The week before the holiday

I woke up very sore on Sunday morning. During the swim I moved my neck in ways I am not sure it was meant to go. I withstood school as long as I could. Fortunately for me one of my teachers needed a ride to the clinic to get her toe checked out. It just happened to be close to the bookstore and since I needed a few more items for our innovation week, I said I would take her. I just never returned to school and no one asked. Naughty, I know. 

The kids got home a bit earlier than normal because their driver didn't have to wait for Kayleigh. It seems she has developed strep throat. Poor girl. 

I took the kids to the grocery store and to get Jack's hair trimmed, ready for his concert. He thought he looked very cool. When he saw his hair in the mirror he said, 'Mama!' then took his pinky fingers, licked them both, wiped them across his eyebrows and pointed at me with a wink. I think he thought this was hip. It was for sure cute. 

Once I had the veggies and fruit I had gone to get at the store we headed to the ever so nutritious McDonalds. The kids got food and we headed home. Once we were home I put on my workout clothes so that when we went to the rugby club for Kack's practice, I could ride the exercise bike at the gym. 

After the rugby club, it was home, showers, a snack and bedtime. In fact, the bedtime did not involve books for either of my kids because both, at different times, made a gesture when my back was turned that was disrespectful. Jack did a thumbs down behind my back when I was trying to correct him about something and Millie stuck her tongue out at me and blew a raspberry. It was a lovely way to end the day. 

Monday morning I got an email just after 6 am with timings on it for activities each grade level was to follow that day. Yes, you heard that right. Something that we would plan at home for possibly a month had been thrown together and expected to be followed the morning of the activities. No one knew about it, even the principal. Hmmm! So, as one might do, all the teachers ignored the memo and carried on with their original plan. When I asked the Vice Principal if a teacher was on this so-called committee that put these timings together, her answer was simply, 'There was supposed to be one'. But clearly there wasn't. Our IT teacher had taken this initiative on her own and proclaimed it to be law, which all teachers quickly broke at the beginning of the day. Because the VIce Principal assumed everyone would be working in the pods for most of the day, she failed to cover some of the classes. Therefore, you can imagine the chaos that ensued for some of the periods in the day. The up side was that we were told to go home at 1:30 pm rather than staying until 3 pm like we normally do on a Monday. 

Once the kids were home they both bathed and got ready for Jack's concert. He actually had a lesson before the concert and I was not going to miss that. His teacher acted surprised that we would come to his practice. Um, we paid for it, we're coming. I took Jack to the House of Arts for his lesson and Stuart stayed home with Millie. After Jack's lesson they met us at the mall so the kids could eat supper. Then it was back to the House of Arts for his concert. He was so excited!

We took a quick picture before his concert, and I'm glad we did because when they brought the kids out to take pictures they didn't have parents time to get a snap shot. Isn't he a handsome devil! 

His concert was so sweet and there were the typical 'players'. There was the shy one who could hardly say her name and the piece she was playing. There were the ones who were terribly new and only played one note for their selection. Ironically enough, their piece was called The A Song. Guess what note they played? There were the kid who kissed the memo of wearing long pants and closed toed shoes and wore shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops instead. And then there was the confident, outspoken, perfectly poised kid. Guess whose boy that was?  Our boy was awesome, if I do say so myself. He was so pleased with himself, and we were so proud of him. 

Millie fell asleep on the way home from the concert and so straight to bed she went. Jack got into bed and again I told him how proud I was of his efforts and performance. After he was in bed I showered and then watched some television. Stuart had training and actually left the concert just after Jack performed. When he got home I was nearly asleep. Some days really are tiring. 

Tuesday was the beginning of the dwindling numbers of students in school. With the National Day holiday coming up next week, children will begin to stay home. Although we are to be in school until next Monday, I would very much doubt if we have any of our boys Sunday or Monday. 

I went to the grocery store right after school to get a few bits. Once the kids were home I had them make birthday cards for our friend Laken's birthday. She turns 21 this week. After the cards were made and the money was stuffed in, we headed to the rugby club for Jack's practice. I was going to go to the gym to ride the bike but I was just not in any mood. Instead I sat and had a catch up with Scott. 

