Thanksgiving in England!

Not going to lie, totally felt some major homesickness (if that is even a word) when it came to celebrating Thanksgiving this year.  Obviously, it is an American holiday and something England doesn't celebrate.  I am desperately missing my family, friends and traditions this time of year.  For the most part, I have stayed pretty positive about the move.  I am looking forward to new adventures not only in this country but throughout Europe.  The kids are thriving in their schools and I am meeting tons of new people (to which I had my first girl's night out with neighbors a couple of weeks ago and had a blast).

I guess what I am trying to say is that I miss the following: GUMBO night at the Byrums, Black Friday shopping, Target, Walmart, Loft, Old Navy, my favorite deodorant (Degree), December in the Carolinas, watching my girls play with their cousin Carter, MY JOB, cabbage casserole my sister makes every year on Thanksgiving, drinking too much wine with my girlfriends on Thanksgiving night, game nights in Waxhaw, back porch sitting in Waxhaw, 9Round, a legit Santa, GNO with my HS buddies, Bisquick, cornbread, Skinny Girl salad dressing, WILD STRAWBERRY CRYSTAL LIGHT, Burnetts, SABRA hummus, a water cooler, biscuits, pancakes, pinto beans, pumpkin patches...............................................who am I kidding, I could go on for days!!!!

Back on track...........with all of that said, Steve took Thursday and Friday off and we had our friends Jen, Rich and their little boy Billy over for a Thanksgiving feast and a sleepover. 

The girls and I baked pumpkin bread for neighbors, grandparents and us!  Lottie loves getting her hands dirty in the kitchen! 

We also made a ham, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, corn casserole, mac & cheese, carrots, brussel sprouts, carrots, green beans, bread and pumpkin bread.  Our good friends brought over apple pie, ice cream, cheesecake and lots of American goodies like Twinkies, Nerds, Whoopers, etc. for the kids. 

I so wish I could have captured more photographs throughout, but here is a glimpse at our first Thanksgiving living in England..........................

Unfortunately, I didn't take very many photos, but either way, looking forward to making new traditions in our new home.

A Week of Fruits / Vegetables in England - ALDI

Ok, so I know back in the states, ALDI has this stigma of being the poor man's grocery store or that the fruits/vegetables aren't very fresh.  Wait - or maybe I placed that stigma on ALDI.  Either or, it couldn't be further from the truth here in England.  ALDI is strangely very popular over here.  At first, I was strictly a Morrison's girl (local large grocery store - similar to HT), but after a trip to ALDI, I was pleasantly surprised with the freshness of everything and not to mention the price of everything.  OMG - we must have saved at least 30 pounds if not more that first trip. 

What you are looking at here is just the fruits / veggies we bought.  I think we calculated the total cost around $23.00.  $23.00 will get you all of the food above: we are talking: bananas, 3 peppers, 3 heads of broccoli, a case of mushrooms, a large bag of spinach, carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, 6 kiwi, plums, Brussel sprouts, grapes, onions and 5 large stuffed size mushrooms.  

 

Another fun fact is that most of these items are imported from Holland, France, Chile, Ireland, etc.  I just can't understand how all of these imported items are so cheap when oranges / other fruits from California are soooooooooooooooo expensive and they are domestic back home! 

 

While I terribly miss certain foods, I am quite pleased with how fresh you can feed your family over here for so cheap.  Steve and I can literally feed our entire family for a week on $50.00 a week (not including booze).  How crazy is that? 

 

Just thought I would share a little tidbit into our grocery shopping each week.  I am pretty much eating the same healthy foods as I was back home, but at such a discount!!!

 

While the English love to indulge, especially when it comes to chocolate, pints, fish & chips, pies, etc., they also know how to get their veggie on!!!!  

