The Start of the Purge

Originally written 6/5/2013

We are still waiting for Matt’s employer to send all of the specifics of the transfer plan.  The waiting is killing me. Thankfully Matt is the one with patience and we balance each other out. Since we are 99.8% sure this is going to happen, why not start consolidating and purging items we no longer need?  

Over Memorial Day weekend I started with a small, yet important job, our music.  We have four large boxes of CDs that needed to go somewhere.  At one point we put all of our CDs onto an external hard drive and packed the CDs away.  The CD market is certainly not what it used to be, and I had low expectations of what would come out of these.  I started with an internet search about selling CDs, and I came across Second Spin.  You search for the CDs you want to sell & they’ll indicate the price they are willing to pay you, if they are taking that title at all.  My initial search of CDs found that they were taking my titles for varying amounts of money.  Don’t get your hopes up for a windfall; prices range from .25 to $3. Box sets and highly desirable titles will go for more.  You have to pay for the shipping of your items to the company. They suggest USPS media mail, so the cost is not very high.  To help defray the cost of shipping, the website offered a media mail shipping rebate based on the number of CDs you send in. I shipped over 25 CDs, and that should net me a $5 credit.  I paid $7.25 at the post office to ship the box; I think $2.25 is a decent premium to pay for what they will pay me.  

I received an email from Second Spin when they received my CDs and another email when my payment was ready. I followed the link from the email and my funds were deposited into our PayPal account.

Next I read about Amazon’s Trade-In Program, which takes books, music, video games, and electronics. Amazon gives Amazon gift cards for your item instead of cash, but for our family that works. Amazon is our go-to website, especially since Amazon Prime provides free shipping. The prices offered for each CD seemed to be comparable to Second Spin with one bonus, Amazon paid for shipping.  I was sold.  It took time to search through every.single.CD.we.own, but my time was well spent.  After one weekend of selling, I accumulated over $80 in Amazon credit.  At .25-.50 each, that was a lot of CDs.  I finished our boxes today and created one last order of $20.  I also checked a few professional books I purchased for grad school and my job.  Amazon only took one of my books, but they paid $18 for it.  That's better than sitting on my bookshelf never to be opened again.  

Not all of our CDs were taken by Amazon.  They work on a supply and demand system, so CDs that have a large following are offered at a low .25 or not at all.  None of our Dave Matthews Band CDs were taken by Amazon.  

I still have a decent amount of CDs left.  Over the weekend I heard a commercial on the radio for Half-Price Books, and it mentioned that they take music, too!  Youngest Kiddo and I took about  30 CDs and a few books into our local store to see what they’d give us.  They offered me $12 for everything.  The man at Half-Price Books indicated that they receive many CDs each week, but not nearly that many are sold each week.  My music was destined for the Dollar Bin and would probably be discarded before it could be bought.

We still have about 80-100 CDs left.  I might make one last run through at Second Spin & Amazon to see if the market for 90’s music has changed in the last week.  If not, then Goodwill will benefit.  

**June 24, 2013 update - I’ve been happy with both the Amazon & Second Spin experiences.  Both options paid a fair price for my items.  Amazon sent a detailed list of the CDs sent in and their rating of them.  The condition of several of my CDs were upgraded to a higher pay level by Amazon, so I’m confident in using this service in the future.   Second Spin had an option to receive my payment via PayPal, and that was the easiest part of the whole process.  The only drawback to Second Spin is that I had to deal with the Post Office.  

** September 12, 2013 update - I've continued to use the Amazon Trade-In program as we continue to consolidate our belongings. I found several old iPods that Amazon paid decent money for.

** All opinions about Second Spin, Amazon, and Half-Price Books are my own and no compensation was received.

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

Life Reduced to a Google Doc

Originally written 6/4/2013

Matt and I love a good list. Actually I'm the one that loves a written list, mostly because I forget if it's not written down. Matt has a super human memory and doesn't forget anything. Usually for big decisions we make a pro/con list.  Over the past few months we made several pro/con lists to decide if we should move. Obviously the pros beat the cons this time.  