After we got home from the rugby club and the kids were in bed, Cathy came over. We don't see a lot of each other these days so it was nice to get caught up on her and her girls. 

Wednesday was National Day celebration for our boys, although the actual National Day is not until December 2. We try to have the boys' celebration before the girls' one. Then the boys don't come back to school until the Sunday after National Day holiday. Think we are sending a subliminal message to the boys by having their celebration early? Nah!  The boys were sent home on the buses at 11 am while the girls continued on with their sports day. When will the boys have their sports day? They won't. 

Millie had dance on Wednesday evening, where I discovered she needed a new leotard and tutu for her recital I didn't know she had. I suppose she was gone the night they passed out the letter about the recital, and somehow the fact that I didn't get it was my fault. Have I mentioned that we are not continuing at this place after the holidays? She has had fun but the time is too late for her, and most 3 and 4 year olds, might I add, and they are not super customer service oriented, plus it's expensive!  Bye, bye House of Arts. 

Millie and Jack had their National Day celebration on Thursday. Each year everyone dresses in the UAE colors. Look at my two this year!

Thursday there were very few students on the boys side and about a fourth of the girls meant to have been there. It was crazy! I ended up having to leave early and when I got home I found Stuart there. What? He said there was no one at his school so he just left. Can you imagine?

Later in the day on Thursday I went to get my hair cut. It was my first cut since that dreadful buzz I had in May of 2014, no lie. The lady I went to dos exactly what I asked and cut it all one length. She was at least attentive to my request. I should be good for another couple of years. 

Once I was home we got the kids ready and went to Scott and Clare's. One of our friends from new Zealand was having their daughter's 21st birthday party out at the golf club where our church meets. We had a great time and the food was amazing. So although we did not celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we felt a feast was still given to us and oh how thankful we are for our new friends in this country who help us feel connected. 

Friday morning I got up at the crack of dawn with Millie, who could normally sleep until noon. However, if she doesn't eat much for dinner the night before, which was the case because she was too busy playing, her belly wakes her up. We skyped my entire family who were in Las Vegas at a basketball tournament. The kids were subdued which never happens when we are on Skype. I guess they had played too hard the night before. 

The kids and I went to church while Stuart went to the club to help out with the rugby tournament going on. He had a match at 2:40 pm and of course we were there cheering him on. We ended up going down to the Richardsons for curry after the rugby was over. It was another late night and another night of no bathes for the kids. You have to know how much this send me over the edge. 

When we got up Saturday morning the plan was to go collect our car from the rugby club, go to the mall, grab lunch, then go grocery shopping. The grocery shopping got put on the back burner because Millie fell asleep at lunch. So we headed home, put her in her bed for a 2 hour nap, let Jack go to his friend Sammy's for 2 hours and I started putting up the Christmas lights while watching Christmas Vacation.  

Once Millie was awake and Jack was home they helped me put on all the ornaments. It's the first year either of them have expressed interest in helping decorate. I know it's going to be short lived, but I will take the help while it lasts. 

Helping!

Done!

The kids got cleaned up and ready to go to Claire's (Cathy's daughter-we know a lot of Claires) recital. We got there and the program was about 45 students long. We had planned to go to PF Chang's for dinner after the concert, but it went u til 9 pm and it was too late. We just came home, threw a pbj together for Jack and Millie, but Millie told me 'My tummy told me not to eat now'. So once Jack was finished they both went to bed. Of course Stuart and I were disappointed because we were looking forward to PF Chang's. Instead we had take out from a close by Chinese place. It didn't even compare to PF Chang's. Oh well, another time. We are definitely looking forward to our 5 day weekend in a few days. Adventures to be had. 

The mile we've all been waiting for

We got up Sunday morning and no one wanted to do so, including the big people in the house. But we had obligations so off we went. 

Stuart was to go to the grand opening ceremonies of Oasis Hospital's new facilities. However, once I was home from swimming in the ever so cold pool, it was I who went to Oasis, with a child in tow. It seems just before she came home from school she visited the nurse who reported she had a low grade fever and extremely red ears. The infection was back so back to the doctor we went. 

Poor baby! She fell asleep about 10 minutes before we got to the doctor and wouldn't wake up for the nurse to weigh her. 

