Dad arrived!

Dad arrived in England today! Although his flight was a bit late, he did get his car, and managed to navigate his way to his hotel which was only about 10 min away from my house. I surprised him in the lobby when he arrived at reception to check in and I do not think he recognized me for a second! It was so good to see him!! After checking in, I helped with the bags but then I had to go home because our TV was broken again so the man was coming to fix it. Dad pulled in my drive just as the Sky man was leaving and I showed him around the flat and made him a cup of tea while he used the computer briefly. Because he was starving, I drove him into Tongham, which is a small town nearby where he ate at a little pub. I think he was dragging before the food! I then drove him into Farnham and we drove through the town and some of the roads that I like to take before going back to the town center to the main car park. Dad did not have proper walking shoes, and I had to collect the boys in just under an hour, so we made a quick stop at a cash point (ATM) and then got a coffee and juice. We sat at a table by the window and talked for a bit, as well as looked at how bad the fashion is here, before leaving to go collect the boys.

We arrived a bit early so we sat in the car park and waited before walking up to the school. We got Theo first and when I went to the door he told me how good he was all day! I then told him that my dad was behind me, so he waved and said, "Hello sir!" We went to Henry's classroom and collected him, and he told my dad that he got him chocolate! With a boy in each hand, we went back to the car to go home.

Back home I helped the boys change into comfortable clothes and then we did homework! They each read stories and Henry even read one to my dad! They are very friendly boys and had NO trouble getting to know my dad, as each one climbed on his lap several times throughout the afternoon to ask him questions. After homework, we took dad down to the super bouncy tree and the grass/stick hut we made! We stayed for just a bit because it started raining and then rained the whole walk back up the two hills to the house. We did a bit of crafts until Pernille got home, and then it was time for presents! Dad got Pernille and Andrew IU mugs. For the boys, he got Henry an IU football shirt, and a football, and Theo received an IU basketball and basketball. They also got IU pencils and cards! The boys were thrilled and played with their toys for the rest of the night. All the adults talked for a bit, and then Dad and I went to eat in Guildford at a really delicious Italian restaurant and we each ate an entire pizza. We didn't stay out long because we were both tired and when I came back, the boys had both gone to bed in their IU shirts with all their presents in their beds. It was adorable! Its bed time now though, I am exhausted!

Have a great day, cheers!

XX

Rock and Roll and Sports Day!

Monday was a very full day. Both Henry and Theo entertained friends at the house. Henry's mate Douglass and Theo's mate Toby both came over for tea. Douglass was FULL of energy, and Toby was quite opposite as all he wanted to do was play dress up. I got Henry and Douglass occupied playing with Matchbox cars, and Theo and Toby decided to build a track for the toy trains. We also listened to the boyband McFly and then it was time for tea. Pernille was home but working, but managed to put in some pizzas and sweet corn for the boys. Oh My Gosh. They never stopped talking or yelling or being insane little boys. Fiiinally they had eaten everything so we went back to playing and this time the boys spotted the toy guitars so we had a bit of a jam session in my sitting room. The picture is above and it was absolutely the funniest thing to watch. We had a really great time!

Sports Day was Tuesday and I have to say, it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Sports Day is just like Field Day as we know it and there were many relay events such as running, skipping, hopping, carrying a tennis racket with a beanbag and of course the sack race. The determination and excitement was palpable and the children were anxious to showcase their talents. Some of the children were carefully listening to last minute instructions from tall proud fathers, dressed in smart business suits lining the sidelines. Others were sitting happily in their tracksuits (sweatpants) picking grass and humming with excitement. The event was held at the school and was on the grass track. Behind the parents was a refreshment stand with coffee, tea and juice, as well as an announcer and PA system much like we have at track meets in the States. There were no individual winners because everything was a relay, and there were some very strong athletes! There were also those like my sweet Theo who was lucky enough to be in the lane closest to the parents so when he would run or skip or hop past us, he would turn so that his face was towards us and his body was still desperately trying to still propel forwards, but this way he was able to have a huge grin and the best possible angle to appear as photogenic as possible. It was simply hilarious!

