Can you leave at 5:00 tonight?

That was the text and then phone call that I got from Super Handsome on Wednesday at noon!

Well, I guess..... unfortunately, is was necessary to leave Wednesday at the last minute for several reasons. Super Handsome needed to be at work in the UK two weeks ago, which in itself was a good enough reason. The other reasons had to do with our flights. If we left on Thursday not all of us could be on the same flights or even seated together and some of us would be flying stand by! Not a great situation with 4 kids. We could have left on Friday all together, but Super Husband really needed to be at work earlier.

My house was a mess and we were not completely packed. My fridges needed cleaning and purging. I had numerous errands that I needed to do as well. Thankfully, my mom and my sister came to help me with the cleaning part.  Also, I was fairly close to be done with the packing, there were just a few things that I needed to throw in, so that was finished rather quickly as well.  I prioritized the errands and did as much as I could, what did not get done, was just going to have to be undone!

I had planned a last little get together at a park for the kids, which I quickly called everyone and asked them to just drop by the house between 4 and 5. So, that worked out. We even found a home for our pleco fish at the last minute. Thank you to the Pastericks for taking him!

The whole situation was very stressful and then it was made more so by My two oldest sons disappearing as we were trying leave to go to the airport. We managed to find them quickly and then took them back to the house to grab what they needed and then we headed to the airport.

So, we still have a ton of loose ends left at home and I won't really be able to take care of them until we have regular internet access. We forgot quite a few things as well, like pajamas for our littlest two, our debit cards, swimsuits, and various cords to plug in different electronics, to name a few.  We will either manage with out them or we will buy it (not sure how yet!) or have them sent, depending on the situation!

Ah! The craziness has just begun, and that is an understatement!

Heading Out...

Well, it is finally reality.  As things have been rolling along, there have been days that I have wanted to pinch myself and ask  "Is really happening?".

My kids have felt the same way, Youngest Son has been asking to leave tomorrow.  All the kids were excited when I took them out of school September 12th.  I think they are going to be disappointed to go to school after we arrive!

Last week we went to visit Super Handsome's family.  While we were in Maryland, we also had to get a copy of our marriage certificate to include with our visa applications.  Super Handsome sent the application out of Wednesday.  We then flew to Boston Wednesday evening to attend a training that was mostly about taxes and finances.

Yesterday was a big day!  The packers came and packed our things.  We also found out that our Visas were approved.  So, if all goes as planned we will leave this week and begin our new adventure!

Now for me it is a race against time.  I have a long list of things that I want to accomplish before I leave. If it does not get done, then it just doesn't get done.  We will manage and we will cope.  All in all my kids will appreciate that I took the time to let them see their friends instead of pushing on the list, the list. Because really the rest is gravy, the hard things are done and it is time to enjoy time with our friends!  We will miss them over the year!

Sweating the Big and Small Stuff

The past few weeks have been turbulent for us, well at least for me... not to say that others in my house have not been stressed, but I sure have had my share of it.  But things happen in threes, right?  Not really, they just keep happening.

After stressing over and over about the schools.  I talked to Oldest Son and he put things into perspective for me (leading me to think I should have talked to him sooner, or at least maybe he should have said it to me sooner).  He told me that with his current schedule he would only have to take 2 required classes as a senior to graduate.  So, our move to the UK would only change that he would maybe have to take more required classes as a senior.  The counselor at his high school also assured me that the would work with him.  Over, done and out.

We have had ongoing health issues here at the Beary house.  Thankfully the all seem to be under control again, except for the 2 kidney stones Super Handsome has to pass.  Oh, and the cold that seems to be getting passed back and forth.

Housing, well, we will figure it out when we get there.  Super Handsome likes Bishops Stortford, so we are planning to look for a home in that area.  It is apparently a nice little town that we could do a lot of biking in and the trains are very convenient.

Everyone has most of their clothing packed.  I may have to help my older two repack some so that they will have warm enough clothing for now and then when we get there.

Our house and animals?  I still have some loose ends to tie up, but I am confident that the right answer will come along.   We still have to get the furnace fixed and the pool cover put back on and the pool closed.

Sometimes you just have to roll along with the waves that life sends you and that is what I am trying to do.  I just want to keep upright in this adventure and focused on moving forward the best that we can!

Now, back to connecting with friends and saying good-bye.  Oh, and celebrating my second son becoming a teenager on Monday!

Schools

The schools are continuing to be my biggest headache and I am not even in the UK yet.

Actually,  I am not very worried about the schools for my younger three.   Really, my oldests' situation has become my biggest stress.  I know, you have to be wondering why, right?  You would think that as close as America and the UK are that it would be simple.  I.wish.

In the UK, Primary or Preprepatory schools are Elementary schools, they have ages 3-7.  The Prepartory tend to be the next level and that is for the kids aged 7-11.  Then is the Senior school (called college, not to be confused with University) which has the kids aged 11-16 (think Harry Potter).  In the Preparatory years they take tests, called the A-levels.  In the Senior years they also take a test, called the GCSE.

So, my oldest is in the 9th grade here in the US.  We think that in the UK he would go into the 10th year.  In the UK, in the 9th and 10th years they prepare for the GCSE test.  The kids pick 11 subjects to study and they study them intensely for those two years and then they take the tests.  When they are done, they do not have to go back to school.  But if they have good scores they can choose to further their education, which is called the 6th Forms, and many schools that have 6th yeas call them colleges (not to be confused with Universities).