Once we saw the doctor and she actually woke up, he showed me a drawing of her ear drum and what it was doing. It seems her middle ear is where the infection is and the antibiotic last week was not strong enough to kick it, so it got worse. He said her eardrum would burst and then that would relieve the pressure. Ick! 

Naturally, because she had napped, she had a difficult time going to bed on Sunday night. And then, naturally, Monday morning was equally difficult getting her out of bed. 

Jack continued to work on his note cards for his project, which he was so excited about. He practiced saying what he was going to share with his classmates. He's so cute! I love seeing the kids learn new things and be excited about it. 

Monday after working on his note cards for a while, Jack went to piano lessons. He told me afterwards that his teacher was very proud of the fact that he had memorized his piece for the concert. He told me she said he did a really good job. He's so easily motivated by praise. I hope we can soon instill that in Millie. 

We took the kids to school on Tuesday because we had another riveting training where they told us how to teach and have no idea what we are up against every day, mainly second language learners who don't understand the textbooks because they are not appropriate for their level, yet we are still expected to use them. When we dropped the kids off I met with the principal to talk to him about an incident with Millie and how I felt her teacher handled it inappropriately. 

After training I went to the mall to get Jack some long pants. I ran across some skinny jeans as well and both were relatively inexpensive. He was so excited to have a pair of jeans. He told me he had never had any jeans. And he's right. He may have had some when he was a toddler, but definitely not since we've lived here. 

I also went for my last swim before the Mina Saylah Mile. The pool was a bit warmer. It seems they had just fixed the heater and it was starting to warm up, thank goodness. I felt ready for the swim but not having a side of a pool to hold onto at the end of each 25 meter lap was sure to be weird. 

Once we were home from Jack's rugby practice we went to dinner with Cathy and a friend of hers. We went to Trader Vic's, a really nice restuarant at the Ronta na, a fantastic hotel in Al Ain. 

On Wednesday, after school, I had to do some shopping for the week of innovation we were told we would be doing starting Novemeber 22. This was announced to us a little over a week ago. Forethought? Why? I tried to get them to charge my school and then deliver it the following day, with the promise of a check when the goods arrived, but that wasn't in the cards. Instead I had to go back the next day, take my accountant with me, and each of us had to pay for half of the materials because one individual is not allowed to buy more than a thousand dirhams worth of goods in one day. Lovely! The best part about it was that I wasn't at school much on Thursday. 

Wednesday after my failure shopping trip, I took Millie to dance. I had gotten a message from her teacher telling me about 4 naughty things she had done in the day, one of which was to color in her own behavior chart. When asked about why she did that, she stated that her chart wasn't as full as the other kid's chart. Makes sense then that she would feel the need to fill it in. 

Once the kids were in bed Wednesday evening I finished packing for our weekend in Dubai. 

Thursday was Jack's project presentation. He wanted to dress up a bit. It's so cute that he feels the need to do this. He wants to do and look his best, clearly. 

The collard shirt he first had on bugged him, so he settled for a little more casual. He said his presentation went well and all the kids got a bottle of bubbles because they did so well. Adorable!

We left on Thursday as soon as I got home from school. We got to Dubai around 5:30 pm. We checked in and then bathed the kids. Jack wanted to wear his jeans again because we were going to a nice, and expensive might I add, steak house. The resort we were staying in was gorgeous. The steak house was right next door at the Westin.  

This was right outside of the restuarant. 

Millie, Henry, Jack and May all looked so sweet and were very well behaved in the restuarant. 

The meal and company were too good. I'm not a huge steak fan, but everything combined had me stuffed as a turkey by the end of the evening. 

We got up and went down for breakfast on Friday morning. Because the swim wasn't until Saturday morning, our plan was to just chill out at the pool all day. After breakfast Clare and I went out into the gulf to give the swimming a go. We were worried that since we had only swam in a pool we might panic on the day of the event if we didn't have a little practice in the salty water, and I'm glad we did. We were swerving all over the place. It was definitely going to be very different, but I felt as if I could do it. All I wanted to do was to swim it in under an hour. 

The view of the beach. 

The negative edge pool was cool and refreshing. 

The kids loved the pool. Look behind them and you can see all the boats in the gulf. 

