Category Archives: Seattle

expat, holidays, Life in the US, Seattle

American Valentine’s Day Traditions: Things Every Expat Mum Should Know (or Ignore).

February 14, 2013 rightfromthestart 14 Comments

A letter came home from school last week asking us to decorate a shoe box and make a hole large enough to fit a greeting card. My daughter dutifully created her box ready for the school Valentine’s party. I expected the box to come home with a few cards from her closest friends, until her younger sister came home from pre-school with a bag laden with goodies. Her bag contained lots of little cards with sweets attached from both her teachers and all of the children at pre-school. Had I missed something somewhere? Was there a letter asking us to bring in Valentine’s treats? I think there was an assumption that we would know what to do – now I feel like the mean, lazy parent.

My eldest went off to school today armed with her box. She returned laden with gifts.

That explains why we were given a letter with the names of all the children in the class. I assumed it was so we would know how to spell a name if we wanted to send a Valentine to a special friend.

If you want to avoid being the odd one out you need to :

Send a card to every child in the class
Attach a sweet or small gift to the card
Sign your child’s name.

Hold on a moment

Isn’t Valentine’s Day meant to be about showing appreciation for those you love or sending a message to someone you admire? Isn’t it about giving not receiving?

My children came home excited about what they had received. There was no sentiment attached to any of the cards, nobody said ‘I’m giving you this because I think you are a great friend.’ It strikes me as another example of greed and an expectation that we load the children with lots of stuff because no child can be left out. I think my 4-year-old got the sentiment right when she decided it would be nice to send a Valentine to the friends she misses from home to tell them she is thinking about them.

I’m sure next year the girls will want to send Valentine’s to the whole class to fit in with their friends. I’d like to think that they will at least find one nice thing to say about each person they give them to. Isn’t it bad enough that adults are driven to spend 4 times the usual price for flowers just in case their partner is offended? Let children believe it is about love and friendship at least for a little while.

expat, Life in the US, parenting, parents, Seattle

Moving Abroad with Children – What Do My Children Think of Their New Home in America?

February 4, 2013 rightfromthestart Leave a comment

It is difficult to know what my children really think of their new life in America. They seem happy and my 8-year-old says she enjoys school. I know she misses her friends but I sometimes wonder whether she really fits in with her loud American classmates who chatter endlessly about One Direction.

We have recently allowed her to have her first laptop so now for the first time she can check email on a regular basis. In some weird late at night moment, I decided to email her some questions about life in America to share here and asked her to think of some questions for me that she could post on her blog. I’m still waiting for those but here are her thoughts.

What do you like best about living in America?

The best thing is the fact that I have my own bathroom. (Yes she does spend a lot of time in it, a taste of things to come I fear).

2. Are there any things that annoy you here in America?

Adverts ie. bla bla bla very fatty pizza 🙂

3. If you could bring one thing from England to America what would it be?

My friends (ditto).

4. What do you miss most from England?

I miss my old school.

5. If you were to go back to England, what would you miss from America?

I would miss laughing when people try to do a British accent

6. Are American children different from English children and if so how?

Children are different mainly because of the words they use i.e. perenthusees.

7. What advice would you give to someone moving here?

Be prepared for the adverts.

What I found interesting about her responses was her focus on the immediate, day-to-day aspects of life. I expected places we had visited or new activities to feature in her answers.

I tried asking my 4-year-old the same questions. We had to spend additional time talking through the questions and she was keen to see what her sister had said before answering but she gave some interesting responses.

As expected the things she misses most are friends and her old playgroup. When asked whether children were different here she thought for a while before saying

They don’t know how to share. All the children in my old playgroup shared their things but none of the children here do.

She found it very difficult to say what she liked about America because she couldn’t think of anything she likes to do here that she can’t also do in England – she likes learning to do cartwheels with her imaginary friend, playing nail salons with her big sister, making up shows and playing Mastermind.

expat, Life in the US, Seattle

Not a Parent’s Evening but a Goal Setting Conference.

