September = 8 Months

Although there were no big events or trips or anything like that this month, it went by in such a blur. It was mostly dominated by the start of the new school year for the girls. A and H started during the second week and were off to a rip-roaring start. They are fully engaged and loving it. Both are going to a performance/drama/singing club and H is back into her football coaching.

Of course the most significant (mostly for me probably!) is our little L also starting school in September. She has been ready for months... if not a couple of years(!), and has thrown herself into it whole-heartedly after counting down all those sleeps. 8 months earlier than it would have been in NZ... adjustment and change is our friend :) On our last day together we went off to a theme-park with a few new school friends.  And then there was a school trip at the end of the first week where we had fun building a den in the forest and seeing animals.

Work for D is still challenging and full-on but that is his wheelhouse :) Our weekends were mostly home-based as we recover from our different states of tiredness. Though we went to visit a wee farm one Sunday afternoon, A and I had a day out and were joined by a friend at an open embroidery stitching session at the city library.   Of course the Rugby World Cup started so naturally a few games were watched to varying degrees of enthusiasm ;p

There were a couple of impromptu playdates and the beginnings of new friendships too.  We have been going apple crazy as a neighbour generously gifted us bags of apples every couple of weeks.  Muffins, tarts, biscuits, cakes, pies, crumbles, baked deserts.... filling our tummies and those of our neighbours and friends too :)  Sharing is caring!

Not terribly much happened on the crafting front...tested a wee pattern, made a tiny amount on Christmas gifts and a very small birthday gift.  It never fails to amaze me how full life is and how quickly the days go... hard to keep track sometimes but we are happy and cant complain :)

Onwards to October!
L xx

August - Over halfway

August - what a month!  It was kicked off with a long dreamed about holiday in France.  One week in Paris and one week in the South.  To say we had the best time would be an understatement!  I will be recording our memories from those weeks in time to come.

The last weeks of August were very low key in comparison, as we settled into a quiet and slow school holiday routine.  Days were spent at home playing inside, playing outside, writing letters, crafting, making, practicing maths and lots of reading.  We were still regulars at the library with our twice-weekly visits and all three girls completed the Summer Reading Challenges.

A and H got stuck into some sewing, L learned to ride a bicycle and the whole family engaged in some Star Wars movie watching.  We also went to see Inside Out at the movies and Loved it.  So clever!

There was no sewing this month but a bit of crochet as I worked toward a milestone on the blanket project and started turning my thoughts to a new Christmas decoration.  On all other fronts, life continued pretty much as per usual.

August was a month of two halves - very different halves!
L xx

July - 6 Months!

July marked our 6th month in the UK.  Looking back on the last few months it is interesting to see the path toward "normal" days and then also how normal it now feels.

School finished for the year in July.  There were all manner of events and going's-on in the last few weeks.  A and H both loved performing in their various productions as part of the School Festival.  They were also terribly proud to have some of their work and art displayed at an "end of year" exhibition at school.  L graduated from Kindy after a gorgeous leaving ceremony, and sports day the week prior saw her grinning from ear to ear in every race and then at her medal.  There was a final school induction session for L, who couldn't wait to get back and start already!

School holidays started too of course and we had a great couple of weeks at home.  Daily "homeschooling", twice-weekly library visits, and something fun most days.  Some of that fun happened in the form of the long dreamed off Lollipop Stew for A and Chocolate Soup for H that they both got to make.  The girls all made great progress in the summer reading challenge at the Library and the holiday has already seen a bit of nail painting, as you do.

The girls have all made lovely friends and were firstly invited to a fun backyard fair with the neighbourhood kids, and then to a party at the beginning of the holidays - bouncy castle, lots of sunshine, yummy food, face-painting and henna!  Happy children.  The following week they were invited to another playdate and had great fun.  It has been a good month for getting to know some parents at school :)

I got to catch up with a friend again and we both enjoyed our coffee catch-up with a little yarn action on the side.  There was also lemon coconut birthday cake and presents this month - spoilt : )  We had lovely phone calls, messages, Skyping and facetimes and a few parcels from NZ too.  We adore our mailman!  We somehow managed to go out to dinner twice as a family (hoorah for vouchers!) - both to local Balti houses for absolutely delicious meals.  Another treat for us all.  D continues to be super busy and productive at work, making great progress and doing his thing.