The rest of the day we were in the pool, and often at the swim up bar, which may not have been the best decision as far as training for the event went, but we had a great day. We were exhausted by the time dinner rolled around. We contemplated going to the beach restuarant but then just went with room service and an early night. 

Saturday morning we were up early. I wasn't going to eat because I was afraid while swimming I would feed the fish. But I changed my mind and no fish benefitted from that decision. 

We were to pick up our race pack at 9 am and the race started at 9:30 am. Clare's friend who lives in Dubai, Avia, swam as well. Once we were down by the water I was nervous for sure. I knew it would take me the longest of any competitor. That didn't really bother me. I just didn't want to have to give up because I panicked or got tired. 

Me and my two biggest fans. 

When we got in the water and the horn blew, it was a bit manic. I just waited at the back and ended up being the second to last person to start swimming. Ironically I was also the next to last person to finish the mile. 

The course was a rectangle that measured 800 meters, so we had to swim it twice. About half way around the first time people started to lap me. It was a bit discouraging, but I pressed on. The scariest thing was not being able to see anything in the water. 

The most discouraging thing was when I started my second lap I had a guy in a kayak ask me if I was starting my second lap, and then not 100 meters later there was a lady on a boat, both who worked for the sponsors of the event, how many times I had been around. I said, 'I've just been around once. I know I'm slow, thank you'. At that point I mentally began to doubt myself. I almost cried. It was crazy. After my tiny pity party I pulled myself together and kept swimming, reminding myself that not everyone was doing what I was doing so it didn't matter how long it took me. 

Because I was the second to last person to finish, a kayaker stayed along side of me the last 200 meters. It really helped me because I just followed him as he rowed. It made it a bit easier for sure. When I came to the end there were Millie and Jack waiting in the water for me. 

I stood up in the sand but then shortly after I fell. My legs wouldn't work. It was weird but I was definitely fatigued and felt as if I had swallowed the ocean. My mouth was so salty. About 4 water bottles helped with that. 

They ran with me across the finish line, bless them. 

We did it!

We spent a little while in the pool and then headed to take showers and check out of our little piece of heaven for the weekend. We stopped at the outlet mall on our way back to Al Ain and had some lunch. I felt as if I had a belly of sea water, so snarling down some French fries with butter chicken on top was just what I needed. 

After buying Millie and myself a dress, we left the outlet mall and headed home. Once home we unloaded the car and unpacked. Since the kids had already showered just before we left Dubai, they put their jammies on, had a sandwich and finished watching Hotel Transylvania. They were off to bed just after 6 pm and I was ready for bed as well. 

Instead of bed I stayed up and watched some James Bond and Real Housewives, total trash. After a take out curry dinner it was bedtime. 

Another crazy and awesome week in the UAE. 

Routines back in place make things a bit boring

We got up Sunday morning and I knew I had to start my 'cleanse' diet before the mile swim in less than 2 weeks. I really wish I could lose weight and keep it off, but this may be too lofty if a goal. I guess I will just keep plugging away at it. 

I obsessed over food all day at work, although I never even take anything to eat at school. But not having it makes you want it. Aside from the lack of caffeine and food, school was relatively quiet today. There are still a ton of improvements that need to be made, but we may have gone as far as we can go this year. We shall see. Small changes are better than no changes. 

Jack didn't have rugby training Sunday night so we had an early night. I went swimming right after school so I would get my swim in and not have to go later and freeze. After my swim I did a quick grocery shop and then got home just after Stuart returned from taking his mum to the airport. The kids were outside playing. They came in after a bit and sat playing with the sticker books Grandma bought for them. They bathed, ate and were in bed by 6:30 pm. I showered and sat in front of the television dreaming of food I couldn't eat. Nine days is a long time for a cleanse. 

After going to bed, I was awaken by Millie who complained of an ear ache. I gave her some Tylenol which seemed to work, at least for a bit. She woke up at 2:45 am, screaming and crying. I decided I would take her to the emergency room because of her screaming and crying, but by the time I got dressed she was asleep next to Stuart. So I got my jammies back on and climbed back into bed. I slept, restlessly, until about 3:45 am and then I was awakened by the whimpering of the ear ache. So, this time I had to take her to the emergency room, and I'm so glad I did. She had a double ear infection. After they loaded her up with medicine, we drove home and had to wake Stuart up. He had slept past his alarm. Millie insisted she was going to school, but I actually used good judgement and made her stay home. 

