Back to School

Well, the kids are finally back to school today after a three week long holiday.  I really enjoy the school calendar here in the UK.  The kids work hard when they are in school and the really enjoy having the down time.  It is a nice to time refuel their brains and bodies.  The boys dread going back in some ways, but I think even though they would never admit it, it is nice to get back into the school schedule.

The last few weeks have really served us with traditional English weather.  It has been cool and rainy.  We still manage to see the sun a little bit everyday.  I don't mind the rain, I just wish that it would be a little warmer.  One thing that we did notice is that they do not have a lot of thunder storms.   We have had a steady kind of rain that has been falling.  It varies as it falls, sometimes just a gentle rain that you are ok to run out in to grab something, to a steady down pour that you wished you grabbed your umbrella before you left.  I have had a blanket on the line for the last 3 days trying to dry it out, it keeps raining.  Today we are suppose to have a day of constant rain and I finally gave up and took it off.  It is currently being rewashed and then it will go into the dryer.

I can't wait for it to warm up so that I can turn the boiler off or at least not run it so long.  Right now we run it twice a day, in the morning for about 2 hours and then again at night for about 5 hours.  It really does help to take the chill out of the house.  I had the unrealistic hope of not having to fill our fuel oil again.  I am sure that we will have to fill it at least once more, if not twice.  The kids are still running around in their warm PJ's at night.  The neighbors, I notice are opening their windows.  I can't decide if they are crazy or if we are the crazy ones.  It must be us, because I see many people with windows open.  I am not sure of they do it because they are warm or if it is because they are trying to release the humidity in their homes.  I have taken to open the bathroom windows after a shower, it cuts down on the condensation that forms in the bathroom.

Both my younger sons are playing football after school this term.  My youngest son is also doing tennis during school.  My oldest son is in after school art and my 13 year old is still doing Astronomy.  I do feel a bit sorry for the boys though.  Apparently, they do sports outside regardless of the rain.  This means they will automatically get cold and wet, not to mention the mud that will be one their trainers and boots aka cleats!  Cleaning muddy shoes is not a fun time and I am in the one that usually cleans them.  I did not manage to clean all of the between term this time.  I had also wanted to sew our last name in all of our gear, sadly that did not get done either.

This term, I am starting a little Pilates group at my house Mon/Wed/Fri.  I am hoping that it will be a nice way for me deepen friendships and to make some new friends as well.  Not to mention that fitness benefit that is involved.  I really enjoy having someone with work out with.  It really helps me in many ways!

I can't believe that it has already been 7 months!  The time is going by very quickly.

Our Youngest Son's Birthday at Center Parcs, Nottingham

The British have an awesome answer for active family get-a-ways.  It is called Center Parcs.

We decided to check it out and I booked a long weekend for our youngest birthday.  I packed Friday morning and we got everything in the car and left around 10am, planning to get their around noon.  After we had been in the car about 20 mins Sean asked me if I remembered to pack the birthday presents.  What???  Oh, crap!  Sean asked the birthday boy if he would be OK opening his gifts when we got home Monday.  After some tears and talking we did get the tears stopped, doh!

We arrived on Friday around noon and grabbed our keys.  We were not allowed to check in to our room until 15:00.  We had come prepared, so we grabbed our things and headed to the pool.  We walked into the changing area and we were met with little cubicles that would accommodate single people or families.  There was also the option for a women or a men's changing area that was set up like a typical locker room.  The toilets were also in a cubicles in one space.  Boys ad girls used them, and they had sinks in each stall.  It all may sounds strange to your American mind, but I have to tell you, it was brilliant!  The boys headed out to the various pools/slides and I sat down and read my Kindle.

At 15:00 I was allowed to drive the car to the villa to unload and then we had to take the car back to the carpark.  Cars are not allowed near the villas except for specific times.  Guests are not allowed to drive around the park, but instead they are encouraged to ride bikes or walk along the extensive path system.  There are many places and activities to walk to, Center Parcs is a place for activity!

