Whirlwind London Trip

Well I've just arrived back in Houston from a whirlwind trip to London. I left Saturday afternoon and arrived back Thursday afternoon. It was a really fun and productive trip. Sunday we just drove around getting me acquainted with the area we will be living with as well as a quick drive by the new school. Brian also let me get behind the wheel so I could start getting used to driving on the opposite side of the car and road. The last thing we did that Sunday was to go see The Hunger Games. Man, movies are crazy expensive in the UK, even the matinee. I imagine it will be a special occasion for the family to see a movie in the theater.

Monday we visited 6 houses which was plenty enough for me. We had 9 or 10 scheduled but some we couldn't arrange a visit or they had already leased or sold. There were four houses that would work for our family and 2 that were just too small for us. Of the four, one wasn't available until May because they had tenants that required 30 days notice. So alas, that one was marked off the list. Then there was another house that had BEAUTIFUL grounds. I'm talking a HUGE yard. The main downside there was that the majority of the yard was down a hill and thus you had to take stairs to reach it. It might have been okay if there was just one set of stairs but I counted four. I just couldn't imagine trying to police four sets of stairs every day while Jude and Jonah played outside. So alas, that house was marked off the list. So we really narrowed down our selection to two houses. Once was big and bright and beautiful inside but had a large price tag. The second was a semi-detached house (think duplex) with four bedrooms. While we could fit in this house, it would have been a little too close for comfort in my opinion. Plus I'd be constantly worried that the neighbors would complain about how loud the boys were being.

Because of the abbreviated list, we were able to get into Reading to buy the boys' uniforms from Jacksons. It was definitely an experience. We went up to the floor where they sell the boys uniforms and the sales person took out the binder and found our school. Then we just worked down the list and got the boys all outfitted for Summer Term. I can't wait to see them all dressed up!!! We still have a few things to get - tie for James, hat for John and black school shoes - when we get there.

After heading back home, we debated and gave it some deep thought before deciding on which house to get. We decided to go with the large, more expensive house. There's just so much space for us to spread out in. Plus the yard is nice and fenced and there's no real "garden" to maintain. I also like that it's out in the country just not far at all from all the things you need like a grocery store. It's definitely going to be a longer drive for both Brian and me but the trip is on fairly large roads (in UK terms) so it should be a fairly smooth ride.

Tuesday was rather relaxing. We had originally planned to go see more houses but the area we were looking in that day was really too far away from the school. So we decided to cancel those viewings and focus on our two top picks. Unfortunately real estate transactions go at a snails pace over there. We put in the offer around 9 am Tuesday morning and then just kept hearing, we should get a response later this morning, later this afternoon and then tomorrow morning for sure. It was rather nerve wracking (especially for Brian) since we had lost out on another really wonderful house not two weeks before. We didn't want the negotiating process to take so long that we missed out on our back up choice. We tried our best to keep busy. We visited the bank to get me added to Brian's account. That visit ended with us needing to fill out three forms and get a letter form HR stating that I am married to Brian and that we live at said address. What a pain in the rear. We spent the rest of the morning touring the new area we hope to call home. We ate at a local restaurant called The Bull Inn. Yummy food but more expensive than we had thought it would be. We found the grocery store and a few other important places.

Tuesday afternoon we took a tour of the boys' new school. I give Brian oodles of credit for picking such and AWESOME school for our kids. They are going to LOVE this school. There is so much to do outside I worry that they will never want to come in. We got to see John's classroom and found that they are all set for his arrival on the 18th. Then when we got to James' class room, his teacher was there preparing for the upcoming term. The headmaster introduced us and she immediately knew we were James' parents. We talked to her about some of our concerns and she reassured us that all the kids are at different levels and not to worry. She seems really wonderful and we can't wait for the boys to start school.

