Rain, rain, rain! Kidding!

Sunday at school we continued with report writing. I had very little free time in the day, which is usually how my Sundays go. Some items were delivered from Amazon to my school. Turns out I sent Christmas presents to the school. Oops. 

After school Millie was to have a bench ball game but the other schools canceled so there was no game. We left school around 4 pm. We stopped by the club to get Stuart’s car as he had left it there on Friday. When we got home, Jack and I got changed and headed to his first orthodontist appointment. It turned out that appointment was a waste of time as they didn’t accept our insurance. That would have been a good thing to know when I made the appointment. Jack was really disappointed. I made another appointment at our old dental clinic for Wednesday evening, hoping that would be more successful. When we got home we had dinner. Millie went to bed shortly after and Stuart and I watched The Crown, which is fantastic. Jack then went to bed and I followed my normal routine of my nightly nap on the sofa. 

Monday at school I finished my general comments on my reports. I feel very confident I will be finished way ahead of the due date, which is a nice feeling. Our reports for children are so detailed and seem to take forever. I had basketball practice and then came home. Stuart and the kids headed to the rugby club while I got our dinner prepared. The maintenance man showed up just after Stuart and the kids left so I stayed while he fixed our air conditioners. I then went to the club to collect the kids. We came home just before 7, the kids showered and the Karniks came over to prepare the 200 treat bags we would need for the Santa visit at the club. Stuart got home from rugby while Brian and Lara we’re still there. 

The sweets were spread out. We chatted for a while after the bags were done and then they left. 

Tuesday we had our staff briefing and tried to come together in agreement as to what our writing marks should look like. Judging a piece of writing is so subjective. It was a bit boring, truth be known. Tuesday evening was touch rugby. Jack played two games as he decided he wanted to play for his school team as well. We stayed longer than we intended, but the kids had fun. 

Wednesday we woke to stormy weather. Many schools called off school in anticipation of bad weather. It was good for them, because it didn’t even start raining until around 4 pm, well after we were home. Rugby training was canceled, which was good because we had scheduled Jack his second appointment to see an orthodontist. We went and the price was a bit steeper than I had anticipated. I told Jack we would have to find someone cheaper. He was disappointed as he’s starting to get a little self-conscious about his funky fangs. So, back to the drawing board for an orthodontist. The appointment was made and we will attempt again next week. 

When we got home the kids ate. Millie went with us to the ortho appointment as Stuart went to rugby training. Once the kids were in bed and Stuart was home, our electricity went off. The maintenance men just happened to be outside our house and in their broken English we think they explained they would need to replace the breaker the next day. Usually when it rains there are things that short out. I think this is the second time we have had our breaker replaced because of rain. 

Thursday morning I was awakened by Jack as he had wet his bed. I guess he just couldn’t wake up. I took his bedding and put it in the washing machine. Our water pressure was crap as the water pump was the thing that was tripping the breaker. So those sheets had to wait until that afternoon. At school we had an assembly in preparation of National Day that would be celebrated on the 28th of November. The Arabic team was in charge of the assembly. Of course it ran into my planning time, as it always does. The rest of the day ran as normal. We were all glad the work week was over. 

Thursday evening Stuart and some of the the other men from school went out for the evening. They took a bbq and food and had a bbq in the desert. The kids had a babysitter and I went to the rooftop of a hotel for an evening out with some of the ladies from work. It was a fun evening to get to know the teachers in a different setting. Stuart picked me up just after 11 pm and we went home. I was more than ready for sleep. 

Friday morning we were up and skyped Grammie and Pop. We then headed to Ski Dubai for Stuart and the kids to ski one last time before we went to Switzerland for our ski holiday. 

I shopped around for odds and ends, mainly winter clothes for Jack. He doesn’t own a long pair of trousers or jeans. He refuses to wear long sleeved shirts, so it wasn’t the easiest of tasks. I scouted some things out and made him try the items on once they were finished skiing and we had lunch. 

Millie has started to be my shopping buddy. 

We bought a Starbucks before leaving Mall of the Emirates. My favorite thing about this country is seeing what my name will be each time I order a coffee. This may be my all time favorite. How do you get ‘Daniel’ out of ‘Dana’? Don’t know. 