Clearly, I look like the sick one, not Millie. 

Before Jack was collected for school, Millie was jumping around and acting perfectly normal. Once he left she settled down and watched some television. Then just before 9 am I insisted she take a nap. After many years, crying for 'Daddy' and 'Jack', she went to sleep. Whew. While she slept, I watched mindless tv and did some tidying up. 

She woke up just after 11:30 am and was in a pretty good mood. She had a little bit of lunch and watch Doctor McStuffins until Stuart got home, at which time I ran to the mall to get the items I had ordered for my next 'Favorite Things' party. This time it is a rainbow party. You buy a gift for everyone, instead of just six people as before, and each person was assigned a specific color. I was assigned grey, but took the liberty to buy something silver, which in my mind was close enough to. I bought small silver camels. They are so cute!

I hustled home after my purchase to take Jack to piano, only to get a letter about his 'concert' in two weeks. He has to wear long trousers, which he doesn't have, and black shoes, which he doesn't have. However, he does have a dress shirt he can wear, thank goodness! This snooty piano concert crap may not be my bag. Ugh!

Once we were home and the kids were tucked into bed, Stuart and I watched a Bond film. Well, I actually slept through a Bond film, but no need to mention that.  

Tuesday at school I had enough of the boys at canteen and finally called in reinforcement. It was decided that we would all meet and decide a new plan. We definitely needed one. So we shall see where this goes. 

After school I decided I would go for my swim instead of waiting u til Jack's practice. The main reason was because I felt Millie shouldn't be out late and should have an early bedtime. Another reason was because the pool heater is not working to full capacity, and although it is not exactly cold outside at anytime, the pool is freezing, as I am sure I have mentioned before....about a thousand times. 

In order for Millie to be okay with staying with me and having a 'Mama/Millie night' I had to promise to paint her nails. 

She insisted on the rainbow look. The girl has a mind of her own. 

After both kids were in bed Cathy came over for a chat. We try to catch up at least every couple of weeks. It usually involves her coming over and watching an episode of Miranda, our favorite British comedy. But this night was just chatting and hearing about latest events in each other's lives. 

Wednesday at school I observed an Arabic PE teacher. This is the second Arabic lesson I have observed this year. She seemed to be doing everything really well. At the end of the lesson I got a gift for coming. There really is a huge build up to lessons that are observed and the Arabic staff have a need to make sure we know how good they are by telling us so. It's quite funny. But I will take chocolates and the new planner, thank you very much. 

On my way home from school I went to grocery store. I decided to buy kids McDonalds. We do this at least once of week out of convenience only. Mother of the Year! When I got home I wouldn't let Jack eat until we got his homework completed, since it was due on Thursday. He was finally able to eat his fish sandwich just as I was leaving for dance with Millie. 

Stuart had training with the vets team on Wednesday. They were having 'dress' night. Since I had ruined my Rugby Ball dress earlier this year, I saved it for such an occasion. Hilarious!

School was a bit uneventful Thursday, as I was only there for three hours and then had a Head of Faculty meeting. And then the meeting wasn't that eventful either. I did our grocery shopping on the way home for the following week's lunches. Have I mentioned how much I hate grocery shopping here? The produce is unbelievably expensive and terrible! Ugh! 

We headed to the rugby club around 5 pm for the EGM (extraordinary general meeting) to vote Stuart in as treasurer of the rugby club. The one who was elected in the summer is moving to Dubai so will no longer be able to fulfill his duties. Stuart was unopposed and no one objected to his appointment as the new treasurer. He was so excited. 

We stayed long enough to feed the kids then it was home and bed for the kids. Stuart and I stayed up and watched a James Bond film, our favorite films. 

Friday morning I got up and headed to Dubai with DeDe, and some other gals, for a rainbow 'favorites' party. We went to the Arte show first for some pilgrim camels DeDe had ordered, then we went on to Umm Al Quwain, another emirate in the UAE. Blink, and you will miss it along the road. The party was fun, but there were two different sets of people there who didn't mingle very well together. There were 7 of us from Al Ain and 7 from Umm Al Quwain. There was no need to make new friends. We got a lot of cute little gifts, but I don't need to go to Umm Al Quwain again. 

