At the end of the day it started to sprinkle. Sprinkles in the UAE get the same reaction as snow does in the Midwest. The kids get crazy! My own children were so excited. On the way home there were WhatsApp’s going crazy about us being given a day off because the Pope was coming to Abu Dhabi for a mass. Everything was a total buzz, but those of us at the private school assumed we wouldn’t get the day off. We did, however, hold out hope for a rain day because it started raining around 5:30 pm. Generally, rain does damage to the schools and we have a day or so off after a huge rain.
I was the fun stealer and didn’t let my kids play in the rain until the thunder and lightning subsided. Go figure!
Monday the school was pretty flooded but we carried on. We picked Tommy up again and because of the incident with Alice, the entire staff got another reminder of how our children must not go outside before or after school and must remain in our classroom. Well, when we got to school guess where I found Jack and Tommy. Although I had this conversation with Jack and Millie the evening before, and I spoke with the boys on the way to school, they still ended up outside before school started. When I found them, I immediately took them to the Deputy Head of Operations and asked her to speak to them. I thought they were both going to cry. I just needed them to know that it was serious and it wouldn’t be tolerated any more. I think Jack sometimes hears Charlie Brown’s principal when I speak to him. Because Joan was still not in school so I had to cover her PE lesson. We just played dodge ball.
At the end of the day Stuart had a meeting with our head of the Junior School, Mr. McArthur. It seems he asked if Stuart could come to the school and start teaching in April because Millie’s teacher has accepted a job somewhere else. He said he would have to inquire as to whether he would be allowed to do that or not. It turns out that he will not be allowed. But we are looking to move before the end of the year, which will help speed his exit process along.
After school we went to the super market. I then took Tommy home. We got home and got organized. We had a committee meeting that evening at the club, but the good news was I wouldn’t have to go to school the following day. It seems I underestimated my private school. We were given the day off in celebration of the visit from the Pope.
Tuesday morning we woke up a bit later. Stuart was off to school around 7 am because he still had to be in school even though they had dismissed the students for the day. We ended up watching the live stream of Pope Francis’s mass. It was quite spectacular just simply because it was history in the making. It was the first time a Pope had been to a Middle eastern country, none the less performed a mass.
Stuart got home around noon and we went to the mall for lunch, although prying Jack away from his PS4 was quite the feat.
After lunch Stuart had to stop at the booze shop to get beer for the rugby team for the weekend. And since he wouldn’t be around for the weekend he would have to get it before he left.
We headed home in time to get Millie dressed for dance and then go to the studio. Unfortunately we had a finder binder on the way. Exactly 4 weeks after my first rear end accident, I got rear ended again. Stuart came to get Millie and take her on to dance. Stuart spoke to the guy who hit me. He tried to say there was no damage. Then when the officer got to the scene, he tried to tell him that Stuart had threatened to kill him. He said, ‘I will call the police’. I remained calm and continued to tell the guy that I was sorry he was upset and I understood his anger. To this he said, ‘I know how YOUR people treat my people’. At this statement I said, ‘So now you are saying I’m a racist? Please, call the police and report this. I’m sure my information of you accusing me of being racist will be much more interesting to them than your story of my husband taking a picture of your license plate’. And then he shut up. In the UAE, being called a racist can get you thrown in jail. When the entire ordeal was over, I went to Gift City to see if I could find a cheap kid’s suit for Millie’s Wax Museum costume. She was to research Nikola Tesla. I love projects like this, because it was my idea to do it. However, I’m not crazy about this when my kid has to do it. I got to dance after running into KFC for popcorn chicken. She ate a bit before her second class. Once the second class was over we headed home for a shower, a donut and bed. What a day!
Wednesday was sports day for Millie. She was a super star, as usual. The event took most of the day and the kids had a great time.
After school we headed to see a co-worker’s house. Since we have to move because Stuart got his job at Brighton, we are going to see if we can move before the end of the year. So we are looking at possible places that have space for the dogs and are as big as what we are living in now.
Once we were home Jack took a shower, as he spent the last hour of the day in the clinic because he had a headache. So he was banned from anything but rest. He ate two PBJs after school and a small bag of hot Cheetos. I’m not sure where that boy puts everything.
Millie went outside to play once we were home and came in for a shower only when we went out to search for her. This aspect of our compound we will certainly miss when we move from here. We had dinner and everyone called it a night.
Thursday was school as usual. Once school was over we headed home. The kids showered and then we were out the door to Abu Dhabi. We went to Yas Mall and had dinner. We shopped around for a bit and then took Stuart to the airport to catch his flight to Phoenix. Cathy had gone with us and I was thrilled, as it made the journey home so much easier to have someone to talk with while the children slept.
Friday morning we lounged around for a bit. Millie worked on her Wax Museum project.
My little lefty!
Around 10 am we headed to a cheap gift mart called Lotus to look for something that would work as a costume for Millie’s character, Nikola Tesla. We were successful and it was at a cheap price. We went back home and had some lunch. Cathy and I watched Godfather 3 while the kids played on their electronics.
Millie had a birthday party from 2-4 pm. It was a Harry Potter themed party. So my girl went as Hermione Granger. I think she looked rather cute.
The Skecher high heel flip flops were an added bonus.
The evening was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. Jack ended up inviting Ian over for a sleepover. Cathy and I watched episodes of Miranda and behaved as if we had never seen the episodes. Miranda Hart’s physical comedy is epic.
Saturday morning I was up around 8 am. Jack was already awake, but Millie and Ian were still sleeping. When everyone was up, I made French toast for the boys and Millie ate banana bread.
Ian went home around 10:30 am so he and Jack could play Fortnite together. It makes no sense to me, but what do I know?
We left for Dubai atound 2 pm. Jack had a snowboard lesson at 5:30 pm, but would need to be there an hour before in order to get all of his gear on. And going through the experience of watching him put his gear on makes me know why he needed to arrive an hour early. First his boots didn’t feel right, then his helmet didn’t fit. I had to readjust the helmet strap about 7 times, then his ski hat wasn’t right under his helmet. Dear me! This boy is beyond OCD.
Doesn’t Millie look thrilled?
But, in his first official lesson he did pass the beginner level and is now a level 1 snowboard student.
While Jack snowboarded, Millie and I shopped around and then went and had some dinner. She was hungry and couldn’t wait for Jack to be finished with his lesson. Once we picked him up, all he wanted to do was get McDonalds take away and eat it in the car on the way home. That suited all of us. The drive home was quiet. The kids went to bed as soon as we got home. I stayed up for a bit and watched television. As usual, I fell asleep on the sofa. I woke up to messages from Stuart. He was having lunch with Stacey, John and Jen.
They sent me some videos as well as FaceTime messenger wasn’t working. It looks as if his first day in Arizona was a good one.
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