Somehow it's also been quite a productive time in the sewing and gardening department.  Lots of ripping out of plants, dead trees, weeds etc, and then quite a bit of weed matting, putting down bark, top-soiling and grass sowing.  On the sewing front I've been able to test a couple of awesome patterns for Juliet, and also made a Big Little hooded scarf as a birthday gift for one of A's friends.  There has been a tiny bit of crochet as work continues on the big blanket.  A new fun activity has been colouring in thanks to some gorgeous adult colouring books received as gifts.  So many things to enjoy doing... so little time to do them all ; )

L xx

March - The Second Month

After February came March, our second month here... what a surprise :)

March kicked off with snow! A small flurry first thing in the morning. The morning of A starting school. And on our way to school it snowed too... A was in heaven. School and snow all on the same day at the same time! With school more or less sorted for the big girls, we visited a couple of kindies and enrolled L into a place that looked utterly delightful. She started the following week with a visit on the Monday morning and H was invited to stay for the morning too.  Such a treat for her.  On the days that her sisters were off learning she was home with Mum being a great helper and doing reading, "sums" and practicing writing.

We packed up the apartment and moved into the house during the second week, after a few days of cleaning but mostly waiting for beds to be delivered.  Our bed was delivered on the Wednesday but the girls beds only came the next day.  So on that first day the girls kept telling everyone, everywhere we went, that they were sleeping on the floor... I got a few strange looks and felt a bit like holding up a sign to explain.  Anyways, having a "camp" sleepover together on the floor had the girls terribly excited.  And for the record, there were blankets and duvets for them to sleep on ;)

The following day the girls beds arrived, but... we were only able to assemble one as the bunks had a split panel that meant we could not put it together. At least there were mattresses!  During the month we got a few more things like a dining table, vacuum cleaner, tele, broadband and of course the ever important kettle!! We spent some time shopping for towels and a handful of essentials just to get us through until our things arrived.   The various outings lead to lovely discoveries like delicious coffee and sushi bowls for lunch.

Back on the school front we were invited to a special Mother's Day performance put on by each class. It was oh so special and I was a teary mess. There was a red nose day and we also started walking to school in the afternoons. It was fun trying to find shortcuts and different paths - a lovely easy stroll on a sunny day.

March also saw the arrival of our first parking fine (seriously! at a supermarket?), the start of daylight savings here and a first flat tyre - wah wah waaaaah! The flat tyre meant that super crazy expensive car insurance came in handy! We had the curtain rail in the girls bedroom fall off twice which was amusing - not sleeping on the floor but sleeping in the starlight :)

We started settling into a new normal at the new house with the various daily routines getting established. Finding some of our locals shops like supermarkets, a hairdresser for D, and even a local yarn shop. In the last week though H fell ill with a virus. Unfortunately we had not yet registered at the local doctor's surgery so ventured to the walk-in clinic to make sure it was just a virus.  And it was and the clinic was fine... and again on the second visit a few days later for A and I.  The girls all got sick but luckily it was short lived for a couple of days only.  D had to take some time off though as I was bedridden for almost a week with the flu and various secondary infections. Of course it was only a matter of time before the crash came ;)

Two months in and over... how did that happen?!

Ticking the Boxes - Week 4

Having a tenancy agreement sorted and therefore an address, meant that this week moved on to the next stage of organising and sorting.

A frustrating Monday morning on the phone with schools and city council trying to find a spot for the girls. Then we just got in the car and went to see a few, sign up and get onto the enrollment waiting lists. Schools were just back from mid-term break and we were hopeful that in the next few days we would be lucky enough to hear some good news.

The following day we sorted out some bunks for the girls and wahoo! got a call with a spot at a school for A! Otherwise lots of admin and getting the lay of the land on various fronts: school, home and day-to-day related.