Stuart stayed home with the kids and helped Jack with his school project on habitats. When I saw Stuart at the rugby club later that evening, I asked him how the project went. He said, 'Remember, as teachers, when we would get projects that looked like the parents did them? Well, Jack's project looks awesome!' He did tell me that Jack did the research and he taught him how to google search things about the semi-arid desert (the Grand Canyon). He also said he had Jack read the information to him while he typed. Needless to say we will be taking the project in to give to the teacher and explain how Jack was involved. Jack is very excited about this project!

On Friday, prior to returning to Al Ain we decided to go to a recommended bakery in Sharjah, yet another emirate. I found myself driving like I was a part of a demolition derby. The traffic in Sharjah is the scariest I have encountered in the UAE. I drove off of 2 curbs, willingly, and almost was hit by two different cars comin get at me on my side of the road. Fun! But the date cookies were worth it. 

When we finally got home, we went to Heritage Village, a place that DeDe's friends sometimes go to smoke sheesha. I was not exactly thrilled about going, but I did drive so I went along for the conversation. 

Once I returned everyone to their homes I went to the rugby club for the Island Night. 

It's a night of food and entertainment from the New Zealanders. The dancing was wonderful. Stuart was pulled up to dance, as was Millie. And somehow my two white children got into a photo with the dancers.

The party wasn't over until just after 10 pm. The kids were still wide awake. We got them home and clean and in bed. What a long day we all had. 

Saturday morning the kids didn't wake up until just before 9 am. It was wonderful and amazing. We went to the rugby club to eat lunch. The kids played outside for a bit and then we came home.  We did a whole lot of nothing the rest of the day. 

Clare messaged me and asked if I wanted to swim just before 5 pm. My answer was 'no', but I knew I should get as many swims in before our event on the 21st. However, the pool heater was broken and the water was freezing on Tuesday. I had every reason to believe it would be the same on Saturday. The cold pool thought was correct. I nearly froze to death. Well, not quite, but almost. 

Once the kids were in bed we were on to another Bond film. Our life is so rough. 

Rugby, quiz night, mosque, and Grandma!

As much as I hated to do so, I got up and went to work on Sunday. I had to because I had taken an emergency day on Thursday in order to go to Dubai. Whether I was in pain or sick, not a second day in a row would be excused. I was of no use at work, other than taking notes at the Senior Leadership Team meeting. I contemplated taking some time off and leaving early, but then just decided I would wait and see if swimming helped at all. 

After school we went to Bawadi Mall to look for things for the kids for Christmas. They both expressed to Grandma what they wanted and we decided we would go back later and buy the items when they weren't around. 

Some grocery shopping took place so that we could grill later in the week, and I fed the kids McDonalds before rugby practice. We were then on the road to the rugby club. Once we got there I put my foot in the pool and decided against swimming. Since my back was spasming anyway, I didn't need to add insult to injury, and surely a cold pool would do just that. Instead I went out with Grandma to watch Jack's practice. 

Once practice was finished we went home and bathed the kids. Then I headed to the emergency room for some relief with these crazy muscle spasms. I sat in the emergency room for the good part of an hour before being called into an examining room. I sat in the male waiting area, which I know confused people. 

After being examined I was told I would have a day off of work, which I did not argue with, I was given some muscle relaxers, and sent on my merry way. 

Once home, I was presented with a baked potato with chili on top, a variation of the meal the previous night. I took the medication with the food and laid on the sofa for a bit, before retiring upstairs for a shower and a good night's sleep. 

I was awaken by Stuart asking me if he should get the kids up since it was 6 am. My alarm did go off at 5 am, but clearly I ignored it. I popped out of bed, got dressed, and went downstairs to make lunches. I still was achy and felt a bit ill. Two cups of coffee later, and I felt a little more normal. 

The kids' driver came to get them just before 7 am. Once they were gone, I watched tv for about a half hour before grandma was awake. Once she was up and out in the living room, we made a move to get ready and head to the mall for some Christmas shopping. We might have bought some other things as well, but I have a selective memory when it comes to purchases. 