Wednesday was somewhat stressful as it was my last day there and we still hadn't received a definite yes from the landlord. Thankfully we had other tasks to keep our mind off things. We met up with a friend of mine from Houston whose family moved to a nearby area last summer. She was a wealth of information about school and food and places to take the kids. It was so nice to pick her brain about things we were worried about. We had been chatting on Facebook for a while and it was finally nice to see her in person again. After that we headed back to the bank to turn in our paperwork and get the ball rolling toward getting a joint account. We were sorely disappointed in the number of staff they had working at the bank that day. They seem to want everyone to use the machines and thus the need for less workers. Well we had to pick the day when the machines weren't cooperating and so almost everyone had to talk to a person. Thankfully once it was our turn, it was super fast. Hopefully I will have a debit and credit card with my name on it when we arrive. Wednesday was John's 6th birthday so we hung around the apartment until we knew he would be awake and then called him using FaceTime. We got to wish him a happy birthday and see him open his presents. He also showed us the cupcakes my mom and sister baked for his class. You have to love technology these days. We got to see him on his special day in real time and for free!

Wednesday afternoon we did a second tour of the house. This time we really walked around and did a preliminary inventory (walk through). We noted the burnt out light bulbs and checked to see that all the toilets flushed and showers were in working order. We did find that what we thought was a dryer was actually a combo washer dryer unit. Thankfully there is power in the garage so we can purchase and use our own dryer. I don't know if any of you know anything about those combo units but they really suck. They take FOREVER to do a single load and those loads are about 1/4 to 1/3 of a normal load in an American machine. Needless to say a combo unit isn't going to work for a family of 6. After we were all done walking around, we headed back to the apartment and just relaxed for the rest of the day. The negotiating process went fairly well. It was mainly a list of things that needed replacing/maintenance as opposed to price and move in date.

Thursday morning we got up early and headed to the airport so I could catch my flight home. I guess I really have to get used to Heathrow airport since we will primarily be flying in and out of that airport. Shopping was quite nice but they definitely had a different style of checking people in. They definitely had an abundance of people working whereas the staff in Houston is now quite sparse. The flight home was definitely a long one. I napped a bit but I find it hard to really sleep when you are sitting next to strangers. Thankfully the movies were free so I had plenty of entertainment on the flight home.

All in all, it was a really great trip. We got a lot accomplished and had a nice visit just the two of us.

Change in plans

Like I said in my prior post, Brian has been very busy looking at schools since he arrived in the UK. Last weekend, he found the perfect school for the boys. It's called St. Neot's Preparatory and it's located just north of where Brian is working. He said the website doesn't do the school justice at all. He said there's lots for the boys to do outside - lots of sports fields, great playgrounds, and lots of trees. The inside of the school is also really nice. Big, bright classrooms with small class sizes. After his visit with the headmaster, we decided that the boys should start attending St. Neot's during their Summer Term which begins April 18th. So we've moved up our departure date to April 15th. Thankfully things are pretty well wrapped up here. I submitted all of the information for the boys' and my visas this morning. The only thing left to take care of is Whinnie's travel arrangements which I can't do until 2 weeks before our flight.

Here's a link to the school's website if you're interested in seeing more about it.

St. Neot's Preparatory School

Once he chose the school, narrowing down the house search area was next. Unfortunately there weren't many choices in the area that had the number and types of rooms we wanted. Thankfully he did find one that is less than a mile away from the school that is PERFECT for us!!! The yard is huge (great for my little outdoorsmen), there's a playscape, a trampoline and a HEATED POOL (perfect for this water loving gal)!!! On the inside there are 5 bedrooms upstairs, two of which are en-suite. Downstairs there is a fantastic kitchen (way nicer than I've ever had), a enormous conservatory (sun room), a reception room (living room with fireplace) and four other rooms one of which is a fully outfitted gym (another plus for this busy momma)!! We put in an offer and were able to come to an agreement on terms. The previous tenants left some improvement projects not quite finished when they left so thankfully the landlord has agreed to complete the work before we move in. We're hoping to get the keys and furniture moved in before Brian flies home on the 13th. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly on that side of the pond.