We bought a few other things and then decided to stop at the outlet mall to try to find a few more things, which we did. So it was a totally successful trip. Once we were home it was time for showers and bed. It was a full day. 

Saturday morning Jack had to be at a football tournament all day at the rugby club. It was amongst 14 other private schools in Al Ain.  His first match wasn’t until 9:40 am so Millie and I stayed back, had breakfast and got ready for the day. We were at the club until around 3 pm. We had ordered groceries to be delivered between 8 and 10 pm, and of course the order showed up at 3:40 pm. Cathy, Sean and Carly came around for dinner, but it was an early night as they all left around 6 pm. Millie went to bed and Jack followed shortly after. It had been a long, yet fun and productive weekend. 

A somewhat normal week was needed

Our week started with Jack being sick. Stuart took the day off and Millie and I went on our own. Poor kid was ridden with a headache all day. Even when I got home from school he was napping on the sofa. 

The school day was interesting. The clouds covered the sky at the end of the day and it rained. It was so exciting for everyone. There was a bit of flooding but not enough to have a rain day. 

Hot chocolate was in order for the afternoon since it was a rainy day. Jack was still not top notch but he said he felt better. 

Once I was home, Stuart went to help Sean do something at the club. I fixed a delicious dinner of sausages, green beans and sweet potato fries, as well as Yorkshire pudding (which is a type of bread). 

Millie helped make dinner. 

The kids went to bed early because Jack hadn’t been well and Millie needed an early night.  

Monday I was asked to cover a class for Cathy so she could have her professional conversation. I’m not sure why they don’t have her do that while she is on her own planning period but there you have it. The day passed rather quickly. After school I drove to another school because our Under 11 girls had a basketball game. They aren’t that great, but they were better than the opposing school and they won! 

After the game I headed to the club for the kids’ rugby training. Millie ate at the club while Jack had his touch team training. We got home just before 7:30. Millie showered and went to bed, while Jack showered, ate some dinner and then was off to bed himself. Cathy had come over for dinner and a chat. She had finally gotten a new fridge and decided she would come and get her frozen bits out of our freezer. She left before Stuart got home. He brought food home from the club for himself, which meant I didn’t need to worry about him. We were both in bed by 9:45 pm. 

Since I never go to bed that early, it wasn’t a surprise that I was wide awake at 4:30 am. I just laid in bed, trying to convince myself to go back to sleep. I resigned myself and finally got out of bed at 5 am. At school, I went on a school trip with the Year 2 children. We went to Hili Fun City, which is a run-down amusement park. I had to go because the male teacher in Year 2 was told it was lady’s day so he wouldn’t be allowed to go. In the end, every person that operated the rides was a man, so I’m not exactly sure why he wasn’t allowed to go. I don’t really mind as it was a great day out for sure. The only bad part of the day was coming back to school to have to teach a science lesson. Ugh!

After school there was a swim gala. Jack and Millie were both involved and it was at our school. Jack got 1st place in the free style and the butterfly, beating his friend Louie in both races. 

There they are, waiting for their turn in the relay. Jack is obviously the one on the left with the USA swim cap. 

He swam in a couple of relays as well, but his team didn’t win those races. Millie got a 2nd place in the free style and the breast stroke. She also participated in two relays and her team also lost those races. In the end, Brighton College won with about 20 points more than the other teams. 

We got home around 5 pm and made dinner for the kids. Jack had a touch rugby at 8 pm, which was too late for myself and Millie, so we stayed home and she went to bed. When Jack and Stuart got home, Jack was thrilled as his team nearly won their match. The usual routine ensued with Jack having a snack and Stuart and I eating. Jack went to bed and Stuart followed after. I assumed my nightly position on the sofa watching television and napping. I know these are horrible habits, but I love them. 

On Wednesday school was just another day. It does, however, seem that every time we complete something at school, another something arrives for us to do. We had a staff briefing after school since we had all volunteered for the swim gala on our normal meeting day, which was Tuesday. We continued with our Apple teacher training. It’s a series of 8 exams we have to take about Apple products. I have only earned 1 badge, which is not good. The kids had training and I continued to try to earn another Apple badge, but no luck. 

My year group had a school trip on Thursday. We took the kids to the Al Ain Palace Museum, which is the place where Shaikh Zayed Al Nahyan lived before he was the ruler Of the UAE. It was a really good trip, which made me realize how much I actually do know about this country. 

