Award for Alison!

So, this week it was Alison's turn for the achievement award! They did not do a ceremony this morning because it was winter sports day, so they did not do the presentations in front of the whole school, but Mr. Croker walked to each class and presented the awards.  We are so proud of Alison getting an award her third week of school!!  She has been trying really hard, and has learned so much about phonics and writing in a short period of time!  And she also didn't cry at all today when I dropped her off at school, what a great day indeed!!

And in other big news, Drew seems to be toilet trained!!!  He woke up at midnight last night and said that he needed to go pee pee and he pooped on the potty two times this morning and he told me both times that he needed to go!!  No accidents yesterday, and no accidents so far today.  He earned all these skittles for sure.

We are so proud of these kiddos are their accomplishments!  What a great start to the weekend.

The first month in London by the numbers

So, as of today, we have lived in London for one month.  We are feeling more settled, although we will all be really happy to have our own furniture, especially the couch in the reception room and the bunk beds in the girls' room.  And all my kitchen gadgets.  I have been quite innovative for kitchen tools (I have been using the tray in the bottom of the oven as a baking sheet, old yogurt containers for leftovers storage and Brad's tervis water bottle as a measuring cup.)  Thank goodness for the convert app on my iPhone not only for cooking, but for currency and volume!

Here's our first month by the numbers:
# of electronics blown-up: 3 (DVD player, alarm clock, flat iron, and I am sure there will be more.)
# of times I set off the smoke alarm cooking: 2 (consecutive nights I might add.  Also can't wait to get my non-stick skillet!)
# of days of school: 12
# of days Alison went to school without crying: 1 (the first day)
# of potty training accidents on the one new carpet we purchased: 3 (but he caught himself later in the day today so that's progress)
# of additional pieces of temp furniture we had to order: 3 (the girl's room is a tad more organized now.)
# of times Drew has fallen out of his big boy bed: 3
# of grocery deliveries: 8
# of grocery store trips: 20 (yes, I think we have been to the store or had delivery pretty much every day.)
# of days it took Lauren to eat a HUGE box of Rice Krispies: 6 (she sometimes eats 3 bowls in one day)
# of snacks each kid has after school daily: at least 3
# of spelling tests: 2
# of times we had to descale our shower head: 1 (the shower in our bathroom is different, I think because they converted the "loft," so the shower will turn off periodically during the shower if a toilet is flushed anywhere else in the house.)
# of yogurts Drew eats in a typical day: 3 (we have discovered Thomas yogurt and planes and frozen yogurt tubes.)

# of phone numbers I have collected: 4 (which means I have friends, yay!)
# of seasons of Downton Abbey watched: 3 1/2 (I can't believe I waited so long to start watching!)
# of times we have had to clean up the trash in the front garden: 6 (apparently the foxes will go through your trash if you don't have it completed covered.)
# of days Drew has cried when Brad left for work: 1 (hooray!!!!  It helps that he gets up at 6:00 like clockwork so he is able to have his oatmeal with Daddy before work.)
# of times I have been to the pharmacy: 8
# of prescriptions filled in above pharmacy trips: 1 (I am less than impressed with the pharmacy here...I went to get a prescription for Amoxycillin filled, and they were OUT!)
# of times I have hung up coats and put away shoes: 1,342


It's amazing how things get delivered and picked up here.  We ordered something from Amazon, and one of the options for returns was to have a courier pick it up.  And I got an e-mail the morning they were coming with an estimated pick-up time of 11:27-12:27.  So exact!  And some days, we get three different mail deliveries: Royal Mail, whistlr and the requisite mail from the management companies saying they have an interest in period homes in our area. (no joke, we have gotten one of those almost every single day.)

The weekends so far have been pretty lazy.  I think the kids just want to stay home after being in school all day every day, but hopefully this weekend we will be able to get out and explore.  The kids really want to go to Buckingham Palace, so we need to see if the changing of the guards is happening or not.

Lauren wasn't feeling well this morning (she was complaining of a headache), so we let her stay home from school and I took her to the doctor.  The checked her out and gave her a prescription for Amoxycillin because her glands were a little swollen.  She was a little more low-key than normal, but not much, so she is going back to school tomorrow.  Alison was really not happy about having to go to school this morning and Lauren did not, but her teacher said she was fine and she is getting more comfortable in class and raising her hand to answer questions.  Yesterday, she came home with a sentence that she wrote all by herself, and it was so great that she also received a sticker from the Deputy head.  It's amazing how far she has come in 2 1/2 weeks.

The biggest adjustment for me I think has been Brad leaving around 7:15 each morning and not getting home until 7:15 some evenings!  He is especially busy right now because he is not only trying to learn his way, but he is only in the office a couple days as week since he is doing his store training the other days.  It is so great to have him home every night, but we need to get the dinner routine down a little better!

