American jackpot!

I went to our local ASDA the other last night (the Walmart of England, literally owned by Walmart) and as I was sauntering through the aisles (because I was by myself after dinner, and didn't have a screaming child in a shopping trolley!), I came across this new display at the store. I stopped in my tracks. All of these American goodies in one spot, in England, in a local grocery store, and not cost prohibitive!!!

Hershey's Chocolate items - bars, kisses, cookies and cream bars, Reese's Peanut butter cups and more, Tootsie Rolls and real American Marshmallows! I do wonder how the store has chosen these specific candies and products to sell. 

I only wish they were selling real graham crackers, I would have stocked up so we could be enjoying s'mores this weekend....

Back at it

I have been back at the work bit since January now, and it has been another learning experience I did not expect. I have learned that I like to work.

I am not sure why this has surprised me so much but it has. I knew when we first moved to England that I liked working because I was pretty close to loosing my mind for the first 6 months when i didn't have a job. Once I found my (current) job and started at it, I really was much happier. It's funny because I always thought that not having to work and having all kinds of time on my hands sounded like a dream. Once I had the option of not working and just being a lady of leisure, I actually hated it. It probably didn't help that I had (and still have) a husband who works a LOT and that is part of the gig since we live abroad for his job right now.

Being back at work has more than its fair share of challenges but it also has some advantages. Last week I was invited to the launch of the new innovation center for Kraft/Cadbury because they are now a US/UK company and I work with such companies in my job. (It's really a great fit since I fit the bill as an American living in England). Not only was it a really cool day to spend at Cadbury learning all about their chocolate (and tasting loads of it!!) but it reminded me of why I do enjoy my job - AND - how much I have grown within myself by working over here.

As I was driving to this work event I was thinking to myself that I was not sure if I would know anyone at the event but it didn't matter whether I knew anyone there or not. I know that I have enough confidence to walk into a situation where I don't know anyone and I will be able to walk up to people, will politely introduce myself, have a conversation, and hopefully make a worthwhile connection by the end of my time at such an event.

Thinking through these steps made me remember how I felt three years ago when I had just started my job over here. I was starting to meet stakeholders and other business people in the local area for my job. I met a local CEO of an organization and he invited me to be his guest at a business black tie gala. I accepted because it was due to be a worthwhile business event.

The day arrived and I was on my way driving to the event and it hit me - I realized I was about to walk into a 500 person event by myself and I knew only one person who was going to be in that room. This wasn't an event in Chicago anymore where I had gone to work functions by myself but always knew that because I knew enough people within my industry, I would walk in and would be able to recognize someone I knew - or someone with whom I at least had a connection.

This time, I was going to an event in a new city and a new COUNTRY and I did not have any type of professional network here yet! In fact, beyond my team of employees, I really did not know anyone else within a work capacity.

So, three years ago, I went to that black tie event and it turned out to be fine. In fact, it was more than fine. I actually walked away with a fist-full of business cards and made some connections to people I see and do business with now on a regular basis.

I am reminded of these thoughts and sentiments when I am off to events now where I am not sure if I will know anyone or not. And it doesn't bother me anymore because I know I have moved countries, made new connections, and built a new professional (and personal) network for myself since I had that first experience of getting thrown into the deep end here. It is good to remind myself about how I felt three years ago because it makes me realize how much I have grown and how proud I am to have established myself professionally within a new country, even though it was my husband's expat assignment that brought us over here. I know I would not have had the same (personal and) professional growth opportunities if we were still in the US, so for that I am grateful.

Cadbury's chocolate making headquarters!

They had the guests (only about 40 of us in total), tasting their liquid chocolate with various mix-in ingredients to see if we could create any flavor combinations that were worthwhile. Since it is their innovation center that we were touring, this type of activity takes place all of the time there.

And then as if I didn't consume enough chocolate at the event, they sent each attendee home with a bag full of Chocolate products to sample later.

