Expat Mums Blog

Social invitations in the UK -- how different can it be?

I know what you were thinking. In fact I did it myself almost two decades ago.

"Sure – I’ll relocate. After all they speak the same language don’t they? How different can it be?”

If you’re an American in the UK, you’ll know by now. If you’re an American about to make the leap, take note. Or “Nota Bene”, as the Brits love to say. 

Hopefully, one of the first things you’ll come across are invitations and, as with most things, there are a hundred and one informal “rules”, which also means a hundred and one ways to put your foot in your mouth or cause offence.

Nip boredom in the bud! Top 50 activities for kids this half term

I used to measure the success of school breaks based on the number of trips made to A&E. One year I had to deal with a 2-year-old who lost her fingernail in a slammed door AND a 3-year-old who broke her arm whilst climbing out of her cot.

We've moved on since then, and so has the economy.

The credit crunch means that many people may opt to stay local this half term, rather than the usual trip to France and Euro Disney.

Here are some ideas in preparation for when you wake up on Monday morning and the children ask "what are we doing today mummy?"

And if none of these ideas appeal ... you can always hire a babysitter and get a massage!

Confessions of a binky addict

I have a deep, dark secret.  I have hidden it from my closest friends for years.  I tried to hide it from my mom, but she eventually found out.

My children used dummies until they were practically young adults (binkys for you yanks!)

OK, I'm exaggerating, but it sure seemed like my life was governed by dummies for ages. I should have given them up earlier, but as the years went by they became harder and harder to extricate from our lives.

Cake sale blues? Try these "BEST EVER" apple and carrot muffins

You can tell when it is cake sale day (aka BAKE sale day) at school -- there is a swarm of moms fighting around a table of homemade goodies.  There are some really good bakers at our school, and every mom has their speciality.

I’ve just found mine: THE BEST EVER apple and carrot muffins. My five-year-old,  who scrunches up her nose at anything that originated in a garden, LOVES these muffins. In her words: they are “the best ever!"

They are economical too, Scottish grandma is visiting and after downing a plateful of muffins, she pointed out all the money I saved by not offering her a box of Waitrose cupcakes.

Is there anything the Scots DIDN'T invent?

This post is written for anyone who is fortunate enough to be married to a Scotsman.

I suppose it is relevant if you are married to a Scotswoman, but I have to say I have never heard a Scottish woman brag that television was invented by a fellow countryman.

Or that Tarmac was invented by a Scot. And the steam engine. Flush toilets. The bicycle. Penicillin. Radar. Motion pictures. The list goes on.

It’s a guy thing.

I think there is a class that all Scottish lads take when they are about to leave school. It is titled: Famous Scottish inventors: How to woo young foreign women.” To a Scotsman, "foreign" means born outside of Scotland, and that includes England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

How to make a proper cup of English tea

The first thing you need to do when you move to the UK is to learn to make a proper cup of tea.

I am not talking Oolang, peppermint, cranberry/orange, or even the end-all cure-all green tea. I am talking about a cup of plain old black tea. With milk.

If you perfect this skill, you will go far in your new home.

A good cup of tea works wonders with builders, decorators, electricians and any other British person that comes into your home. As the saying goes, they love their tea.

Please remind me WHY I live in England?

I have a funny relationship with the UK. I am fascinated by it, yet I sometimes wonder what the heck I'm doing here.

A little history: More than a decade ago, my British boyfriend and his accent swept me away from my San Francisco apartment and high-paying high-tech job to live in a small Thames Valley town full of antique shops and tea rooms. (Actually, it was nothing like that, a few months after I met him, I quit my job and showed up on his doorstep with seven suitcases).

The initial honeymoon period with my new homeland lasted barely two months. After that, the grey skies were really starting to bug me. So was the fact that EVERYTHING WAS HARDER HERE.