I really don't miss the car at all.  We haven't really needed it at all.  The kids comment every once in a while about wishing that we had a car, but it's so nice to just walk out the door and not have to load everyone up in the car, and we get to chat on the way to school and the way home from school about their day.  There are so many things within a 10 minute walk that it would be so much of a hassle to worry about parking and driving!!!!  I am so very thankful for our little stroller that we have; Drew doesn't fight me about riding in it one bit, thank goodness!!!  The one thing I do miss is Target.  It You can't go to one store and buy milk, a hair dryer, shoes and a toy....that requires about 4 different stops.  Everything is close, but no more one stop shopping.

TV shows here are definitely different.  The adult channels are not shy about language or nudity or anything like that, so I have to be careful about what the kids see.  The kids channels are pretty much the same, although the Peppa Pig episodes are each only 5 minutes long, so if they want to watch something that has been recorded, it's very short.  The Thomas episodes are similar, but they have the additional character called the "fat controller," which makes me laugh every time they mention him.  Brad has had no problem watching several of the Michigan basketball games, although typically on tape delay since they are on at 1 AM here when it's 8 PM there.  But they have ESPN as a channel, and a lot of the college bowl games were on, which surprised me.

Here's our typical day: (not sure if you care, but I want to remember!)
6:00-Drew wakes up and comes in our room and says "Is it morning time?"
6:15-Brad gets in the shower and Drew lays on the floor with is Cars blanket and pillow and talks to Brad
6:35-Brad and Drew come downstairs for breakfast while I get read
7:30- wake up the girls (occasionally, Alison is already awake, but I always have to wake Lauren up.)
 eat breakfast, get dressed, make lunches, try to unload dishwasher and load breakfast dishes
8:25- finish getting uniforms on (ties and sweaters and shoes), put on coats, spend 3 minutes trying to get Drew's cars gloves on his fingers
8:35-out the door
8:45-girls arrive at school
Drew and I will either come home and play, or go to playgroup, or run errands or go to the library
3:05-leave to pick up the girls
3:30-home from school and the kids proceed to eat enough food for an entire meal!
4:10- homework (spelling mostly)
4:45-electronic time, then playtime
6:15-dinner
7:30-bath and bed

Awards Assembly

Lauren received a Deputy Head's award this week, which is impressive for her second week of school!  They have assemblies every Friday where they present awards to 2 members of each class, as well as presenting the award to the house with the most points, the most punctual class and the class with the best attendance.  We were invited to the assembly because Lauren was receiving an award.

I was VERY impressed because all the classes came into the "main hall"(where they have lunch, assemblies and PE class) and sat on the floor with their classes and they were all so quiet.  It was amazing!!!  The only one that was making noise was Drew!!

I didn't get any great photos, but we are very impressed with Lauren.  And Alison did a great job on her spelling test this week, too.  Lots to celebrate this weekend.

Thursday.... Almost the weekend!

It's been a pretty good week so far, although sweet Alison is having a bit of a tough time adjusting to the longer days of school, as well as the "full on" school with not as much playtime.  I think she would have been better in reception, but I talked to the deputy head teacher and she said they don't make exceptions; the class is based on birthdate and that's that.  Her teacher said she really is doing great, but it's so hard to leave her at school when she's so upset!  And the kids her age get free lunch, so pretty much all of the kids in her class get school dinners, but with her food allergies, that's not really an option for her ( and I am pretty sure she wouldn't eat the food anyways!!), so it seems like she doesn't eat lunch with her friends.  Her teacher is going to check into it today.

Lauren's class year had an outing to Sayers croft, for camping out and learning, but the arrangements were already made before w arrived, so she wasn't able to go.  However, there are 17 year 3 children who did not go, so I am glad she's not the only one!  And it has given her an opportunity to meet a few kids from the other class.  She's upset because several of her friends went on the trip, but I am not sure I would have been too keen on her sleeping away from us for two nights after we had only been here for 3 1/2 weeks!!!

I attended 2 playgroups this week, both organized through churches.  It's different the way it works here!  The first one was at the Church of England church we attended two weeks ago, and it was pretty small.  It cost £1 to attend, and then another £1 for a cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit (read cookie).  Most of the kids were younger than Drew, but he found two Thomas so he was happy.  It was obvious that it was a group of mums who knew each other pretty well.  There were also a few grandmas and nannies as well.  I am not sure I would go back, but it was nice to get out of the house.

I went to another one yesterday at the church that we attended this past Sunday, and it was a lot bigger and there were more kids Drew's age.  This one almost cost £1, which included a cup of coffee and a biscuit.

The playgroup begins at 10, but you have to get to the church early to get a ticket.  I arrived at the church around 9:15, and there was a line of about 20 people lined up already!!!  I got in line, and I got a ticket (1of 55) to go in. Woo hoo!!

