Family Fun with the Slip and Slide

Yeah, Memorial Day (or second May Bank Holiday for the Brits)!!! It was super hot and we wanted to beat the heat. While scrummaging around in the garage looking for our TV stuff we found the slip and slide Danny and Min gave us and we got that thing going.

Harry wasn't too crazy about it at first but finally warmed up to it and blast.

Addison just liked running to the end and jumping over the little bump on the end. She didn't get very adventurous.

But Kevin gave it a go to show the kids how things really need to be done on it. Well, for Daddy the slip and slide was about 50 feet too short.

I even gave it a go and agreed that we could really ramp this thing up for an adult version by about tripling the length. Both Kevin and I had to about roll over the end blow up thing or we were going to rip it off, but we had so much fun.

We also broke out the ol' hippo sandbox again and converted it into a mini paddling pool for the kiddos in order to give the hose pipe a bit of a rest and the yard a bit of repreave from the soaking we were giving it from the slip and slide.

Setting up the UK TV in the US!!!

Okay, after two weeks with our old TV from storage we broke down and got our UK plasma TV out so we could actually enjoy the HD programming that we are paying for with Direct TV. Plus our Wii, blu ray player and multi region DVD play will only play on our UK TV so we just wanted to get back to normal with all our entertainment gadgets. Well to get a few things to work we had to set up our big converter, but it had a European plug on it. So my husband who is just wicked smart and handy, went and got some US plugs to switch out the UK/European ends on the converter and iPod player we had. I had insisted on just getting some UK to US plugs at Tesco before we left the UK but I think he just likes tinkering with this kind of stuff so I let him "play."

Well, after we got everything ready to go, we couldn't find the stand for the flat screen. We looked EVERYWHERE!!!! The inventory sheets said they were here at our house, but we couldn't find them anywhere. Yes, we got to the point that we did a full inventory of our still packed and unpacked boxes, checking off numbers and everything. We were about to give up, but then about 9:30 PM I remembered seeing the packers put some extra things in the crates we had our auction furniture in. Sure enough...we found a crow bar and started breaking into the crates. Sure enough we found the TV stand and the missing box with our master bathroom stuff in it. Crazy thing is that it looks like US Customs ripped through these items...they sliced right through the bubble wrap holding my toilet cleaning brush...I'm sure they are glad they did that. But it also showed they had no regards for anyone's personal property as they sliced right through the middle of our TV stand box...then just put a little of their green tape over the top. We also have to thank them for busting up a few of our other things with they jostling around of things...

But by 11PM we finally had our HD TV up and enjoyed an hour of Deadiest Catch on Discovery HD channel...ahhhhh, felt like "home."

Celebrating Norah's 1st Birthday

Our first birthday party being back...yes, getting back to normal and it feels good to get to start doing these things that we've missed in the past. Today we get to help little Norah celebrate her first birthday and what a grand party it was.

Our kids were just so happy to be able to play with loads of other kids for a change. And of course they loved all the goodies and sweeties available. They had a huge ice cream bar for sundaes, an ice cream cone pinata loaded with sweets, and then a big BBQ afterwards. I brought along a little English BBQ favorite....Sarah's Special pavlova which ended up being a huge hit.

Again we had a super nice time getting to meet new people ourselves and hook back up with old friends. We stayed the latest with our kids, but we were all just having a good time. I mean if you have a tricycle like this fat ride Harry's on...who would want to leave!?

Projects!!!

After my garage sale-ing adventures I came home with a few treasures and this being my new "project." I did a few refinishing projects over the years (mad skills I learned while in 4-H) and found this dresser of drawers for $20 at a sale. I'm going to refinish it and see what I can do with it...keep it or sell it!

Since I love to load myself up with projects, I thought it was time to refinish my old toy box. Now that we've got it back from storage, I can actually do something with it now so the kids can use it. My uncle made it for me when I was a baby and over time my brother, sister and I beat it up a bit but with with a little time, some wood putty, paint and new fabric on top it should turn out pretty nice....stay tuned for how it turns out!

