I am doing the HAPPY Dance! If you've been following my blog with any regularity, you know I've been having a bit of difficulty (and getting irritated and frustrated) getting a school position for dear N. Monday was a Bank Holiday here, so I called the Authority on Tuesday, and there was no news. I've just decided to call today, as I'm getting a little anxious--J has orientation on Tues, and W's school is to start on Wed. I'd like to know if I'm homeschooling next week, or not. Lo and behold, (drumroll, please), they report a letter offering N a spot @ W's school was posted on the 29th. (Today is the 31st.) Hopefully it arrives today, so I can return it with our acceptance! I've broken the news to N, and he is bummed. I think he thought he'd stay home and play all day. So I am happy to report, all of our kids (finally!) got into the schools we wanted them in. Big sigh of relief.
Now, I just need to get supplies for all of them. No one has sent out supply lists, nor are they posted on the web sites. W and N also need their uniforms.
As I am on the school topic, I'll update you on J's adventures. Yesterday, I dropped J off @ school. He and the 99 other kids who are entering Year 7 (our gr 6) were taking part in a 2 day multi-activity course, held at a Adventure Centre, about 1.5 hour away. This "consists of an 18th century Manor House situated in extensive grounds ...." Purpose is to help the kids get to know one another in their tutor group and others in his year, as well as having staff members get to know the kids in an informal setting. All kids in yr 7 are split up into I think 8 tutor groups, and a staff member is in charge of each tutor group. This is the 3rd in line you should go to if you've problems of any type. First is his mentor, who is an upper-classman. Second, is the Head of his House (entire senior school--which is years 7 thru 12--are split into 4 houses. If each yr has 100 kids, that's 600 kids split up into 4 houses/groups. There are house competitions. Think Harry Potter.) Third, there is the head of his tutor group. There is also the head of Year 7s. Quite the hierarchy.
This excursion is an overnight adventure, and we will pick him @ 9:30pm this evening. I am very anxious to hear how it went. Activities offered included rifle shooting (!), abseiling (rappelling), archery, confidence course, underground maze, crate-stacking, and obstacle courses. It was very quiet here last evening with J gone, and G was gone as well. He had a dinner, and didn't get home til late. I guess they didn't sit down to eat until 8:30, and eating seems to be very drawn out here.
While I was writing this, the Headmistress from W and N's school phoned. I will be stopping in @ school on Mon or Tues morning to see what they have in their uniform inventory. Hopefully there'll be something. As far as supplies--they supply everything!! If you have a favorite pencil, you can bring it, but everything is supplied. Kids are going to what US would call public school (ie-paid for by taxes, even though it is a Church of England school--but that's another post).
Finally some news, and good news.
Friday, 31 August 2012
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Ok, so I know you are all sitting at the edge of your seat, wondering what we did over our 3 day (Bank Holiday) weekend. You can all sit down now. Dad and Connie guessed correctly, with London. It is still decorated for the ParaOlympic games. The Olympic rings have come down, and been replaced with the ParaOlympic symbol. J saw someone on the tube with his Olympic medal on, and we saw other 2012 medals at the British Museum.
One thing that is different with booking a room in London is that you can't smoosh 5 people in a room. They have various rooms, some single (which may have 1 or 2 single beds), double (which may have a double bed or 2 singles), triple rooms, which of course come in different configurations, quadruple rooms, and even quintuple rooms. Of course room rates vary accordingly. You can maybe add a cot to some of the rooms to add another person (if there is room-London rooms are small), but they are really strict with the number of people in a room. The 4 and 5 person rooms are difficult to find. Needless to say, we needed to book 2 rooms for both Sat and Sunday evening. We were able to find basic, no frills rooms that were clean, and still close to the Underground. It actually is very close to where we were in 1999-used the same Tube station.
The kids were quite excited to go to London. We left at 5:45 am Saturday morning, and got the 6:30 am bus out of Chester to London. Arrived ahead of schedule @ ~9:10, and grabbed the tube and dropped our luggage at the hotel, then proceeded to the British Museum. It was rather overwhelming, there was so much there. There is no way to see it all.