While I waited, I went to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled for Alison's Benadryl to keep at school,which they said they couldn't keep it there without a prescription.  That was an ordeal!!! Apparently, they don't use the drug that's in Benadryl here as a antihistamine, they use something else, so they had to special order it.  The good news is through the NHS, I don't think you have to pay for drugs for people under age 16.  So that took the entire 40 minutes!  Shoo.

The playgroup was great!  Drew had the best time riding on the bikes and going down the slide.  He made a friend named Vinnie, and I made friends with his mom, Danielle, so I would say that was successful. The last 20 minutes, they sang nursery rhymes, and I love that they are all pretty much the same here as in the states!  They only sang 2 that I didn't know....wind the bobbin up, and there sing 4 different verses to row, row, row your boat (my favorite is row, row, row your boat gently down the river, if you see a polar bear, don't forget to shiver.)

Brad is working at KFC for his store training a few days a week for the next few weeks.  Here he is, all ready for work this morning!

Our London home

Now that the computer is here, and I have a way to get the pictures off my camera, I can post some pictures of our house.  Please note that most of the furniture you see in these pictures is the temporary furniture we are using until our sea shipment arrives.  We are looking forward to a more comfortable couch, bunk beds for the girl's room so they have more space and our dishes and glasses.  (But for now we are so thankful to have a place to sit, a place to sleep and dishes to use for eating and drinking!!)

It was only about 5:00 when I took most of these photos, but it was pretty much completely dark, but I think the flash worked sufficiently!  Here is our front door.  I love the black and white detail on the front walkway, the door knocker, the stained glass, and the deadbolt down at the bottom that is opened with a skeleton key!  (And the mail slot in the door is genius...you don't have to worry about putting at stop on your royal mail when you are on holiday!)

Our house is what they call "terraced" meaning we share walls on one side.  They are a very nice retired couple from Ireland!

Here's what you see as you walk in the front door, immediately
to the left is the reception room.

The entrance way, with our lovely shoe cabinet and coat hooks.
The hooks are not quite low enough for the kids, but I am
so thankful we have a place for all those coats!

The kids' favorite spot to watch TV.

Very cozy!!!

As you walk down the hall, past the stairs there is a VERY small powder room with the cutest sink ever.  I am so thankful we don't have to go upstairs every time we have to pee!

Then we come to the kitchen, which is my favorite part of the house!  It's a great size, with lots of storage and an American refrigerator, which is not that common really.  They landlords did an exellent job with redoing the kitchen.

We got some barstools for a little extra seating in the kitchen.

The desk and computer and well used by everyone, especially
since Brad blew up the DVD player, so the computer is the
only place to watch DVDs at the moment.

Eating area

American refrigerator (no lie, that's what they call it!)
On either side of the fridge is the pantry, which is awesome storage!

More storage, and the washer and dryer is in the far left cabinet.
(So wish I had put a laundry basket in the air shipment!)

 

At the top of the steps is the "family bathroom," which has been redone as well.  And if you turn on the sink while the shower is on, the shower turns off.  Ahh, water pressure!

The kids rooms are right next to each other, and pretty much the same size, just mirror images.  The girls' room is kinda cramped right now with two beds, but will be much better once the bunk beds are in there.  I am thankful the kids each have two closets in their rooms!  One closet in Drew's room has all his cars and trains, love it!

There is a "4th bedroom"(as advertised, but this room would maybe fit and crib and not much else), which we are going to use as a kids toy/craft storage room.

The top floor is a loft that has been converted to the master bedroom and bathroom, and is a good amount of space for us.  There is also pretty good storage areas under the slope of the roof which I am sure will be completely utilized once the remainder of our household goods arrive!

As you can see, things are kind of a mess, but it's true living, folks!  Hopefully once I have somethings to organize, it will be a little more organized (but probably mot much!!!)

And lastly, here's our garden (read backyard), which will be great in the summertime with the tri-fold doors leading out there.  And that is astroturf back there, which is awesome because it means NO MUD!!!

There it is, our house!!  We definitely use pretty much every inch of this house each and every day, but I kind of like that better honestly!  

And here's one more of the kids from the first day of school.

All about school and church.

I have lots of friends. Today at church I made a new BFF, Zoe. (She's not gonna replace my friends in ky+nj) So, church was pretty good today. But of corse I ran off with Zoe, she gave me a tour of the church. the bathrooms were REALLY nice. I liked all of it. Also, the cookies that we ate for a snack had eggs sesame and nuts so Ali couldn't eat them. I ❤️ed the cookies. Well at recess, me skylar and Beth only had 2 minutes of recess because that boy who was beating us up, got worse. We had to go down to reception to identify him, the employee that we told, all of us, the teacher, and the head teacher had a meeting about how we can make this better. So, we didn't really get in trouble. Alison, who was also getting beat up, had to miss out on the meeting (poor Ali). So we were chuckling at recess, and everyone was like where were you guys? And we're like in reception! So they were very surprised. Our air shipment came on Thursday. Stuff like our AG dolls, and a couple toys. So, no shoes or clothing came in the air shipment. Today I cried because daddy said that since I don't play my kindle fire that much, then he would give it to Ali. I was not to happy about that. That's not it! So Ali's been really tired  on days at school. Last night, I insisted that I HAD to wear a bun to bed. Tonight we were playing a game and Alison kept coming in the bathroom while I was taking a shower. I made a book called the book. The subtitle is oh how exiting!!!!!!!! Today I fins he'd my homework, write a report on a country that the Anglo Saxons came from. Here's my report:

