Christmas abounds in the UAE, strangely enough.

We got up Sunday morning to visit Santa at Wafi Mall in Dubai. They had a Grotto where we got to go into a private room to chat with Santa and have the kids' picture taken with him. Millie wouldn't speak to him, but Jack spoke for her so all was okay. 

She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

For a Muslim country, they sure do decorate well for Christmas. 

She looks a little more settled now and Jack is happy as a lark to be telling Santa he wants a Play Station 4. Really wish he'd tell Santa he wants an iPad, since that's what he's getting. Oh well, hopefully he's not too disappointed. 

Once we were finished with Santa, we went to get some coffee and the kids had a pastry as usual. When we left Wafi Mall we went to the Mall of the Emirates to shop a bit. We wanted Grammie and Pop to see Ski Dubai and then we knew we would have lunch there. 

Both kids brought their wallets so they could buy themselves a toy. As much as I tried to discourage them buying before Santa came, they insisted. Jack immediately found a nerf gun he wanted and bought it, having money to spare. Millie then found a pair of Crocs with the Frozen crew on them. She decided she wanted to buy them with her money. When we got to the counter the lady told us the price and I started telling Millie which bills to put on the counter. By the time we were finished she had no more bills in her wallet. She looked up at me and said, 'Hey, I don't have any more monies.' So then I asked, 'Do you still want them?' And she said, 'No!'  She wasn't willing to give up all her money for a pair of shoes. The lady paying next to me looked at her boys and said, 'See, sometimes you have to give up one thing to get another,' and looked at me and said, 'Thanks for that lesson for my boys.'  It was funny! We have never really let the kids bring their wallets out to buy anything, so I was shocked that Millie wasn't willing to buy the shoes in the end. Maybe this is the beginning of a sensible child. 

After we ate lunch we went to another toy store where the kids saw another Santa. Then they looked around at different toys. Millie started riding this electric powered Ninja Turtle scooter. She rode it all over the store. She even rode it over by Santa to tell him that was what she wanted for Christmas, except she wanted a Frozen one. Whew! Santa will

come through on that request, I assured her. 

Once we were home from Dubai, it was showers for everyone and a relaxing evening. 

Monday we got up and got our car tags renewed. Grammie and Pop went for a walk with the kids and took them to Abela's grocery store where they picked up some apples and bubble gum. 

After we were back from the tag place we headed to the mall to finish our Christmas shopping. Grammie and I went to the souq to get some more camel rug coasters and she found a unique bracelet she wanted. She walked away from it and we headed on to Toys R Us. As we headed on, Stuart lagged behind and bought the bracelet for her. The only problem was, she kept saying she thought she should go back and get it. I kept discouraging her until we ended up meeting Stuart in the front of the mall so we wouldn't go back by the souq. I don't think she had a clue we actually bought it. 

Once the shopping was over we were back to the house. The kids had stayed with Pop so we could get the shopping done. We hid most of the gifts in Grammie and Pop's room, all except Jack's bike, purchased by Grammie and Pop. The bike was put in my car and covered with a blanket. He's going to be so excited. 

For dinner we decided to go to the club with Stuart and eat while he trained for a bit. 

Tuesday morning we got up and decided to go to the cinema. Star Wars had been in theaters for almost a week and Stuart hadn't seen it, which is unheard of. We arrived at the theater at 9:30 am and the movie started at 10 am. There was not one light on in the place. We walked around the mall a bit, baffled that the popcorn wasn't being made yet, really more irritated than baffled. The ticket counter finally opened at about 10 minutes until 10. We barely had enough time to get snacks. We were a house divided, not by my choice of course. Not ALL of us wanted to see Star Wars. 

Stuart, Jack, Grammie and Pop went to see Star Wars. 

Millie and I went to see The Good Dinisaur. 

Our cinema selfie! Millie ate all of my popcorn. 

After the movie we ate lunch at the food court. We happened to be at the mall where my mom had seen that bracelet. As we were walking to the car she said, 'Now is this the mall where we saw that bracelet?' I said, 'Yes it is,' and we kept walking. Again she said, 'I really think I need to go back to get that bracelet.'  I told her we would be back to that mall at some stage. I diverted her one last time. 

