A time for rest... Or not.

We have hardly been able to rest since returning from the UK. This week was intended to be less hectic, but all good plans sometimes don't work out. 

We had Sunday off from school to celebrate the prophet's birthday. We got up to take my car to the Kia service station. It seems they want to service it in the first 1000 kilometers and then every 5000 after that. The place we take it looks like it is where all crap cars go to die; always super crowded and wrecked cars all over the place. When we got there they told me they couldn't take it in because they already had all the cars they could possibly service that day. Okay then. 

We went to collect Cathy and her girls. Cathy had gotten up earlier than we had and delivered her car to Kia. She would need a ride back to her car at some stage so we picked them up to go to Bawadi Mall. We were in search of picture wire. The down side of decorating a place from nothing is that you have to buy silly things like picture wire. 

We ate lunch and then took Jack to the inner tube slide instead of Fun City. He had a great time. Millie played on the indoor playground and everyone was happy. We shopped a bit for nothing in particular then headed back to Kia to take Cathy and the girls to their car. By the time we got home, bathed the kids and fed them, it was time for bed. 

Monday was extremely uneventful, which was nice. Both kids were sound asleep before 7 pm. It was great. However, since the time we started our December break, Stuart and I have not really returned to a sensible bed time. Monday night was no different. Midnight was the time we finally decided to hit the hay. I function relatively well on 5 hours, but from the snoring I heard on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm, I can only ascertain that Stuart doesn't function well on that little of sleep. 

Tuesday evening Jack, Millie and Stuart headed to the Rugby Club for Jack's team practice. They wear their kits to practice, which I think is great. They don't have that many matches so having them wear the kit to practice to get good use out of is a great idea if you ask me. 

Wednesday was by far the longesti day I have had at work. We got up early so that we could get my car to the maintenance shop and have the oil changed. Stuart just happened to have a meeting in town and it didn't start until 8:30 am. So he was able to pick me up and drop me at school as well as pick me up from school to take me back to get the car. After I picked up the car I headed back to school. Our parent-teacher conference started at 4 pm and went until 7 pm. 

In my 21 years in education I have sat in on multiple parent- teacher conferences, but none have been quite like this. It was a little slow at first, but when it did pick up it was manic. In Arizona we assigned time slots and apparently people just knew to stay outside of the classroom while you were talking to another parent. It's a big festival here. It appears that no one cares who is in the room when a teacher is speaking about their child's progress, but I suspect what seems to be the case is not, at all. I believe we are trying to change that process so that there is a little more privacy. Mind you, on more than one occasion having several parents in the room served me well. Some of my parents needed others to translate for them. All of the parents that come to see me told me their daughter loved me. Whether it was true or not, I loved hearing it. I had about 17 of my 47 show up, which I think is pretty good. Parent teacher conferences is a relatively new concept here and it will take some time for everyone to get used to these conferences being an expectation. All of the parents I met with were very concerned about their child's progress. 

When conferences were almost over, our Head of Faculty came in and said that our grades were really low, that some of our students who most likely are A/B students were failing. I couldn't believe it. After 3 hours at school that evening, trying to manipulate grades and figure out the problem, I headed home at 10 pm, a little defeated. It turns out there is a glitch in the program and they are going to work to get it sorted out before we ha out grades. Unfortunately someone at Stuart's school didn't get the memo and passed out the grades, screwed up and all. Needless to say he had some students upset. He dreads going to school on Sunday because of potential parent reaction. Hopefully things can be sorted out quickly. 

Thursday evening, after a long week, even though it was only four days, we headed to the Rugby Club for dinner. We made an early evening of it because I headed to Abu Dhabi to spend the day with Gina on Friday. We have not had a girl's day since before Gina came to the UAE. 

Gina had a Groupon for a day at Traders, a hotel with a private beach. So we ate lunch at the restaurant at the beach and then laid on lounge chairs for hours on end. I think we were there over 4 hours, just talking and laughing and catching up, with no interruptions. It was wonderful. 

Right across the water is the new Ritz Carlton. We just dreamed of what they were doing on that beach. 

We shopped in the late afternoon, had dinner at a place called The One, which was a combined furniture/home store and restaurant. Needless to say there were some things I had to have for our apartment. We closed the place down and were finally back at Gina's apartment just before 11 pm. Below is the view from Gina's place at night. She overlooks the Grand Palace Hotel and the new palace is being built just to the left of the hotel.

We stayed up talking until super late. We ended up calling a mutual friend (Sherry Bollard) who was at school. It was so fun! I have magic jack and can call anyone with a 480 prefix. So it definitely came in handy on Friday. 

Saturday morning I woke up just before 8 all on my own. It was weird not having a small child crawling I to bed or yelling 'Mama' from his/her room so that I can come in and get him/her althought both are quite capable of finding their way out of their bed and room. 

I headed home just before 10 am. When I got home the kids ate lunch and went down for a nap because we were having dinner with our Irish friends (Gemma, Fechen, Oscar and Astrid) on Satyrday evening. When Jack got up from his nap he wanted to go out and ride his bike without the back 'little' wheels. Stuart made his wishes come true and it wasn't 10 minutes until Jack was back in the house, pouting just a bit. It seems Jack has a little more 'Pennell' in him than I really want to admit. If he can't do it right the first time he doesn't want to do it at all. That was the scene out in the yard with Jack and his bike.  I suppose one day he will just get on with no training wheels and go. Until then we do a great deal of coaching. Ugh! 

Saturday evening we spent time with Fechen, Gemma and their kids. We have made some wonderful friends here, and as I continue to say.... this is the best decision we have made for our family, our marriage, and our future. We are still very happy we came inspite of some of the frustration. 

Low to everyone,

Stuart, Dana, Jack and Millie

 

Second term is here.

5 am came WAY too early Sunday morning. The kids were difficult to get up but once we all got going it was easy. Back to the grind, if you want to call it that. 

I only had about 2/3 of my class at school on Sunday and ironically enough it was one of my best days of teaching here. I have been told that term 2 is the best because the students really start to show their learning. I think if today is any indication, I am in good shape. Stuart had most of his students, which was surprising. It seems the attendance in the more outlying areas after a holiday is lower than right in the city. So I was shocked when he told me most were there. 