On our way back from the mall we stopped at the supermarket, LuLu's, to pick up a few bits and we looked at an acti-fry, which our friends and Karen rave about. We found one we liked and Karen was going to buy it for us as an early Christmas present. Well, wouldn't you know it? The three they had listed as being 'in stock' could not be located. So I left my number and told the salesman to give me a call when he found it. 

Once we left LuLu's we headed to Secret Spinneys (the liquor store), or as Karen called it 'Dirty Spinneys', which I think is a more appropriate name since it feels like you are going into a sex shop every time you enter the store. It's hidden away with no clear markings. It seems in an odd spit. Thus we now refer to it as Dirty Spinneys. When we got to the shop there was a local woman in the car next to us. Usually the locals just honk their horn and someone comes out to serve them, mainly because they are not supposed to be in the shop nor are they supposed to consume alcohol. But this woman was in full coverage and headed in behind us. You could hear her gasp as she realized she had walked into the booze shop instead of the flower shop next door. Poor dear! She was mortified, I'm sure. Karen got a big kick out of the entire experience. 

We still had one stop to make to buy potatoes. After we made our final stop we went by the house to drop off the groceries. Then, because we were both a bit peckish, I suggested we go to this local cafe just up the road from us. I had never been there but had heard great things about it. It's called 101 cafeteria, but I have no idea why. We walked in and on the televisions there were Yola dancers and Arabic singing. The cafe had about 4 other people sitting down, smoking sheesha. Authentic? Absolutely, and Karen and I both loved it. Stuart actually joined us once he got back from school. We each had a wrap, some manakesh, and hummus. The bill came to a whopping 49 dirhams. That is about $14 for all three of us to eat and be quite full. 

Once we were all back home, I took Jack to piano lessons and had a bit of time to sit and relax. That was really the purpose of my day off from school, but there was too much to be done and I wouldn't trade that day with Karen for anything. I really did get some wonderful in-laws, and I'm not saying that just because I know she will read this. Ha!

When we returned from piano lessons we packed up and headed to the zoo. I haven't been there in a while and had never been there at night. Boy do the animals come out at night. We got up close and personal with some of them. In fact, Millie and Jack stomped on the ground just outside of the hyena enclosure because he was digging under a rock and it looked as if he was going to come out on our side. When he heard their stomp he jumped back and looked around. Needless to say, we scooted out of there before he did escape. 

Mr. Lion walked back and forth about 15 times so getting this picture was actually quite easy. 

Monkey!

Grandma helped the kids feed the giraffe. 

Once we were home, it was night night time for the kids and we had dinner, retiring closely behind. 

Flag Day was Tuesday, Novemeber 3. I think the significance is that November 3 was the day the current President of the country, Sheikh Khalifa, was given his power and status in the country. The kids wear the colors of the flag and get into the formation of the flag. I'm not really sure of the value of this day, but not my country, not my worry. 

Everybody loves a party. 

After school I got the call that they had located the acti-fry. So we went to LuLus to get it. We were so excited because we were going to go home and use it that evening for dinner. We went to the rugby club for Jack's practice. I swam and was freezing my knee nads off. I asked the front desk when they would be hearing the pool and he told me the heaters were already on. No way is what I say. Hopefully it will be warmer next week. 

We fed the kids at the club, so they got to stay a bit longer at the club than normal. Once they were home and in bed, we had pork chops fixed on the barbie and acti fry veggies. Delightful!

Right after school we took Grandma to the top of Jebel Hafeet, the highest point in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. We looked around, had an ice cream and then headed back to the house to feed the kids and put them to bed. We had quiz night to get to at the rugby club. It was a blast and we won! We won a dinner for four at the club. We were very excited about our brain power. Actually it was mainly Stuart and Karen who answered the questions, but I'll take a free meal from it. 

The kids were hanging on the fence around the top of Jebel Hafeet. This may not be the safest activity up at the top. 

We won!

At school on Thursday I didn't feel well. I knew I had strep throat. I went to pharmacy after school to see if they still sold antibiotics over the counter.  They didn't, which was a bummer for me because I needed some right then and didn't have time to go to the doctor because we were leaving as soon as I got home. The pharmacist sold me some gargle and said it would do the trick. So I gargled, took some Tylenol and got in the car to go to Abu Dhabi. 

