Bad blogger

Ok, so I may be the worst blogger ever.  I seem to have forgotten how to do it.  That's not strictly true. I have found a new hobby / passion, and I don't feel like I have much to say at the moment.  But it has been nearly a month, so I thought I best get things up to date with what we have been doing.

                                

We took a trip to the zoo at the beginning of the month.  It was cold, hence Sebastian's attire.  Our membership expired at the end of the month.  We will not be renewing it I don't think.  We only have 5 months left, so it may not be worth it, especially as everyone is in school or work full time, and we have so much more to see and do befor we go.

I took a little trip down to Blythwood on the out skirts of Columbia.  It is about 90 minutes away.  There was a Zumba Glo party being held there.  The instructor was a lady called Lo.  She is a bit of a YouTube sensation, and loads of my instructor friends had recommended her

                               

I really enjoyed my self! It was almost like being in a night club, and was almost better, as no one knew me.  I really enjoyed getting some different choreography and hearing some different Zumba songs.  Zumba has been running for so long now, there are so many song and choreo choices.  I need to get as much experience from different instructors as I can before I head back to the UK and try and start teaching.  Speaking of which, I am doing Zumba Toning training next month.  I am very excited! 

Isaac was invited to a birthday party at Monkey Joes.  It wasn't an official party as such, the birthday boys parents paid Isaac in. The rest of us chose to go anyway.  Glad we did.  Out of the whole class, only Isaac and one other boy showed up.  It did remind us how awful monkey joes is.  The place was ridiculously busy, people everywhere.

                               

That same weekend was the South Carolina International Auto Show at the TD convention centre.  Not quite sure what made it international, maybe it was the Toyotas...... Anyway, they had family day on the Sunday, where the kids got in free. 

The boys had a great time trying out all the cars.  They weren't the only ones.  It was nice to be able to give them free for all on cars. It very rarely happens.

We took Isaacs training wheels / stabilizers off his bike.  He is finally down to 2 wheels.  Typically he took to it like a duck to water.  He was even slowing down and crashing off on purpose.  I just hope he has the confidence next time he gets on his bike

                               

Sebastian turned 5 this month.  He is not a baby or even a toddler anymore.  He had a good day, got most of the presents he wanted and enjoyed himself.  We went out for dinner at Chuckee Cheese (his choice). Because it was a Monday, it was lovely and quiet! He then had a delicious cake.

I can't believe he is 5.  He is turning into a proper little boy. His speech has come on leaps and bounds, and he has a lovely little personality.  He is a social monkey, who loves making people laugh, though his brothers wind him up something terrible! He is still in speech therapy, and it has helped a lot.  We have stopped the occupational therapy for now.  Insurance decided they weren't going to pay for it, so we got left with a very big bill.  We paid it, and are currently arguing the toss with them about reimbursing us / paying for more.  They need a diagnosis.  Both Isaac and Seb are down to be assessed by the behavioral psychologists, then they may have a diagnosis, but may not? We will have to wait and see.....

Isaac has had kindness week at school this week.  He wanted to walk the neighbors dog

                                 

The boys so badly want a dog.  It is a very firm NO. It's hard enough being responsible for these 3, and they can toilet themselves.....

That's pretty much it for the month. We had an ice / snow storm, the kids were off for a Friday and Monday.  They really didn't need the Monday..... I am doing a course on teaching English as a second language online.  It is going well...... I have made some drastic changes to my diet by going low carb.  I aim to eat no more than 50 grams of carbs a day.  That's about the same as what is in a sandwich.  I don't always succeed.  Eating out still gets me, but a lot of the time I am less than 100grams, and that is with eating out.  If I am at home, 50 grams on average a day.  That's is good for me.  It has made a big difference in my insulin use.  I have a diabetic appointment in 2 weeks, so watch this space.

My hobby / love at the moment is crafting. Crafts can be anything, but right now it is bead embroidery.  I love it!  Check out this I made recently

                  

In case you missed it, we have set up a little etsy shop.  Check it out here.  It has all the social media to go with it too: Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram.  Please find them and follow

That takes most of my time at the moment.  I would love to be able to work for myself eventually, with the crafting and the Zumba, and bring in enough to cover supplies/cost and groceries for the month.

That's my goal for this year 

2016 - hopes, plans, dreams......