 Everyone thought it was good!!! Ali is asleep surprisingly. S I came down and wrote this blog post. Well, I'm running out of room! Please comment! Thanks!! Good bye!! ( can't wait to read all your comments!!!!!) ;)  LAUREN 

First week of school complete! And we have more stuff...

The girls completed their first week of school this week, and it was a 4 day week since they started on Tuesday.  It was so great to get into a routine, and see how things will be going.  Uniforms are 100% awesome, I wish they had them in the states.  I just think the kids look so, so adorable and they make get dressed in the morning a non-issue.  I was surprised at how well the girls adapted to wearing a uniform.  I thought neither one of them would like the blouses or the tights, but Alison likes hers so much that she wore tights to bed the past two nights and didn't take her uniform off until bedtime.  (I am sure I will be changing my tune about the beauty of the uniform after I wash them and I have to iron out the pleats.

Overall, I think school is going to be great.  It is definitely going to be more work that we are all used to...Lauren has to do a research project about a country that the Anglo Saxons came from (which I had to look up.  In case you are wondering, it's Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands) and write a one page report.  She started her research yesterday, and she got so distracted by the internet that the only information she wrote down was that Berlin is the capital of Germany, and she was doing "research" for about 20 minutes.  We are going to have to work on her research tactics.  She has a spelling test each Friday, and PE twice a week.  I haven't gotten much more out of her as far as academics, but she is all about the social part of school, which makes me happy.  I am not really worried about her academically or socially.

It's going to be a bit more of an adjustment for Alison, but I have no doubt she will catch up quickly.  In America, she was going to school just 2 half days and 2 3/4 days, so 5 days all day is quite an adjustment for her, and they expectations are a little higher, but with a little work at home, I know she will succeed.  She was sad the last two days of school because she said she would miss me so much, but her teacher said she is fine as soon as she gets in the room.  She has also made a couple of friends: Liana, Florence, and Fraya.  And her teacher said there are some "big personalities" in their room, but she is used to that with Lauren as her big sister!  :)  Alison will also have a spelling test on Fridays.  She had her first one yesterday and she did AWESOME!!!!  I am so proud of how hard she tried. (The words are jog, jam, vet, jump, (not sure), thirteen, splash, eleven, fourteen, fifteen)

She also has maths homework and literacy homework over the weekend.

We also received our air shipment (read not much) on Thursday.  It was mostly toys, some clothes, and a few kitchen things, as well as all the kids crafting stuff.  Drew literally played with his stuff from 10-2 with no breaks.  He was SOOOOOOOO excited to see all of his cars and trains.  And Brad came home from work a couple of hours early and he put together the train table.  We found good spots for pretty much everything, but I am not so sure how we are going to fit everything coming in our sea shipment.  It's going to be quite an accomplishment!  I am so thankful to have my computer, too.  It's so much easier to type on a keyboard, rather than the iPad....and my iPad will no longer connect to the internet for some reason anyways.

I promise to post photos of the house tomorrow, I just need to tidy up a bit.  Although I think the girls room is going to be forever in a state of disarray until we get a few more storage options in there.  Drew's stuff is so much easier to keep organized.  Cars and trains can just be thrown in a bin.  The little stuff the girls have, not so much.  And I don't want to purchase too many things until after the other shipment comes because we have all sorts of different options coming.  And having the bunk beds will create a lot more space in there as well.

Home works

So day two was pretty good (see Lauren's post below...) and both girls came home with spellings homework!!!  Hopefully it's more of handwriting for Alison, she's not quite reading yet so I am not so sure how the spelling will go!

 

 This morning, there were tears from both girls at drop off.  Alison was gripping my leg and Lauren was refusing to go in, but I am sure they are both fine by now but that's hard!  Alison has never really done that.

Here Drew and I sit, waiting for the call that out air shipment is on its way!!!  I can't wait to get a few more of our things.  Drew is super excited to get his train table.  I think I am most excited to get some bins for organization; I wish I had thought to pack more on this shipment!! And I am hoping there are some hangers too otherwise, I am going to have to buy some.

