National Day Holiday was supposed to be 5 days.

Sunday morning I was in school, as usual, before7 am. I went to see our Head of Junior school because he had requested to meet with me regarding my upcoming absence on Thursday of this week. He told me what I already knew, that even though our calendar said we had the Thursday off, the government had decided that was not the case. He also stated that I would be losing one day’s pay, which I also already knew. It’s nuts, but it is what it is 

School was full of play dough making, report writing, and general mayhem. Stuart picked the kids up after school so I could go and get the needed materials to make more play dough. I also went to get the sweeties needed for our rugby club event that was nearly two weeks away. 

Once I was home, we all went to the club for rugby. Immediately after we came home and the kids went to bed. I fell  asleep on the sofa and the day was a wrap. 

Monday seemed to be a long day. We had more play dough making, a Year3/4 show, and some report writing. One of the students, while making play dough, ate some and consequently threw up on the table. I had to clean it up and nearly barfed myself. That was the nastiest part of the day. But, I am proud to say I finished all of my reports! 

Jack had a football match after school. He blocked a goal and scored a goal. Sadly, I didn’t get his score on video, which in his mind made me an utter disappointment. How can you win with kids? I ran the kids home after his match and ran to the bank to renew my bank card. It’s a bit of a hassle since no one has an address. Everything has to be couriered or collected from the post office. So going to the bank and collecting things from the bank seems to be the least time consuming way to approach things. I went into one of the three branches that is open after 4 pm. I was in for a wait because there were three people in front of me and only on customer service person working. The person being served was finished so the next man in line got up to do to the desk. Just prior to that a lady walked in who was clearly a local lady. The customer service worker, let’s call her Puppet, said to the gentleman, ‘VIP just came in so you will need to wait’. This generally means a member of the royal family has walked in. This confused me. Why would anyone from the royal family ever need to go to the bank. I would assume the bank would come to them. But we all just sat there and waited even longer. The man didn’t. He stormed out yelling something in Arabic. I can only assume he wasn’t happy. I finally got things sorted out, but it did take longer than was necessary. Efficiency is not their strength. 

Once I was home, Stuart was off  to training and I sat in front of the television with the kids. I’m already on holiday mode and we still have two more weeks before the winter holiday.  Jack stayed up until almost 9 to finish watching a movie. When Stuart got home we attempted to watch television, but as usual, you guessed it, sleepy, sleepy on the sofa. 

School on Tuesday was hectic as we were trying to sort out what needed to be done before the following day when we would celebrate our National Day. The kids were a bit feisty, but manageable. My team was supposed to have a holiday evening at a local restaurant, but most of the team was sick and so we decided to postpone it. Instead, I went with Stuart and the kids to the club for Jack’s training. We ordered food to bring home and Cathy came over for a while. 

Wednesday morning we didn’t have to be at school until 9 am. I thought I would sleep in. However, since Stuart had to be to work at the normal time, his alarm went off and I decided to go ahead and get up. I had some last minute packing to do anyway. 

The kids were up just before 7. Jack did some of his homework and then I made them bread sticks for breakfast. They had it with butter and were happy little campers. 

National Day celebrations require fancy dress. 

The kids also got in the spirit. 

Play dough was our enterprised item. 

Jack was a salesman and Nic is the House Master for Ryle. The day of celebration was great. I didn’t get to enjoy the festivities in the back of the school, therefore I didn’t get pictures of the kids riding the camel or any of the dancers, but we profited 1300 dirhams for Ryle House, so that was a success. 

Once we left school, we stopped to get McDonalds for lunch and then headed home. I showered and finished packing. Millie came in countless times and told me how much she was going to miss me. We all just kind of lazed around until around 5 pm when kids showered and ate dinner. Cathy showed up just before 6 pm. She had said she would stay with the kids while Stuart took me to the airport. When Cathy got there, Millie started crying. Jack hugged me but didn’t cry. I couldn’t decide what upset me most, Millie crying or Jack NOT crying. 