I was up Wednesday morning with Grammie and Pop at 5 am to watch UCA, my brother's team, play basketball. My niece, Morgan, is the team manager. Last week I was messaging her during the game we watched and she would do silly things when she knew the camera was on her. For some reason she didn't respond the first half of the game, but just before the second half started she skyped us. We even spoke to Russ. It blows my mind to know that we are so far apart but that I can communicate with her live and see her. Crazy!

We had a pretty chilled day on Wednesday. We walked to Abela's while the kids rode their bikes, we watched Christmas movies, baked some sweets, and then Grammie and I went to buy a new hair dryer because mine shorted out on Tuesday. Grammie also wanted to buy a couple more things for Jack to open on Christmas Day. Our kids are so spoiled. 

We watched Elf with the kids before they went to bed. Then the adults watched Die Hard:Die Another Day. Not really a Christmas movie, but good all the same. 

Thursday there was more baking and preparing for Christmas dinner at the Richardsons' on Friday. Here is the baking that occurred. 

Around midday the Richardsons actually came by for a short visit and a cup of tea.   Around 3 pm we headed to Wade and Karen's for a Christmas Eve party. The kids played and snacks were abounding. We only stayed until around 5 pm when we headed to the desert for Carols in the Desert. That turned out to be a bust as far as the carols were concerned. There was a potluck, but so many locals were dune bashing that the nativity didn't begin until at least 7:30 pm and by the time they were ready, my kids were wiped. We still had to bathe, sort out cookies and milk for Santa, say goodbye to Elfvis and set out carrots for the reindeer. However, prior to the sun setting, an Emirati drove up and asked Stuart if he wanted to go dune bashing, and of course he did. Stuart said it was unbelievable and like nothing we've ever done. 

Once we were home we set to work to get ready for Santa's arrival. The kids unwrapped one gift, which was a new pair off of jammies. 

Star Wars and Frozen

We wrapped Santa's presents and got to bed. We knew the kids, at least Jack, would be up early. Before Jack went to bed I told him he would need to get to sleep because Santa would come in the blink of an eye. Once Millie was asleep I went in to give Jack another hug and here is what he said,"Mama, when you said Santa would come in the blink of an eye, it kind of scared me." Why do we lie? Because the magic of Christmas is so fun. However, when your 'thinker' really thinks about it, it's scary. I assumed him Santa was good and wouldn't come upstairs. He was too busy to do anything but drop the presents and run. 

Christmas morning Jack was in our bed at 5 am. Really? We stalled him off until 6 am and then he was waking up everyone in the house, much to Millie's dislike. She's a sleeper!

We went downstairs and when Jack went into the living room the first thing he said when he saw Millie's Santa gifts was 'There's my PS4'. It kind of made me sad. We went back and forth and in the end didn't think a PlayStation 4 was the best gift for him. He had also asked for a bike, a wrestling ring (never gonna happen), and a trash pack truck, none of which Santa delivered. However, Jack did get an IPad mini 4. Have we lost our minds? We justified it by writing a letter from Santa telling Jack and Millie he had picked out the perfect gifts for them and he knew they would listen to their Mama and Daddy when rules were applied. He wasn't as excited about his iPad, initially, but later in the day he said, 'Mama, Santa knew just what he was doing when he gave me this iPad. I'm so glad I got this because I can take it with me when we go on trips and the PS4 would just have to stay here (meaning our house)'. Whew!

In the end, my parents got him a bike and the track pack, and since no one would ever get him the wrestling ring, he made out really well. 

Jack's bike that actually fits his long legs. 

Santa brought Millie the electric scooter that goes 1.75 miles per hour, along with her Frozen shoes and Frozen hoodie. Ha!

Grandma and Grandpa bought the kids JDBugs, little indoor scooters. And all had a very merry Christmas. Even I got a surprise. Stuart had heard me talking to someone about whether I would ever want a Pandora bracelet. In the conversation I stated that the only way I would want one was if I could get all the charms I wanted at one time. Well, looks at my new Middle East themed Pandora bracelet. 

