no bath for me
Wow, a lot happening around here lately. Zibbit has been sick, and we took a trip to the ER on Monday night because she was having a hard time breathing. Croup again. Every time she gets a cold, she gets croupy, and it is miserable! She has been feeling so yucky. No appetite, no sleeping… It’s been no fun at my house the last few days.
I had such great plans for yesterday’s Self Portrait Tuesday post. I was going to take a nice, long bubble bath with some candles and soft music, and take a picture of my feet sticking out of the water. The title would have been “time for me”… Well, reality swooped it and smacked me upside the head with the cold, hard truth. There is no time for me. I do not get to take leisurely bubble baths. My kids are lucky if they ever get bathed these days. So I drew you a picture of what it would have been like, if I did get to take that bath:
Ahh, looks so peaceful…
In other crazy news, we found out today that my husband might have an opportunity to go work in London for a couple of years. Our whole family could move over there and spend two years living in Europe! I am excited and scared at the same time. I don’t know what to think! Has anyone ever done this? What would your concerns be? What would we do with our cars, our house, our cats? My brain is on overload and I am tired. Sorry for the disjointed post, be back with some better stuff soon.
Hey there,
I lived in London for 2 years (before children) but my best friend lived there for a year with her two kids. She can give you the lowdown of what they wished they had done and what things were helpful. They have only been back a few years. You can totally do it. You SHOULD do it. If you want more info or support, you can e mail me and I can get you really excited. It is a great country and an easy place to “live abroad”. It is different enough you will get the “living in another country” experience, but they speak English. You will meet lots of nice African’s and East Indians (b/c English people tend to not take to American’s…at first) and you will find the BEST SHOPPING ever. H&M, Marks and Spencer….not to mention the sight seeing. It is a beautiful country and you would have a ball.
Lucky.
P.S. They don’t have showers there…only bathtubs..so think of all the “me” time you would get? I found you from one of the blogs on your sidebar, but don’t remember who…..
Comment by Rebecca — March 29, 2006 @ March 29, 2006 at 8:59 pm
p.s what kind of business is your husband in?
Comment by Rebecca — March 29, 2006 @ March 29, 2006 at 9:00 pm
My husband and I considered Ireland once, but never did it. Best wishes to you! And I hope you get that bubble bath soon!
Comment by Mom2Five — March 29, 2006 @ March 29, 2006 at 9:11 pm
You may not leave…period. I’ve been considering it all afternoon and it’s off limits. Sorry. Thanks for asking though.
I love the picture. Your paint skills are astounding, even if your bathing skills are less than steller. ER shmee arrr.
Comment by Kathryn, DYM — March 29, 2006 @ March 29, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Do it! You’ll appreciate the experience, the good and the bad. From an American living in England, I love it, and sometimes I hate it, but ya know…..you can always go home after you’ve enjoyed all the good!……….and we do have showers here….but you can have your bubble bath too.
Comment by mills — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 12:16 am
I love your self-portrait.
My brother and his wife lived in London for 2 years and one summer (at separate times) — they loved it and didn’t want to come back. It was part of her work in the insurance industry. They let the cats live with my parents for 2 years, rented out their house (I believe they put their furniture in storage), and my brother turned in his (leased) car — my SIL’s (owned) car they kept at her parents’ house. Because of the living expenses plus salary she received, they did fine economically. And I can’t stress how much they LOVED, LOVED it. If you would like more info, send me an e-mail and I can see what else I can find out.
Comment by Nancy — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 5:55 am
When I was in Germany, the american families I met there loved it. For those that didn’t speak German there were international english speaking schools for their kids. For those that spoke some German, and even for one brave family, their children went to German school–their two younger boys 8, 10, spoke perfect german within 3 months–something those boys will have their whole lives! And the kids loved things that were new and different, because they got used to encountering it daily. And the parents loved all the opportunities for learning and for embracing a new culture. And the culture embraced them. Most of these families are back in the states now. And to be honest, they love being in their home country. But, like it is for me, Germany has become their second home–a place they love and miss and wouldn’t trade time there for anything.
If you have that chance while your family is young–I would whole heartily say do it!
Comment by melnel — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 7:54 am
Sorry about the no shower comment..I should have prefaced that by saying were were REALLY POOOR and lived in dodgy flats. None of them had showers…but in subsequent visits back, we have stayed in plenty of places with showers…..
Now I am craving a cheese and onion pasty, mushy peas or a good curry. Sigh. Good thing I am going back in June………
Comment by Rebecca — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 8:34 am
My partner is from Portugal and we have talked about living there for a chunk of time. The main thing that stops me is the language. That wouldn’t be an issue in England!
As for the bath…I would love one of those too. Right now, I am sitting at the computer while my 4 year old son and his friend run around like crazy (no school today). My son actually just said to his friend…”I’m just making noises to irritate my mom”. Sigh…a bath…
Comment by Vikki — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 9:46 am
Wow! I was just talking about this with a friend of mine yesterday. I was actaully wishing I would have the opportunity to live in Europe with my family. Alas, no chance of that for me. So I say GO FOR IT in my loudest voice.
Comment by chilihead2 — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 10:46 am
Wow! That’s an exciting prospect, living abroad. No advice or anything, just wanted to say “Wow!”
I love your picture. LOVE it.
Comment by mama_tulip — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 10:49 am
NONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!! How can to even think of moving far far away when I haven’t even met you yet! May WILL happen I tell you! But even then, I might not let you leave either!
Comment by Queen Beth — March 30, 2006 @ March 30, 2006 at 1:58 pm
London would be a wonderful experience!!
Comment by Theresa — March 31, 2006 @ March 31, 2006 at 6:27 am
Sure England would be great and I could live vicariously through your English blog… but frankly my selfish side wants to tell you to stay here (virtual playdates and outings would never stand up to the real things for me).
Comment by Trixie — March 31, 2006 @ March 31, 2006 at 6:51 am
You would LOVE London. It’s half Seattle, half New York. And, yeah, there’d be tricky things about moving, but it’s better (I think) to take adventures like this now while your girls are younger and a little more resilient and flexible in terms of social needs…..it would be hard to put something like this on the back burner, because the older they get, the harder it will be to up/re-root them. You can always find temporary cat families (that’s where Mickey came from) and work out other detail things — but you won’t always be able to just head off on an adventure. I say go for it!
Comment by Lauren — March 31, 2006 @ March 31, 2006 at 2:11 pm
I haven’t personally done this, but know people who have and the worst part is what to do with the pets. I believe they have to be in quarentine for like six months. I couldn’t tolerate that. As far as your stuff, basically you sell or store it. Sometimes these overseas things don’t go as long as they tell you, so I would go for storage! Other than that - the rest of it sounds fabulous!
Comment by Tina — March 31, 2006 @ March 31, 2006 at 7:55 pm