London, baby!

Flew into London yesterday. . .left home at about 11:00am-- flight was late getting out, but left at 2:15pm. . .had to sprint through Washington DC/Dulles to catch our connecting flight as it was calling for final boarding to Heathrow.  Arrived in London at 5:45 am local time (11:45p central time zone).  We exchanged our money, and then I bought my first item with a British pound:  a newspaper and a free bottle of water.  Then it was the tube to King's Cross/St. Pancras station and a short wait for a train to Leicester.  After a taxi ride between the station and our hotel, we finally arrived to check in at about 11:00 am.  Personally, I vote for driving to the airport in the future or springing for a car service!

We took a quick nap, showered, and ate lunch at the hotel.  Then we decided to take a taxi to the High Cross City Centre (mall) and walk around so that we could stay awake.  Eventually, Keith's new boss came and picked us up and took us to the Red Cow for dinner and chatting.  He seems like a good guy. . . and spent time enlightening us and sharing stories. 

Now we are back in the room and are barely staying  awake to get ready for bed and type this!

House hunting starts tomorrow. . .pick up at 9:15!

Scanning house info sheets. . .

Got some info on houses that we are looking at. . .I think that we are going to be able to find a home that works for us!  What a wonderful feeling!

It is really odd to think right now that my girls are sleeping. . .it is difficult to be on a different schedule than them. . .as I am getting ready for the day, they are (hopefully) sleeping soundly at 2 in the morning.

We are headed back to look at two houses today and probably one new one we didn't see yesterday.  We looked at seven. .some were easy to rule out like the cottage that would have had Keith hitting his head on every doorway and even the ceiling in some spots!!  Would have loved the villiage, though. . .a block from school and a block from the pub!!

Done. . . .

Done weeding, pricing, hanging, packaging, tagging, pinning, taping, etc for two consignment sales. . .and I am so drained!  Physically, mentally, especially emotionally. . . .getting rid of baby stuff has been hard.  And it has been little things like this one little polka dot dress that Maggie and Charlotte both wore.  It was just a dress, not even a particularly special one, but I kept fixating on it and panicking that I was getting rid of it.  Right now, when our whole lives are being picked up, shaken, and turned inside out, it feels like I just want to sit in the middle of our world and gather everything I know close and not let it out of my sight.  I did let the dress go--it's in the sale, maybe even home with someone else already. . and to be honest, tonight I am having trouble breathing thinking about it (and all it represents).  The good thing is that I know tomorrow I will breathe a little easier. . . and will probably dig in my closet for the little pile of baby clothes that I am hanging on to!

a funny coincedence. . .

In Birmingham (about half hour from where we will be living), the people are called "Brummies" and the accent is "Brummy"  Birmingham is sometimes referred to as "Brum"  :)

Passports. . .

We applied for the girls' passports today. . .they will have more stamps in their passport than I do right now at age 34. . .it's amazing to be to contemplate the places we will be able to easily take them!!

PAPERWORK!!!

The paperwork is finally starting to come to us. . .never thought a pile of papers that I really don't have time to read would look so beautiful!   Now the real fun begins!

Catharsis. . .

I am working on cleaning things out. . .and am so conflicted about it.  On the one hand, it is unnerving.  I have realized (really always knew) that I am a person who surrounds themselves with stuff as a comfort.  So getting rid of things--even those we haven't touched in a year or forgot we had--is a bit stressful.  What if I end up needing it?  What if I can never find it again?  What if I have to pay twice as much to replace it?  What will happen if I can actually walk around my bedroom without tripping over piles of junk?

On the other hand. . . .damn it feels good to get rid of stuff!!  I am sad to see things go because of the enormity of this move; would we get rid of these things if a cargo hold on a ship wasn't forcing us to?  But, the weight of keeping up with our stuff is getting lighter with every box I fill up.  I am a better person when I am not bogged down by the piles!   

So I will continue to send our things on to a new home. . .maybe then when we get to our new home we might be able to live a little more simply and be more focused on what's really important.