After the boys swam, they met us back at the Villa and we had a light dinner in, Fish and Chip Friday!  The Villa was comfortable.  It was a three bedroom, 2.5 bath room.  It had a small kitchenette with apartment sized appliances and two TV's.  It was definitely comfortable, not luxury.  I paid extra to have linens, soap and things.

Saturday arrived and we all wished our little birthday boy a happy day and we headed out to the first booked activity, quad riding.  My two older sons rode in one group and my two younger sons rode in another group.  I put a word into the coordinators and the had the group sing Happy Birthday and the birthday boy was presented with a little bag of chocolates.  After the activity I was advised to go to guest services and let them know that he had a birthday.  They gave him a birthday badge and let the restaurant where we were having dinner at know so we could celebrate appropriately.

After the quad riding we headed back to the pool.  We had some time until or next booked activity.  We spent a few hours around the pool and then changed and headed to the next activity.  My older sons were headed to Street Boarding and Sean and I were headed with the little guys to archery.  We dropped the older two at their activity and headed to archery.  After a successful run at archery we headed back to get the older two.  My oldest son, who swore he was not going to enjoy it had a great time!  My second oldest son, enjoyed it, he was just not feeling well.

For dinner we headed to Hank's Grill, which promised "American" food.  We found it to be mostly accurate with the burger and ribs that were offered, but we found it interesting that the Brits think that french fries are ate with cheese sauce normally in the US.  I guess that it is something that we do not view as typical American fair.

Sunday, we woke early and tried to grab breakfast with our vouchers before laser tag at 9am.  We figured that breakfast would be served early.  Boy, were we mistaken!  The restaurants did not open until half 8!  What???  Yeah, we are so not in America!  It was a case in which we should not have assumed and we should have checked.  Of course our vouchers were not help, as no hours were listed on them either!  So, we grabbed a quick bite at the villa and then headed for Lasertag.  The boys had a great time.  They had all been looking forward to playing.  The birthday boy even asked to play again!

After laser tag we had been scheduled to golf, but due to scheduling conflicts with breakfast, we had to cancel.  So, off we headed to eat breakfast.  We had the traditional English breakfast, eggs, sausage, rasher (bacon that is grilled and is similar to ham), potatoes, baked beans, and toast.  We had it pub style, which meant that we ordered at the bar and we were served by table number.  It was a good breakfast, and it was our third son's favorite.

After breakfast we headed back to the pool and spent the rest of the day there.  The boys had a good time.  Swimming was interrupted by a fire alarm.  At that point our swim time was coming to a close as we had dinner plans again.  As we were assembling to leave, Sean had an unfortunate slip on some steps.  Thankfully, he ended up with just some bruising and nothing more.

We headed out and changed for dinner.  Dinner was traditional English roast with veg, potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.  Lots of gravy!  Pud was included.  We enjoyed the ice cream and the English pancake (kind of like a crepe) with golden syrup.  Yum!

We headed back to the Villa for the evening and settled in watching a bit of TV.  It was then that the itchies started.  It started with one and quickly spread to three, the fourth was asleep and Sean had a little rash as well.  It must have been from the pool.  Thankfully, we got things under control rather quickly with some lotion and Benadryl.

Monday morning we woke with the rashes all gone.  We finished up our packing and I walked back to the car and brought it around so that we could load it.  The car was loaded and put back into the carpark.  We grabbed breakfast again and headed to some of the play parks.  They are completely awesome with equipment that Sean and I even jumped on with the kids.  In fact many parents did as well.  All in all it was a nice weekend and we had some fun and made some nice memories during our visit to Nottingham Forest!

We left around noon and got back to the house.  Never fear, our birthday boy did get his presents and cake, cupcakes in fact!  :)

The Most Expensive Box I Have Ever Received

When we had been in the UK about 2 months, I realized that I needed a few things sent.  My dad was set on the task and he and my mom started getting the few things that we needed.

We ordered a set of sports goggles for Colin, sports was just proving to be to tough on his glasses.  So, my mom picked them up from the eye doctor for us, check.  We also figured out that we needed some more adaptors and I asked my dad to grab what he could from Target, check.  The other thing that we needed were my oldest son's inserts for his shoes.  We had to take them in to be repaired right before we left and they were not done in time.  So, my dad picked them up and put them in the box, check.