I picked up Jack, and one of the other girls in our carpool, after school. When I saw Jack he said, 'Am I going to play rugby tonight?' I asked him who suggested that to him. I know it was his teacher, Karen. We have been talking with them about Jack going to see if he liked the rugby team for under 6 year olds. Her daughter plays and Jack loves her. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. I told him we would go but we were not going to decide to let him play for sure until we saw how well he paid attention and it would depend on whether he liked it or not. 

We were home a couple of hours before it was time for rugby practice. In that time I decided to do a little workout of jumping rope. I haven't exercised since we left Arizona:( Part of the reason is I haven't been able to get my butt in gear was because of our situation, part because by nature I am lazy, and the other part is because it is questionable as to what a woman should wear to workout if she is going to walk or run outside. So, since the new year rolled around I decided eating better and doing some kind of exercise was in order. I just happened to stick in a jump rope before we left the states. The reason I tell all of this is because I want to encourage everyone to get two small children around you if you are exercising. It will boost your self-esteem greatly. 

While I jumped rope, and in between huffs and puffs as well as tripping over the rope, Jack and Millie would clap and then come up to hug me for my efforts. It was fantastic. 

We headed to the Rugby Club just before 5 pm. Jack was so excited. He was eager to be the first one to run to where the coach wanted him to be, to be the person to pass the ball out of the huddle, and to play the hardest he could. His attention span is a little longer than when he played soccer last year. I could really see, for the most part, he was totally engaged and doing his best. Oh there was that part at the end when the kids were playing a monkey in the middle sort of a game and when Jack's team ran from one side to the other, he skipped. Therefore he had both of his flags taken immediately by the other team. Those flags are tough to grab unless you are skipping. Then they just nab them right off of you. 

All in all he had a great time. So we decided to let him join the team. It is flag rugby so I have decided to take back the statement 'Jack will NEVER play rugby' and let him participate. They practice every Sunday and Tuesday and have 3 tournaments between now and the end of February. 

Monday was relatively uneventful. School as usual and then the kids went for a play date at Wade and Karen's house. I had a professional development meeting but Stuart delivered them and I picked them up. They were wiped out and were fast asleep by 7 pm. I like this 'play date' thing. 

Tuesday we had a curry at our favorite place, The Curry House, with Cathy and company. Her parents were leaving Wednesday after being here for nearly a month. It seemed only appropriate to end their stay at our favorite restaurant. 

Prior to that Jack had rugby practice again. We went a bit early and officially signed him up and paid the fees. Rugby practice is at.... You guessed it, the Rugby Club. Can anyone imagine taking your child to their little league practice or soccer practice and being able to purchase what's in the picture below? Brilliant!  I am so happy Jack decided to play rugby. 

Thursday evening Stuart and I went in different directions. He took the kids to the Rugby Club and I went to my friend Helen's house for a girl's evening.  Met some new people and had some good conversations. 

January 13, is the Prophet's birthday. So we have Sunday off. I realize the 13th is Monday, but I don't make the caledar, I just follow it. A three day weekend works for me. 

Gina called on Thursday to see if we wanted to come to Abu Dhabi on Friday for a day at the beach. Some of her other friends from Al Ain were coming as well. So, spur of the moment, we decided that would be fun. A beach day in early January while people in the states are stuck in snow and ice? Sounds like a plan to me. We packed up the car with a cooler of food, beach chairs, towels and a beach blanket, and headed to Abu Dhabi around 9 am. We got to the beach just before 11 and met up with Gina. The beach was a public beach but you had to pay to go in. We paid a little extra to have an umbrella and chair as well. It was like a resort but not nearly as pricey. 

The water was cold to me but I did walk in up to my ankles just to show my bravery. Jack and Millie went all in as did Stuart. The kids played in the sand and sun until almost 5 pm. We had our picnic and all was well, or at least I thought it was... Until.... I took the kids to the showers to rinse them off and get them dressed. Our plan was to go out to eat with Gina after the beach. Jack got rinsed and dress, no problem. Millie was a different story. 

Down at the beach, just before I brought her to the showers, she started whining and saying 'Owie'. I just thought the sand had rubbed between her legs and she was starting to get a rash, or worse yet that sand had gotten in her swim diaper and was rubbing her bum. 

What a lovely surprise I got when I took off her swim diaper. Yep! She had a little, or should I say 'HUGE', present for me. Only a mother could deal with something of such great proportion, and I do not exaggerate. I began to wash out the swim diaper. This is one of the 'diapers' that is made of material and they work really well, as was proven on this particular day. I thought I was going to barf! After the diaper was rinsed I had to figure out how to get all particles down the drain and off the floor where Millie would have to stand on with her bare feet. I moved the shower head around, hoping that would cause the natural draining process. No such luck. In the end I had to just rinse it out like you would a kitchen sink when you finished washing dishes, using your hand, with the need to get the bubbles down the drain.  Oh, if only it would have been that pleasant. Once all 'parts' were in the actual drain I had to squish it down the drain. I then needed to disinfect my hand and Millie's butt. The only soap there was the pink soap you find in most school bathrooms. Some was better than none. The whole experience was more than one person should have to deal with after a lovely day at the beach. 

We ended up at the Lebanese Flower for dinner. Kids were fading fast and Stuart didn't get his food until Gina and I had finished ours. The only thing that makes up for late food is when the taste is so phenomenal you forget it was late in the first place. 

We jammied both kids, chucked them in the car and headed back to Al Ain. Both were snoring within 5 minutes. When we got home we just put the kids in bed and were able to watch some television. I did some laundry and fell asleep on the sofa, waking up at 3 am to go to bed. Whoops!

Saturday morning we set our alarms because Jack had his first rugby tournament. He picked up his kit (aka uniform) on Thursday evening and he was set to go. 

Stuart and Jack left earlier than Millie and myself so that Jack would be on time for the first game. He is still a bit unclear about all of the rules, but Stuart did some coaching in between games and surprisingly enough I could actually see some improvement from one game to the next. 

In his second game he actually got a try (translated: he scored). There was an hour and a half between the second and third game. By the third game all the players were a little over it and really didn't want to play. I can only assume their age attributes to that lack of competitive spirit. They all got a medal, but didn't win one game. 

We had lunch at the Golf Club with some of the other rugby parents. The kids played on the bouncy and playground while we all sat and talked. 