School

Well today was my second day of school. Every day I can't wait to go to school to see my three friends , Lelamend, Skylar, and Beth there're all really nice. Also Jenna. I like my teacher, ms. Campbell, and I defiantly really really really ❤️ all of my friends. So at my school it's polite to wear a bun in your hair, I kept mine in all day. Ali took hers out right away and put on het Elsa nightgown. Nana And mumum I hope your reading this ;D. I also take off my uniform to.Today recess was SO fun! There was this little reception boy, and he was beating us up and chasing us, and my friend Skylar lost her tooth!! it wasn't even that wiggly! And Ali cried when I had to leave.. Not good and I grazed my knee.. I got a plaster. My friends helped me. I have some pretty nice friends!!! I can't wait to read all your comments!!! 

                                                       Best wishes, 

                                                    Lauren :)  

First day of school!

So the day has finally arrived: the first day of school!!!!  Lauren was assigned to the year 3 rabbits class with ms. Campbell and Alison was assigned to the year 1 butterflies class with ms. Penney.  We went to the school yesterday so the girls could see their class, get the rest of their uniforms and meet the head teacher Mr.Croker.

Alison was up early today and dressed in her most adorable uniform by 7:45, an hour before school starts!!!  Lauren was a great big sister and helped Alison get dressed.  Lauren was up and dressed by about 8:10, so we were all ready in good time, thank goodness.  I will say that leaving the house for school at 8:30 is much better than being at the bus stop at 7:15!!!  I absolutely loved walking to school and seeing all the kids in their different uniforms.  We were right on time; all the kids go in the side doors, but we went to the office first to check in and drop off the paperwork.  The deputy head teacher met us and helped us find the right classrooms, but she just started last week so she is learning her way around too!

We dropped Lauren off first; her room is on the second floor.  Her teacher was very friendly and introduced her the the whole class and I was so proud of Lauren because I could tell she was nervous, but she just walked right in!

Then, we went down to Alison's classroom, and her class was sitting on the carpet taking the roll call, so she went in and as I ws saying goodbye, the emotions came over me.  I can't believe my sweet little Alison us starting kindergarten, and in London no less!!!  She just walked right in and was totally fine, I was so proud of her too.  The ladies in the office were very sweet with me and my emotions!  I think part of it is also the food allergies, but I feel better because it's a nut free school, which I didn't realize.

Then it was just me and Drew!  It was pretty quiet around here, we went to the grocery ( I feel like I have either gone to the grocery or had a grocery delivery almost every day of the 16 days we have been here!), played cars and went to the park.  Drew was pretty excited that it was "drew and mommy day!" (As was I, although I did miss the girls a little bit!)

We picked the girls up at 3:15.  Alison comes right out of the door of her room, and Lauren comes out right next to Alison's room, which is convenient!  Both girls had smiles on their faces when I saw them which is always a good sign.  Alison's teacher said she had a great day, and was with a nice group of girls.  And Lauren hugged her "new best friend" Skylar.  I like picking them up, because at Goshen, I wouldn't see her until she walked in the house from the bus.  They were both excited that they have recess at the same time.

I asked the girls to each tell me 5 things about their say while they were having a snack and here's what they said:

Lauren:

1. The PE teacher is from America (they played lacrosse.)

2. We learned about synagogues

3. I made a new friend named Skylar

4. I saw Alison at recess

5. We learned some French

6. We had an assembly about New Years

7. We learned fractions in math

Alison:

1. I made a new friend named Rianna.

2. I watched Peppa pig

3. I saw Lauren on the playground

4. I saw Lauren inthe lunchroom

5. I did addition in math

All in all, a great day!  I am so thankful, and I hope they continue to make more friends and find their place and learn new things.  I am surprised that neither of them had a single paper in their bags!!  Lauren used to come home from kindergarten with three or four pages a day!!!

Successful weekend

It was a successful weekend for sure!  And it was pretty nice weather, too!  Unlike our family and friends in the states who are dealing with the "arctic blast" (weather people just love coming up with hokey names... Last year it was the polar vortex!) anyhow, none of that here thankfully.

Friday night, brad was assembling the remainder of the desk we purchased from Ikea, and realize two pieces were missing, so he and Lauren went on an adventure to B&Q, the hardware store and IKEA.  They were successful in purchasing a drill and getting the parts for the desk, as well as some non washable paint for the girls!  Brad was able to finish the desk and it looks great!!!  And the

And the girls were able to paint scenery for their upcoming show "KC Uundercover" (there is a script and halftime performances and everything, show date TBD.)

  

Brad also affixed this to the wall and we have an organized front entrance!!  What an awesome feeling. ( don't ask about the remainder of the house however....)

Today, all 5 of us went to church (last week drew was so unhappy about his "handsome shirt" that he and brad stayed home) at a church nearby.  It's a Church of England denomination, so a little different but there are lots of kids and families.  I think we are going to visit a few other churches in the next few weeks and see what is best for all of us!  

