Living in America 2012--Because It Is No Longer 2011

[MmeBucket]

This is what happens when I start threads--they get stupid titles. Someone else needs to start the next one. Hopefully we can get this one filled by 2013.

Link to old thread for reference

Not much happening here. The kids have been off school for 25 days. I am soooo looking forward to them starting school tomorrow. Except it is my day to help, so instead of getting a break from my two, I'll have 22 of them to deal with.

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

oh ok - well we'll just have to drink our alcohol collection before we leave too then!

[kickassangel]

We also had a drink the house dry and eat the cupboards empty party before we left. And dh's whiskey collection is at my parents so he has some when we go to visit.

It seems we had quite a lot of alcohol to get rid of

[wentshopping]

I remember we also had to take all the batteries out of the kids' toys, as the batteries could not go in the shipment, so we rather bizarrely had a carrier bag of taped-together batteries in our carry-on luggage. What a waste of space/weight - as most of them had touched each other and had no power left when we tried putting them all back in the toys.
We drank/ate the cupboards empty before the packers came. But don't worry, you can buy wine, chocolate, batteries here!

[kickassangel]

AND we ditched all our pens etc. Our things were going into storage for an unknown period. Imagine if a couple of biros leaked over stuff and it all sat there for 2 months. I cleaned the garden tools meticulously as well.

And, technically, you shouldn't be bringing in food, but that kind of gets ignored if you just have a couple of packets of chocolate in your luggage. (have been known to have one suitcase entirely filled with tea bags & chocolate).

I declare it at customs btw, and they're fine, but detroit is, apparently known for being lax (according to staff at Heathrow)

[MrsOlf]

We declared our chocolate, biscuits, marmite, tea bags etc. They were fine about it at Houston but we did put it all in a bag in one suitcase, just in case they wanted to see what we had. Didn't fancy unloading all 8 cases in the middle of the airport!

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

Really? You should declare tea bags and marmite?!

[wentshopping]

Hi Girl when you fly over you are given a customs declaration form to complete on the plane. On this you have to declare various things ( live plants, bacteria etc) that you are unlikely to be carrying, but would need to be declared from a safety point of view. Also, you have to declare things you have purchased overseas, food etc - I usually have a list something like children's books, $25; clothing $150; candy $25 etc - don't write "sweets" as you'll get asked what it means. If the amount you are carrying looks reasonable for your family to be using there is no problem. This is a bit weird the first time you come over, but seems to make sense once you live here - it's the equivalent of the customs allowed amounts of things you can take into the UK, when visiting from abroad. Also, it is worth noting that in our airport the cases are inspected by sniffer dogs in the time it takes to get through security - sometimes up to an hour. (Go to the loo before you land, or you'll lose your place in the queue!) Don't bring any fresh fruit, veg or meat in your hand luggage... so if you have an apple for the journey, leave it on the plane when you land.

[tadjennyp]

Sometimes they are happy just that you have written down 'chocolate', 'cookies', etc and don't need to see it, but I would have it all in the same bag just so you can bring it out if they do. Philadelphia weren't at all bothered, but Minneapolis and Seattle wanted to inspect everything, even a couple of jars of babyfood that had beef in it. I got away with it as it was processed. Don't forget also, that you have to go through customs at your first point of entry, so even if you are changing planes, you go through customs there.

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

ok so any food/drink bought in the UK should be declared? to be honest I think it'll only be teabags, green and blacks and marmite!

[tadjennyp]

Pretty much! Tea bags and marmite you can definitely get here but they are much more expensive. Green and Blacks are available in Whole Foods Market, but not sure if they have those where you are going. I miss stuff like Branston pickle and baked beans which I pick up here every now and again.

[ElaineBenes]

Hi all,

Moving to NYC soon with my two kids and dh. I'm looking forward to it (kind of) and dreading it at the same time. I've been posting my dilemmas on here under another name but can't be bothered going back and forth to change it all the time - if I get outed, I get outed!

I'm leaving in April and am going to have to wait until June until my family can join us :(

Look forward to seeing you all on here!

[tadjennyp]

Good luck with all the preps EB. It will be June before you know it!

[MmeBucket]

Hi everyone! We've been hopelessly busy around here. But in a good way. Mostly.

We're headed your way in May, Tad.

Good luck with all of your moves to all the new people, and welcome.

[tadjennyp]

Ooh, exciting, Mme Bucket! Should you need a tour guide, or fancy a coffee, or better still a beer in one of our many microbreweries, we'll be here!

[MmeBucket]

Definitely, Tad. If you're going to be around. We're coming Memorial Day weekend. Maybe we can plan somewhere to meet for a bit. We're going to Sunriver with up to 17 other people, so it will be crazy around the house we're staying at.

[tadjennyp]

Sounds like a blast! PM me nearer the time.

[kickassangel]

So ... I had a momentary lapse of reason, picked up the GREEN nozzle at the gas station and put diesel in my car by mistake.

[tadjennyp]

Did the nozzle actually fit? Dh tried to do that in California (Oregon is full-service only) and the nozzle wouldn't fit. Sorry if it has damaged your car, kickass.

[kickassangel]

it fitted enough that i got 5 gallons in before i realised. a tow truck was later involved.

[tadjennyp]

Sorry, I hope it is fixed soon and without too much expense.

[kickassangel]

About $200 which is expensive but a lot better than it could have been. Dh asked why I didn't syphon it, but I thought syphoning was impossible with newer cars. I spoke to our regular garage and they didn't mention it either.

More concerned that dd has a sore throat and we are meant to be going to Disney on Fri

[tadjennyp]

I also thought there was something to stop the backflow in newer cars. At least it wasn't the whole engine, but irritating nonetheless. I hope dd feels much better tomorrow and you have a fab time in Disney!

[wentshopping]

Sorry to hear about the gas station lapse. I always do a double take (while filling) if I'm at a place with all green nozzles.
Which Disney are you going to - land or world? I'm taking dd3 to WDW in Spring Break while older dds are skiing. Getting just a little bit excited! Have a fantastic trip!

[tadjennyp]

See, that's what I love about Oregon. You're not allowed to do it yourself! It saves that old Mumsnet dilemma about taking the kids out of the car to pay as they usually take your card without you having to get out!

Have a great time in WDW wentshopping and hope the older ones have a great time skiing!

[kickassangel]

WDW in Florida.

It's 80 degress there atm, but due to drop to 70 & some rain at the weekend.

dd is beyond excited.