Once we had cleaned up the carnage from the morning festivities, I went to the mall to exchange my bracelet for a larger size while Stuart got food ready for lunch at the Richardsons. After the 8 vegetables and the pork shoulder were ready, we were off for a feast. 

Clearly the kids' table. 

Scott and Clare

Peter and Hazel, Clare's parents

Dewey and Marinell

And last but not least, Stuart and me. The crowns are from Christmas crackers, an English tradition. 

Party costumes that made the day fun!

The food!

The veg!

The food and company was amazing. We truly love the Richardson crew and Clare's parents and my parents had excellent conversation. It was really nice. We stayed until around 8 pm, then headed home to pack for Muscat. I kind of wished we had waited until Sunday to go to Muscat, but I thought about that too late. 

I had washed all the prep dishes before we went to the Richardsons' so that was one less thing I had to do once we got home. The kids were in bed about 30 minutes after we got home and we went shortly after them. 

We were up and out of the house by 9 am. The trip to Muscat, Oman was a little over 4 hours, with border crossing taking up about 30 minutes of that time. I got a bit car sick and Stuart got a stress headache from driving in different roads that were two lines and had big trucks on them. In the UAE there is a separate road for trucks. 

Once we arrived at the apartments we checked in and went to the Grand Mall that was attached to the place we were staying. We ate lunch at the food court and then went to Carrefour, a supermarket, to pick up something for dinner and breakfast. Once back at the apartment the kids got cleaned up and we started playing card games. Uno and War are the current popular games. 

Uno!

The rest of the evening was filled with games and laughs. 

Here are a few photos here at the end of some Elfvis antics. 

Toilet papering the Christmas tree

Making snow flakes so we all feel a bit more Christmasy. Of course this inspired Jack to go onto YouTube and make a few of his own and place them on the tree. My dad said he worked 2 hours on these while we were out shopping on Monday. He's persistent. 

Jack's creations. 

Someone is peeking in the presents. 

This was his last trick. The kids said goodbye to Elfvis on Thursday evening. Of course I video taped it. It was so sweet. I do love the innocents of it all. But, thank goodness these shenanigans are over!

 

Last week of term

Elfvis was still up to his tricks this week.  Because he heard Grammie, Pop, Jack and Millie playing Old Maid on Saturday, he and his friends had to get in on the action. 

There were very few children at school on Sunday so of course we combined classes. English teachers just got in with it and started working on their plans and resources for the second term. There were grades to be completed and forms to fill in, so there was plenty of work to be done even though kids were not at school. This would prove to be a very long week without students.  

Grammie and Pop's luggage finally arrived just before noon on Sunday, after a bit of insistence on my part. Of course Grammie had some presents for the kids to open. Jack and Millie decided to. try on their clothes. 

Beautiful clothes for Christmas service. 

Grammie and Pop were still exhausted from their travels, trying hard to get over their jet lag. Sunday evening we had spaghetti and just relaxed, playing Uno with the kids. Everyone was in bed early. 

Monday morning, again, I was late to work. Having coffee with Mom and Dad is way more fun than being on time for work. Once I was at work I had to work hard in getting grades entered for the two subs we have this term. Next term I am giving them my username and password and having them complete the grades themselves. 

There were no children at school, as we assumed would be the case. While I was entering grades some of my English teachers sat in my office, relaxed, and chatted the day away. 

Monday evening we decided we would go to the mall after Jack's last piano lesson. While at piano lessons I filled out a feedback form regarding my experience at the House of Arts. Needless to say, it was not nice. I received and email from the House of Arts while we were eating dinner at the mall. I responded to it once we were home, again, didn't mince words and was straight to the point. Basically they have a monopoly on the arts classes offered in Al Ain and their customer service is crap. I felt the need to point this out. 

I had showered the kids before we went to the mall so that once we were on our way home they could just fall asleep, but neither of them did. 

After work on Tuesday I felt very accomplished. I finished the grades and got sorted for the week we come back after the new year for our week of professional development. I am in charge of most of the training, which is fine with me. 

