Ramadan Kareem!

Sunday we were on our normal hours. We knew Ramadan hours would probably be Monday, but we're not positive since the moon sighting had not taken place. 

Wafa, our Vice Principal, provided a spread for all of the staff. We had awards and gifts were presented, as they always are at the end of the year. 

The buffet spreads that people supply are unreal and over the top. 

Our social workers bought me a pair of earrings. 

We had parent/teacher conferences at the kids' school. Both teachers said the kids were doing well. We are just glad the year is over and next year they will be going to one of the top 3 schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Millie has had a non-productive year, but that will all be fixed at Brighton College. Thank goodness!

We were given a great deal of work the kids had done this year. This little treasure was on a poster the entire class contributed to. Jack wrote a segment of his own version of the Gruffalo. It was a party invitation. Notice the RSVP? That's my actual phone number at the side. Thanks, son. 

Once we were home, Scott and the kids came over for leftovers. Stuart made bubble and squeak out of the vegetables we had left over from Saturday's dinner, then bought some savory pies at the grocery store. 

The kids watched some R.L.Stine short films, which were scary and caused Millie to not want to go to bed. Oops! That was a fine parenting moment for sure. 

Once the Richardsons had gone and the kids were in bed, Cathy came over for a chat. We had a nice catch up and decided we would start walking in the mornings once Ramadan hours started. 

Late Sunday night it was announced that Ramadan would begin the following day which meant shorter work hours for everyone. The newspaper had said we would work for 5 hours, so imagine our surprise when our principal announced we would be working from 8 am to noon each day. We all looked around but no one dared to ask her about it. We just took it as gospel and decided we would follow our fearless leader's lead. 

Monday morning, while Stuart still snoozed, I got up and walked 4 miles. Cathy was with me and DeDe went with us as well. It was a good hour of walking, but DeDe overdid it. She hadn't been well for a few weeks and it may have been too much for her the first time out. 

I got back to the house a little later than I had planned, which put me a bit behind. So it was decided that we would meet 15 minutes earlier the following day. 

Once I was at school boredom set in quickly. Some of my staff were still working on tidying their classrooms, while others were finishing up their data and grades, still yet others were relaxing and playing board games. They do their best to stay engaged in something having to do with school, but it's virtually impossible. 

As soon as we were able to leave I headed to Spinneys (the grocery store) and it just so happened that 8 of my teachers did as well. So it felt like a slight reunion in the super market. 

Stuart and I were both home for over an hour before the kids got home. Their hours had been shortened as well, but not as short as my hours. 

We implemented some new rules this week that have helped to keep them occupied for over an hour each day when they get home. After they did their after school 'chores' they were begging to go to Sammy and Michael's house. And although Jack translated 3:45 into 4:30 as the time to be home, they had fun and were shower bound once they returned. 

They ate dinner and settled in for a Harry Potter film. Stuart was off to a committee meeting at the rugby club, while the kids and I cuddled up in blankets as we have difficulty getting our air conditioner to a perfect temperature. I suppose I would rather it be cold than hot. 

Tuesday was more of the same at work. I actually left early to take one of my teachers back to Al Ain. She doesn't drive and needed a lift to go to an appointment in Dubai that afternoon. 

I decided to stop by the grocery store....again....for some items I can only get at LuLus. There are not a lot of grocery stores here and sadly they don't all stock the same things. So although I go to the store quite regularly, I don't buy a ton of items. I just have to go to different stores to get everything I need. 

Once I was home, still almost an hour before the kids, Stuart and I sat down for a little Dr. Who. The kids finally got home and started in on their 'Before screen time' chart. They didn't exactly go in order, but all the same they have started to adapt to the routine. 

There ended up not being any screen time because we decided to go swimming at the club. Rochelle and her kids were there and they played very nicely together. We ended up feeding the kids at the club as well. It's just sometimes the easiest way. They have a limited menu during Ramadan, mostly fried foods, so that left me out entirely. 

Once the kids were home and showered, Stuart had fixed us chicken and vegetables so we ate, and then I took the kids up to their rooms for a song and sleepy time. The rest of the evening was spent snoozing in front of the television. Shocking, I know. 

