So it was my job to start moving books on Sunday. We have a large crew of cleaning staff, which would make any school principal in Arizona jealous. I had about 12 ladies helping me move these monstrous boxes from the nursery (which is supplied for our staff with young children who also have nannies) to our classrooms. We got all of the reading anthologies moved, yet none of the math or science books. I may save that until next week.
After my strenuous day of moving boxes I decided I needed some retail therapy before going home. I stopped by the mall to buy my friend Cathy a birthday present, as her birthday was Tuesday and I was taking her for dinner that evening. I bought her an item from Pandora, and I may have also bought myself a jeweled ring as well. I stopped at the health food store and bought a birthday gift for a little boy's birthday party that would be Tuesday evening. I then returned home to get ready for my outing with Cathy.
When I got home we all Stuart's birthday puzzles. Millie had some challenges with the edges, but Jack seems a bit spatially gifted, as assessed by his mother who used to be a gifted teacher.
The kids showered and then Stuart was in charge for the rest of the evening. I picked Cathy up for her birthday dinner and we headed to yet another mall. We did a bit of shopping after our meal at TGI Fridays, but I bought nothing except for a dozen doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. I used my Entertainer vouchers so felt I had saved money on the purchase.
I really expected the mall to be rammed as it normally is after the sun sets. However, there seem to be a few differences this Ramadan. Although the malls are open until 2 am, there wasn't a crowd at all on Sunday evening. It was a bit strange.
Monday I was up at 5 am to walk with Cathy as we have each day since Ramadan began and plan to do the rest of Ramadan. I'm actually enjoying it a great deal. Now, if I could just convince my principal that I need to be 45 minutes late each day in order to get my walk in, that would be great. Somehow I think she won't go for it.
I got to school and made sure everyone had turned in their evaluation. Besides that I didn't do much of anything all day on Monday. My arms and shoulders were so sore from lifting over 400 boxes the day before, so I felt being lazy on Monday was fine.
Clare and Scott came by after school for a cup of tea. Henry had an appointment at the hospital close to our house so they popped in for a bit. When they left it was only 4 pm. What are we to do with all this time?
The kids played a bit after the Richardsons left, and then the nightly routines ensued. While I was washing and feeding kids, Stuart went to have the oil changed in his car. Just as he pulled in to the petrol station his front right tire blow out. He ended up getting 4 new tires because there was a bolt in another one. His car was probably due new tires, but it's an irritatingly necessary expense that I don't like.
Once he was home, he left again for a meeting at the club. He went a bit early and had dinner. The kids and I finished watching Big Hero 6, and then it was bed time for all of us.
On Tuesday morning when we were waving the kids goodbye, I inquired about which tire on the car had the blowout. Stuart told me it was the front right. I then confessed, 'I might have rolled that tire up on a curb yesterday. Could that have caused the blowout?' Good job that man loves me!
I had training on Tuesday about differentiated instruction, because I've never had that kind of training before. Until all of the western teachers get on the same page about the different approaches to learning, teaching other teachers is not going to happen.
Once I was home I went with Clare to Dubai to deliver her friend's dog back to her. They had been dog sitting for nearly two weeks and Avia, the owner, had returned from her holiday. It was an excuse to go to Karama, the knock off hand bag district. You would think a place like Dubai would not house such shady goods, but to my delight, they do! Avia, Clare and myself all purchased some beautiful fake bags. I bought a Louis Vuitton carry-all bag. I don't know enough about the real ones, except for the price, to know the difference. So of course I love it and flaunt it!
While I was in Dubai, Stuart took the kids to a birthday party at the rugby club. I didn't get home until around 10 pm, but it was worth it. I got a genuine fake Louis Vuitton bag. When I got home the house was quiet. It was glorious.
Wednesday morning Stuart and I decided we would take an emergency day. He knew he would most likely have to spend the rest of his school days proctoring exams and scoring them, so Wednesday was the only day we could have off together. It was wonderful.
We ran some errands that happened to take us by the Jeep dealership. What? I love the Jeep Wrangler so much. The new style is so beautiful. Don't get me wrong, Jeeps are total crap cars, but they look fantastic. I think it will be the purchase I make when I get back to Arizona for good.
Then we decided to have a date night. So, after the kids were in bed, Kayleigh came over and we went out to dinner. We also did some shopping. Since we have both lost weight recently, we really were in need of some new clothes. But of course we are saving our healthy purchasing for when we get home. Clothes are much cheaper in the states and we have our stores that we miss.
Thursday I went to school just long enough to send out some emails and then headed to another training. This training was essentially Writer's Workshop for ELL students. Been there, done that. However, the two teachers I took with me were very excited with the possibilities of what we could do with the ideas in our school. So I am going to let them lead the charge.
After training I went to the bank and then the grocery store. Once I was home we all laid around and did a whole lot of nothing. We tried to get some of our friends to go to the pool with us, but no one was available. So we kept our lazy tails home.
When Jack said he was hungry after school on Thursday I told him he knew where the food was. He said, 'But I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.' I told him he knew how to make one himself. And lo and behold, look who made his own pbj!
Our evening was terribly uneventful, and we are surely ready to have some excitement. So glad we are less than three weeks from summer holidays.
Friday morning we were up and preparing for our Bacon and Beer Fest at the Richardsons. Stuart made my brothers bacon potato salad, crispy pork, and grilled chorizo, while I made bacon wrapped dates. Once it was all in the preparation stage we took a break to get some jobs done.
Bacon wrapped dates with roasted pepper and sour cream dip.
Potatoes set to boil. The bacon to the right was for breakfast that morning.
Crispy pork was put in the oven early.
While the pork was cooking, Millie and I decided to clean the kids' bikes. It's way too hot to ride them now and we always put them indoors while we are on vacation so they don't get more weather damage. We decided to do it a bit early this year.
The pork and beer fest was even more eventful with a water balloon fight.
Millie was fired up and ready to smear someone.
Saturday morning the kids and I, Cathy, Rochelle and her kids, went to see Finding Dory. We had watched Findig Nemo before when we first got up so we were ready. Finding Dory was adorable! I just love Disney films. The kids loved it as well.
Stuart went to watch rugby while we were at the movies, and the plan was to meet up around 4 pm at the Richardsons. They had some serious excess of bacon products they needed to be eaten. It was a bacon weekend.
The O'Riellys were at the Richardsons as well. They came with our group three years ago, if you'll remember, and we remain good friends to this day. It was lovely to see them.
The kids had their showers and then we were in the car on the way home. As Millie almost always does, she fell asleep. She loves her sleep for sure. We all followed her shortly, as we had another week of school to endure.
18 more days until we get on that jet. We are getting very excited.
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