The New Daily Grind - England Style - 2015

Remember that post I did about our daily grind back in Charlotte?  If not, you can see it here:

The Daily Grind - January 2015

Well, our daily routine has changed pretty drastically since moving to England.  For starters, I have been a stay at home mom since we moved.  Steve started working 2 weeks after we landed.  I haven't not worked since I was 18 years old so this whole stay at home mom thing has been, well a HUGE adjustment for me.  If I'm being honest, I desperately miss the working world and the brain stimulation that comes along with it.  I miss my old bosses, my clients, working a catastrophic injury claim from start to finish and most of all helping these people find justice from negligence of others. 

Having said that, I am also enjoying this special time with my girls.  I have watched both of these girls blossom in ways that I definitely feel like I would have missed out on back home.  Lottie is absolutely loving her new school.  In fact, she has been giving me total attitude lately when I pick her up saying, "I just want to stay at school.  Please go to work, so you can pick me up late.  I love learning!!!"  Whoa - let's hope this lasts forever!!!  She also runs to school and I find myself skipping behind her trying to keep up.  I have NEVER seen a child so eager to go to school to learn and play with friends.  She is reading and writing and sounding out all of her letters and sounds.  I find myself smiling from ear to ear each day after school doing homework watching her literally sound out each word in her book and then nailing it every time.  She is making this "mum" so proud!!! 

And Stella - this kid has a one of a kind personality to say the least.  To think where we came from the time she was born until she reached the ripe old age of 15 months dumbfounds me.  There were a many of times where I found myself pulling my hair out and crying wondering when she was going to STOP crying.  That period of our lives was rough (more than ROUGH) and while I knew in the back of my head, it had to stop someday, I just didn't know when.  To see her now and how much absolute joy she brings into our lives every day makes me want to shed a tear for all the tears I shed throughout that time.  She is funny (quite the actress), smart and playful.  Our bond has strengthened so much after spending so much quality time together these last few months.  Stella is also attending pre-school two days a week for half a day.  She loves it. 

With all of that said, our daily grind looks something like this now:

5:45 a.m. - Steve gets up, gets ready for work (I usually threaten him if he wakes up the kids, I will kill him!)

6:30 a.m. - Lottie usually wakes up and 9 out of 10 times, wakes Stella up.  Thankfully, they play on their own.  They never come up to our room unless one has been hit, bit, pushed, etc. 

6:45 a.m. - I wake up, shower, get my gym clothes on (glamorous, I know)

7:00 to 8:15 a.m. - Get the girls ready for school (uniform, teeth brushed, breakfast, arguing with Lottie about how she will wear her hair, etc.)

8:20 a.m. - Get the girls in the car, head to grandma's house to park the car.

8:30 a.m. - Walk Lottie to school for a start time of 8:40 a.m.

9:00 a.m. - M, Thurs, Fri. - Stella and I usually either go for a 2 or 3 mile walk/run and then I head back to the new house so that I can start cleaning, washing, and painting.  I am currently working on stripping wallpaper and painting our master bedroom and en suite.  (Gosh, the English love their wallpaper!!!!)  On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I take Stella to pre-school for the morning. 

9:30 a.m. - On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I spend as much time as I can working out at the gym while Stella is at school.  It is the only time throughout the week that I get a little me time!!!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

10:15 - (On Thursdays, Stella and I go to our local library for Wiggly Readers)  It is 30 minutes of singing English songs (none of which I used to know) and reading books.

12:15 p.m. - Pick Stella up from pre-school on Tuesdays and Wednesday!

Throughout the day, I swear I never sit down, it is all about making this new house a home for us!

2:40 p.m. - Get Stella in the car and drive to grandma's house to park the car. 

3:00 p.m. - Walk to get Lottie from school.

3:15 p.m. - Spend a little time with grandma and granddad. 

4:00 p.m. - Get back to the new house for homework, kid's dinner, baths, play time, etc.

5:30 p.m. - Steve usually gets home

7:30 p.m. - Read a book to the kids and bed

8:00 p.m. - Mom & Dad's time to catch up throughout what's happened during the day!

