Thursday, February 26, 2015

Rugby is coming to a close

The numbers are getting pretty low on rugby nights. It's been a long season and everyone is getting tired. Only about 3 teams were practicing on Sunday evening, when usually the place is packed with at least 8 teams practicing. I sat inside because I had worn shorts and it was freezing outside. Jack practiced his little heart out while Millie played on the playground. At the end of practice the kids usually play for about 15 minutes or so. Lately Jack has been melting down when we tell him it's time to leave. However, on Sunday he did not balk one bit. It was so wonderful and I told him how proud I was of him. I also said he must feel really good about the fact that he came to the car with no fuss. I pray this behavior lasts. 

Monday after school I got a call telling me I would be going to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday morning for a training. Nothing like a last minute thing to keep you on your toes. 

Also I had physical therapy on Monday evening while Stuart went to rugby training. I was shown some exercises and told to ride an exercise bike each day. Um, hurts, but okay. She commented on my strength, indicating that my muscles were well developed. Duh!  She did an ultrasound on both knees. I'm not really sure what that was meant for but it felt pretty good. Then she placed these electrodes on each knee and connected them to a battery pack, of at least that was what it looked like. The right knee (the good one) got heat. It felt good since it was a little chilly in the room. The left knee (the messed up one) got ice. Boo!
Left=ice     Right=heat

After therapy I ran to the store to buy a new broom for inside our house. The sand storm from last week forced me to use the broom from inside, outside. I HAD to have a new inside broom. However, it was of no use. Asela, our house cleaner, used the knew inside broom outdoors anyway, primarily because I didn't tell him I had put the 'outdoor' broom in the storage room in the carport. Oh well. 


Tuesday Stuart was in charge of the boys' Al Ain spelling bee. He was the MC and did a fabulous job. I wasn't there but everyone who was told me how impressed they were with his presentation. So proud. 

Tuesday evening brought about an inner club tournament for the kids. All the Under 6s, 7s, and 8s mixed and played with and against each other. It was to be the end of the season tournament, except that the Under 7s have a tournament in Sharjah on March 6 and 7. Then we will actually be through with rugby until September. It has been such a fun season, but we are ready for some down time. In a few months time I am sure we will be complaining about going to the pool everyday, and then looking for something new to do. It's how it goes I suppose. 

I got my second shot in my knee Tuesday evening which left Stuart to get the kids home, bathed and in bed. I asked the doctor what would happen after the three shots were finished as well as physical therapy. He said the hydral liquid he was shooting into my knee should build up the damaged tissue and act as an artificial cartilage, helping the arthritis. He said it would take about 6 weeks to be completely healed. So, if 6 weeks from the last shot I am not better I will get a second opinion. Our rugby referee played professional rugby, then had to have the same surgery in Al Ain. She gave me the doctor's name and said he does knee surgeries every day and hers healed wonderfully. Good to know. 

Wednesday was the girl's spelling bee. My school had one student participating. She did not win anything but got to the third round. In all the time I have been in this present school, and the five trips I have taken before today which involved students, I have never had to take a bus monitor with me on a school trip. The bus monitors actually ride the bus with the students, to and from school, every day. It's a great concept, but I'm pretty sure I don't need another adult on the bus if I can handle the one student I had to take.  But on Wedneaday I was told that it was illegal for me to go without a bus monitor. Hmmm. Funny how it didn't matter any of the other times I took kids somewhere on a bus. Never mind. 

Wednesday evening I didn't go to rugby again. In fact I am pretty sure I won't go back this season. There is only one more tournament and I can't even go because Jack has a tournament as well on the same weekend. I have enjoyed it, but my rugby career may be over. It was fun while it lasted, the short few months. Stuart stayed home as well on Wednesday. I think it might have been the first or second time he has missed a training all season. He's way more dedicated than I am. 

Thursday we decided to stay in for the evening, mainly because I had physical therapy at 6 pm and if we went somewhere beforehand we would end up cutting it short. Well wouldn't you know, I looked up at the clock at 6:15 pm to discover I had missed my physical therapy session. Crap!  That was the main reason we stayed in for the night. I called and told them I would see them on Monday and would reschedule the one I missed at that time. 