January 29, 2013 rightfromthestart 3 Comments

This week is school conference week. The kids finish at lunchtime and during the afternoons the teachers meet with parents and students to set goals for the coming term. School reports (report cards) are sent home every term and tomorrow we will meet with my daughter’s teacher to talk about what we need to work on. Each conference is 25 minutes – a far cry from the 10 minute annual slot we had in the UK.

Here are my thoughts on the first school conference:

I’ve just attended my 8 year olds first parents’ evening at school. It is called a goal setting conference which I expected to be some flowery name for ‘Let’s talk about your child and agree what they need to work on’. I was pleasantly surprised to find it actually was a goal setting conference focusing on the whole child at home and at school.

The children had already completed a survey deciding what they felt they should work on in both academic and social areas. They highlighted their strengths and chose 3 or 4 things as areas of improvement. Some things were highlighted from work that had been done in class and observations that had been made. The teacher discussed each of the goals with my daughter agreeing with her how they might be achieved before looking to me for support from home. My daughter had highlighted that she didn’t always respond to instructions straight away in class. Her teacher commented

You know what I’ve noticed? I think you are one of those people who take a little time to get going. Maybe then we should turn this one on its head . Think about how you can help yourself to start your work quicker so that you do not feel that you are rushing to finish and late getting on to the next thing.

How great is that; a teacher who actually notices what your child does and how your child learns and wants to help them to find ways to improve.

My daughter and her teacher had talked about the need to be more organised. On a couple of occasions my daughter has forgotten her folder and her teacher discussed ways of avoiding this. Recognising my daughter as an avid reader she immediately asked

Do you read in the mornings before school?

Yes sometimes when I am eating my breakfast.

So why not do everything you need to do first and then have reading as a reward?

How can we help you not to forget things?

I suggested a check list that she runs through each morning.

And how about we put that on your kindle so you know you won’t miss it?

There was a strong focus on taking responsibility for her own actions and not expecting mum to do everything for her. Mum has enough to do (I may be quoting this a lot over the next few weeks).

What a great parent’s evening and an amazing teacher. I feel like she knows my daughter better in a few weeks than some of her previous teachers did in a year. The focus on the whole child rather than academic achievement was like a breath of fresh air.

Maybe I could borrow her to organise the whole family.

Life in the US, outdoor play, parenting, review, Seattle

A Day in the Snow at Hyak Sno Park

January 6, 2013 rightfromthestart 1 Comment

When I was a kid we waited all year for snow, sometimes we were lucky but often we would have a year of disappointment. When the snow came we would head to the local park with our sledges spending hours speeding downhill until we could bear the cold no longer. How amazing it is for our kids to be able to travel to snow within 40 minutes of home. We headed for Hyak Sno Park for a great family day in the snow. They wore snow boots, salopettes and warm jackets so they avoided the freezing feet in wellies and soggy trousers that I remember as a kid.

Getting ready to go down the small slope designed for under 5's — Getting ready to go down the small slope designed for under 5’s

Sometimes with dad... — Sometimes with dad…

.....sometimes on their own. — …..sometimes on their own.

The little ones loved it , even when they jumped the ramp at the end and almost ended up in the fence. A face full of snow didn't put them off. — The little ones loved it , even when they jumped the ramp at the end and almost ended up in the fence. A face full of snow didn’t put them off.

At the bottom they could wade through snowdrifts.

A snack to fuel more fun. NB. There is nowhere to get food or drink at the snow park so a flask of hot soup and some snacks is a good idea. — A snack to fuel more fun. NB. There isn’t anywhere to get food or drink at the snow park so a flask of hot soup and some snacks are a good idea.

Before heading home we build a little snowman. Goodbye - see you again soon. — Before heading home we build a little snowman. Goodbye – see you again soon.

Hyak Sno Park can be found in Easton off exit 54 of I90.

Open 8 am to 4:30pm
The parking lot has 150 spaces. Parking permits are
required, Daily Sno-Park Permit and Daily or Annual
Discover Pass or a Seasonal Sno Park Permit plus Special Groomed Trails Permit
sticker without Discover Pass. These can be purchased at the park.