We headed out and I arrived at the airport just as Gina’s flight landed in Abu Dhabi from Saudi. The whole checking in process was a dibacle. The lady at the check in line told me I could check in until 6 hours before my flight. Garbage! I finally got in line at 8:05 pm, knowing the line would take at least 30 minutes.  My assessment of the situation was correct and I was at the counter at 8:35 pm, which was exactly 6 hours before my flight. It wasn’t 20 minutes later and I was enjoying a snack and a glass of wine in the Al Dhabi lounge with Gina. We sat and talked for a few hours then went to our gate. 

The flight was uneventful. I watched three movies so didn’t sleep. Well, I may have knodddd in and out of the movies, but not quality sleep. We arrived at 7 am and then, after 10 minutes going through customs and collecting my bag, we were on a train to the center of Zurich. Easy! 

We wandered around and found our hotel. We had purchased a Zurich pass, which granted us access to the tram system around town and other discounts that I’m pretty sure we won’t use. We checked into the hotel, but our room wasn’t ready. We ended up walking down to a cafe and having a coffee and a snack. 

In front of the cafe. 

My cappuccino. 

Just a beautiful walk way between the buildings. 

We then started walking around town and having a snoop for the Christmas markets. 

Our view along the river. 

More beautiful buildings along the river. 

My usual stop at Starbucks in every country to get a Starbucks mug of the country. 

None of them were open before 10 so we decided to get on a tram and ride around the city. We got a bit lost, but then I discovered the tram route was on the back of our city map, so we started to sort out where we were rather quickly. Gina finally commented that she always believes I know where I’m going because I’m so convincing. Yet she knows I have a crap sense of direction so isn’t sure why she always believes me. Stuart feels the same way!!!! I feel I’m most famous for getting lost and not really caring. 

We finally got to the Christmas markets at the main train station and ended up buying a few things. 

This tree was covered in Swarovski crystals. This picture does not do it justic. 

We headed back to the hotel around 1 pm but our room still wasn’t ready. In fact, they didn’t have us set up in the correct room. So in the end they upgraded us to a suite of sorts. It wasn’t fancy, but there was more room for us, which was nice, and it had two bathrooms. We had a bit of a rest and got settled. Gina showered to warm up, although the weather wasn’t as cold as in Vienna last year. The wind wasn’t blowing, which is what was so brutal last year. After our rest we headed to another market just at the top of the lake. These next pictures will give you a glimpse of what we saw and what we did. 

Each market has its own name. This one was Zucher Wienachtsdon. 

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire! Finally!

This was a little market set up for children. It was right next to the Zurich Opera House. 

From the top of the children’s market, looking at the market stalls. 

The tree in the middle of the market was gorgeous as the sun was setting. 

These fire pits were all around. 

We sampled a few foods. This was called Rocahti. It was fried potatoes with roclette cheese melted on top. It was so incredibly rich and greasy and yummy!

Although we didn’t eat these sausages, I had to take a picture of them for Stuart. 

This was a mulled wine stand made to look like a giant Swiss ornament. I’m sure it has a name but can’t seem to figure it out. 

While we were in Zurich this is what Stuart and the kids were doing, separately of course. 

Millie and Jack stayed with Claire, and Cathy did crafts with them, while Stuart spent the weekend in Dubai, playing for the Al Ain men’s vet team. He should have scored a try in their second match on Thursday, but he didn’t and his punishment for this was to wear this netball dress for the rest of the day. Lovely!

He seems a bit too comfy in that get up. 

Friday morning we got up and lounged around the hotel for a bit. We went down for a delight, very filling breakfast around 10 am. 

This view was from a bridge just across from our hotel. 

Another architectural view. 

The clock is attached to the church. 

We were off to visit the church where Marc Chagall’s famous stained glass windows were, Fraumunster Church. On the way we found the most delightful shop. We eyeballed some things and decided we would go back later because we didn’t want to carry anything with us into the church. 

