Behind on Blogging

I am feeling very behind in the blogging world these days......

I remember reading another expat's blog and after about 2 years in the foreign country, she said she felt everything was "normal" and routine in her daily life, and so she ended her blog. I can safely say that after 3 years of living here in England, I do also feel like our life is much more normal over here on a day-to-day basis, but I still find bits that surprise me or make me question how the situation or item would be in the US. Most especially since having a baby, I am finding even more topics blog worthy, but alas, I clearly have not blogged all of these thoughts. Many thoughts have been started as bog posts and perhaps I will finish them (someday!!); others may never come to fruition.

I used to catch up on the blog in the evening but now my evenings seem to consist a lot of cleaning - picking up Crosby's toys, cleaning the kitchen floors and her highchair (for the third time of the day), and then working on cleaning the stains out of her clothes and soaking them until I put the next load of laundry in the wash (normally done in the evening too since I don't have to manage a baby on my hip).

Or, if I am not cleaning, I am creating a mess in the kitchen - cooking up meals for Crosby, or trying to get ahead of tomorrow's food by prepping for dinner so I can have dinner ready for Scott when he gets home from work. Or I might be decompressing by baking....which often happens....or, I am collapsed on the couch in exhausted from the day!

But back to the topic of blogging, the other side of life abroad being "normalized" to some extent is the thought of returning home to the US and how I find myself thinking about what life will be back in the US after having been away for so long. We are still unsure of when and where our next move will take us. It most likely will be back to Chicago but we can not be fully sure of that until that offer comes through. In the meantime, the thought of returning home makes me a bit more uneasy with each month that passes. Other expats who we have known have all said the return home is the hardest part of an international move. I will leave that topic for a future post, but it is one that consumes much thought these days because we have created a nice little life for our new family over here and while it will be nice to go "home," it will be difficult to leave our current "home [England]" for so many reasons.