Another Christmas in the UK

We had some interesting news 19 October as we were preparing to leave for our half term trip for Porto Santo.  The gentleman that was hired to replace Sean quit.  Normally in the UK, they give a 4 month notice when they quit.  There are exceptions to that rule, as there was in this case.  He was under his 6 month trial period, so he did not have to give the 4 month notice.  His last day was while we were in Porto Santo.

So, we left wondering what was going to happen.  We figured that this was going to mean an additional extension.  At first, we thought that we would still be returning to the US to celebrate the holidays.....

As soon as our families found out that we were up for an additional extension, we were greeted with a mixture of emotions.  My mother in law was excited for us.  She lived in England as a child and treasures her memories.  She also enjoys that she can connect with shared experiences with my boys.  She understandably wanted us to try and make trip out to see them over the Christmas Holiday when we came back.

My parents, who bare the most burden of us being gone were understandably less excited about an extension.  They take care of our house and cars.  They immediately requested that when we returned home over the holidays that we start selling cars, house etc....

Then, things heated up between me and my cousins.  They have been renting my Grandparents home.  They decided to confer with a lawyer and I received a very nasty from that lawyer regarding an inheritance that they were never granted by my grandparents.

This in turn was complicated by my biological father, who against all advice of me, his friends and other family, went and bought a small motorcycle.  He had a stroke 5 years ago and has been very unsteady on his feet ever since.  He was in an accident riding it home and broke his femur.

For me, the thought of returning to the US with all that to deal with was a freakin’ nightmare.  Sleepless nights started once again and my anxiety was at an all time high.  I started hot yoga (which I am not a fan of) running to deal with all the stress and leaned heavily on my local friends.

My lawyer successfully ended the lease with my cousins and they vacated.  I wish I could say that it was that simple, but, it’s not.  I am still dealing with the theft and destruction that they left in my grandparents home.   But since I am not there to deal with it directly, I have to deal with it though the help of a very kind and thoughtful family member.  We work together the best that we can over the distance and the weather challenges.

We decided in November that we were not going to return home.  I am not sure if my husband and I came to the conclusion together or not.  But as the company drug it’s feet on giving us a firm date on our extension, we realized that if we were going to be going home, it was going to be all on us.  As the time grew later and the tickets more expensive, we decided that we would just spend Christmas here.  I was relieved, I was not sure how I was going to be able to honor everyone’s requests/needs with out having a nervous break down or at least a few shouting matches.

One of my best friends here worried for me, gently asking and reminding me that Christmas was coming and I did not have any gifts bought.  We had planned to just make our Christmas simple when we got back to the US and just buy the boys the new Wii U.  Thankfully, she had some very good suggestions and it so happened that she was making a trip to the US before Christmas!  So, I asked her to import a few things for me!

We made it though Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We were also lucky enough to talk to my parents and some of my husbands’ family.  It was really nice and really quiet.  Most of all I was able to enjoy it.

I am still dealing with the things that I can over the phone and internet.  As most of you know by now, my car was hit by another driver and it is a ‘write off’.  So, now that I am going to be purchasing another car.... it really seems that things were stacked against us to fly to the US this year.

December, The Month for Music

So, one of the first things that I did when we found out we were staying into December was to purchase some concert tickets!

Happy Birthday to me!  We first went to see Florence and the Machine.  She was excellent and I would definitely recommend!  Our second concert was Mumford & Sons, another good band.  Florence has a huge stage presence.  In direct contrast Mumford & Sons were all about the music.  I would go and see them again and we did try to get tickets to the second performance in London.

I took a total deviation to my normal listening and went to see The Prodigy.  Not being a typical fan, I took time a few days before to acquaint myself with the music.  I was very interested to see them because of the things that they have done for the dance genre, I have to say that it was an awesome performance.  They performed in a smallish venue in London called the O2 Academy.  They rocked the place and Maxim really worked the crowd.  The energy was incredible!

We (my girlfriends and I) spent our time between the balcony and the floor in the venue.  Near the end of the performance, we were back up in the balcony and Keith Flint showed up.  After their performance, we stayed in the VIP lounge and listened to Maxim DJ, it was loud and rocking!

We finally found ourselves back home around 4 in the morning.  It was a loud and late night that was very fun!  I am so glad that I stepped out of my music preferences and was able to see them perform.  It was an awesome experience.

Bad Things Come in Threes, Right?

So, after we returned from France, two of my girlfriends and I headed to Bicester for a day of shopping.  It was a lovely day and after they had each taken a child or two of mine, I gratefully bought them lunch.