We headed into the church. There was a delightful audio guide that helped us to learn more about the history of the church and the gorgeous stained glass. Gina and I so badly wanted to take a photo, but it was strictly prohibited. We are rule followers, but on this particular day I really wanted to break the rules. Just google search it and you will understand. 

When we came outside of the church it was drizzling. It wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle. We had brought umbrellas, but we decided they were more trouble than they were worth. We carried on and tried to find another market, which ended up being on the other side of the river. We decided to go back to the first shop we visited and buy the items we wanted, then we would carry on back across the river. We visited a little souvenir shop before going to the markets. That souvenir shop was run by some Chinese people and it had your typical tat that was from Switzerland. Anyway, it’s the place you buy your kids something because they love cheap crap. Sadly, my kids got nothing from there. 

We went to the old town markets, but didn’t find anything other than food. We were going to stop for lunch, but the place where we stopped let us know they were closed. So we decided to go to Delish, the little cafe connected to our hotel. It was only about $10 for each of us to eat, which was fine by us. 

We then went up to the room for a bit of a rest. I decided to video chat with Millie to make sure she was okay with Claire since Jack had gone for a sleepover at Adam’s. When we spoke, she seemed totally normal, which made me feel better. 

A 4 day week? Okay, I’ll take that!

We got up Sunday morning and decided to put up our Christmas decorations. We were off school to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday. Since we will be leaving for Sydney in December 12, we wanted to get as much enjoyment out of our Christmas tree as possible. The kids called Grammie and Pop and spoke to them for nearly an hour. We then started watching Christmas Vacation (don’t judge) and decorating the tree. 

Stuart put the tree together and fluffed it. I putthe lights on and the kids hung nearly all of the ornaments. 

All three of them put the star on the top. 

The kids attempted to get the dogs to wear Santa hats. They were relatively successful. 

After the tree was up, Stuart and I sat and watched the rest of Christmas Vacation. The kids went upstairs and had a good old wrestling match which always ends in tears. 

Jack eventually went to Ian’s while Millie sat and watched tv with us. Cathy came over after taking her cat to the vet and finding out that he might need a very pricey surgery. Ugh! She was crying and needed us to pep her up. While she was at our house she got a call from the vet and he said Ollie might not need the surgery after all. Time will tell. She LOVES her cats, so naturally she was upset. She stayed at our house until she had to take Claire to the doctor for a check-up. When she left, the kids and I bathed the dogs. They were terribly stinky and needed to be freshened up. It’s an exhausting undertaking which results in a shower for all once the dogs are clean. 

Everyone was clean and smelled? Well, I smelled good, the dogs just smelled like wet dogs. 

The evening was filled with a lot of nothing. Stuart made dinner and turned out the lights so that all we could see was the lit Christmas tree. Oh how I love Christmas!

Around 6:30 pm it dawned on Jack that he had a football match at school the next day. He was told if he didn’t have shin guards he wouldn’t be able to play. We had promised him we would get them over the weekend. However, we didn’t. So, in order to be true to our word, I said I would get dressed and go get them. Jack apologized, saying, ‘It’s my fault because I didn’t remind you.’ To which I said, ‘Jack, we promised we would get them this weekend and we didn’t. So it’s not your fault.’ I headed upstairs to get dressed and then heard Stuart say, ‘I’ll go get them. I’m already dressed.’ So kind of him! Plus, he knew what to get. I wouldn’t have had a clue. 

Stuart returned after Millie had gone to bed. He got socks and shin guards for Jack. He also stated he had forgotten how scary it was out in traffic after dark. So true! We really don’t drive after dark. People are nuts on the streets. 

Monday at school I wrote reports most of the day. At the end of the day Jack came into my room and reported there would be no football match. I called Stuart to tell him not to bother coming down to school. We got home and Stuart went to training while the kids and I chilled on the sofa. It seems everyone was a bit worn out and somewhat under the weather. 

Tuesday Stuart dropped Jack at Brian’s around 4 pm and then came to Millie’s dance demonstration as well as her gymnastics demonstration. She loves her dance class and plans to continue. She’s also going to add an art class on the same night. She’s shown some potential in art, which is totally foreign to me considering a stick person is the extent of my artistic talent. 