We headed home around 3:30 pm, showered the kids and got ready for Wade, Karen and the girls to come over for dinner. Although our plan was to have an early evening, it didn't really work out that way. We had a nice evening. Their kids are about the same ages as ours and they play very nicely together.  We are starting to make some new friends and from all over the world. We are having the experience of a lifetime. 

Our last week of our holiday. Boo!

James, Louise and Billy arrived Sunday morning. They were exhausted, but Billy was wired. Jack was so excited to see Billy. They had so much fun last year on our Christmas vacation. Seems the few days they will have together this week will be just as enjoyable. We ended up having a very early dinner where most guests slept, or virtually slept. 5 of the 11 people had jet lag which made for an instant snooze. 

James, Louise and Billy went back to the hotel around 7 pm, Matt went off to bed and the rest of us just stared at each other. The holidays can be very exhausting. Ha!

Monday we had lunch at a local golf club. The beverages were flowing and the dynamics of brotherly love was abundant. The great thing for me was seeing the bantering back and forth between the boys and their mother. All families are alike. Most mothers are harassed ruthlessly and undeserving. 

The boys and Barry went off to the pub and the rest of us stayed at the house. 

Louise was still battling jet lag, Karen was preparing dinner, the kids were playing and I was getting ready to bathe all so they would be set for the night. 

Stuart's cousin, Bradley, and his girlfriend, Vikki, came for dinner as well. We sat down to eat around 7 pm and Millie fell asleep immediately. Vacation and naps often don't mix, so early to bed becomes more common. When the meal was over we played Trivial Pursuit, not my favorite game. But if I am on Stuart's team I am usually fine. He knows more useless trivia than anyone I know. He also is pretty smart. In the end we decided to call the game a draw. It was getting late and we were all losing focus. 

After everyone left, Karen revealed to us that she had actually fed some answers to Louise. There was a cheater amongst us. Appalling!

Tuesday, New Year's Eve, we went to Bexhill around lunchtime to Andrew and Lyn's house (aka Granddad and Grandma). After a bit of lunch and obviously restless kids, we adventured out onto the seafront. It was rainy (shocking, really) but we forged on. Jack and Millie loved it, but weren't dressed for the weather (mother of the year). When we told Millie not to stomp in the puddles, we should have saved our breath. That's what kids are supposed to do. 

As you can see, it was rather cold and windy on the beach. After our soaking walk, we headed back so the kids could take a bath.  James, Louise and Billy dropped by Granddad and Grandma's for a bit. The kids ate, James and crew left, and Millie and Jack headed to bed at 7 pm. Originally I tried to put them down at 6 pm, which was agreeable to Jack but Stuart brought it the time to my attention. Then I realized I had read the clock wrong. Oops!  In the UK it gets dark so early that it seems later than it really is. 

We had our curry meal around 8 pm. It was delightful. There was plenty to go around and we had a nice quiet evening. We did manage to stay awake until midnight and remembered to watch the fireworks at midnight. The display was spectacular. As you can see, it was beautiful coming over Big Ben. One year I actually want to be there, but Stuart can't think of any worse form of torture than to be in a busy city, in the crowds at New Year. Boo! Guess I will have to do it on my own. 

We woke up around 7:30 on Wednesday morning, had a bit of ham and eggs, and left for Eastbourne. Lyn was sick so got up to see us off. Everyone seems to have a chest cold. Can't imagine what would cause that in this wet weather. 

We stopped again to see Granddad Tom and Granny, warning Jack yet again to be quiet and well-behaved. This time around he was an angel. He had a lengthy conversation with Granddad Tom about how Santa gets down the chimney. Granddad Tom was so engaged in the conversation, as he always is with any child. I made Stuart record it on his phone. It made me want to cry. Sadly, too many times we don't savour the special times with generations before us until it is too late. Most likely we will not see Granddad Tom again on this earth. I am so glad that Jack had that time with him and so happy we have record of it. I haven't spent a great deal of time with Stuart's grandparents, but I do know that he admires his grandfather more than any one person in his life. Stuart has so many wonderful memories of his granddad and has nothing but the utmost respect for him. 

After our visit, the kids and I said goodbye (Stuart would see them again on Thursday), we headed to a pub called The Farm. Matt treated us all to a New Year's Day meal. It was delicious and there were 5 of the 8 grand kids there. Barnes (Grandpa's youngest son), his wife Anna, Bella and Sofia (their girls) joined us. The kids played at the end of the table while we finished our meal. We snapped some photos and enjoyed each other's company. 

We headed back to Karen's house, or at least most of us did. The boys went to Battle to meet up with Andrew. The plan was to have a curry meal and for 4 of the 5 boys (step brothers-there are two, one being Barnes), the other son is in Canada, to spend some time with Andrew before Matt left on Thursday and Stuart left on Friday. Seems that would have been a good plan had pubs been open in Battle. In the end they met up at the hotel where James and Louise were staying, had some beers, food and then came home. 

During all of this, all 5 grandchildren, Barry, Karen, Louise, Anna and myself were back at the house. The kids played, very noisily might I add, the adults conversed and we were all happy. It was amazing how well the children played together. There were toys everywhere and we just stepped over them.  Grandpa pulled out some drums, a wash board, and chop sticks as well as a few blow horns, to create a 6 man band. It was a memory maker for sure. 

Thursday morning Karen, Matt and Stuart went to Eastbourne. Barry, James, Louise and Billy went to visit Barnes ad Anna's new house, and I stayed at the house with Jack and Millie. My friend Sam came over and brought her two girls, Daisy (6 years old) and Zinnia (almost 9 months old). Jack and Daisy struck up a friendship last summer when we were visiting. They were playing in the other room when Daisy suddenly appeared. Jack was not with her. She whispered into her mother's ear that Jack wanted to kiss her but she didn't want to kiss him. Good golly, is this happening already?

I had a little chat with Jack about who we do and do not kiss. He was a bit embarrassed but understood. We proceeded with the day, had tea, the kids played (without the kissing) and we had a good chat. There is never enough time for visiting. 

When everyone returned from their respective places we all sat around and chatted a bit before Matt had to take off to the airport. After Matt left, Stuart and I did a last run to the local shopping center to exchange some jammies, get some shrink bags for our clothes. I know it's shocking that we had too much stuff to fit in our bags, thus the need for the shrink bags. 