Christmas, expat, holidays, Life in the US, Seattle, Uncategorized

Our First American Christmas

January 4, 2013 rightfromthestart 1 Comment

Having experienced our first American Christmas, many people have asked about the differences. Without our family and friends Christmas was always going to be different. In some ways Christmas was more relaxing without rushing off to visit relatives and in others a little of the Christmas spirit was lost. The good thing is that with Skype and Video Kinect we were able to talk to family and friends at various points through the day and the grandparents were able to watch the kids open their presents.

The Christmas tradition here is different in many ways, some take a little getting used to whilst others are a breath of fresh air.

Holidays

It took me a while to get used to the American reference to Holidays rather than Christmas. At first it seemed too politically correct. Being invited to a Holiday party and school letters referencing Holiday gifts was very odd. The lack of emphasis on any one festival is nice but still feels a little strange; for me it will always be Christmas.

I took the children to see the switching on of the Christmas lights at the City Hall. This turned out to be simply turning on the Christmas tree lights, accompanied by a school choir singing songs about snow and jollity but not the traditional Christmas carols I expected. It appeared at first that the word Christmas was a taboo but over time I began to hear Christmas references more frequently. I read an article by a Jewish lady talking about how tiresome it was as a child to be asked what Santa was bringing and have to explain her faith time and again. I’m beginning to see the merits of the term ‘Holidays’ but I’m not a full convert yet.

Decorations

Christmas decorations and lights started to go up in the neighbourhood as soon as Thanksgiving was over. Outside decoration seems to be as important as indoor, yet somehow it’s all a bit more tasteful than the UK . No house looks like it’s been adorned with the contents of Poundland. Lights are put around the roof or to light a pathway, beautifully lit ornaments are placed on lawns and every door displays a Christmas wreath. Perhaps it’s just that the houses and plot sizes are bigger that avoid them looking like they’ve been spewed on by the tinsel fairy. I’m slowly trying to blend in, I turned my old garland that I made when we were first married into a wreath and hung it on the front door and I’ve put a snowflake light in the window. Next year I think I need to research in advance how to power all the outdoor lights and decorations so we can sparkle with the best of them.

Food

Once Thanksgiving was over I expected the supermarkets to be full of Christmas food. We found Christmas cookies, candy canes and egg nog but where were the beloved mince pies? It appears that Christmas cookies are an American tradition. Not gingerbread cookies or spicy lebkuchen that we would associate with Christmas but ordinary sugary cookies in Christmas shapes. Traditionally they were hung on the Christmas tree and left out for Santa.

My kids love mince pies, we would eat them every day from when they appeared on the shelves until we had exhausted our stack of reduced ones from the January sale. When the cashier at Waitrose told us that their bakery stock individual ones year round, the girls jumped for joy and we would sometimes pop in for a treat. So how would we cope this year?
After searching around and almost going as far as making mincemeat from scratch, I was relieved to find a jar of Robinsons mincemeat. The girls and I made a batch of mince pies. My pastry was a disaster, even the dog worried he may break his teeth. So I resigned myself to a Christmas without mince pies. That is until I discovered the delights of Cost Plus World Market, where we found mince pies (all be it at $7 a box) along with Christmas crackers, Christmas pudding, Cadburys biscuits, pickled onions and other treats like Marmite and Birds custard. We were all set for a traditional Christmas.

Snow

One of the best things about living here in the Winter is that a 40 minute drive takes you to snow. You have all the fun and beauty of snow without any of the inconvenience. We had a wonderful time at Hyak Snow Park tobogganing and building snowmen and the view was just like a scene from a Christmas Card. Perfect for my 4-year-old who believes that there is always snow at Christmas.

Gifts and Cards

Rather than sending Christmas cards, the neighbours left little treats like cookies and chocolate brownies on our doorstep. What a great idea, this is definitely something we should adopt in the UK. We baked a batch of mince pies (they were substantially better than the first batch) and the girls and I delivered them to the neighbours on Christmas Eve.