If we were going to be there for 2 years, I would just have my oldest take the GCSE's.  It would be my hope then that he would qualify to stay and do the next level of education in the 6th years and do a International Baccalaureate (IB) Certificate or do the A-Levels (similar to our AP system).  The IB program would actually be the preferred route, as some of the curriculum should transfer.  But we are not planning on that to happen.  So, we have looked into the International Schools, schools with pre-IB programs and really just run problems.  For instance the International schools are to far away, and the boys are not comfortable taking the train by themselves.  The other schools that would work, do not have vacancies at this time.  One school that might have spots, would be with their boarding program, but we do not want to board them.  I know that they would protest as well, I asked my older two sons!

So, now I have a call out to our schools to see what their suggestions are as, it looks like Oldest Son will be in a UK school.  From what I have been reading this may set him back a year in our school.  I am hopeful though because I have found an online high school and I think that he can take a correspondence course in the subjects that may not transfer.

One of the reason that we are having the issues that we having is because the school year is just getting ready to start. The top schools in the area that we are looking to live are full and many have waiting lists.
Also, since many schools are out, I am having problems getting responses from the schools.  This issue may really just have to wait until we get there.  As well as some of the other things, like finding a place to live!

Passports

Super Handsome and I already have our passports, but we needed to get one for the kids.  It is a relatively easy process but there are definitely things that you need to be aware of!

We went and got pictures done Wednesday.  We just went to Walgreens, they were $9.99 each.  Interesting information for you, they do not want you to smile and show teeth.  My kids either look scared or mad in their pictures.

 I filled out the applications that evening and saved them to our computer.  When filling out passport applications you will need social security numbers.  So, Super Handsome had to go and dig all the social security cards out.  He also grabbed the their birth certificates as well.  We were going to need the birth certificates when we went down to the post office to send in the passport applications.

Our intention was to take the kids on Thursday to get their passport applications filed at the post office.  Of course, it is always crazy to coordinate things around here.  So, we waited until Liam ad Cian were home from school.  I made a phone call to the closest post office and they did not have a passport office.  So, I called the central branch in Fort Wayne.  I am so glad that I did, I found out the office and closed at 4pm (it was 4:18 at the time), saved myself the wasted trip and all the grumbling that would have went with it!  Phew!

Friday, we took our elementary students of out school early and picked up the older two from school.  We had to get this done on Friday because the passport applications for children under 16 require that both parents are present.  If both parents are not both present than you need copies of the absent parents license and another signed notarized document that states that the parent authorizes the application.  I met Super Handsome at the post office right at 3pm.  The office closed at 4pm.  He got there about 15 minutes ahead of us, which was a good thing,  he was able to signed us in, which cut down our wait time.  The office was quite busy!

It took about 20 minutes to get all the kids done.  That is pretty good since, when we thought we were done, Super Handsome figured out that we had left out the all important part of having their passports expedited!  (a bunch of voiding checks happened then) Our process went as follows:  she would call one of the kids in and verify that it was them though the picture and then ask them a question or two.  After she verified she had the right child, she would ask them to sign the application and then we would sign while verbally confirming that all the information was correct on the application (to the best of our knowledge).  The other nice thing was I only had to write 3 checks.  One for the passport fees, which included the expedite fee, one to the post office and then last one again to the post office for express mailing the applications.  In reality I wrote 2 more, but those were voided.

Check another thing off the list.  Now, I still need to find our marriage certificate!

We are headed to the U.K!!!!!

If you have not heard the news, here it is for you.  We are headed to live in the United Kingdom for a year.  It has been a quick process.  The question came last week, we quickly accepted.  Things are moving quickly!

The next couple of weeks will be a whirlwind of craziness as we try and prepare for our trip to the U.K.   Today we are headed to the post office to get the passports for the kids.  I am on the look out for our marriage certificate.  If I don't find it soon, I am going to just have to reorder it from the state of Maryland.

We have so much to do and we want to get it done as fast as we can.  They want Super Handsome over there as quickly as he can get there.  Also the kids in the U.K. start their new school year in September.  It would be nice to start the boys at the same time.

So much to do and so much in the air.... did I mention that we do not know where we are going to send the kids to school, we don't know where we are going to live, and no we do not have a house!

So, here we go!  This blog will chronicle our process of getting things ready, our trip over and all of the adventures that we experience while we are there!

Tired, Fed Up or Just Plain Cranky.

The Fourth of July is always a fun time for my family.  Super Handsome's birthday falls just after the holiday and my mother and father in law usually come for a visit.  Their visit is always always highly anticipated by my children!  They love to spend time with their grandparents!  This trip was no different.

During this trip I learned some great things and not all of them were easy.  As parents we are protective of our children and we are also very hard on our own children.  I realized that the same reason I have been so hard on my father in law about is something that I do to my own children.  It is not fair for me to be so hard on him for something that I do to my own kids.  So, it is probably time for me to let go a little more and let my children go and spend some quality individual time with their grandparents.  It is also time for me work harder to stop being so hard on my kids and give them the respect that they deserve even when I am tired, fed up or just plain cranky.

I am looking forward to reading the book How to Take the Grrrrr out of Anger with my children.  I am confident that there are lessons for us all in it.