That evening we ordered out for a Chinese meal and hit the sack early in order to be able to get up for our 9:30 am flight. 

Friday morning we rose at 4:15 am and drove to London. We got to the airport early enough to have one last English breakfast. Our flight was uneventful. Millie slept for the first half of it, which was nice. Wade picked us up and we headed home. Once we arrived at home we decided to unpack and keep the kids up as late as we could. Since we arrived home at 10:45 pm, it was only 6:45 pm in the UK and putting the kids to bed at that time would have been silly. So they played with their new Christmas toys and then headed to bed around midnight. Of course they didn't fall asleep until almost 1 am. 

Our water pressure was horrid when we got home and it took almost 3 hours for our water heaters to do their job. My shower was long because it took forever to get the soap our of my hair with the trickles that were coming out of the faucet, but at least the water was warm.  I fell asleep on the sofa somewhere  in the middle of epidode 8 of Glee season 3. When I woke up it was 4:45 am. I drug myself to bed with the hopes the kids would sleep until at least 10 am. 

Our dreams came true, we all slept until nearly 11 am. And although that was great, we had a lot to do before we started back to school on Sunday. We got up, headed out to do some banking and grocery shopping, came back home, packed a picnic and went to the Hili Archeological Park to meet Cathy and her girls as well as James, Kirsty and their two kids (other English/South African friends), and Cathy's mum and step father. It was nice for the kids to be outside and running around. We took Jack's bike that Santa brought him and Millie's push trike she was given by Wade and Karen. They had fun just playing in the fresh air. 

We got home, bathed the kids, put them to bed, and continued to get things sorted from our vacation. We did 3 loads of laundry (all had to be hung on our lovely metal drying rack -air drying....hate it), Stuart made hummus and I took down the tree and decorations. We sat down to watch some mindless television at about 9 pm. Stuart made us a cup of tea. Mine was a bit larger than his. For Christmas, Andrew and Lyn bought me the mug on the left. His dad always gives me trouble about how large our cups for tea and coffee are, thus the new mug. It holds about three times the amount of a normal mug. I know he didn't think I would ever drink tea out of it....wrong!

At 11 pm we started down the hall, heading for bed, knowing tomorrow would be the start of the second term and not exactly sure what we were doing in terms of teaching, we noticed Jack was wide awake. Oh jet lag, you are not our friend.

Jack laid in bed with us until about midnight then was forced back into his own bed. I have no idea how long he was awake in his own room. Maybe coming home one day before we had to go back to work wasn't the best idea after all. 

'Twas the Night (or few days) Before Christmas

Sunday found us traveling to Henfield to have lunch with some of Karen and Barry's good friends, Janie and Digby.  It seems that the entire village came out for the party. There were great nibblies and the kids were so well behaved. Millie just weaved in and out of the legs. She was quite charming and all the 'grandpas' thought she was adorable. Jack was very charming and polite as well. Whew! When you take children into a grown-up situation it is really unfair to expect them to be quiet as church mice, but so fab when they are. 

We then headed to Eastbourne for tea and pickies at Nathan and Craig's.  The kids were a little crazier than at the other gathering, but we were the only people at their house so the energy they let out was okay. Craig played on the iPad with Jack and probably had just as much fun as Jack did. We stayed for a little over 2 hours. We then headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a much needed sleep. 

Monday Stuart and Karen were up and out to the grocery store before 7 am. The preparations for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas dinner and Boxing Day meals has begun. I believe the British, or at least Stuart's mum, do up Christmas bigger than in the states (or at least in my family). It's several days of fun and food with friends and family all around. 

Monday afternoon we went to Eastbourne to meet up with Paul, Jane, and other people I used to hang out with on the harbour when I lived in Eastbourne. We try to see them at least once everytime we are in the UK. We had a lovely time at a new little seaside cafe. There was a room in the cafe that looked a bit like a living room where Jack and Millie could sit and play. We were able to visit and watch the rain and wind take over the place. 

The weather has been especially rainy. Monday the winds did some real damage across the country. We had difficulty getting back from Eastbourne to Hastings because the train barriers had either fallen or were stuck in the down position. We ended up driving along the seafront all the way back, maybe not the best idea when winds are very strong. Fortunately the tide was out.  We finally arrived safely from Eastbourne back to Karen's house. I don't miss this kind of weather at all. 

Tuesday we headed back to Eastbourne to see Granddad Tom and Granny. We are doing our best to see them as much as possible while we are here. The kids did the best they could to stay calm and sit still. However, we have to remind ourselves they are only 2 and 5 years old. We really can't expect them to stay still for very long. 

When we got home from Eastbourne on Tuesday we had some last minute things to wrap and get ready for Christmas morning. Karen and Stuart started preparing things for the meals to come over the following few days. Jack and Millie played around while I wrapped some presents for Karen. 

Jack and Millie were really getting excited about putting out treats for Santa and the reindeer. Millie is really too young to understand all the 'magic' of Christmas, but Jack is really into it all this year. 

We were discussing the fact that Elfis was going to go back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. As Jack was discussing this with Grandma he asked her how Elfis got back home. Thinking quick on her feet, she said 'Well I suppose he would be smart to catch a ride with Santa on the sleigh when he drops off the presents for you'. That worked for Jack. He came upstairs as I was wrapping and delivered that information to me. 

He also was asking about the things he had asked Santa for. Here was the conversation:

Jack: Mama, how will Santa know what to bring me?

Me: Well, what have you told him you want?

Jack: A bike. 

Me: Well, then he will know because you have asked him. Do you think he will deliver it to Grandma's house or to our house in Al Ain?

Jack: Al Ain, because we couldn't get a bike home from Grandma's (he has been coached to say this). 

Me: I wonder how we will know if he took things to Al Ain?

Jack: I guess we will just have to wait until we get back to Al Ain (perfectly fine with the whole idea). 

Me: Maybe. 

Jack: If Santa can't bring a bike to me it will be okay. There are other presents under the tree for me. 

Really? He was sincere about understanding if Santa couldn't manage it. I'd have been miffed, as a kid, to say the least. 

Jack put out 3 mince pies, stating 'There is one for Santa and 2 for Mrs. Santa.'  Then he asked, 'If Mrs. Santa doesn't eat both of her mince pies, can I eat the one left when I wake up?'  I like the way he thinks! Milk was also left as well as some carrots for the reindeer. We took care of and remembered everyone. 