A visit with the school principal was scheduled first thing on Wednesday morning. All 3 the girls loved seeing the school, classes and what lay in store. After the visit we went off to buy a school uniform, home for lunch, and then a walk into the city to find things like a waterbottle and school shoes. We were pooped but happy by the end of the day! With A getting a spot, H moved up the waiting list to the #1 spot for her year. And although she was sad she couldn't start too it didn't take long before she got that just one kid needed to leave for her to be able to join... just one...

After all the excitement from the day before we opted for an outing to a cafe for morning tea and doing more homework on our new suburb. Along with a bit of an online catchup, blogging and sorting out photos. Of course D was full steam ahead at work and getting stuck in too.

Friday came along and we set off for another afternoon walk and sightseeing adventure. Along with some more lovely streets and buildings, we stumbled upon the Birmingham Cathedral. And that evening was the first night D and I sat down and did not do any homework/sorting/organising/etc in almost 2 months. Felt really strange!

We went to collect the keys and "checked-in" to the new place on Saturday morning. We weren't in a position to move in just yet, but it was now official. With lots of boxes now ticked, Sunday rolled around with time for another trip to the cafe, a stroll around the canals and visit to the library.

We could practically touch the light at the end of the tunnel :)
L xx

Connected - Week 3

The new week dawned and I felt practically human again.  It's really strange how seemingly every 7 days, it felt like power was restored to a degree.  It also highlighted how far "below par" we were feeling!

Monday morning started with another attempt to get a mobile phone and contract so we could start operating "locally".  Again no dice - the lack of a credit history here a hindrance.  We had limited options.  So the girls and I hotfooted it to the stores we perused the day before.  Hopefully someone would take pity on a foreigner with three children ... hahaha.  Anyways, we spent a couple of hours at a shop and sorted out a phone and a laptop.  They needed to set up a couple of things so we wandered back to the apartment.  After lunch we headed back to collect the last of the items and wandered around the shops while we waited.  We now had a couple of proper devices to work from and local connectivity.  We also managed to arrange car insurance ... again no credit history making things very difficult but we got there.  No word on the house we applied for.

Tuesday dawned beautifully bright and sunny.  Off for a walk in the sunshine and to take some photo's.  Oh sun, how we love you!  Gorgeous day it was with an amazing blue sky.  We stopped in at the library again and got a fresh supply of books.  And... dum dum daaaah... found out we missed out on the house... meh.  Back to the drawing board searching, phoning, re-visiting previous ones.

Wednesday we headed off to collect one of the cars.  While out and about we tried to see more houses but they were gone by the time we arrived.  However, we did manage to get in to view one.  The lucky one that we pursued within minutes of leaving to make sure we were in first this time!  And we got to have lunch at a favourite wee spot.  I tried out the Pina Colada tea this time too... and it was every bit as delicious as it sounds :)

Thursday we returned the rental car and set off to collect the second one.  Negotiations for the next house were underway.  We started investigating schools and coming up with action plans should it all pan out.  What was the minimum we would need for a new place, that we didn't have with us, while we wait for our stuff to arrive.  List making still going strong.

On Friday the fridge in the apartment decided to give up the ghost, and the broadband too.  Gah.  So off we went for what felt like our routine - a walk around exploring new areas of the city.  We headed off along a different canal and into the Jewellery Quarter.  Another delightful expedition.  And to top it off we had a functioning fridge, active broadband and a signed tenancy agreement upon our return!  Hoorah!

Saturday consisted of another visit to the new house to measure and plan what we would need furniture wise.  Of course we had sold most of our old furniture in NZ before we came so some things needed replacing.  We had done our homework on some possible furniture shops, sales, etc so armed with our measurements and information we went to scope out options.  As we arrived at one furniture shop the sky turned black and we were met with a proper heavy snowfall!  It lasted for all of 30 minutes and took even less time to disappear when the sun came out.  But, we were all rather delighted by this experience.

Sunday saw us drop in at a few more places for furniture, before making some decisions and doing the rounds to purchase a few essentials (beds!) to be delivered when we move in.  This took the whole day and of course was hampered again at times by the non-existent credit history.   Still, we got there one way or another in the end.  The evening, like every other evening for weeks now, was spent researching schools and kindies and other "moving-in" related homework.