Thursday after school we decided to go to the outlet mall to look for ski equipment. I found some ski pants for about $55, which is a smoking deal. Jack decided to spend his birthday money on some new soccer boots. These are the same type of shoes we bought him about a year ago and he wore them three times. Apparently, at the time, the ones we bought him rubbed a blister on the back of his heels. I tried to remind him of this, but he was determined. 

Once we were home Louie came over for a sleepover. It had been a while since Louie and Jack had hung out, so I felt it was time. They are great buddies, but because they don’t go to the same school, it’s gets challenging sometimes to get them together. At 10 pm I picked Millie up from her birthday party. She was exhausted and nearly fell asleep on the way home. I didn’t make her take a shower, but put her straight to bed. 

We were all up around 6 am. Millie was cranky, but gathered her energy to get dressed for her rugby match. Stuart took her to the club and she boarded a bus to Dubai to her match. She was so excited for her first bus ride without Stuart and myself. We both had to be at the club all day as Stuart was playing in the tournament and I was the MC. After dropped Millie off, Stuart helped to set up the pitches. He then came back to the house and collected Jack and Louie for their bus journey to Abu Dhabi. I stayed home and finished washing Jack’s bed and then headed to the club at 10 am. 

The day at the club was good but exhausting. Millie and Jack returned to the club around the same time. Millie went to the pool while Jack played out by the pitches with his rugby buddies. Millie’s coaches came up and commented that all the teams were cheering for Millie by the end of the match as she’s the smallest thing on the pitch. The kids and I headed home around 7:30 pm and Stuart followed shortly after. The kids were in bed shortly after we got home. 

Saturday Millie and I went for some beauty treatments. 

Millie was so relaxed she nearly fell asleep. See her yawning?

After being spoiled we went to get the sweets for the Christmas bags for the kids who will come to the club to visit Santa in a few weeks. Millie helped by pushing around an extra cart of stuff. 

Once we were home, I got the dogs ready for their belated shot appointment at the vets. Duke was thrilled to be going in the car, but then when we got to the vets, neither dog was impressed. They got their shots and we headed home. Cathy was there when we arrived. She had brought leftover vegetables to go with our chicken kebabs for dinner. We watched Christmas Vacation and laughed.....a lot. It’s my favorite holiday film for sure. We started watching The Grinch, with Jim Carey, after Millie went to bed. Cathy didn’t make it to the end of the movie. She decided she needed to go home and do some more school work. We have written reports due in a few weeks, so working on the weekend may be in all of our futures. 

The week was a good one because it means we are that much closer to Christmas holidays. 

Sustainability Week at school means chaotic behavior!

Sunday was our first day of our Sustainability Week. The school had brought in the Bee Bus, which is a presentation from a bee expert. She showed us a bee hive and how the bees make honey. It was so interesting. My children loved it. We also went to the Bee Room to create junk models, reusing materials to do so. We also had all academic activities that dealt with sustainability. It was a great day, but the behavior was off because there wasn’t enough structure in the day. 

After school we headed home and Stuart fed the kids. We had a committee meeting at the club at 6 pm, but it didn’t start until later. I would guess this is my last year of being the social secretary. It consumes way too much time from all of us, and in the end it cheats our kids from us being at home. But for now I will plan the Christmas party and see how it goes. I left the meeting early to get the kids home, showered and in bed. Stuart showed up a bit later with some food. We watched a bit of television and then he was off to bed. I followed after some trash television. 

Monday morning we drove separately as I had basketball and parent conferences with Jack’s teachers. His conferences were amazing. His teachers had so many nice things to say about his participation in class, his work ethic and his best handwriting. It was such a relief to hear that at least in classes he was succeeding. When I got home we decided the kids would skip training for the evening. It was good to have a break. Stuart still went to training. The kids went to bed early. When Stuart got home we watched Sherlock Holmes and ate dinner. 

Tuesday morning Stuart and I drove separately again. Millie was a real treat and had an epic meltdown. We ended up leaving the house with a screaming 8 year old who had not brushed her hair, put her shoes on, brushed her teeth, or made her lunch. Needless to say, it was a good start to the day. 

