Term Break

As mentioned in an earlier post, the school is on break every 6 weeks.  This time it was a term break, so the kids had 2 weeks off.  The first week Calie and Isaac were visiting.  In addition to many adventures with them, we also did several things on our own. 

We visited the London Aquarium.  The highly advertised new jelly fish exhibit was underwhelming, but the huge tanks with sharks, the sea turtles, and the penguin exhibit were definite highlights.  This was Abby’s first time at an aquarium and she had fun running between tanks pointing out each and every fish to me.  Of course anytime we saw “Dory” or “Nemo” she was particularly excited. 

London Aquarium

The kids and I enjoyed exploring Tate Modern with Calie and Isaac, though I still find myself baffled by some displays in the galleries that are considered art.  I suppose if the piece leaves me wondering “what is art?” then maybe the artist did their job.  To our surprise there was an exterior installation with a fog machine.  I never did find any explanation, but the kids certainly loved playing in it.  So much so that when we parted ways with Calie and Isaac the kids decided they wanted to return to the museum and play in the fog again.  Truthfully, it was a bit frightening as the kids would disappear completely from view when venturing into the fog.  Abby was a little hesitant, with good reasons, but braved it a couple times when Kaylee or Danny held her hand.  The machine would go for 5 minutes or so, then it would stop for 3-5 minutes while the fog cleared.  They loved it!

No idea what the piece in the bottom right corner was about.

FOG!

On another day, after spending the morning with Calie and Isaac downtown, we took the long way home via a park we’d never explored.  Highgate Wood is right next to the kids’ school, but because the playground is on the opposite side of the park we had yet to venture into it.  It was a fantastic playground with a huge variety of equipment and designated areas for younger and older children.  After letting the older two run free and roam while I watched Abby in an area for younger kids, we all congregated at the sand pit.  I loved watching them all so busy and focused on building and digging and creating cheerfully.  Even James got in on the action. 

--> The weather could not have been more perfect during the term break, so there was also a lot of time playing football (soccer) and running around in the close with the neighbors.  I have really enjoyed the timeline of the new school system which allows us to focus and work hard for 6 weeks, then play hard during the break.  And play hard we do! 

Hong Hotel Open for Business

What a busy and wonderful past few weeks it has been.

At the end of March my parents were our first overnight guests.  Matt's brother had visited earlier when he was in town for business, but this was even before all of our stuff had arrived.  Anticipation of my parents visit was a wonderful motivator to get everything unpacked and settled.

They arrived on Friday morning.  As they've both been to London numerous times, their priority was seeing our new routines and area, but we managed to do some more touristy things as well.  Their visit included ice skating at Ally Pally, school drop-offs, many tasty meals at home, wandering along the Thames, brunch at a neighborhood cafe, riding the London Eye, exploring the Imperial War Museum, playing canasta, attending church 2 activities and church, celebrating UK Mother's Day with a delicious picnic lunch at Hampstead Heath and a delicious dinner at home, several DIY projects and visits to various shops, riding the tube and double decker buses, an adult date to Beautiful on the West End, a trip to the National Gallery, hot chocolate at Costa, fish and chips with Matt at Borough Market, playing with the kids, and making plans for the next visit.  

Grandma ice skating even with jet -lag

Atop the London Eye

Napping along the Thames with Big Ben in the background.

Yay for Grandma and Grandpa visiting!

Enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon park break after exploring the Imperial War Museum

Tube Time 

Picnicking at Hampstead Heath 

Hampstead Heath Statue

Hampstead Heath Statue

Hampstead Heath Statue

A trip to the hardware (DIY) store with Dad & James

Any day that starts with DIY project with Dad and ends with a date night to the West End is a pretty good day.

Hot Cocoa at Costa beside Trafalgar Square

Super Grandpa at National Gallery

Lunch with Matt.  Yum! 

It was SO fantastic having my Mom and Dad in town.  We had all missed them a lot.  They departed on Thursday morning (yes - we did all that in less than a week) and Thursday afternoon Matt's cousins Calie and Isaac arrived.  This was both of their first visit to London, but they had no problems figuring out public transportation to get to our house.  They did a lot of exploring and adventuring on their own, but we also had a lot of fun doing some outings together.  They were also a huge help around the house tidying things up, helping with meals, and playing with the kids.  Two nights they babysat so Matt and I could have date nights.  We REALLY enjoyed having them in our home and hope they loved it so much that they will return.  And babysit again.  ;)

While they were in town we played in the fountains in Leicester Square (translation: Kaylee got soaked), visited the LEGO museum and M&M World, ate dim sum in China Town, visited Madame Tussaud's, wandered through Regents Park, strolled by 221b Baker Street, played Wackee Six, rode the London Eye (again - it's so cool! And we have an annual pass to go again and again), had a scavenger hunt at the National Gallery, visited Tate Modern, had lunch with Matt at Borough Market, visited the London Temple, wandered through Highgate Wood, played football on the close, saw the views from Alexandra Park, and spent an entire day at Hampton Court Palace.  They did many, many more things while they were here (multiple West End shows, Harry Potter tour, British Museum, shopping, Buckingham Palace, and more), but we just couldn't keep up.