After school on Tuesday, I took Jack to the doctor. He has been kind of wetting himself for the last few days. He has become so upset by it. It really upset me as well. He was embarrassed. In the end I convinced him to put on a pantyliner to catch the pee. I do realize one day he will hate me for it, but it is an effective method until we can sort something else out. The doctor took a urine sample and said he would call on Wednesday with the urinalysis and on Thursday with the culture results. I was hoping it was an infection so he could take some medicine and get it over with. 

Wednesday morning Elfvis took a selfie with the picture Grammie and Pop gave us of themselves. He put the selfie on the lock screen of both Stuart's and my phone. 

The kids don't get tired of his antics but we are running out of ideas. Thank goodness Gina has sent us a few ideas. 

On Wednesday morning the teachers did a walk around to each other's classes. I thought it would be a good way for teachers to see what others were doing. Sometimes we see what others are doing and it can enhance our teaching. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, plus there was the promise of donuts when we finished. 

The doctor called on Wednesday afternoon and said Jack didn't have an infection.so we would wait until the culture came back to know what we should do. 

Millie had her last dance class Wednesday evening and I did not shy away. In fact, her teacher was as friendly as a pup to me. 

When we returned home from dance Cathy, Kayleigh and Claire were at our house. They came for the kids' gift exchanges and dinner. The kids got two new games. I'm not sure who enjoyed Connect 4 more, Jack and Millie or Grammie and Pop. 

School was just a formality on Thursday. We signed in, had a potluck with the EMT staff and then left at 11:30 am. 

Once we were home we decided to go out into the dunes. It was the first real dune bashing Stuart had done and it kind of made me sick. After the dunes we decided to go to the Oasis in Al Ain, as well as the Al Ain Museum. It was a treat as we had never been there before. It simply takes having visitors to see all the sites in the place you live. 

Al Ain Museum

Thursday evening we went for dinner at the golf club. Clare, Scott and the kids, as well as Cathy, joined us for dinner. We fed 11 people, with a few glasses of wine and 2 beers, all for less than $100. Stuart's position as the treasurer is going to pay off it seems. There is nothing wrong with a 50% discount on food. Lovely!

Elfvis decided the candy canes in the box on the kitchen table needed to be on our tiny, fake tree. 

Friday we went to church. The kids were in the nativity but I wasn't aware they needed costumes. I wasn't aware that was part of agreeing to them being in the play. Whoops!

This was before the service. They had on their Christmas clothes from Grammie. 

Millie was an angel and Jack was one of the Wise Men. 

After church we came home and had a bite to eat before our craft group came over for our Christmas crafts. All the kids seemed to have a good time, but by the time everyone left, I was exhausted. It's tough to plan a party for 12 kids. 

Each child made 4 crafts; 3 were ornaments and the other was a fleece winter pillow. These items were part of our full bags coming back from our summer in Arizona. 

Grammie helped Millie complete her crafts. 

Stuart grilled out chicken and we had grilled vegetables as well. Millie was in bed by 6 pm, and Jack was in bed shortly after we ate dinner.  I had put Millie to bed, but Jack had Stuart take him to bed as I was cleaning up from dinner. Once all the dishes were washed I went upstairs to tell Jack goodnight. He was sitting on his bed holding a book. I asked him why he had a book. He said he was waiting for me to come and ready him a book. Stuart was busy putting the tv that had been in the loft in our bedroom. I asked him if he told Jack I would come up to read him a book and he said 'oh yeah', to which I informed him that the next time he tells Jack I am coming to read him a book, maybe he should inform me as well. 

After Jack was in bed and all was right with the world again, Stuart left to take Cathy and her girls to the airport so they could go back to the UK for Christmas. 

I was in bed when he returned, watching tv. Yahoo! Most nights I stay downstairs when he goes to bed in order to watch tv. I sometimes end of sleeping on the sofa for a while. But now I am more than happy to go to bed because I can fall asleep with the tv on and be where I am supposed to be for the night. 

Stuart and Jack left the house just before 7 am to go to the desert and set up the fire and shade tent. We had organized a breakfast in the desert for friends and family. Millie, Grammie, Pop and myself got out there about 8 am and were shuttled into the desert by the vehicles that could go on the sand. 

We had breakfast, enjoyed good conversation with old and new friends, and sang Christmas carols. It was a lovely morning. 

The 'rents in the desert. 

A view from the top of a dune. 