Once we were at school the fun continued. As we were off time table all week because of our special sustainability week, we were all dying a bit inside. It makes the kids totally crazy.  After school I went to get supplies for the dress up day on Thursday. I then went to get Millie a new dark swim costume for her swim gala in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. While Millie and I were at the uniform shop, we decided to get KFC. We brought all of our treasures home and then went to the club for Jack’s touch rugby match. When we got home we all crashed after dinner. 

Wednesday Millie’s start was a bit better than the day before, thank goodness. She was actually ready to go when it was time to leave for school. She didn’t have her shoes on, but that is minor in the scheme of things.  There was nothing monumental about school. Sustainability week was nearly over, thank the lord, and we were close to the weekend. Jack had a football (soccer) tournament after school and then we went straight to the club for training. No one told me these active kids would dominate our week nights. 

Thursday was our last and seemingly longest day of the week. At the end of the day my teammate gave me the gift of letting me have two lessons free while he had both classes and they watched the Bee Movie. It was great. 

Millie was a butterfly. 

My teaching assistant and myself were Lady Bugs! 

Thursday evening we stayed home. Cathy came over for dinner and the kids had an early night. We watched part of Episode 5 of Star Wars, but then we got bored so we watched the latest movie on Netflix called Holiday in the Wild. It was so cute and way more interesting than Star Wars. I’m really trying to understand Star Wars as our theme in my year group for Term 3 this year is Star Wars. 

Friday, Stuart made us bacon and egg sandwiches, a total treat. Then he took Jack to a birthday party while Cathy and I charged the hand hover craft we bought Jack for Christmas. It was so cool. It avoided obstacles and moved wherever your hand was under it. It was so cool. We acted like total children.  

Cathy and I left for Dubai with DeDe around noon. We got the low down about DeDe’s ex leaving the country. It was a crazy and very unsettling story. I think our conversations were good for her soul. We shopped and I was able To get some Christmas shopping done. We came home just before 10 pm. Jack had been delivered back to the house by his buddy and the kids were staying with Carly, Sean’s daughter. We had a successful day for sure. It’s always fun to get away with some girlfriends. 

No shopping trip is complete without a Starbucks pumpkin latte. 

Stuart lost his rugby match in Abu Dhabi and was sore. Poor guy! He forgets he’s not that young anymore. 

Saturday morning we got up and tidied up the house from the Christmas decorations that had been left out for the kids to decorate. The tree was beautiful and I wasn’t going to change a thing. 

After I had packed a snack bag, we left for the swim meet at 10:30. We arrived a bit early, but then we were guaranteed seats. Jack was to swim the 50 meter free style and the 800 meter free style, which we had tried to talk him out of. Millie was to swim the 50 meter free style. Neither had ever swam in a 50 meter pool, so that slowed them down a bit. Millie did the 50 meter in 46 seconds and Jack did it in 36 seconds. Then Jack completed the 800 meter in 15 minutes and 38 seconds. We were so very proud of both kids for even wanting to compete. They did a great job. We got home around 5:30. The kids showered and chilled for the rest of the evening. The kids had eaten KFC (which has been our go-to recently) so they were just relaxing until bedtime. Sean came for dinner of nachos, which is one of our favorites for sure. Once the kids were in bed, the week was called complete. We are one day closer to the December holidays. We are getting so excited for the holidays. They come quickly enough. 

The first week back has been a long one.

Sunday was our relaunch of the Times Tables Rockstars! All the kids dressed up as rock stars and each child took a baseline assessment to test their multiplication and division skills. It was a chaotic day, as all special days are. I covered for period 6, trading a lesson with my team mate Carel, who wanted to watch the South Africa/Wales rugby semi-finals, in which South Africa won. Now South Africa will face England in the finals on Saturday. After school we went home and just relaxed for the evening. It was good to do absolutely nothing. 

Monday school was back to normal. I had a ton of books to mark in order to get ready for our parent consultations that would be Tuesday and Wednesday. When we got home we discovered that the water heater burst in our bathroom. I tried to turn the water on, but a shower commenced on my head and I couldn’t get the water off again. I called the maintenance man to come and help me. He said he would replace it on Tuesday.  