One month down, 6 to go..My time so far

I have only been here a month, but this month has done a lot to change my perspective of almost everything. I never realized how much work goes into being a parent all hours everyday. Babysitting is not too hard and at the end you go home and leave the children with their parents, but living here really is a full time job and has been the best experience of my life.

With no one really that I know, I have been forced way outside of my comfort zone. I am living with complete strangers, looking after their children. If I didn’t know about responsibility before, it is the only thing I know now. I have people that depend on me. I HAVE to get up every morning no matter what I feel like or how late I stayed up the night before reading or chatting. And no matter how tired I am, I have to drink lots of tea so I can wake up and be pleasant and cheerful or the day will be crummy. If the boys see me in a good mood, they are more likely to be in a good mood, but if they see me at all in a bad mood, it gives them permission to be nasty as well.

Patience is a virtue. I never really had much patience, but being in charge of a 5 and 6 year old require it full time. Everything takes more time to complete and even though I know that I could have everything done in less than half the time it takes them, I have to be patient and help the boys. Theo has just begun to read and it is fun to sit with him and watch him form the sounds and then put them together and read to me. Henry is a bit more advanced and constantly pushes himself to read better but gets mixed up on words a lot. I have learned that it is ok to mess up and just take my time with things. It is much more rewarding to sit there and take the time to help the boys figure out how things work than to do it for them just to complete the task.

One thing I have never been very good about is being independent. I have always been surrounded by people, whether it was all my brothers and sisters or all the neighbor kids growing up, or all the sports teams or all my friends, I have very rarely been on my own before. Even at college I live with over 100 girls and you have to work hard to be by yourself. And if I am not at Chi Omega, then I was usually with Grant. Living here I am by myself a lot which at first was the hardest and scariest part (even worse than driving!) because all of the sudden I had all this time by myself and I didn’t know what to do. I have done a lot of reading on anything I can get my hands on as well as my Bible which has been amazing to have so much time to do. I really enjoy walking around the nearby towns by myself and just taking everything in. It is also nice to explore London by myself without the issue of making sure everyone in a group gets to see everything they want. I just have myself to wander around and think about my life. At times I do wish that I had people here to explore with me, like my mom who was born in this country or any of my family or Grant. It is hard to see such amazing and beautiful places and sights and not have someone to share the moment with.

While it has been the biggest thing I have ever done in my life and something that I love, it has also been so hard to deal with the homesickness. I really don’t get homesick but Bloomington is just over an hour away from home so that helped a lot. Being here I miss having the luxury of familiar faces. I do have my family here, but it is so hard to go every day knowing that I will not see my mom or my dad or my brother or sisters (not that I saw them anyways!) or Grant or my friends. I’m not going to run into anyone I haven’t seen for ages at the store or go out with them on a Wednesday at Champps. I can’t go over to Kellie’s house with all the girls or have facebook sessions with Sara or lunch with Kara or Broad Ripple with Hallie, Mandy, Katie and Jenn. It is so weird to think about how much I took for granted living with everyone for simple things like a familiar face. I really do miss that a lot. It is nice that my dad will be here this week and then Grant comes in a month and a half and then mom will come for my birthday in November. It is nice that I have gotten to spend time with Nicole and Christy will be here so soon, and I will also see Kate. But I really do miss everyone.

I have also had to go out of my way to make friends which I have never had to do before. Ever since I was small, I was always surrounded by friends. From cousins (and the Lux’s) to neighbors (especially the Whites), I had it all. At preschool I made friends easily and had a lot of play dates and then the same with grade school. I had Kaitlin and Kate and the three of us kept adding to our group and after a few years we were solid with Colleen, Heather, Lauren and Sarabeth. We all played every sport imaginable and that is the easiest way to make friends like Lindsey Love and Annie and everyone! And then in college I joined Chi Omega and have some of the most amazing pledge sisters in the world that I know are friendships that will last me my whole life because those are girls I would do anything for. I even have dreams about Chi O while I have been here (especially about silly things like being late for rush!). But I am not trying to say that I’m so cool or anything, just that I have been so blessed with the love and friendships that I have in my life. It is exciting to meet new people but hard! I found that if you smile a lot and try not to be too awkward people like you J