She’s quite bendy. 

After her demos we headed to the club to watch Jack’s last touch match and they tied. It was fantastic. He was so pleased. 

Wednesday I had a meeting at the club regarding hosting a Latin dance night in January. I ordered food for Cathy, Stuart and myself and took it home after my meeting. Stuart went to training and then joined Cathy and myself around 8:30 pm. Jack had actually gone off to a training session in Abu Dhabi with the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks. He was over the moon with excitement. It was a unique opportunity for sure. 

He didn’t get home until just before 10 pm and needless to say he had a lot to share. Thursday morning would be fun. 

School was exciting for Millie on Thursday. She was awarded a certificate for skipping rope the most times in 20 seconds for all of Year 2. She skipped 31 times. It amazed me how many students were unable to skip rope. Their coordination was absolute crap. She was also given the Star of the Week for her class. She was on cloud nine. 

Thursday morning it finally dawned on me where I had left the kids’ health cards. So after school we stopped by the dentist’s office and picked them up. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t have called me to tell me they were there, but oh well. They were back with me now. When we got home Stuart was starting scotch eggs and cole slaw. Once we were in the house Millie started crying. I went to pick her up and she was hot as a pistol, clearly not well. I took her upstairs for a bath and then she returned to the sofa in her cozy leopard onesie. She pepped up a bit after some Tylenol and a snack. 

She and Jack watched the Santa Claus while Stuart, Cathy and I ate dinner and discussed what we were going to make for the Thanksgiving dinner that would be at Brian and Lara’s the following evening. The kids were in bed by 8:30 pm and the night ended for us around 10 pm. 

Friday morning we got up and headed to the grocery store. We then threw the dogs in the car and went to our vet clinic for their open day. The dogs played in the sand and with other dogs. One of the dogs was a bit too ‘loving’ towards Duchess. However, she took care of him in a growling sort of way. 

Once we were home the kids just lounged around while Stuart and I watched television. I made pigs in a blanket and then around 5 pm we went to Lara and Brian’s for Thanksgiving. It was a stellar night. There were a ton of people there and the food was delightful. We stayed until just before 10 pm. Millie wasn’t terribly well, but she hung in there. 

Saturday morning we were up and I was prepared to take Millie to the doctor. But, she seemed to rebound and wasn’t feverish at all. Instead, we sat and watched movies. Lara had said the kids could come hang out at their house while we did our Christmas shopping. Saturday was our only available day to shop before we left for Australia on the 12th of December. We were very productive and got everything purchased. We even managed to have lunch at a new Italian place in the mall. 

Once we were home, I took a slice of apple pie to Lara when I went to get the kids. Stuart had swiped the pie back from the Thanksgiving celebration the day before. It was kind of funny. He’s not much of a sweet eater, but he did enjoy that pie. Once I was home, the kids played upstairs and I made a batch of toffee. Cathy came over around 4 pm and brought soup for dinner. We had bought some somosas and egg rolls for our frying oil that only had one more day use. 

Stuart ended up going to the club to watch England enialate Australia in rugby. Cathy stayed and we watched the Christmas special of Miranda. It is always good for a laugh. Miranda Hart is an English comedian who used to have her own sitcom. Cathy and I laugh hardest when we watch her show. She’s nuts! 

Cathy left and I showered. I sat to watch television and then Stuart was home. As often happens on a Saturday evening, I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up at 10:30 only to head to bed. It was a great weekend, but it was time to face the music of another week. 

The lead up to holidays can be hectic.

I walked Sunday morning and Lara joined me. Halfway through our walk a truck pulled up and a dog jumped out. It seemed as if they were going to let it lose and drive off, but they didn’t mean for it to get lose. Natrally Duke barked. What? He never barks. But the dog came right to us so the girl in the car could grab it. 