So, my dad went and got all of the things for us and put them in a box and then proceeded to send them off by FedEx.   He also included insurance for the contents, the total to send the package (drum roll, please) was $150.  No joke.  Ouch.  But at the same time, Thanks Dad, and check!

So, the package arrives and everything is great, right.  Right.  A few weeks later, I receive a bill from FedEx, charging VAT (value added tax) on the contents of the package.  The total of the bill???  £60 or about $110, what???

So, let me recap for you.  I got a package of stuff that was insured for $300.  It cost my dad $150 to send and then I had to pay $110 in additional taxes.  Can you say, costly package?  Ouch!  Thanks FedEx and United Kingdom!

Oh, we learned afterward from one of my good friends that anything sent needs to be done by USPS and put in a padded envelope.  Expensive lesson learned?  Check.

6 month Update

We celebrated our 6 month mark with a visit from my husband's sister, mother and our niece and nephew.  They arrived here 6 months to the day of our arrival into England.  I think in someways, there packing was just as crazy as our was, just with less stuff.  The weather kept changing and warm to the Brits is not the same as warm in Washington DC.  There is low humidity and our temps here peak earlier in the day.  Once the sun starts setting or if the wind kicks up, it is chilly.

We enjoyed our visit with them and we got to share a lot of the things that we have learned here.

So...what have we learned?  Hmmm, where to begin.

Driving is pretty normal on the other side of the road.  I still occasionally make some mistakes but normally, I catch them before I make them.  My anxiety levels are mostly non-existent and I can get my little Tincan into challenging spaces with ease.

The kids are doing well in school and they all have good friends that they enjoy spending time with.  Their teachers enjoy them and with few exceptions, they all have top marks.   Liam and Cian are doing football (ie soccer) after school.  Mark enjoys the Astronomy club and Colin does Art.  Spring term ended on March 31 and Summer term starts when they go back to school April 23.  They are all looking forward for swimming to start during the next term.

Shopping is still painful.  The exchange rate is just not in our favor.  I generally shop in the Tesco, an occasional market days and Marks & Spencer.  I have not shopped the butchers much, though I really should.  They are generally family owned and run.  There is a little local pet store where we choose to get all of Chip's food.  I also try and get him a toy every time that I am there are well.  I am afraid that they are struggling a bit right now as they just opened.  Buy local!

Sean grumbles about going to the cinema (ie the movie), because of the cost, so I just tell him to suck it up.  We are behind the US in what movie are available for the most part.  Hunger Games was released at the same time, but movies like The Muppets and The Lorax have had delayed releases.

I don't miss the political climate in the US.  When I see on Facebook the news the craziness that is going on, I shake my head.  There is no wonder that we Americans are thought to be a bit crazy in Europe.  The political crazies really make me hope that we will be granted an extended stay.  My friends here are in disbelief when I tell them about some of the craziness.

We have made some really nice friends that we really enjoy.  There are some really nice families that we have really enjoyed getting together with, 4 of the families we have met though Raytheon.  We also have met about the same number of families that we have met through the school as well.  I have a nice little arrangement with one of my friends, we trade Pilates for nails!  With that in mind I am probably going to start classes here at the house after school starts back at the end of the month.

The boys are still continuing with their American scouts.  My older sons and Sean are going to spring camporee April 20-23.  It should be a good time for them.  We are also anticipating meeting up with one of my husband's fraternity brothers around the same time.  We always love meeting up with anyone near the area.  Mark goes to the British scouts as well.  He had a great time when they visited the Secret Nuclear Bunker with the troop before break.  We met another American family when we picked him up.  My husband was not able to tell that he was American, he did not notice that accent!

In England, eggs are brown.  So, this Easter we had a hard time with our egg coloring traditions.  What they often do is paint their eggs.  Instead, I got chocolate eggs that can be decorated and another little kit in which the boys painted a plastic shell.  Liam and Cian seemed to enjoy doing it and did not seem to miss coloring the eggs.  The only candy that is available is chocolate, particularly Cadbury.  We were especially happy when my sister in law brought us Brachs speckled jelly bean eggs.  Yum!