For this move we needed the mother of all lists. We decided to use Google Docs for this endeavor. The electronic nature of Google Docs allows us to add to our list whenever (no matter the timezone) or where ever we are. I have the Google Drive app on my phone so I can add to the list as it pops into my head.

So car Google Docs has been a dream. We decided to use the spread sheet feature, which allows us to organize our data into tabs.

• Tab 1 - What might we have to buy (pretty much things with plugs) & what's an approximate cost in Great Britan Pounds (GBP)
• Tab 2 - What we have that we want to donate, sell, or put in storage
• Tab 3 - Realtor Info including positive qualities of our house that might interest a prospective buyer and curb appeal improvements
• Tab 4 - Get, Forward, Cancel - When did the gym membership get canceled? Did we order the kids' medical records? Now we know who did what and when. The most helpful tab in the document
• Tab 5 - Bring With - as I go through the the different rooms I'm listing the things we need to take with use. Remembering the toolbox is not the first thing I think of when packing for London. I did think of it whilst waiting for Oldest Kiddo to get done at Spanish class and added it to the doc via the app
• Tab 6 - Outstanding Schools - finding a school is not fun, so I've made a list of ones that I think look good. Hopefully it helps narrow our housing search
• Tab 7 - Relocation Questions/Wants for when we speak with the relocation company. If it's not written down it won't be asked.

Together we will tick the boxes on our list to make the process of moving manageable.  At least that’s what we think.  

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

If the government of the United Kingdom lets us in the country...

Originally written 6/3/2013

Oldest Kiddo continues to process the move.  We have told her the steps Matt’s employer must take to get a visa so we legally move to the country, the search steps to get a place to live, and what we have to do to enroll in school. When she wants to ask a question about the potential move, she starts each question the same way, "If the government of the United Kingdom lets us in the country....." 

She has very valid questions such as can we live near a park?  Will we be able to check out books from their library? Can we still go out to eat? Her questions remind us that we need to take time to think about the little things, too.  

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

More Difficult Conversations

Originally written 6/2/13

I had to tell my principal & assistant principal that it was likely I would not be back in the fall. These two wonderful ladies and I have formed a bond.  They are there to help when I need it, and they see the fun, hilarity, and humility that comes with working in an elementary school.  

Stink eye, courtesy of Mrs. Obama

I’ve broached the topic of moving to London with them earlier in the school year, and it went something like what I expected the conversation with our parents to go.  They were not happy about the idea, but understood that the opportunity to live abroad does not come around every day.  The London discussion had been quiet for a few months until late last week.

It wasn’t pretty.

We are all working through it together, and I am trying my hardest to make a smooth exit.  Now when I see my principal & assistant principal either give me a sad face or the stink eye.

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

Wrapping Up a Career

Originally written 6/1/13

I’ve been a teacher for the last thirteen years.  It’s what I was born to do.  I’ll admit that in the past five-ish years the profession has become more stressful.  My pension is at risk as I live in a state with the worst funded pension program.  The government is dictating new rules that are not actually best for children.  Politicians are not trained educators, and therefore makes them experts in making decisions about our schools, right?  On a local level, my district is making cuts in order to save money.  I can’t say that I agree with all of those choices either, but I’m at least doing a job I love.  

I never thought I’d leave my job in my current district.  I was offered this job before I graduated from college, and it was exactly what I wanted.  I moved to my current school five years ago, and I felt this was where I wanted to stay for a good long time.  Two years ago our building got a new principal and assistant principal.  I had an instant connection with these two women.  We share many similar theories about teaching and children. Another plus, we have a great time when we are together, no matter how stressful.