So we are a few days into 2016.  The kids are back to school, and I have had a little bit of time to reflect on some things. Be prepared for ramblings.......

This year is going to be about moving back to England.  Pauls contract is up at the end of June, so I foresee us being back by about 6th July.  Do I bother putting the kids into school for 2 weeks, when they have been off for a month? Given we don't have a house, probably not.  We are going to get the house packed as near to departure as possible, so that we can stay in company provided accommodation while we figure out if we can buy a place straight away or if we have to rent for 6 months or so.  The unpredictability of it all is killing me slightly.  It's not like when we came here, and everything was sorted for us.  We have to sort most of our own stuff.  We can do it. I know we can, but I am choosing not to think about it yet.  We have to seriously start sorting things on April.  Till then, we will enjoy our American lives as much a as possible.  We will enjoy our large house and all the perks that come from living in the middle of no where.  I will be sad to leave, but I know new, different adventures await us.

I am trying really hard to get the online crafting business off the ground.  When we return to England, I want to start selling at craft fairs, school fairs, markets etc.  I have started looking into insurances etc, and hope to become a limited company when we return.  Still need to look into it in a bit more detail, but I have time.  I am picking up as much raw materials and stock as possible here, as I feel the majority of things will be cheaper here.  We have sold some bits and pieces, but doesn't cover costs yet.  It is a work in progress.  I hope to be able to also start teaching Zumba when we return.  I am also doing an online Teaching English as a Second Language course at the moment.  It is interesting, and will help keep my options open for when we return.

I want to get my diabetes under better control.  I have recently been told about a Facebook group called Type One Grit.  They follow the literature of Dr Richard Bernstein, himself a diabetic.  It basically limits carbs to 30 grams a day (an example, a sand which in the uk typically contains 30-60 grams of carbs).  I have started trying to cut my carbs and fruit.  It is a work in progress....

.....as are the children.  They are hard.  Oliver and Isaac are intelligent as anything, and aging nicely, do they are turning into little beeps at time. We are constantly monitoring Isaac's behavior,  we really don't want any issues at school again.  I tend to take those out on myself, even though it's not all my fault. Sebastian's speech has vastly improved.  His speech therapist is really pleased with how he is doing.  He has a new occupational therapist through the same provider.  He has had a couple of sessions and is in the testing phase.... Will give him a couple of weeks before i sit in.  He is now at day care 5 full days a week, though he does leave early on a Tuesday.  This is what he would be doing in England, so may as well get him used to it.

We have a holiday in the books already..... More on that at a later date.  This has been a kinda rambling post......

Christmas 2015 New Year 2016

This is going to be short and sweet, as I want to get on talking about the new year, and what it will bring.  The kids were super good going to bed on Christmas Eve.  We were wise elves, and had wrapped their presents the week before.  We only had a couple to do on Christmas Eve.  Their piles were much smaller this year.  I think as they get older their presents get smaller, and more expensive.

Oliver and Isaac had been good about writing their lists in advance.  We pretty much knew what Seb wanted from his various shouts at the television.

Oliver got Pie Face.  Man, this game was hard to get hold of.  Well worth it though! 

Isaac got the Star Wars blade builder thingy.  He loves it.  It gets played with regularly, and not always as a light saber.  Best thing is, no one has been seriously hurt (yet)

Sebastian got loads of hot wheels track stuff.  Honestly, he loves it.  They all got some form of hot wheels track builder set.  To the point where it completely took over the playroom.  We have since moved all th hotwheels stuff and cars up in to Oliver's room.  Those who know us, and our boys know this is a big deal! 

We find it a bit of a struggle sometimes.  Isaacs birthday is a month before Christmas, and seb's is a month after.  Isaac in particular struggled with what he wanted this year

 Christmas day we had beef and roast potatoes.  It was tasty.  I had wisely prepped a lot of the dinner in advance.  This helped.

We have spent a very relaxing couple of weeks at home.  It has been nice to spend time as a family without rushing off on holiday somewhere.  

New Year's Eve was spent at home.  We let the kids do dance off's and stay up as long as they could manage.

Seb lasted until 9.30, then he asked to go to bed.  Isaac was persuaded to go to bed at 10.45.  He was pretty much asleep on the sofa

Oliver made it to after midnight again.  

Paul and I stayed up drinking and dancing till about 2am.  The kids let us sleep till 7am the next morning.  Aren't they lovely....