OK, I only put the star there because I know moms, dads, aunts, uncles, etc sometimes read this blog. The sentiment is uncensored. I need carbs, chocolate and fried food to deal with the stress of this godawful house move. We've hit yet another snag and this one is a doozy. I won't bore you with the gory details but we've decided that whatever happens with our purchase we're still going to sell the flat. This means that I've started looking at rental properties as a fallback. It makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it.
Renting again. Living in someone else's house. Yuck. There are some possible financial benefits to renting for six months and then trying to buy again. There are also some possible mental and emotional drawbacks. Moving twice in one year! Not that we haven't done that before but we didn't have two small children last time. It would be a lot of work and a lot of upheaval. Not to mention the disappointment of not getting the house. The one I've been decorating and nesting in in my head for the last six months. This totally and utterly sucks.
Oh yes, AND if we're in the midst of chaos and confusion and moving on 10 December I'll have to cancel my trip to see Nikki in Romania. My head and heart just can't take all that at once. Not to mention what an unpopular decision it would be with Jason if I waltzed off in the middle of it all. Man, I've got the real estate blues.
Pics to come soon. I know this blog must be getting so boring with nothing but belly-aching and no visuals.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
It's just logical
I'm eating a pint of Baileys Haagen-Dazs for dinner. There is a legitimate reason for this and if you just stick around I'll explain it...
It starts on Monday when I was grocery shopping. Toby's friend Solar was coming around for tea on Tuesday and I thought I would let the kids make ice cream sundaes for their dessert. They were having a special buy one get one free on Haagen-Dazs so I got a pint of vanilla for the kids and a pint of Baileys for whenever.
Tuesday comes and the children all have sundaes. Wednesday night Toby and Rosie have sundaes for dessert again and the vanilla is all gone. The Baileys is still untouched.
Tonight I talk to Kellie on the phone. She's convinced Jason to run the Chicago marathon next year with her and she's started training for it. She decided to do Weight Watchers at the same time and she's lost over ten pounds in the last six weeks. This means that I have to start a diet immediately, like tomorrow. Guys, that probably makes no sense but just imagine if your best mate goes out and buys a fancy sports car or one of those new Apple phone thingies. You're really happy for them but at the same time you're desperate to beat or at least match them for pure coolness.
Anyway, there's no way I can diet with a pint of Baileys sitting in the freezer shouting my name so I have to eat the whole pint. Tonight. Right now. You know, just to get it out of the house. See, it all makes perfect sense.
It starts on Monday when I was grocery shopping. Toby's friend Solar was coming around for tea on Tuesday and I thought I would let the kids make ice cream sundaes for their dessert. They were having a special buy one get one free on Haagen-Dazs so I got a pint of vanilla for the kids and a pint of Baileys for whenever.
Tuesday comes and the children all have sundaes. Wednesday night Toby and Rosie have sundaes for dessert again and the vanilla is all gone. The Baileys is still untouched.
Tonight I talk to Kellie on the phone. She's convinced Jason to run the Chicago marathon next year with her and she's started training for it. She decided to do Weight Watchers at the same time and she's lost over ten pounds in the last six weeks. This means that I have to start a diet immediately, like tomorrow. Guys, that probably makes no sense but just imagine if your best mate goes out and buys a fancy sports car or one of those new Apple phone thingies. You're really happy for them but at the same time you're desperate to beat or at least match them for pure coolness.
Anyway, there's no way I can diet with a pint of Baileys sitting in the freezer shouting my name so I have to eat the whole pint. Tonight. Right now. You know, just to get it out of the house. See, it all makes perfect sense.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Ho-leee crap
Well, we're still trying to progress the move. We've been aiming to exchange this week and move on Friday 7 December. Unfortunately our moving company is already booked that date. Aaarrrgh!! They are free on the 6th and 10th December so I've asked for contracts for those dates and J and I need to pick one and send it off ASAP or miss out. The company, Russell Fewins, have moved us the last two times and I hate to even imagine trying to find another company at this late date.
Now we just have to make sure we actually can move on one of those dates. I think we should aim for Monday 10 December. There is so much going on at the moment with school events and the holidays that no date is going to be very convenient. I do have a group of mums coming over to our place (wherever that may be) on the 12th December to get raffle tickets ready for the Christmas Fair. Oh, and I'm going to be in Romania the 8-9 December. That will be fun for J. Ah, what calm stress-free lives we lead.