Is Harry Under There?

Things sounded a bit quiet in the living room this afternoon, so Kevin and I went in to check things out. Here lay Harrison with his blanket over his head and arms stretched. It was so cute as he used to lay with his arms out and fists made when he was just a baby. I lifted up the blanket a bit so he could "breathe" but he laid there for over an hour like that. Ahhh...my baby!

Pancakes in America

Yes, I think we have a fetish with the electric griddle as now we've tackled pancakes now. This morning I headed out to run some errands and do a little garage saling to find some treasures, so Kevin had the kiddos. As tradition that we started in England, the kids love to make pancakes and French toast with Daddy on Saturday mornings. So they had a real hey day with the new skillet. Both of them can be "Flipper Boy" and "Flipper Girl" at the same time now!

Happy Birthday Amity!

Reconnecting with good friends has been a wonderful thing about being back in the US. We got settled in our new place just in time to invite the Westphalen's up for a birthday dinner for my dear friend Amity. I had promised over the years to make her a very nice Chinese meal when I got back so that was part of my gift to her. Also I have been having crazy cravings for Banoffee Pie so I had to make one as her birthday cake. My kids have taken quite a liking to Mark, Amity and little baby Norah and act as if they've known them their whole lives eventhough they've just really connected with them. Kevin and I feel like we never left them as we just pick up where we left off almost 4 years ago....hope you had a great birthday sweetie!!!

Glen Oak Park Picnic

Today we met up with our friends Emily, Madeline and Coulter at Glen Oak Park. Since we live on the east side of the river and they are all the way back in NW Peoria, we thought we'd meet in the middle. This was the first time I'd been to the park since Kevin and I came one time way before we even thought of having kids and it's not at all like what I remember. But as we drove up to the huge playground, Addison said "Mom, this place is ginormous!" They were going crazy to get out of the car and just go. Funny thing is that we happened to pick the day that over half of the Peoria area schools brought their 1st - 4th graders to the zoo and park for picnics. So for various parts of their play time, my little kiddos were getting over run by "big-kids". Never the less they LOVED playing at the park and I have a feeling that this could be a regular visiting place for us!

Salad Boy

Meeting with our builder today so we took the kids out to eat and this absolutely floored me....Harrison Michael is mowing down this salad with Kevin. This boy will eat ANYTHING!!! He is so funny! Don't get me wrong, I think this is great because I don't even like salad but how did I get two kids on such different spectrums in their tastes in food.

Sea Shipment Arrives...Move in Our Rental House!

Today is finally THE day...our sea crate is here and being delivered to our newest temporary home...yep, our 4th place to live in the past 2 months!!! We got up very early, packed up our vehicles and made our way from west Peoria to the "east side" and the small town of Metamora where our rental house is at. This was not only exciting to get our stuff but to finally be in a "house" that our stuff was going to be in within the next few hours. Another great thing is that Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mike were on their way out from Iowa to come help us get settled and unpack a bit.

Things were very chaotic since we are going to be packing everything back up in about 7 months when our new house gets done, so we needed to try to sort out what stays upstairs to get unpacked and what can just get shoved in the basement. I so wished I had xray vision to remember what was in each box, but there were certain things were unwrapped and immediately used. Our familiar purple hippo sandbox was a sight for sore eyes to the kids and they went to town filling her up with rocks and anything else they could find in their brand new place.

Addison was ecstatic to see her bike and helmet and made the guys stop and put it together for her as soon as it was unpacked. Oh...it so felt like Christmas, but really, really hot outside.

So unloading and unpacking is not so much fun for kids, but they can find about anything to keep them busy. At lunch time, Kevin took the kids to McD's and they happened to run into Grandma and Grandpa there as they got into town about that time. I stayed back to keep unpacking and directing the unloading crew. At one point I was the only one at the house and Beyonce came on the radio and I just jammed out and danced in place as I was sooooo happy to be in a house. I know life isn't about material things, but having familiar things around you in an unfamiliar place just makes life so much better.