My little taste-tester was, once again, into the bag straight away, trying to get her teeth into that chocolate! (Unfortunately for her she hasn't been allowed any chocolate).

Oatmeal

I love oatmeal in the winter months. Sometimes I eat it all year long too. My latest cooked breakfast cereal has been steel cut oatmeal. In the quest for making easy foods that can be done in advance, I found quite a few recipes for slow cooker steel cut oatmeal. I loved the concept and I enjoy steel cut oatmeal but never made it much before because I knew it took forever to cook. I knew I wanted to make the oats in the crock pot, so I began my quest to the steel cut oats in England, but could not find them here. I was perplexed - if the oats are called "Irish Oats," then I figured they must be sold in the UK which encompasses part of Ireland.

I was incorrect.

I cannot find these oats over here! When I started to look for "Steel Cut Oats" at the grocery store, no one seemed to know what I wanted when I asked for them. I was pointed in the direction of oatmeal but nothing on the shelves that resembled steel cut oats. After some research online, I did find out that they are not necessarily called Irish Oats or Steel Cut Oats over here but are often referred to as "Pinhead Oats."

According to wikipedia, Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into pieces. They are commonly used in Scotland and Ireland to make porridge, whereas rolled oats are used in England, other English-speaking countries, and Scandinavia. They are sometimes named after the grade of cut, e.g. pinhead oats; steel-cut oats from Ireland are sometimes called Irish oats.

Why do Scotland & Ireland use them but their neighbor England does not? It seems a bit strange to me.

I went so far as to email a few oatmeal distributors in England who claim to have pinhead oats within their product portfolio. One company said their brand was sold at the local grocery store chain, Waitrose. I went into the Waitrose store by us and talked to a supervisor. No, unfortunately they don't carry that type of oatmeal and weren't sure where to find it but suggested calling the local farm shops in the area. So, I called three farm shops. No one remotely seemed interested in helping me to find this type of oatmeal.

Alas, my quest for the oatmeal here was fairly unsuccessful. I have seen it now online but I have not yet ordered from the web store. Instead I took the "import" route and brought back a few heavy tins of it in my suitcase after the holidays. Two months back in the UK, I was almost out of it already so I had Scott buy more last week when he was back in the US for work.

I just find it terribly ironic that is marketed as "IRISH OATMEAL" but it is not even sold in the country that exports more goods to Ireland than any other country!

My new supply of Steel Cut, Pinhead, Irish, or whatever-you-want-to-call-them Oats directly from the US for my slow cooker breakfast recipes. Yet another food product that I would have thought would be available in both countries but apparently is not as readily available as I would have thought.

How long is too long?

How long is too long to be an expat? I realize some people and families make a career out of it and are happy to do so for a very long time. I still unsure that we could be one of those families however we have already extended our tour of expatriate life longer than we ever thought we would.

This question of how long is too long is one we have discussed quite a bit lately because Scott has been offered and has accepted a new job (still with the same company) --- a promotion and a new position that will keep us in England a while longer. How much longer will we stay is the question? That answer is unknown.

We know it will not be forever. Neither one of us wants that situation, as we know we want to return to the US. However, we have quickly become one of those couples who we heard about when we were first moving abroad and both thought that would never be us.

It was the scenario we heard over and over again. "I was offered an expat assignment in X location for 2 years, and we loved it so much, it turned into 5 / 6 / 7....or whatever the greater number was." Countless tales of such assignments that extended well past their initial contract date. And now here we are ---- 3 1/2 years into an 18-24 month initial contract.

It is the right move for Scott's career for us to continue our time here, or so we hope at this point. The new job will be a great challenge for him and will hopefully allow his career to hopefully continue to flourish with his company.

But the more time we spend away, the more I grapple with the question of how long is too long to be away? Initially our answer was that when we were ready to start a family, we would probably return to the US. Clearly, I survived [the rather horrendous childbirth situation in the UK hospital] and we are still there. Dare I say, there is a part of me that has been glad to be in the UK with an infant because of the year-long maternity leave it has afforded me. (of course I am not sure that is outweighed by the lack of family within close proximity! or the really terrible hospital experience!)