At school we started the rehearsal for our Year 2 show. It was written by Millie’s teacher and is loosely based on Peter Pan. We have several songs in it that we have changed the words to. I am choreographing the dances, which makes me wish my friend Brenda Johnson lived a bit closer. 

After school on Sunday, Millie and I  didn’t go to rugby training as I needed to start working on my school reports and she needed to go to bed at a decent hour. For three hours I sat and wrote a narrative about the personal development of my students. Goodness!

Once Stuart and Jack were back from the club, Stuart and I watched some television. Millie gave us grief when she went to bed so keeping her home to go to bed early kind of back fired. Stuart made stew for dinner, which was delightful to everyone but Millie.  

Monday morning I walked alone. Lara was a bit under the weather so gave it a miss. Monday at school was my day of many of available hours to work on different things.  I spent most of that time trying to get my reports written. Oh my goodness are those a time consuming task. 

Jack had a football match after school. He nearly scored, but someone hand blocked it which meant they got a penalty kick. The kicker scored, so I gave Jack a bit of credit for that. After the match Millie rode home with Stuart. Jack and I went by the store and got pastry pies for supper. Jack and Millie helped me do one of the dances for the Year 2 show. Then Millie was off to bed, but not before she had a treatment of head lice shampoo. She had complained of her head itching before the school day was over. The nurse checked her and she had eggs, but no live nits. Why can’t we get rid of these nasty things? She has a kid in her class whose mom doesn’t treat them like she should. So they never really go away. Jack was off to bed around 8 pm. Stuart was home from training around 9 pm. We were in bed by 10 pm. I had to get rest for the worst day of the week for me. 

Tuesday my alarm went off but I couldn’t be bothered to get up. I messaged Lara to let her know. I’m not sure she was terribly upset. Jack was off to swim squad when we arrived at school. We had a spelling sontest with our Year 2 students and Millie didn’t buckle under pressure. She spelled her word correctly and helped her class to win the competition. As you can see, she was elated. 

After school I had a nanny come to me with a bag of little plastic creatures asking me if they belonged to the class. I told her they did and we had a long conversation with the child who took them. The funny thing is, his family gives him anything he wants. They are one of the wealthiest families who isn’t royal in the country. It was a bit crazy. 

I had a staff meeting after school and then stayed and worked for an hour afterwards. I think stopped at KFC, the normal Tuesday evening meal for my tiny dancer. When I got to the dance studio Millie had a few pieces of popcorn chicken and then went in for her gymnastics dance class. After class she ate the rest of her food on the way home. A shower was the first activity once we were at the house, then bed time for Millie. Cathy came over for a chat while Jack and Stuart were at training and then Jack had his touch match at 7:20 pm. They lost and Jack was so upset. I’m not sure, besides my brother Russ, I have ever known someone who wants to win so badly. He doesn’t get angry, he gets sad. He’s just so competitive. I finally calmed him down, he showered and then went to bed. Bless his little cotton socks. 

Wednesday school was quite normal. Once school was over the kids and I headed home. We decided to go to sushi night at the Golf Club. Cathy, Lara and Brian, as well as all the kids, came with us. It was a spontaneous dinner out. It was nice and the sushi was spectacular as always. The kids didn’t get into bed until after 9 pm, which only meant a great deal of fun the following morning. 

As I predicted, getting the kids up and out the door was certainly a challenge. I needed to get to school early as it was Pre-Prep’s turn to provide breakfast and I was doing my waffle stick station again. Pre-Prep definitely provide the best breakfast of the entire staff. 

School was uneventful and we left as soon as we could on Thursday. When we got home we put Millie’s bread dough, the creation from her cooking class, into the oven. Stuart felt the need to present it like this when it came out of the oven, which I didn’t approve of. 

Naughty!

Also when we got home Cathy was at our house. She had asked Stuart to go with her to the company that owns her apartment. There seems to have been some serious confusion about her housing contract. She was frustrated and needed a man to help her sort it out. She ended up staying at ours for dinner. She had brought over some veggies she had purchased from the farmer who brings food to her school. Stuart made suchatash. He put some chicken and sausage in it as well as corn, zucchini, peppers and onions. It was delicious. 