We then spent the afternoon at the Tower of London. Some of you skyped with us from this location!
After dinner overlooking the Thames, we took a river cruise on the Thames. It was early evening, so we were able to catch some of the city's lights coming on, including at the Tower Bridge, and Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.
On Monday, we packed up, left our bags at the hotel while we went to the Science Museum. Then went back, picked up our bags, and got to the train station to grab the train home.
We were able to pack a lot in, considering the kids' ages. J has decided he would like to come back with G or I, rather than receiving a xmas or bday gift. There was quite a bit he wanted to see at the British Museum, he wanted to see more of the Tower of London, more of the Science Museum, and there is so much more of the city to see. I told him there was no way to see everything, even if you spent a week there. Although I wouldn't mind that bday gift--something I'd enjoy as well (or G), and it wouldn't be something we'd have to worry about packing up again in 3 yrs.
The kids particularly enjoyed riding on the subway. J was our navigator/tour guide leading the way. He would tell us which tube to catch, take it to which station, switch to what line, ride that to which station. Get out of the tube, and lead us down streets to our destination. He fumbled at times, but did rather well, considering he's 11. Of course, having an iphone to use certainly helped his cause, as well.
All in all, it was a great weekend. We are now trying to focus on what we'll be doing for our next break--be it term break, or xmas. You can start your bets now--or give us some ideas. We're rather new to this whole travel thing, but do find it quite enjoyable.
I'll try to post more than once/week when I can, as well. DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT!!!
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| London still has banners up for the Olympics. |
One thing that is different with booking a room in London is that you can't smoosh 5 people in a room. They have various rooms, some single (which may have 1 or 2 single beds), double (which may have a double bed or 2 singles), triple rooms, which of course come in different configurations, quadruple rooms, and even quintuple rooms. Of course room rates vary accordingly. You can maybe add a cot to some of the rooms to add another person (if there is room-London rooms are small), but they are really strict with the number of people in a room. The 4 and 5 person rooms are difficult to find. Needless to say, we needed to book 2 rooms for both Sat and Sunday evening. We were able to find basic, no frills rooms that were clean, and still close to the Underground. It actually is very close to where we were in 1999-used the same Tube station.
The kids were quite excited to go to London. We left at 5:45 am Saturday morning, and got the 6:30 am bus out of Chester to London. Arrived ahead of schedule @ ~9:10, and grabbed the tube and dropped our luggage at the hotel, then proceeded to the British Museum. It was rather overwhelming, there was so much there. There is no way to see it all.
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| The British Museum, before it started to rain! |
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| The 5 of us at the British Museum, with one of the Easter Island statues. |
Left there and went to Madame Tussuad's wax museum, in an effort to engage the younger set. Wax museum was ok, but they had a section where you hopped on these automated "taxis", and it took you on a track through London/British history. This was really enjoyable. There also was a Marvel comics exhibit, and 4D movie. I am not big on super heroes or such, but I must admit it was pretty neat. The chair "punched" you, misted you with water, shot air at you, etc. We had dinner that evening at the Rainforest Cafe-always a favorite with kids.
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| J's impression of Usain Bolt |
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| The kids with the Queen. Notice Will and Kate Middleton in the upper left background. |
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| HELP!! The Hulk has gotten J! |
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| London's Rainforest Cafe Sunday, was a beautiful day, and we'd scheduled a bus tour of the city. We saw all of the sights and monuments, including Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, and the Tower Bridge. |
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| Eros, in Trafalgar Square |
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| The London Eye, Millenium Bridge |
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| Tower Bridge bearing the ParaOlympic games symbol |
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| Ominous Tower of London |
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| Kids with a Yeoman Warder |
After dinner overlooking the Thames, we took a river cruise on the Thames. It was early evening, so we were able to catch some of the city's lights coming on, including at the Tower Bridge, and Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.