Friday morning we had Gardening Day at Jack's school. They do this every year. It is a way to bring the school community together to enhance the facility. The kids play, and sometimes help, while the adults work. 
There was wall painting for everyone. 
Millie and her little friend, Kiera, did an excellent job with their painting. Jack just played soccer. 

Friday evening we went to the rugby club to watch the Men's 1st team final rugby match of the season. Pleased to report that they won. While we were at the club Jack got upset because he wanted his friend Tua to come for a sleepover. Tua initially said yes, and then changed his mind, which made Jack sad. Millie didn't care because she had fallen asleep about an hour earlier and it was only 7 pm. 

We ended up leaving and telling Claire (Tua's mom) that Tua could come for a play date on Saturday. I assured Jack I would contact her and we would make it happen. 

Saturday morning everyone was up nice and early. I decided to go to the grocery store to get our weekly shoppig out of the way. I had messaged Claire to tell her I would collect Tua when I returned from the store. In the end, we dropped Jack and Millie off at Claire's. She said she wasn't sure what was wrong with him but he just didn't want to go to other people's houses. I told her it made sense to me. He was the youngest of three kids and that is what babies of the family do. I distinctively remember calling my mom to come and get me from a sleep over when I was.....10 years old. It's truly amazing I have had so many adventures in my life because I started out as a total scaredy cat!

Millie played with Tiana, who is 10 years old, while Jack played with Tua. Stuart and I went shopping for some meats. We had decided to have our first BBQ at the new place. Since we had no outdoor space at the old place, it was never an option. But now we have a little space in the front and the back. It's great and a perfect amount of room for a small BBQ. 

About 2 hours after we dropped the kids off, I walked to Tua's house and the kids were easily brought home, no one fussed at all. How pleasant for me. I told Claire 'thank you' as did the kids and we were off. I also told Tua that next time he would have to come to our house to play. His head shook 'yes' but I'm pretty sure his brain said 'no way!'  We will see. 

The Rouvis, O'Reillys, and Cathy and the girls showed up at about 4 pm. We had an ultimate meat fest and just enjoyed each other's company. Our friends here really do remind me of friends in the Midwest. You plan a BBQ in the morning and you have a houseful of people by mid afternoon. Midwest, Middle East? Same thing....well, kind of. 







 

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Kuwait I go!

Sunday was a relaxed day at school. My favorite time of the day was when the boys decided to toss around juice and chocolate milk on the floor and slide in it....with their shoes off. Needless to say about 6 students were sent home. 

We had rugby, as usual. Once the kids were home, showered, fed and in bed, I headed to see the doctor about my knee. I found out that I do, in fact, have something wrong with my knee. I have torn my lateral meniscus, have osteoarthritis, and a Bakers cyst (which apparently is a result of the arthritis). 

Treatment? He started injections in my knee and I will get one each week for the next two weeks, so a total of three. I will start physiotherapy next week, twice a week for three weeks. If that doesn't make a difference the doctor said I would need to have arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. Super!

Monday when Stuart and I returned from work we put together the kids' toy boxes we had bought from IKEA. Jack was grounded from going outside because when we left the rugby club on Sunday evening he had a total meltdown. Those are rough, but now our consequences actually have an effect. 

Before we got Millie's second box together, Stuart had to leave for a spelling bee meeting. I was left to finishing that one on my own. You know, when I was single I could do most anything. I could hang ceiling fans, change a tire on a car, and put together most anything, with or without instructions. But once I got married, that part of my brain just shut down. Because Stuart is so inclined to be able to do all of those things, there was no reason for me to do it, or even remember how to do it. But when he left for his meeting he assured me I could put together the last item. 

Although I might have had to unscrew the wheel track once or twice in order for the drawer to be where it belonged, I could actually do it, and I accomplished what Stuart said I could, which made me proud. 

When Stuart got home the kids had bathed and eaten. Every chance we get, we try to put them to bed early. We know their little bodies need at least 11 hours of sleep each night. Now that rugby is almost over, and maybe forever for me, it will be much easier. They were in bed and asleep by 6:15 pm. Lucky little boogers. 