Have no fear, Santa came to our house in Al Ain as well as to Grandma's. He did not disappoint. Presents were scattered from here to there and all were waiting to be attacked. 

Jack woke first and came into my room. He asked if he could go downstairs and watch a movie. I thought it was odd he didn't want to immediately go and see what Santa had left him. When we walked downstairs, before heading into the den, where the tv is, he quickly said, 'Can we go see what Santa left?' I told him we would have to wait for Millie to wake up. 'Ah' was the response but then we went into the den and turned on Gnomeo and Juliet. 

Around 7:30 am Millie woke up and came downstairs. Of course Daddy had to go before everyone in order to video tape the reaction. There was nothing major to see but both kids were ecstatic. Now, mind you, there was an email from 'Santa' saying he had left a bike for Jack and a kitchen for Millie, so the big gifts had been left in Al Ain for our return.  Of course there were pictures attached to the email. 

We ate breakfast, then began the present reveal. There was way too much from Grandma and Grandpa, and for that matter from Mama and Daddy as well. Millie would have been happy with just her baby stroller and baby, and Jack with his millions of dinosaurs he received, but the gifts kept coming. With each gift, Jack was as enthusiastic as with the first. It made it so wonderful. As parents, one of our biggest fears is that our children will get extraordinarily greedy during gift opening. We pray we never hear 'I don't like that' or 'I already have that' followed by a great deal of whining. Our fears did NOT come to pass today, thank goodness. 

The kids were spoiled beyond reason, played with their toys the entire day (except when Millie was sleeping), and we had a fantastic Christmas. Food was prepared with love and served around 3 pm. Meal time was a bit stressful but we got through it and no one was injured. We were able to Skype with Grammie, Pop, Uncle Mitch, Uncle Russ, Aunt Julie, Morgan and Emily. They were on their way back from celebrating Christmas in California (Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo- jealous). 

Boxing Day Stuart got up just before 5 am to pick his brother, Matt, up at the airport. He was coming in from Australia. Stuart and his brothers will be together for a few days, which has not happened in almost 7 years. I know Stuart has been excited for this time for a while. James will be here Sunday. As you can tell, the kids are already enjoying their time with Uncle Matt. 

Stuart and Matt headed to Granddad Tom and Granny's house from the airport. Jack, Millie and I got up and played with their new toys and watched Elf for the hundredth time. 

We had a lazy day and then had a lovely dinner. Everyone was tired so we called it an evening. 

We headed to Portsmouth on Friday morning to visit Stuart's grandma on his dad's side. She's called Mimi, and boy did Millie love to say her name. Stuart and Matt dropped the kids and myself off at the local shopping center while they went to pick up Mimi. It's amazing how much shopping can be accomplished in a 30 minute time frame. I bought a hand bag and a dress. Happy New Year to me. 

We had a lovely lunch with Mimi at a local pub, took her back to her apartment and had a cup of tea. I sorted out her fridge so all the food Karen had sent her would fit in. She is a character for sure. She speaks her mind and really reminds me of my dad's mother. It's always nice when you can take the time to visit with those who have made our lives possible and are not necessarily able to travel the world to see us. 

The kids dozed on the ride back and had a difficult time falling asleep in the evening. Jack finally dropped off at 11 pm. The benefit of that is that both kids slept in a bit on Saturday morning. 

Saturday brought another trip to Eastbourne. The kids and I went to Treasure Island, a kids play land, while Stuart and Matt went to their grandparent's house. Craig and Nathan met us at Treasure Island for coffee. The kids played and we talked. It was great fun. I love when friendships don't skip a beat no matter the time you are apart. 

After a couple of hours the weather seemed good enough to walk on the seafront and down towards the Eastbourne Pier. So we left Treasure Island to enjoy, the most unlikely, every so brief, lovely weather. 

We ended our day with Nathan and Craig at the local ice cream parlor, walked back to Treasure Island, and just as Stuart drove up to pick us up it started to rain. We drove to Stuart's grandparent's house so that the kids could see Auntie Cheryl and Amy, Stuart's aunt and cousin. Of course we got to see Granny and Granddad Tom as well, which was nice.

Jack was asked to behave and stay calm, but as you would guess he was not as calm as he had promised he would be. They just can't keep it together, try as they may, and it doesn't matter how much threatening we do. I wonder, is this normal? I hope so. 

We headed to the Red Lion for dinner and the tide must have changed because the kids were great. They crashed once we got home. 

Stuart's brother arrives Sunday, so let the fun begin!

The Telfords hit England

Friday morning we got up and rushed around to do those last minute things that have to be done before going on holiday somewhere; emptying the trash, making sure all things not needed were turned off or unplugged, and being sure we didn't forget anything. 

Wade drove us to the airport in our car so we wouldn't have to worry about airport parking fees for three weeks. You know, every airport has different rules. So when we got to the counter to check our bags and car seats it was a bit of an ordeal. We have never been made to wrap our car seats.  We do wrap Millie's because it has an all fabric cover that if it got wet in transit we would have a difficult time getting it dry by the next time it was needed. However, we just fold Jack's seat and have always stuck it on the belt and waved goodbye. Emirate Airlines will not let that be. Stuart had to go all the way back to the entrance of the airport to have the seat wrapped in green plastic, and it cost him 20 dirhams. By the time he returned we only had a little over and hour before they started boarding for our flight. 

Because we bank with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi we are allowed to go to the Mubara Lounge in the airport.  They have delicious food and drinks....for free! We quickly had a bite to eat and then headed to our gate. 

We literally walked down to the gate, checked in with the front desk, went to the waiting area and walked onto the plane. On Emirates they board families first. Again, love this country.  

The plane journey was uneventful. As always there was plenty of food, drink, and movies to watch. Millie is not quite old enough to stay tuned to a movie for more than 10 minutes, therefore I didn't really watch any movies either. Neither kids slept until the plane was getting ready to land. Typical. Both dropped off as we were approaching the runway. Stuart and I kept poking and pestering them to keep them awake. When we stepped out of the plane it was chilly. Jack noticed and said, 'Ooo, it's cold. It is very close to Christmas now!'  He was so excited. I, too, have difficulty believing it is time for Christmas when it's 90+ degrees outside. 