Riding the bus to Alexandra Palace for a London sunset

Lego Land

A little too much fun at the fountain in Leicester Square.  She spent the rest of the day with no shirt and only her jacket.

Sherlock was also at Madame Tussaud's

The boys were more excited to meet Emma Watson

The Royal Family took time to pose with us.

Our little Eewok at Madame Tussaud's

Regents Park Fountains

MOD Pizza at Leicester Square

Getting ready for the National Gallery Scavenger Hunt 

Enjoying the London Temple on General Conference Sunday

Riding on the top of the bus is always best. 

A beautiful day at Hampton Court Palace

Fun with cousins at the Palace

It was such a fantastic visit!  Isaac went home after 10 days, but we were lucky enough to have Calie a week longer to join us on our holiday to Spain.  I don't know that we would have survived without her, but more on that later.

As you can tell, a visit to the London Hong Hotel will be full of good food, fun, and adventures along with wonderful hosts (the little Eewok is the cutest, even if he may wake you at night).  Just make your reservations early - we are already booked through July.

Foreigner

Dear person at the school or store or driving through the neighborhood,

I'm sorry for judging you.  Perhaps you were new to the area.  Perhaps you just didn't know the rules or didn't understand something completely unfamiliar to you.  Perhaps you were just confused by different systems or regulations or terminology.  I realize now that your error did not mean you were an incompetent or unintelligent person.  You were not trying to be rude nor disrespectful.  You just didn't know.  You were a foreigner.  And now that I am a foreigner too, I understand.  

When I have to ask multiple people what the school means by "voluntary donation" and after 3 separate conversations still don't really understand if they expect me to pay or not.  When my son doesn't have a swim cap because I didn't know it was required.  When I assume "parent night" means a social night out for parents, but then discover it actually means parent teacher conferences.  When I must inquire about why I am supposed to bring a chocolate egg to school for a fundraiser instead of just paying some money directly to the school.  I am not trying to be rude or disrespectful.  I just don't understand the new systems.  And now I realize that maybe you just didn't understand either.

When it takes me twice as long to find the item I am looking for because zucchini is called cougarettes and powdered sugar is called icing sugar. When I search for the eggs in the refrigerated section and discover they are instead in the home baking section, not refrigerated.  When I must ask how to find the right light bulb because there are so many different, unfamiliar options.  When I have to ask if I have the right coins in my hand before I can pay. When I mistake creme fraiche for clotted cream and serve it to my husband on scones.  I am really not totally incompetent.  It is all just new to me.  And now I see that maybe it was all new to you too.

When I am confused about what "Humped Zebra Crossing" means as I am driving.  When I slow down until people are honking because I doubt my cars ability to fit through the narrow roadways. When I can't remember whose turn it is as I zip into a roundabout and cut someone off yet again . . . I'm really not a total idiot.  I'm still learning.  And now I understand that maybe you were still learning too.

Forgive me if I judged you or mistook your errors for incompetence or lack of intelligence.  Now I am beginning to see what it is to be a foreigner and realize just how hard it can be.

With understanding and admiration,

A Rookie Foreigner

Discovery - Hobnobs and Digestive Biscuits are NOT the same thing.

   

Not British . . .

We have lived here 2 months now (WOW!!), and there are many things I feel I have acclimated to well.  I feel comfortable driving.  I've adopted some of the language.  I can confidently do my shopping and use public transportation.  I'm even in the habit of a daily cup of (herbal) tea.

But there are certainly moments when I find myself silently laughing and thinking, "Yep . . . I'm not really British yet . . ."

Bright Colors - When I am sitting on the bench of the train, I notice my turquoise jacket and hot pink shoes stand out in the sea of grays and blacks.  It's not that British people don't wear any color.  Or that Americans don't wear gray and black.  But overall, there is a much more subdued, neutrality in clothing and shoe colors from what I've seen.  When I wear my bright pink jeans people definitely know I'm not a local.

Tube Games - Other British children sit next to their parents.  My kids, still new to the tube, are fascinated by the endless games you can play with your reflection in the glass windows.  They insist on standing and making faces or stretching their arms in peculiar ways and then laugh hysterically at the results.  Of course just keeping your balance is a game in and of itself.  But on the dozens and dozens of rides we've been on, I have never seen any other children amused by the tube as much as mine.