We took Grandma to the Grand Mosque. It was hot, but beautiful. Once again, it became night very shortly after we arrived. I had never seen the mosque at night, except from afar, and it was gorgeous. 

This is why you don't give your phone to your 7 year old and let him take pictures in the mosque. 

Just outside the mosque, in the courtyard area. 

The lighting was phenomenal. 

This is outside by the car park. 

Once we left the mosque we drove to the Premier Inn. When we arrived my throat was on fire. We ate supper at the restuarant at the hotel. We had to wait a while for our food, but we were too tired to go anywhere else and too tired to complain.  

We were in bed just after 10 pm. I tossed and turned until about. 3:30 am.  I had been in pain long enough. I woke Stuart up to tell him I was heading to the hospital to get some meds. I left the room, got to the hospital, and realized I had left my wallet in the snack bag. I had packed the bag before we went to bed in anticipation for the following morning. Super! I turned around, went back to the hotel, got my wallet and back to the hospital I went. Once the doctor saw me and I convinced her I had strep throat, she wrote me a prescription. I went to the 24 hour pharmacy but the system was down so the pharmacist couldn't see what my insurance would pay toward the meds. He said if I could come back at 6 am it would be fixed and there would be no problem. So I went back to the hotel and went back to sleep for about an hour. Our alarms were due to go off at half past six. Jack was awake at 6 am so I decided to get up and head back to the pharmacy. I told Jack to let Stuart know when he woke up that I went to get my medication and would be back in 15 minutes. I got my drugs and was back in time for breakfast. 

We spent the day at Sports Zayed Stadium. Jack's team didn't play very well, but he played really hard and scored 3 trys. He also pulled the most tags for the day and got Player of the Match in their last match. He was very pleased. 

We are afraid one day he will bite that tongue off if he doesn't pull it back in his mouth. 

We came back to hotel for a swim after the sweltering tournament. Stuart headed off to play for the 1st at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club just around 3 pm. I bought some food for the kids and then we headed up to get cleaned up and go watch Stuart play. 

Millie fell asleep on the way there, which meant we would be in for a long evening. They played well but got killed. He loves it whether they win or lose. 

Stuart is the one with the yellow head in the white shirt. They had on white shirts because someone brought their home jerseys which are black, like the other team's. So they had to turn theirs inside out. 

Stuart stayed after the match to eat and have a beer. We left and returned to a kerfuffle at the restaurant at the Premier Inn, where we were staying. We ended up feeding the kids scraps from what the wait staff just started putting on the tables after the shouting that we apparently missed. It was a mess from what we understand. They even ran out of beer and wine. How does that happen? Some of us complained and have sent emails to the company. There were people who didn't get served for 2 hours and there was no expiration. It might not have been the best customer service ever.  

We went to the room, ordered KFC and called it a night. 

We got up Saturday morning much later than the previous morning. We had the tournament on Friday, but many other age groups had it on Saturday. This is the advantage of having only one child who plays rugby. Although Millie has decided she wants to play next year. 

After breakfast we went up to the room to finish packing. We met in the lobby just after 10 am and headed to Heritage Village, a traditional area where craftsmen sell their wares. Jack and Millie were allowed to work on a carpet. 

We also got a picture with Grandma and the camel. He wasn't exactly happy and yelled us. 

Once we had sweat our butts off at Heritage Village we decided it was time for an IKEA run. We needed Jack's favorite jam and bin liners. There are some things I just HAVE to go to IKEA for. We dropped the kids off in the play area for almost an hour while we shopped. We told Jack this would probably be his last time in the play area because he has gotten too tall. He kind of scrunched his shoulders when he first went in to be shorter. Too funny!

Once we had exhausted ourselves at IKEA we needed some lunch. We went to Raha Beach and ate at the Irish pub, McGettigans. It's funny, at home I wouldn't typically have a beer, cider or wine with lunch. But come to a country where you can't freely order a beverage of this kind except if you are in a resort, and I WILL have one, please. 

I was the only one who napped on the way home from Abu Dhabi. Once we were home, we unpacked, got laundry started, put the kids to bed, listened to some music while sharing and downloading pictures, and went to bed around 9 pm. Exhausted! We had a great time with Grandma for sure.