I got to school and we had all the teachers we needed except for a part time grade 3 teacher, which I was informed may eventually be what I will do. Boo! It was so nice to see 5 new faces waiting, anxiously for their assignment. It's so difficult to start without teachers, as you would guess.
The day went by quickly and before I knew it we were all heading home. I stopped to get two roast chickens for dinner. Once I was home, we prepared ourselves for the animal owners world.
We left the house to get our new cats. Once we were at the house where they had been living, we tried to get to know them. They were a bit skiddish, but we then decided we had to just put them in their carrier and get them home.
The air conditioners in the house had still not been fixed. They were worried about getting the empty villas ready for the new people and it seemed as if they had abandoned the current residents. Stuart didn't go with us to get the cats in case maintenance came by.
Once we were home with the cats, we spent time letting them get used to us and I spent time shooing the cats off the furniture and the tables. The dryer scared them to death and Pumpkin pretty much hid from us. It upset the kids, but we reminded them again that cats are in charge and do only what they want to do. We also reminded them that the cats would eventually get used to their surroundings and become a part of the family.
Once we had played with the cats as much as they would allow, the kids went to bed, but not without a lot of drama. They were both tired and over stimulated by the new arrivals. Eventually the kids settled down and went to bed.
We had decided that we would keep the door to our room closed during the day and at night. Cats jumping on me at night does not appeal to me. But the kids' doors were open all night. The cats meowed all night. I was awoken a couple of times, but nothing major I suppose.
Kayleigh was staying with our kids during the week, as well as the O'Reilly's kids. On Monday the cats were very nervous and no one saw Pumpkin all day. She was hiding.
At school, I met with the teachers. They each shared a piece of advice to the newbies. I think we made them feel welcome. No one got a lot of work done, but we got to know each other better, which I think is a vital component to your teaching staff working well together. I had two new teachers who wanted to switch places. One had been assigned to grade 5 girls and the other was assigned to grade 3 boys. The both were convinced they wanted to switch. Believe me, we have NEVER had ANYONE request to be moved to the boys' side. But we granted their wish. I hope it works out the way they expect. We shall see.
Shortly after school on Monday I headed to the mall to meet Leanne for dinner. Stuart had a coach's meeting at the rugby club, so the plan was for him to take the kids with him and I would pick them up when I was finished. But before he could even get them to the club, Jack and Millie were wrestling, which we'd warned them about several times before, and Jack's head hit Millie's top tooth, knocking it loose. Yikes!
Dinner with Leanne was wonderful. We had a good catch up over shrimp dumplings and lettuce wraps from P F Changs. I went to get the kids at the rugby club. Jack wanted to stay with Stuart so Millie and I came home and called Grammie and attempted to show her the cats. Jack and Stuart got home around 9:30 pm and it was shower and bed for Jack.
Tuesday I had meetings all day at school and stayed a little later than normal because I was going to Abu Dhabi that evening to pick Gina up from the airport. She was just finishing her 18 day trip to Kenya. Before I met up with Gina I decided to have a shop at IKEA. I wanted to see their latest gadgets as well as get a few storage things for Millie's room. She has way too many toys.
After I had spent a wad of dough, I headed to Rania's house. She was my Vice Principal my first year as a head of faculty, and was the one who had come with Gina's group. Anytime Gina was in Abu Dhabi this summer, she stayed st Rania's. She had left a few bags there and was planning on picking them up that evening.
In the meantime, this was the picture Stuart sent me. Apparently, the kids had a shopping experience that left them exhausted. They had gone to the uniform store to get the rest of their things they needed for school. Then they went to the mall to buy Jack some tennis shoes and Millie a backpack.
Back at Rania's house, we sat and chatted for a little over two hours. When Gina finally texted me, she said she would catch a cab to Rania's because she was nearly through customs and would get to Rania's probably faster than I could get to the airport.
When she showed up, we ate and chatted for a long time. Once we headed to Al Ain it as nearly 12:30 am. We didn't get home until almost 2 am. Needless to say I simply showered and went straight to bed.
Wednesday morning came WAY too early. Stuart and I had training in Al Ain so at least I didn't have to think very much. The training we had probably could have been sent via email, but we did get to hit Starbucks before the meeting so that was worthwhile. The training was riveting, as always, but we were released around noon so that made it all better.
When we got home, Stuart headed out for lunch and Gina and I started out marathon of House of Cards. Since she decided not to change her flight, and would leave on Thursday morning, we would have to stay focused so we could get as many of the 13- one hour episodes in as possible. I am happy to report that we watched 11 of the 13, and still were in bed by midnight.
Thursday morning, Stuart and I were up and off to work just after Gina's can picked her up to take her to the airport in Abu Dhabi. My day at school consisted of getting ready for students to arrive on Sunday. I tried to help the new teachers with little things, but remembered that I was to teach all day for the next two weeks, come Sunday. One of our teachers had a death in the family so I said I would take her classes until she returned.
I left school at 11:30 am because Jack and Millie had a 'new student' orientation at Brighton College. They met their teachers, did some activities, and met some of the other new students at the school. The program ran from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, but we ended up leaving around 2:00 pm. We decided to hit the new fancy McDonalds on the way home. We all made our own gourmet burgers that cost a small fortune. But the kids got to play in the PlayLand. Yahoo!
We headed home to chill for a while before heading to the rugby club for a farewell party for Vic, one of the rugby gals I played with a two years ago. She is opening a cafe on the beach in New Zealand. It was a fantastic night.
The rugby club restaurant is being renovated so all of us meet under the canopies by the pool. We had food and drink while the kids swam. Everyone was having a wonderful time, so much so that we didn't leave until almost 11 am. It's a good thing our kids are so resilient. Naturally when we got home I insisted everyone had a shower. I helped both of the kids get clean, then it was bed time.
Friday we lounged around most of the day. Clare had picked Jack up at 10 am to go ice skating, so Millie was at home with us. We let her select a movie to buy off of iTunes so she was thrilled. We headed to the club around 4:30 pm. Stuart had a team building activity, which is why we went. However, it was a bit of a bust. Not a ton of team members showed up. The kids swam and ate dinner, so it wasn't a total loss. We were home by 8 pm, and the kids were in bed by 8:30 pm.
Saturday Stuart had a coaching class to attend at the rugby club, while the kids and I enjoyed 'The Realf Life
Of Pets' with Leanne and Xavier. What a cute film that was! We had a bit of shopping to do after the film, but not a lot. I discovered that my sugar free Coffeemate may not be available anymore, but will continue to check every week.
Once the shopping was over, the kids and I got back to the house just in time to get our swimmers on and head to the pool. We met up with the Turner and Richardsons. We only stayed for about an hour because it was so blasted hot. Jack ended up going home with Henry and Millie was fine to go home with me when she knew she would get an ice pop. She's pretty easily satisfied.
Stuart arrived home just before 5 pm and we were off to the Richardson's for dinner. It was a lovely roast dinner, with the kids showered and ready for bed by the time we left their house just after 7:00 pm. Millie fell asleep on the way home, and Jack was easy to put to bed once we were home. They were both knackered.
Stuart and I stayed up and watched some television, but went to bed earlier than normal. We all had big days to confront. School is about to begin for our 4th year in the UAE. We are excited to see what this year brings us.
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