In all our first Christmas in America was pretty special and hopefully in future years we will have family or friends to share it with us.

expat, Life in the US, Seattle

Preserving British Culture #1 Adjectives

October 9, 2012 rightfromthestart 2 Comments

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I was reading an article from The Guardian entitled ’My 2 Alien Life Forms’ ,in which the author Emma Beddington, discusses her experience of raising children in Brussels and her realisation that they have little understanding of British language and culture. One would assume that raising children in an English-speaking country would not be too different from home. Your kids will more than likely grow up with a different accent and some new words for things but on the whole it’s not that different is it?

Having only been here a short time I realise it is. There are many things about living in America that give my children amazing experiences but there are some things that I hear them do or say that set my teeth on edge.

This is the first of a number of posts outlining some of the ‘British’ things I would like to preserve.

Adjectives

Mum, R is talking American again!

This usually means my 3-year-old has said the word ‘Super’. This seems to be the most over-used word in American English. Meals are ‘super-sized’, kids get ‘super-tired’, cars are ‘super-fast’ and people get ‘super-excited’ about everything. When I hear the local children describe things, the word ‘super’ appears time and again, as if it’s the only adjective they know.

My 3-year-old has begun to correct herself when she uses it. We talked about it at the dinner table this week.

My friends say that they swing super high on the swing

I know, but we could say something more interesting like really, high or extremely high.

Or very high, … or up to the clouds.

That’s a good one, we could use similes – do you know what a simile is? * addressing my 8-year-old.

Yes it’s when you compare something to something else, like I swung as high as the sky.

Yes that’s it so what else could we say? …..

This became a fun game and seems to have worked to help them think about what they say.

There seem to be certain words that have become such a regular part of American English that they are perfectly normal. To an outsider like me it simply looks like a lazy use of adjectives.

Yesterday I stood in a queue at a festival whilst my kids made a toy. A mum, who had clearly had enough, came to collect her child. The child wanted to decorate her toy but her mum said,

let’s decorate it at home, there aren’t many pens here.

Her daughter showed her the toy she had made

That’s awesome

she said her tone of voice clearly portraying how unimpressed she was.

To American kids everything is awesome or super. Everything they do is greeted with ’good job’, I’m certain these words can have little effect. I love the way the American’s encourage their kids with constant praise, I just wish they’d use a little imagination in their use of adjectives sometimes.

It has taken moving away for me to realise how rich the British vocabulary is. If you ever hear me use the word super, feel free to throw rotten vegetables at my head.

Life in the US, review, Seattle

Pick Your Own Pumpkins at Remlinger Farms

October 7, 2012 rightfromthestart Leave a comment

My girls and I have spent a wonderful day at Remlinger Farms. Considering that it was a full day out alone with my 3 young girls it was probably the least stressful day out I have had in a long time.

Admission was very reasonable at $8 per person (I’m not sure whether this was a special reduced price as a higher price was quoted on the website) and this included a pumpkin each to take away. Once we were in the farm everything was free of charge except feed for the animals.

We began with a train ride in a little steam train that took us around the park. My 3-year-old waved at all the scarecrows en route and the horses and the lama.

The playground near the station has an old fire engine and school bus for the children to play in. Some of the stalls selling kettle corn (I assume this is popcorn) and other treats were closed but that stops the kids nagging for food.

To the Far end of the playground is a Pioneer House and inside a lady dressed in traditional costume telling you how she lived. It was quite amusing to watch my 8-year-old suitably unimpressed by the talk of how they lived before electricity,

‘ I’ve seen these before on one of my school trips and I think we had one of those coffee grinders in a science lesson in my old school’

They also have a great granddad who remembers what it was like before we had electricity so there were no big Wow moments there. They loved the chickens ducks and geese in the garden however, especially the little chick.

My little ones loved the hay jump and hay maze, they hid away in the middle of the maze and threw the hay around (until it went in my 3 year old’s mouth).

We fed the animals in the barn, the donkeys and goats were a real favourite.

You are not allowed to bring your own food into the farm but lunch in the café was good quality, the portions were generous and the kids meals included a cookie and drink. I had the chilli which was fresh and very good. In the UK we would often pay premium prices for food at tourist attractions but here a kid’s meal was $5.95 and my chilli was less than $5.