Stuart and I headed off to the rugby club, but neither of us trained. I did my manageress duties, which involved a whole lot of nothing, and Stuart stood around and watched his team play touch rugby. After, we were invited to a going away party on Tuesday evening after the kids played rugby. One of the girls on my rugby team is going back to New Zealand for university. Her mom, Rayna, is the teacher's assistant in Jack's class. These people are some of the folks we went camping with. Although Al Ain is about twice the size of Chandler, it is quite small when it comes to the expat community. We all hang out at just a few places, so are forced into friendships, a bit. It reminds me of middle school sometimes, in more ways that one. But we love it!

Tuesday Stuart and I had training so we were finished just after noon. We decided to have a lunch date. We went to Chilis, which is a bit pricey over here, but nice to be able to sit and catch up properly. 

Tuesday evening we headed to the Tiatia's house for a potluck to say farewell to Laken. The New Zealanders are my kind of eaters. There is a lot of meat and if someone brings a salad they are frowned upon. Gotta love the islanders. 

We got home just before nine and threw the kids in bed. Millie had a difficult time waking up Wednesday morning but Jack was out of bed before I was completely ready, which seldom happens. Because of the later night on Tuesday, Stuart stayed home from rugby Wednesday evening. And the kids were in bed before 6:30. Again, very needed. 

I, on the other hand, decided to head to the club and try out my knee on the exercise bike. I figured it would be the best since I didn't need to pound it, but rather needed to at least see what the mobility was since the shot. It had been feeling a bit better, but I was afraid that was because I had done no kind of exercise for the past three weeks. Although I have maintained my weight, ideally I want to lose about 30 pounds before I get home this summer, and veggies alone will not do it. 

I am pleased to report, oh no...wait, not pleased to report, but just reporting that while my knee didn't really hurt too badly as I was riding the bike (ached a bit), once I was off and walking around, it wasn't the same story. Boo!

Prior to the workout a strange thing happened after school on Wednesday. I know this is totally random, but the doors to our playground, at school, from our girls' 1st grade pod were open and a bird flew in. Thinking someone needed to get the bird out, I went into the hallway to see where it had gone and to find one of our cleaners to do the dirty work. When I got around the corner one of the cleaners had the bird in one hand, holding it at the base of its wings, by what would be its shoulder blades. It was so weird! I think she is from Bangladesh. Would that be a common skill you would have in Bangledesh? I'm really not sure, but I found it a little creepy. 

Thursday after school I came home, folded some laundry, did some dishes, and finished packing for my trip to Kuwait. I was so excited! I knew I wasn't going to play, although the thought did cross my mind as we were waiting at the club and one of our players had her visa to Kuwait denied. I was going as the manageress. I had no idea what that really meant, but soon found out when Coach Manu, who is an absolutely wonderfully passionate coach, handed me the folder with money for visas, the flight details and the hotel accommodations. I messaged Stuart to tell him my duties reminded me of what I did when we traveled with People to People Student Ambassadors several years ago. I knew how to do airports with many people, as well as check folks into a hotel. 
Cooper (middle), Manu (right), and myself made up the coaching and managerial staff. What a team!

The bus trip as well as the flight was relatively easy. However, once we were in Kuwait International Airport we needed to get our visas. 10 of us had them ready at the hotel where we were staying, while 3 needed to get them. We were told how to get the visas, but since we hadn't done it before it took a bit longer than expected. But if you ever want to go to Kuwait, I can now lead you through the process. 

We spent about 2 hours at the airport but finally made our way to the hotel. The check in process was simple. All passports had to be copied so in the end I just kept everyone's passport until we boarded the flight the following evening. 

I was responsible for assigning rooms. I ended up rooming with Claire and Martha, both New Zealanders and both an absolute hoot! We stayed up and talked for a bit and then the following morning we all laid on the king size bed and laughed about stupid things as if we were teenagers. We laughed until we cried, which I haven't done in forever.   
Me, Martha and Claire are in our suite. Good fun!

We all met for breakfast and then took a walk out by the pool and the beach before checking out of the hotel and heading to the rugby pitch. Because the tournament was due to last all day, we would not be able to go back to the hotel before check-out time, thus the reason we checked out before the tournament. 
Victoria (Vic), Claire, me and Martha posed by this spectacular pool. It was a shame we wouldn't stay to enjoy the luxury of these accommodations. 
The beach was a little dirty, but it was still the beach. 

