During the night Molly must have pooped 4 different times. I think she is distressed when we are away. With Stuart not being there, I think it added a whole new level of anxiety. Poor thing.
I was up before my alarm because I didn't have to be at work until 8 am. I did all the jobs of the morning and got the kids sent off to school. My principal has been out for the past three days and was out on Sunday as well. She returned back to the states for her nephews kindergarten graduation. That's a long trip for something like that, but I think he nephew is like her son so I totally get it.
I had an agenda for the teachers to follow so we could stay focused and get our work done. Assuming there would be no students in school, which there weren't, we got on with our grades, data analysis and school improvement plans.
I was going to leave early to go sort out a day that I mistakenly had been docked pay for. But it seems that the accountant at our school takes care of those things. She said the lady in payroll would probably not even talk to me if I did go to the Zone. So I sent the information to Alia and stayed put until 1 pm, when we all went home.
Once I was home, I sorted out the animals and washed some dishes. The kids got home around 2 pm and homework was started. They had a snack, watched some television and then had Keith and Ian over to play for a bit. Ramadan affords us less stress and longer awake hours. I am usually really strict about the kids' bedtimes, but since they don't go to school until an hour later during Ramadan, I'm not as focused on them getting to bed at their normal time.
Since we will be leaving in a few weeks on holiday I am doing my best to clean out our freezers. So Sunday evening we had chicken legs, broccoli and corn on the cob. I was quite pleased with my efforts considering I don't usually cook.
After eating the kids watched some television and then were headed to bed. They obviously know during Ramadan Im not as strict on bed time because both of them begged to stay up even later than I was allowing. Jack had a request of me as I was leaving his room that evening. 'Mom? I think I'm going to fast tomorrow with some of my Muslim friends, he announced. 'Okay,' I said. 'But can you just pack my lunch in case I get hungry?' He said. I quickly responded with a 'sure, and then he responded with, 'Ah, never mind, I'm not going to fast after all.' That conversation turned out to be quite pointless. Once they were settled in bed I was on the sofa and relaxing as well.
Monday was a bit more of the same. We were all up and gradually got ready for our day. Stuart was still in Puckett, but was due back at the airport around midnight that night. The kids were missing him, but were more excited about the gifts he would bring them than than him actually being home.
At school I was entertained by the English teachers coming in and out of my office. They were getting their work done, but they know they have almost 4 weeks to get all of their work done so they are not in a huge rush.
Once I was home from school I waited for a lady named Sarah to bring her puppy over for a play date with Molly. Sarah is most likely going to keep Molly the month of August while we are in the U.K. The play date was semi successful but Molly was a bit of a bully. I think she has developed naughty habits from our cats, sadly.
Before Sarah showed up I had decided to attempt to make my mother's banana cake. I seem to have way too many bananas and often times they back up on me causing me to mass bake banana bread. But this time I decided I would attempt my mom's banana cake. I don't typically eat gluten, but I had to taste my creation, and might I say it was delicious.
Once Sarah and Greta left I got the kids bathed and fixed them dinner. Kayleigh came over around 6:30 pm so that I could meet DeDe for Iftar dinner. Iftar is what the Muslims call the meal that breaks their fast for the day. This was my Monday Meet up crew of women. It was a nice night. After dinner DeDe took me to the tailors to collect my new digs. I loved the pants, but was not a fan of the shirts. I couldn't decide what to do with the shirts, but am inclined to think I will sell them to someone.
Once I was home I took a shower and went to bed, knowing I would be awakened when Stuart got home, which was around 4 am. He showered and got into bed for the short two hours before we all had to get up and go to school. When we got up the kids immediately wanted their gifts from Stuart, and he did not disappointment.
I was to be in a meeting at 8 am Tuesday morning. My Arabic Vice Principal didn't show up until 9:40 am, saying she had over-slept. Hmmm, there you have it.
Teachers were still convening in my office. Some of them were pacing themselves with their work. I call it procrastination, they call it pacing. It seems that since they know they have all this time with no students, they see no need to rush. However, if they don't get their work done I can't get my work done. I have sent out deadlines to them, so I assume that will help.
I left school and went to the grocery store for some items. When I got home, I just chilled and Stuart napped. The kids built a fort, and then went out to play. They didn't say long because it was so hot. Stuart fixed his last real meal for a while. We had chicken, squash, peas and broccoli. I'm not sure I mentioned that he is having the gastric sleeve surgery on Friday. It was a long, thought out process, but after watching me for a year, he felt he could do it. So we will be here to support him.
