First Day of School

Today the kids started their first day at the American Community School.

The had to wake up at 6:00 a.m. in order to catch the bus.  They both managed to bounce out of bed, eat breakfast, grab their pre-packed lunch (from the night before) out of the fridge and be ready to go with time to spare!  I'm sure this won't last long, but I'll enjoy it while it does!

Since it was the first day, Brian and Cameron and I all walked the kids to the bus stop area.  It was in front of a villa a few doors down.   There are several other Embassy kids who attend ACS and ride the bus.  Bella and Alexander each had a friend there and a few other kids who they had met before.  Both of the kids happen to have PE today so they needed to wear their PE uniform to school:

Isabella - Ready for 3rd Grade

Alexander - Ready for 5th Grade

They got onto the bus without looking back and were off!

Cameron and I quickly worked on a new routine.  I took some time to eat breakfast and catch up on computer stuff for a bit before heading out the door for the gym in our compound.  Cameron played around on my Ipad while I did 3 miles on the treadmill.  I spent 10 minutes trying to find something to watch on the TV there and after flipping through 500 (no exaggeration) multi-ethnic channels, I settled on a Korean Music Channel.  I didn't understand much but enjoyed the videos and the music until a friend and her son popped in to chat with.

After my workout it was back to the villa to clean and do laundry.  Cameron was such a big help.  He likes squirting the cleaner and helping to empty the wash into the dryer.  Then, I decided to bake some cookies for the kids - but didn't have all my ingredients so off we went.

First stop....gas station!   I sat and relaxed while I got full-service.  It cost me 95 dirhams to fill up the whole tank ($25.65) and that was from bone dry empty.

Then we headed off to try a new grocery store I found on my GPS.  It turned out to be a tiny, yucky place that was a little 7-11 and a little flea markety with someone smoking INSIDE the store.  No Thank You.

Instead, we headed to the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society (which is like a mini-mall place with a grocery store area).  I found my Crisco shortening and a few other items and back home we went.

Cameron helped me bake some yummy Banana Cookies (one of our favorite recipes).  I've been making this recipe for years (but I omit the nuts).  They are more like a muffin texture than your typical cookie texture.  They don't look pretty but they are yummy and addictive!  The kids LOVE them.  Try it out here:  Banana Cookie Recipe

The last batch came out of the oven just as it was time to meet the bus from school. 

The kids had a FANTASTIC day.  Isabella explained that she is already friends with most of the girls in her class and Alexander said he made a new friend.  Bella was bubbling over with excitement about all the new things she learned and Alexander just wanted to get onto the computer to play his game.  They both had a touch of homework to do later, but were excited to show me that they learned how to write their names in Arabic:

Arabic is read Right to Left

Then, Alexander set to work on his homework....a self assessment.  I always enjoy reading these since Alexander tends to very confident in his abilities......(I'm waiting for it to bite him in the butt one of these days)

I love that a favorite book that was read to him was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and that he has no desire to improve - probably because you can't improve perfection (seriously - the kid has an overabundance of confidence!)

Annoyed about writing?  I wonder what that means?

Love his Catholic School influence with who he wants to meet.

After the kids did homework and showered, it was off to bed!  Hopefully they wake up bright and early tomorrow too!