Stuart and the kids headed to the club for training while I went to the supermarket for milk and bread. We seem to always need bread and milk. When I got to the club, I bought Millie her kit for rugby. She was so excited. Her socks were so long that they looked like she had on leggings under her shorts. The kids and I headed home after practice for dinner, showers and bed. Stuart followed after training. 

Tuesday school seemed to drag on. We had parent consultations which wasn’t terribly exciting. We meet with the parents from our English and Math sets. We ability group our children, so I had 33 parents to meet with. Not all of them showed up, but a lot did. We were at school until nearly 5:30. We were exhausted. When we got home Stuart headed off with Jack for his touch match. Millie and I stayed at home to avoid a totally meltdown at the end of the night. We watched a movie and had popcorn after dinner. Jack got home and reported his touch team had won. It is their first win this season. He was quite thrilled. 

Wednesday was just as long as Tuesday. Parent consultations were about the same length of time. There weren’t as many parents on Wednesday as their were on Tuesday, but the day wasn’t any shorter. After school Stuart took the kids straight to training while I headed to buy more sweets for Halloween. I then arrived at the club and collected the kids’ forms for the tournament we were in on Friday. All boys brought their forms, which was a bonus for me. We ate dinner at the club and then headed home for showers and bed. Stuart got home just before 9 pm and then we went to bed. I actually went to bed before he did. That was a first. It had definitely been a long week. 

Thursday was Halloween. We didn’t do anything in school, as we aren’t allowed, but after school we sat outside our house and had an entire community trick or treat evening. We had a few people over. Stuart made chili for Cathy, Sean and Cathy, and then some people stayed after the trick or treating was over and chatted for a while. It was a later night than I had wanted, only because we had to get up early the following morning for the rugby tournament. We had two kids playing in this one. 

Ready for trick or treating. 

We were up and out of the house at 6:15 am. Jack rode the bus, but Millie slept in our car all the way to Abu Dhabi. Jack had a total of 4 matches and he and his team won all of them. They won the Shield, which is the top award in rugby. They were thrilled. Their team doesn’t have as many numbers as some of the other teams, so there were two matches we borrowed two players. Alfie played with us for two matches and ended up winning the Man of the Match for the entire tournament. He was the best sport and gave his all, no matter who he was playing for. In fact, his drive down the pitch is what eventually led us the our victory in the 4th match. He was a great kid. 

The warm ups are boring, but necessary. 

The winners!

Jack and the Shield. It’s not big, but it meant a lot to him. 

Bruises are a part of being aggressive. 

This other leg might have been in worse shape. 

After we had celebrated Jack’s victory, we went over to watch Millie’s last two matches. She did so well. She scored two tries in her last match and their team won the Plate, which is 3rd over all. She was very pleased. I’m glad she’s enjoying since her gymnastics coach still can’t find a gym to rent. 

Millie and Emerson, Louie’s sister. They are on the same team, but clearly Emy is older. 

Millie’s touch team has a lot of players. 

We ended the day around 6 pm and headed to check in at the Novetel. We stayed there with Lara and Brian, as well as the Rouvis. Stuart had actually gone back to Al Ain just after Jack’s second match in order to play in his own match. He decided he would stay at the house so we wouldn’t have to get someone to stay with the dogs. So it was just the kids and myself. Once we were checked into the hotel we went to the pool for the evening. We got food poolside and the kids watched a movie on a huge screen, sitting on beanbags. It was a great evening. We got to bed just before 11 and we’re hopeful for a bit of a lie in. 

We woke up around 8 am on Saturday morning and went down for the every so loved buffet breakfast. The kids and I were riding back with the Karniks and the Rouvis, so we had to wait for Brian to return from the second day of the tournament, as he’s the youth manager and had to be there to make sure things had started out properly. We left around 11 am and arrived back at the club at 12:30 to watch the finals of the Rugby World Cup, which found South Africa tromping all over England. This was Jack’s reaction. This boy hates to lose, whether it’s his actual team or the one he is cheering on. 

He was truly sad. 

After the match we headed home. We decided to order McDonalds, which is my least favorite, but we couldn’t be bothered to cook. Sean came over after a while and we stayed up for a bit just listening to music and talking. Once he was gone, the kids went to bed and we did as well. Another week in the books. I e decided maybe we are too busy. I’m hoping it slows down, but I really don’t see any slowing until December holidays, so bring it on.