School Prep

So we don't start school for another week and 1/2 - which is fine by me since we got out in July. No real rush this year- we only needed to add a few items to CJ's uniform (swimsuit, sweatsuit)- yes the poor kids have to swim this year (which btw he loves except when it's a freezing cold pool which this one is). Another awful thing about uniforms is sewing in all the nametags- seriously pain in the arse.
As luck or fate would have it- CJ's teacher for next year is none other than the one he had first term who went on maternity leave. We are remaining extremely positive ( or neutral)-as long as we don't have the Name battle (Christopher vs CJ)- we should have smooth sailing.

Casey Jane on the other hand is back to the blue tracksuit or as we affectionately call it "the prison outfit". Since we actually have friends here- we have people handing down uniforms to us. So this past week- Casey Jane has been handed down probably an additional 5 tracksuits ( yes it is HELL for her). I wanted her to try on the pieces so I could see what fit- no such luck- shrieks of horror (she knows to her core the outfit is ugly). So we are back to square one- (note the other nursery parents did approve Casey wearing the summer dress with tights but of course the school did not comply) So we have tried bows,frilly underwear, and now we may bring out the big guns. Casey has wanted since she saw them a year ago the lelli kelly sparkle shoes ($50 of sparkles sewed on ked like sneakers which of course are made in China for $1.50). I may resort to the bribe "if you wear this prison outfit everyday without screaming- you can have the lelli kellys." Trying to decide if this makes me a "smart", "sane", or "lazy" parent.

We are waking up early to grab the newspaper tomorrow- with the supposed lemonade stand pictures in it. The kids better be in it (I know I sound very stage momish but they earned it)

Random

I think i use the title about once every 2 weeks but alas I can't think of anything else.

1- Last friday night- I insisted that Chris watch with me the movie "The Strangers"- such a dumbass move- the movie is ridiculously scary in a Blair Witch kind of way- has had me freaked out all week. Seriously sometimes I am my own worst enemy. Note - Chris found it sort of humorous that I watched the movie through a blanket. I should have turned it off when the first frame rolled (according to the FBI 1.6 million violent crimes are committed every year in America)

2-summer weather has finally hit us- a little late to arrive but at least it showed up.

3- weird fact the recipes I make that I love no one here loves (queso, buffalo chicken dip, etc)- the few random non notable ones that I have made (lemon bars, spicy/sweet cheese spread, sweet corn salad) have been loved. Basically, I figured out- I need to go through my cookbook and pick all the recipes that I rate a 5 and they will probably be huge hits here. Who knows maybe I am the one with "off" taste buds.

4- The Daily Show (yes we are a day behind) but Mr Stewart has us laughing) we thank his lefty self for totally making fun of the Health care town halls (both the president and the public). I am still waiting for my call to let our dear president know how I feel about socialized medicine. ( will give you a clue just guessing Sasha and Malia would not do well with socialized medicine)

5-Parenting tip- if your crazily decide to have kids 20 months apart be prepared that u should purchase 2 of all unisex toys. The fights over the darn Fisher Price camera and the Leapster are at an all time (is it Sept yet?) high. Nix that don't buy the toy in the first place.


6-Reflections a year later- more friends, not scared of driving, kids happier, home is homier (but is NOT home), have a clue on English social etiquette (e.g if someone invites you for tea or coffee it's going to last 3 hours), modified my bi$^&( about the weather, have not modified my bi%&*^ about the food situation.

Lemonade Stand

So we had a lemonade stand yesterday- no big deal. Except the English don't have lemonade stands. So since- we don't have a neighborhood we had to get permission to sell it by the train station. ( people kept saying I was going to get arrested or deported (btw sounds like a good option this winter). We made posters and since my volunteering has been next to nil this year. We decided (strongly pushed by mom) to donate the money made to a cancer charity or save the tigers. So -we emailed the school directory and made the lemonade ( not homemade- hello kool aid contraband from USA), kids made the signs, and we sold lemonade for a long time. End of day results 94 pounds were made or $160. And yes I called the local paper- to come and take pictures to hopefully stir up some other kids wanting to raise money for worthy causes. Yes- they showed up and it seems everyone liked the lemonade and it was actually HOT when we sold it!!!

What a fun day- Casey had her preschool shots- which I think I made worse by informing her on what was actually happening (think I should have gone with the white lie approach) - swear to god- the whole office heard her screams and then she kept screaming "why can't I drink the "super powers" instead of a needle. (good question baby girl no idea why we can't ingest MMR and DPT and Polio but I will try to google an answer later).

