I had a follow up appointment at the doctor about my knee. He concluded that he could go in and repair the torn meniscus that they found, which he believed was partially scar tissue from the first surgery I had 4 years ago. However, he said that what they really do is just continue to shave that torn part off. After a while there is nothing to shave off and a knee replacement becomes the solution. He said if I wasn’t suffering of pain too much it would be best just to leave it alone. He said if the fluid on the knee didn’t go away in another week to come and see him and he would aspirate it. Bye bye knee doctor!
Jack had a golf lesson that Stuart took him to. Because I was at the doctor, Millie had to go with them. I met them there afterward and we had dinner. During dinner we started to talk about the expectations he would have upon him next year when he joined the senior school. We told him that we would expect him to start helping pack his own lunch. He then stated to me that would be fine with him as he didn’t ‘fancy’ all the fruit I put in his lunch each day. Any idea how difficult my children will find reacclimating into the Arizona world once we return? Their use of language will be foreign to all they encounter. It should be interesting.
Millie has edemame for dinner. This kid’s eating habits totally baffle me.
Once we were home I headed over to Lara’s for a chat. One of their kittens was struggling, not eating and the breathing was belabored. It made me so sad. I suppose that’s nature’s way sometimes.
Monday I was up and off to school as usual. I met with the Head of the Junior school for feedback from my interview for the head of year postition. In that I was told Mr McArthur wanted me to consider going to Year 3. I was actually very excited as I wanted to take the one student who I have worked so hard with this year. So at the end of the day it was decided.
Millie had gymnastics and was, once again, the only student in the class. So the coach took this opportunity to have her learn the floor routine they would be performing in September. Since she will be moving to the advanced class at that time, it made total sense to me. She did amazing! She learned it in the hour we were there. I think he was impressed. I know I was.
We headed to the club for a meeting about the Splash Bash. Our committee seems much more organized, yet a bit more stressful than the last two years. However, I think we will be more efficient and productive.
We home and were watching television. Jack was watching his iPad, but always has the volume on his head set low enough to be able to keep tabs on what Stuart and I are watching. Millie was already in bed. He overheard something on the television, definitely adult humor but not a show that we would even think about watching only when he was in bed. I ended up having to explain ‘a relationship based on sex’. These conversations with my kids just seem to get more fun by the day.
Tuesday morning we were up and out the door. Jack has his year 5 show rehearsal in the morning and Stuart came to school to see the performance for the parents in the afternoon. Jack was very entertaining. He did what he could to engage the audience. Jack went to swim squad after school. Millie went home with Stuart and he took her to gymnastics. Jack and I came home after he finished swim squad. On the way home we stopped to get him McDonalds. Then Stuart got McDonalds for Millie on their way home from gymnastics. I’m afraid McDonalds sees a bit too much of us these days.
Jack was a character from the game Clue. The show was based on video games compared to board games and the different human interaction you have when you play board games. It was an excellent production.
After we were all home, Cathy and Claire came over for take away. The kids had to sleep in Millie’s bed as Jack’s air conditioner had not been working for over a week. They kicked up a fuss and didn’t end up going to sleep until around 9 pm. Millie can’t stand it when we have people over and she has to go to bed, even on a school night. Both kids get confused between ‘their time with us’ and ‘adult time’.
Wednesday morning both kids had difficulty getting up for school. Jack spent the day in the Senior School for his transition day. The rules in the senior school are much more strict. I’m afraid the adjustment period for him next year might be a bit rough. We shall see. We had our moving up day in the junior school as well but it was only for an hour. All my current children found out I would be a Year 3 teacher next year. Although I will not be looping with my pupils, we do stream children according to abilities so there will be times I have several of the same children I had this year in either Math or English.
When we got home from school on Wednesday, the kids got ready for a play date with Salma and Adam. A little later in the day than I liked, but because it was the end of the week I wasn’t terribly bothered. Salma and Adam are going back to Egypt for good this summer. It continues to be the hardest part of living here. Eventually, people leave. While the kids were at their play date, Stuart and I had a date. We went to the mall and then had dinner at Chili’s. We did a bit of grocery shopping and then headed to pick the kids up.
We forfeited showers and both kids went straight to be. Millie was a nightmare again. She’s such a creature of habit. If she goes to bed more than an hour after her regular bedtime, she finds it difficult to cope and actually go to sleep. She screamed and yelled the house down. Needless to say this behavior cost her the iPad for a few days. When the kids lose their iPad as a consequence, it’s truly awful. Because we only let them use their iPads at the weekend, they are limited to begin with. She was not happy.