Jack had gone to a birthday party at Laser Tag on Thursday evening. When he got home, he went up to shower and then went to bed as he was going to have to be up super early to ride a bus to Dubai for a rugby match. 

I decided to ride the bus with Jack on Friday morning. Yuck! But, it meant that Stuart could stay in Al Ain with Millie and do something special with her and I wouldn’t have to waste my money on petrol to drive to Dubai. He wasn’t terribly thrilled that I wanted to ride the bus, but he got over it quickly. The bus left at 5:45 am and arrived at the field at about 8 am. They played two matches. The first match was for the conference score but the second match was a friendly game. The first team won and Jack was thrilled. But injustice set in when Jack realized the first team put some of their first players on their seconds team. Jack couldn’t understand why his coach wouldn’t do the same. The second team lost. Jack was really upset until he figured out that it was a friendly game and the points counted for nothing. 

Number 6 is my favorite!

While Jack and I were in Dubai, Millie and Daddy went to the zoo. Stuart said they had fun and of course Millie was thrilled to get a slushie. 

I hope she got enjough sugar in her for the day!

We got home from Dubai around noon. Jack wanted to stay and swim but I didn’t. So I won and we went home for lunch. Jack was not impressed by the fact that he couldn’t swim, but we were returning to the club later in the afternoon so he would get over it. 

We headed to the club around 3:30. Stuart and Jack were going to watch the men’s team play, while Millie and I were picked up by Cathy to go to the golf club for a birthday party. Little Liam was turning 2. We had some food and sang Happy Birthday, then we headed back to the rugby club for the rest of the evening. I wasn’t feeling so hot because I made the mistake of eating pizza, which has gluten, which I have discovered I am intolerant of, thus a bad belly was the result. We got home around 9 pm and the kids turned in after showers. 

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Sean’s for a tattoo party. Sean, Stuart and Lara were getting inked. Stuart was just going to have the background of his elephant done. Stuart made breakfast burritos and I made rice crispie treats. 

We were there until a little after 4 and then brought the party back to ours, minus everyone except Cathy. We ordered curry for dinner and just before 8 pm Lara came over. Brian was on a fishing trip, got home around 9 and came to our house, smelling of fish a yuck. Why he didn’t go home and take a shower first is beyond me. Ick! At any rate, they stayed until around 10:30 and then it was bedtime for all. A crazy, busy week was behind us and another one was ahead. 

A regular week may kill me.

Sunday morning I walked the dogs as that was my commitment to the dogs because we felt they had been being neglected lately. Lara didn’t go so I was on my own. 

When Jack woke up he didn’t want to go to school because he was so sore from his tournament over the weekend. Poor kid! Stuart had to take us to school as his battery in his car died. So he took us to school and then ended up taking some time off to go and get a new battery. He picked us up at 3:30 pm and we went home. Jack took a shower and lounged around the rest of the evening. He was wiped out. 

I had a meeting at the club, although the kids had no training. I got home to a totally homemade meal of Scotch eggs and coleslaw. It was delightful and Millie even ate it. She loved it. 

Sean came over for eats as well. Although he has moved out, he seldom misses a good meal at the house. 

Monday morning I walked again with the dogs, all alone. It seems Lara’s alarm didn’t go off. Because it is still dark at 5 am, I’m glad I have two big dogs with me. However, both dogs are afraid of their own shadow. So in a crisis they wouldn’t be any help at all. 

I made scrambled eggs for the kids for breakfast. Millie wasn’t going to eat breakfast, so I said whatever she wanted I would make it. Therefore, scrambled eggs it was. 

Jack was at swim squad at 6:45 am. School was the best as I only had two lessons to teach in the day. I had my professional conversation with the Deputy Head of Academics as well as the Head of the Junior School. It was very positive meeting and they seemed pleased with what I bring to the school. 

