Being Thankful

I just want to pop in really quick (between my crazy cooking escapades) to say Happy Thanksgiving!!

In the spirit of being thankful I thought I'd share with you the many things I am thankful for this year.....

~ I am thankful for air conditioning. Seriously. Suffering through 90 degree weather with probably 300% humidity and no air conditioner, made me incredibly thankful for that tiny piece of technology.

~ Speaking of technology, I am thankful for that too. For cell phones with free international texting, etc apps. For email. For the internet (even when it's snail-speed-slow).

~ I am thankful for American-sized ovens. Cooking a turkey in a Brit-sized one has been...challenging. Adventurous even. (It'll make a good story one day, right?)

~ I am thankful for better educational opportunities for my kids. I will be forever thankful for the schools and teachers here. They are amazing!

~ I am thankful for the opportunity we have to live overseas. To be able to share new cultures & visit new places, & all that that entails with the kids. (Well, with me too, if we're being honest.)

~ In times of such economic hardship, I am thankful that my husband has a job. That we're not worrying about money, that we have a nice place to live and food on our table. Everything else we have is just an added bonus that I should never complain about.

~ I am thankful for all of the amazing people in our life. We have the most wonderfully fabulous family and friends, without whom our life would be seriously lacking. I'm not always very good at expressing that but I love all of the people that have blessed my life in immeasurable ways and am so grateful for every day that I am given with them.

~ I am grateful for my husband who puts up with my crazy antics (like redecorating or rearranging stuff every other week), who gets up and kills spiders in the middle of the night because I can't sleep knowing there's a spider in the room, who loves me no matter what.

~ I am grateful for my children. They are beyond words amazing and I am so blessed to have them.

So I hope this Thanksgiving Day finds you equally grateful for all that blesses your life. I hope you have a wonderful day planned with good food on your table and amazing people to share your day with.

Our love to you always!

That Just Happened

Just so you know, my kids crack me up. They are hysterically funny without even trying. Especially Makenzie.

Tonight during dinner Kierstin was sharing her impressive knowledge of abbreviations.

Kierstin: Mom, did you know that "info" is just short for "information"? And "pc" is personal computer, and "UK" is "United Kingdom"?

Me: Yes, yes it is.

Makenzie: oh yeah? Well, IAA.

Kierstin: what? IAA isn't anything.

Makenzie: yeah-huh! IAA....I Am Awesome.

((To which I laughed so hard I almost choked on the rice I was eating))


Later on, Brian was finishing up Hayden's hair cut (and I am soooo thankful! He was looking a little raggedy). Anyway. Brian was finishing up the hair cut and I was sitting on the couch reading. My sweet (albeit sometimes a little strange) Makenzie comes up to me with a ziploc bag in her hands.


Me: what is in that bag?

Makenzie: uh, some of Hayden's hair that was on the floor

Me: ew! Gross!

Makenzie: ((walking off)) what?? Can't a girl have a bag of hair?

Kierstin: boom! That just happened.

((I was laughing so hard I could barely breath))

Really Super Old

I normally don't like to post multiple times a day but I just couldn't resist this.

On any given Friday night you'll find us spread out on the couch with bowls of popcorn for family movie night. (It's my favorite night of the week.) Tonight we watched The Iron Giant - super awesome! The kids loved it! But the best part of the evening (for me anyway) came after the movie was over. My sweet little Kenzie-bug had a lot of questions. And in true Makenzie fashion, she hurled them at me without stopping, or taking a breath.

Makenzie: Mom....mom....mom! Who decided to make people, are giant robots real, where did we come from, what happens when we die, what is a soul, did God make people, did God make me, where is God buried, where do babies come from...

((To which I put my hand over her mouth))

Me: One question at a time princess. We'll talk about where babies come from when you're older. Giant robots like that are not real. And God is not buried anywhere.

Makenzie: What? God has to be buried somewhere, mom. He's, like, really old. Really super old. He was probably born in the 80s.

((Brian and I busted out laughing))

Me: Thanks, bug. Your daddy and I were born in the 80s.

So it's official. I am, apparently, really super old.

It's Character Building

I remember a conversation that the mister and I had a few years ago. We were talking about places to get stationed - which would be our top picks, which would be ok (but not fabulously awesome), and which ones I'd prefer having a root canal before we got stationed there. The topic of Alaska came up. For the record, he would love to go there. Me? Um, not really. Let's put aside the wildlife - I'm sure it's awesome and great and oh-so-fun to see moose and whatever else, but I think I paid my wildlife dues dealing with bears. Could I do it again? Sure, but I think I'd just rather not. :) There's also the cold factor - like, for serious, cold. I don't like the cold. Not even a little bit. But the real reason I don't want to live there? That crazy daylight/no daylight thing. That has always just freaked me out a bit. And there I was (many moons ago) telling my hubby that Alaska was a no-go for me. I didn't want to deal with the sun being up in the middle of the night or for it to be dark during the day. And I didn't want to be that cold. 

