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Wed, Mar 18, 2009 4:58 PM
Jack had seemed to be getting better but on Sunday he just didn't seem himself and his cough was getting worse. Monday he had a fever so I kept him home from school. It never ceases to amaze me how very different his behavior is when I have him by himself. It's just such a different dynamic when he's not constantly competing for my attention. I really must remember to plan more one on one time with each of them.

I also had Lauren's school conference on Monday. That morning in the car,she and Taylor took turns counting to 100, so it didn't surprise me when her teacher Ms. Tish told me she'd made a huge improvememt with her numbers. She's also coming out of her shell, (at least at school), an is more willing and able to show what she knows, and can work more independently. I think that it's all coming together, her reading, her writing, it's all starting to gel. She's starting to read things spontaneously wherever we go, on Bill boards, store signs, etc. So I am very, very proud of her - it's an exciting time!

On the other hand, the whining is getting out of control. I don't know where she got the idea that whining is a good way to ccommunicate, but it's about to drive me around the bend!

Comments:
jJoa Tabb Waisbein: Hi Lisa,
My first reaction when I read that you had gone to England on a job prospect for Mike was pure
HAPPINESS...that you would be able to share that part of yoru life with your children!
Anyway, it sounds like you're all doing well and I'm so proud, too, of Lauren's school progress and academic gains that you wrote about!
We're doing basically fine though Daniel, as a Junior in high school, has become so socially oriented....which is normal, we know, but just so different than he used to be. He continues to have a very heavy academic load at work and now needs to learn to balance his time betweent he lure of the peer group fun and the rigors of his school work....sometimes he doesn't the wisest chice to meet college acceptances!
Hugs to you all from Calif,
Joan, wtih David and Daniel and Marilyn and Lizzie the Love Dog

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Sat, Mar 14, 2009 11:28 PM
So we're back from England. Before we left, Jack had a bit of congestion and fever so I took him to the doctor and he tested postive for the flu! Then they tested Lauren and she was also positive but didn't have any symptoms. So they gave us 2 anti-viral medecines which seemed to have a disgusting taste, judging from Lauren's gag reflex to them both. They also gave us an inhaler with a spacer thing so that we could give Jack the albuteral without bringing the nebulizer. Luckily the medecines seemed to kick in pretty fast and Jack didn't have any more fever.

On the flight over Jack slept for most of the time and Lauren was fairly content, but it was a long day getting the bus from Gatwick to Oxford and getting from the bus station to the apartment. It didn't help that we were 3 stories up with no elevator either! It seemed like we had a ton of baggage, but honestly, the kids wore almost everything I packed for them. There was a washing machine/dryer in our unit but I never really figured it out so I never ended up doing laundry.

We went to see a few schools and along the way we saw the surrounding areas to live, although we never met with any real-estate folks. I didn't much see the point since we're not even sure yet, and we'd only be looking in August. Oxford reminds me a lot of London, but it's smaller and less crowded, and of course there's the whole university feeling about the place. I saw one school I really liked, so that's something to hang onto if we do get serious down the line.

One day we went into London and rode around on a double decker bus and went on the London Eye (big ferris wheel type thing) and walked around the embankment, saw the houses of Westminster and Big Ben, walked through the park to see Buckingham palace, then wandered around Covent Garden(shopping and street perfomers)a little before meeting some friends for dinner. The kids fell asleep on the train home and we CARRIED them both back to the apartment which was not far but exhausting with the dead weight of a sleeping child! I really regretted not bringing the stroller. What was I thinking?

Otherwise we went to the natural history museum, had cream tea, and saw different parts of Oxford. Two days Mike was fairly busy with meetings, so I ventured to find some indoor play-spaces for the kids since I couldn't figure out what else to do with the weather being so cold and rainy.

Our last night the principal of St. Anne's, the college Mike would be affiliated with, had us to his house for dinner, and he invited some people who would be Mike's colleagues who had kids of a similar age. It was sort of hard-court press, you could tell they were really eager to impress us. I found myself trying to be as receptive as possible to all their enthusiasm, while at the same time trying to keep Lauren and Jack from breaking anything!