Millie enjoyed body surfing down the dune. 

The best part for the kids was climbing up the dune then sliding down in some fashion. 

Singing carols was fun because Jack could actually follow along by reading. Yahoo!

Once we were home from the dunes, and clean, the kids opened their gift from Uncle Mitch. They were musical, moving toys. They loved them. He also bought them mustaches. We all had fun with those. 

What we won't do for small children. 

The rest of the afternoon we watched Jim Carey in the Grinch that Stole Christmas, sat outside and watched the kids ride their bikes, and did a whole lot of nothing, which I love a lot. 

Our first few days of vacation have been wonderful!

Grammie and Pop are here.

Well, it seems that even after the rice, my phone wouldn't hold a charge. It did turn on and work, kind of, but getting a new iPhone 6s seemed more reasonable. I ended up getting a phone plan that I think in the long run will save me money. Of course since my phone needed to be replaced, Stuart felt left out and so he got a new phone with a phone plan as well. We didn't get the phones on Sunday, but had to go back on Monday to collect them. I didn't really understand and hate that kind of thing anyway. I hate buying a new house or a new car or a new 'anything over the amount of $100'. I always feel like someone is trying to rip me off or pull a fast one. I really don't know where this thought process comes from. 

Most kids were at school on Sunday, which surprised us. Usually after the National Day holiday students disappear until after the new year. I suppose as the years go by and the trends change, so does the attendance, which is exactly what is wanted. 

After we set up our new phones on Sunday, we went to the club for rugby practice. We then fed the kids at the club. Since Stuart took over as the treasurer we now get 50% off of food at the club. Sunday was the first night we had used that perk. We can buy up to 10 meals at half off. So Scott and Clare fed their family at the club as well. I had set out ground beef when I got home from school so Stuart and I had spaghetti when we got home.  

The temperature actually started to cool off on Monday. It was the first time I rode to school without any kind of air on in the car. Monday after school I got home and the kids had been bathed. We went to Jack's piano lesson and because Stuart had a rugby club committee meeting, Millie went with Jack and myself. After piano lessons we went to the mall to pick up my phone. 

I fed the kids on the way home, good old McDonalds, and we went home to bed. Once Stuart was home he set up my new phone, which seemed to take forever. The Internet company here has a monopoly so there is no need for them to have good wireless service. Therefore sometimes the process of uploading things takes a long time. 

Tuesday morning came much too early. Elfvis was the deliverer of breakfast, which was not the most nutritious meal of the day. Cookies for breakfast? The kids were convinced he made the cookies for them. Really our friend DeDe and her kids made them and left them in our Land Rover. This was one of the 'service' assignments on their advent calendar. I told DeDe we used her cookies for Elfvis antics and she thought that was funny. Now hopefully none of her children ask mine if they enjoyed the cookies they left us in the Land Rover. Ha!

Those plates have an elf on the shelf. Gina and I bought them at Pottery Barn while she was in town last weekend. 

Elfvis struck again on Wednesday morning. It seems he got into the sugar and decided to make a little 'snow' angel. 

The students really dropped off by Wednesday and on Thursday a few of our grade levels only had about a fourth of their students. Although the students are not coming, my job seems to be gearing up again as I get ready to present professional development our first week back in January, when students are still on holiday. 

Thursday morning we found Elfvis in the candy jar. I have been sending the pictures to Gina. She is very pleased with my active participation in Elfvis this year. 

Each day this week when I got home from school all the kids could talk about was how many days it was until Grammie and Pop came. Thursday evening we went to eat with Cathy at PF Changs and the kids were so excited that the following day I would be picking up Grammie and Pop. Jack wanted to pick out Christmas gifts for Grammie and Pop. Although we didn't end up buying anything, he did have fantastic ideas for both and those will be revealed after Christmas. He is growing to be such a sweet and thoughtful boy. 

Once the kids were in bed, Cathy and I watched Spy. I know I just watched it with Gina less than a week before, but it's totally Cathy's type of humor and I can't get enough of it. 

We were up early Friday morning and the kids were giggling downstairs. It seems Elfvis was up to his tricks again. This time they found him in the bathroom. Cathy actually helped with this one. 