3 Year Old Buggy Rider - From the time a British child can walk, parents begin coaching them to walk everywhere on their own.  Strollers take up space in a smaller house and can be a burden on public transit and in and out of stores.  So children must learn from a young age to use their own legs.  Abby did not have this experience.  She learned how to buckle herself into her carseat.  She does not yet have the stamina to walk on her own up to school, to the market, to the bus stop.  The British 3 year olds are riding their scooters or walking all about the town.  Our 3 year old is still in a stroller.

Loud - I have never considered my family to be loud until we moved here.  Perhaps it is because we are in row housing now, where our walls connect to our neighbors.  Or maybe it is because our noise is observed by the masses on public transportation, rather than contained in our own car.  But since living here I have a keen awareness of our noise level, and I have observed that we are much louder than the average Londoner.  Our TV seems to be louder, our kids play noisier in the close, I yell out to call my children in, or yell up the stairs to gather them in the kitchen.  We are just louder.

Bulk - I think it is a very American thing to buy in excess, particularly food.  We buy and store more than we can eat.  In general here, I see people going to stores more often, and just getting what they need for the next couple days.  People don't seem to stock up on things because 1 - there is not the storage space and 2 - there are fewer preservatives used and food spoils much quicker here.  In some ways, this is nice.  The produce does taste remarkable, and I find we are wasting much less food because we only have space for a few days worth.  However, I still find myself giddy every trip to Costco when I can stock up on granola bars and cereal and tortilla chips.  And I still buy a few cans extra with every grocery order.  

Moving Day

I have not blogged recently, because this happened. . . .

It was a happy, happy day when our sea shipment arrived.  We were fortunate because despite a 1 week delay in customs, our things arrived within 7 weeks.  It can take up to 12 if there are complications.  The movers had packed our things into two trucks like the one above.  They pulled it into the narrow close as far as they could, and then got to work unpacking.  5 movers unloading everything as quick as could be.  They didn't use any ramps, even for the piano.  All 5 movers just hefted it out of the truck (carefully of course) and then worked together to get it into the house.    

Our 3 story house, with a narrow stairway, caused some complications.  Of course the movers got a workout up and down, up and down.  Several pieces of furniture were quite tight and it took multiple movers to coach and lift and guide it around the tight turns of the stairs.  Their communication was impressive. Our queen and twin box springs would not make it up the stairway.  Additionally, the largest portion of the girl's bunk bed would not make it up.  It sat in our living room until some proper handymen were able to come disassemble it and rebuild it.  

The kids liked having the bunk bed stairs in the living room to use as stadium seating for TV watching. 

 The movers were instructed to unpack whatever I asked them to unpack.  I took advantage of this so that they could haul away the excess of boxes and paper.  They unwrapped all the furniture, and then unpacked boxes with larger items like lamp shades, small shelves, storage boxes, and bedding.  They kept most of the boxes of books and dishes and decorative items packed since I needed to decide where everything would go.  By the time they left at 3:30, the house looked like this.

 And this . . .

And this . . .

At least I can't go to bed until I do a little unpacking . . .

Which is so exciting, and also so overwhelming and exhausting.  Because now comes the daunting task of finding a new home for every item.  There is an important balancing act between making things look nice, functionality, and realistic expectations.  I wanted everything in a place that made sense and would work for our family.  As I unpacked, I immediately found things I had overpacked. Like tupperware.  And water bottles.

I will never, ever, ever use all this tupperware . . 

Our new fridge could not even hold all that tupperware at one time if it was entirely empty. 

Really?  So many water bottles (in addition to the few we already had brought with us on the plane).  Silly thing is, this is after I thinned out the water bottles before we moved.  Still too many! 

 Unfortunately, I have a hard time imagining how furniture will look until I actually move it around.  Which means the entire process of getting settled always looks significantly worse before it gets better.

I couldn't decide if I wanted the desk or shelves to the right of the fireplace.

 After 2 weeks (including a few trips to IKEA and the dump and several really late nights) I am proud to say we are mostly moved in and settled.  It helped a great deal that my parents were coming to visit - there was a good timeline for hurrying to get things done.  I'll add finished photos and a home tour in another post soon.  Hooray for being settled in!

It's Definitely Not Easy . . .

Since I'm trying to keep it real, I thought I would write about some of the harder things.

