Look Out Brits!

Heavens, almighty! Jim and Tori Ridgeway both passed their British driver's license tests on the first try (not very common). Maybe that was because there was no driving portion for American military/dependents with stateside licenses :). Anyway, we are definitely practicing our driving skills like crazy. Big Red is here (that's in reference to our red Pontiac Grand AM that qualifies as two vehicles over here). Yay! I really feel more comfortable driving it than the right sided steering car, for sure. It has to have some work done to it, though, before we can drive it. British cars have special fog and side lights.

We went to Bury St. Edmunds again today and had a MUCH more successful trip this weekend (plan and map in tow). We actually didn't look like complete idiotic Americans this time, evidenced by the fact that we didn't hear the "f-word" one time made in reference to our driving. Had lots of fun and found the best shopping places. Bought some way too cute British clothes for the boys.

And guess where we went to for lunch? Go ahead. Guess. It definitely shows our adventurous side....Pizza Hut! Heehee. It was definitely different from U.S. Pizza Huts, though. Never had the option of fine wine as a drink option at the Barnwell Pizza Hut. Nor did its salad bar have couscous, cold red rice and beans, marinated cocktail onions, antipasti salad, or hummus on it. This was so my kind of a salad bar. The only thing missing was Ranch dressing--which they apparently don't eat here in the UK.

Next time, I promise I'll have something more interesting to write about than a salad bar. Our next target trip (other than to visit our friends up near Oxford for Thanksgiving) is to Cambridge. So, I'm sure I'll have some great pics to share after that trip. It is so surreal to think that we're not even 2 hours from London. Better yet, we're in the heart of Harry Potter land. :) We were just talking about how neither of us can believe that there are actually a few people here and there who move here and hate it. Most absolutely love it, but there are some who move here and never leave the base. They're afraid to go out and encounter anything un-American. Thus, they get bored. That would drive us crazy. We may not necessarily have success in every attempt we make to travel places, but we're sure as heck going to try! :) Cheers!

Yay for Finding a House!

We found a house! After looking at seemingly a billion choices, we found the perfect house and were able to negotiate with the owner. She seems to be really nice, and luckily for us, is currently updating the place. It looks great so far. It's out in the English countryside in a little village that's practically nothing but old buildings (and when you say old in England, you really mean older than the United States), but it's minutes away from the base and about 15 minutes or so from a larger town with lots of shopping (happy, happy). We're supposed to move in around Thanksgiving.

The search for a house has allowed us to do a lot of driving around and site-seeing. We visited a fairly large town nearby this past weekend called Bury St. Edmonds. I wonder when we'll figure it out that making spontaneous trips without a plan or a detailed map NEVER works out for us...especially with two boys who are ready for a nap.
We did kind of get a lay of the land, though, so that was good for the future. And Jim got more practice driving in more traffic, and I must say, he did great. :)
Speaking of driving, guess who drove by herself in the dark and mist yesterday evening? Yep! Me! Of course, it was a grand total of about a mile round trip. But, I'm proud. Especially proud of the fact that I had to go around a dreaded British roundabout (backwards from the US way, of course)...nevermind that there was only one other car on it. And also nevermind that I wasn't supposed to go on the roundabout in the first place (got just slightly lost). "Oh, look kids, there's Big Ben"! :)

The adventure begins...

Well, our first couple of days in England have been largely uneventful. We were visited by several friends from the States, so that was great. Jim hit the ground running going about his various orientation tasks. It seems as though the getting over here was the easy part after all. It's kind of funny, but if you think about it, it's kind of like you're starting your life over. New house, new banking system, new government, new phones, new appliances (and may I just insert here--what is with the Brits' obsession with vague symbols??), new utilities, new car, new car seats and baby monitors (US and UK standards are different), new driving regulations (scary),...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The good news is that everyone we've encountered thus far has been exceptionally kind--Americans and Brits alike.

Looks like we will not be living on base for sure, which we weren't sure we wanted to do anyway. So, we'll go about looking for a house in the next few days. Hopefully it won't take too long to find one. The area surrounding us is BEAUTIFUL farm land. Lots of sheep.:)

The only "snafu" we've encountered has been Blaise's adjustment to the time difference (or rather, lack thereof). Oh well, it was to be expected. Hopefully the screaming until 4:00 am and then sleeping like a rock until 12:00 will eventually subside and he'll adjust. Poor Jim has gone to work today on about 4-5 hours of sleep. At least I get to lounge around the house all day (of course, any mom out there knows taking care of two kids does not allow for much lounging. heehee:).

Cheers!

This should have been my blogpost a couple of days ago, but I was too exhausted...:)

Five target tasks occupied my mind as we made our way over to England last night. 

Task #1:Kiss the ground as soon as we exit the plane.

Task#2: Revisit the concept of whispering with Blaise.

Task #3:Someday hug the Apple dude who invented the I-touch. (You're a hero amongst parents of toddlers everywhere and I love you.)

Task #4:Cut the carry-on luggage to a bare minimum vs. an inventory worthy of a major department store prior to our next trip requiring flight. 

And Task #5: Solicit someone rich to fund my idea for kid-friendly hotel rooms and airplanes. But, overall, I must say the trip was great! Jim and I made a great team (of course, we always do:).

Oh, and I'm also going to add a sixth task for myself: just get over the whole embarrassment over having to nurse in public (discreetly and covered, of course) issue. There are some times when you just can't be concerned with what others think of you. Being tens of thousands of feet in the air over the Atlantic Ocean with a tired baby is one of those times.  And heavens, forget about maintaining a feed, wake, sleep schedule. Fun times:)

Adventures in Infanthood

I just had an encounter with something I've never encountered before and hope to never encounter again--projectile poop. Literally. It whistled like a nuclear warhead as it came out. I mean we're talking an inch away from hitting the knee of my favorite jeans in the whole world. Terrifying. And the funny thing is, I was so focused on not letting it leak out the back like it does every other time he goes (Sidenote: why do diapers not have like an extra panel or something that goes all the way up between the shoulder blades to protect from that, huh? We've done laundry loads of just 2-3 clothing items three days in a row because of this predicament.). Never had this problem with Blaise. It's funny how each kid is different.
All I gotta say is, if you ever stay in the Eglin Temporary Living Facility, do not sit on the middle cushion of the couch in unit 2045. Makes me wonder how many seat cushions I've sat on in the past that have been pooped on...things that make me ponder.:)

~Tori
PS. We have airplane tickets!!! Finally. Leave out this weekend.