We can only look forward

Week 4

Like most people, I always start Mondays with the mindset of a new week, a new me, and ready to take on the world! However, it wasn’t long before I found myself letting myself into someone else’s car on the school run, much to the surprise of the man sitting in the driver’s seat and whilst James and the kids looked on in hysterics from our car in front. I had gotten out of our car to get the kids out whilst the cars were at a standstill, it can be very busy at school, but as soon as I did the cars started moving again. I need to remember our registration plate in the future!

After we dropped the kids off we went to get my biometrics done which was the final piece of the puzzle to get my Emirates ID. Before we went James and I had breakfast together at a lovely coffee shop, Cafe Younes, near where James works. It was nice to spend some time together after a hectic weekend.

Tuesday was a big day for deliveries, the majority of the living room furniture was being delivered and I couldn’t wait to see it all come together. Most of everything we ordered was due to be assembled by the delivery men, which helped so much. Although, the sofa bed from IKEA came dismantled and I decided to have a go myself. I was doing a great job and it was a welcome distraction from the biscuits I’d been scoffing at all morning, then the man assembling all the furniture decided I was obviously not capable of doing this myself and took over. It annoyed me so much, but true to form I said nothing and let him get on with it! By the end of the day everywhere looked great, we were so happy with the furniture we had ordered, especially the sofa, it’s so big and comfy!

Whilst all this was going on we still hadn’t got the WiFi sorted. It was getting beyond a joke by this point and was having an impact on James being able to work from home and being able to help with the school pickups and also the kids being able to do homework, which is all done online. As Wednesday arrived I was feeling so deflated by it alland I could see the toll it was taking on James. We also had maintenance people coming in and out trying to fix broken window panes, lights, and tiles from the previous tenants. I say try because they seem to think you can fix anything with silicon, even the floor tiles outside. That night I watched the sunset from the Villa and realised that everything would get sorted at some point and that we just have to take things one day at a time.

When I woke up on Thursday I just didn’t feel myself, I felt homesick and I cried for most of the morning. I decided to take myself for a walk and listen to some music to see if it helped. It did, for a while. By afternoon, James had collected my Emirates ID and we ne eded to try and get my driving licence sorted. My UK licence had expired before I left so I knew it would be a miracle if they let me convert my license over here, never the less we went to the happiness center to try. Not only would having a license ease the pressure of James having to do the school pick-ups it would also give me some much-needed independence back. Once we arrived we were immediately told we couldn’t go in because James had his knees out and I had my shoulders out. Back at the car, I told James to take his top off and I went back in, shoulders covered! It was to no avail though as the first thing the lady said was ‘your licence has expired, come back with a valid one’. Off I went back to the car to break the news to James, even though we both knew what the outcome would be. Whilst all this was going on I found myself refreshing the Daily Mail every 5 minutes about the news of our Que9 pm By 9pm our time we had the news we were dreading, our Queen had passed away. I was heartbroken, I always thought she would live forever. I remember a few years ago being lost at Ascot Mother-in-Law, Lynn, (we might have been a little tipsy too) there was a bit of a commotion going on near us and then the next thing we knew The Queen was walking down the stairs to leave. We couldnt beleive our eyes! The QEII is docked here in Dubai so we’re going to go down to leave some flowers and pay our respects. I justbelievebeleive she’s gone.

I still didn’t feel great on Friday but not only was my Mum arriving, but we were also getting the garden done, finally, after a delay due to needing a permit for the workmen. We also had our garden furniture being delivered, the villa was slowly starting to feel like home. After we had picked Mum up from the airport we went for breakfast, we headed to SKMD on Townsquare Park and it was delicious and the coffee is so good.

After breakfast we showed my Mum around the Villa then, as the kids finish early on Fridays, we headed over to the school to pick them up. They were so happy to see my mum, Sienna nearly knocked her over as she ran to her. Zach was just as happy to see her but kept it cool as always.

It’s starting to get slightly cooler in the evenings so we decided to order from Carluccios and sit outside. Our house sale in the UK had finally completed on that day too so we had a bottle of champagne to celebrate along with a few beers. It was a lovely evening.

On Saturday my Mum and I headed to Brunch with Louise and Rachel. We went to Fork and Cork at the Anantara. We purchased the Entertainer package for the year so it meant that we got buy one get one free on the brunch package which is a huge saving as the brunches start at 525 dhs.  The food was delicious and I worked my way through the cocktail menu which was included in the brunch.

On Saturday evening we took advantage of my Mum being here and went to Top Golf with our friends Sam and Dylan. It was a great night, we had loads of fun, and was great catching up.

By Sunday we were all really tired and had all planned to go out for tea. Instead we ordered in and had a very chilled night, ready for another week.