Here are a few pics of our days spent through the week in England!!!!!!

 

Time for school! 

 

 

Park days - they have really lovely parks around Whitwick

 

Shopping and strolling with my little tot!

 

Walking home from pre-school with Stella

 

Library time with Stella - her favorite part is when they sing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" - they use puppets and let the kids come up to hold them. 

 

Playing outside the pub!  HA!  The English know how to make both parents and kids have fun!

 

Behind our new house is a lake where we can feed the ducks!

 

Off to school again in her super hero gear for charity!

 

Stella and I singing English kid's songs at the library!

 

Library days....................

 

Finally, how I feel like I spend most days - trying to potty train this kid!!!!!!!!!!!  She is a nightmare!!!  Why do I feel like her sister did everything by the books and was so much easier?  It must a second child thing!!!!  One day at a time T!!!!

 

 

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I know I've been on a blog break, but I have been so busy with the new house.  I promise to post pics soon.  I know everyone keeps asking - bear with me.  Soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  P.S.  We absolutely love our new house!!!!

 

 

Lottie and Stella's First Trip to the Dentist

I have been thinking about scheduling Lottie a dentist appointment since she turned 4, but life got in the way and to be perfectly honest, I just didn't get around to it.  Had her daycare back home been closer to my dentist back home, I would have easily scheduled her an appointment.  I think another reason I was holding back was because we didn't have dental insurance for the kids (I know, mom FAIL!)

Since moving to England and finding out kids get free health and dental care, I immediately scheduled the girls an appointment. 

Both girls were very brave.  And the dentist said their teeth looked great!  Ahhhhhh, big sigh of relief for this mom considering it was both their first visit! 

Here a few pics from their first trip to the dentist!!!

Lottie's School Lunch Menu!

Since moving to England, I am certain Lottie has grown at least a foot (well maybe not that much), but all of her clothes she brought over are too small now!!!  I seriously think it is from all the good food she's been eating.  The reason for this post is just to show you how well these kids eat at school over here.  I've never seen anything like it!  It puts our old cafeteria menu to shame!  All I ever remember eating in elementary school was pizza, tater tots, mac & cheese, etc. 

The best part about this menu is that it is FREE!!!!  Children over here get free school lunches until they are seven.  Isn't that amazing?  It is especially amazing for all of those children out there who may not get a good quality meal at night due to whatever circumstance prevents them from doing so. 

Here's a look at Lottie's school lunch menu...............................  I want to go to her school and have lunch every day!!  When is parent's day?

The menu rotates every 4th week.  So, the menu above will be served on Week 1 and on Week 4.  The kids are given a meat option and a vegetarian option.  Lottie's picks are usually:

 

Monday - Margherita Pizza

Tuesday - Roast Pork

Wednesday - Crispy Jacket Potato

Thursday - Roasted Chicken

Friday - Pork Sausages



 Lottie's Picks:

Monday: Vegetarian Bolognaise
Tuesday: Roast Gammon (Ham)
Wednesday: Pork & Apple Burger
Thursday: Brunch Lunch
Friday: Fish Fingers

 

Lottie's Picks:

 

Monday: Pork Meatballs

Tuesday: Roast Beef

Wednesday: Not sure what she gets on those days.....

Thursday: Pizza

Friday: Fish & Chips

This American is Driving in England - Watch Out!!

It’s official!  This American is driving.  I’ve been on the road for a few weeks now, mostly just driving in and around our little town.  I’m slowly getting braver though and have ventured out to Loughborough, Leicester and other surrounding towns. 

I purchased a small Volkswagon Golf to knock around in.  I had the mindset of purchasing an older, smaller vehicle whilst I learn the way of the road over here.  Originally, I was going to purchase an automatic, but decided against it because when it comes to taking my driving test next year, I want to have a full license vs. just one to drive automatics only. 

Speaking of licenses…… You are able to drive on your international license for a year before you have to pass the test. 