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| Tower Bridge at dusk |
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| Big Ben/House of Parliament |
We were able to pack a lot in, considering the kids' ages. J has decided he would like to come back with G or I, rather than receiving a xmas or bday gift. There was quite a bit he wanted to see at the British Museum, he wanted to see more of the Tower of London, more of the Science Museum, and there is so much more of the city to see. I told him there was no way to see everything, even if you spent a week there. Although I wouldn't mind that bday gift--something I'd enjoy as well (or G), and it wouldn't be something we'd have to worry about packing up again in 3 yrs.
The kids particularly enjoyed riding on the subway. J was our navigator/tour guide leading the way. He would tell us which tube to catch, take it to which station, switch to what line, ride that to which station. Get out of the tube, and lead us down streets to our destination. He fumbled at times, but did rather well, considering he's 11. Of course, having an iphone to use certainly helped his cause, as well.
All in all, it was a great weekend. We are now trying to focus on what we'll be doing for our next break--be it term break, or xmas. You can start your bets now--or give us some ideas. We're rather new to this whole travel thing, but do find it quite enjoyable.
I'll try to post more than once/week when I can, as well. DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT!!!
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
This Past Week
I have not posted in nearly a week. It's not that I haven't been doing anything--au contraire-I've been most busy.
We desperately need to find a babysitter(s), not only for G and I's sanity, but also for various functions that we will need to attend. I have been trying to find some to bring in to interview. I have been in touch with 4--one we actually interviewed last evening, and seems decent. She is going to school, and has a boyfriend, and works, so she does not have a whole lot of availability, so we are looking at some others. My goal is to have a pool of perhaps 5 to pick from, so we are never left up a creek without a paddle. So, I guess we're 20% of the way there-hopefully at least one of the others works out, and we'll keep looking......
Of course, I have also been out driving. Seems to be going ok. Had another lesson this evening. Feeling much more at ease with the situation.
On Monday (yesterday), I called the Authority (again!) regarding N's lack of school. They were "having an unusual amount of call volume," so I kept trying, to no avail. I called today (Tuesday)---they know nothing, and advised I check in again next week. School starts 2 weeks from tomorrow-the boy needs supplies, and uniforms, people!!
G had his work picnic at the Chester Zoo-probably 5 minutes from our house-this past weekend. There were no kangaroos or koalas. They did have these bush dogs (that's what they are called). We were observing them, when a zookeeper came with a bucket of white rats (dead), that she threw over the fence one by one. You should have seen these creatures run!! There were probably 10-15 of these in the exhibit, and they would run off with the "treat", and gobble it up. When there were no more new treats being thrown over the fence, they would play tug-of-war with a rat. There'd be 4-5 of these bush dogs, each with a jaw on the rat, and they would all pull....... The zoo also had the dinosaur exhibit going on-same one that's been at the Milwaukee Zoo, and is currently at the Milwaukee Zoo.
We also were able to meet with G's co-workers-many of them new to me, as well as G I suppose. There were probably 5-6 from our trip in February, that I knew, as we'd spent 2 evenings with them in Feb. Also, met up with the the American fellow who is returning to the US, and G is taking his position. He and his wife had a baby the day we left for the UK, so she's ~4 weeks old now. They went to London this week to apply for the baby's passport, and they will be returning to the States in about 2 1/2 weeks. (I am eagerly anticipating receiving their condensing dryer, as well as some other electronics.) Also met with another fellow and his family, also from the States, who will be in the UK for another year before they return. (They originally signed on for 3 years, but extended it another year.) It was nice to see some familiar people, besides the neighbors.
I've also been working on the bugs of this new blog. Please email me if you are still unable to comment. I need you all to comment, and let me know what's going on State-side.
Finally, I've been working on one other thing. This coming Monday 27 August, is a bank holiday here. We wanted to take advantage of it, and do something with the kids--so that's what I've been trying to plan. I won't reveal now what we're doing--you can all place your bets, and I'll share with you after the weekend.
Stay tuned, and don't forget to comment!
Love to everyone in the US!!
We desperately need to find a babysitter(s), not only for G and I's sanity, but also for various functions that we will need to attend. I have been trying to find some to bring in to interview. I have been in touch with 4--one we actually interviewed last evening, and seems decent. She is going to school, and has a boyfriend, and works, so she does not have a whole lot of availability, so we are looking at some others. My goal is to have a pool of perhaps 5 to pick from, so we are never left up a creek without a paddle. So, I guess we're 20% of the way there-hopefully at least one of the others works out, and we'll keep looking......