I’ve grown a lot as a person and a mother because of this job.  This year, in particular, has been a growing opportunity as I am sending a group of students to the middle school for the first time. I’ve slowly moved up through the grades over the last twelve years, and this is my first year working with 5th graders.  The bonus was that I had many of these students since they were in second grade.  I know these students so well that we are a happy little school family.  I know how to perk them up when they are feeling sad, or give them the tough love they might need. Our move to London has me leave the profession and a building I love.  I am not upset, but I had the same emotions as Oldest Kiddo when she realized she would not be back in the fall.  I am not sure of how or if my visa will allow me to work, but I do plan to volunteer in the kids’ schools as much as they will take me.

I spent the last two days purging my file cabinets of twelve years of teaching.  I found folders of papers from my student teaching days.  They were folders I had not opened since my student teaching days, but I kept them just in case.  Some of my colleagues benefitted from my purging as I passed along several materials to them.  They thought I was being generous as they had no clue a move was in the works. Four drawers jammed of manilla folders condensed down to one drawer.  I sure hope all of that recycled paper will make a significant positive impact for the hole in the ozone.   

One thing I found while purging was my happy folder.  It’s filled with things that I wanted to keep because they always made me smile.  I found notes from colleagues and principals with kudos for a job well done.  There were work samples from students who wrote sentimental or hilarious things; often the hilarity was not intentional.  The smile folder is one of the few things I’ll bring home with me as it’s a great representation of a well-loved career.

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

Raw Emotions

Originally written 5/31/13

The news of our move is trickling out slowly.  This is big news so we need to do it right and share in tiers.  First on the list was our parents and siblings, our kids, and then our friends.  There was anxiety about telling our parents.  Both of our parents live an hour away from our current home, so it’s relatively easy to see each other for causal events or emergencies when the kids are sick. We were relieved when our parents all agreed that our pending move was a phenomenal opportunity and we had to take it. They were not super happy about us leaving the continent.

Today we shared the news with our Oldest Kiddo.  She went to London for the first time this past winter break.  She LOVED the trip, and she reminisces about events at least once a week since returning.  

Our thought behind telling her this early in the process is because we might be gone by the time school starts in August. This would be a good opportunity for her to say good-bye to her friends. We thought she’d be ecstatic with the news.  She was.......at first.  

She got the excited shocked look on her face, then it all drained away.  She quickly realized that she’d have to leave her friends, school, and most of all her extended family.  Seeing these raw emotions pour out of her reminded us what a mature girl she is growing into.  After the initial tears, she started asking questions and making sense of what this opportunity really brings. She understood that in order to go to London she’d have to give up some things here.  On the flip side, if we did not go to London she’d have to give up some amazing opportunities there.  By the time we got through the conversation, she said that she knows it’s a wonderful chance that may never happen again.  

It is sad to leave what we know, but the adventure to come is exhilarating.  

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

Let The Panic & Anxiety Begin!

Originally written 5/29/13

Oh my goodness.  The unanswered scenarios are overflowing our brains!  Should we rent our house when we are gone?  Should we sell it?  Do we send our furniture or rent a furnished place?  Where should we live? What school will the kids go to?  How will our parents react to the news?  Will I resign or take a leave from my job?  There are only five days left in the school year, and I have so many tasks to complete before that time.  I don’t think sleep will come easily for the next few days.  

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.

The News We've Been Waiting For

Originally written 5/27/13

Matt has been helping out with projects at his company's London office for over a year and a half now.  Whenever they needed help, he did not hesitate to fly over.  This is because London is a town we adore.  I’ve been there six times in seven years, and Matt has been there many more due to return visits for work.  

I frequently joked that he should try to get a transfer to the London office, but it was never the right time.  He would be ready to go, but I had reservations.  Then when I worked through my concerns, he was not ready.  It seemed that there was always a barrier either here at home or in the London office.  Plus, Matt has carved a great niche for himself in his current job, and he enjoyed what he did.   

His weekly work schedule entailed more and more travel.  That meant I was home with the kids playing, as I called it, the single mom gig most of the time.  His travel meant a lot of frequent flier miles for the family, but he had to be home for us to use them.  In one week he could visit three or four cities, and the travel was starting to wear on him.   His colleagues in London were asking for more and more of his help, and each visit made him want to be there more and more.      