Various discussions on this topic of length of time abroad now are focused on Crosby and our wants and desires for her life. Is this still the right decision for us to be abroad, now that we have a child? Is the end time for us abroad now when she is starting school? Is that primary school or secondary school? Or are we providing her with a great gift of life adaptability by being away and learning about another country/culture/lifestyle? Or will she feel unsettled because she will have not spent her entire life in one country and/or location? So many questions and concerns, and of course there is no "right" answer. People view such opportunities differently which is of course why some people accept such assignments and others do not.

We have also said we will continue to pursue the best career paths, provided that we are all healthy and well. God willing, this will continue to be the case.

Obviously with Scott accepting a this new job that will keep us abroad for a while longer, we have agreed that this decision is currently the best one for our family. However, with an end date unknown and time spent building a further life for ourselves in England, we really struggle with the debate of how long is too long and when is the right time to return home? We also realize that "home" will have a new meaning for us in the US because the variables will not be the same in our life / location / home / family etc from right before we moved abroad.

Seasonal Candy

While I was home in the US for the Christmas holidays, I noticed the shift in the store shelves from the Christmas themed candy to the Valentine's Day themed candy. Shortly after January 1st all of the red, green, and santa themed candies were cleared away and the shelves at Target and the grocery stores in the US were lined with red and pink candies, with lots of hearts all around. I started to think that there is much more of a holiday/seasonal candy market in the US than I ever see in the UK. It seems for any possible holiday in the US, there is a sugary and sweet treat to match up with the theme of the holiday.

Two of my favorite candies - Brach's cinnamon and Cherry Hearts made their way back to the UK in the nearly 200 lbs of luggage that Crosby & I flew back with. I cannot say there is anything quite like this type of candy on the shelves here in England right now...

However when I walked into my grocery store the other day, I noticed a sign for "SEASONAL CANDY" so I thought to myself, "Well, maybe there is more of a market here than I thought before." I went to investigate the offerings.

Apparently the candy market goes straight from Christmas tins of candy straight to chocolate Easter Eggs here! Funny to see Easter candy on the shelf in January but I guess when Cadbury has been the most loved sweet manufacturer in this country, the stores do everything to support their products (and I do love their mini eggs! When I think about it, the mini eggs were the only thing I had to eat last year during my 24-plus hours of labor when having Crosby, so I guess they were out on the shelves well before Easter last year too!).

I know conversation hearts do not exist here in England for Valentine's Day but I wonder, do small children exchange candy for Valentine's Day like we did when I was little in the US? Or is it another commercialized event only in the US??

Change of Travel Plans

Well, Crosby & I were supposed to be back in the UK by now....and I am sure we would be having a fight with jet lag right about now but we're not! We changed our flights (of course with Scott's permission and agreement) so we could stay an extra few days with my parents. Plus, it hasn't hurt that the weather has been 65 degrees and sunny in the midwest this week!

We spent the morning on a walk and at the park in order to enjoy the super nice weather we are having right now.

This always happens when I am about to leave my parents after a visit. I really don't want to leave them because I don't get to see them as often as I would like. When I think about it, I know I am a "home body" and maybe I am stranger than most in that I really love being back at home and enjoy spending time with my parents. Perhaps it's a female thing but Scott is good about encouraging me to spend time when I can with my family because he knows how important it is to me. If I take a step back and look at it, I am often amazed that I do so well with being in a completely different country from my family, but I know that my parents were always good about encouraging my sister & me to flee the nest so we could take advantage of life opportunities.

When I was younger, I remember my father taking out a map and drawing a circle around our city, saying "Here's a 500 mile radius. You girls can go to college anywhere outside this circle." And he meant it! At a time when most parents we knew were trying to keep their children close to home, ours were telling us to go away. Their theory was that we could always come back home again, but we needed to leave first to see what else was out there.