Our house is quite a bit smaller than the house we had in the UK so finding a home for everything is a bit tough, but yes that whole crate got unloaded and put somewhere. Crazy thing is that tomorrow all the stuff we couldn't bring along to England was going to be delivered tomorrow...I can't even remember what kind of stuff we have coming in that.

Making due with what we can find and use, we settle in for the evening with some of the most amazing pizza from Geo's Pizza here in Metamora. I have been pretty familiar with this town as when I worked for Evergreen I would often visit the FS plant north of town but I was getting very excited for this place to be my new home. It was sooo nice having Mike and Sally with us, as with all the chaos going on, it was nice to have family there to help you out for once. There have been so many things over the past few years that we've just had to sort out and do ourselves...it was just so nice to have them here.

Of course it's definitely great to have a former handyman, former house builder, former farmer come help get you sorted out in a rental house. While our little house is homey there were quite a few things that needed sorted before it could totally be liveable. Things from broken toilet lids, wonky cabinent doors, a front door that wouldn't seal, and a fridge that wouldn't stay cold, it was good to have someone with creative means to fix them around. I can see where Kevin gets his creative ways to fix things...I love how Mike taped up the front of the fridge vents and hooked the shop vac in the front, turned it on and then used the air compressor to loosen up the 5 years of other peoples dust and gunk out of the bottom of the fridge. I think after 3 trips to Menards in 3 days we should have most of the loose hinges sorted out but who knows!

One of the greatest finds in our storage shipment was the electric griddle. For the first time in 4 years we've been able to make more than 1 piece of French toast at one time and Kevin is in his element. This former restaurant griddle boys is finally having a great time!!!

Sommer Park Sand Pit

Today it was hot!!!! Over 90 degrees F and the sun was beating down, but the kids wanted to get out of the apartment. Since it still early in the season I have been a horrible mother about remember sunscreen, but before heading to the park we loaded up on suncream at the nearby CVS. Also I thought that both kids needed to have some kind of eye protection as well so I got them hooked up with some sunglasses as well. We headed to Sommer Park and the kids flocked to the huge sand pit there....of course, why not sit in blazing hot sand in the scorching sun!!! I felt horrible but I sat in the shade of a little tree near by but these guys are warriors and crazy in love with this sand. We did discover that the sand was pretty cool about 1 inch down as it had rained earlier on, so it wasn't as bad as it could be. They played in that sand forever though and it was a pretty interesting bath they had when we got home. Needless to say we were all cleaned up and in our PJs by 4 in the afternoon that day.

Mother's Day - 2011

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day. Kevin and the kiddos went out the day before to do some special shopping and the kids were so excited that they had a tough time keeping a secret in regards to my gift. The thing is that I couldn't understand what Harry was trying to tell me that they got me so it did really stay a surprise, but Addison was just distraught that Harry wouldn't be quiet. They were so sweet and let me sleep in a bit that morning and then after I got up and got myself ready they yelled down the hall to me to come out. Then they were all hidden under a blanket and jumped out yelling surprise and handed me my card and my present - NEW Wellies!!!! I had always wanted to get a pair in England but never got around to doing it, but these were perfect! I had been missing England quite a bit and these was just lovely to get.

After breakfast we loaded up a picnic and made our way out to Jubilee State Park. There we had a nice picnic, flew some kites, and went on a really long nature hike. It was a beautiful day and I was so proud to be mommy!

Is this a Joke?

It was 9:30 at night and we were casually watching Fox News when Geraldo was going on and on about the President wanting to address the nation soon. We thought it was kind of odd that he would want to do so, so late on a Sunday evening, so we kept tuned in. The kept making speculations about why he was doing it and the Geraldo made a super out-there-in-left-field comment regarding that maybe for some odd reason it was because we had taken out Bin Laden. I made a comment out loud to Kevin that he can't just be saying that kind of stuff...then Geraldo made a comment right after I said that, that he was just speculating, but how wonderful it would be if that was the case. Seriously, no more than 3-4 minutes go by and he grabs his ear as the official news did come across. US forces had killed Usama in a raid...the terror of the US was now officially dead after years and years of searching for him. I had flash backs of the exact day that the Sept 11th disaster happened and how surreal that this day was now happening. I totally thought it was a joke, but more and more information kept coming in and it was SOOOO real!

