My Birthday--my time to whine.

Well, my birthday was the second birthday that we celebrated.  My day, while was not craptacular, sadly, it was not one of those days that I would rate in my top 10 either.  Honestly, my birthday is not really a happy time for me and I can't remember many that were.  Having a birthday that is close to Christmas is never any fun for obvious reasons.  Who wants their two major holidays to open presents from loved ones to be 10 days apart????  And if you are blessed (or cursed) to have them so close together, who wants gifts that serve as both holidays from your family?  I have had those gifts too often and it tends to be a double edged sword, one that I tend to dislike more then I like honestly.  Sure you can get a bigger gift sometimes, but is it worth not getting a gift for Christmas?

Before my birthday, Super husband told me to go and buy what I wanted because he would not have the time to go and do any shopping for me.  Not only does he not have the time since he generally works until 9pm at night, he also does not have access to the debit card.  We basically only use our debit card for all of our purchases since all of our American credit cards change us a fee.  He has cash generally, but not enough to really buy much.  As my birthday approached he managed to complain to me that I was sure buying myself lots of things, to which I replied I thought that was what he wanted me to do since he did not have the time!

I went to dinner on the 14th with some of the other mom's in Cian's year.  He had intended to the store to buy a cake, but I have not even seen a regular lemon cake mix in the stores.  In the UK, they must make most of their cakes from scratch.  We can buy some cake mixes, Betty Crocker is available, but it is pretty costly.  I told him that I would prefer to try and find cupcakes in a bakery that I had seen in Bishop's Stortford.

The night of the 14th the kids had a disturbing revelation as well.  When they asked Super Handsome what they were giving me for my birthday, he said nothing!  They were apparently alarmed because he always had something for them to give me for my birthday!  He was a bit incensed at them because as he pointed out to them, when did he have the time to do any shopping for me....

This year, my birthday was just not destined to be a good one.  I got on the road at 9am to pick up my mother in law at the airport.  I drove to Heathrow to pick up her up.  We had discussed having her take a train to us, but with her being on the plane all night we thought it was best that I picked her up.  I listened to the traffic all morning and sadly confused where the day's traffic snaffu's location.  I thought that it was not located where I was going, unfortunately it was, and my trip to the airport was lengthened by a good 45 mins.  So, overall I probably spent over 3 hours in the car.

Thankfully, she was on time, though worried about where to meet me. Luckily, I saw her quickly and we left the airport in a record amount of time.

We stopped on our way home for a quick bit of shopping and to get some gas for the car.  We stopped to try and get the cupcakes and found no success, sadly.  We made it home in the twilight, which here is early since the sunset at 3:50.  The boys were thrilled to see her and Super Handsome even made it home earlier then normal.

For dinner we went to the a pub just down the road, The Lion and the Lamb.  It was a really nice pub and we found that the owners lived very near us.  It was an overall nice experience and the food was tasty.  I think that we will make it back again soon.

We came home to no real birthday dessert.  Super Handsome decided that since we had frozen eclairs, that we had to have them, I would have been fine to skip them and in fact I was so full from dinner that I did!

I guess that it is good that I have low expectations for my birthday, and really overall, this was definitely not the worst one that I have can remember.  I do enjoy protracted celebrations.  We went for drinks with my friend Mrs Innuendo and her husband Saturday evening.  The kids also picked out a few things from them when we went shopping on Friday afternoon.  Kids 3 in particular was very sweet about finding something that I would like.  My MIL bought me two cute sweater dresses on my birthday when we did our little shopping expedition and she found me the cutest pair of earring when she was in Paris!  We were also lucky enough to find a cupcake shop while we were in Windsor on Saturday.  We got caught in a traffic jam on the way home because of a horrible accident and just enjoyed them in the car!

All in all, a birthday is just the marker of my time on this earth.  I am just happy that I have another year to spend with everyone.  My highlights were there though.  My phone call from my Mom and Dad (Mark), my birthday wishes from my kids and husband, my homemade card from my youngest and a sweet and thoughtful gift from my BFF in the UK, Mrs Innuendo, and all my wishes from Facebook and I was honored in a mention in my sisters status, it does make a nice little party in your email.  Cheers.

Windsor Castle with Dumb and Dumber

I have been very bad at updating my blog lately, sorry (or so'y as the English would say).   A lot has happened.  I celebrated a birthday and my mother in law arrived from the US.  More about that later.....

With my mother in law visiting we decided to head down to Windsor to visit Windsor Castle, the place where the royal family spends their weekends.

