Living in America... visitors welcome

[SuperBunny]

East Coast
MaNanny - Boston
Twinmommytobe - Boston
MuminCT - CT
Greatgooglymoogly - NY State
Yesthereare4ofthem - NY State
Brooklynmom - NYC
alarkaspree - NYC
MKG - New Jersey
Mummimamma - PA
Poetmum - PA
Twirl - MD

South
Earlybird - TN
jabberwocky - AR
Sunchowder - Florida
Marls001 - Bentonville, AR
Tinpot - NC
MadameDeathStare- AL

Midwest
SuperBunny- Chicago
Dodgykeeper - Dayton, OH
Chocchipcookie - Ohio
MonkeyLover
KickAssAngel - Ann Arbor, MI
MumofFivemeanschaos

Rockies
Alipiggie - Boulder, CO
Ribena

Northwest
AnnieLaurie - Seattle, WA
Dooneygirl - Oregon City, OR

California
SittingBull - nr San Francisco
Califrau - Milpitas
loopsngeorge - Brentwood, LA
Syd - Manhattan Beach, LA
SofiaAmes - LA
LATyke - Redondo Beach
CarmenSanDiego - San Diego

Texas
Texan - Dallas
Tiggyhop - Houston
Vixie78 - Houston
BananaPudding - Austin
Cosmicdust - East Texas

Canada
Hellish - Ottawa
Shouldlistenedtomymum - Hamilton
Nooka - BC
Jacksmama - Langley

Exotic Islands
Anorak - Bermuda
cp - Trinidad
Barefeete - BVI

Brazil
Albert

What are you all doing for Mother's Day? I am feeling uninspired.

Hello all. Sounds like lots has been happening!

KA I don't know about you but although I feel quite secure here it is weird having your whole life (house dcs school etc) dependent on dh's job. For us no job = no visa so we'd be straight back to the UK. I'm sure you'll get to stay but these are strange economic times and no one really knows what will happen.

SB I hope it works out for you - must be hard waiting and not knowing how many plans you can make!

No idea what's happening for Mothers Day but I do know I'm not cooking lunch!! Since restaurants here are packed at 11am for lunch(!) and 5pm for dinner I think that means dh is cooking.

How awful, kickass. I'd still be freaking out even with a safety net. You sound much calmer than I would be in that situation.

Mother's Day is one of the holidays I put in the "minor holiday" class and don't really bother celebrating. DH can make me breakfast if he really wants to, I suppose.

Hello everyone

Crashing for a quick question. If I am writing a communication to someone with a Native American surname, it's Dear Mr Two Crow, not Dear Mr Crow, isn't it?

What an interesting question, ninedragons. I have no idea. I don't know any native Americans.

nine dragons i have no idea, do you want me to ask my 'rl mn' group?

dh's job has always been hugely uncertain, we've been through fases when he wasn't getting paid, or onhalf pay etc, so we've always budgeted very carefully. we don't want to, but could survive for a while with no income, but technically, if dh loses his job we're meant to leave the country within 10 days!! i assume we could then return as visitors for 3 months & sort things out. we decided we'd just dig into saving & have a 3 month break, travel a bit, then start up again in the UK, but i'm hoping it won't come to that.

mother's day, hmm. apparently, we didn't do anything for the uk one cos we're in the us, and we won't do anything for the us one, cos we're from the uk. oh well, gets me off the hook for father's day, when we won't even be together anyway.

kinda hate feeling 'told' to love someone anyway, a bit like valentine's. i choose when to be nice to dh, not when i'm told to.

Times are hard indeed. Am (fingers crossed) being flown to Geneva in a couple of weeks for a hopefully successful interview, then will fly back to the States and enter on the visa waiver scheme to tie up all my loose ends here. Sad but am resigned to the fact that this is what's meant to be. Eight more goodnight hugs with my babies [sobs uncontrollably] and I really will need medication on the flight outta here. Or a lot of drink.

That would be great, kickass. I don't have to send it until Monday but if nobody knows I'll go with Mr Two Crow.

So sorry to plunge in with a trivial question when you are all discussing such uncertainty. Ten days to pack up your life and leave the country seems amazingly harsh.

no worries, nine dragons. most of the time we just discuss food!

on the subject of which, i have just tried my first attempt at making vanilla fudge. waiting for it to set, but seems ok. appears to be setting, but the flavour is a bit 'simple' - you can tell it's just sugar, butter, evap milk & vailla extract. it's a kind of flaky old fashioned type, not smooth, chewy. very sweet.

I love homemade fudge. MMMMmm

9dragons
i have an answer
no-one has ever seen a form of address, just paperwork with the full name on it, so dear two crow, no mister, would seem best.

i have this from someone who is part cherokee

Mmmmmmm fudge........

update, someone else has said dear mr two crow.

no-one is saying dear crow or dear mr crw - basiclly, don't drop the 'two'

unless he is a chief, then he's chief two crow.

does this make sense?

Fabulous, thank you so much.

I am not sure if he's a chief or not - he works for a medical software company and that's all I really know about him!

I love that you are writing to a native american. I knew one when I lived in Liverpool, of all places. Now I am here, I seem to have reverted to the idea that all Native Americans live in teepees. I know its not true but it's the picture that my mind always conjours up. I also imagine all British businessmen dressed like the father in Mary Poppins. Am I shockingly unPC?

Ah, it's just that my DH's firm wants to sell him something, so you don't want to get someone offside from the beginning by using the wrong honorific.

DH is a British businessman and doesn't wear bowler hats. He wears a suit if he absolutely must but if he's not meeting clients or going on telly he wears chinos and a Gap shirt.

I'm so disappointed, ninedragons. Good luck.

as we're all so obsessed with food on this thread!

Obsessed with food? What're you talking about?

I just went to a first birthday party and had cake. Mmmmmm. Yours sounds delicious, Kickass.

Oh, cake. How I love cake. Colin had birthday cake at his game today, but there wasn't enough for anyone else but the team. That sucked.

I am going to make a vanilla buttermilk cake with mango curd and Swiss buttercream frosting for my birthday. I realized I missed it, but we haven't been home much the past week, and I still want my cake.

you MISSED your birthday? how?
or was it just cake that you missed?

even so, not sure which planet you're on. i'm already mulling over ideas for dd's cake in august!!

Oh, I want cake now

I have been pondering what to make DS. Only 5 months to go!

well, for dd i have done
bday 1 - didn't let her have cake at that age!
bday 2 - erm, possibly still not allowing cake, don't remember.
bday 3 - shaped like a butterfly, with tubes of icing used to make a pattern
bday 4 - choc hedgehog (my fave cake as a kid & resurrected for my 18th)
bday 5 - 3 tier (piled up, not on pillars) choc, vanilla & banana cake, made to look like presents in a pile, with bows on.
bday 6 - ??? hmm, may do cupcakes all arranged to make a display? not sure she'll approve, she is keen on the whole candles & singing bit.