I feel their lessons ring true more often than not these days. My sister & I have both moved away and are making our own ways out in the world. I am sure my parents never imagined that their encouragement in fleeing the nest might lead to our current life in England, but they have been nothing but supportive of it, despite the times when the distance really is far.

Now, in time, it will be my turn with Scott to teach Crosby such lessons in life. But for now --- for one more week -- Crosby & I just wanted to be home again to enjoy some more time after the busy holiday period. Jet lag can wait another week, because I am sure it will find us upon our return to England, regardless of when that is.

Sometimes it is just really nice to be home again.

"Home" for the Holidays

We have been "home" for the holidays. I say "home" loosely because of course we have not really been back in our actual home in Chicago, but we have been traveling between various locations including time spent with Scott's family and my family in an effort to see everyone during this time of year. It has been wonderful to see everyone and Crosby has been a trooper during her various moves between hotel rooms, houses, plane rides, train rides, car rides, etc. For the most part, our time back "home" has been spent fighting jet lag, unpacking, repacking, traveling, and visiting with family (oh and eating more meat than we ever thought possible!). I think we crammed a lot into our visit this time and yet it still doesn't feel like we've spent enough time in any one location, or seen everyone we had hope to see. I know this is just often the case when traveling in from out of town, and now with a baby, time seems even more compressed.

I am not sure if it is better to have both families in one city or if it's better to have them in different locations? I am aware that either situation has its own set of benefits and challenges. For us this year, it felt like neither side of our family got a fair bit and of course we felt like we were a bit sandwiched in the middle. We were rushed on Christmas Eve to pack up all of our belongings and get everything ready for our travel on Christmas Day, and then we didn't get to stay long on Christmas Day with my family because we had to fly twice, transfer planes, etc. and drive another hour to get to Scott's family once we landed at our final destination. So, we ended up eating Christmas dinner back at O'Hare airport where we had to transfer flights. Then once we got to Scott's family's house, it was late and so we did Christmas gifts, etc. the next day. So much pressure around one day and it just goes by in a blink of an eye! I am not sure what the answer to the splitting of the holiday is - it would be a challenge even if we were just in Chicago, still but of course the international aspect makes it even more complicated. Despite the headaches of travel, we did enjoy our visit as much as we could and were very glad we decided to spend the holidays back in the US. Crosby of course probably enjoyed it the most because she had everyone's attention!

Crosby at the train station in the suburbs of Chicago. Crosby & I took a train from the suburbs of Chicago while Scott stayed on to do some work for a few days at the start of our time back in the US.

Having dinner in the city with some extended family. Crosby loved being out in public and eating at the table in a proper high chair.

Bundled up in her snow suit for the cold Chicago weather. Thankfully no snow, but it was cold!

Enjoying a dinner out at one of Dad & Mom's favorite old restaurants.

On the plane again....leaving Chicago and off to see my family.

Crosby's ride through the airport (she will have seen the inside of O'Hare airport 5 separate times during this trip back to the US alone!!).

We spent some time with my family and then flew out to see Scott's family on Christmas Day.

The three of us on Christmas.

Crosby loved playing and being with her Aunt Carrie again!

Playing with her nativity set on Christmas morning.

A brand new baby doll for Miss Crosby! She was so happy and loves giving the baby doll kisses.

Hanging with Grandpa Craig at his house.

Crosby has really become attached to her little stuffed lamb. The lamb even had to join her at breakfast a few mornings while we were with Scott's family. She would not let it go!

A gift from Grandma Cris - a motorized hamster. At first Crosby was scared of this pretend pet but by the end of our week's visit, she had really warmed up to it and was chasing it around the house instead of letting the hamster chase her around.

Spending time with Uncle Todd & Gail was fun.

A third Christmas gift opening event for Crosby. Gifts with Great Grandma!

Visiting with Great Grandma and practicing her wave.

Watching football games with Uncle Matt.

