Cuddles and Crumbs

April 1, 2026 

Day 33 of the US-Israel war on Iran

I slept for 7 hours straight! Not sure if it was the melatonin that knocked me out or if we just had a quiet night? 

Checked my phone and indeed, no security alarms. Alhamdulillah! We pray it stays this way forever, for everyone. 

Yesterday, March 31 we received an official announcement that distance learning is extended until April 17. Students were initially scheduled to be back in school after spring break but alas here we are. 

We went about our day as normally as it could be: C back in the office, both Ahia and Shobe attending distance learning, while I continued doing a little bit of online work and the usual house chores. 

09:38 PM PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT

NO! I was very hopeful we would end the day with zero attacks. We heard 3-5 loud booms and immediately prepared ourselves in case we needed to vacate our flat. 

The noise heard across the city is an indication of a successful interception. What we need to be aware of and are scared of is the falling debris. 

War, genocide, and similar events should be things our kids only read about in history books, not experiences they live through. 

We pray for all of this to end. 

Thankful that our UAE leaders prioritize the welfare of the students and the school faculty.

We continue to feel safe and believe that the UAE is doing its best to keep us all safe.

I want my kids back in school and to have a normal school life, but I appreciate the government’s decision to delay on-site learning.

---

On Wednesday, March 25, we received a security alert at 3:22 PM. If it had been a regular school day, we would still be on our way home.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 (𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐) 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘵.

Thursday, March 26 – security alert at 8:11 AM. My kids are in school, either inside the classroom or on the field for PE.

𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱? 𝘖𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦? 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘉𝘜𝘛 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴? 𝘚𝘰, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭? 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘵.

---

My kids: 100% READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL.

---

Dubai is safe. I still believe that.

Despite the uncertainty, life goes on.

Padayon.

March 18, 2026

2am security alert. Sayo kaayo! Should I wake the kids up or let them continue sleeping? Stood up, listened, checked official outlets, and prayed really hard.
I went back to sleep after getting the all-clear message.

When family and friends outside the UAE ask how we are doing, my reply now is “We are physically safe. Mentally, I don’t know – it differs if we hear the boom or not, if we are all together, if we are inside a building, driving, or outdoors.”

The worry is different because as a parent, our kids depend on us. Their lives are the ones greatly affected by all these – school life is disrupted, will they be able to sit their boards, will they have a chance to have a graduation ceremony?

Despite… life goes on as normal and is possible because of the men and women working around the clock to keep us all safe.

This has been our “normal” for weeks now and this is NOT OKAY.

Nag cge na mi ug hanggad Sa langit, and among listening skills heightened. Undang na please. Nitugulang nako ug +10yrs overnight

March 12, 2026

Today was different and tough because, for the first time, the sound felt closer. One child woke up scared because of it. We held them tighter; that was all we could do.

This has been our reality for the past week. I can’t imagine the trauma of those families living in the war zone for years, YEARS!

We are together at home. Right now, that’s all that matters.

We feel safe, but the worry still lingers in the background as we do our best to go about a normal day.

Are we leaving? For now, we are staying. We continue to have 100% faith in the UAE, our leaders, and its frontliners to protect us all.