After school Jack had a football match. I didn’t even know he knew how to play football (American soccer). He actually did quite well in the match. He didn’t score a goal, but he contributed to one of the goals. He played really hard. 

Stuart and I had a committee meeting at the club Monday night. We decided to feed the kids at the club. They were also able to play for a little over an hour. Some of their friends’ parents have activities at the club on a Monday night, so they love to go and play with their friends. Our meeting was over by 7 and we were home just after that. Millie showered and went straight to bed. Jack had some fruit after his shower and then was in bed by 8 pm. Stuart followed around 9 pm and I was in bed by 10:30 as I planned to walk on Tuesday. 

Lara actually got up and walked with me, which I enjoyed. We just talk about our days when we walk. I filled her in on the dog issue with the municipality and we spoke about our laziness and how it needed to change. 

Jack was nearly late to swim squad as he couldn’t quite get ready for the day on Tuesday morning. Once the day started, although I always dread Tuesdays, it was fine and seemed to fly. Towards the end of the day my students were starting to lose the plot. We have math as our last lesson. Any idea how hard it is to get 6 year olds to pay attention to a math lesson the last period of the day? Yikes!

We had a staff meeting after school. Jack had been picked up by Stuart and Millie went home with her dance friends. After I left school I headed to the local girlie spa to buy two gift vouchers for the student learners my teammate Joan and I have had for the past 6 weeks. They are Emiratis training to be English teachers. We wanted to get them something as their last day with us would be Thursday. When I got to the spa they had no generic gift vouchers. The lady behind the counter asked me if a Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas voucher would do. Well, considering both of these teachers in training are Muslim who don’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas I’m going to have to take my business elsewhere. Crazy! It’s just the way of this country. It’s maddening at times. They were happy to let me walk out of the shop. Nuts!

I picked up some food for Millie before heading to the dance studio. I got there just as her first class was letting out. I then sat and chatted with some moms whose kids go to Brighton. Once Millie was in her dance/gymnastics class, I browsed the web. I could have done some work but I really couldn’t be bothered. 

We headed home after her class and Cathy came over. Cathy announced to me in a text the day before that she had a date on Friday. She came over to tell me the details. I really wish she would find a nice guy. Maybe this new guy, Lucas, is an option. We ordered food from our local Arabic restaurant. Millie was in bed before Jack and Stuart got home from the club. 

When Stuart and Jack got home I heard the tales of the touch match. It seems that the PE teacher who plays for the Brighton College touch team got into a fist fight. Oops. That’s not Brighton behavior. 

Wednesday morning we were all out of the house and on our way to school. School was relatively uneventful. My student teacher had her last observation. She will be an okay teacher, but the goals this country has for its people is a long time down the road, unfortunately. 

Once school was over we attempted to make another run at getting gift vouchers for our student teachers at school. I ran into the same issue at another location. It was so ridiculous. And being who I am, I announced I would never use their services again. I then headed to a local spa and got exactly what I needed. I then dropped Jack at home while Millie and I went to the super market. When we got home Stuart was making fried chicken and the house smelled delightful. Cathy was at our house and after the kids had their showers we all sat down for dinner. Millie refuses to eat the fried chicken, but was convinced when we made a game of it. She actually liked it, which was no shock since KFC is her favorite fast food. 

Stuart had a meeting at the club, so he left the house for a bit. While he was gone, Lara came over for a chat. She left when her daughter Kayla came over and said everyone in their house was hungry. Stuart returned shortly after Lara left and we sat at the dining room table for a couple of hours just chatting. 

Thursday morning the kids were up early so we headed to school about 10 minutes early. The day flew by. Millie’s class had her class assembly.  Millie has a rather large speaking part. She did a fantastic job. The kids went to see a play that came to the school. It was by a company called Shakespeare for Kids. They presented Narnia. It was about an hour long and it was really good. The kids were entertained for sure. I was the teacher selected to go to the production, so that meant no teaching for me in the morning. Then I only had my board games club and science to teach in the afternoon. It was a relatively easy day. 

