All the students have returned, and the Telford family might be too busy for our own good.

School on Sunday was totally crazy. It was obvious that a full moon was upon us. We had two grade 2 boys get into a fight. I happened to be walking by their pod when it happened. My teacher for this class is new to the boys' side, and seeing these boys fight can be upsetting. My poor little teacher cried when she saw me. I told her that it was okay and the boys would be fine. She said she just felt bad because she should have been able to do something. But here, you often times can't predict when a fight will break out. The main reason is because you can't understand the language and don't hear the verbal clues. It can be very unsettling. 

On another note, I caught up on things I had needed to do for my teachers since school started. It was nice to actually feel accomplished again. 

I picked Jack up from Swim Squad. He felt like he did really well. He was excited to be a part of the swim team. He now has three after school activities and the first one was Sunday. On Mondays he will go to Performing Arts and on Wednesdays he will play football, or soccer. 

When I picked him up I noticed a folder with reading books inside his locker. I asked him what it was, and as he closed the locker, acting like it wasn't his, he said, 'I don't know'. I opened the locker and said, 'Well, it's yours because it has your name on it.'  After going back and forth with him, he finally vowed to my demand of putting it in his back pack. 

When we got home I sorted out that these books were his reading books for the week. Each week he will get two books at his instructional level and will have to read them. Then they are to be returned on Wednesday morning and new ones will come home on Thursday after school. I also emailed his teacher to clarify the reading books. I received and email back explaining the process that I explained above. When I asked Stuart if he knew anything about the books he said that he had read about them in the weekly bulletin we get via email. Oops! Needless to say, I may have seemed a little clueless to Jack's teacher. I think he thinks I'm 'that parent', my biggest fear. 

The kids had rugby training so Stuart and I drove separately. Once Millie was finished we headed home for sausage rolls, chips (fries) a bath and then bedtime. Millie was exhausted and was almost asleep before her head hit the pillow. Once Jack was home it was the same routine for him. 

I had decided I would get up to walk just two miles Monday through Thursday mornings. Getting up 45 minutes early is a more tollerable thought than an hour and fifteen minutes early. I had mentioned wanting to walk 2 miles in the mornings while we were at rugby practice. Lara, our neighbor, said she'd go with me. So that was my push to actually do it. 

The alarm went off at 4:30 am and I was up and out. Lara met me in front of my house at 4:45 am. We walked out two miles and were healthier for it. I got home, showered and had a difficult time waking the kids up. Millie is always difficult, but Jack is usually awake just after 5 am. I suppose swim squad and rugby training in one night can wear a fella out. 

Everyone was out the door and on their way to school. It was another Monday, as usual. I ended up leaving school at 2:30 and heading to the grocery store to buy ingredients so the kids and I could make cauliflower pizza. I'm such a domestic goddess. 

Millie stirred. 

They both put the little piles of mush in the tray. 

They were not beautiful, but they tasted wonderful. They were supposed to have pepperoni on them, but we couldn't find any. So we had to settle for hot dogs and salami. 

Once the kids were in bed, I made candied cashews with cinnamon and stevia. They had a bit of an after taste, but they were nice for a change in my diet. When Stuart got home, he ate some of the 'pizzas' and actually enjoyed them. 

Tuesday morning when Lara and I walked we got to a dumpster on the opposite side of our villas and had two kittens follow us back to the entrance of the Village. Cats are all over this country. There is a big problem with feral cats. The large wild cats are not even approachable and wouldn't dare come close to humans. But these babies followed us for almost a half mile. We decided that they had to be domesticated and had been dropped off when the owner felt they could take care of themselves. It was so sad. They were so sweet! Did I just say that? What has happened to me? I've become a cat lover! 

At any rate, they didn't follow us into the compound. They stayed right at the entrance. I told Lara that if they followed me home, I knew myself all too well, and I would end up taking them in as well. I could not allow myself to be a 'cat lady'. Fortunately, because they stayed outside of the compound, I dodged that bullet. 

When I got home I told Stuart all about them. He insisted we couldn't have two more cats, which I knew to be the case, at least in my head. I headed up to take a shower and it was school and business as usual. 

I left school early to go to a curriculum meeting for Jack's class. Stuart met me at home and we went together.

Here the kids are, waiting for us, patiently. 

After the curriculum meeting we picked the kids up from school and had a meeting with Jack's teacher. As I suspected, Jack wasn't listening in class as much as he should. He was formulating what he wanted to say before he listened to the directions or ideas of others. As I was speaking to his teacher and Stuart and I were telling him that we supported everything that he was doing to teach Jack, I realized that the fruit didn't fall far from the tree. My son is exactly like me. As I start to see this clearly, I say it out loud to Stuart and Mr. Seedat, his teacher. I start laughing at myself, realizing I have only myself to blame for his behavior. Now that I can see this, I know I'm going to start treating him differently. Instead of being mad at him, I'm going to train him to act differently. I hope it's not too late. I really have no right to be angry at him. I should be angry at me if I am angry at anyone. I've had some self discovery moments lately. I think your own kids reveal who you truly are and sometimes it's not so nice to see. Ugh!

When we got home from my personal 'epiphany', aka the meeting with Mr. Seedat, we fed the kids a snack. Jack showered and did some of his reading homework. He then got ready for play practice. It was only an hour on Tuesday so I promised him we would get something to eat after it was over. 

Stuart and Millie went to rugby practice while Jack and I were at play practice. When Jack and I left the rehearsal we decided to hit Rosie Lee's Tea Room for a bite to eat. Jack got scones and a chocolate milkshake, while I ordered an entirely too large pot of tea. 