We headed to the desert for a breakfast with Clare, Scott and the kids. Our plan was to also do a desert breakfast while Grammie and Pop are here. We figured we should do a practice run and it proved to be successful, maybe with a bit of sand on the sausage, but who cares. 

Jack insisted on taking his binoculars. They love the adventure of the dunes. 

The four kids climbed up the dunes and ran down. You can see their foot prints that came down the time before this time climbing up. 

Master chef, cooking sausage and bacon. Nothing wrong with that. 

On our way into the dunes we saw some Emirates training their Falcons. It's quite a site. There must have been about 30 falcons on perches waiting to be trained. You can't really get the full effect from this photo, but it was quite a thing to witness. 

After we finished in the dunes, Millie and I headed to a birthday party while Jack and Stuart went to the rugby club to help out with the tournament taking place. Since Jack's team didn't play until Saturday, they asked people to help out on Friday. 

After the birthday party, Millie and I came home to make our cookies for the cookie exchange taking place at DeDe's place on Saturday. I made almost 10 dozen peanut butter chip brownie bites and only dropped one tray of them, prior to them being cooked. It was messy, but was relatively easy to clean up. 

After the cookie marathon was over, Stuart and Jack returned. Stuart took off to get our cars washed and I bathed the kids. After the kids had eaten dinner, they were off to bed. They were both so excited because they knew the following morning they would see Grammie and Pop. They both vowed to get into bed with Grammie and Pop on Saturday morning. Poor G and P. 

Stuart and I ordered take out and I waited for the time to leave for the airport. Since they didn't arrive until almost midnight we decided the kids would be better off not going this time. Jack had his tournament on Saturday and Millie had her dance recital, so a late night would only make us all miserable on Saturday. 

I left for the airport around 10 pm in order to arrive an 11:45 pm flight. Imagine my surprise when they didn't come out of the terminal until 1:45 am. And oh how sad I was for them when they told me their luggage had stayed in Paris. It was due to arrive on Saturday evening at 11:45 pm. Boo! Even when it arrived we were told they would have to wait until the following morning to deliver it because it would have to go through customs and then the delivery guys wouldn't start delivering until daylight. Sadly, neither Stuart or myself are the same size as Grammie and Pop, but we both managed to dig up a shirt or two for each of them. 

Once we were home, at 4 am might I add, we all went to bed, knowing all too well that Jack and Millie would break into Grammie and Pop's room in a short few hours. 

They did not disappoint and just shortly after 6 am I heard giggling and screaming from the kids. They have been waiting a long time to see G and P. They were so excited, as were Grammie and Pop. 

We all got up and around and Grammie, Pop, me and Millie headed to Millie's dance recital, while Stuart and Jack headed to Jack's rugby tournament. 

Millie's recital was an utter disappointment. She practiced from 8 am to 9:30 am and then once the performance started all she did was come up with her class for about 20 seconds and swayed back and forth. I'm pretty sure she knew how to do that before I spent 1600 dirhams for the semester of dance. Needless to say, we are not enrolling for a second term. However, she looked adorable. 

Once the ridiculous recital was over, we were off to the rugby tournament. Although Jack's team didn't win a game, he turned it on for Grammie and Pop. He made all the tries for his team over the three games they played. He grabbed tags (it's flag rugby) like nobody's business. He was so proud of his efforts, as were Grammie and Pop. 

His team was waiting for their final match. 

Grammie's boy!

Pop's girl!

We were at the club most of the day and Grammie and Pop were wiped out by the time we got home. I headed to a cookie exchange which I committed to not knowing the chain of events that would occur and make me so tired. I made peanut butter brownie bite which were delightful. There were some beautiful cookies there. 

When I got home we ate dinner, and everyone went to bed, except Stuart and me, although I did fall asleep on the sofa at 8 pm. 

We so look forward to the next four weeks. 

National Day Holiday and the Dubai 7s

On Sunday there were only 6 boys at school.  We had almost all of our girls because they were performing and they would never miss something like a performance. Their National Day celebration began at 8:30 am and was not over until 11:30 am. When they were finished with their presentation the buses were called and all students were sent home.  It's just how we do things here. Teachers were then told they could go home at 1 pm. So I was at the gym by 1:30 pm and home by 3 pm, showered and ready to go collect my car part, but decided to wait until the next day because I was told they hadn't ordered it after all. So instead of rushing off to Kia service, I relaxed and waited for the time to go to the club for Jack's rugby club practice. 

