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.