I meant to get up at 5 am on Thursday morning because my team was to provide breakfast, but I must have turned my alarm off. And I woke up at 6 am. I had too much to do in too little time, but I managed in the end because Stuart finished my egg casserole and brought it to school for me, along with Millie, who wasn’t ready for school when Jack and I left the house. I also made waffles when I got to school. We ended on a good note for breakfasts for the year.
Although Jack is the size of a teenager, he is still in the mind of a 10 year old. He came to me before school started to tell me he was going to get Star if the Week. He was so pleased with himself. It was because of his engaging energy in the Year 5 production.
After school we rushed home in order to get to the club for the annual Splash Bash. It was epic. The foam machine, water slides, and water games were phenomenal. And as always, my volunteers were amazing. They make my job as the social secretary so very easy.
There were two water slides and a foam machine.
The kids couldn’t get enough of the foam.
One of my helpers.
Even I got in the foam.
After the evening not to forget, and a weary set of kids as well as myself, we headed home, Tommy in tow for a sleepover. The boys stayed up for a bit after showering foam and grass off their bodies. Millie had grass in her butt crack. She quickly went to bed. They all had played hard and were exhausted. It was a wonderful end of the year event.
Friday we kind of lazed around the house. Gene picked Tommy up at 10 am after a breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs and toast. When we asked Tommy if he wanted bacon, his response was ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever had bacon’, which confused us, but we went on with breakfast. When the bacon was on his plate, he said, ‘Oh, rashers!’ I think told him he had learned a new English word. He’s Irish, which just goes to show you that even though it seems you speak the same language as someone else, it’s not always that easy.
In the afternoon we went to the pool to hang out with Jane, Bryce and their kids. As I have mentioned in the past two weeks, they are leaving for New Zealand for good in a few weeks. I find that when I realize someone is leaving for good, I seem to try to get closer to them. However, we have found that sometimes the only way some of our friends can cope is by pushing people away when they realize they will be separated. Human reaction is so strange. We will see the Prichards again. They are good people and we’ve had some good times together. New Zealand, we will come visit at some stage.
At any rate, we spent about 5 hours at the pool. The kids had a blast, except when Jack got hit in the face with a tennis ball by Stuart and pouted for over an hour. That child doesn’t always make the best use of his time and energy. He just makes himself miserable and tries to make others feel the same. I’m hoping he grows out of this, gets over things he can’t change, and starts enjoying time with friends a bit more.
Once we were home, we all showered and the kids went to bed. Stuart and I stayed up to watch television for a bit and then Stuart went to bed. I stayed up and rekindled my love for Keeping Up With The Kardashians. They are an interesting family, to say the least.
Saturday morning we got the delivery of our new air conditioning unit. Yahoo! The dirty and sand nearly kill units in a year if not cleaned properly. The men started working while I made cupcakes for the Favorites party I was going to at 2 pm.
I also made brownies for a little party my team was having for one of the teachers who is leaving and going to Saudi next year. That party would be Sunday during period 2, but because our day was so busy, I thought I had probably get them made in the morning while the oven was on.
While our unit was still being installed, Millie and I headed to gymnastics. I’m amazed at how much she has improved in these three weeks we have been coming to practice. I so look forward to her being in competitions next year. We have finally gotten her into an activity that she will excel in, I believe. She’s so happy.
After gymnastics we took my car to the dealership to have it serviced. We dropped it off and they would be servicing it on Sunday morning. We came back to the house and I headed to DeDe’s, with Cathy, to the Favorites party. I really enjoy these few hours with the girls. It’s always nice to be with friends. DeDe is continuing to have a bit of difficulty as she navigates her way through her divorce. It’s so sad to see families break up. It seems it’s more exaggerated here because we all become ‘family’. It just makes me concentrate on my own marriage and causes Stuart and I to have needed conversations to protect our relationship. Prayer is also needed on a daily basis.
The party was really nice but most of the participants were a bit disheartened over all the changes made with the government schools this year. Their contracts have changed dramatically. However, we all still make a lot more money here than we would at home. It’s just that the government schools are not doing what they planned to do when we came here 6 years ago. Fortunately, for Stuart and I the private schools are making a huge difference and our kids love the diversity.
We had a committee meeting at 5:30 pm on Saturday night so we headed to the club once I was home from the party. We discussed the Open Day we would have once we returned to the new school year. It’s time to get away for a bit.
On a good note, Stuart rearranged our room and our AC unit was FREEZING! Score!
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