We got to the grounds just after 10 am. The girls would be playing on an artificial surface, which is not what they normally do. Of all the rugby clubs, Al Ain's has the best facility by far. But the girls made the best of it and played really well. 
This was the mosque by the pitch. If you look behind the large dome, to the right, you can see the Golden Arches. Thank goodness McDonalds is never too far away. 

The ladies played 4 games and were two games away from their 5th game when a Haboob came rolling in. I was so thrilled that I actually knew what it was called. Did you know the word 'haboob' is actually an Arabic word? Neither did I. 

As it started to roll in I told everyone to zip up their bags and get ready to move into the fitness facility, which was about a block away. When the host team came around to pick up trash they said the same thing. 

The tournament ended before all of the games were played. It was probably a blessing in disguise because a lot of our players were getting minor injuries, which happens the longer in the day you play. 
Warm-ups before each match was in this sand parking lot. During this particular warm-up the call to prayer was blasting from the mosque that you saw the McDonald sign with. 
Claire, front right, is the captain of the team and also intense, and an excellent player. 
 Haboob!
Team photo was taken just before we were forced inside because of the Haboob. 

Once we were in the fitness center we started playing basketball and volleyball. It felt like we were at a sports camp of sorts. 

We showered and then had a delicious catered meal. They did the announcements of the Man of the Match and the other team awards, and then we headed to the airport. We were a bit early, but that gave me time to change money back from Diran to Dirhams, go to duty free and get the kids a small gift, and sit and relax for a bit. I know I didn't play in the tournament, but I was still exhausted. 

While relaxing, Claire came over to me to ask if I have seen the picture I posted on Facebook with the team in their birthday masks and party hats. I hadn't really looked at it, but when they pointed out that at least 6 of us looked mentally challenged we laughed until I could hardly breath. It wasn't really okay to carry on that way, but I couldn't help it. 
The six that looked the most 'special' are the three on the bottom left and the three on the second row to the far left. I am on the bottom row that the left, if you couldn't spot me. The more we looked at the photo, the more we howled with laughter. 

We finally got on the plane, only to continue the laughter. The three on the bottom left are me, Clare, and Martha, and we just happened to be sitting close to each other on the plane. After a while I think delirium took over. 

I slept for a bit on the plane and then talked to our fitness trainer, Cooper. We had a great conversation about kids and how they change your life. He and his wife are going to be parents in a couple of months. 

The plane landed just before 1 am. We had a chartered bus that picked us up and brought us back to Al Ain. We arrived around 3:30 am and I had just enough energy to put my clothes in the wash and then hit the sack. 

I only slept until about 8 am, and boy was everyone glad to see me. Jack and Millie came into the bed and both kissed me, then went downstairs. Stuart showed me how much sand had blown in through windows and doors. It was a mess. We worked to clean it up a little and then put paper towels in the window wells so the mess would not be as bad if the winds didn't die for a while. 

We sat around and relaxed until around 10 when we decided we had better get our weekly shopping out of the way. The wind and sand that was blowing around was enough to make you want to stay indoors all day, but we really needed to get lunch stuff for the week. 

After groceries we had KFC for lunch. We came home and since the kids really couldn't go outside they just played in their rooms and watched some television. Jack actually decided to build one of his Christmas Legos all by himself. And he actually completed it, not getting frustrated even once. He was so pleased with himself, as were we. 
Everyone was tired and bed came early. It was a great week!



Sunday, February 8, 2015

Valentine Week

When I got to school on Sunday I was informed that our teacher who had to have surgery was going to be out at least another 2 days. Boo! I wouldn't mind teaching if those were my students all year. However, being a sub just sucks! 

Fortunately I had them in the morning time, which is always better. In the afternoon I had a meeting to finalize rules and understanding of the spelling bee in which the Al Ain schools would participate. 

Sunday evening, like we always do, we headed to the rugby club for Jack's practice. I met up with Clare for an adult beverage while the kids practiced. We recounted the camping trip and how much fun we all had. Camping will definitely be on the 'to do' list, very soon. 