We arrived in Windsor easily enough.  Finding the castle proved to be another issue.  Super Handsome drove around and I tried to help him.  First, we tried the GPS, our first attempt landed us down in Windsor in sight of the castle and frustrated.  So, the second attempt with the GPS took us to a a nice little pub called the Windsor Castle.

Super Handsome gave up on the GPS and started driving around.  We could see it and were determined to go!  So, we started following following the little signs and FINALLY pulled into a car park and walked.  He parked very close.  The castle is right near the shopping district of Windsor.

It was right around lunch time, so we grabbed a bite to eat before we went through the castle.  The tour was suppose to be around 3 hours.  Super Handsome and the boys grabbed McDonalds.  My mother law and I split a little panini and we each got a pastry from a little patisserie.

After lunch we headed up to the castle and purchased our tickets.  Since it is the Royal Families residence, we were required to go through security.  It required our pockets to be emptied and our bags to be x-rayed.  As we got into the line, Oldest Son told me that he had his pocket knife (dumb).  What?  Super Handsome asked Oldest Son why would he ever bring his knife to what Son 2 replied rather loudly "To stab people with!" (Dumber) So, I took it intending to send it through the x-ray in my purse.  As the other kids emptied their pockets, we figured out that they had dragged all their DS's with them, instead of leaving them in the car.  Super Handsome and I were divided with these two incidents going on and not happy.  Super Handsome was stuck with lecturing the other kids and as Oldest Son emptied his pockets, I decided to stick the knife in his tray.  I showed it to the security person.  They asked to examine it, asked a few questions and then gave it back to me and asked me to keep it in my purse and send it though the x-ray.  After I went though, I was asked for the knife again and this time they told me that they had to confiscate it as it is a locking blade and they are illegal in the UK.  I had to sign a release form and Oldest Son's blade is now on it's way to the police station to be destroyed.

We went on to start our tour.  Oldest Son was so angry and upset he declined the audio tour and sulked his way through the castle.  The rest of us had a great time.  Youngest Son's has a special audio tour just for them and they were given a scavenger hunt.  They were provided clues and they had to find presents in the different rooms that we went though!  They had a great time and at one point, Kid 3 had forgotten to mark off one present so we waited while they went back to confirm what room it was.

We started off the tour as we walked up to the castle.  We heard about the castle's defenses, the dry moat, and why the castle was built where it was on the hill side to afford a view from all around for easier defense and early detection of enemies.  The view of the country side was fantastic!  We also found out that since the flag was flying, HRH Queen Elizabeth II was there!

Once we got into the castle we could not take any pictures and we were very disappointed.  We saw so many fantastic things!  We started with Queen Mary's doll house, and then moved through the state rooms.  We saw many of the royal treasures that had been won as they conquered territories.  We also saw the part of the castle that had been destroyed in the fire of 1992, it had been restored beautifully!

We ended our tour at St. George's Cathedral where we saw where queens' parents and here sister were buried.  As we left the cathedral we found out that Liam had dropped his DS somewhere.  Super Handsome took him back to find it.  We then grabbed some cupcakes to celebrate my birthday and ran to the car park because our time on the pay ticket was up. (paying to park stinks!)

So, we left the castle with out meeting the queen and with out going to jail (thanks Oldest Two Sons, but thanks to my Dumb and Dumber kids, I am probably on some list of the government's somewhere....

Why the English wear robes or smoking jackets and slippers...

Oak Lodge is an old house, no denying it.  But it has been updated and added onto.  The current owners have done a lot in the 30+ years that they owned it.  One thing that they did not do was add forced air heating, I am not even sure that they had the option.  The way that our home is heated is considered central heating, even though is it is done with radiators.  They have a boiler that heats that radiators.  The boiler is usually powered by heating oil as is the case in the case of Oak Lodge.

Oak Lodge also still has the old single pane windows.  So, the one thing that we notice is the condensation that builds on some of the windows.  Our bedroom and the kitchen seems the worst.  On warmer days I will open the windows a bit to try and let the wetter air escape.  We also wipe the windows down to prevent the moisture from ruining the wood on the window sills.  Wiping them down was recommended to us by the letting company as well to prevent mold growth.  Ick.

In our home, the heat kicks on in the morning at half 6, I can hear the water bubbling up into the radiators and it usually wakes me.  Then, it kicks off at 9am and stay off during the day.  When we get up at 7am, even though the radiators have been on, it is still cold enough after I put on my fleece pants, sweatshirt and warm socks (note I am getting sheepskin slippers ASAP!).  I pull on my fleece robe as well.  I have been telling the boys to do the same.  My Younger Two usually come down first and they have taken to wearing their robes (thanks Nana!) because they are cold.  The boys often start off their days with hot chocolate for breakfast.