After lunch, the girls and I embarked on an adventure to Kingston on Thames to go to Marks and Spencer's, a local department store to purchase their school uniforms.  We took the bus, and of course as we were approaching the bus stop, we saw the bus driving down the street. But it wasn't too long of a wait.  The seats the girls wanted at the very front of the top of the bus were taken, but the occupants got up pretty quickly.  It was about a 30 minute bus ride, but pleasant and interesting to see a few other neighborhoods.  The shopping area we went to was huge, and there were several different street performers out and about, which the girls were very interested in!

They had an entire section of the store for uniforms, so we picked out several options and tried them on in the dressing room.  The uniform is gray skirt/dress/trousers with a white blouse, white or gray tights, a red tie, a crest sweater and black shoes.  They look so adorable!!!!  I can't even stand it.  And they liked them so much, they wanted to wear them home.....but that didn't happen!   

We were trying to find the bus stop to get home, because it was in a different spot than where we got off the bus, so I found the street and then I saw the bus we needed going towards the stop, and Lauren took off running and then Alison took off after her trying to catch the bus.  And then here I am, running after them in my boots, carrying 2 huge bags of uniforms!  And we just missed it.  So next bus outing, I will try and time the buses a little better.  The girls were fine, Drew would not have been so patient I don't think.

The bus ride was comical because both of the front seats were occupied for the entire bus ride.  One side by a lady sitting with her feet propped on the window sill, and the other by a guy who was facetiming with his girlfriend(?) in another language.  The girls sat in the row because the guy, and Lauren was totally crowding him and making comments about sitting in the front row, but he was either too engrossed in his conversation or didn't understand English or didn't care.  Someone else sat with him for a couple stops and the FaceTime guy got off and Lauren sat I his seat for the last couple stops.  I guess she didn't realize that was an option, or she probably would have done it sooner! :)  

When we got home, Alison put on just the dress with no shirt underneath, and then she put on the skirt with the leggings and shirt she was already wearing....I sure hope all those pleats wash nicely.  I am not excited about inning pleats!!!  So no pictures until the first day of school....hopefully Tuesday!

Another observation tonight....chicken broth here is more like chicken and vegetable soup.  I guess that's one of the downfalls of online grocery shopping, but I am learning!!!

Here's what to look forward to this week:

-a routine (finally!!!!!)

-our air shipment arriving on Thursday (I promise pictures of the house next weekend once the computer gets here, too tough to do with the IPad.)

-meeting some toddler mommies...going to try a couple toddler playgroups

School letter!!!

Woo hoo!!!  Today we got the letter with the school information for the girls.

I am so ready to get into a routine!  This week, I have totally felt like I was in a holding pattern waiting for everything to fall into place, so I am so very thankful that next week that will happen.  We got to preference three schools, and we got our third choice.  But we expected that because the other two schools were both full for the girls years.  But their school, Garfield, is a great school, so I know they will both excel.  We have a meeting with the head teacher Monday afternoon.  The girls will also meet their teachers and see their classrooms.  My adventure this weekend will be to find uniforms for the girls, which I think are going to take some getting used to.  They wear skirts, blouses, ties, and tights or knee socks.  They both said they wanted knee socks rather than tights, so we shall see.  Once they see everyone else, I think it will be fine but the first day should be interesting!!!  Hopefully that will be Tuesday as long as I can get all the uniform pieces by then.

I took the kids to the toy store yesterday afternoon, and they found these surprise eggs, which they somehow discovered on YouTube.  They are these chocolate eggs with little treasures inside. They were soooo excited to find them, and Alison said it was the best chocolate she had ever eaten, and it was the best day of her life!

Then we went to the doctor for what I thought was just like an initial health check for the kids, but it turns out they just needed to see their immunization a to make sure they have all the ones required here.  And of course I didn't have that!  I got a kick out of the doctor, and the office was different...the room had a desk as well as the exam table, and didn't seem all that sterile.  The doctor asked all three kids if they preferred the states or London (after I translated for them!), and they all surprisingly said London. Which is good news, and I hope it stays that way!!!

Our air shipment will be arriving on Wednesday, which will be great to give the kids a few more toy options, as well as a few kitchen things.  Although I wish we had packed a garlic press and a pizza cutter, and glasses.  We manage to use pretty much every single dish by the end of the day!!  I honestly don't remember what we put in the air shipment besides the train table, some toys and books for the girls and some more clothes.  Although, I am not sure where we will put it all since we didn't pack many storage pieces!!  But it will give me something to do.

Happy weekend!!!

Movies and funny story

So, I took the kids to see "Annie" at the cinema yesterday.  We all enjoyed the movie; Drew got a little restless towards the end.  I had no idea that Cameron Diaz was in the movie!  The cinema here is different....they have assigned seats, and there are premium seats that are £1.10 extra.   By the time the movie was over, it was dark, but still really busy!    I am so thankful for the little stroller that I bought before we left, and I a, thankful that Drew doesn't fight me to sit in it.  It's perfect because it folds up really small....it's going to be very interesting once all of our stuff arrives!