After lunch the children enjoyed the fairground rides. All of the rides are suitable for small children. The attendants at the rides were really friendly and though there are height guidelines they were flexible and let my 8-year-old (who was just above the height limit) and my 2-year-old (who was just below) go on all the rides together. When I went on the barrels with my kids and told the attendant I didn’t really like spinny things but would make a sacrifice for my kids, he kept asking if I was okay . Some of the rides were closed and a new mini roller coaster is in the process of being built , but there was plenty to amuse the kids.

At the peacock enclosure we collected feathers to use for a fairy garden we are building for my daughters’ birthday party.

The children chose a pumpkin each to take home and then we took a drive to the pumpkin patch to see where they grew. The girls tried to push the big wheelbarrow and found it very difficult. They chose a pumpkin each to pick from the field. We were surprised to find that the leaves are spiky and my youngest found it difficult negotiating her way around the leaves. I would imagine that for American children a field of pumpkins is fairly commonplace but for us it was a first and therefore very exciting. We are going to build a fairy house from the large pumpkin and cook with the smallest ones – I’m not sure about the others as they probably won’t keep until Hallowe’en.

The day was rounded off nicely when we spotted horses to the other side of the field. The girls fed them grass and stroked them.

I’ll definitely be returning to Remlinger farm (I think my eldest thanked me about 10 times on the way home for taking them out) and can highly recommend it for families with young children.

expat, Life in the US, Seattle

Why Hallowe’en is Really Scary

October 1, 2012 rightfromthestart 1 Comment

Call me a humbug but I’ve been a little relieved in the past few years that Hallowe’en isn’t that big in the UK. My kids would dress up, sometimes go to a party, we’d carve a pumpkin and may go trick or treating to a few friends’ houses. We didn’t have many trick or treaters in our street so I could usually find something to give them without going mad.

Now we are in the US it is a whole other ball game. The shops are filled with Hallowe’en decorations, costumes, crafts and sweets to the same level as Christmas in the UK. I’ve been told I need to stock up because we will get loads of kids at our door at Hallowe’en. The idea of it all fills me with dread. Do I need to spend hours and money decorating my house? How many treats do the kids expect? What can I get away with without looking like the miserable British Family? Will a talking pumpkin suffice?

Can anyone help me understand what is socially acceptable?

Then there is Thanksgiving…….. What on earth is that one about??

Argghhhhh! It’s fun being the new girl.

expat, Life in the US, Seattle, Uncategorized

Starting School the American Way

September 9, 2012 rightfromthestart 6 Comments

My 8-year-old started 3rd Grade this week. She would have been starting Year 4 in the UK but they start school a year later here. Finding a school place was simple as schools are allocated according to where you live, if you live within the school bus route you automatically get a place.

Preparation for school in the UK usually meant buying uniform and new shoes, labelling P.E kits and backpacks and organising dinner money. Here it is different. There is no school uniform. Children arrive at school on the first day in their new ‘school clothes’, a concept I don’t really understand. My children have clothes; they may wear them to school, to play in the garden or to go out at the weekend, they are not categorised into school and non-school. We don’t need to provide anything for P.E apart from a pair of ‘sneakers’. Life should be easy, with very little to prepare but ……..

There is a huge list of school supplies to buy. Each year is given a list of stationery items to provide including ring binders, pens, pencils, glue and notebooks. Each item needs to be labelled and taken to school on the first day.
When registering at school parents have to complete a form to prove that their children have received all the required vaccinations. This meant that my daughter had to have a Hepatitis B vaccine before leaving the UK and another on arrival. We also have to provide a letter from the doctor to prove she has had chickenpox or she will need the vaccine.
We attended an information meeting where the children were photographed for their records and we were given copious amounts of forms, signing us up for things I didn’t understand.

We visited school to meet the teacher the day before it started. It was highly structured and organised. The teacher presented us with a list to follow, including finding a library book, completing an ‘about me’ form, reading through the rules together and finding various things in the classroom. As the meeting time came to an end a tannoy announcement told parents that it was time to leave the building.