And this is what happened. The universe...whatever powers that be....overheard me. And they laughed. And many years later we got orders to England. I jumped up and down with excitement, planned out all the places I would love to take the kids, went through about 7 months of denial, and then accepted that we were really moving to England.

And we got here.....and it was COLD. Really cold. Snowing cold. (Did I mention I don't like the cold?)

And then we moved into a house that has windows in the ceiling. Windows without any type of shade or curtain or covering at all.

Life was peachy (except for that cold thing). Until Spring came. I'll show you why.

That is the beautiful (sunny) view of my front yard...at 9:00 at night

Yes. The sun started coming up around 3:30 in the morning and went down around 10. What?! And now, we are well into fall, quickly approaching winter (or so says the thermometer outside that reads 35 degrees). And the sun light you ask?

Well, that is the sun setting...at 3:45 in the afternoon.

What is this craziness?

So yes, the universe had a very good laugh. We didn't move to Alaska but I still have to deal with crazy sunlight and cold weather. (Did I tell you that my car doors were frozen shut this morning? Yeah.) It's character building though, right?

At least there aren't any bears...

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

So I hope you had a fabulous weekend - ours was pretty awesome! Saturday morning (very early in the morning I might add) some friends came over and we all hopped in the van and headed to Birmingham (UK, not Alabama - in case you were wondering LOL). There is a German Christmas market going on there right now that is amazing!

I was totally expecting something small. Maybe a dozen or so vendors with (hopefully) stuff that was awesome enough to warrant the 2 hour drive at the crack of dawn on a Saturday. I was not disappointed. Not even a little. The market was HUGE and the stuff was fabulous! The guys sampled lots of different German beers and even brought home some pretty nice beer glasses. (I'm not excited about that though.) There was a ton of food! And the kids had a blast looking at all the different toys and "kids stuff". Not to mention, Birmingham is really pretty.

See what I mean? The architecture and the history of everything around us is something I will definitely miss whenever we leave. Back to the market....

We can't forget the food and the beer! We didn't actually have any donuts but we did have some crepes....yum-o!

The kids were fascinated by this guy. Probably because they thought he was statue. And then he waved at someone. LOL

We even found Waldo!! Fun!

And we finished our exhausting day with a carousel ride for the kids, which, btw, went around a lot faster than this mama was really comfortable with. Our friend Amy rode in a sleigh chair with Hayden (so we could take pictures) and said she was getting motion sickness from going around that fast. Who knew that would happen on a carousel.

All in all, it was great fun! The kids are already asking if we can go back next year. :)

Our Weekend Entertainment

There are so many reasons to love living here. I mean really - aside from the fact that we're in England. Yes, it's England and it's awesome. But really, after 9 years of Florida I would have been happy to move anywhere. Except North Dakota. That would not have made me happy. But there's so much to see here - and I'm not just talking about all the touristy sites. Those are great too and we did have a fantastic time in London. Although, should you visit - avoid the subway! (I'll tell you that story another day though.) So what could I be talking about besides tourist stuff? Well. Really, I don't even have words to describe it.

Saturday we spent the day in Cambridge. It's an amazing city, as long as I don't have to drive there. There are a lot of bicyclists in Cambridge and here, in the fabulous UK, they ride in the street. Where you're trying to drive. It's a little nerve-wracking - remember to stay on the left side of the road, don't hit the nice gentleman on the bicycle,....oh crap, here's another roundabout. (And that's why I leave the driving to Brian.) But back to our Saturday. We were out shopping and I found 2 of the greatest shopping buys ever. Except that I didn't buy them. I did take pictures so I could share them with you though. How else would you believe me otherwise?

Who could resist a dish sponge like this?? Really??

History books...that include all the nasty bits. 

We wouldn't want to leave that out. (And bonus points for the crazy picture!) 

Needless to say our shopping was...interesting. 50% window shopping for things we need but (I) don't want to spend money on right now. 50% laughing at all the crazy stuff we saw (and trying to not make it overly noticeable that we are Americans laughing at weird British stuff).

As a little treat for the kids (and a break for us), we stopped in a coffee shop for snacks. I had high hopes for this place but, sadly, it was not a replacement for Starbucks. (Sad) The kids enjoyed themselves though, and that's what really matters, right? Well that and the fact that we were entertained by a 40-something year old man wearing footsie pajamas that looked like Santa. I did not, however, get a picture of him. (Double sad) I tried to be stealthy about that but one cannot stealthily take a picture of a grown man wearing footsie pajamas in a coffee shop at 3 in the afternoon with Makenzie anywhere nearby. She'll rat you out every time. I do have some cute pictures of the kids though. Will that suffice?

Cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows. What could be better?

We ended our Saturday fun in Cambridge with a birthday celebration for Brian and one of his friends at this amazing Hispanic restaurant. A good time was had by all. Except maybe Makenzie who spent most of the dinner sitting under one of the tables playing on Brian's phone. I wish I could explain that to you but, as with all things Makenzie, I have no explanation. All I can say is - it's totally a Makenzie thing to do. You know, like hiding in my cabinets (or in her closet) whenever she feels the urge.