The nice thing about the weather in the UK, so far is that we have not seen large temperature changes from day to night.  Often there is usually a less then 10 degree change in temperature from day to night for example we have had a high of 47 with a low of 44, all in Fahrenheit (remember though we use Celsius in the UK).  Even though there is not a great difference in temperature, the house does cool down, especially when the heat is not on through the day.  When the sun is out the days are quite pleasant, but when it goes down, it cools off fast and the temperature difference is very noticeable, especially if the wind picks up.  Super Handsome and I both have been told that this nice weather is not usual and that the last couple of years they have had snow on the ground at this time.

It is strange because the weather can be quite balmy and almost warm during the days, which is unusual for this time of year.  My friend mentioned that she still feels like it is October and she needs to get herself into the Christmas mood.  Where I live in the UK is currently one of the drier parts of the island.   They were announcing on the radio that we are in a "drought" and that the officials need to start taking precautions and planning for next summer when the Olympics come to the UK.

This weather has made it hard to get into the Christmas mood, and I don't envy my friends and family back home with the cold and snow (and rain) that they have been getting.   I am glad for the warmer weather that we have and I am not looking forward to the cold when it does start to arrive.  Hopefully though, by that time I will be prepared with my soft, warm robe, fleece pajamas and sheepskin and sheep sheering lined (from the UK) slippers.  Along with some more beautiful cashmere sweaters!

Of course this morning was one of the coldest mornings yet.  We were at 0 degrees Celsius.  It was chilly running and I have now determined that I need the warmer fleece gloves when I run.  It seems that the cold snap may have begun, despite the sun shine outside.

On Strike

In the UK, we are having one of the largest strikes in decades.  The media has been talking about it for weeks.  The strikers are from different parts of the workforce.  There are border workers, hospital workers, teachers and weather forecasters.

How has it affected me personally?  No much at all.  When I was out shopping today, it was busier then normal.  There are a lot of kids out of school right now, I heard that about 1/2-3/4 of all state schools are out.  I don't think that my kids know that, and since their school is a private school we are not affected by the strike and for our teachers, it is a business as usual kind of day.  It has affected Super Handsome more as some of his co-workers have had to take a personal day if their kids are not in school.

The workers are striking in protest at measures that the government is taking to shore up its debt.  The government is pushing back the retirement age to 67 starting in 2026, and the workers are also being required to contribute more money into the pension fund and receive less.  Their current wages have been frozen for 2 years and now pay raises will be 1% until 2014.  The government made these decisions because the UK economy did not grow at the 2.5% that was predicted, instead it only grew 0.07%.

The strike really seems to just a way for the workers to make a point that they are unhappy about the cuts.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the future between the government and the labor leaders.  The labor leaders in the 80's battled with Margaret Thatcher and it being wondered if it will happen again.  The UK has a large debt load and is second in the world to the US.  The government is trying to make good, yet unpopular decisions to shore up their problems and stabilize their economy.  Which is really a good thing, especially with things in Europe looking so bleak right now and two major governments are asking for bailouts again.  There are now talks that the fiasco with Greece and Italy may set the world economy back into recession and affect other nations like France.   Spain is projected to have problems again as well.

I think that the next year will be interesting.....

When the Rubber Band Snaps....

Long time friends.  We all have them.  The person that you haven't talked to in ages and then you pick up the phone and you just fall into easy conversation with, like you have never been apart.  I refer to it as the rubber band phenomena.  You go on with your life with your family and other friends and the bond (or rubber band) that separates you and your friend stretches.  At some point it can't stretch any further and you pick up the phone and call them, write on their FaceBook page, text them or whatever you need to do to communicate with them.  If you are not able to communicate with them, like I have not been able to with my friend from Sweden, you just think about them.  I am lucky that I have a few of them.  I was also lucky to see H yesterday (28 Nov 2011).

H was an exchange student that came to Belmond when we were seniors.  She's from Stockholm, Sweden.  We became instant friends, it was just that simple.   We have been in and out of contact through the years as life has taken us on it's winding path.

I had always promised myself that I would make it to Europe to see Hanna.  I did not quite make it to Europe, but I made it across the pond and she made it to England.  From there, with a little help from the school (for me) and with a little help from her wonderful in-laws, we were able to spend a few hours together in the afternoon.

H took the train to meet me.  I really had not let myself get too excited for our meeting, because my plans to Paris got nixed and I was very disappointed.  I could not bare another disappointment.  But, as I was in the car on my way to see her, I got very excited.  I arrived at the train station and sent her a text and figured out she was running late.  So, I parked the car and then got lost trying to get back to the station.  I finally figured out where to go and as I was walking up the ramp to the station, I saw her.  I have to admit that I started crying a bit, it was just that amazing to see her again!