On Monday we were dismissed from school at 11:30 am. Technically it was Martyr's Commemoration Day. Because one of our teachers had a daughter get married and another one was back to school having been out for surgery, they provided a buffet for our staff. There is no expense spared and the presentation is beyond fancy. 

Small salads and other traditional dishes were served. 

This is not how our lunch room normally looks. Those are all service trays full of different Arabic dishes. 

We had a few other things we had to do to commemorate the day, but then were allowed to go home. I met Stuart at a cafe in the same complex as the grocery store where we usually shop. So naturally we shopped after we had a coffee at the cafe. 

I went to Kia service department to pick up the plastic strip that someone in our complex popped off my car door, whether on accident or purpose I am not sure. It was the equivalent of $12 and Stuart popped it back on all by himself. My car is out of the trashy department, well except for the fact that it is filthy. That needs to be sorted out for sure. 

Jack had piano lessons and then it was home time for us.  Jack ended up going with Stuart to rugby on Monday night. We never let him go because he has school the following day. But since Tuesday was a holiday (Martyr's Day) we decided he could go and play with his friends. Millie and I had 'Mama/Millie night', which translated into Millie watching Pheneas and Ferb. Fun! The boys got home just before 10 pm. Jack took a shower and ate some fruit. Then he was off to bed. We shortly followed. 

I was awakened early Tuesday morning because Jack was anxious to find out if Elfvis had made his way to our house this year. December 1st is always his arrival date, so both kids were anxious. Sure enough, he was perched in the Christmas tree as usual on his first day back.  He had left the kids Lego advent calendars again this year.  Millie was a bit sore that there was no chocolate in hers. I told Stuart that Santa could have saved a lot of money had he known Millie would have settled for a chocolate advent calendar this year.  

I left the house around 7:30 am to have coffee with DeDe. We sat and talked for almost three hours. Once I returned home we got ready to go out to the dunes. Stuart made sandwiches and I put together some other bits of food to have out in the desert.  Stuart was so excited because this would be the first time he had taken his Land Rover out into the desert since we purchased it.  It was too hot to take it in the sand, last spring, by the time his hernia operation had healed.  Of course on the first real run of the vehicle he got it stuck! He had to let air out of the tires and then it was as good as gold and he was dune bashing all around those of us sitting on the carpets and in the camping chairs.  Sadly, Millie threw up just after she had some chips and juice, but before the dune bashing.  After she threw up she took a 30 minute nap.  Once she was awake again, she was totally fine.  It was really weird.  I love how kids bounce back from things.  It makes me very jealous.

Aesthetically, this car is a piece of crap, but it looks so cool on the red sand, and Stuart LOVES it!

Once it was almost dark, we headed back towards civilization, which was all of about a quarter of a mile.  That't the great thing about living here, dunes are all around you and waiting for you to explore them.  When we got home I sent the kids upstairs for showers.  The water that washed off of them was full of sand.  We had a little pile of sand in front of the laundry basket where they had taken off their clothes.  Lovely!  Showers and bed for everyone.  It was a great day.

We got up Wednesday morning and headed to a mall where there is a new play area. Jack had been wanting to do something with a boy named Ben, so he and his mother followed us there. His mother is a Vice Principal from Scotland.  She is hard to understand, but I really like her.  The kids had a great time together.  They played at the Fun Block for almost 3 hours.  We then got lunch at a different mall.  Jack ended up going home with Ben, while Millie and I rushed home so I could go get a pedicure. I also wanted to have my eyebrows and lip waxed. However they didn't do waxing, but they did threading, which I had never heard of before coming to this country. It has the same effect as waxing, but involves a thread and it way more painful. I nearly cried when they lady started plucking my hairs.  Holy crapoly!  The lady doing the threading held the thread in her mouth and maneuvered it with her hands. It's crazy and hurts like the dickens. I do not recommend it. Ouch!

