Keeping Warm

We have had a very busy month of January! Among our important tasks were things like opening a bank account, enrolling the kids in school, getting bus passes, and getting cell phones that allow us to call the US. I have also been getting things we need to make the house a little more cozy.

With all the rain (and a little snow!) we’ve had, we decided it would be best to take our shoes and coats off at the door. And so we have added the coat and shoe rack! I love having it there as we can put all the coats, hats, gloves, bags, and shoes in one place. The kids have gotten into the habit already and it leads to much less mess laying around on couches and tables.

Another issue we were having was with the cats trying desperately to get into the upstairs bathroom so they could sit on the carpet under the radiator. The problem is that the door closes on its own, and the cats end up stuck in there – not only are they unhappy about it, but they also tear up all the toilet paper (aka bog roll or loo roll 😁). My first solution was to get them kitty beds to put under the radiators in other rooms, and that was ok, but they were not as impressed as I’d hoped. I looked into other cat bed options and discovered the solution to our problem: the kitty radiator hammock! They seriously love these things.

Our biggest accomplishment this month was getting the kids enrolled in school. They are both very happy with their new schools, new uniforms, and have both already made some new friends. They have both said, though, that the one thing they don’t like is missing their friends from Alabama. And Abbie thinks her lunch period is too long (???).

Eli says his school is a lot of fun, that “they do a lot fewer worksheets,” and his math book has “more interesting questions.” He is not at the school that we thought he would go to, so Eli and I take the bus together every day. He is usually quiet on the way to school, but when I pick him up in the afternoon, he doesn’t stop talking the whole way home. He has some new classes, including French, Spanish, playing the fife, and swimming.

Abbie also really likes her new school. She has a lot of new classes, including food technology, information technology, drama, French, and Spanish. She says that her PE class is a lot more fun as they have gym equipment and allow the kids to listen to music while they work out for the hour. She has also really enjoyed her music class and has already had classes in playing the bass guitar and drums.

The class schedules here are different than we were used to in Alabama. Abbie’s school starts at 8:30 and ends at 2:45. Eli’s school starts at 9 and ends at 3:15. I appreciate the extra time in the morning, and the slightly later wake up alarm. At Mountain Gap, Abbie had a set schedule of 8 periods that were the same each day. At her new school, she has 5 blocks per day, and each day of the week is a different schedule of classes. She also rides her bike to and from school, a little less than a mile each way, and I am really proud of her for being able to do that on her own in a whole new place.

Before we moved, they had both said they weren’t very excited about having to wear uniforms to school, but they both now say they like it. They look very sharp each morning, and it definitely takes less time to get dressed when you know exactly what you have to wear.

We had a big surprise when we woke up this morning, and it was snow! There was a lot of snow (for us, at least), up to 3-4 inches in spots, and the roads were a slippery slidey slushy mess.

Abbie’s school closed, but Eli’s did not. While we waited for his bus, he and Abbie made a snowman to guard the bus stop.

After school, they played together in the backyard, chasing each other around throwing snowballs

I am really glad that we have now settled into a new normal routine. The kids are really happy, I’m much less stressed, and Randall is thoroughly enjoying working with robots at his new job. Every day has its little challenges as we manage with public transportation and walking, things that get “lost in translation,” and not always finding the foods we are craving – Abbie is pining for alfredo sauce. But every day also kind of feels like an adventure, where we can’t just go on autopilot yet, but have to think about what we’re doing and make plans.

One last funny thing – the cats are always making us laugh and surprising us with the new goofy thing they are doing, and today was no different. When we came home after school and opened the door, there was a pile of yarn at the bottom of the stairs.

The yarn stretched all the way to the top of the stairs, where we saw sitting like a little queen, Miss Korra herself. And she was not ashamed!

She had taken yarn from Abbie’s room and batted it all the way down there!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. And, even though we lost (if that’s even adequate to describe what we did), Roll Tide