In England, music is big and the music festivals are fantastic.  We talked about going to the Isle of Wright festival, which is a 3 day weekend.  We were having problems deciding what to do with the kids.  Instead, we are attending the V-Festivel in August, the list of bands is exciting!

While we have not developed a proper English accent, we have adopted their phrases and sayings.  Sometimes, some things that the boys say does have a bit of an English sound.  For the most part though, our American accents are still in place.  We have to be careful when we are out because our accent really stand out and our voices tend to carry and stick out.  I would not mind adopting an English accent, but it seems funny and I am afraid that they would think that I was making fun of them, so I don't try to hard to sound English.  If it happens, it happens.

One thing that I really miss (besides our Kitties) is my grill.  The weather has been nice enough lately to grill and I am sad that I do not have one to use.  I have a George Foremen grill that I do use, but the burgers just do not taste the same.  I did finally find some Americanish hotdogs, Cian's favorite.  Typically when we see hotdogs, they are really sausage.  It was the first time we have really had American hotdogs since we have been here.

We do eat differently here, we eat Brussel sprouts as part of our veggies now.  We are eating a lot more fish and we now have Fish & Chip Friday.  We enjoy the Steak & Ale pie, along with the various puds/desserts with Sponge cake and Rhubarb.  The prepared foods here are yummy and contain little to no preservatives.  There is HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) in some things in the UK, but for the most part they are trying to keep it our of their food, and they cite how it has affected American waistlines.  With that said, we eat a lot more candy here.  :)

TV is interesting.  Along with enjoying TopGear, we have watched My Big Fat Gypsie Wedding (think of the Amish gone wrong), Sherlock, Dr. Who, and Supersize versus Superskinny.  It is a show about bad eating habits all the way around.  We also recently started watching Once Upon a Time.

I consider the weather as traditional island weather.  Similar in some ways to Hawaii, just not as warm. I can usually count on seeing the sun at least a little bit everyday.  We have been lucky though because the weather has been warmer then typical.  Two weeks ago, the temps were in the high 60's.  One of my sons' best friends commented on how he was "boiling" at school and my son was still wrapped up in his jumper (ie sweater) and blazer.  One teen's boil is apparently another teen's cold!

I am still working my way around not having a UK Bank account.  It is even getting easier as I have been able to start paying most of my bills online since my US credit union participates in Visa verisign.

We all like the school holiday schedule much better here.  The kids are in school for basically 6-8 weeks and then there is a 1-2 week break.  It is really nice.  The kids work really hard when they are in school and they enjoy their break.  They start school later, at the first of September and then end later, at the beginning of July.  My boys are in private schools and they are actually are out about three weeks before the state schools.  Time to start making plans for our Greek holiday!

We are really enjoying our time here, the 6 months have gone really fast.  I anticipate that the next 6 months will as well.  Sean and I decided that we will stay through our lease which ends at the end of October.  The boys will go through the first half of fall term and then we will leave.  That is of course, unless the company decides that they have other plans for us.  We are open to anything.  I did promise the kids that I would have our cats sent over if we don't go straight home.  We do miss our kitties.

When we leave, I am going to miss my friends the most.

Fuel Driver Update

It was a bit tense last week, for sure.  The lines at the petrol station were long as people panicked about the possibility of a strike.  I had to wait in line last Friday to get fuel, it was a bit of a mess.  Last Sunday one of the stations close to us had signs up stating that they were out of petrol.   Sean was a bit worried because his car was so low in gasoline.  Luckily, on Monday, I was able to find a station to fill up in easily.

Things then eased up at the beginning of last week as the driver agreed not to strike.

In the end, we decided not to do our planned trip to Edinburgh and York.  The fuel strike was troubling, Sean has been incredibly busy at work and what finally decided it for us was when the weather turned cold and Scotland started to receive snow last week.  We even have had the threat of snow as well.  I am looking forward to seeing Scotland, but at this point I would prefer to see it when it is a bit warmer!

So, we are doing a bit of a stay-cation.  It is not like there is not a ton of things for us to see and do in the surrounding area!