A and E

Well this weekend clearly wasn't the productive, fun filled weekend I thought it would be. Instead it was filled with stress, breakdowns and disappointments. I look forward to a better week ahead.

On Friday, we had arranged a double date with some of our good friends. After we both got ready and got both the girls to bed by 7, they rang to cancel last minute. So Chris and I changed our date destination and went for a curry at our favourite curry house, valley junction in Jesmond. We were both exhausted because the girls were up all night on Thursday night, so we barely made it through dinner before getting home and crashing. Saturday morning we needed to go to town for a few jobs. Chris needed an eye test, and I needed to look for outfits for the girls to fly in. When I walked to next (where I had set my mind on an outfit from their website), it was absolutely crazy. They had there sale on and I could not find a thing. In the end I got a cute outfit for them from boots on sale...2 for 8£. We got home and Liv and I went to friend Daniels for a little splash in the paddling pool. It was nice to spend some time alone with Liv. Later that afternoon we enjoyed a lovely BBQ with Chris' dad and some ice cream from archers in Jesmond. It's amazing there ..fresh jersey ice cream. Yum!

Fae was up all Saturday night coughing, so I stayed home from church with her. We did a few jobs around the house. In the evening, the real craziness began. Liv was super hyper so we let her jump around the bouncy castle. She ended up knocking it over and hitting the built in closet! Ouch! We had to call the paramedics and she was taken to hospital . It was very sad but with a happy ending, as all she had was a big bump on her forehead. Very thankful for the NHS!!!

heat wave

We are having a heat wave in Newcastle Upon Tyne.  Highs of 78 have hit the North East and we are all melting. I must admit, I was grumbeling a bit yesterday in the flat, and complaining of the lack of fans and air conditioning. this all seems a bit silly when we wil be moving into 90 plus degree weather in a few weeks.  But when you arent used to hot weather, any type of heat becomes difficult.  Our flat is really warm and cozy in the winter.  As a resut, we have been spending loads of time outside. Yesterday we went to the park and played in the really nice water feature there.  Liv loved splashing around in the water with her friend Caitlyn.  We have known Caitlyn (and her mummy Helen and little sister Emma) since she was born... Liv and Caitlyn are months apart.  Today we went over to my friend Shona, who has Daniel and Lewis, who we have also known since birth.  Both Helen and Shona are from my NCT birth class which I did when I was 6 months pregnant with Olivia.  We will truly miss these friendships, but Im positive we will keep in touch!  

Olivias books arrived yesterday, so we spent the morning reading them together. She really liked the Bernstein Bear one on moving...but quickly said, I dont want to leave my house, afterwards. Hmmmph!  So, we are going back to not talking too much about it.  I still have so many little chores to get done. Time is flying by! I must admit, Im a bit slow on getting stuff done this past week. The girls arent sleeping well, and so Chris and I are walking zombies.  I have resorted to just snacking and drinking coffee all day, which is making me feel very sluggish. I am praying for a better tomorrow, and a fresh start at being a more energetic mum! 

The beach

This weekends jobs went on the back burner due to lovely weather. It is a rare thing to have such nice weather in the north east. So, on Saturday afternoon, we took the girls to the beach. We had to verge for a wedding in the morning, but as soon as that was over, we hit the road. The beach was extremely busy, but we managed to find a parking spot and a place on the beach. Olivia loved paddling in the water, while Fae hung out with me on our blanket. After a few hours of water play, we back up the cliff for some ice cream and fish and chips. I just love tyne mouth. It's beautiful, with the priory ruins overlooking the beach. It's even more beautiful when the weather is nice! I'm trying to take it all in. To soak up as much of England as possible before we leave. I want to keep the memories of England sweet.

The official announcement was posted in the church bulletin this Sunday. It made it feel even more real. The weeks are ticking by. Liv is really struggling with everything. I think it's because everyone keeps saying how sad it is we are leaving...which in turn makes her think leaving should be a sad thing. It is a bittersweet thing really. But I'm trying to make it very exciting when talking about it I front of her. God has great plans for our family and it is very exciting to watch!

Breakdowns

We have rached the stage of the moving process that involves major toddler breakdowns! Olivia is not handeling the move as well as I thought she would. Yesterday Liv spent the morning clinging to a picture of her class mates and asking for her teacher. Then in the afternoon, was quite emotional that she wouldn't see her little friend, Daniel, who she has known since birth. This morning she spent 30 minutes crying when Chris went outside to mow the lawns, as she didn't want him to leave. When we sat down to talk it over after she had calmed down, she said," I don't want to move. I don't want to say goodbye to our car. I want to stay in the house forever. " it was like a dagger to my heart. I know once we get there and get settled, and make some friends, she will be fine. But it's this transition time.  I'm so glad we are moving earlier than we had originally thought, because it is really hard once you have made the decision to move, but then still have time in "transition".  The moving process is a very emotional thing. I think it's even more emotional moving internationally... As you are moving to different cultures, and in the back of your head you know, that as much as people say they will visit you, very few actually do. In all the years I have lived in europe and England, only a few friends made the trip.  So saying goodbye in August will be a BIG goodbye!  To help Olivia, I just bought a few books on amazon for children on moving, which will come next week. I'm hoping this will help!