Another Update

So it has been a CRAZY busy week. You know, one of those weeks that has enough activity in it to full a whole month. So Brian left on Friday, 3/2 and I spent the weekend moving the last few items we would need over the next three months up to my parents house as well as getting rid of things we wouldn't be either storing or moving. Monday morning bright and early, the packing crew arrived. There were four guys wrapping and packing all of our furniture and belongings. I wanted to be available if they had any questions and did my best to stay out of the way. Thank goodness my dad was able to work from Houston that day so the little boys hung out with him instead of being in the way while the men worked. It took them until about 6:00 to finish loading up the cargo container with all of our stuff. It was a very sad moment when they drove off with everything and our house was completely empty. The good news was that we got a showing that evening and they LOVED the house. They wanted to move in immediately so I spent the remainder of the week moving the last few things to storage or my parents' house and arranging for last minute work to be done. The house was painted Wednesday - Friday and then today I had a cleaning crew come in. Man oh man is the house CLEAN!!! It wasn't that clean when we moved in. Tomorrow the carpet cleaners come and then the inside of the house will be all ready. Sally and Jason are here to get the truck and take a few items home with them.

So that's the update on the home front. Over in the UK Brian has been super busy looking at schools and previewing houses. He's visited 6 schools - 4 British private schools and 2 international schools. The hunt for the perfect school is over!! He chose St. Neot's Preparatory school. It's set in a forest and there's lots for the boys to do outdoors. Brian said the classrooms are large and bright and the classes are all very small (15 students in a class). The whole school (ages 3 months to 13 years)is only 300 students. Brian said the website really doesn't do the school justice. It's way better in person than online. I can't wait to get over there and see it. Next on the list is finding a house near the school. Brian's already set a couple of appointments to view a few before I get there. Hopefully he'll find just the right one!

Now time to enjoy a week off of school!! We've definitely earned it.

Update on the Big Move

So much has happened in the last month. Brian and I went on a cruise to celebrate our 10th Anniversary (more on that later) and we finally got the details of our Foreign Assignment Agreement. Brian's been super busy with making travel arrangements not only for himself but for my trip at the end of March and for our relocation at the beginning of June. He's also been working on securing our Visas which will allow us to live in the UK and hopefully allow me to work as a Scentsy consultant. It's been incredibly stressful for him but hopefully there's a light at the end of the tunnel very soon.

For my part, I've been doing a endless amounts of de-cluttering. I swear every day I find an area that needs cleaning out. I'm just about done moving stuff into storage now. Just one last box or two with the items we'll need until we fly out in June. If you've never heard of Freecycle, you should definitely look into it. People list things they want to give away to anyone who can use it. I've posted more stuff on Freecycle in the last month than I have in the last year. Thankfully just about everything has been picked up and found new homes. I've also made countless trips to the local donation bins with clothes that no longer fit/are in fashion and other household items that could go to someone in need.

Brian leaves tomorrow afternoon and will be in temporary housing (hotel) for the next 30 days. Hopefully he'll get set up with a car quickly and all set on his new project. Over the next few weeks, he'll be visiting several schools and will decide which one will be the best fit for the boys. On March 23rd, I'll fly over and spend three days looking at houses with Brian. Stay tuned for photos and hopefully video of our new home and school.

While Brian is busy in the UK, things will be hectic here at home. Over the weekend, the boys and I will be relocating to my parents house up in the Copperfield area where we'll live until our June departure date. The movers will be coming Monday to pack up our furniture and get it on a boat bound for the UK. Hopefully I've done a good job of organizing and cleaning out all the things we don't need. As soon as everything is out of the house, painters will be coming to repaint all of the bedrooms and bathrooms and paint over all of the maroon accent walls. Once that's done, we'll bring in a cleaning crew to give the house a really good scrubbing. Last but not least we'll get the carpets cleaned. After that, the house will be tenant ready!!

Well that's everything we know at the moment. I'll try to do a better job of updating the blog especially with news of our move.