Day by day, step by step

After such a busy and amazing first week it was Monday again and James was back to work. It’s starting to feel less like a holiday now and I have to keep reminding myself that this is our new normal. I’m slowly starting to adjust to it all, it still feels surreal, but wow, we did it, we made the move!

During the day, it’s hard to try and keep the kids occupied as it’s still about 40°. I still haven’t got my license to drive, so can’t venture out by myself to explore unless I use a taxi. The apartment is great but no fun for a boy who is attached to his football and a girl who is either upside down doing a cartwheel or trying to perfect her latest cheer routine. They have been winding each other up all week, which has, inevitably, ended up in tears and tantrums.

On Monday evening we met up with Lexi, we’ve been chatting for a few months over Facebook and Whatsapp, her little girl, Arabella, will be in the same year as Sienna, although not in the same class unfortunately. It was great to finally meet up and she invited her friend along too. She has a son, Zac, he’s a little bit older than my Zach but they share a love of football and hit it off straight away. It was nice to see my Zach happy again and smiling.

It wasn’t long before Sienna and Arabella were practicing handstands into crabs and cartwheels. It was nice to see them get along so well. They played for ages in the fountains and had so much fun. Townsquare is beautiful at night, it’s all lit up and they have a carousel for the kids, a train ride, a park, and a splash zone.

On Tuesday we went to the butterfly garden with Louise and her girls, it was a lovely morning until Sienna developed an irrational fear of butterflies halfway through. The butterflies were flying close to her and I can only relate this to my irrational fear of pigeons. The butterflies were beautiful though and it was a welcome escape from the apartment.

By the afternoon it was time to see if my first online order had been successful, I’d placed two orders, one with Carrefour and one with Kibsons, both to be delivered to the apartment. You can get some Sainsbury’s products on the Kibsons website but for now, I want to try and see what other brands and products are like that are more locally sourced before relying on what I know and paying a small fortune for them. Risky, but so far we haven’t tried anything we don’t like. I didn’t even get tempted to buy a pack of bacon from the hidden corner in Spinneys. We do have a tub of Lurpak and Tetley tea bags though.

Everything was ok with the orders, I’d managed to order the right weights for everything. I did have to laugh at the size of the stock cubes though as they wouldn’t have looked out of place in the kid’s play kitchen.

On the Carrefour website, you can pick items that can be delivered within the hour, so I did and the majority turned up on time. If they can’t deliver it within the hour you can pick a time slot for later in the day or the day after. Instashop is another great app to use if you need something in a hurry.

On Thursday we headed back to the beach with Louise, Darcy, and Annie. We went early in the morning to avoid the heat, it was another beautiful day and we had so much fun.

I’m still trying to find my bearings, the apartment block we are in is split into two, 2A & 2B. There are a few different entrances, so I can end up getting completely lost. After we had come home from the beach I thought I was trying to get into our apartment, it was only when Zach said ‘Mum, we don’t have a welcome mat or water bottles outside’ I realised that I was on the wrong side of the block trying to get into someone else’s apartment.

On Thursday evening Louise invited me to my first Ladies’ Night at Ranches Golf Club. It was three drinks and a main meal for 99 AED. It was a great night and it was lovely to meet some more of Louise’s friends. Everyone was so kind and happy to help and offer advice, they’ve all been in my position at some point and I can’t thank them enough, especially Louise, it’s made my first two weeks here less daunting. My cheeks also ached from all the laughing we did.

On Friday we went for a tour of the kid’s new school, Safa, and to meet their teachers. When we started the process of moving the choice of school was one of the most important decisions we made. Choosing a school in a different country was another daunting process, what if we chose the wrong one? What if the kids didn’t like it? All those fears disappeared from the second we walked through the gates, we loved it, and most importantly so did they. The facilities are amazing and I can’t wait to see the kids thrive there.

The rest of the weekend was a bit of a blur. We had so much to get for the new place. We started in PAN Emirates which is like Next Home quality on a B&M budget, we got the kid’s beds sorted and picked up a few more bits. Then the day after we went to the Mall of the Emirates to get bedding etc. Four hours and a few more gray hairs later we were out with pretty much everything sorted. We will be avoiding the Malls at the weekend from now on if we can. It was so busy but necessary.

On Sunday afternoon we went down to La Mer Beach with our friends and their two girls. We ate at Stars N Bars and then the kids played on the beach and in the sea for a bit, we will be returning.

It was another beautiful night and the perfect way to end our second week here and the summer holidays.