I thought I would find it extremely difficult driving on the left side of the road, but it hasn’t been too bad.  Here is what I’ve found to be the hardest part about driving in England:

·    The roads are very narrow.  You definitely don’t have the space you do back home.  And don’t get me started on all the parked cars on the street.  It can be quite terrifying figuring out if you have enough space on the left with all the parked cars and space on the right with cars coming towards you.  More times than not, I have screamed, “Oh crap, Oh crap, Oh crap” praying I’m not going to clip a car or have a head on collision.  If there isn’t enough room for three vehicles on the road, you must stop behind the parked car and wait for the oncoming car to pass by before you can enter into their lane of travel to pass the parked car and carry on.  It can be kind of a nightmare if there is a ton of traffic and a lot of parked cars on the street.  Bottom line is that England just does not have enough space for driveways, parking as we do in the states. 

·    Driving a manual is not something I’ve done on a continuous basis.  It was more or less my cousin teaching me how to drive one when I was 15, driving my best friend Jeanette’s first car, driving my sister’s first car or Steve’s first car when he moved to the states.  With the lack of experience, I’ve surprised myself quite a bit.  I’ve only stalled out 1 or 2 times and for the most part, the ride is pretty smooth.  I will admit though, that I haven’t attempted Dumps Road.  It is the road the leads out to most places you need to go, but it absolutely terrifies me!!!!!!!!  The incline on this road is STEEP!  I usually go the longer way around to avoid this hill.  Until I feel more confident in the fact that I won’t roll back on someone, I will continue going the long way.  J

·    Motorways – I’ve yet to attempt them!  One day………

·    Round a bouts – They are everywhere.  While I do think they help traffic move along much quicker than traffic lights, figuring out which lane you need to be in seems to be the hardest thing for me.  The reason for that is because sometimes I have no idea where I’m freaking going.  If I know where I’m going, then I’m good.  It’s those places where I’m unsure that gets me in trouble.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten off the wrong exit on the roundabout and had to turn around.  Story of my life.  But I suppose that is also what helps me figure out where I’m going in the end.  Practice and making plenty of mistakes can only help right?

·    Parking – it costs money to park everywhere except for your supermarkets.  I totes had to ask a lady how to get a ticket out of the machine the other day.  She looked at me like I was nuts! 

That about sums up this stage of my driving in England.  Lottie and Stella are both on mid-term break this week, so hopefully I’ll venture out a bit more for some excursions with the girls.  Let’s just hope I get us there and back in one piece!  J

The Shipping Container Made It!!!!

Just over a month after we landed we were notified the container made it to port.  Thank goodness!!!!  The original place we were going to store it at notified us and told us they basically gave our storage unit to someone else!  WTH????  So, Steve got on the phone and found us another facility to store it at.  It is about 30 minutes away from Steve's parent's house. 

After rounding up a couple of Steve's mates, the four of us headed to Melton to unload our 40 foot container.  Thankfully, the new storage facility had a fork lift they let us borrow to help get the contents out.  4 hours later, we managed to pack a 20 foot and 10 foot storage unit.  Steve's mates got a good laugh looking at the crap we brought over.  I think they more or less got a laugh at all the sports crap, jerseys, ping pong table, etc. that Steve brought over..........  I swear he brought more clothing over than I did.

After unloading the container, the four of us went around to the pub for a pint!  Those guys definitely deserved it! 

Seeing that our container was not inspected by customs, Steve and I totally regret not smuggling the container with our favorite foods and wine!  :)

 

Your guess is as good as mine as to WHY the guitar made it across the pond!!

 

Lucky 717!!!

I don't think we could have shoved more stuff in there.

 

Take a look at the upper right hand corner of the storage unit........ Our wooden thinking chair made it!  You have NO idea how much I've missed that chair!  I can't wait to get into our new house to start using it again!

 

In other big news, we bought a house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK

 

More on that soon!!!!