The week felt like it took 10 days, but our weekend flew by in a matter of minutes it seemed.
Here's how it all went down...
A friend introduced me to the 2 story Carrefore grocery store where I totally stocked up!
The bill was over AED 1,100! Which sounds like a lot until you convert it back to American.... $300, roughly. It was still a lot to carry up to the 8th floor, however.
The kids started their after-school activities last week. All three are talking golf, albeit on different days. Madeline is also taking photography & animation. Devin is doing soccer & animation. Plus, I scheduled a hair appointment.
So I spent the week playing chauffeur & learning a completely new schedule ... Even with the help of the late bus!
Devin has soccer on Monday nights. He just got his uniform. He was not pleased that I wanted a picture to commentate the occasion...
He practices at 6 pm at Al Yasmina School. (Yes, that's fake turf in the background... Nothing else could be that green in this heat!)
Madeline & Olivia have golf at Yas Links Golf Club on Tuesdays. Lucklily, the school busses them to & from the club house, but (unfortunately) they return too late to utilize the late bus home from school. So, Devin rides the bus home & arrives around 3:30 pm, has a snack, then we drive back to the school by 4:45 pm to collect the girls.
I was supposed to have a hair appointment on Wednesday, but less than a mile from the salon, I was rear-ended. Sitting still in the left turn lane with several cars in front & beside me, I heard the squeal of tires before I felt the bump. Some poor (probably jet-lagged) man was just going too fast & couldn't stop in time. I'm okay. Both cars (my rental & his) had minor damage (crumpled fender & some scratched paint) but not too bad.
I was really impressed with Lindsey's co-workers as they quickly responded to my call asking for help. (Thank goodness Lindsey left me a couple of contacts while he's out of the country!!) One guy even drove all the way from the office (off island) to me (downtown, on island) just to help deal with the local police! Awesome, guys!
After the hour ordeal with the local police (I had totally missed my appointment by this point), I had lunch with a friend & her 3 adorable kids who live downtown at Ethiad Towers. So. The day wasn't a total loss.
But, Wednesday wasn't over yet. Olivia was to ride the regular bus home... Maddie was to go to photography then ride the late bus home... & Devin had golf which meant I had to pick him up at the school at 4:45 pm.
Now the regular bus arrives around 3:30 pm. No one could tell me when the late bus would arrive. (That happens a lot around here... A little shrugging... A "no problem"... You just learn to roll with it!) All I did know was that the late bus was scheduled to leave the school at approximately 4:10 pm.
Hmmmm.... There's a problem here since every kid was scheduled to get home today via a different, separate, non-routine way. Cross your fingers...
Olivia stepped off the regular bus right on time. So far, so good.
I got to the school to collect Devin a little early & I started texting Madeline to see where she was in the bus route. Best scenrio: Devin would be early, Maddie would run late, we'd all meet up at the apartment at the same time.
Devin was late. Meanwhile, I'm texting Madeline & discover that she's sitting in the late bus which is still sitting in the school parking lot. I'm sitting in the school lobby. LOL!
I didn't tell her.
If there's one thing I've learned in the short time I've lived here, it's NOT to change the plan last minute! So she texted me as the bus pulled out, Devin walked up about the same time, & off we went to (practically) follow the bus to our apartment. We decided that next week, I'll just pick them both up & we'll skip the late bus altogether on this day.
Thursday had Madeline & Devin both in animation. So, Olivia took the regular bus & the older two took the late bus. Super easy!! (Compared to yesterday!!!)
Whew.... Of course, we still had homework each night & I cooked dinner (somehow) almost everyday. My rice cooker/steamer/crockpot combo unit got a good workout!!!
So after a looooong week, we slept in Friday. Just to do something fun, we decided to go to the movies at Marina Mall. I bought the VIP seats (an extra AED 10 ($3) per seat) for Ninja Turtles.... Which means we had roomy leather seats with cup holders. We felt very special....
Going to the movies is a bit different than in the states. You actually pick your seats. I mean, you have an actual row & seat number on your ticket. Your ticket also has an "entry time". Someone walks you to your theater based on the entry time printed on the ticket.
Wow! We enjoyed some movie treats while we waited for our time. (Devin was not cooperating ....)
On Sat, we woke up just in time to drive downtown to AISA (another school) to support a fellow Rockwall family at a volleyball game. #14 played really well!
... They won! & we had a great time cheering the girls. Not a bad way to spend the morning.
But, my kids had homework & we were out of milk... We had to get going...
So, we stopped by a mall to eat lunch (found an El Chico!) & the kids spotted a Toys R Us which had some interesting finds...
I thought the camel should be bigger... Maybe this one's a baby?
I bet you recognize this...
But you don't find this in your ordinary dress up area....
We love looking for the ordinary (with a twist) & the unexpected!
So as we start a new week, we'll keep our eyes open....
Our only "down day" is Sunday.
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