We had left our cars at the school.  When we got back from shopping, I saw what I suspected.  I had left my keys in the car.  Worse yet, they were in the ignition and yes, my car was dead.  Thankfully, one of the ever so helpful groundsmen grabbed the school's battery charger and charged it for me.  

The next morning on my way into school, I broke my passenger side mirror.  It hit another car's mirror, mine broke, theirs did not...

Then later that week, as i was traveling to the grocery, the white van in front of me kicked up a stone and put a crack in the wind screen.  

All the while I was driving around, I was feeling a growing amount of anxiety.  In my nightmares, I kept hearing the sickening crunch of a car being hit.  Then on top of it with all these things happening, I was definitely a nervous cautious driver.  Around the 10 December, I was one of many that witnessed an accident.  After that, my anxiety calmed down and the crunching noises stopped.

Of course all this is now irrelevant.  Last Friday, 21 December, I was in a car accident.  I was driving down a rather straight run of road when a lady who was trying to cross traffic and turn to go the opposite way down the road hit me.  I tried to stop, but there wasn't any time.  She hit my little Skoda right in the passenger side tire.  The tire was shredded, the axel bent and something under the car was leaking.

Liam was with me, we were on out way to for him to finish his Christmas shopping.  Thankfully we were both fine.  The lady that hit me was in hysterics.  I tried to talk to her as did a helpful passerby to no avail.  So, an ambulance was called along with the police.  My car was in the center of the road and not moveable.  Her car was blocking one lane of traffic.  Two nice gentleman helped direct traffic until the police arrived.  

I had a witness give me her information as she saw the lady hit me.  Soon Sean showed up to get Liam out of the car as I made phone calls and talked to the police.  Accidents are handled differently here.  Police generally do not get involved unless the ambulance is called or they need to be around to direct traffic (which both happened in my case).  

The lady did not end up leaving with the ambulance.  She had family show up.  They managed to get her relatively calm.  Then when she saw Liam get out of the car, she started screaming again.  It was annoying, to say the least.  Especially after we determined that she was not hurt.

I ended up giving my account to the police officer.  One thing that he asked me (that threw me for a loop) was "would I be willing to witness if they persecuted".  I was like "What?"????  I asked them for patience, as I was American (which he knew because of my license), and I asked him to explain.  So, apparently all they wanted to know was that if she had broken any laws and that they had to charge her, would I be willing to come into court and be a witness.  So, I agreed, that yes I would.  In this case, she was not going to be charged anyway.  The police filed a report and the insurance companies are left to figure out the rest.

I had some initial back soreness, but it was gone by the next morning.  The insurance company has been really consistent in calling to make sure that Liam is ok.  He had on a very thick fleece gap sweatshirt that protected him from the seatbelt.  He was also relaxed when it happened as I did not warn him of the impending accident.

I was informed yesterday, that my Skoda aka the Tincan is a erote off.  Meaning that the damage is greater then the worth of the car.  I am not waiting for my ‘hire car’ to come though.  I have also started looking for a new car.  I am still waiting on a settlement offer.  I have to admit that I am not looking forward to going through this process.  As it happens, this does not come at good time in life.  But then again, I have never known a car accident to happen at a ‘good’ time!

Thankful

Many of my friends use their status' on Facebook during the month of November to say what they are thankful for in their lives.  I don't generally participate.  I do really enjoy reading what my friends are thankful for in their lives, don't get me wrong.  In the past few years, lots of things have changed for me and my list of things to be thankful for has become short and simple.

My list is as follows:

I am thankful for my husband.  He supports me more then anyone on this earth.  He also keeps me grounded when my dreams sometime want to carry me away.  He also has helped me live one of my dreams by bringing me here to live in England.  He is the love of my life and I am very thankful for all that we have together.

I am thankful for my oldest son.  He has taught me a lot in his 16 years.  He has given me many chances to make and fix my mistakes as I have grown into my role as his mother.  He has helped me develop patience, something that I have not always had a lot of.

I am thankful for my second oldest son, he has always been more in tune to people's feelings and I have always found his hugs, even though they came less often then my other sons', very comforting.  I am also thankful that he can trust me enough to talk to me about his problems.

I am thankful for my third son because he is a little sunshine.  He is the most optimistic person in my house and it shows.  He is always adored by all of his teachers.

I am thankful for my youngest son.  My youngest is the baby and it shows with his temper and tantrums, which makes me laugh.  My youngest is a very hard worker in school.  He always comes right home and starts on his homework, he is eager to get it done so he can have his free time.

