Disconnected

Well-I finally have Internet. Probably good I didn't get it right away or we would have some pretty depressing posts. Not going to lie almost suggested we do the separated living conditions for 2 years then I remembered our house in TX is rented out. Agreed to give this a chance and after 6 months will reevaluate.


Here's the Bad and The Good

The Bad

1- Temp housing- not good-pretty darn depressing. We only get our air shipment so I have 1 box of toys to occupy the kids for 9 weeks. (okay 5 weeks until school starts but whose counting)

2-Driving- I was not a great driver in the US put me on the other side of the road on tiny cobblestone 1 way streets and its pretty darn scary. I am going to take driving lessons but in the meantime I am nervous wreck every time we drive 100 yards. I am making no attempt at parking and plan to pay to park my car for the next 2 years.

3-no phone and no Internet- pretty much felt isolated for 3 weekdays. (doesn't seem like a big deal but it was the first time in a long time I had no outing/friends to see with the kiddos) I get depressed without plans.

4-washing machine- awful!!! 3 hours 56 minutes to wash and dry (still damp) about 10 items of clothes.

5- TV- no sky cable yet so we are stuck watching Big Brother- they love that awful show here!

6- Grocery Store fine- weird items are missing (hard to find shredded cheese, salsa)- no paper dinner napkins.

7- Stress- we have stress in our lives and chaos and all those non tranquil -moving to another country commotion

The Good

1- pretty much walking a ton when I do drive I have to park in a lot which means I still walk a ton. Figured out why everyone has awesome strollers here- they need them.

2- Awesome weather 75 and sunny with a breeze

3-House we are renting is great can't get into until 9/20 but once we do we have nice big american size refrigerator and washer/dryer, green yard, walking distance to the downtown areas) Chris figured I may not stick it out in England if we didn't go for the better housing option.

4- The kids are pretty desperate that they are playing well together and using their imaginations (pretending to be pilots and pretending to be mommies and daddies, etc)

So please keep us in your thoughts as we struggle through all chaos of the next few months.

Checklist for the leaving America

1- American Burger and fries (thanks Red Robin last night)
2-Laundry clean and done in American size washer/dryer-
3-Walk around target with soft pretzel and icy diet coke fountain drink buy a shirt for $5.66 and In Touch (still no pix of those Pitt twins)
4-Watch results show of " So you Think you can Dance" followed by "America's Best Dance Crew"
5-Drive with the radio not worried that I am on the wrong side of the road
6-Brush my beautiful white sparkly teeth
7-one last starbucks before I pack ( I know they have coffee and tea there)
8-get care packages from pals (thanks CEM and Kristi and Kristy)
9-say goodbye to parents until XMAS-feels like I am going to boarding school
10- Read Horoscope for today (this is real for Pisces)-Tap into your spirit of adventure. Explore a new neighborhood or a new interest. This brings friendship your way:)

I like Cupcakes

Like her mother- she only likes the frosting as well!

Made In Detroit

Just home from the Kid Rock concert in Detroit. Headed to the concert with one of my best friends from childhood. Parker and I had a blast reminiscing about summer concerts at Pine Knob- which included underage drinking (mountain dew and vodka was our drink of choice but who are we kidding any beverage we could get our hands on worked), picking up random guys (with a strong preference for the preppy ones), hanging out in the parking lot to party and telling our parents we got stuck in traffic (got to love the no cell phone era circa 1990). Our other partner in crime from high school -Wendy bailed on the concert because of that annoying thing called a job (we missed you sorry you had to defend the law!) We had a blast people watching and jamming to Kid Rock songs- no mention of children or even husbands for that matter! So yes beer and an outdoor rock concert on a 70 degree Michigan night make for a great night.

Worn Out Welcome

Well its official- our welcome at the parents house is a little worn out. The grandkids are not as adorable as they were 3 weeks ago. Weekend started off rocky- generally my mom is a good cook but we had one of those awful nothing went together meals (sweet potatoes, shrimp tempura, and undercooked artichokes)- Next we have had some issues with temperature control- the parents refuse to bust on the AC- so sat night I was woken by both kids at varying hours in the early morning letting me know they were hot and need a drink of water. So with lack of sleep- I demanded AC on and am now in control of the AC for my final week here. So yes my parents have mentioned ( 100 or so times) that I need to call on wed and reconfirm our Friday flight to England. (e.g. not taking any chances with cancelled flights) The toddlers have won- and the grandparents surrender to tiredness. They put up a good fight and hung in there though Sprout on Demand, McD's happy meals, treks to the park, swim lessons, I have to go to the potty at the most inopportune times, Toys everywhere. They have a bottle of champagne on ice in preparation for our Friday departure.

Casey Jane the Bad A@%!

Decided to enroll the kids in swim call here in MI- Had to lie and say Casey was 3 in order not to have to do the parent tot class. I figured singing songs in 70 degree pool water with casey was not a good use of my time:) Got there the first day and her class was full of 5 year olds who looked like giants compared to our little lady. Parents quizzed me on how old she was-(just turned 3 -I replied.) The teacher put the kiddos in the 4 foot area of the pool- so basically casey has to tread water the entire time of the class. Needless to say- Casey is a rockstar swimmer- basically outswam the class the first day and every day of camp. She did tell me that she likes our pool in TX better because there are not so many people- (oh how we miss our pool!)
Went to costco to get some hi-tech anti fog goggles since we may have a future Olympian on our hands.

Rock Star

Picked up Casey from daycamp- and her teacher said she kept singing- "keep bleeding" Keep keep bleeding". Realized miss jane had heard the leona lewis song a zillion times in the car. Started thinking I may have broken the kids from the cute but uber annoying alphabet songs that plagued us in TX. For a while Chris and I couldn't change the station without screaming happening from the backseat. So we will continue the pop route and see what cool tunes the kiddos can pick up before London. One awesome thing about being back in MI- is 96.3- all pop songs all the time

On another note- attempted to take CJ to see a play (the Jungle Book)- had to leave before the first act due to CJ being afraid of the male actor playing the tiger and the snake and probably even the usher. I wouldn't have minded so much if we hadn't pay $$ for tix and drove in a torrential downpour to inner city Detroit. So much for adding culture to his life back to the movies for this family.

H

Red White and Blue!

Pink,White,and Blue

Just came back from a great 4 day lake vacation. As usual anytime you put 4 kids under the age of 6 under 1 roof- sleep does not happen. CJ woke up day 1- with pink eye- so we had a mad rush to find a dr to write a prescription so we could avoid the other 3 getting sick. Kids had a blast but mentioned a zillion times that the water was freezing in the lake and pools.stayed up late watching great fireworks over Lake Erie and enjoying some margaritas. Will post photos of the festivities in the next few days.

Back in my room circa 1989

Well we made the trip home to MI and I am staying back in my childhood room.
Laura Ashley decor is everywhere and my soccer trophies have been replaced with photos of the CJ and Casey Jane. To be fair to my parents the Ashley decor is better than my 8th grade stint of painting my walls pepto bismol pink and adding aqua carpet and then placing New Kids on the Block (btw they are on tour this fall) posters all over the wall. I have very fond memories of painting my lips with Cecile #6 frosted pink lip gloss and kissing Joey McIntyre before/after school. First stop for lunch was my favorite lunch spot in Birmingham (Olga's)- fast food Greek style. I do love being back home not sure how long the rents can handle the house going Topsy turvy with 2 preschoolers. I'll keep you posted