On the first day my daughter came home with a folder inside which any correspondence is placed. It also contains her homework diary and reading record, a behaviour chart and a calendar that is completed each day at school showing both homework and things the parents need to do that evening. I’m hoping this will help us both be a little more organised.

At curriculum evening the teacher outlined all the things they would be doing this year. The teacher gave all the parents her email address and encouraged them to share any information about their child by email. There is a website you can sign into as parent to check on your child’s progress and all work comes home at the end of each week marked with grades. This open communication between parent and school is a very welcome change for me, I can’t imagine any school in the UK being quite that open.

I feel a little like a rabbit caught in the headlights as I begin to understand a system that is alien to me but we have had a good first week. My daughter loves her teacher and gave school a 10.5 out of ten.

expat, Life in the US, Seattle

Things I Love About My New House That I Wish We’d Had in the UK

July 15, 2012 rightfromthestart 6 Comments

My new house in the US isn’t huge, it’s a fairly typical family home but over the past week I have felt myself walking around the house saying time and again ‘I love this house’. Why? Perhaps in part because none of my stuff has arrived yet so there is no clutter and some of the rooms are empty, it looks so clean and minimalistic which is very soothing. However, there is more to it than that, so much thought goes into the practicalities of a house here. Here are my favourites:-

Coffee Machines

The last few years have been a blur of late nights (unfortunately not partying) and muddling through days in a coffee fuelled haze. Since my pregnancy with my 3rd daughter I have become a big coffee fan. Coffee is big here in Starbucks land. Not all households have kettles but you can be sure they will have a coffee maker. The coffee makers are mess free as the coffee is contained in filter papers so no more trying to dispose of coffee grounds. Even better the coffee stays on a heated plate so you always have a hot coffee. No more microwaved coffee for me then, simple but genius.

2. Storage

There are fitted cupboards in every room of this house. By the front door is a coat and shoe cupboard, each bedroom has fitted double wardrobes and the large bedrooms have 2, there is a linen cupboard in the utility room, a double cupboard outside our bedroom, a huge cupboard outside our kids bedroom plus another double wardrobe in the adjoining room attached. When all our stuff arrives there should be loads of space to put the kids toys and general ‘stuff’ that I could never find a place for in the old house. Here’s to a new me with a tidy and organised house.

3. Bathrooms

My 8 year old is delighted to have her own en suite (this also doubles up as a utility room with a huge top loading washing machine and tumble dryer) my youngest 2 have their own bathroom and we have an en suite. Multiple bathrooms are common here – it would be considered odd to have only 2. Double sinks are in all the master bathrooms so no more fighting over sink space (the kids not me) and best of all are the multiple drawers and cupboards underneath the sinks. No more piles of toiletries or bath toys on view, they will all fit inside the cupboards beneath the sinks. My 3 year old removed all the toothbrushes, toothpaste etc. from her sinks a few days ago and put them in a drawer. It looks so tidy – I like what she is becoming (if we forget that she hid the soap). As an added bonus the bath in the children’s bathroom comes with a lever instead of a plug so there will be no more arguments about accidentally pulling the plug out.

The other thing I love about the bathrooms is that they have power sockets in them so my hairdryer and straighteners can live in the bathroom and the bedroom can be purely for relaxation.

4. Shower Curtains with Magnetic Bottoms

Okay, this one may be a little sad, but I love that our shower curtains have magnets in the corner that stick to the bath so you don’t have to worry about them flapping out of place and the bathroom floor getting soaked.

5. Huge Fridges

American fridges are popular in the UK but the door space is the biggest difference here. The gallon cartons of milk fit comfortably into the door space, I could easily fit 4 of them in. I have fresh produce and meat drawers leaving the rest of the space for important stuff like beer.

The recycling bins are huge wheelie bins here to cater for the giant cartons that go for recycling.

6. Fly Screens

We don’t need to worry about mosquitoes in the UK but in a house backing onto woodland we did have midges, daddy long legs and maybugs not to mention houseflies. Here every door and window has a fly screen so you can have the benefit of keeping the door open without the annoyance of flies. They wouldn’t have been very useful in the UK this Summer but they would have been great in the past.