Of course, I have also been out driving. Seems to be going ok. Had another lesson this evening. Feeling much more at ease with the situation.
On Monday (yesterday), I called the Authority (again!) regarding N's lack of school. They were "having an unusual amount of call volume," so I kept trying, to no avail. I called today (Tuesday)---they know nothing, and advised I check in again next week. School starts 2 weeks from tomorrow-the boy needs supplies, and uniforms, people!!
G had his work picnic at the Chester Zoo-probably 5 minutes from our house-this past weekend. There were no kangaroos or koalas. They did have these bush dogs (that's what they are called). We were observing them, when a zookeeper came with a bucket of white rats (dead), that she threw over the fence one by one. You should have seen these creatures run!! There were probably 10-15 of these in the exhibit, and they would run off with the "treat", and gobble it up. When there were no more new treats being thrown over the fence, they would play tug-of-war with a rat. There'd be 4-5 of these bush dogs, each with a jaw on the rat, and they would all pull....... The zoo also had the dinosaur exhibit going on-same one that's been at the Milwaukee Zoo, and is currently at the Milwaukee Zoo.
We also were able to meet with G's co-workers-many of them new to me, as well as G I suppose. There were probably 5-6 from our trip in February, that I knew, as we'd spent 2 evenings with them in Feb. Also, met up with the the American fellow who is returning to the US, and G is taking his position. He and his wife had a baby the day we left for the UK, so she's ~4 weeks old now. They went to London this week to apply for the baby's passport, and they will be returning to the States in about 2 1/2 weeks. (I am eagerly anticipating receiving their condensing dryer, as well as some other electronics.) Also met with another fellow and his family, also from the States, who will be in the UK for another year before they return. (They originally signed on for 3 years, but extended it another year.) It was nice to see some familiar people, besides the neighbors.
I've also been working on the bugs of this new blog. Please email me if you are still unable to comment. I need you all to comment, and let me know what's going on State-side.
Finally, I've been working on one other thing. This coming Monday 27 August, is a bank holiday here. We wanted to take advantage of it, and do something with the kids--so that's what I've been trying to plan. I won't reveal now what we're doing--you can all place your bets, and I'll share with you after the weekend.
Stay tuned, and don't forget to comment!
Love to everyone in the US!!
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Making the Big Move
So I finally made the big move:
A) To a new blogsite-hoping it will suit me, and I won't need to switch again--there is quite the myriad of options available
B) To being a car owner in the UK-my first car with the steering wheel on the right hand-side of the car!
I am hoping things will go a bit better on this blogsite, or we'll be on the move again!
Just a side note--wanted our web address to be J in the UK, but of course it was already taken, as was any variation of it. Finally settled on "flapjackuk".
They sell these little flapjack bites at the grocery store-I guess kinda like dense cakey bits of sweetness. Kids like them. They are not pancakes--the pancakes they have here are very thin. There is no pancake mix at the grocery store--and we used to have pancakes 1-2 times/week. We've (G has) learned to make them completely from scratch.
Two final thoughts:
I received an email from the music dept @ J's school. The writer was apologizing to me, (due to everyone being “at sixes & sevens” at the moment). Part in parentheses taken verbatim from her email. I had NO idea what that could mean. Did a little asking around and found it means "to be confused".!! Don't talk with idioms in your speech to the American new to the UK!!
I was reading the weekly paper. There was an ad saying, "If you've been ting tanged in an accident".... This has nothing to do with a witch doctor singing walla walla bing bang to you, but means if you've been in an accident that wasn't your fault, call Camps solicitors. (Solicitors are lawyers here.) Apparently David Gruber law offices do not reach the UK, for those of you in the greater Milwaukee area!
I hope you've all made it here all right. And if you're following, please comment so I know you're out there. It's nice to hear from everyone, and know you're all with us, at least by thought.
Cheers!
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