Sunday I was awaken several times by Millie because the cats were reaking havoc on her room. She wanted to come to sleep with me, and in the end that was exactly what happened. When she sleeps with us and doesn't have to go to school, it becomes very difficult to get ready for work. I managed.
We all arrived back at school and were to sort out what our presentations would be for the two other schools we would host on Tuesday. Monday and Wednesday would be the two days we would visit their school. This week of professional development is held for the sake of saying we had professional development. We decided we would make the most of it and prepared for lessons on the Daily 5 as well as the science outcomes for Term 3. We wanted to make our presentations useful.
We went to the club around 2 pm to swim. Scott and Clare let me know that it was fine for Jack and Millie to come to their house on Tuesday and Wednesday. Kayleigh had stayed with them Sunday and would be with them Monday as well. We decided to eat dinner at the club. The kids played around for a while. There was way less stress getting them home since they didn't have school the following morning. Once we were home, the kids showered. They stayed up a bit later and Jack had his usual bowl of fruit before going to bed.
I got up and walked with Lara. We hadn't done that since my cyst was removed. It was warmer than it had been so far this year, so that wasn't so nice. We walked later since we didn't have to be at work as early as normal, mainly because there were no kids this week.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday my school joined forces with two other schools for professional training. We were to go to one of the schools each day. My school was to host on Tuesday. The first school put on a luncheon which was nice but they ran out of food. I emailed pictures to my senior leadership team and they sorted us out for Tuesday. At the end of the day on Wednesday, my teachers decided that we had been the best hosts. Although we were all a bit disgruntled by having to be in school this week, considering the private schools were still on break, the social aspect of the week was nice.
Monday after school the kids played outside for a while. This week has given me a hint of what it will be like during Ramadan. We will have to start playing games to keep us occupied. Monday evening Jack went with Stuart to rugby training. Apparently there had been a few kids he was playing rugby with, and they were all meeting again at 5:30 to play. I wasn't sure who the people were, but assumed Stuart would find out. I just lazed around and napped on and off for the evening. I think I was still a bit jet lagged.
Tuesday I came home a bit early so Scott and Clare could drop Jack and Millie off by 1:30 because May and Henry had appointments at 2 pm. Stuart actually beat me home. Again, the kids played outside with their friends. I decided to clear the freezer of the bananas in it. I made 4 batches of banana bread. Of course, on the last two batches I burned the top because I fell asleep and had set the timer for too long. However, I simply scraped off the top and the kids ate it anyway. They are really not that picky when it comes to banana bread. I put most of it in the freezer, but sent one loaf to Lara's. Ian and Austin were at our house playing, so I just sent it home with them.
Tuesday evening Stuart and I went out on a date. First we dropped off his new truck for a service. We then went to Trader Vic's, a Polynesian restaurant in the middle of Al Ain. It has some of the nicest, and most expensive, food. I had my usual, crispy duck pancakes. We had a delightful evening and even saw an old friend. We decided to stop by 101 Cafeteria for a coffee and sheesha. We had a wonderful date night, celebrating our 10th anniversary.
Wednesday after school I decided I would go to the club once we had picked up the truck. Since Stuart really didn't know the people Jack was playing rugby with the previous Monday, I felt for safety reasons I should meet them. Jack got all upset because he thought I was going to keep him from playing with them. I told him that I wasn't comfortable with him being left with people I didn't know and hadn't met. He finally chilled and I was able to meet the 'coach' that was helping the boys. It so happened that it was the husband of one of my teachers. I knew him and told Jack that now that I had seen who was supervising him, it was fine for him to stay. Millie and I left Jack with Stuart and we went home.
After Millie and I were home she showered and headed to bed. Just about the time she was in bed, Cathy and Mandy came over. We had a lovely chat and then, as they were asking me about one of my teachers, I fell asleep while thinking of my response. Oops! This action may have prompted them to leave. I stopped being good company. I went to sleep on the sofa until Stuart and Jack got home. Jack went for a shower, had some fruit, and went to bed. I settled in on the sofa until almost 2 am, waking with a neck ache. The alarm went off at 5 am and I headed downstairs for my morning walk. Lara ended up messaging me that she had a headache, so I started getting ready for the day, even though I could have had another hour of sleep. Sadly, once I'm awake I can't go back to sleep, at least in the morning.
The kids ended up going to work with Stuart on Thursday. We hated to inconvenience the Richardsons another day. Stuart's principal said it was fine, so we packed up their toys, lunch and electronics and they were off for the day. I left around the same time, just getting to work a bit early. At school I decided to enroll in an online professional development class that would give me enough clock hours to renew and align both of my education certificates for another 8 years (starting July 2018). This could potentially be the next to last time I have to renew my certificates. Wow! I will have a lot of work to do, mainly reading, but it will all be finished by July. Then I won't need to worry about it for another 9 years.
After school I went to the grocery store to buy some fruit for the following week. Stuart and the kids beat me home. Once we were all home, the kids played outside, while I took a walk to DeDe's to deliver the Twinkies I had brought back from Arizona for her kids.