One thing I love about living with this family is the way I interact with the boys. Sometimes it is unbelievably hard because they can be so cruel, but the times they are sweet make it all worth it. I love the way they melt into my body to give me cuddles or the way they study my face with such seriousness as I tell a story or explain something. That look with the slightly cocked head, wide eyes that you can tell are deep in thought and half open mouth and they take you in with such a serious expression gets me every time. Especially because usually they still have dirt in their hair which is a mess and the reddest, rosiest cheeks and are usually playing with their hands unconsciously but fully hanging on to every word I say. Watching them watch movies is hilarious. They do not watch much TV so whenever it is on, its like being in a trance and you cannot tear them away. It is so funny to see the emotion on their face as they watch shows or films because they get so into the characters and half the time I watch them instead of whatever is on. I love how at bed time most nights when I put them to bed, we read a story in bed with one boy curled up in the crook of my arm on each side. As the story winds down, I can sense them beginning to get drowsy as their bodies recognize that it is bed time. After we get settled into each bed, it is time for a lullaby where we either sing “Daisy” or “Sunshine”. The words to “Daisy” are:

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half crazy over the love of you. It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage. But you’ll look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle made for two.

“Sunshine” goes ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

I used to sing Sunshine with my mom so singing it with them always makes me tear up because I miss my family so much.

I love the way the boys reach their arms up for a big hug, or walk up next to me and quietly slip their hand inside of mine while we walk. The feeling I get when they pick me flowers and call me their ‘precious darling’.

It is very amusing to listen to Henry and Theo explain things like love and God and everything else to me. One of Theo’s favorite things to do is make statements beginning with ‘wouldn’t it be funny’ or ‘wouldn’t it be dangerous’ and you know that something hilarious and totally random is going to come out of him mouth. “Wouldn’t it be funny if a car went on a plane and they were flying over the ocean and then penguins jumped out and went surfing on the back of sharks?” haha most of the time I just don’t even know how to answer this so I just crack up.

Of course there are times when I want to pull my hair out, when the boys are moody or look at me and tell me they hate me because they have to go to bed are times that are hard to deal with. Every time I get a mean look or a mean word it breaks my heart and pains me to think of how many times I said the same to my parents and how I know that in their hearts they know what I was thinking but the fact that I said it is something I can never take back and that is a very bad feeling. Of course I will always have arguments with them, but parents are the two people in this world who love you no matter what. You are a part of them; half of you is from your dad, and half from mom and no matter how you look at it, its not going to change. I know I am a long time away from being a mom myself, but this is definitely a close job. But until then, it is showing me how to be a better daughter and when I get home I hope I can show that.

Well there it is so far. Most of my blogs are about the details of my life here and my adventures, but this is the other part of living here-my emotions and what it is like to basically just decide to make a life change and then go for it. I know it is a lot of reading but I just wanted to put down my thoughts and feelings so far.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and please email me with anything I should do while I am here! I am open to suggestions!

Cheers

XX

clearing things up..

Charlie is six and is Henry's friend :) Not some random boy that I know (thanks mom)

