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.

Yes, you really are very new here. If you moved areas in the UK you would be feeling like this anyway, but it's hard to remember that.

It took me weeks to get over jet lag, so I was short of sleep for ages, and it was winter soon after we arrived, so everyone shut indoors & I had nowhere to go. Now I wonder if I'll ever want to move back to the UK - I like the space & lack of crowds, the lower cost of living, and really enjoy my job.

Every time I go back to the UK I get culture shock at just how crowded & dirty it is! It only takes a few days to re-adjust, but I find it hard to remember what it's like to be stuck in traffic etc. My parents live in the SE, very busy, and I really don't enjoy travelling around there.

I can remember those days too girl, I just used to pack all the dds into the car and drive round exploring (Houston's not really a walking city). It does you good to take the odd day "off", with no unpacking, attempting paperwork, etc.

Anyone in Atlanta GA?

thanks all, I know it just takes time and getting to know it, and I'm feeling the pressure a little to let everyone at home know how amazing the sun and beach are (which of course they ARE!) and I know that sleep deprivation doesn't help.

I really need to get going with driving lessons so I can be a bit more flexible - where we are at the mo is ok because the buses run to a few places but we fell in love with a house today which is terrible for anything in walking distance and the nearest bus is a good 15min walk away, not great for dragging the 3yr old around.

Chatted to a random mum in the library today though having had no success at the park, have met up with a friend of a friend who's an English mum and have booked in a non child evening of wine with another theatre director who got in touch with my company just before I left so I just need to keep garnering those relationships, making friends and it'll be easier - but it's nice to have somewhere to moan where people understand so thankyou!

LA just feels so massive and I don't think I've left Santa Monica/Mar Vista/Venice Beach yet!!

Good to hear you're meeting people Girl. Driving will definitely help you I think. When we were first here we only had one car which was really hard as it meant I couldn't go anywhere when DH was at work unless I dropped him off and picked him up which was at least a 30 min journey each way.

mtw - I have a feeling there may be someone else, but can't remember who.

Hello all. I've got a question about chicken pox vaccination. My DC will probably start school in August but need to have complete vaccinations first. DD2 had chicken pox at 5 months old so will she still need vaccination? What did you do about vaccinating? Any advice And info gratefully received!
Thank you!

Hi MrsOlf firstly, apologies for all this rain... we really need it after last year, but really.....
My dd1 and dd2 had already had chickenpox when we moved here, so they have not had the vaccination - I just had to give the dates of when they had it - and I had dd3 vaccinated. She was fine, and has never come into contact with any peers with chickenpox. Having said that, I know a local family whose kids were vaccinated as babies, and both caught chickenpox aged about 10 or 11, as this is when the vaccine "wears off" or so I was told. These are the same kids who got the flu after the flu vaccine. :(

and another thing - I found it helped to "translate" the UK vaccination records - ie. give the doctor's office a copy of the list with the dates written the US way, otherwise they will not understand when you had all of the baby ones done. My school nurse gave me a form to fill in from the school district which was used as proof of chickenpox and other vaccinations.

Hello all. Well I was just starting to feel like a bit of an old timer too having moved to Houston more than a year ago now, but it looks very much like we may be moving to Dallas - still in the States I know, but still another move and somewhere new to find our way around and try to get settled again... So the question is, is anyone in Dallas??

Hello - anyone have knowledge/experience of things to do in San Diego on holiday? Am currently contemplating a spring break visit to LA, with a side trip to San Diego for a few days. Hotel and restaurant suggestions would be gratefully received also.

Don't know about Dallas, but it sounds so exotic!

I had to explain some of the vaccinations from the redbook too, as they also have different names sometimes! You usually have to present the vaccination record at registration, so you have a bit of time yet.

Love SD! We went Memorial Day week last year when ds2 was still only tiny and had a wonderful time. Loved the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park though it is a way out of SD. Went to the beach at Coronado which was a really cute little town, though everyone loves La Jolla. The little old town was quite cute and there was a little Mexican restaurant there which was great. We weren't there very long as it was a long drive to Oregon and back but I really recommend it. We took the kids to Legoland on the way back up which dd and ds1 really liked.

Hi Mamil. Dallas sounds exciting. There was a thread on Dallas about 6 months ago I think. I'm sure I was on it for a bit as Dallas was an option for us at that point.

DH's boss was off there last year and his wife, who loves Houston and has been here for 3 years, couldn't wait to move there. They didn't get there in the end and I know the whole family was v disappointed.

Just back from UK yesterday, hence awake in middle of night...

Hello!