Once school was over we headed home, via the supermarket. It seems we have to stop at the store most days. We had a baby shower to go to in the evening so I went to get some diapers for the couple. You can never have enough diapers. Once we were home, we changed clothes and then headed to the club. The party was down at the pool bar. It was for our club Vice Chairwoman and her husband. They are expecting their first baby boy in about 7 weeks. It was a great night. There were games and prizes and food, the recipe for a good party. 

Stuart took part in one of the games. 

Towards the end of the night Jack and his friends came into the pool area and asked me to come out on the field. There is a football club (soccer) that trains at the club three nights a week. On a Thursday many of the kids are left unattended and after their training the kids are left on their own. This night, our little expat kids were playing on a different pitch and some of the local kids came over and stole their ball, the proceeded to harass our kids and slapped Jack in the face. So when Jack came to get me I ran out and confronted them. They claimed that Jack ‘he say bad words’. I told them I knew for a fact that wasn’t true. This is also their MO when it comes to being confronted. It fired me up. I asked where their parents were. They said their parents weren’t there, which made me even more angry. I told them if they didn’t want any trouble then they should stay on their pitch and not come and bother our kids. One kid said to me ‘he hit me’, meaning Jack. I said, ‘Did you take their ball? And did you slap him first?’ The answer to both questions was ‘yes’. I said, ‘Sorry for you! Stay away from my children!’ And then we all went back into the pool area for the rest of the evening. Lesson? No Thursday night at the clubs any more. The expat community are so kind and caring for each other, but sadly, as in any society, there is a percentage of local children who are raised by nannies whom they have no respect for, nor can the nannies make them behave. It’s such a shame, but happens in all parts of the world I suppose. 

When we left the club we brought Louie home with us for a sleepover. Millie took a shower and watched television upstairs while the boys played the PS4. Around 10 pm Stuart went upstairs and put Sleeping Beauty in her bed. I watched an episode of one of my shows and then fell asleep. I woke up to Jack tapping me at midnight, asking me if he and Louie could watch tv. It scared the life out of me. So I went upstairs and told them it was time to go to bed. They complied and were asleep in no time. I went to bed as well. 

We were all up by 7:30 am, when Stuart went to get sausages and eggs for breakfast. Millie was watching tv upstairs and the boys were playing the PS4, naturally. Jack’s friend Louie broke his controller charger. I thought Jack was going to have a total meltdown. He gets teary very easily these days. Hormones? Please tell me no! 

We left for the club just before 11 am. I was supposed to be announcing drinks specials and things about our sponsors. I did that for a bit, then I started cleaning out the storage in the control room. Most of the stuff in the storage room is for the social side of the club, but some of the stuff is just old crap from years gone. To say the manager of the club is a pack rat is an understatement. I got my part cleaned up in a couple of hours. I can only assume that his part will never be cleaned up. Oh well, not my issue. 

After I was finished announcing and the games were over we ordered food and sat with Sean for a bit. Then Cathy and her date showed up at the club, which was a shock to us. It was their first date so that was a lot of pressure on him to meet the friends. He handled it well. He seemed like a really nice guy. We left the club and went to Brian and Lara’s for snacks and a catch up. Stuart and I were both exhausted so we didn’t stay long. Home, showers and bed were in order once we were home. 

Saturday morning I got up and took the kids and Adam, Jack’s friend, to see the new film The Grinch. We got snacks before going into the cinema. The film was really cute and the kids loved it. We had to get some birthday gifts at the mall, but then headed home. Adam came to the house to play for the afternoon. Sadly, just before Adam left, Jack slapped Millie and was declared finished with his PS4 for the day. However, when he got home with Stuart from taking Adam home, he went to his PS4 immediately. When I went upstairs I reminded him of his consequences for slapping his sister. He had no recollection. Therefore, the PS4 was taken away for yet another week. Ugh! Why doesn’t he listen? I feel my own mother’s pain right now. 

The evening came and went. It was a relaxing evening but another weekend that went too quickly.