We received our Ikea shipment yesterday as well, and Brad assembled the shoe cabinet, but it has to be affixed to the wall.  It's sitting in the corner of the reception room (a.k.a living room) between the wall and the couch at the moment because it only has legs on the front.  It's going to be perfect to tame the mess in the front hall, and we got approved from the landlord to drill holes today!  Woo hoo!!

A funny thing happened tonight.  I probably think its funnier than Brad.....Lauren was really anxious for Brad to get home, so she was playing with the door.  We have a lock at the top that you turn a small knob and if unlocks the door, but when brad got home it wouldn't unlock.  We tried and tried, we tried the side door to the small alley with no luck, so we called the rental company.  After a bit, I realized Brad could come through the front window.  Duh!  And he quickly realized there's a little button that slides up and down to lock the knob.  Lauren must have been playing with it!  Oh my goodness, how silly of me!!!  Sorry Brad, at least it wasn't raining!  :)

Hallo

I know that "hello" is not spelled "hallo" but I like to do it that way. Yesterday when we went to the movie theater, all of us loved the new Annie. Here, big Hero Six does not come out until Feb. Peppa Pig is very popular here. It even shows in theaters! I discovered Peppa pig in NJ!! Yesterday we went to the park. It was very odd when we walked by the school. We saw all the children playing outside for recess. When we walked back all the moms were there to pick everyone up! Right now Drew is screaming cause I'm sitting in this chair and because he wants monkey. Last night, Drew puked a couple times. Well I better get out of this chair before Drew bites me. Toodles!!

Movie theater

We are going to the movies today to see the new Annie. We're bringing our own Movie snacks because of allergies. I got a bad foot injury. Ouch!!! Yesterday we went to the library and I read a book with about 150 pages in 1 night. I have a game called design and I made 4 friends in 2 days! 2 each day. The first day we just kept sending pics of each other. We became friends. 2nd day (today) we were chatting about how fashion kitty is fake. So that's abut it. Bye!!! 

Library

Since Brad was at work today, I decided the kids and I needed to have an adventure somewhere outside of the house.  I noticed the library the other day, and we don't have that many books right now anyways, so I thought that would be the perfect outing. It helped that the weather was pretty warm.  The girls rode their scooters, and Drew rode in the stroller, which worked out perfectly.  The girls did a great job on their scooters, although it was pretty busy around the train station and they nearly knocked over a few people, but it was all ok!

The library was pretty nice, much bigger than the one we went to in KY and much busier which is pretty typical for everything around here I have discovered!!  Drew really wanted a cars or Thomas book, but they books did not seem to be cataloged in a user friendly way, so he was appeased by a couple Roary the race car books.  I was surprised to see that the books for Lauren's age were totally different!  I am anxious to go back and explore without the kids too!

It was pretty modernized too, the checkout was all self checkout electronically.

All in all, it was a pretty good day but I am definitely ready for the girls to be in school!!

Hiya Everyone!

Well, We're not in school yet, but we sure do practice school stuff at home! Alison practices reading + Letter sounds, I practice math and read, and Drew practices cutting and Letters + Numbers. I also post something on the blog. Lately, our schedule is my mom wakes us up, we have breakfast, then we just have some electronic time, then we have a school time, then MORE electronics, then Lunch, then the library, then we play, then If its a weekend, I Skype and send emoticons to my cousin we eat dinner, we go to bed! Drew has been coming out of his room (and screaming). I have an emoticon contest going on. Well that's about it. See I mean, Catch ya' later!! 

Back to reality and cell phone drama

So tomorrow, Brad goes back to work.  The time has come for him to get into his routine with riding the train to and from work.  The kids and I will still be in holiday for a few more days until the girls' school applications are processed.  Fingers crossed they find out by Friday so they can start school next week.  I am so ready for all of us to be able to get into a routine.  (And I am so anxious to find out what school they will be attending!)

We are going to try and find some things to do to keep ourselves busy this week and also do some school work too.  I am hoping Drew gets over his Daddy withdrawal pretty quick or it's going to be a really looooooooooong week.  We have enjoyed having Brad around for the past almost month.

I finally got a local cell phone number.  I ported my old number with google voice because I am very attached to that number!  It's the only cell number I have ever had,  and the last four digits are my maiden name.  However, I was unable to get a cell contract here because I have not yet established my credit, so I had to get a pay as you go phone, and I feel like I am back in the day when I got my first cell phone!  It doesn't even have a full keyboard!  And I couldn't send texts ( however Vodafone was able to send me 7 texts while I was paying!) because the person didn't set it up correctly.  After two calls to the Vodafone help line, I can now send texts!  Woo hoo!!  I decided to keep my old phone as is so I can still text my friends and family in the US, and when I get a contract, I will get a new phone.