Enjoying her visit with Grandpa Craig & Grandma Cris.

On the plane again....another flight, back to Gram & Pa's house on New Year's Eve.

Ringing in the new year with Pa, Gram, Uncle Ray & Aunt Claire. Although Crosby didn't know it, she was the greatest entertainment ever for the evening.

Crosby has been busy sifting through the local newspaper and clipping coupons and sale ads while we've been back. The newspapers in England don't include such sale flyers and coupons.

Spending time with Pa and winky the lamb too.

Learning new tricks - first how to use her new snack "catcher" with Gram.

And then how to drink from a straw!

It's been a great visit but now it's time to start packing to go back to England....

Meeting Santa

Visiting Santa at a local mall is very much an American commercialized event. I have yet to see any type of Santa (or Father Christmas as they call him) at any main mall area in England. Shopping malls are not as common in England to begin with but then additionally, Father Christmas tends to reside and have visitors at his "Grotto." Just out of interest I looked up the history of the Grotto online and as it turns out, the Grotto actually began as a British tradition and then grew to America and Australia, where visiting Santa has become more commercialized in the mall as opposed to just the Grotto area within one department store.

So, today we took Crosby to experience the American version of visiting Santa at the local mall in the US. Since it is just days before Christmas, the lines were alive and well so my mother agreed to go early and stand in line for nearly an hour before we arrived with Crosby. Total time spent in line waiting to meet the big guy in red was nearly 2 hours so it was a good thing that we had the tag team approach.

Upon arrival and while we waited in line, Crosby was very busy watching all of the other people in line and at the mall. She brought along her favorite stuffed animal to keep her company. Almost to the front of the line with Gram, Crosby seemed to really like watching the other children go visit Santa. All smiles in her pretty Christmas dress before meeting the big guy in red.Santa left his chair and walked over to us at the front of the line, to introduce himself to Crosby. She was slightly hesitant when he approached us but wasn't too shy just yet.The plan was for Gram to place Crosby on Santa's lap, while Scott was trying to get her attention by me while I snapped the photos of her first visit with Santa. It did not go as planned......as soon as Gram set Crosby down, she immediately curled up into a ball and tried to climb as high up back onto Gram as she could!So, then we decided to make a switch and see if Scott's presence would be a bit more reassuring to Crosby with Santa. It was not really the case. Crosby started to curl up in a ball again, this time right up against Dad.And then there were screams and tears....And more hiding in Dad's coat.

Sorry Santa, it looks like Crosby wasn't too smitten with you this year. We hope you will still visit her on Christmas Eve and hopefully next year she'll be more thrilled to sit on your lap and tell you about her year because she is a good little girl.

Transatlantic Travel with an Infant

Since Crosby's arrival, we have kept up with some travel, although admittedly not nearly as much as we used to do before her arrival. With each trip we take with her, we think to ourselves, the last trip was so much easier.....

She is just more active, more mobile, has a more set schedule, and also eats real food now. While some of these things make it a bit easier to travel with her, they also can be a bit challenging as well. For this most recent transatlantic flight we took from the UK to the US, I wanted to make sure I had enough food and snacks prepared for her during our trip. I always find that on the flight from the UK to the US, I end up eating 4 or 5 meals that day because we gain an extra six hours due to the time change. It was a bit tricky to figure when I should feed Crosby and how often she should eat, but I wanted to be prepared with lots of healthy snacks and meals, and of course extra of everything, in case we would be delayed at any point.

So, I packed the following: cucumber slices, breadsticks and spreadable cheese, a few packets of Ella's baby food for back up, "Puff" snacks (US product), dried cranberries, whole wheat breadsticks, an avocado, a hard boiled egg, dried strawberry snacks, string cheese, green beans, and chopped strawberries. Sounds like a lot of food for a little baby but I am glad I had it all for her. I ordered a child's meal on the plane but it was just like the adult plane food - not really anything great to eat, so it was much better that I had plenty of fresh food on hand for her. However now that I have so many extra things to pack for my child, it seems my bag never has anything for myself in it....it is just filled to the brim with the "in case we need this for the baby" stuff! I would say I feel like a pack mule when I travel now on these transatlantic flights....