Matt has been working really hard at his new job.  With a new company comes new culture (on top of the new country culture), new co-workers, and new expectations.  He's been putting in a lot of hours during the week, and usually has 1-2 nights a week where he doesn't get home until after 10:30 PM.  He does breakfast with the kids every morning, and usually walks them to school at least once a week, and that has been great.  But without fail there seems to be a witching hour between 5-7:30 PM when Matt is still working hard at the office (or on his way home) that the kids are all demanding of me at once.  I do not think this is drastically different than Bellevue, but somehow it's a bit more lonely and overwhelming.  

James is either starving or tired or both, but I'm trying to get dinner for the rest of the crew.  Often, as I'm beginning meal prep, one of the kids will ask what is for dinner and then roll their eyes in disgust or sigh or groan.  Which usually leaves me stunned because hey, you liked (fill in the blank with a totally standard meal like spaghetti & meatballs) last time I made it.  I'm trying to teach Danny and Kaylee more about cooking, so they are taking turns being either my sous chef or cleanup crew every night.  The long term benefits of this will be awesome.  But for the moment it often means there is spilled something or a cut finger or a burnt whatever making the entire meal prep a lengthier ordeal.  Without fail at 5:50 one of my children is suddenly starving for a snack.  We have reviewed that there will not be snacks after 5:00 (we eat dinner between 6:30 and 7:00), but evidently either I am not consistent with this or they forget every day.  

Once we sit down to dinner I breathe for a moment, proud that we have succeeded in this.  But it is not uncommon that there is another complaint or a negotiation about what must be eaten.  And then my usual evening feelings of failure begin creeping in.  Why have I allowed my kids to become picky eaters?  Why can't they use utensils in a normal fashion?  How have I neglected to teach better table manners?  Why do I let them negotiate?  Why does ___ still think it's OK to eat with their fingers? Why does ____ think 3 tiny slivers of lettuce counts as a serving of lettuce?  I am totally failing as a mother.  My child is going to be at college or on a mission and eat their lettuce with their fingers.  I have failed.

Usually there is some happy conversation during dinner discussing the days events.  Then the kids disappear and it looks somewhat like a tornado hit.  Yes, they have cleared their plates.  But there is still a mess.  A mess from cooking.  A mess from spilled food.  A mess from eating.  My cleanup crew comes in to assist, but sometimes the giving of assignments is more work than just doing it myself.  

James is still unhappy.  And I realize it is now time for Abby to be in bed too, but she hasn't picked up toys yet and still needs a bath.  And I also promised dessert.  I get the baby ready for bed.  I get the girls into the tub.  I put the baby to bed.  I realize my son has been on his tablet for a long time (Terrible mom - too much media!).  Tell him to get off.  Get girls out of the bath and Abby to bed.  How is it already 8 PM?  I make the older kids pick up all the toys (even though they didn't get them out) in exchange for one show (Terrible mom - I used to have a no TV on school nights rule but somehow I forgot about it or the older kids wore me down about it).  

While the kids are watching their earned show I look at the remaining mess in the kitchen, then at the huge pile of laundry on the sofa, and I sit down and do neither for 10 minutes.  Because I am just so tired already and there are two more kids that need to go to bed.  In the end it all works out. Everyone makes it to bed and Matt makes it home.   

This witching hour and exhaustion of flying solo in the evening is not country specific. In fact this is the norm for many, many people.  But for me, it's been a huge adjustment with this move.  I took for granted Matt's short commute and was ridiculously spoiled last year to have him home 3 months for paternity leave.  Now M-F I am almost always on duty solo from 5-7:30.  It wears me down. 

The other recent challenge has been the kids.  The novelty of being the new kids has worn off a bit, and now both are trying to navigate the challenges of finding real friends.  Particularly Danny, who is an extremely outgoing and social kid, has been struggling.  At bedtime and in the mornings he tells me how left out he feels, like he doesn't belong.  He tells me he wants to move back to Washington. How he misses his friends.  After school it always seems to be a different story - he seems a lot happier and tells me about who he played with or what he did at recess.  But back in the comfort of his own room, he'll open up about just how hard the move has been on him and how much he's aching.  It has given us some teaching opportunities about being a friend and listening and praying to Heavenly Father for comfort.  But wow is it hard when your kid, particularly the one that you did not expect to struggle so much, is hurting. **** 

I feel confident in our decision to move here.  I know this is where we need to be right now in our lives.  But there are some hard, hard things mixed in with the adventure and fun of it all.


****I wrote this post in mid-March, but debated for a long time about posting it since it felt like me venting more than anything.  I decided since the blog is sort of a journal of our time here in London, I'd go ahead and post it.  Since originally writing it, Danny's experience has improved significantly.  He is certainly still adjusting, but has much more enthusiasm day to day about going to school and friends at both church and school.  We are still searching for a really good friend, but making progress.  Answered prayers for sure!