Now we just have to make sure we actually can move on one of those dates. I think we should aim for Monday 10 December. There is so much going on at the moment with school events and the holidays that no date is going to be very convenient. I do have a group of mums coming over to our place (wherever that may be) on the 12th December to get raffle tickets ready for the Christmas Fair. Oh, and I'm going to be in Romania the 8-9 December. That will be fun for J. Ah, what calm stress-free lives we lead.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Ho ho ho!!
Well, I hate to be smug (because it always comes back to bite me in the ass) but I've done almost all of the Christmas shopping for the children. I was going to wait until after the move but I noticed that a lot of the things that I was planning to buy, and that Toby put on his Christmas list six weeks ago, were already starting to sell out. I decided to just go for it and I've been able to get almoost everything. Whew!
Now we just have to find places to hide it all. Not easy when the gifts include two small armchairs. Oh well, with all the moving stuff it'll be easy enough to hide a few big boxes.
Now is the really hard part... waiting until Christmas. I'm so excited I could go wake them up right now and give them their presents. I can't wait to see their little faces on Christmas morning.
Now we just have to find places to hide it all. Not easy when the gifts include two small armchairs. Oh well, with all the moving stuff it'll be easy enough to hide a few big boxes.
Now is the really hard part... waiting until Christmas. I'm so excited I could go wake them up right now and give them their presents. I can't wait to see their little faces on Christmas morning.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Finally getting excited
Yesterday we went to the new house to do some measuring. Over the last few weeks we've had lots of hold ups with the move. I won't bore you with the details but more than once we thought it might not happen at all. I've been really down about it all. I hate instability. I'm the kind of person who likes to know what's happening next. Well, at long last things seem to be moving ahead again. We're hoping to exchange next week and move in the week after. Hurrah!
It was so great to see the house again. I just love it. It was a really cold day yesterday but the house was warm and cozy. The flat is always cold and I was a bit concerned about the loft conversion in the house but it was toasty. With the delays we won't have time to do much painting before Christmas but it'll be fine. It's just such a lovely house with good light and nice proportions. I can't wait to get there.
Not only will we be in a new house but we'll be in a new area too. Still only about a 15 minute walk to Blackheath Village but Lee Gree/Hither Green is like a little village itself. It's smaller and not as affluent as Blackheath but it's very up and coming. I've joined a group on Facebook called "Come Hither to Hither Green" and found some great links with info about the area.
The best one is: http://www.myhithergreen.co.uk/ I love the headline "Highly Contagious Dog Virus in the Village". One of the headlines worried me for a moment then I read it more clearly. It's "Pensioner Has Attack on Bus". At first I thought an old lady had been attacked but no, she actually had some chest pains and they had to stop the bus in Hither Green so she could be cared for and taken to hospital. Now that's news.
And a bit of history about Hither Green:
"There were several greens in Lewisham, and two of them were called Hither (nearer) Green and Further Green. Hither Green, near the entrance to the former hospital, was on the site of a hamlet called Romborough, which had not been inhabited since the time of the Black Death.
Hither Green was a wooded area in the Middle Ages, but by the eighteenth century the trees had mostly been felled, and the first houses were built. More houses followed in the nineteenth century, many of them substantial residences. Mountsfield, for instance, was the home of Henry Tibbats Stainton, a famous entomologist. The grounds of this house became the core of Mountsfield Park, which opened in 1905 - it has since been enlarged several times.
The Park Fever Hospital (later called Hither Green Hospital) was opened in 1897 for the treatment of infectious diseases such as scarlet fever or diphtheria. After the Second World War, when it suffered severe damage from bombs, other cases were also treated there. In 1997, after a century of service, the hospital closed and site was developed as housing.
Hither Green railway station was opened on May 1, 1895. It was nationalised in 1947. On 5 November 1967, an express train from Hastings to Charing Cross derailed outside Hither Green station, killing 49 passengers."
It was so great to see the house again. I just love it. It was a really cold day yesterday but the house was warm and cozy. The flat is always cold and I was a bit concerned about the loft conversion in the house but it was toasty. With the delays we won't have time to do much painting before Christmas but it'll be fine. It's just such a lovely house with good light and nice proportions. I can't wait to get there.
Not only will we be in a new house but we'll be in a new area too. Still only about a 15 minute walk to Blackheath Village but Lee Gree/Hither Green is like a little village itself. It's smaller and not as affluent as Blackheath but it's very up and coming. I've joined a group on Facebook called "Come Hither to Hither Green" and found some great links with info about the area.
