pulled my left hamstring and my left groins muscle at rugby practice. Although I thought it had healed by the end of the week, I was proved wrong at the Glow and Go fun run. I was running and had decided I could run until we entered the water. Oh how wrong I was. About a kilometer into it I felt that twinge in my left hammy. I continued to walk, but in great pain.
At the end of the run we all had the option of jumping off the wall into the wave pool. It was about a 20 foot drop. Of course I jumped and of course that's when I strained my groine muscle. How does this happen? The older I get, the more strange ways I injure myself. I've actually put a cramp in my back before by simply putting on my bra. Wow! Long story short, I need to stretch more every day.
I got home just after 10 pm, took a shower as I was freezing from being wet, then went to bed.
Saturday was an early morning for me. I left for a breakfast/ pool day with Gina and her friend, Rachelle. We met at 9 am and had breakfast we then headed poolside at the Le Royal Meridian in downtown Abu Dhabi. We stayed by the pool until about 3 pm. Days by the pool, especially with no kids and at a nice hotel, are very relaxing.
The sun was intense and I got kissed by it for sure.
We showered and got dressed. We then went to the Crown Plaza and had a late lunch/early dinner at an Italian place called Spannapoli. The pizza and salad was amazing. The inside of the restaurant reminded me of any Italian place at home. Once in a while it's nice to have a taste of home.
Rachelle and I headed toward Al Ain around 5 pm. I had a few groceries to buy once I got back. When I arrived home Millie was asleep and Jack was getting into bed. Nighty, night for all!
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