I am also thankful for the opportunity to live in another country.  I know that for my kids, it has not always been easy.  I keep telling them that someday, they will thank me.  I know that they don't believe me when I say it, but I have seen so much personal growth from them all.

This move has also taught me that my children really benefit from going to a smaller school where they can get individual attention.  I am grateful for the opportunity to send my children to a smaller school.  My oldest two were really lost in the schools back in Indiana.  The teachers were so busy with all their students that they were never able to give my sons the extra attention that they really needed.  I am so grateful that they have had the opportunity to realize that they are all very smart, which is something that my older two have struggled with in the US.

Lastly I am thankful for my old and new friends and family that have supported us though this temporary move.  It has been such a wonderful experience that I would definitely do it again.

Thanksgiving and Turning 16

When we told our kids that we were being extended though to December, my 15 year old had a lot of disappointment.  This year his 16th birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day.  He was greatly looking forward to having the two days off, having the big feast and family get together at my Mom and Dad's house, starting driving school when we returned in October and getting his license (probably provisional).

My husband and I felt a little bad about it and we tossed around not sending the kids to school and celebrating.  My husband even had talked about leaving work early <gasp>.  Honestly, Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays.  It is just an excuse to eat a lot of food and watch American football.  I sometime think that the meaning of the holiday has been lost on most Americans.  I do think that my children are a small exception, only because at the beginning of November we watch the two Charlie Brown specials that are associated with the holiday.  The special in particular that I am talking about is called "This is America Charlie Brown, The Mayflower Voyages".

I finally relented and told the kids that they could stay home from school, totally expecting cheers of joy and exclamations of what great parents we were.  The youngest three were happy to have the opportunity to stay home even when I told them they had to help me cook.  The 15 year old?  Well, he was not happy.  I was confused and a little mad.  It turns out that he had not really wanted to be home since we weren't in the US and he had triple DT(Design Technology) that afternoon that he felt he could not miss because he has a big project going on.  So, we made a compromise, I would take him and the 9 year old into school at 2:15.  The 9 year old had cookery club after school that he did not want to miss.  I dropped them off as planned and then headed home to finish up cooking, wrap presents and make cake.

I have been in denial about having a son that is turning 16.  I am not ready to be the parent of a child that age.  I swear that it seems just like yesterday that I brought him home in his car seat.  At least while I am here, I can pretend for a little while longer that he is still 'little' my kid, even if he is taller then me now!  In the US, this is a big birthday year that includes some freedoms.  He reminded me in the car before the presidential election that when the next presidential election rolls around he and his 14 year old younger brother will both be able to vote in the next election, oh my!

I have to admit that I am glad that we are still in the United Kingdom where I don't have to deal with all that reality yet.  In the United Kingdom, they apply for their permit 3 months before they turn 17.  So, being here is putting driving aspirations off for now.

Sean grabbed the two kids who went to school and came home with his contribution to dinner, rolls.  The picture above was taken just before he opened his presents.

Here is the birthday boy with his brothers.  As you can see, turning 16 still can be cool, even if you aren't driving.  Head phones and cool sunglasses do help!

I am not sure that we did not give him the birthday that he had wanted, but I do hope that it was still a good birthday to remember.  I love my oldest son dearly.  He is silly, fun loving and he has gained a lot of new confidence while we have lived in the UK.  He has also gained many things that he probably would not have in the US school that he was attending.  This Thanksgiving, I was very grateful for the opportunity to take our kids to live overseas and I was grateful for what he has learned about others and most importantly about himself.  

Finding the Aunties in Paris

The next morning we woke up and got ready to meet my husband's mother and aunties.  We dressed and went to Starbucks for a latte.  Yes, I go to France and I still buy my lattes from Starbucks.  I find it easier to stick with what I know, especially since I have a slight intolerance to dairy.  I know that I can get soy in Starbucks, the little patisseries and the lack of speaking French make me wary of trying.

So, we walked down to the rental office of where they were staying and no one was there.  We were worried that we missed them so we walked down to the market they had mentioned.  We still had not heard from them and we weren't sure where they might be, so I sent them a message and let them know that I had enabled internet on my phone so that I would have it all day and asked them to message us when they could.

We headed to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmare.  It is a very beautiful church.  Usually the views looking to Paris are stunning, but the low cloud cover and the birds were not cooperating that day.

We then had a little wander around the market and shops.  We stumbled into a magnificent chocolate shop.The picture below is me with  a gigantic chocolate ship.  We also found some candy to take back home for the kids.