The best one is: http://www.myhithergreen.co.uk/ I love the headline "Highly Contagious Dog Virus in the Village". One of the headlines worried me for a moment then I read it more clearly. It's "Pensioner Has Attack on Bus". At first I thought an old lady had been attacked but no, she actually had some chest pains and they had to stop the bus in Hither Green so she could be cared for and taken to hospital. Now that's news.
And a bit of history about Hither Green:
"There were several greens in Lewisham, and two of them were called Hither (nearer) Green and Further Green. Hither Green, near the entrance to the former hospital, was on the site of a hamlet called Romborough, which had not been inhabited since the time of the Black Death.
Hither Green was a wooded area in the Middle Ages, but by the eighteenth century the trees had mostly been felled, and the first houses were built. More houses followed in the nineteenth century, many of them substantial residences. Mountsfield, for instance, was the home of Henry Tibbats Stainton, a famous entomologist. The grounds of this house became the core of Mountsfield Park, which opened in 1905 - it has since been enlarged several times.
The Park Fever Hospital (later called Hither Green Hospital) was opened in 1897 for the treatment of infectious diseases such as scarlet fever or diphtheria. After the Second World War, when it suffered severe damage from bombs, other cases were also treated there. In 1997, after a century of service, the hospital closed and site was developed as housing.
Hither Green railway station was opened on May 1, 1895. It was nationalised in 1947. On 5 November 1967, an express train from Hastings to Charing Cross derailed outside Hither Green station, killing 49 passengers."
Thursday, November 22, 2007
More Thanksgivings
Since we're not really having Thanksgiving here today I've been thinking of more Thanksgivings past. I was just reading Nikki's blog and she mentioned the Thanksgivings we had at Grandma's trailer. It could be jam packed with people, sitting on every possible perch and the floor trying to balance plates on knees. At least one year the weather was warm enough that they put blankets on the grass and the kids were sent outside for a picnic Thanksgiving lunch.
Before Tobes and Rosie were born I always worked on Thanksgiving Day. I remember our first Thanksgiving in England. We were so broke but I came home from work and managed to have roast chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. I was so proud I even took some photos of the food.
Another year I was at a meeting at the Imperial War Museum on Thanksgiving day and feeling very homesick and sorry for myself. We all had lunch in the museum cafe and I realised that there was a table of elderly American men next to us. I went over to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and we started chatting. They were WWII veterans. The five of them had reunited after fifty years for a memorial trip around Europe. Charming, inspiring men. Just chatting with them for a few minutes made it a memorable Thanksgiving day.
Before Tobes and Rosie were born I always worked on Thanksgiving Day. I remember our first Thanksgiving in England. We were so broke but I came home from work and managed to have roast chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. I was so proud I even took some photos of the food.
Another year I was at a meeting at the Imperial War Museum on Thanksgiving day and feeling very homesick and sorry for myself. We all had lunch in the museum cafe and I realised that there was a table of elderly American men next to us. I went over to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and we started chatting. They were WWII veterans. The five of them had reunited after fifty years for a memorial trip around Europe. Charming, inspiring men. Just chatting with them for a few minutes made it a memorable Thanksgiving day.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Nostalgic day
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm feeling a bit sad. It's not a holiday here so Jason will be going to work and Toby to school. I have made some turkey-shaped cookies decorated with the candy corn I bought online for Toby to take to school. Usually we would have a big traditional meal at the weekend with friends but this year we have no plans. The flat isn't suited for big groups but I think I'll probaby do a mini-meal on Sunday with chicken for the four of us. I can't imagine a Thanksgiving going by without sweet potatoes and marshmallows or pumpkin pie.
The cookies I made are from Mom's recipe. She makes them every Christmas. I made them with butter instead of Crisco (because we don't have Crisco here) and wondered if they would taste very different. But they don't. They are exactly the same. My first bite almost took my breath away, it was so full of memories. Even now I feel weepy with nostalgia just thinking about it.
My expat grocery order is coming in handy today. I'm drinking a cup of General Foods International Coffee Cafe Mocha. I really wanted the Cafe Vienna but the trouble with expat shopping is that you have to just take whatever is available. The Mocha works though. I love these coffess though I know they are about as far from real coffee as one can get. In fact, they weren't legal to sell here for a long time because they fail the European Trades Description Act for coffee. The same for Velveeta, it can't legally be called cheese in Europe. I don't know how they're managing to sell the coffee now but it's nice to get it every once in awhile.