Making friends

Last week was a fun week! Monday Charlie came over and he was so much fun to have over! We went swimming and played tag (I was always it) and made stickers. He told me that I was the most gorgeous woman in the world. He is probably my favorite person right now :) Thursday was a moving party for a girl in Henry's class called Georgina who is moving to a little island off the coast of Italy. Pernille had offered to make cakes for the party but had meetings the whole week so I made them instead. I was a baking fool! I made everything from scratch and made brownies, cupcakes, chocolate cake, peanut butter and chocolate pie, and meringues and loads of icing. I had so many compliments from everyone at the party! I am a new huge fan of baking!
Friday was supposed to be Sports Day at the boy's school which is supposedly the funniest day because its like field day in the US and the events are really simple but the children take it so serious! I guess last year Theo's year did a race where they just had to jump with two feet and he ended up going backwards and everyone was laughing so hard. It was storming here though so Sport's Day was moved to Tuesday. I can't wait to see it!
Saturday I went back to London to go shopping for a bit and meet up with a girl I met over the Internet (that sounds so sketchy!). I signed up for a website that is for people to join groups and then the groups have get togethers and everyone hangs out! One of the groups I am in is for 18-30s girls in London who are new to London and most of their meetups have been on Wednesday nights so I have not been able to go yet. Anyways, I got an email from one of the girls to see if I wanted to meet up so we met up yesterday at a cute Italian restaurant and we had a great time! Her name is Courtney and she is 27 from Chicago and just moved here a few months ago. She works for an online poker company and it sounds really cool. She was really nice and we had a good time and are going to do it again!
After we ate lunch, we went to Portabello Market because I desperately needed a new handbag. All of the ones that I brought are cute and small, but I really needed something bigger because when I go into London I bring a lot with me like my wallet, my Ipod, my glasses, my phone, an umbrella, a jacket, a small stick of deodorant (the tube gets really crowded and I don't want to smell!), and then I bring a book and my maps and then I also wanted to buy sunglasses because mine broke right before I came over and my eyes are in need of some shelter from the sun. I found the perfect bag at the market and found two pairs of sunglasses (for waaaay cheap!) and I was so pleased! I also got two scarves for just a few pounds and put one around my neck and instantly felt more like I fit in! I am so American in how I dress, the trick here is to accessorize. Everyone here waaaay overdoes their accessories though; I keep things simple and what I think is tasteful!
When we were done shopping she went home and I walked around for a bit (I really just love being in London) and read my book in one of the massive parks. It started raining though so I decided that I would just head home and I needed to add more minutes to my mobile anyways so I had to get to the phone store before it closed.
I headed back and the train ride was quick and I got my phone taken care of and then was hungry again because it was nearly 6 so I went to grab a bite. The table next to me was full of guys and two girls and when they saw I was alone, they invited me to sit with them. We got to talking and then of course a million questions about how I was liking it here and America and everything like that. When we were done eating they invited me to come to the pub across the street where two of them work to hang out for a bit. When we talked about ages, they couldn't believe that I was 21! But I couldn't believe their ages either! They guys were called Chris, Nick, Mick, Jamie, Phillip, and Charles. They were all between 24-28 and hilarious. The girls were named Shaana and Gina and I thought they were maybe late 20s/early 30s and they turned out to be 39 and 44!! haha Shaana's husband was one of the owners of the club next to the pub.
I seriously had so much fun talking to them! We went over to the pub where they tried to convince me to get a job there on the weekends and I had my first Diet Coke since I have been here!!! And 'on the rocks' here means you get 2 ice cubes. It was early, only about half past 8 so we sat on couches and talked about how silly Americans are and everything I should do while I am here.
As it got later, we walked next door to the adjoining club and after the girls got their drinks and I refilled my coke, we went upstairs to dance! The drinking age here is 18 (I kind of felt like I was at Kilroys?) and there were all these young boys that kept trying to dance with us but we told them all no and had a ladies night instead. I could not believe that Shaana and Gina were twice my age, they acted and looked my age! They are best friends and welcomed me and were so nice! It was nearly midnight and I was tired so after exchanging phone numbers with them all I decided to go home.
I did some facebooking and stalked mom for a bit :) and emailing and then went to bed. Today has been pretty uneventful, except Theo and I had a very in depth conversation about God and love. God is trillions of years old and was really good friends with the dinosaurs but then wanted them in heaven so he brought them up into the sky, thats why we don't have them anymore. And he asked me, "Love is not selfish, is it?". He had gone to a wedding yesterday and apparently got a lot out of the service. He told me that when you love someone you have to tell them all the time so they know. He also told me that sometimes people are not nice and you have to give them loads of hugs anyways. Very deep insight from a nearly five year old. He told me that sometimes he feels like he is nearly 60. His new favorite words are 'fascinating' and 'charming' and has taken to calling me 'my darling'.
Well we are going on a walk, but yeah for Adrianne and Elliott moving to Virginia! And Dad comes Thursday!!!!!
Have a wonderful day :)

XX