When going through customs there is a line for UK and EU citizens and then there is another line for 'Other' passport holders. Since at least one of us (actually three of us) holds an 'other' passport, we were told to go to that line, which was a lot shorter than the UK/EU line. It pays to marry an American in my opinion. 

Got our passports stamped and headed to get our luggage. While Millie sat in her stroller, she dropped off to sleep. We had our bags, got our rental car, and headed south to Hastings. The time difference is 4 hours earlier than in the UAE. Although it was only 7pm, in Al Ain it was 11 pm. The kids slept all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house and I might have as well. Fortunately Stuart didn't:) 

It was a typical night in England; rainy and dreary. Stuart said the driving was exhausting. We arrived at 8:30 pm, flopped Jack on the sofa but Millie was then awake and would have nothing to do with going to bed. After a bit Millie started to explore the place. I put Jack to bed and we had some food. By the time we all hit the hay it was 3:30 am in Al Ain. I didn't anticipate jet lag with that short of time difference but I suppose I was wrong. 

Saturday we woke up, way too early, and later in the morning we headed to Granddad and Grandma's house. We had bacon sandwiches and mince pies .......and caramel tarts.  Grandma pulled out some tea toys for Millie, which she loved. She has asked Santa for a kitchen for Christmas. She is very into serving people food and tea. Of course Jack loved the tea set as well. 

After we ate, Stuart and Granddad took the kids down to the beach and to the park.  Granddad and Grandma live on the seafront in Bexhill. The view from their penthouse is amazing.  Both kids had a lot of fun running on the beach and collecting treasures. One of the 'treasures' stunk so badly that I am going to have to accidentally break it so we have to throw it away. It was the shell of a crab. Heaven forbid the men in my family discourage the collection of such a thing in the first place. 

When the crew returned from the beach we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's. Not surprisingly, both kids feel asleep on the way. We hauled them up to their beds and Stuart and I made our first trip to Sainsburys, the local grocery store. We usually are very keen to buy things at the store that we can't get in Arizona. But now that we live in the UAE there is very little we can't get in Al Ain, excluding some things from the states. So we didn't spend nearly as much money as we normally do. Instead we bought essentials like shampoo, diapers and wipes. After all these years we have finally figured out that instead of wasting space in our luggage we can wait and buy some things when we get to our destination. Duh!

We tried to make sure the kids didn't nap too long because their time clocks were already messed up. When they woke up they ate an early dinner, played with some toys, watched a movie and then headed back to bed at 7:30 pm. They both went to sleep very quickly. Grandma and Grandpa had a holiday dinner with some of Grandma's colleagues from before she retired. So Stuart and I had dinner on our own. By 8:30 pm we had both fallen asleep on the sofa and decided going to bed might be best. 

I am sad to report that our early bedtime resulted in Jack being wide awake at 4 am. We convinced him to play his DS for an hour but then downstairs we went. He stated, 'I want to see where Elfis (our elf on the shelf) is.' When he left the room Stuart and I just stared at each other. Operation 'move the elf' went into action. I am not a huge fan of this elf on the shelf thing anymore. I thought Elf on the Shelf was going to be a fun addition to the holidays, but I've come to realize that Elfis may actually ruin the Christmas spirit if his puppet masters (Stuart and myself) can't remember to reposition him each night. Ugh!

After breakfast and getting ready for the day, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Tenterden to go on the Santa Express. I have never been on the Polar Express in northern Arizona, but I believe it is the same idea. Karen and Barry (aka Grandma an Grandpa) left before we did to pick up Bella and Sophia, our nieces. 

We got to the station and went in to enjoy a carousel ride before the rest of our party arrived. This had the be the fastest carousel I have ever seen. Stuart took Jack while Millie and I stood outside of the gate. Millie had actually fallen asleep on the car journey so she would not have gone because of that, but when I saw the speed I was glad she was asleep. While we waited, I got us some chips and hot chocolate. 

When Jack and Stuart got off of the carousel it started to rain a bit harder. It had already been drizzling, but it now started to come down with more force. Funny thing is the rain did not stop anyone from coming out. Of course, as I've always said, if the rain were to stop the English from any outdoor activities, they would never come outside. It ALWAYS rains!

Because of the rain, we got on the train as soon as it came into the station. We rode down the tracks and had mince pies, port (kids had juice) and each child got to see Santa and received a present. It was fantastic! There were only 6 children in our car so Santa really spoke with each child. It was so cool. We all had a wonderful time. I left my iPhone on the train beacause I was trying to juggle 3 jackets, 3 scarves, a back pack, 2 presents and a partridge in a pear tree. But someone turned it in and I figured out I had left it before we headed home. So all is back to normal now. 

Because it gets dark much earlier here, by the time we got home it was only 4 pm but Jack insisted he take a bath. Both kids had bathed and eaten by 5:40 pm and both Jack and Millie asked if they could go to bed. We stalled them off until 6:30 and then they went to dream land. 

Initially we were supposed to go over to see Stuart's granddad's on Monday morning. However it was decided that all of us going might be too much so Stuart and Karen went alone. He has been very ill. It's such a sad time at what is supposed to be such a joyous time. Karen is determined to make everything wonderful for all of us which she always does. I would say of all Christmases Stuart and I have been married, this is by far the most important one for us to be with his family. So I am so glad we are here. 

After Stuart and his mum returned we went to pick out the Christmas tree and saw some reindeer at the tree farm. Jack was amazed that Santa would leave his reindeer at someone's farm. We told him that there were reindeer who stayed with other people so they wouldn't distract Santa and the elves as they had to get a lot done before Christmas. It worked. 

We put the tree on top of the car. It was a good old fashioned Griswold family Christmas. 

As you would guess the tree was too big and it took us a good hour to decide where to put it so that it would be the most out of the way. Hmmm. 

While the tree was being wrangled around, Grandma and Jack were making mince pies in the kitchen. Millie tried to help but she was really more in the way than she was any help. 

In the end the mince pies turned out perfectly as did the tree. 

Tuesday morning we woke up and Santa had left the kids a pair of wellies a piece.  Apparently Elfis had told Santa that the weather in England was very wet and muddy. Therefore Santa assumed the kids would need some rain boots. He's clever, that Santa. 