I've been thinking about Thanksgivings past today and included a couple of photos. I think my most memorable Thanksgiving is the one we spent in Tokyo. Our apartment was Japanese so we didn't have an oven, just a tiny fish grill. I did have a small microwave with a convection oven and managed to make a pumpkin pie but we went out for the big meal. Our favourite restaurant, Westpark Cafe, did a good job with the turkey and sweet potatoes and we filled a long table with friends and had a great time. We went back to our place for pumpkin pie, henceforth known as marrow pie (thank you Chris) and I remember the guys standing on the balcony talking and laughing and me, Nikki and Annelouise sitting at the table, drinking red wine and bemoaning our childlessness, though Annelouise and I would soon discover that we were actually pregnant at the time. Toby and Rowan were born a week apart.
That was in 2001. In 1997 I was in the hospital on Thanksgiving day having a breast lump removed. I remember the stress of the morning, realising they mistakenly had me down for a mastectomy. Thank God I'm a nosy, sometimes bolshy, bird and read through my file then raised the roof when I discovered the mistake. Luckily the day is more memorable now for when I came out of surgery and Jason was there waiting for me. We had been married for five years by then but I fell in love with him all over again just seeing the look of relief on his face when I came out alive.
And then last Thanksgiving was a special one too. We went to Texas and spent the holiday at Mom and Dad's. It was Rosie's first trip to Texas and she was right at home. Jon and Angie were expecting Ian, Nikki came in from San Diego and the whole family was together. I wonder when we'll have a Thanksgiving like that again.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Overheard...
Toby: Look Rosie, I can pick you up now... [Grunting sound and Rosie laughing]... and when we have the new baby you can pick her up. Won't that be lovely! [No, I am not pregnant nor do I plan to be anytime soon!]
*********************
Toby singing Avril Lavigne's I Don't Like Your Girlfriend in the living room with Rosie chiming in on the "No way! No way!" part.
*********************
Toby while holding his crotch: "Mommy my tentacles are hurting."
*********************
Rosie, after Toby shows her the picture he's drawn "Das lubby, dahlin" (That's lovely, darling).
*********************
During the rugby World Cup recently Jason was dreamily talking about Toby playing for England one day. I said that Rosie is the more likely rugby player in the family and this was proved correct in her music class last week. We were singing a new song where we all sit in a circle and the teacher gently rolls a ball to a child while singing and the child gently rolls it back. When it was Rosie's turn the ball started coming towards her and right at the last second she stood up and booted it across the room! Everyone was so shocked and it almost smacked the teacher in the face. I apologised but I was laughing at the same time so it wasn't a great apology.
*********************
Toby singing Avril Lavigne's I Don't Like Your Girlfriend in the living room with Rosie chiming in on the "No way! No way!" part.
*********************
Toby while holding his crotch: "Mommy my tentacles are hurting."
*********************
Rosie, after Toby shows her the picture he's drawn "Das lubby, dahlin" (That's lovely, darling).
*********************
During the rugby World Cup recently Jason was dreamily talking about Toby playing for England one day. I said that Rosie is the more likely rugby player in the family and this was proved correct in her music class last week. We were singing a new song where we all sit in a circle and the teacher gently rolls a ball to a child while singing and the child gently rolls it back. When it was Rosie's turn the ball started coming towards her and right at the last second she stood up and booted it across the room! Everyone was so shocked and it almost smacked the teacher in the face. I apologised but I was laughing at the same time so it wasn't a great apology.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Busy, busy, busy
So much has been going on! We went to Cambridge at the end of Toby's half-term for Rosie's birthday. Jason's parents couldn't make it in the end so we had Rosie's party at a local restaurant instead of The Orchard. It was just us, Jenny & Kieran and their children and we had a lovely time. Rosie loved it and even did a decent job of blowing out her candles. Toby gave her a Sleeping Beauty suitcase and Jason and I gave her a Disney Princess play kitchen. Those of you who knew me before Rosie was born please do not remind me of the number of times I said that I would not buy loads of pink stuff for my daughter! Rules like that are made to be broken.
We had a great Halloween with our vampire and pink Power Ranger. Quentin Road was pretty quiet but we went over to see Toby's friend Teddy on Boyne Road and there were loads of trick or treaters. Lots of fun.
Tobes is back at school and they've been studying home architecture. We had our parent/teacher conference last week and the feedback was all good. Tobes has really settled in and loves his teacher, Mr Wilson. I've been busy with my new role as Secretary of the Friends Committee. We had a bake sale at the beginning of the month (note to self: rice crispy treats do not sell in England) and next week is a fundraising fashion show. I've also been revamping the Friends newsletter, typing up some pages for the handbook, making posters for the panto and collecting money for tickets. I'm really enjoying it all.