Another interesting observation today was when I was cooking rice for dinner, and the package said one serving was 74g to 400ml of water.  The first problem is that I don't have a measuring cup, the second problem is what does that equate to?  The side of the package was marked to denote 74g, however 400ml of water is about 13.6 oz......so I used one of Drew's plastic cups to estimate, and I did pretty well because the rice was great!

I have been to the grocery every day but two, as well as received two grocery deliveries.  Most of the items are smaller than I expect them to be.  I have not figured out the volume and weight measurements yet, but I am sure I will. 

I have started a new rule since we have been here....dinner is one meal only.  I am not making separate meals for everyone anymore.  The first night, all the kids complained and threw a big fit, but since then it has actually been very pleasant meals!  Lauren invented "chicken cheese kebabs," which is a piece of chicken with shredded cheese and lots of ketchup!  But she ate it and last night, she asked for seconds.  I don't know if all of them are going through growth spurts or what, but tonight for dinner, Lauren had chips and salsa while I was making dinner, chicken, 2 servings of rice, 2 clementines and a mug of cornflakes (the mug was the one only clean dish.....6 small plates, 6 big plates and 6 bowls don't last long when we eat every meal at home!!)

Things to look forward to this week:

-ikea delivery!!!!  A desk and chair, and a shoe cabinet so our front door will not longer look like this

- hopefully news of our air shipment, as Drew keeps saying "it's on it's way here."

-a letter with the girls school

Venture into London

Alison and Drew have both been talking about Big Ben so we decided to venture into London today to go on the London Eye and see Big Ben.  It's pretty easy to get into Waterloo station.  About a 10 minute walk to the train station ( or longer depending on who is with you...), then a 15 minute 4 stop train ride and there you are.  The kids are getting more accustomed to walking, although we have not yet walked in the rain.  Today was a pretty nice, sunny day so that helped!

TheLondon Eye was pretty cool, different views of things, but it was hard to pick out some of the buildings, although I did see Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.  We walked across the Westminster bridge and got pretty close to Big Ben.  (Notice the hats and gloves that have become a way of life around here, now if only we had a placeto put them other than the floor right inside the door!)

The girls were very intrigued by this guy playing this game with people trying to get the to guess which cup the ball was under.  It's kind of hard to explain, but a person bets this guy and if they win, he pays double the bet.  It all happens very quickly and I remember them being there before, kind of random!

We had lunch in the train station.... Drew got a hot dog he's been asking for and it was enough to bring half of it home.  The best part was at the end, the waitress brought us complimentary shots!

On the train on the way home, Lauren made a friend with a little 6 year old girl sitting in front of her.  Her name was Sadie and she was visiting from Australia.  It was pretty cute, they even gave each other a hug before we got off the train.

I placed my second grocery delivery order tonight.  It took a little longer than if I had gone Krogering, but I am learning different terminology, such as here cilantro is called coriander and paper towels are called kitchen rolls.  And I have to inspect all the food labels.  It's the best thing to only have to put the  groceries away once they arrive!

About our house and place

I think that London is a pretty nice place. Tomorrow we're going on the London eye and seeing Big Ben. Ali and Drew can't wait. I can't wait either. Our house was made in the 1880's. But the kitchen and bathrooms look pretty new. The kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room are on the 1st floor. My and Ali's room, Drew's Room,  A bathroom, and a little playroom are on the 2nd floor. and on the last floor is my mom and dad's room.  I like my house. The plugs are different. My door is different to. And to get to school, I ride a scooter. There's a park like five minutes away. 1/1/15 was the first day that my mom didn't go to the grocery store. One channel on tv is called milk shake. I thought that was silly.  

Happy 2015!!

We had a great New Year's Eve in London.  First, we had lunch at Nando's, a very popular chicken restaurant around here, and then we went to see the Pantomime Cinderella at the Wimbledon theatre, just down the road.  Nando's was very good and the kids liked it pretty well, especially the fries, I mean chips!

Here's a Wikipedia description of pantomimes:Pantomime (informally panto), is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is generally performed during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, slapstick comedy and dancing, employs gender-crossing actors, and combines topical humour with a story loosely based on a well-known fairy tale.^[1] It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.

I think Brad and I enjoyed it more than the kids!  It was very funny and very audience involved.  Pretty much all the songs were pop songs, like "happy" and "stay with me."  Linda gray from Dallas played the fairy godmother, and the two stepsisters were played by men in very outrageous costumes and halfway through the show, Alison said " those are really boys."  It is a true Britain Christmas tradition and it kept the kids attention pretty much the whole time.

We let the girls stay up until midnight and we watched the local NYE show with Queen and Adam Lambert followed by fireworks over the Thames River as Big Ben bonged midnight.  Pretty amazing!!

2015 is going to be a great year of adventure for our family and learning how to adjust to city living!