So- yes after my baby endured that- she pretty much got what ever she wanted today-
hotdog at costco (did I mention the fountain drinks don't have ice there- YUCK), princess nightlight (costco), listening to HSM -"Together" on repeat for 2 hours, mommy dressing and redressing bitty twins a gazillion times( yes- she made the dolls wear even the chrismas outfits), pink cotton candy, taking scooter out with nonapproved princess flipflops, swimming, and ice cream, and watching the Bernstein Bears. Good times.

Gloworm

too lazy to take and post a pix- but if I did it would show a neon plasticy lightup worm that I had to purchase (x2) in order to grocery shop for 28 min. Yes- I HATE grocery shopping with kids- not only did I get basically nothing on my grocery list- but I came home with random cereal and corn puffs in order to get thru the store. Couldn't really fit anything into the cart since CJ was taking up the whole middle section.
So should be interesting dinners this week- since I really only have breakfast items and glow in the dark toys.

Otherwise- casey and her playmate are making "pixie hollow" int he backyard with their fairy outfits on and have actually been playing without fighting for 58 min (not that I'm counting)- CJ is at camp where he let me know that he would really like me to be a camp counselor next summer ( did not want to break his heart that camp is a fun experience AWAY from mommy- at least I have another job opportunity to look forward to).

Things that cheer me up

1. Since we left chicago- I haven't gotten a newspaper - so I am use to reading my news online- I started recently reading the wonderful world news bytes on msnbc.com Short news stories of amazing/positive things going on all over the world- definitely a brighter outlook then the rest of the news.

2.Karate Kid- chris and I just watched it tonight- nothing beats the tournament scene- where Ralphie wins the match and gets the girl ( still not sure on how I feel about Will Smith's son playing the remake of karate kid- this may be my conspiracy theory but I think both will and jada are hanging out at the Scientology center way too much)(btw I still love Elisabeth Shue- she just rocks and is so cute)

3.Slip and Slides- just got back to froma childrens bday party where besides putting water on the slip and slide -they drenched it in dish soap- so every time casey flew down it - she was covered in bubbles.

4.Pizza crusts dipped into Hidden Vally Ranch- have to make it until Oct with the 3 bottles I brought back. U have to be on mama's good side for em to share.

5. New playlists- Just got 3 awesome playlists for my shuffle- love the fact that I get a weird insight into my friends song choices ( all 3 of them were lacking in 80s tunes and pop for my taste) but so nice to have "new" music to listen to.

6. Sunshine, beer, flip flops, guacamole, summer vacation,- oh and I am so addicted to the True Blood HBO series- ( definitely is a sexier version of the Twilight)- Chris hates it- which means I have to watch it by myself which wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't such a scaredy cat.

Swiss Miss

The trip started off rocky- jet lag set in with the kids and they didn't go to sleep until midnight and then I woke them up at 4:30 am to get to the airport.
Things picked up- I bribed them with a Krispy Kreme donuts if they made it thru check in and security w/o fighting. Flight was uneventful besides being seated by a 50 year old guy who let me know he has 8 kids ranging in age from 27- 2 1/2 years old. Story would be charming if he wasn't on wife #4- (who btw looked 25 from the photo he showed me)- he at least carried some bags for me and kept me laughing on the school bills and weddings he has to pay for.

We then got picked up to make the 3 1/2 hour trek from the airport to the town in Switzerland we were headed to. Praise the Lord- both kids slept the entire way- these roads were so CURVY- CJ would have been sick in a nano second if he was awake.

The hotel was unbelievably pretty and the sun was shining and we were greeted by a HUGE chocolate bar on each of our pillows (seriously what's not to love)

Basically we didn't see Chris for 2 1/2 days while he worked - the kids actually loved taking trams up the mountain and checking out different spots ( yes I resorted to gummy bear and toblerone bribes when Casey would complain about walking. We ate cheese fondue at night and stayed up way too late. Yes, the kids had moments of awfulness (CJ is in an annoying temper tantrum phase) but when we needed them to behave they did ( we took them to a work event dinner in Italy where I was so paranoid it was going to be a nightmare and it turned out so much better than expected.(got to love low expectations) (plus I ditched the kids with chris and his work colleagues and went shopping for an hour (fresh pasta, olive oils ,and candles were purchased).

So yes, it was one of those trips that made me thankful for being on this adventure (don't worry we were greeted by Rain as we flew back to England)- Seriously, the summer weather here sucks- such a joke that all these Brits always predict an amazing summer weather and my 2 summers here have been varying degrees of Rain.