Week 3, connectivity, house and some furniture - tick.
L xx

Hunting - Week 2

D started work on the Monday (9 Feb), a week after landing.  After his full on day of mind-blowing scale and scope he came home to hear about our tales from our day.  The girls and I decided to hit the streets and explore a bit of the city around us on foot.  It turns out there was lots to see and walk to within minutes from the apartment.  We found the new library and luckily we were able to sign the girls up.  Hoorah!  We came home with some books that entertained them for a good few hours.  Nothing quite like new reading material.  While we were out we also finally found a shop that sold Birmingham postcards... it sounds random but after a week of looking and not finding any, this felt like a feat so we stocked up!

The next day we needed to find a post office. I do love how necessity creates opportunity. On this outing we found Victoria Square, the Town Hall, the Museum and Art Gallery and of course a post office.  Amazing buildings which we would come back to and pass several times over the next few weeks. The rest of the days were spent reading and researching for young and old.  Every night the girls would head to bed and we would pour a cuppa, grab some chocolate, pull out the iPad and get cracking.  Researching houses and areas, looking for used cars and dealerships, comparing schools, mobile phones, insurances, etc.

On Wednesday we set off again... for a lack of being able to do much else really.  This time we walked along a canal and ended up having a hot chocolate at a cafe for afternoon tea. The girls were completely enchanted by all the ducks and swans on the canals and would walk along and chat to the birds as they swam beside us. Terribly endearing.

Thursday kicked off as day one of two, of house-hunting with a local expert as arranged by D's work. D set off with him in the morning as we established if it would be ok to have the kids tag along with me in our rental. A bit of miss-communication later the girls and I were on our way to join the house-viewing mission. Of course as luck would have it, the GPS decided to die and D had the smartphone. A tense and frustrating hour or so later we joined up. Must have been my female sense of direction and ability to read signs ;p  D had seen 2 properties by then and after another viewing and some lunch, we continued on to see 4 more.  Lunch was our first pub meal here and at a family friendly place... quite different to the cafe culture we are used to. It was a very productive day and the girls were champs spending all that boring time in the car, in and out and seeing each new place. They loved being part of the process though and took a keen interest in the locations and enjoyed "assigning rooms" to all of us in each new place.

Day two of house hunting and we were headed to a different area, slightly out of the city, this time. There were 11 properties lined up for the day. At least we all left at the same time and I had also managed to get the GPS to co-operate again so the atmosphere was a lot less tense ;) We all fell in love with the second property we saw and it ticked many boxes. By the time we got the 6th one we decided to cancel the rest and head to the leasing agents office to put in our application to rent, before the weekend and hopefully before anyone else. Unfortunately no news over the weekend about it but were were hopeful. Back to the apartment for dinner, feeling pretty worn out but all of us excited about possibly finding a place to live. We then spent the evening looking up vehicles and made a plan for the weekend to hopefully find at least one suitable car.

Saturday morning commenced with another visit to the bank to finally complete the account set-up process. Armed with an account number and what remained of our cash funds we set off on our planned car-purchasing journey. I cant remember how many cars we saw or took for a test drive, but there were a few. We arrived at our final destination of the day not holding terribly much hope. But... we got lucky and at a very small car yard were able to find a family vehicle and a little run-about car for D's commute to and from work. Hoorah! We were only required to pay a deposit on both whilst the necessary paperwork got sorted at the beginning of the following week. Again the girls were great - commenting on cars and colours, comparing and drawing their own conclusions. We brought the iPad with it's selection of 3 Disney movies, on each of the last 3 days' outings and it did provide a handy distraction when the boredom got too much in the car. The evening was spent finding out about car-seat regulations, comparing places and prices for purchase, looking in to a work wardrobe for D, and also some technology.

Having done our homework previously, we headed off on Sunday to find and buy some car/booster seats for the girls. Having gotten that sorted out we went back to the apartment and headed on foot into the city to do some more shopping and browsing. We were able to show D some of the sights we had discovered earlier during the week and then also found him a few work shirts. Next was some hands-on research at technology shops. We walked back to the apartment for a repeat of our evening routine.

Week 2 and some tangible progress - tick.
L xx