After dinner, we all helped clean up, even Millie. In fact, she might have been the most help. The kids went to bed much later than normal. Millie ended up in our bed at 5 am because the cats had scared her by ransacking her room.
We were up Wednesday morning and out the door at our normal Ramadan time. It seems during Ramadan we are all more tired than normal. The kids are crankier and we all seem to need a nap around 2 pm. Once we were home from school we went to the grocery store to try to find some soup for Stuart to eat once he was home from his surgery. Jack continued to ask if he could buy a fidget spinner while we were at the store. He said he'd pay me back, but I had told him a few weeks back that he didn't have to get something every time we went to a store. I continued to say 'no' and he continued to ask. In the end he was grounded for his behavior. When will he ever learn?
The evening was quite pleasant. After Jack's hour and a half in his bedroom, he came down for dinner and then was up for a shower. Because his attitude had softened ever so slightly, he was allowed to come back downstairs for an hour of television. Both kids were in bed at their normal, non-Ramadan, time as they seemed to need it.
Thursday I was only at school for three hours. I went to see Jack in his production about the environment. He was Mr. Polystyrene. While I was away my principal called teachers in to let them know their placement for the following year. Because we don't mixed genders in the classroom, we flip the teachers to the opposite side each year. The only teachers who don't get to do that are the male teachers. They are not allowed to teach the girls. So if our female teachers are on the boys' side one year, they will be on the girls' side the following year. We make this very clear to the teachers at the beginning of each year. So why some of them are so hurt and surprised at their placement is beyond me. I'm just glad I wasn't there when they were told. They would have the weekend to adjust to the idea and change their attitude toward it all.
Once Jack's play was over, we decided to take the kids home even though it was a bit early. We dropped Stuart off at Abela to catch a cab with Dr. Ali to fly off for his surgery. I'm not sure exactly how he felt, but I felt comforted knowing he was flying to and from with the doctor.
The kids and I came home and had Greta over for a play date with Molly again. This time they got on much better than the first time. Molly still dominated, but Greta was a little less wussy this time. I was making brownies and when Sarah and Greta left, we went to the O'Reillys for dinner. We always say that no matter how many times we see each other it's never enough. Good friends like that are really quite rare. We feel so very blessed.
When we got home Millie was asleep and Jack went straight to bed. Stuart messaged that he had arrived and was fine.
I woke up Friday morning to take Molly out to pee. It was about 4:30 am and Jack was on the sofa playing his iPad. At that moment, the rule came into play 'you are not to play your iPad in the mornings until either Mom or Dad are up'. Of course I sent him back to bed.
Stuart messaged around 9 to let me know he was going into surgery. I told him not to worry about messaging me after surgery because I knew he wouldn't feel well. He finally did message me to say he was fine but in pain. I'm so glad I have already been through this so I can support him, but I feel badly for him that he's in pain.
Once both kids were up, they ate breakfast and we watched a movie. At 9:30 am we went to Bounce, the trampoline place. They are running a special during Ramadan. You can bounce for up to three hours each day during the month of Ramadan for about $80. Usually the sessions are an hour long and it is about $22 a session. So if you bounce a total of 4 hours you have gotten your money's worth. On Friday alone they bounced for two hours. I told the kids I would get myself a pass when we went gain on Sunday. They were a sweaty mess at the end of their time. It's great exercise and seems good fun. After bouncing we stopped by the grocery store for some air freshener. The house was starting to smell too much like pets. Ick!
Once we were home we did a whole lot of nothing. The kids were totally exhausted. They showered after a couple of hours of laziness. We watched some television, ate dinner and went to bed. It was a great day.
We got up Saturday morning and chilled around the house. Around 9:30 am we started toward Dubai and Millie's gymnastics class. We stopped at Park and Shop so we could find some sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles to help Stuart with the first few weeks of his new belly. We had great success. I was so thrilled. We then headed to gymnastics, and while Millie twirled around, Jack and I sat on the sofas and played on our electronic devices, quality time.
After gymnastics we joined the Richardsons at the Mall of the Emirates for lunch behind the iron curtains. They section off the food court for the non-Muslims at the malls so we can eat during the daylight hours.
We were going to go see Beauty and the Beast but we missed the showing just before 4 pm and the next one was just before midnight. So we ended up going to the Lego store ad buying some of the new block head legos, then heading home. The kids showered when we got home and started putting together one of their new Lego. I made dinner and we watched the Batman Lego movie. It seemed fitting for our night's activity. We had a full week for sure.
We had a great week, but we were all anxious to have Stuart home. He sent a few more messages on Saturday to let us know he was improving. Once he's home it will be all down hill.
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