Then today he got the call we’d been waiting for, a call from one of the big guys in the UK office. They had a position that is perfect for him, and would he want to make a permanent move over to London? After that call, we realized that neither of us had any reservations that could hold us back. It is obvious that the time is right to make a move to London. How often does a person get an offer like this?  

It's going to be an uphill process until moving day. We will try to keep you updated along the way.  

*The news shared in this blog posts was originally written many months ago.  We were not ready to share the news with the world at that time, so I added the original date the post was written at the top.   

Honorable Mention Books of Summer

At the end of last school year, a friend showed me a new book from our school library, Larry Gets Lost in Chicago. I was immediately smitten Larry, a dog that gets separated from his owner during a trip to Chicago.  It's not just because I'm partial to the city setting, but I'm thrilled about the content.  As Larry looks for Pete, his owner, he visits all of the important sights in Chicago.  Larry rides the El, sees Wrigley Field, the Shedd Aquarium, the Picasso sculpture, and the lakefront to name a few.

Don't worry Larry reunites with Pete in a wonderful place.

After I read this book I knew my own kids would love it.  They love it so much, they recognize the landmarks when we visit the big city.  G especially loves to reference Larry when we go past the Art Institute lions.

As I was purchasing Larry Gets Lost in Chicago, I saw that Larry gets lost in other cities, too!  Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle to name a few.  I didn't want to buy all of them so I went to the next best place, my library.

They did not have any of the Larry books in the collection.  However, the website has a tab to request books.  I listed the entire Larry series and crossed my fingers.  Not more than two weeks later I received an email from the library to say several of the Larry books were in and on hold for us!  By the end of three weeks they had bought every one of the Larry books. 

I love my library.

Now I need to write the author and have Larry & Pete go to Europe :)

Fourth (and Final) Book of the Summer

The last book of the summer falls into the young reader category.  Gregor the Overlander is written by Suzanne Collins of the Hunger Games series.  Gregor was her first book series.

Gregor is a teenage boy living in New York City with his mom, grandmother, and siblings.  His father has been gone for two years.  One day Gregor and his baby sister discover an underworld via their laundry room.  He becomes known to the underworld residents as Gregor the Overlander and is an integral part in fulfilling/solving a prophecy that was written long ago.  

His adventure involves royalty, cockroaches, spiders, rats, and bats.  I think this story is great for the late elementary/early middle school reader.  I'm excited to read the next books in the series.  For an adult, it's a quick read!

Goodbye Old Friends

We have to say goodbye to some old friends.  They have been a part of our lives on and off for almost 9 years and their absence leaves an empty spot in our home.  There's an empty spot in the cabinet and another in the dresser drawer.  However we've gained in our pocketbook.  

Can you guess who left?

Diapers!   Wahoo!!!!

G starts preschool soon and diapers are not on the supply list.  So it was an all hands on deck affair to get him ready.  

Matt and I cannot take the credit for this.  G's preschool does not start until after Labor Day, which does not work out so well with my public school & Matt's travel schedules.  G has spent the better part of the last two weeks at my parents' house, and we give most of the potty training credit to them.

By the time he returned to us this past Friday he was independent using the loo.  We have to prompt him to go when we leave the house, which is sometimes a battle.  Thankfully we are stronger and can transport him to the WC.  Otherwise he's becoming a big kid .


Another bonus of no diapers - G's pants that were getting snug, now fit because the bulk of the diaper are gone.  Yay!

Well That Was Weird

I received a message from my friend Renee last week asking what happened to the blog.  I know I've been really busy with school starting, and I have not had time to update it.  I figured her message meant something more than old posts.

When I went to our site I only saw a white screen.

?

No message saying the server was unavailable, just pure white.

It was all Matt's fault.  He remembered seeing something in his email about changes to our hosting (or something technical that I don't understand) and never changed anything.  Apparently August 15 was the day the changes took hold and the blog went silent for a bit.

We're back!