While the flight to the US was a bit more difficult than previous flights in that Crosby really wasn't interested in staying in her seat for the full 8 plus hours (and who can blame her, it's no fun for an adult!), the most difficult part of this trip so far came after our arrival in the US. We were staying with Scott in a hotel for a few days while he went to work for some meetings. I think it was the first and last time Crosby will be invited to stay with him on a transatlantic business trip! With Crosby being just a little bit older and on more of a good sleep schedule, she had a more difficult time shifting her schedule this time around. The first night in the US, she woke up at 2:30am and was ready for breakfast and playtime since her body thought it was 8:30am UK time. When we kept trying to get her back to sleep, there were lots of screams - er, for about 3 hours - and needless to say, I am sure we were not popular guests in that hotel as a result.

The scene at 3am in our hotel room: Crosby sitting on the chair eating cheerios off of a cutting board.

Up until this trip back to the US, we have (very luckily) not had too many issues with Crosby adjusting onto CMT from GMT. Unfortunately this trip it has taken her a good 5 full days to get back on track. Lesson learned that it is much more difficult to be in a hotel room with an infant who is fighting jet lag versus being at a house where there is space to play and eat snacks, etc. It was also very nice to have grandparents or other family members available (as Scott would say they are saints) who were with us to get up in the middle of the night to entertain our jet lagged child, so we could get a little bit of rest after walking around like zombies for the first few days back home.

Traveling back and forth on a transatlantic level is part of what we will continue to do since we live away from family but it has gotten more challenging with each trip we take. I am trying to enjoy the time we have now at home but am also dreading the return flight journey and the jet lag issues we will face once we are back in England where we will not have the extra help from family (going East seems to take even longer for Crosby to adjust back into....).

So I wonder, is it fair to travel like this with a child? I know there is no serious damage but it does seem to take its toll on her for about a week on either end of the trip. And at what point in the future will it get easier to travel with her? Or is that time now and I just don't realize how easy it is now compared to what it will be like in the future? I really don't know, but I guess time will tell....

Waffles

Every time I pass the "waffle" sign at the grocery store here, I think I am going to see some frozen type of Eggo waffles here, but I don't (I should know better by now).

The "waffle" sign refers to all of the potato waffles for sale in that aisle.

I have no idea if these waffles are supposed to be eaten at breakfast or dinner, but I finally bought some and we had them as a side dish for dinner last night.

My verdict is that these are the equivalent to American tater tots or something quick along those lines. They claim to be made of mashed potatoes in the shape of a waffle and that is how they tasted too. I have no idea if these are sold in the US or not, but I am always surprised that frozen waffles are not sold in the UK, since they are so popular in the US.

Celebrating Thanksgiving

One of the nice parts about being part of an expat club is the opportunity to celebrate your own national holidays with other fellow Americans who are also living abroad. Thanksgiving is one of the big holidays that is celebrated within our American club. Although it is not nearly the same as being at home with our families seated around a table, it is nice to celebrate the American holiday over here in England with people who appreciate the occasion.

So this past Sunday we gathered with our fellow American friends in a local village hall and had an afternoon feast with all of the traditional foods - from turkey to stuffing to pumpkin treats!

The buffet of food before everyone started to eat.We are so thankful for this amazing healthy baby girl in our lives. Our little turkey Crosby was wearing her new turkey bib for the special dinner! Crosby with a few of the other American kids before the dinner started. She had so much fun just watching the other children run around the hall!

Although we are not in the US for this day tomorrow, we will still pause to reflect on everything in our lives for which we are thankful. We will actually be enjoying another Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night with some American friends in Europe. We have many reasons and people for which we are thankful this year and we will be thinking of all of these things and people most especially tomorrow.