We wandered a bit and finally settled on a little coffee shop.  We just sat and talked until reality and our kids became to large to ignore.  But, we left with plans for us (or maybe just me) to come and see her in Stockholm during the summer months.  I can't wait to see her again.  The impact that we left on each other's lives is still very evident and I am so thankful that she is my friend and that we are back in contact again.   Now, that we have better ways to keep in contact, I plan to get my rubber band firmly in place!  

Oldest Son turns 15

Oldest Son had the honor of being the first Beary to celebrate his birthday here in the UK.  We decide to have a party for him and invite the kids in his year.  The problem then became that there were kids that he really did not want to invite, but because the school was so small we felt that it was not a good option.  We instead assured Oldest Son that those kids would probably really not come anyway.  (and I might add, we were correct!)

Little did we know that when Oldest Son handed out the invitations, that the party would go viral.  The invites were intended for year 10's only.  There are a few year 8 girls that are a bit, umm, crazy.  They somehow got a hold of the invitation, copied it and distributed it.  The funny part of it all was I had inadvertently put the wrong phone number on the invitation.  I had also purposely not put the address of our home on it either, figuring that I would give it to them as they RSVP'ed.

That day I received an email from Oldest Son's form teacher, she requested a meeting with me.  I met with her that day and I have to say that when I left she had me wondering what I was getting myself into!  Apparently, there are at least 2 boys that are very wild in his year.   Oldest Son had also been talking to several of the guys and drinking seemed to happen at some of the parties as well.  He went back to school the next day and told the kids that asked that there would be no drinking or drugs allowed at his party.  Then, we sat and waited.

As the party grew closer, very few kids had RSVP'ed.  I had one call from a concerned mother, she would only let her son come to parties if she knew exactly what was going on.  I did not blame her after what I heard from the teacher.

The day of the party arrived and we were nervous.  We had a total of 5 kids that had RSVP'ed.  One then canceled and another was not expecting to make it.  The morning of the party, 4 other girls emailed me to let me know they wanted to come.

So, as the evening approached, we started preparing for the kids to come.  I cooked up a storm.  Oldest Son's favorite cornflake chicken, kale chips and baked beans.  The start time for the party came and went.  So, we sat and started to get a little nervous.

Apparently they had all coordinated to arrive late, as at 6pm, cars started rolling in and kids started arriving.  We ended up with Oldest Son, one other guy and 6 girls.  I served the food that I had prepared and Super Handsome started on the pizzas.  Meanwhile the kids had started with watching The Sorcerers Apprentice, which ended after about 30 mins.  They all just joked around and ate and fought with the balloons that were all over the room.

They played a bit of Rock Band and then giggled their way through one more movie (Princess Bride) before it was time to go home.  All and all I think that it was a good time had by all.

Happy Birthday to my Oldest Baby!

Thanksgiving

I had not really planned on celebrating Thanksgiving while here in the UK.  I really do not see the point, here it is just another day.  The boys don't need to miss any school, they have barely been in school one full month!

So, as the day as gotten closer, I have found as I have read on Facebook about all the preparations that my friends and family has been making, that I am kind sad about missing it.

I was asked to talk to the 4 year old's at the boys schools about our Thanksgiving traditions.  I think that it might have been rather boring for them to hear.  The teacher has described it of a Christmas time without presents.  Which as many of you know, isn't exactly right.  It is a time for a lot of preparation of food.  In particular with my family, I share the cooking with my mother and I cook most of the side dishes and a pie or two.  This year, I have turned to making a pumpkin pie from scratch, which is particularly interesting since I am not a fan.

I did bring the kids a bit of the pumpkin pie to try.  All of the kids were brave little souls and tried it, even without the dream whip.  It was wildly anticipated by the staff and I passed out little pieces to them as well.

I am not exactly sure how we are going to celebrate this American holiday.  We had talked about going to Toby Carvery for dinner.  They serve turkey, gammon, roast beef and pork with yorkshire pudding (which is kind of like a biscuit).  The dinner will be missing some of the traditional things, like yams with marshmallows,  cranberries and the pies (here they are called tarts or crumbles, pies are savory).

We are also planning on trying to Facetime with our families in the US.  We look forward to seeing them at their gatherings, if we can catch them!

Quick update on our friends’ daughter:  She is out of surgery and settled into ICU.  Keeping my sparkles on and fingers crossed for some good news about the surgery now.