Wednesday I was up early and walking my 3.5 miles with Cathy. The third day was even easier than the first two. Once I was home and showered, the same routine of the first few days of Ramadan commenced. The kids were picked up by their driver, Stuart left for work, and I enjoyed my second cup of coffee before heading to my school. 

I actually had work to do on Wednesday, well at least for half of the time I was there. I handed out evaluations and told the teachers if they didn't agree with something they could schedule a meeting with the principal. Most teachers signed them and gave them back to me, which is exactly what I would do. 

Kids went to Siiri's for a party. They didn't get home until after 7 pm. In the meantime, Stuart fixed us dinner and we found it rather weird that we were eating dinner at home without the kids. 

Thursday we were up and out as usual. Stuart picked the kids up from school just after 12:30 pm and we headed to Dubai. Every year we go to Atlantis on the Palm for a little water park action. Although we were booked in at Atlantis for Friday night the special deal we got was not available for the Thursday evening. So we just collectively decided to go to the hotel we stayed in when we did our mile swim. It was an excellent choice. 

Stuart and I were able to leave around 1:30 pm and arrived just after 3 pm at the hotel. We went up to our room and ended up getting our suits on and heading down to the pool. We were shocked to find out that the pool bar was serving drinks. During Ramadan no bar is allowed to serve alcoholic beverages until after Iftar (the sunset meal time). When we asked about it the bartender said this is he first year the resorts have been allowed to serve booze before sunset. I can only assume the resorts have been losing too much money over the last few years and, sadly, money wins. 

As you can see, Stuart and the rest of our group took advantage of the bar service. 

Once everyone had arrived and were down at the pool, the kids wanted to go to the beach for a bit. Leanne and I took them down and took some pictures. They found some seashells and wanted to bring them home. We conveniently forgot them in the hotel room when we checked out the following morning. 

The diva and her poses are sometimes too much for me. 

Of course Leanne and I had to pose on the cabana loungers. 

Once we were all water logged we headed up to take showers. We then convened in our room to order room service for dinner. None of us were in the mood for a walk to the marina, so room service would do. 

We got up Friday morning, ate breakfast, and headed for Atlantis. Once we were all checked in we headed to the water park for a day of fun. We had rented a cabana to come back to throughout the day for a rest and some shade. It was awesome. 

This was all of us under the shaded area of our cabana. Millie looks thrilled, as seen in this picture. 

Here was a view from the edge of our cabana. There was plenty of space for 15 of us and we had our own waiter. It was great. 

The kids were eating lunch and chillin' out. 

After a day of sun and fun we headed to our room for showers. We seemed to have been upgraded to a nicer room. It was on the corner and had a great deal more space than the ones we normally stay in. It was nice. 

The beds were even big enough for the kids to share one. 

And the view was splendid as usual. 

Once we were all clean and dressed, we headed down for dinner. A table for 15 is not easy to come by so of course we booked it as soon as we were checking in that morning. Dinner was delish as always. Millie was wiped out and fell asleep on my lap just after 8 pm. We all retired just before 9 with some very tired children. 

We had planned to be at breakfast at 7:30 am. Stuart asked me if I thought we should set an alarm. I told him we'd be up and not to bother. Well, I did wake up at 5:30 am, but then went back to sleep, which I never do. The next thing I knew, Stuart was walking around the room and I read the clock as 7:08 am. Guess we should have set an alarm. We all hustled around and actually made it to breakfast by 7:30 am. 

After breakfast we checked out, but still had a full day at the water park if we wanted it. We ended up going to the park and riding some of the rides for about 3 hours. We then went to the hotel pool for about an hour. By 2 o'clock we were all wiped out and hungry. We decided to have a bite to eat at the hotel outside bar. 

Once we finished eating, we changed our clothes in the bathrooms and then it was time for our trip back to our 'reality' in Al Ain. 

I really thought the kids would sleep on the trip home, but not a wink. Once we got home all the fun began. I started laundry, the kids showered, and Stuart helped unpack the suitcase. 

Millie was asleep on the sofa by 7 pm. Stuart went to watch the Ireland vs South Africa rugby match while Jack and I watched Alvin and the Chipmunks for the millionth time. 

Another awesome week in the UAE. Just 24 days until we are on holiday and another school year is behind us.