Professional development? How much is too much?

The kids were up and getting their goods from the Easter bunny. 

Easter Sunday means nothing to the local schools, but some of my English teachers were wondering if they could leave school early in order to spend Easter with their families. Since there were no students at school on Sunday, it really wasn’t a big deal to let teachers go early. 

My principal wasn’t speaking to me for some reason. But since I have become accustomed to this behavior, it was just another day in paradise. She didn’t even acknowledge me in a room where there were three other teachers. Oh well!

We did a lot of nothing at school and in the end we were able to leave school at noon, but I ended up staying until 2 pm. I needed to submit some data prior to leaving for the day. 

When I got home, we went to drop Stuart’s car off to be serviced. From there, we went to church for a potluck, Easter egg hunt and Easter service. 

This was one of the dyed eggs once it was peeled. 

Jack continues to ask about taking communion. So we are going to look into him having some classes about the Bible so that he fully understands the importance of communion. 

Millie fell asleep at church. So when we got home I washed her feet and hands and threw her into bed. Jack washed his hands and feet and watched a bit of a movie before going to bed. Both kids had showered before we left for church so I wasn’t terribly fussed about them having another shower. 

Once the kids were in bed, I folded a load of laundry, the next to last load of the holiday dirties, and then sat down to watch the latest season of Will and Grace. How did I not know this had made a come back?

Monday morning I got up to walk with Lara. We caught up on some gossip, which is always fun. Once I was at school, I took our English teachers to another school to see how they set up their reading scheme. It was definitely a worthwhile activity. 

After school I met Stuart and the kids at the club for lunch and then a swim in the pool. I actually swam laps while the kids played. 

We got home around 3 pm and watched some television. We then headed back to the club for a committee meeting. Once the meeting was over, I headed home with Millie. Jack stayed at the club with Stuart. 

Millie took a bubble bath and then watched television upstairs for about an hour after she ate. Because the kids are still off of school this week we have been letting them stay up a bit later. She went to bed just as Jack and Stuart got home from Stuart’s rugby training. 

One of the ladies at the church had given me some of her hard boiled eggs that she had dyed. I decided I would make wasabi deviled eggs. They were yummy. That ended up being my dinner. We watched Designated Survivor and then headed to bed. 

My wasabi deviled eggs. 

Tuesday at school we met about our term 2 data. Our data is still not terribly useful, but we do what we must. I met with the English teachers about term 3 and where we were headed. 

Once we were home, we went to Hili Mall to try to find a ball gown for me. I found one I liked but it was too expensive. When we got home, the kids headed out to play with friends. 

Cathy came over and we ordered curry for dinner. She didn’t stay terribly late but since we didn’t have students this week we weren’t terribly concerned about needing sleep. 

Wednesday morning, Sean was off to Australia for 10 days. He was going to see his kids and to be in a wedding. 

At school we had CPR training course, or what resembled one. There’s a story there, and if you want to know it, message me and I will share all of the details. 

After school I went to meet with our cluster manager about the bad practical joke that my principal had played on one of my teachers. Together, we decided it was best if I put in for a transfer next year. We speculated my principal might do the same as she would like to move to Abu Dhabi. So if she decided to transfer, then I could stay, but who knows if that will happen. After my meeting I took Millie to get her hair cut. I’m not sure she’s even had a trim for over a year. Because her hair is so paper thin, the ends were split about 3 inches from the bottom. So that’s about how much we cut off, or maybe even more. 

The mess. 

Chop, chop

Sassy!

After the hair shedding, we picked up our tailoring and then got McDonalds for dinner. Stuart headed to rugby training once Millie and I were home. Then the kids bathed and went to bed. 

Thursday was another day of getting ready for term 3. I went in to tell my principal about transferring. She understood and was probably secretly relieved. I told her I couldn’t work with someone who ignored me for days on end from time to time. She told me that eventually she would share with me why she was upset with me, but was still working through it. Really? 

We hosted a breakfast for the Arabic teachers which they seemed to appreciate. 

We were able to leave school at 11:30 am, which was nice. Stuart and I took the kids for lunch at the new Irish pub, McGettigans. It’s also the place we are having the ball this year. It was fantastic. Hannah let us there and we went over he details got the ball with the manager. Hopefully it’s going to be a wonderful event. 

Once we were home, we went down to have drinks with our friends Kirsti and James. Their daughter Ava is Millie’s best friend, so of course Millie was thrilled. And they live next to one of Jack’s buddies, Louie. So Jack was equally as thrilled. We ended up staying until nearly 9 pm. Jack ended up having Louie for a sleep over. 

The kids needed to dry off and warm up after their dip in the unheated pool. 

Stuart borrow Bryce’s bike to go hom

Friday the kids and Cathy went to Abu Dhabi with me. The kids went to Adventure HQ, while Cathy and I shopped for ball gowns, but came up with nothing. We did eat at Buca di Beppo, which is always my favorite. 

When we got back to Al Ain the kids went out to play for a while. Louie had gone with us to Abu Dhabi and somehow the boys convinced Jane, Louie’s mother, to let them have a sleepover at Louie’s on Friday evening. Millie played at Ava’s and Jack and Louie were off gallivanting around the neighborhood. 

Cathy and Claire came over around 5 pm. We were going to just hang out and possibly do some online shopping for ball dresses. Stuart got home from Dubai, after his day of rugby, around 6 pm. 

We ate leftovers and actually ordered our dresses!  Cathy and Claire left around 8 pm and Millie hit the hay. 

Saturday morning we did a whole lot of nothing. Millie had gone to Ian’s house to play. Jack was still at Louie’s when I left for my lunch with 2 of the other 3 princesses. Before meeting with them, I bought some items for the decorations of the rugby ball. I really hope some of my mom’s and brother’s decorating talent shines through in me. 

We sat and talked and ate for almost 3 hours. It was lovely to catch up with them. Clare wasn’t there as she had family visiting. They left for Dubai around 2 pm, so Scott and Clare came over around 4 pm for a roast dinner with us. It was another fantastic weekend and week.