Monday was another teaching day, but not until the last half of the day. I had received the names for our spelling bee certificates on Monday at 3:35 pm, so spent most of my morning printing the certificates for 15 schools, 10 a piece. I had to type in all the names and have them printed, envelop them up and have hem ready to go. In the midst of the printing I had a teacher observation and a follow up conference. Once I hit the room to teach, I was in no mood for boy shenanigans. However, many of the boys didn't get the memo on that. They were challenging, to say the least. For the first 30 minutes I really just spoke to hear myself becUse none of them were listening to ANYTHING I had to say. I am not joking. Close to the end of period 5 it was strangly silent, so much so that I thought they were up to something. Turns out they just happened to all be quiet at the same time. About 6 boys were actually working on their assignments, whereas the other ones would not even look at me when I was speaking right in (literally) their faces. Again I say, until you live it, you can't understand it or even hardly believe it. 

I had a teaching assistant during 6th period who was phenomenal. She was able to speak to them in Arabic if needed. They seemed to respond well to her. It is just so maddening when you feel your strength is classroom discipline and then you are defeated by a bunch of 9 year olds. It's the culture of most boys' schools. 

By the end of the day I was worn out and ready to go home. However we still had our professional development for the week. Sometimes  we are instructed on things we have done in the western world for many, many years.  It's one of the evil necessities.  

I left school around 3 pm and headed home to boys upstairs playing but and then running out to go trash another child's house. Jack is having so much fun in this new house. We have laid down some rules and he has agreed to them, like he had a choice. 

I decided not to go to rugby training just simply because I felt I shouldn't be practicing until I met with the doctor again and found out exactly what was up with my knee. I really don't want to do further damage, if in fact that is possible. 

Just as Stuart was leaving and the kids were hitting the hay, I noticed on Facebook that our coach announced the team that would be traveling to Kuwait for one of the two tournaments left this season. Holy macaroni! My name was actually the second on the reserves. This meant if any two people couldn't go, I would be in. 

After practice he posted the final team. There were 12 players, two coaches, and the manageress. Our normal manageress had already stated she would not be able to go, which is what got me on the reserve list (I don't need to mention there were only three on the reserve list and I was number 2, do I?). Through a chain of events involving visas, I was informed I would be going as the manageress. That was beyond awesome news. Because of my knee issues I really doubted if I could play, so now I don't have to. Yahoo! I am actually going on the rugby tour with my team, and the club is paying for it. We leave Thursday (Feb 19) and return the following evening. It's a quick turn around, but all too exciting. I just love the team spirit we have. 

On Tuesday our boys went to the regional spelling bee in Al Ain. The didn't win anything but they seemed to have fun. Our girls went on Wednesday and one of our 4th graders won 3rd place so she will go on to the finals. This means another day out of school for me!

Tuesday evening I stayed home with Millie while Stuart and Jack went to rugby. As she often does, Millie fell asleep on the sofa around 6 pm watching Barbie. Our life is super difficult, day in and day out!  

On Wednesday evening we all went to the rugby club. I felt I should go, even though I wasn't training, since I was going to have the grand responsibility of being the manageress for the tournament  in Kuwait. 

Millie had formed a bond with one of the other player's daughter so ran off to play with her, although she is 11 years old. Millie will pick an older kid to play with every day of the week. I think it's because they baby her and she loves that. Tiana (who is actually Tua's, Jack's friend from school, sister) is so sweet to Millie. I love when the older kids are kind to the little ones. It warms my heart. 

Jack went off and played with Kennedy and Tua, and I just stood and watched practice. I have to say, I have missed scrimmaging, but not the 45 minutes of conditioning we do beforehand. I hate that part!

When we got home from rugby Millie was asleep. So I gave her a baby wipe bath and put her to bed. Jack showered, ate a peanut butter and jam sandwich, his latest obsession, and went to bed. 

Thursday was very uneventful at school. Jack had his field day at school to which he reported that he 'won every single event he did'. Humble, that boy is. 

Once we reconvened at home we headed to Abu Dhabi to make a needed run to Ikea. We had curtains, toy boxes, blackout shades, and shelves to buy. We decided to go on Thursday evening because Friday was rugby and Saturday we had a Valentine's part to go to. Gina met us at IKEA, because according to Jack 'that's what she always does', and we grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to Al Ain with our purchases. 

When we got home the kids were both asleep. Night number 2 of no bath for Millie, but just night number 1 for Jack. If you know me well, you know no bath makes me crazy. I am trying now to stress about such things, but there have been times I have woken the kids to bath them. Some might see this as cruel, I see it as giving them a comfortable, clean night's sleep. 