The Royal Wedding

My mom text me this morning at 8:30 asking me if I had be watching the wedding and I'm glad she did because I totally forgot about it being on today!!!! I don't get to watch morning news TV since the kiddos dominate the AM with PBS kids programming. But I did turn things on just in time for Kate and Will to step out on the balcony and have their first public kiss.

It was so surreal watching all the footage and knowing that I have stood in that street and in front of that magnificent palace several times before. Now watching it from so far away and wishing so badly to be there to witness this history. I started thinking about all of my friends gathering in the Green in Glinton having a big old party. Everyone would be off work as it would be a national holiday and the weather would have just been amazing to have a great day with friends and celebrate English traditions.

Absolutely loved seeing The Mall loaded with people and the Union Jacks flying high.

I know I was crazy to take pictures of the TV but it's the closest I could come to actually being there. The fun thing about the morning was that I got phone calls from my mom, my sister and my mother-in-law all wanting to share their excitement with me of their memories of visiting London with us and recognizing all the sites they had been watching on TV for hours that morning. That in itself was so rewarding to me that we had a little help in fullfilling such experiences for them!!!!

Nature Walk and Art

Apartment living has not been easy on my soul as the kids and I love to be outdoors. Now that the weather has turned cold again it's been tough to keep motivated, but today I thought we'd fight the elements and try to do a nature walk around our apartment to see what we could see. We grabbed a little grocery sack and picked up leaves, sticks, flowers, grass, even a chunk of asphalt shingle. We were even able to go to a little open lot across the street to find dandelions in all different stages from the little buds all the way to "wish" stages (with the white fluff).

Then we headed back up stairs and broke out the glue and some sheets of paper. Each one of the kids put together their own collage of nature.

They had loads of fun but once they were done (in about 10 minutes) they were wanting to do something else....I need my craft idea books before too long or these guys are going to go crazy with me.

I Need to Sew Something

To really start feeling a bit normal and useful, I had a total urge to sew something. Yes, I know I am totally weird but I'm one of those people who like to see physical results to feel satisfied at times. I'm glad I have some useful hobbies that can achieve this with. I had purchased this fabric and pattern to make a dress for Addison last October so that I could have it ready for a trip to Singapore for the spring. Well, the trip to Singapore didn't pan out but the summer is getting started early here so I thought it would good to finally get it made.

I was really happy with how it turned out and Addison loved it. She's been in the phase where all she wants to wear is dresses and I thought if I could make up a few of these little cuties she would be set for the summer. The problem is that I really like this dress as well and wish I had a pattern to make one for myself!!!

Happy Easter in Iowa this Year

Easter morning is here and what a glorious day to celebrate the miracle God showed His amazing love for us all.

Yet again we are in a different country for Easter morning and yet again the Easter bunny found us and filled up our eggs with sweeties and our baskets with special gifts. This year the British Easter bunny sent over some goodies and movies to the US for us to enjoy along with treats from the America Easter Bunny.

And not only did the Easter bunny bring eggs with goodies hidden all around the inside of the house, but he pop some around the outside of Grandma's house too. So after an amazing breakfast the kids got dressed up to pick up eggs outside as well.

It was a wonderful Easter weekend and it was great to get back West. Granted now instead of a flight back home we had a 6 hour drive....welcome back to America!!!!

Getting Ready for Easter

With Easter finally here we made our first big trip out of Peoria back to Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mike's house. To break up our big drive we spent the night at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff's house and brought Addison to a special dentist appointment at the University of Iowa Dental School on Thursday. Then on Friday morning we headed to Minden for a fabulous Easter holiday.

Grandma Sally had loads of fun Eastery things lined up for the kiddos. First on the agenda was a treasure hunt that the kids had insisted on during a Skype conversation weeks ago, but she followed through with it and the kids had a blast following the map. The first found Easter baskets and then as I navigated the map the kids found special gifts on the route like bubble blowers, sweeties, and egg dying package.

