All happy days...

...not really. Today was a bad one. Both girls have a cold, we had a terrible night and on top of that we were stuck at home due to heavy rains. Not a very good combo. I. was really cranky and crying most of the day, S. was bored and nothing was good enough and I was super tired. We did not do much except for getting on each others nerves, putting together an IKEA cupboard, doing some arts and crafts with salt-dough, making a Tiramisu and getting a bit more on each others nerves.

Doing the cupboard was probably most fun. I. was sleeping while S. and I put it together. She was actually a really good little helper, I was quite impressed. She knew where daddy had the tool kit, she put the different screws right and she handled the hammer like a professional. Must have gotten her practical talent after her dad.
While we were in the middle of our handy work I. woke up and there was no way to get her back to sleep. I decided to take her back to the kids rooms with me and what a surprise when we got there. S. had managed to reduce the polystyrene that came with the IKEA boxes into tiny pellets and was all excited. "Mummy, it looks like it is snowing!!!". "Oh, yes Darling, so exciting - NOT" ;) The whole room looked like winter wonderland and I had to hurry before I. got here fingers on it and her stomach full with it.

All right, gotta go. It is girls night at my friends house tonight. Lets hope things improve. :)

Reflections

Recently I was asked what I think about living in England. First of all, I really like life here. To be honest, it is much better than I expected. People over here are incredibly friendly and it is easy to feel at home. However, there are of course things that I find "different":

1.) it is common to have kids on "leashes/harnesses" - I see at least one a day
2.) there are shopping carts with seats for 2 kids - one infant one toddler - aweseome
3) most grocery stores have only their own brands for a wide range of goods - not only boring but I also wonder how that influences the quality given that competition goes towards 0.
4) I cannot find baby jars containing fish
5) Breast feeding in public is almost a no go - every one seems to transfer the milk to bottles before they leave the house
6) Chips/crisps for lunch
7) Carpet in the bathroom. Who came up with that?
8) Loads of charity stores and events - great
9) Kids get to eat sweets every day, it is almost impossible to avoid it
10) Super nice playgrounds

Mhh, guess my list reflects my mum-life but maybe my other half can come up with more things that have nothing to do with kids. ;)

...and talking about kids: Ida took her first step yesterday!!!

November

As much as I was disappointed by the English summer as much am I excited about the beautiful fall. It has been lovely outside and we had some really sunny days. Temperatures are around 10°C in average and I love the fact that you don´t need a billion layers of clothes when leaving the house.

We have been quite busy since I finished my PhD and "Hotel" N. was fully booked until now. :)
First our friends from Sweden came to visit for a long weekend, then my dad came by for a week and after that 3 of M. friends stayed with us for a weekend. It´s been really fun and we did loads of excursions, including Alton towers (englands biggest amusement park), Birmingham, Dovedale and Macclesfield forest.

Last weekend was the first weekend that we were "alone" and we decided to use it for some grand shopping. I had been told by a friend that there is a great Outlet mall close to Liverpool called Cheshire Oaks.
It was brilliant. They have great shops and M. and I felt like we had reached heaven. ;) It was also nice for the kids as there are two nice play areas where they can run around. We shopped till we dropped and after just a few days we are already longing to go back.

On Sunday we went to another magnificent estate belonging to the National trust. Its called Lyme Park and it is located on the edge of the Peak District, nestling within sweeping moorland. It is also the backdrop to where Darcy meets Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. We loved it but we wore the wrong clothes. People came in Wellies and outdoor clothing while we wore "city" outfits, which got rather muddy after a while. It was well worth it though and I recommend anyone who has the chance to go - go. We will probably be back in a couple of weeks because we heard that Santa is going to pay the place a visit as well.

Finally, we also went to a Halloween party at a friends house. It was great fun and S. even won a price for best costume. She was a little witch and cute as a button if you ask me. ;)

All right, S. get annoyed by me sitting here and writing. Need to go back to mum-duty and figure out what to do today.