Friday morning we got up and did some odd jobs around the house. We hung a set of curtains and hung some pictures. Our place is starting to shape up. I will try to post pictures of it next week. 

We went to the club around 1 pm. Stuart had to be there to get ready for his match, so the kids and I tagged along and went to the pool. I just sat in a lounger as they played with some friends. The water must have been warm enough, because no one had blue lips and they swam for almost 2 hours. At one point Millie was in the pool, and I saw a guy get up from where he was at the side of the pool. He was ready to jump in and 'save' her. I assured him she knew how to swim. Because she is still so tiny, people can't believe she knows how to swim. It doesn't help that she just treads water with her head barely above water. 

Stuart's team lost again, sadly, but he played well and they act as if they win each week. Their team spirit is never lacking. 
We stayed at the club until about 9 pm. Again, when we got home, everyone was too wiped to bathe/shower. So night number 3 for Millie and number 2 for Jack. Yuck!

Saturday morning we headed to DeDe's for our Valentine's Day party. The kids were supposed to make Valentines and then we brought a treat to share. I became the Mother of the Year, yet again. Jack passed out candy bars with a wrapper on them that proclaimed that the child was 'bar none' the sweetest or the coolest, and Millie gave out heart melted crayons that had the saying on it 'Happy Valentine's Day for crayon out loud'. I made cake pops to take with us as well. I was a busy women this past week. 
As DeDe always does, she had everything organized and activities the kids loved. They made 'diamond rings' out of pipe cleaners and Hershey kisses, painted their own painting using either their hand or the stalk of a bunch of celery, and their own Valentine bag, we had a bite to eat, and they passed out their Valentines. 
Here is Jack getting ready to paint his canvas. 
The final product. My control freakishness might have assisted a bit. 

Once we returned home we relaxed while the kids played and watched television. Around 4 pm the Griffiths, Turners, and Richardsons showed up for curry night. 

Another terrible week in the UAE😃








Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Movin', movin', movin'!

We took several loads of clothes, dishes and pictures over to the villa on Sunday after school. Rugby was canceled for Jack on Sunday so we were able to get on with a few more loads than had been expected. By bedtime I was more than ready. 

Stuart took Monday off in order to get more moved. Once I got home from school there was very little to do except for have the furniture moved. 

Although I was supposed to teach 4th grade students all week because we had another teacher out with surgery, I ended up skating out of it for one day. I took an emergency day on Tuesday so that I could supervise the movers. 

Initially the movers were to show up at 3 pm, but it turned out they were about to start around 10 am. It was a good thing, because Stuart scheduled for the electricity at the apartment to be turned off on Tuesday afternoon which meant they would come out Tuesday morning and shut it off, naturally. Oh what to do with all the stuff in the refrigerator?

Fortunately by about 2pm all of our things were in the villa and the food was back in the cold fridge. 

The movers packed, unpacked and sat everything up, where I wanted it, by 3 pm. A five hour move to me is not that bad. 

Stuart and I had skipped rugby on Monday night to get things moved, and the plan was for us to skip Jack's practice as well on Tuesday night. But it ended up that Scott and Clare came to get Jack so he could go to practice. They also fed him, which was awesome. Cathy and her girls had Millie. They fed and bathed her, which made my day. Good friends here are very common. The expat community only has each other to rely on. It's the next best thing to having family around. 

By the time both kids got home on Tuesday evening, I had all the beds made and Stuart had their blackout blinds up, as well as our curtains. 

We ordered in Chinese and all I could think of was how much I wanted another day off from work. Low and behold, right about that time my phone rang and it was the hospital calling to tell me my MRI was scheduled for Wednesday at 11:30 am. Holy knee pain! I was so excited!  I did end up going into school because I had two observations scheduled for Wednesday. I left after the evaluations and headed to housing. 

It seems when we were there getting keys for the villa, we were not given the paperwork granting us permission to move our things. Because of the numerous 'runners' who leave in the middle of the night, security had started to forbid people from moving things out of the complex without a consent letter. Now one would think if we were given keys to a place, we would also want to move some items into said place. Hmmm! As we often say, this is a society which is tax free and often logic free. 

At any rate I got the letter of permission, although we had already moved all our things, as well as the clearance letter from the manager of Greenland Compound. I then headed to the hospital for my MRI. 

