Week 1Okay, no way to sugar coat this one - it was a rough week! Before we left, William came down with some type of respiratory virus that gave him a horrendous cough and fever. I do not think we were the favorite family on the plane with our sick preschooler and crabby toddler that decided not to sleep. On the 7 hour trip the boys slept little and Mark a little as well. On arrival at 7am Sunday morning, all we could do was stumble into beds and sleep for a few hours. William's cough only got worse and the crabbies really set in round about 4pm. Jet lag is a tough thing and we struggled with it for the first week. William would be up until about 2am and then Mark would be out the door for work at 6:30am. I have wished that William would go back to napping in the afternoon, so you can imagine how hard it was to wake him when ever he fell asleep in the afternoon that week!
William was also kind enough to share his virus with the rest of us, so Patrick came down with it and then I did as well.
Did I mention that it rained all week and was only about 34 degrees?
All that was finished up the following weekend with a wonderful day trip to Brighton on the south coast! The sun was shining and the wind was blowing and the whole world was starting to look a little happier!
Week 2
A better week by far, we spent the week going to the grocery store each day and finding lots of local parks to visit and play. The weather was still a little cold, but the sun held out and I felt very fortunate not to be slogging through the snow. It feels a little decadent to be able to walk outside everyday without the snow and cold holding us back. We capped off the week with a trip to the new Westfield Mall in London and then William went to the Transportation Museum with Daddy on Sunday.
Week 3
Time to get moving. We are now on a great regular schedule. The morning is for playing at the park or walking about and after quiet time in the afternoon, we try to make it out to another park or another nice walk.
This week was also spent looking at schools for William. Children here can attend a year called Reception at 4 years old. The schools fill up fast and we are a bit behind the normal time to get in for the fall. Thank goodness it looks as if we have found a school for next year. He will restart preschool tomorrow at a wonderful local nursery/preschool.
Yesterday, we went to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. A pirate ship sand pit, music garden, and numerous play structures and more trips on the train.
Today is British Mother's Day and Mark took the boys to the park for the morning. We are having a lovely roast for dinner - though I still have to figure out how to cook it! Don't worry - I haven't stopped cooking. If anything, I have cooked more here than I did the whole time that Mark was gone!
We look forward to a wonderful week with a new school and new friends and a fun trip out of town. Now to figure out where to go...