Just got power back after our cute little town got hit by a tornado!

We are fine, but it was within a quarter mile of our house so a very close call. We have friends who have damage. Amazingly there were 0 fatalities. Some people came out of their basements to find no house left at all, so really quite dramatic.

Unless you are 8. Apparently being stuck in the basement with no power and a mum who doesn't let you look out the window (I wonder why) is the most boring thing ever.

Hello,

Sorry to barge in on this thread, but I posted elsewhere without much response so thought I'd try over here. We've just decided to move to San Francisco where DH is originally from (woohoo!). Our DS would have been due to start Reception in 2013 here in London, so Kindergarten in 2014. I've already toured far too many schools here since we were originally going to move for the school, and while he's not in school yet, I feel like I have an idea of what they're like here.

I went to American int'l schools, which are sort of a thing of their own, so not really comparable to 'regular' state schools. What are the big differences I'm likely to encounter, given that I'm going from one urban area to another?

Things I've picked up from the internets seem to be: at least in SF you crazily only get art/music/science if you get into a school with an active, fundraising PTA, parental involvement seems a lot higher, very different start times for different schools, less recess and P.E., foreign language learning taken much more seriously (lots of immersion programs, etc.), smaller classes. What else?

Look forward to joining this thread 'full time' once we make the move!

Tornado, kickass. Sounds scary to me. Glad you are ok. Was going to ask you if you'd seen the Northern Lights this week.

I don't know much about schools in SF as each state and district is different. There are definitely immersion programs for Spanish though. I have heard that some schools ask for quite a lot of money at the beginning of each year in SF to fund these extras. Good luck.

Serif, no idea about schools in SF sorry. But there is generally a lot more parental involvement and social life around the school.

The tornado was pretty scary - strong enough to lift an entire house up (F3) so amazed that no-one was hurt. We have amazing sunshine and close to 80 degrees now, totally not typical March weather but very helpful to the disaster services clearing up the town.

OK, thanks.

Hope everyone has a lovely Spring Break!

All almost 2 1/2 weeks of it. (Sigh)

Things have been crazy here. I ended up in the ER, and subsequently found out that my best option to stop having to do that was to have a hysterectomy. So I'm slightly over a week past having surgery. They knicked an artery in the first 10 seconds of the operation, but I am healing way ahead of schedule, anyway.

I got the clear to drive, but traffic is all messed up here, so I'm going to have to wait to go anywhere fun. We live in a city of about 25,000, and are basically up on a hill, and they're redoing the major road that connects us with the freeway, and have shut it down for the next 4 days. They're rerouting all traffic to about 2 smaller side streets, and causing 4 hour traffic delays, since it isn't just our city, but a bunch of small towns out farther that are all fighting to get just about anywhere but our city. They already shut down a bridge due to construction almost a year ago that won't open for a few months, which would have been another way to get out of town, but decided that now would be the best time to shut down the major road, too. Poor DH isn't home, and he had an early day at work, and should have been home about 3 hours ago.

That all sounds pretty crap!

When we moved here we were told that there are 2 seasons, winter and construction.

Weather here has been fab - 80 degrees and sunny. Usually don't get this til May.

I have spent a couple of days lying in the sun as I have just found out I'm low thyroid and Vit D. So sunshine is on dictor's orders right now.

Hope you get better soon mme

Wishing you a speedy recovery MmeBucket. Traffic situation sounds crap :(

Welcome Girlwithmouseyhair. Honestly once you get out and about you will meet loads of mums-there are so many ex pats in SAnta Monica too- we are eastside so rarely come your way. Check out that lovely library you have- if they have storytime get yourself to it is my advice. I have made all my lovely mum friends via library story times and meetup.com is also fab.Before you know it you will have a great network and be busy each day with something to do.
Check out the Annenberg Pool once it opens 1 st may- lovely place to hang out down there on the beach and the Getty Villa is just up the road from you.
I can send you a list of all the free stuff to do with kids in LA if you like.
This city is full of possibilities- you will love it once settled in.

Pitmountainpony thankyou so so much for the list, very gratefully received! Actually we do go to SM library! Storytime is lovely there....

Sorry for the silence, laptop had milk poured over it (thanks DS) so been checking on my phone and it is so much to scroll through! Earthquakes and Legoland and Dallas, all sounds very exciting...

DS has hit a wall in adapting brilliantly, turns out he just didn't realise this was for good and is seriously acting out now. Tyring to remain patient and calm but on top of sleeplessness induced by 4month old DD I feel like a bit of a shit mum right now

We had that with dd. she was quite happy at first, then realized it wasn't just a holiday