I have never had an MRI. It's freaky. Thank goodness I wasn't all the way I the machine. The tech put headphones on me and I listened to soothing music....oh and the unbelievable roaring noise of the machine itself. 

Afterwards I met with the radiologist. He didn't say much to me, but really just wanted me to wait there to make sure the images had downloaded correctly. He did ask, several times, if I had recently had trauma to my knee. My response was, 'Nothing major that I can recall'. Although I am pretty sure that my first rugby tournament in November was when the 'trauma' occurred. I can't remember a specific tackle that caused it, but maybe all of them were more damaging than I had realized. Oops!
I acted like I was texting when I took this picture. You can see the images of my knee just beyond the radiologist. 

Basically it doesn't seem to be good news. I have a follow up appointment o. The 15th with the orthopedic doctor to discuss what should happen next. We shall see. 

When I got home from my appointment the kids were playing outside. What a good feeling that is to know they can play outside now. 

Stuart had gone to do the final inspection  of our apartment, while I convinced the kids they needed to come in for a bath. We had planned to go to the mall to find a new shower curtain and possibly some curtains and curtain rods. 

My friend DeDe came by to check out our new pad. She just lives down a couple of streets and is the mom of the family we were hoping we would live closer to, but at least we are in the same part of the Village as they are. She stayed for a bit while Jack and Millie were taking their bath. As they got more noisy, DeDe took that as a sign that she should go. 

I finished the kids baths and we headed to the mall. On the way, around 5:15 pm, Millie fell asleep and ended up sleeping through the mall and the entire night. She loves her sleep.

Our mall trip was a bit of a success. We got a few things, then went shopping for our food for the weekend. 

Thursday I taught 6 of the 7 periods in the day. Because I had to take Wednesday off and was supposed to be teaching half of each day, I traded with the other Head of Faculty and she taught the whole day on Wednesday. I survived the day and then after school we left for Dibba, Oman. 

We went to the Wadi Bih race, which was in Oman. There are many different races on the same two days. The uniqueness of this race is that it is a 5 man, 72 kilometers on the second day, but many run the 72 kilometer race on their own the first day and then run with a Twam the following day. Needless to say we just went to camp and babysit the kids of our friends who were running. 

When we arrived Thursday night, we set up camp with 4 other families, then began to grill. Of course, we had all of the grilling equipment. Stuart needs all the necessities when camping. 
We set up our tents in a circle. The first night we were virtually the only people there. Friday night it was packed. 
Of course we have an 8 man tent for the four of us. 

Friday, some of the kids were running the 5 member team, 50 kilometer run, but the adults were just enjoying the beach and the pool. It was so fun to just relax. We camped, but were allowed to use the resort who hosted the event. We could use the pool and the shower facilities. 
The pool was a bit chilly, but that didn't stop Jack and Millie. 

Friday evening we grilled out again. It was an absolute meat fest weekend. Meat was about all we ate. 

We were told there was a cafe close by. In the end the cafe was not close as we'd thought it would be. Needless to say we did not bring enough food for the weekend and ended up just eating the food others brought. After all, we were the ones who brought the grill. Now we know for next time. 

Saturday morning the adults got up and were supposed to have started the race by 6 am. Stuart and I took care of Scott and Clare's kids and another dad watched after another group of kids. I was perfectly happy being the babysitter. The kids hung out at the beach and the pool the entire day. 
Sandy kids are happy kids. 

Because a few of the teams got a late start, they were a bit later returning. The reason they got a late start was because not all the team members had stayed in Dibba on Friday night. Instead they tried to cross the border on Saturday morning and were delayed. The late start also meant the team would be running more of the race in the extreme heat of the day. 

The people we were with stated that next year they would insist their team members either camp or stay at the resort in order to be a part of the team. 

We ended up leaving the beach just after 4 pm on Saturday. Although we had a bit of a detour because of construction, we arrived home just before 8 pm. Jack and Millie had slept virtually the entire journey. When we arrived home, I tortured us all and bathed the kids. They both cried and screamed, mainly because they were so tired. They immediately went back to sleep. 

Stuart and I unpacked the car, took showers, and started the many loads of laundry from our sandy adventure. 

Yet another new experience here in the UAE was a total success and fun was had by all.