We had breakfast at a seaside cafe called the Mermaid. We met up with a couple of friends we used to teach with. After, we walked into town to the local shopping center. Jack got good use of his new wellies, as he stomped in every puddle from the cafe to the shops, causing soaking wet sweat pants and maybe not getting the rusult of a dryer child Santa had hoped for with the gift. We ended up stopping at the Game Center so Jack could waste our money on some games. Millie fell asleep so she didn't cost us a thing. 

The afternoon brought playing in the house and relaxing with a cup of tea, my favorite. The kids didn't nap, so bed time was relatively earlier than normal. In fact, at 6:30 Millie fell asleep on Stuart's lap. Both kids slept until around 7 am. I think we have adjusted to the time change. Yahoo!

We headed to Eastbourne on Wednesday morning to see Granddad Tom and Granny. We only stayed for a bit so that we would not overwhelm them.  We ended up eating some lunch and shopping around the town center. 

Traffic was terrible on the way home. I kept Jack awake but lost Millie to Mr. Sandman about 20 minutes into the hour journey. The plan was to not let the kids nap so they would go to bed relatively easy. Grandma and Grandpa were going to babysit so making it easy on them was our goal. 

Wednesday evening we went back to Eastbourne to have dinner and spend time with our friends Nathan and Craig. It turns out that Craig had a prior commitment so we had a cup of tea at their new house then headed to The Belguim Cafe for dinner. When we got there the weather was wicked; rainy and blowing. The waitress, all 18 years of her, inquired, 'Did ya have reservations?' (Ask that previous question in your best English accent). As we all three looked around the incredibly empty restaurant it was all we could do not to laugh in her face. I said, 'No, we don't have reservations', to which she responded,'Ok, just have a seat anywhere'. I felt like I must be on candid camera! Really?

At any rate we had a lovely dinner and headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a good night's sleep. 

Thursday morning we got up and kind of lazed around. We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the 7th time, and vowed that we were putting it away and starting with another movie that afternoon. Jack, Stuart and Grandpa went for a walk in the woods behind Grandma and Grandpa's house. They were gone for a while and when they came back they were filthy muddy and needed some major cleaning up. Jack had a great time and told of stories of seeing owls and foxes, none of which were true. He has a vivid imagination (he's a big fat liar). 

The kids took a bath, ate dinner, and headed to bed. The days are going way too fast for us. 

Friday we headed out around 9:30 am to go shopping and eat lunch on the Bexhill seafront. After lunch we went to Granddad and Grandma's (aka Andrew and Lyn). We had a cup of tea and visited with them for a bit before they had to head out for their holiday to New York. They are meeting up with James- Stuart's brother, Louise-his wife, and Billy-their little boy. They are all spending Christmas in New York City. They will be coming back to the UK (all of them) for New Year's. Jack can't wait to see Billy. We spent last Christmas with them and had a wonderful time. 

Friday evening was back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a quiet night. Jack'a new movie? Elf! During dinner on Friday he said, 'I think I'll eat in my room'. If you've seen the movie the part he was quoting was when Buddy's dad (the workaholic) came home for dinner and immediately  took his dinner and said he was going to his room to eat. Jack loves quoting movies, but not the best for us when it is inappropriate. Quality parenting, I always say. 

Saturday we went to Dover to deliver some Christmas presents to Stuart's great aunt. Since Stuart's grandfather is ill it is not possible for them to get down to see the relatives in Dover so we became Santa. We had a nice visit and then we went for lunch at a pub by the seafront. The waves were spraying up on the walls of Dover Harbour. Our original plan was to go to Dover Castle but it was raining cats and dogs so the castle was out. 

Two more weeks of our vacation left and the kids, especially Jack, are getting anxious for Santa to come. Have a wonderful Christmas and we will be in touch in a week. 

Merry Christmas!

Last week of term 1

This week was quite different than any other experience I have had in an educational setting. At this point in the term, I am told, there are very few students who come to school. This year seems to be no exception. The reason? I am not sure exactly. The parents whom I have spoken with are very concerned about their daughter's progress, so it is not a lack of concern for academics. I believe a great deal of it is generational. Also, the country as a whole gives a great deal of attention and concern to the family. It seems when my students are not at school, they will be traveling with their family or doing other family activities.

The entire week, each day, the numbers in our grade level diminished.  The first day was relatively normal, by Monday we had about 30 of our 160 4th grade students in school. Tuesday we had 8 students and Wednesday we had 2, who seemed to disappear during our 1st hour class. The teachers were in a meeting. The specialists were in classes with the kids who remained and.....mysteriously gone at the beginning of second period. On Wednesday no children were in school so we had meetings to finally get our new school organized. In the best of conditions, when there is only one language to consider, opening a new school is really difficult and we have been no exception to that rule. So we were all very productive on Wednesday. By Thursday we were ready to celebrate. We had one short meeting in our committee meetings and then we all enjoyed some time together as a staff, with food of course. By noon the place was nearly a ghost town. I stayed for a while so that I would not have to work over our three week break. I have no need for that. 

Outside of school, Christmas shopping was completed, our family photos were delivered (which we love!), we finished packing for England, and managed some special time with Cathy and the girls.

Tuesday evening we had our Christmas celebration with Cathy and the girls. We had initially planned to have dinner at Cathy's place. But after a long (or short in our case) day at work we decided to go to our favorite curry restaurant, called the Curry House, ironically enough.  As always, the food was delicious. We went to Cathy's apartment after and opened presents. 

When we left our place for the Curry House we stopped at the dry cleaners to drop off Stuart's work clothes. As we were coming out of the neighborhood onto the main road, we noticed the police were doing random stops to check for driver's licenses and insurance cards. I think people try to get away woth not having either.  Seems that is the same in all countries. Naturally I was one of the people they randomly stopped. The officer took my license and insurance card. Stuart had decided he didn't want to drive my car, which never happens. He always drives. At any rate I was the one who had to give out the information. He took down my license plate number and checked a few other things. Then he passed my insurance card and driver's license back to me. We were stopped at a round about so I pulled forward to see if I could get out into that crazed crowd. As I did I head Stuart say 'Um, this is not your license'. Clearly the officer had another set of information in his hand when he returned the cards to me. He had given me Mohammed's license and insurance card. Hmmm. I held it out the window and said, 'These are not mine'. He didn't exactly understand me until I showed him the picture and pretended to circle my face with my finger while saying 'This is not me!'  He had me to drive around the round about, park behind his patrol car, and then he was able to give me the correct information. Whew! Losing something like that here, I would guess, would be difficult to replace. 