Our obligatory selfie. 

On the way home from the tea room, we saw the kittens, that had followed us in our walk, at the entrance of our compound. I immediately messaged Lara. You see, she had planted the seed with her husband that morning so that once they reappeared they came to the gate and were prepared to take the kittens home with them. I was so excited. They have three boys who were going to be beyond thrilled. 

Stuart had Made dinner for me, so by the time I was home, had Jack in bed, and showered myself, I could sit down and enjoy my cauliflower mash. We also had sprouts and a mango sausage that we used to buy at Sam's Club. It is one of my favorite meals and reminded me of home. 

Wednesday I had a training regarding our national tests. On these days the meetings only last around 2 hours and I don't have to go to my school before or after the meeting. It's awesome. After the meeting I did a little shopping at the mall before heading home and waiting for Millie to get home from school. Jack had football (soccer) after school so I picked him up just after 3 pm. 

Jack had play practice from 5 pm to 7:30 pm on Wednesday evening. I picked up Louie and Jake, two boys in our neighborhood who are also in the play. Their mum is alone at the moment because her husband is with his sick mother in New Zealand. I figured she could use a few hours on her own. Millie and I had a Starbucks time together.

She watched a movie while I sat and drank coffee. After practice we headed home. Jack is apparently a funny character in the play, which Jake informed me of on the way home. 

Thursday was Jack's birthday. He got up and came into my room to tell me it was his birthday. He was so excited. He opened his presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Grannie, and Hope. These were gifts we brought back from the UK this summer. 

He headed off to school in a great mood with muffins for his classmates. Apparently he had a good day, that is, until he got home and I asked him where his reading folder was. Millie came right in from school and got her reading folder out. I asked her if she wanted a snack before she read and she said, 'when I'm finished with my homework'. She felt so grown up since she had homework now. 

Jack finally admitted to me that he didn't bring his reading folder home because he knew that if he had to do his homework, then he would have less time to play with his friends over the weekend. I told him he needed to remember that our home rules were there would be no screen time (television or iPad) until homework was completed for the day. Since he didn't bring his homework home, he couldn't possible complete it, therefore there would be no screen time for that evening. Fortunately for him, there was a school-wide picnic Thursday evening and we were able to get his reading folder. 

We were going to go for ice cream after the picnic but decided to go by the rugby club instead. It was quiet. There were not many people there, yet we still stayed for a couple of hours. The kids and I went home while Stuart stayed and helped sort out the new rugby kits that were delivered while we were there. 

Friday morning we got up and lounged around the house. We made a batch of brownies and a carrot cake for Jack's birthday celebration that would take place on Saturday morning.  We then went to a new church that I heard had a great children's program. We all liked it. The music was great and the pastor was an older man from the United States. 

After church we went to Circle Cafe for lunch. Jack had sushi again, but not as much as the last time we were there, and Millie had sweet potato fries and grilled chicken. After lunch we went home to do the kids' reading for school. 

Later in the day, Millie had been invited to a birthday party, as had Jack.

This little girls' dad is Emirati, so her party was off the hook. 

There was a magician, of course. 

Doesn't every 6 year old have a buffet like this at her birthday?

Initially, Jack didn't want to go, but in the end he decided to go with us. Stuart was at the club all day and had a match with the 1st team that started at 7 pm, but there were two matches before his. We made it back for part of his match. 

We stayed at the club until just after 11 pm. Because the club restaurant is being remodeled, it seems that club attendance is down this fall. However, we faithful still keep the party going. 

Once we were home, the kids took showers and went to bed. Their heads barely hit the pillow before they were asleep. It was the same for Stuart. 

We were up Saturday morning and preparing for the big party. It was finally here. I gathered all the paraphernalia needed for the lunch and desserts, and we took two cars to the mall. Jack had play practice after the party, so Stuart would bring Millie home. 

The kids loved Fun Block. We actually planned it out very well. I thought we would be able to put all 13 kids in the trampoline area, but it seems their regulations only allowed for 11 at a time. So we split them up into two groups. We ended their time at the mall with pizza, brownies, carrot cake and a treat bag when they left. Fun was had by all. 

The bouncing boys. 

Cake for the birthday boy. 

After Jack's party, we were to head to play practice. I thought I could slip in a quick trip to Urgent Care for an X-ray for Jack, who had been walking with a limp for the last few days. We thought it was a result of the fall at the pool party he went to the previous week. But when we got to the radiology department it was 2:30, the time play practice was to start. So I asked the guy if we could come back after play practice. The answer was a big yes!

So I enjoyed my regular Starbucks stop while Jack was rehearsing. After he was finished, back we went to the hospital, radiology department. The convenient thing is that the hospital is where they meet for play practice. This is the only place in the world that you can have the medical staff wait for you instead of the other way around. After two different trips to radiology, because the X-ray tech didn't X-ray the right part of the hip, also the only place in the world this would happen, the radiologist determined nothing was broken and that it must just be a deep bruise that is still bothering him. She told us to keep an eye on him and bring him back in a week or two if it persisted. 

Jack got a clean bill of health and we were off to start our nightly routines; bath, dinner, books, a song and sleep. Stuart and I ordered curry and Sean, our chairman of the rugby club and a friend of ours, came over to eat with us. Cathy came over as well. We sat and talked, halfway watched Gladiator, and then called it a night around 10 pm. 

Another fabulous week in the UAE has been had by all.