Millie was too short to go on the trampolines, so she got to play games while the boys bounced. 

Jack was a star on the climbing walls. 

When I got home, Stuart went to rugby, once Jack was  home from his extended play date, I fed the kids, bathed them and got them into bed. We would be up early for the Dubai 7s so they needed their rest. 

Thursday morning we got up and headed to Dubai to the Dubai 7s. Until that day I didn't know this was the only rugby 7s tournament where social tournaments also took place, along with the professional teams. The security, which was ran by an American company, was much tighter than last year's security. 

Selfie at the 7s

Stuart was all ready to smash 'em. 

Look closely! You can see the kids in the 'u' and the 'b'. 

It was a toasty day and a little disappointing for the vets, Stuart's team. Their second match was forfeited because the other team didn't show up. They won their first match, as well as their second one, but only had an opponent for the first one. 

After their supposed second match we had some food and then headed back to Al Ain. Gina took a taxi from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain. She had decided to fly in for the weekend. Her life in Rhiyad is really much slower than in Abu Dhabi because she doesn't go out as much, primarily because it's more of an effort. So she told me from the beginning of the year that she would be seeing us a lot through the year, which is all too fine with me. 

She arrived around 8 pm and had a ham sandwich and a beer. When you don't get it and it's forbidden, the taste is that much nicer when you do get to have it. We stayed up and talked for a while and then headed to bed. 

Friday morning we got up and as Stuart headed back to the 7s, Gina, DeDe and I headed to Dubai to shop. My cleaner, Asela, brought over his friend, Rasika, to babysit the kids. She is a nanny for a South African guy who plays for Stuart's rugby team. She was so sweet with the kids and by the time we left, the kids were practically shoving us out the door. 

We initially went to Dubai to do some Christmas  shopping, but found that the pickings were slim in the Christmas front. We went to the Park and Shop, where we often find our favorite American brands of food. I also bought Christmas stockings for the kids, which Elfvis will give to them at some stage. 

After the Park and Shop we went to Oasis Centre. We were under the impression there was a huge craft show there, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Before looking around, I had to use the bathroom. I went in to the stall, turned around, placed my handbag on the ledge behind the toilet and that's when it happened. My handbag tipped, the iPhone fell out and dunked into the toilet. Dang! As you would guess, I quickly grabbed the phone out of the PUBLIC toilet and tried to forget what had happened before I entered that bathroom. Actually, the toilets in this country are the cleanest I have ever seen. Each time you use the toilet, there is a cleaner in the bathroom, cleaning it. So I'm pretty sure I can rest assure that my hand won't fall off anytime soon. 

After I dried the phone and wrapped it in paper towels, I stuck it in my purse and we looked around the booths at the crafts. I was a bit irritated at myself because I never place my handbag on the ledge. But for some reason I did this time and it tipped over. 

In the end we stopped at a grocery store on the way back to Al Ain and bought a bag of rice to place the phone in. We read that this 'drying' out of the phone often resolves the issue of the almost drown iPhone. I was to leave the phone in the bag for 48 hours, but after about 24 hours I took it out and it actually turned on and worked. 

The kids had a great time with the babysitter, thank goodness. Shortly after we got home the kids ate and went to bed. Gina and I had cheese, pate and crackers for dinner and rented a movie. We watched Spy with Melissa Macarthy. We laughed until we cried. 

Stuart finally got home from the 7s just before midnight. His team had lost but he had a great day with the boys, but had decided he wouldn't go back on Saturday.  Stuart decided to take my phone out of the bag and try it out. It worked! Yahoo!

We bummed around on Saturday morning, doing a whole lot of nothing. Gina had helped with where to place Elfvis the night before, which was cute. She helped us place Elfvis in her sink, fishing. The kids were so excited when they discovered him. 

Around 11 am Gina and I headed to Abu Dhabi to do some shopping and have some lunch. I bought some Christmas items and we had a lovely curry lunch. Gina had a mani/pedi scheduled at 4 pm. At that time I headed back to Al Ain. Once home it was time to get back to my version of reality. Two more weeks and we are on December break. One more week and Grammie and Pop will be here. Everyone is so excited. The year is flying by!