We returned back to our hotel to wait to hear from my husband's mother and aunties.  It was then when I was checking my email that we heard from them.  We quickly headed out to meet them.

We found them and after a joyful reunion we all headed out to the local market.  We had a nice wander and the aunties picked up a poluet roti (roasted chicken) with some nice roasted potatoes for dinner.  We wandered further and the aunties picked up a nice beetroot salad with another salad that was very tasty.  We ended up down by the Eiffel Tower at one of the many gift shops while the aunties did some shopping.  They finished just in time to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle.  I have seen a few times and every time I see it, it still makes me gasp!

My mother in law had asked me to bring a cake from London from a shop called Chocckywocckydoodah.  But upon checking into the traveling restrictions, I decided that it was probably not the best idea.  My husband and I had noticed a little shop that had some gorgeous looking  desserts, Aux Merveilleux.  Here is the website http://www.auxmerveilleux.com/.  So, we bought this for dessert instead.

The next morning we met for breakfast.

The pain au raisins were delicious!

We headed out to another market for a mooch.  We found many fabulous things and smelled some very delicious smells.  All to soon it was time for my husband and I to leave. We grabbed our things and checked out of the hotel.  We headed over to the aunties place for a few more pictures!

 Then after saying our good-byes, we left to go board the Eurostar to go back to London and the boys.

Paris, again!

My mother in law and her sisters came to Paris on a girls trip.  I was going to meet them because I needed somethings.  It ended up that I was going over the weekend, so my husband decided to come with me.

I made arrangements for all the boys to stay with friends and we left on 16 November.  Sean did the school run and then came back.  We finished up our packing and caught a taxi to the train station.  We trained to Tottenhale and got on the tube to Kings Cross.  Kings Cross is attached to St. Pancras which is where the Eurostar station is located.  We grabbed a quick pastry and drink for the train and then went through security.

It was right after the election and I have to say, the reactions of the people we encounter have been interesting.  They all have a polite curiosity about who I voted for as they do hope that I am pleased with the election results.  Everyone that I have encountered are very pleased that Obama won the election and they have high hopes for a good second term.  While we were in St. Pancras going through security, the security guard (who happened to be black) noticed my passport and gave me a grin and called me one of Obama's people.  I grinned back at him and said yes, I certainly was!  He gave me a delighted grin back, calling Obama a brother.

We boarded the train and it left the station.  The Eurostar is a fantastic way to travel.  The trip takes 2:20 minutes and it is very comfortable to sit in the train as the countryside whizzes by.

We arrived in Paris and navigated to the metro to our hotel.  We stayed near to where my husbands family was staying.  We were much closer in the city this time, we were near the Eiffel Tower.  We arrived to Paris and it was a foggy, but the fog was higher up. As we were walking we noticed as we looked up to see the top of the Eiffel Tower, that the top was in the clouds.  So we headed up near Champs Elysees.  We had some Christmas and birthday shopping to do!  It was a nice walk, even though it was a bit cold.  The lights on Champs Elysees were not lit, they were going to be lit later in the week.  But we did see the lights in these fountains.  When I was in Paris with the boys, these fountains has beautiful flowers around them!

 After a bit of shopping we headed back to the hotel. On our way we walked to the Eiffel Tower.

Then we found a little place for dinner.  I had duck and my husband ate the rib-eye.  It was delicious!  I had a very nice house red wine with dinner and then topped of the night with a delicious Creme Brulee for dessert.

The Rest of Half Term

This post is late and very long in coming.  I am hoping over the the break to get all caught up!

We came home late Monday night from Portugal to a busy week.

To top it all off my car was still being worked on my our mobile mechanic.  There was an error in the ABS system that was giving him fits.  He also replaced the tire that I ruined so that I would have a spare that actually worked.  One of my friends that works at the school has been giving me a particularly hard time about not having a spare tire that works.

So, I spent the week being the tank driver....  We refer to my husband's car affectionately as 'the tank'.  Tuesday afternoon, my youngest two went and decorated and made cupcakes.

This is my two youngest with their creations!

We spent the rest of the week catching doing various activities.  My oldest son went to a laser tag birthday party and we ended the week taking our 14 year old and a few of his friends to see the new James Bond flick Skyfall in the cinema!  It was a very late birthday celebration indeed!

All too soon, school started and our crazy scheduled continued as my husband and I prepared to meet family in Paris and we tried to prepare for my oldest son's 16th birthday!