Jason has been travelling with work. Last week he was in Beijing and Singapore and next week he's in Miami. After that he shouldn't have anymore trips until the new year. Of course, that doesn't mean that things will calm down since we'll hopefully be moving by the end of the month. It's all still moving forward, though slowly. I've been making my plans for Christmas in the new place. I have an idea for a treasure hunt advent calendar for the children and a stack of menu ideas for the holiday period. All good things!
We had a great Halloween with our vampire and pink Power Ranger. Quentin Road was pretty quiet but we went over to see Toby's friend Teddy on Boyne Road and there were loads of trick or treaters. Lots of fun.
Tobes is back at school and they've been studying home architecture. We had our parent/teacher conference last week and the feedback was all good. Tobes has really settled in and loves his teacher, Mr Wilson. I've been busy with my new role as Secretary of the Friends Committee. We had a bake sale at the beginning of the month (note to self: rice crispy treats do not sell in England) and next week is a fundraising fashion show. I've also been revamping the Friends newsletter, typing up some pages for the handbook, making posters for the panto and collecting money for tickets. I'm really enjoying it all.
Jason has been travelling with work. Last week he was in Beijing and Singapore and next week he's in Miami. After that he shouldn't have anymore trips until the new year. Of course, that doesn't mean that things will calm down since we'll hopefully be moving by the end of the month. It's all still moving forward, though slowly. I've been making my plans for Christmas in the new place. I have an idea for a treasure hunt advent calendar for the children and a stack of menu ideas for the holiday period. All good things!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
From Elizabeth's blog...
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Beauty salon receptionist
2. One of those annoying women who squirt you with perfume in a department store
3. Grants officer for an arts charity
4. Mom
[My addition}
Four jobs I have interviewed for but did not get in my life:
1. Underwater mermaid at Aquarena Falls
2. Door to door knife salesman
3. Vet's assistant (I passed out at the interview while he was neutering a cat)
4. Oil company director's PA (I booked and paid for a trip to Budapest instead of Bucharest during my trial period)
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. To Catch a Thief
2. Rear Window
3. Grease 2
4. Hot Fuzz
Four places I have lived:
1. Mesquite, Tx
2. Cambridge, England
3. Tokyo
4. London, England
Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Nigella Express
2. Have I Got News for You
3. QI
4. University Challenge
Four places I have been:
1. Prague, Czech Republic
2. Hakone, Japan
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Nacogdoches, Texas
Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Elizabeth
2. Nikki
3. Moms in the Friends group at school
4. Family
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Papa John's pizza
2. Those chocolate desserts that are cake on the outside and goo on the inside
3. Bread & butter
4. Cheese
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed
2. On my parents' couch
3. Sitting in a coffee shop reading a good book
4. On an airplane going somewhere new
Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Hopefully moving (who knows at this point!)
2. Seeing Toby in the school nativity play.
3. Seeing Rosie's face on Christmas morning. This is the first year that she'll really get it.
4. Going to the Blackheath Christmas Eve procession with our little family.
1. Beauty salon receptionist
2. One of those annoying women who squirt you with perfume in a department store
3. Grants officer for an arts charity
4. Mom
[My addition}
Four jobs I have interviewed for but did not get in my life:
1. Underwater mermaid at Aquarena Falls
2. Door to door knife salesman
3. Vet's assistant (I passed out at the interview while he was neutering a cat)
4. Oil company director's PA (I booked and paid for a trip to Budapest instead of Bucharest during my trial period)
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. To Catch a Thief
2. Rear Window
3. Grease 2
4. Hot Fuzz
Four places I have lived:
1. Mesquite, Tx
2. Cambridge, England
3. Tokyo
4. London, England
Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Nigella Express
2. Have I Got News for You
3. QI
4. University Challenge
Four places I have been:
1. Prague, Czech Republic
2. Hakone, Japan
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Nacogdoches, Texas
Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Elizabeth
2. Nikki
3. Moms in the Friends group at school
4. Family
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Papa John's pizza
2. Those chocolate desserts that are cake on the outside and goo on the inside
3. Bread & butter
4. Cheese
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed
2. On my parents' couch
3. Sitting in a coffee shop reading a good book
4. On an airplane going somewhere new
Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Hopefully moving (who knows at this point!)
2. Seeing Toby in the school nativity play.
3. Seeing Rosie's face on Christmas morning. This is the first year that she'll really get it.
4. Going to the Blackheath Christmas Eve procession with our little family.
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