The trip back was grueling, and seemed MUCH much longer than the trip there. It was about 10 hours or something. The kids did not sleep until the last hour or so,and were cranky and whiny the entire time. For hours on end every 10 minutes Lauren would ask me if we were in Tampa yet, and I'd say, no, we have 5 HOURS left, stop asking me! So to say that I'm glad to be home is an understatement. I just wish I had a better sense of if we're actually going to move there or not. It didn't help that it's been gorgeous weather since we've been back, in the 80's. When you ask the kids if they liked England they say "yes, but it was cold!"

I am in two minds about this potential change. Although I'm fairly convinced it would be good for them overall, I know it would be hard at times. It's never easy to uproot and I think I'm just as intimidated by the thought of such a big change as anyone else might be, even though I've lived in England before and even though I've moved so much in my life. It's just such a huge decision.

Since we've been back we've been falling back into our usual routine. The kids were back at school and I'm back to rehearsals for my play. It's strange to realize that life doens't stop just because you're not there. My neighbor had her baby the week we were gone! A lot can happen in a week!

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Sun, Mar 1, 2009 12:52 PM
I can't beleive how long its been since I blogged. Last weekend Lauren went to a birthday party on Saturday for her friend from school Peyton which was a tea party. She got to dress up like a princess and it was very cute to see all the girls drinking their lemonade out of real china cups and eating those dainty little sandwiches! The next day we all went to another birthday party for another school chum of Lauren's,Allie, which was at a roller rink. The kids didn't want to do much skating and they had more fun chasing mike and I around on our skates. Then we wet=nt to a Laurie Berkner concert,which I suspect I enjoyed more than the kids. They were cranky and whiny through the whole thing. I blame low blood sugar, despite my constant attempts to get them to eat.

Tuesday came the big news of Mike's job offer from Oxford University, which has now rocked our world. I think I've been in denial about the possibility until the offer actually came. Now we are planing a trip to England for a week, leaving on Wednesday.

Thursday the kids and I went to Busch Gardens with Jody, Sarah and Megan. I had been meaning to go, because you go once and you can come back all year for free, so if you go early in the year it's a great deal. Plus the place is just down the road, so it's a much easier thing to do than going to Disney. But I love going with other people, it makes the whole thing more fun. We had fun, and it was just warm enough for them to put their suits on and run around in the water park area. We saw an animal show which was fun, and then headed out early since Jody had to get ot her class. We were home by 4:30 which was lucky since I had to get to rehearsal myself.

Friday was "Camelot" day at school, and there were all these activities and crafts and games which were vaguely medieval in theme. It was a bit chaotic and the kids whined a lot, but it ended on a good note in the cafeteria with lots of sugury snacks. They tried root beer floats for the first time and now they're hooked! Lauren kept laughing that the soda tickled her tongue. Not sure what was so medieval about that other than it looking a bit like ale or something!

After school we went to BabiesRUs and got some boster seats. I had been intending to buy some Britax ones for ages, and just as I was getting around to it I discover that they've been discontinued. I've been thinking they would be a good thing to have in Mike's car, and then we could use them for car-pooling and traveling since they are so light and easy to move. I'd still rather have them in a 5 point harness, but I think they are acceptable alternatives. So I got them Graco ones because they seemed the best ones that I saw in the store. I don't think we're going to rent a car in England, but we do have a long bus ride from the airport and I'm just not comfortable unless we have something, plus we may ride in a car if we have some real estate agents show us around.

Saturday they had Mygym class and Lauren did well but Jack would not listen and had a few time outs. They did seperate them for the group activities which I thought would help, but he was still hard to focus and he was not listening a lot of the time.

We went home for lunch and then I took them with me to Burlington Coat Factory to look for coats. Hard to believe that Lauren's coat, which I bought for Thanksgiving in Buffalo is already too small for her. We found one that fits, but barely, but she fell in love with it because it had a sparkly lining on the hood. No amount of discussion would stop the hysterical attachment she developed to the coat! I decided to go ahead and get it, mostly becuase there wasn't really any alternative and we leave on our trip so soon. I figured I could always return it if I find something else. Jack, of course, had to have one too, (that's what I get for bringing them both)even though we probably could have made do with his jacket system of fleece and shell that double up to make a sort of parka. Oh well, if it keeps them toasty during our trip it will be worth it!

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