Happy 4th of July

Today we celebrated, Lor willing, our last 4th of July in England.  I didn't have much planned because its not a celebrated holiday here in England, for obvious reasons.  I had planned on my making the traditional flag cake with the girls. But as I was getting everything together to make my cake and fresh whipped cream topping, I realised I was missing a BIG instrument needed to make this cake.  Can anyone guess what I probably shipped already? You guessed it, my kitchen aid mixer! I about fell out of my chair when I realised this.  Both girls were in the kitchen, ready to bake...how could I possibly pull the plug on this exciting task. So, I looked around and saw I had a whisk. Ok, no problem, I could whisk this cake and make whipped crime by hand...all I need is a mixing bowl. Oh wait, another big problem... I sold all my mixing bowls at the carboot sell (well, actually, Steph fell in love with them and couldn't let them go lol). Ahhhhh! So again, I scoured the kitchen, both girls beginning to get restless. So, I ended up mixing the cake in a giant plastic popcorn container. Oh, and since I got rid of all my rectangle lasagna trays, I had to use two square trays and then just push them together afterwards. Now, the whipped cream...all I can say is, my arm is still so so sore! I put one of the girls small princess bowls in the freezer, along with the whisk. I took the container of double crime and , shake shake shake shake shake...you get the picture.  After about 5 minutes of doing this, I poured it in the cold bowl with powdered sugar and vanilla and whisked it with my cold whisk for a very long time! Powdered sugar was EVERYWHERE! The kids though this was hilarious!  By the time it came to decorating, I was so tired that I just let the kids go crazy. The store had ran out of blueberries, so we used grapes. Olivia was in charge of that section...and would bite them in half and stick them on lol (don't worry, we didn't serve that bit to anyone). In the end it turned out.., lovely.  Our good friend Rebecca (who is canadian..,close enough) and her daughter Olwyn came over for vegi burgers, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob, baked beans and watermelon. Oh and our lovely cake served with cookie dough ice cream. Yummy. It was a really nice Fourth of July.

So, the moral of the story...when preparing to move... Don't get too ahead of yourself and get rid of everything too soon!

Last day at school

Today is Olivia's last day at Church High girls school. It just feels like yesterday I was dropping her off (well, it was only January). She was really excited to see her friends and hug them goodbye. When I dropped her off, the school was in an assembly. It was so cute to see how excited she was to join them in the hall to sing. I will miss this school...the experience of Olivia being part of an all girls school, the lovely teachers, and the manors they instilled in my daughter (let's just say, Liv was a bit of a Tom boy to start with...and still is in some degree..but has learned to play with other little girls). I told her I would get some nice bouquets from our favourite florist, the secret garden, so she can give them to her teachers. My mind could not think of something creative, so bouquets it is. One thing about moving, saying goodbyes in stages is hard!

Now that we have a huge chunk of stuff sorted I feel I can relax a bit. I still only have 2 weeks until our car needs to be sold. I put an ad up on gumtree, but no joy yet. This weekend we will put an ad on autotrader and see what happens. Our last stop is taking it to the Ford dealership we bought it from. I guess we will reserve that for our last day of insurance. Hopefully it will sell before then. I have various bits and bobs I need to sell.some which being up emotions as I hadn't thought of bringing them out of the loft for the shipping company. These items are big and bulky, and since our new apartment doesn't have a loft, and there won't be masses if space, I won't have anywhere to put it. I'm going to give myself a few days off of planning for sanity purposes and enjoy a movie with Chris and Ben and Jerry's tonight. We have a date night planned for Friday night which is exciting. And then another double date booked in for the following Friday night. I really think its important to stay connected as a couple during these moving times. We are a unit, making huge decisions for our family together. As lovely as other people's opinions are, it is Chris and I who, with God, have chosen to move to America.  We firmly believe this is Gods will and His best for our family. I doubt anyone else has prayed about this move as much as we have... All this in ind, these dates are important for us to reconnect and share our fears, excitement and dreams together.

Well, I must get going. I have a headache and I want to relax a bit before the rest of this day unfolds.

Whitley Bay Car boot sale

Sale, Sale, Sale!  Yesterday's car boot sale was amazing.  To get the day started, I was going to use my reusable Starbucks cups (all I can say is they are great. They only cost a pound, and Starbucks gives you 20% off your coffee purchase if you use it) to make Steph and I coffees to go.  However, we were completely out of coffee. 6:30 am on a Sunday morning and no coffee..serious problem. There were a few more items I wanted to stuff in my already bursting car.  So I ran around putting it all in, then took off down the coast road to pick up Steph and head for the Whitley bay car boot sale.  Thankfully there was a costa coffee kiosk at the petrol station on the way.  A few spills from hot coffee on myself, a ridiculously full car, and a fun friend, made for a great morning of selling.. I was so thankful to have Steph to help me. There were a few items I was having a hard time letting go of.  One was a wood train Chris and I had bought before we had kids. Chris lovingly restored it and we would display it at Christmas time.  However, two Christmases ago, Olivia and one of her little play mates decided to ride it all through the house. The wheels left black marks everywhere and it took me ages to get them out. We didn't bring it down when the movers were here, and so it had to go.  Oh I had a hard time with that one! There was only one item I sold, and then immediately said, stop, never mind! It was my cute union jack bunting! The buyer wasnt very happy, but I was glad I rescued it. All in all, we were very successful and I made about 142£! All of which went towards my Pottery Barn kitchen for the girls.