Once I was back home Jack and I left for Bounce, a trampoline place, for his friend Ben's birthday party. Millie stayed with Stuart and he fed, bathed, and attempted to put her to bed. Sadly, Jack and I came home about 20 minutes too early and it took her another 45 minutes to fall asleep. She was not a happy camper.
Jack showered and hung out in the living room for a while. Finally when Millie settled down I went to take a shower. Once I was downstairs I napped a bit and then shooed Jack upstairs to bed. When I came back downstairs Stuart told me Sean was coming over for a bit. I retired to bed at 8:30 because being in the living room with Sean, having taken a shower and being in my jammies, didn't appeal to me.
I woke up at 2:45 am and couldn't go back to sleep. I caught up on Facebook and then fell back to sleep around 3:30 am, only to be awaken at 4:45 am by the cat opening our door. I then discovered that Jack was awake, dressed and downstairs watching television. That boy's sleep patterns sometimes baffle me. I know he was excited about the championship rugby match Stuart and his team would play in that day, but he could have slept a little longer. I headed back upstairs after berating him for being up so early, but I couldn't go back to sleep. I finally resigned myself to being awake at 5:30 am. I went downstairs and made coffee.
Once Millie was awake, she demanded breakfast. I had bought pancake mix at the store and decided to make them. Both kids loved them, eating 5 between them. They weren't small either. Jack said they were almost as good as Grammie's. He was also amazed I knew how to make pancakes.
I clearly don't act domestic enough to prove to my children I know how to cook. After breakfast was over and both kids were dressed, they went to Keith and Austin's to play for a while. Stuart had already left for the team breakfast and then was catching the bus to Dubai for the match. We got in the car around noon and went to pick up Cathy and Mandy. We headed to Dubai to support the team. The match started around 3 pm. They were doing so well and were ahead most of the game. Stuart didn't play as much as I would have liked for him to, but when he did play he was on fire. He had a really good run down by the try line, but then got hammered by one of Al Ain's former players who now played on the opposing team. They ended up having to play an overtime. The first team to score a try would be the winning team. The Al Ain Amblers fell short, sadly. It was heart breaking and a lot of the players were really upset. The positive was that we had a ton of supporters who either rode the fan bus to the game or drove themselves. It was a good day, in spite of the loss.
We headed back to Al Ain and I dropped Mandy off to get her car. I stopped at our house to sort out the crap we had taken with us, mainly a cooler of food for the kids and some of their electronics. I knew the vehicle I took to the club that evening would most likely stay, so I wanted to switch out the truck for the Land Rover. Stuart would have to take the truck, Saturday morning, to get the breaks replaced, so it would be easier to leave the Land Rover at the club. Once that was all sorted out we left for the club. We were there before any of the players or fans. The buses drive extremely slow, so we knew they wouldn't arrive for a while. Stuart and some of his buddies rode back with Scott. Once they were at the club we sat outside and had a few drinks, along with food. We ended up getting home just after 10 pm, showering the kids, putting them to bed and then going to bed ourselves.
Saturday morning when Stuart got up the kids were still asleep. So as not to disturb their much needed sleep, he decided to drive to Ford to deliver the car and then catch a cab back. Kayleigh had ended up having her boyfriend drive her car home so she could bring us back in the Land Rover on Friday night, so both of our cars were at the house. Stuart got home just before I left to go to Dubai again. This time Cathy, her girls, Mandy and I were going to see "Grease, The Musical". We decided to go a bit early and eat lunch. Grease was playing at the Dubai World Trade Center. Since we were unfamiliar with the area we decided to first go to Dubai Mall for a look around and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. It's always a 'go to' when you are in Dubai.
Once we had made a few purchases and our bellies were full, we headed to Dubai World Trade Center. We parked, after a drive around the block a few times trying to find parking, and went into the venue. The concessions were ridiculously priced, so we decided against anything to snack on. We sat in the tiniest chairs, that were hard plastic and not so comfortable. However, the musical was phenomenal. It didn't follow the story exactly, and the songs were switched around, but I kind of liked it being a bit different than the film. There were some additional songs that were hilarious and overall it was quite entertaining.
When we came out of the theater we contemplated going to Karama, which is the shopping district where you can buy fake designer bags. In the end we decided we needed to make that trip on a Friday when it didn't matter what time we got home. Karama doesn't open until 4 pm everyday, so we would need to come either on a Thursday or Friday evening. So we opted to drive straight home. Stuart and the kids had spent the day food shopping and then going to the Richardsons for dinner. It seems everyone had a productive day.
When I got home Stuart and the kids were still at Scott and Clare's. They arrived after I had sorted out the laundry and done some other little chores. They had already showered and were ready for bed. They had some fruit and then went upstairs for bed. Millie was a bit difficult to get settled down, as she always is if she goes to bed anytime after 7 pm. Both kids were in deep sleeps by 8 pm, and Stuart and I watched Top Gear for a bit before he went upstairs and I fell asleep. Once I finally got upstairs, he was still awake, but playing his iPad. By 11 pm not a noise could be heard in our house, except for maybe those cats we have. We are another week closer to summer holidays, and have had another great week in the UAE.
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