School Time

"I think we should schedule a conference". I have always dreaded that note home every year. After so many years in Florida, and their less-than-stellar school system, that note in my kids' backpacks made my skin crawl. Twice a year I would find those little reminders for parent-teacher conference time and just remind myself to breath. (Remembering to breath is always good, right?) They were less of the "here are ____'s strengths and here's where they could use some improvement" and more of the "this is all the reasons your kid sucks". I would leave those meetings (every single one) feeling horrible. Like I'd become the parent I never wanted to be - the kind of parent I'm sure the school thought I really was. (Probably not such a good thing.) One of the girls' teachers actually told me once that every parent thinks their child is smart......and then just looked at me. (And I sat there thinking "so you're saying she's not??") That was pretty much the epitome of our 9 years in Florida, and pretty much why I hated living there.

Enter our move to England. From the very beginning I was amazed at how different the schools are here. It has been a total 180 from our years in Florida. (yay!!) Anyway. Today was parent-teacher conference day and I was so nervous. I had no idea what to expect. But seriously, it could not have gone better (well unless they wanted to give me a million dollars. That would have been awesome.) The kids' teachers had so many positive things to say about the kids and it was finally that "here are their strengths, and here are their weakness, and here's how we want to work on that". I was (am) totally over the moon.

Not to downplay how well Kierstin & Makenzie's conferences went but Hayden's was the best part of my day. His teachers told us how the kids in his inclusion class (the "regular" kids) love to work with him and include him in their activities. Last week he got a certificate for meeting his Reading Counts goal and they were all so excited for him - clapping and congratulating him. Hearing about all of it brought tears to my eyes. Of course he sat there listening to us talk about him with this look on his face like "yeah, I'm awesome. How could you not notice that?" LOL But the best part of his day? Showing us his very first school locker.

His first school locker.

He was so proud!

Dear Pinterest,

Dearest Pinterest,

I hate you. Well. Ok. That's really not fair to you. Hate is a really strong thing. And really negative. I don't think all that negativity is good for my stress level, or my skin, or the grey hair I'm trying to make sure no one notices. So let's back up for a minute and start over. I (hate) am really upset with you.

See, here's the thing, Pinterest. A few weeks ago I had to make some changes in my life. And I've been a good girl ever since. Promise. I've followed the rules and done 98.7 (yes, .7) percent of the things I'm supposed to do. But seriously, Pinterest, how do you expect me to keep following the rules when you keep shoving pictures of every possible kind of dessert or starchy substance known to man in my face? This is not ok, Pinterest.

Alright. Yes. I know it's really not your fault. But it's just easier (and probably more socially acceptable) to blame you. Let's be honest. But I'm sure you've now guessed that, no, I cannot in fact eat those delicious little treats. There would be most unfortunate consequences if I did. And it does seem unfair that you keep showing them to me day after day. (Tease!) So let's agree that from now on you're not going to do that. Ok? Sound good? Awesome!

Yours truly,
Desperately craving a cookie (and let's face it, some potatoes too)

 

Busy Bees

Hello hello!

So, seriously, not being on Facebook anymore feels weird. Really weird. I'm totally cool with it and still don't regret the decision but it feels strange. When you've been using something like that for so long, it's hard to get the "status thing" out of your head. (I just thought I'd share that with you.)

We had a fabulous week last week - busy but fabulous! I am no closer to figuring out how the butterflies are coming in but since we are officially hitting winter (what?!) they're going away. I guess that gives me a few months to figure it out. =) And yes, I am very jealous of you guys and your 65 degree (or whatever) weather. So jealous! The high for us today is 48. (Boo!) We have officially brought out the heavy winter coats and gloves. I am not excited about this - just so you know.

Anyway, back to our fabulous week. Halloween was amazing. Rushed and crazy at first, but the kids had a blast! The girls don't get home until 4:30 so I had one hour to give them snack, feed them dinner, and zombify Kierstin. We'd heard from our Brit neighbors that trick or treating isn't as big here in our village as it is in the States so we headed to base to partake in the American festivities (lol) and it was super fun. We went out with some friends for trick-or-treating and then back to another friend's house to hang out and have fun afterward. The kids ate like 90% of their candy before the night was done and then crashed from the excessive sugar. (My plan was complete!!) Thankfully they didn't have school the next day so they could spend the day recovering. :)

There's a few of my pictures from the evening. 

Saturday, the girls had their Girl Scout Investiture Ceremony. We got to watch the girls recite their Girl Scout Promise and Law and be welcomed into the family of overseas Girl Scouts. It was kind of an emotional day for this mama. Girl Scouts was an important part of my childhood and I am so happy that they are joining and becoming part of such a great organization.

My sweet little Girl Scouts 

So that's it for now. We actually have kind of a slow(er) week this week. (Yay!) But I'm sure there will be lots popping up soon to tell you about.


Much love!