So of course our next activity was egg dying. I hadn't dyed eggs since I was probably in high school so this was a real treat for me to and totally foreign to my kids.

The were very methodical and messy but they had a lot of fun, especially watching mommy try to make multicolored eggs.

Next their curiosities went to the outdoors because Daddy and Grandpa had made their way back from Tony's house with a big tractor to help pick up a few loads of dirt. Here are three generations of Dea men and boy working on the farm together. Later on we kind of made a discovery that Harrison is the only true Dea great-grandson to John and Helen....all the other boys belong to the girls of the family so they don't have the Dea name, so right now Harry is the only one in his generation to carry on the Dea name...weird. Well, maybe he won't be the only one as Ryan and Lindsay are expecting a little one come July so we'll see if we get another boy or not!

While I went along with the guys to bring the tractor back to Tony, the kids helped Grandma make an Easter bunny cake. They were so proud to show us their creation.

Saturday morning there was a Easter egg hunt in town that Sally and I brought the kids to. Addison was all about getting up close and personal with the Easter bunny while Harry didn't even want to get close...silly boy.

Inside the church they had loads of super cute Easter goodies (totally an American spread) and things that looked like they belonged in the Taste of Home magazine. The kids quite enjoyed their sugar fix at 10:30 the morning before going out to get loads more.

The broke the kids up into age groups, so Addie and Harry were in the younger group which had a free for all to pick up as many eggs that would fit in their wee baskets. I finally took a few for them so they could get more as there were loads left over.

Then we sat down on the grass and emptied out all the goodies into our baskets so we could return the eggs to be used for next year.

The kids had such a wonderful time and were happy to share some quality time with Grandma Sally.

Amazing Discovery at Schnucks

Grocery shopping since we've gotten back has been a rude awakening to me. Having to completely restock pantry items and household necessities really adds up and I was having a bit of sticker shock to how much prices have gone up on items in the US. Now granted I've really probably been spending the same amount of $US the whole time I was in England but the prices look so much better in GBP. Since I didn't look at the US credit card bills I didn't really see how much we were paying in dollars, but now I'm freaking out! Since we were living on the west side of Peoria, my closest grocery store was actual the Walmart on Allen Road so I have gone there a couple of times. I soon found out that while some things at Walmart are obviously cheaper the things that I thought were pretty important like fruits and veg were much more expensive.

So I started checking out the other grocery stores in town to remember what they were all like and it was just mind boggling trying to get re-acquainted with their layouts and products. Kevin and I made a trip to Hy-Vee which was amazing because we LOVED Hy-Vee all throughout our college days in Ames and Hy-Vee is an Iowa based company so of course we love it! Then the kids and I made a trip to Schnucks and we hit the jackpot for finding some very special things that had been near and dear to our hearts for the past 4 years....British foods!!!! Yes, in the international cheeses section we found Red Leicester cheese but for the same sized packet that I would pay 2 GBP for in England was priced at $7.50 here. After winding through the store I saw a sign that said "International" then there it was the "British Foods" section!!!!!! I felt like I was back at Tesco. I saw McVities Digestives, Heinz Baked Beans, Spotted Dick, Lyle's Golden Syrup, Jaffa Cakes, Ribena Black Current juice, and Robinson's Orange Squash. I was sooo excited but then I looked at the prices and about died. The litre of squash like I would buy in the UK for 1 GBP cost $5.39!

Yikes, guess that would be a special treat for the kiddos if I bought some, but they were so used to drinking it like it was a daily staple that I decided against getting anything right now. I will return though to stock up on a few favorites, but when I know we are going to do something special. I know now that we have reversed the tables from what we had in the UK when US items were expensive and hard to get, but very much cherished. But for now I am still struggling to find a few items that I don't think I'll ever be able to find replacements for over here....crispy duck pancakes, Double Cream, and Tesco pork sausages. Silly, I know, but they were regular items at our dinner table.