We are off to the UK tomorrow so I will close out this post for now. It seems strange that Christmas is two weeks away since outside it is still 90 some odd degrees. I used to find the warm weather a strange phenomenon when I first moved to Phoenix.  Through the years I have learned to think of temperatures in the 50s as a sign of Christmas. But now I guess my new temperature gauge will be in the 80s we will know that Christmas is close. Seems abnormal, but I think a lot of new 'normals' are starting to enter our lives. Still enjoying our lives here. Love to you all!

The Telfords

The day the UAE became the UAE

The story really is quite amazing. I am sure there are people who could make it much more interesting than I will, but the short of it is there was a man named Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He was frequently referred to as the father of the nation.

He led the UAE through economic and political change which could not have been imagined when many were born.

Sheikh Zayed was born in Abu Dhabi around 1918 although the exact date is unknown.

As a young man he spent time with Bedouin tribesmen, learning about their way of life and the desert in which they lived.

His first taste of government came in 1946 when he was appointed Ruler's Representative based in the oasis town of Al Ain.

In 1971 he orchestrated the union of the 7 emirates, forming what we know of as the United Arab Emirates. 

So on December 2 each year there is a grand national celebration, referred to as National Day. 

In honor of this we were given Sunday and Monday off last week. And then of course that 4 day weekend was turned into a 5 day weekend because of the announcement that Dubai got the bid for the World Expo in, wait for it, ...... 2020.

On Sunday we got up and went to do some Christmas shopping that was supposed to have been done while we were in Abu Dhabi the day before.  I am pleased to report that we had some success. In the early evening we went to Cathy's and headed from there to the Hili Archeological Park for a picnic and fireworks that were supposed to go off at 8:30 pm. We met with yet another ADEC family there. And at about 9 pm when no fireworks appeared we decided to head home. Later we were informed that the promised time of 8:30 pm actually changed because the mood hit at 7 pm. We had heard but didn't see the fireworks. Oh well. 

Monday was National Day. We invited Cathy and her girls, as well as Fechin, Gemma and their kids over for dinner. We had an English roast dinner, which would only make since considering all guests were British. 

Tuesday we resumed school as normal, or so I thought. Of my 49 students, only 26 showed up to school. We ended up combing classes and I only taught 2 of my 6 classes. It worked out nicely for me because Jack's National Day celebration that he should have done last Thursday was rescheduled for Tuesday. I knew I would be able to go since we were most likely going to have no students anyway.  My principal is very accommodating when it comes to our families. 

Tuesday evening an tech guy came by to hook up our buffalo router and magic jack, both of which I know very little about. What I do know is now we can watch Netflix and Hulu Plus. Yahoo!

School was a little busier on Wednesday. I had one full class and was only missing 7 girls in the other one. I had to teach a whole 4.5 hours, my regular schedule. In the evening we tried to do a little more Christmas shopping. We ended up buying some decorations for our house and a lamp, all of which were wrapped in bubble wrap. Sherry Bollard, you will be happy to know that the only thing Jack was concerned about was whether he was going to be able to play with the bubble wrap when we got home. So as you can see, the answer was 'yes'. Thanks for that tradition. Although we may not do it at New Year and not running bikes over it, still we have claimed it as our own. 

On Thursday the majority of my class showed up for school but not until after we had combined classes.  So although we had a few too many girls in the classroom, I still only taught three classes that day. It was a great way to end the week. 

Thursday evening we went to the rugby club to hear the Al Ain choir sing Christmas carols. It was nice and put me a bit more in the Christmas spirit. But it does take a great deal to get in the spirit in 80 degree weather, which was the low that day. 

Friday morning we got up, I went to fetch Ms. Janet to clean our house, and off to church we went. When we got there we were surprised to find out that Jack was going to be a part of the Nativity. That was the entire service. It seems that two weeks ago they made animal masks. Jack was a cow. He sat in the manger so quiet and still. Then just when I thought he was going to get restless and need to come back to sit with us in the audience, he lowered his face to the floor. Obviously, the cows at the manger needed nuriousment. It truly looked as if he were eating hay. I started giggling way down deep inside. Then as the Christmas story was finishing, our little cow laid down for a rest, not like a boy would, but like a cow would. So stinking cute. Our boy was in his first, of many his mother hopes, productions. 

Yet again, after church, we headed to the mall for the last of our Christmas shopping, ate lunch and headed home for a much needed nap. Because Friday evening there was a Christmas party at Jack's school. Santa was there!

There were a number of activities for the kids to do, but Jack an Millie seem perfectly happy to just play on the playground. There was a tree and Santa came to deliver every boy and girl a Christmas gift (that needed to be delivered to the school prior to December 3, with names clearly marked on the gift. Oh, and no gift should be over 50 dirhams- about $14. Didn't want it to look as if Santa has favorites). Jack and Millie thought it was great. 

Saturday morning we got up and went to a gingerbread making party. Again, Santa showed up and brought everyone a .....book. Yippee! We could use these, St. Nick.

The gingerbread houses were all pre-made and we got to put the icing and the candy on. It was so fun. Millie ate more of the candy than she put on the house so our decorations were a bit lacking. 

After making gingerbread houses we decided to go to the Sands Golf course, where our church meets, to check out the farmer's market, which also had crafts from around the world. Jack just played outside when we went inside to check out all the crafts. Amongst the beautiful wares, Santa was sitting there greeting children. When we got ready to leave and got I to the car Stuart asked Jack if he had seen Santa inside the building. Here was the conversation.

Jack: Santa was there?

Me: Yes. Didn't you see him?

Jack: No. Was it a girl Santa or a boy 

         Santa. 

Me:  What?  What do you mean?

Jack: Some Santa's are girls. 

Me:  Why do you say that?

Jack: The one where we made our gingerbread today was a girl. 

Me: How do you know that?

Jack: Cuz I just do. 

Um......help!  We went on to explain that since the real Santa can't be everywhere at once, he sometimes asks others to help him out by dressing up like him. He was fine with that and kept on playing his Nintendo DS in the back of the car, while Stuart and I were secretly cracking up in the front seat. 

Just one more week of school and then we are off for three weeks and off to England for the entire break. I can't promise much of a blog for that time, but will fill you in if we do anything exciting.