Packed Lunch Guidelines

I'm in love. With the packed lunch guidelines handed out to me by Merrit's school. Typing from the pamphlet, now:

Marine Park First School actively supports healthy eating and drinking throughout the school day and aims to promote health awareness in all members of the school community. Here is guidance from the North Tyneside Council.


Some ideas for packed lunches.


Use a balance of good health as a basis for making your choices. Try to have something from three groups every day and all the groups during the week.


Don't over face your child with items or amounts of food. It is better that they eat up than get fed up half way through.


Group 1 - Breads and Cereals

• Slices of bread
• Bread rolls/buns
• Pita bread
• Chunks of French bread
• Bread sticks
• Crackers or cheese biscuits
• Fruit or cheese scone
• Cooked pasta
• Cold, chopped potato

Group 2 - Fruit and vegetables

• All types of fresh fruit (Think about how easy it is to peel/prepare at school. Why not try to chop or slice it at home and put into plastic containers. A spoon or fork might be needed to eat it with, so don't forget to pack it.)
• Some fruit goes well in sandwiches or salads, e.g., grated apple or cheese, pineapple chunks and ham
• Cherry tomatoes
• Salad leaves in sandwiches or separetely in a box or bag
• Carrot, celery, and cucumber sliced, grated or in sticks
• Tubs of coleslaw or similar "dressed" salad
• Small pots of tinned or stewed fruit - don't forget a spoon!
• Canned or frozen vegetables mixed into fillings, e.g., tuna and sweet corn, grated cheese and chopped green beans
• Pure juice

Group 3 - Meat, Fish, and Alternatives

• Cold sliced meat -  ham, chicken, turkey, etc.
• Salmon, tuna, sardines, pilchards
• Meat and fish spreads
• Liver pate
• Hard-boiled eggs - sliced, whole, or with mayonnaise/salad cream

Group 4 - Milk and Dairy Foods

• Cheese for sandwiches - grated, sliced, soft cheeses
• Yogurt or Fromage Frais
• Tubs of custard or milk-pudding style desserts
• Cartons of milk

You know what I love about this? It's real food. Un-processed, real food. I think it's also interesting to see what kids here eat, culturally speaking, that just wouldn't fly back in the U.S. Cold, chopped potato and pilchards. And not a Lunchable in sight.

Omelettes, Roast, and Shopping, Oh My

Sunday morning omelettes did not disappoint. Merrit mixed up a delicious combination made with local ingredients. It was delicious. For more details about the ingredients and how today's omelette got its name, The Northumbrian, read Merrit's blog post.

We puttered around the house most of the morning, which was a satisfying way to spend the morning and early afternoon. Just good low-key family time.

We rode the Metro into Newcastle. 13 stops to the city centre. First order of business: Lunch.

We weren't terribly familiar with the restaurants nearby so we ambled about, following our noses till we found something that smelled promising.

We ended up at The Northumbrian Arms, an underground pub and restaurant. If there hadn't been a guy holding a big chalkboard advertising the Sunday roast, we'd never have found it. We ducked down a side alley, into an old granite doorway, down two flights of skinny steps, and into a low-ceilinged and cozy warm pub.

On Sundays, many restaurants here serve one thing, and one thing only. The Sunday roast and the traditional accompanying sides. This is our third time eating Sunday dinner. While the vegetables vary, the meal always has roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy.

What did I just post on Saturday about reasonable portion sizes?

The boys and I shared this huge plate of food.

The roast, which was delicious, and the Yorkshire pudding, which had a dollop of some sort of herbed stuffing inside it, and the entire plate of vegetables had a generous helping of gravy poured over it. The veggies included peas, sauteed cabbage, roasted turnips and potatoes, pureed rutabagas (yeah, Mom, you heard that right!), broccoli, and boiled potatoes (because just one kind of potatoes on a plate just isn't enough!).

Holy Moses, it was good. Mike and I decided that this is one place that we will have to bring his parents when they come to visit us. This was English comfort food, just the kind of big-hearted dinner that Delores serves up on Sundays in her neck of the woods.

I'm a locavore in spirit. The idea of eating local foods in season is, to me, both logical and romantic. Full disclosure: I am addicted to avocados, which grow no where near North Carolina OR Newcastle! Anyway, the food seemed to somehow taste better after I read this sign:

The sign reads: "Welcome to our place...

Sample a pint of cask beer,
enjoy a refreshing pint of ice cold
lager or cider.

Try a tipple from our superb wine menu
personally supplied by a local Wine Merchant.

Wherever possible, we only use locally sourced
ingredients from in and around the Northumberland area.

We go to the local markets for our vegetables.

We use an award winning, local family butcher
who source their meats from local Northumberland farms.

A local baker supplies our daily bread.

Our fish are caught from our coastal waters
and arrive fresh to us from the North Shields Fish Quay.

Local food made by local people!"

After lunch and a little walk around, we shopped for some stuff. A hat for Merrit to replace to one he lost in Tynemouth. Grey trousers for his school uniform. Black socks for Mike since no one here wears white athletic socks...how American! Running shoes and a reflective windbreaker for me. Yay! Hm, did Ollie even get anything? No, poor thing.

The boys were wilting, and I still needed a haircut so Mike took them back to Whitley Bay and I scouted around for a salon open on Sundays. I finally found an Aveda salon that could work me in and I got a great haircut WITH a complimentary head and shoulder massage. Aaaaaah.

Wrapped up the night with my first run in Whitley Bay. I don't have my iPhone provider switched over here, so I couldn't track distance or pace, but it was a good run. I'd guess I ran a couple miles and it felt great to get out there. I went out at about 7:30pm, and the village was very safe, people are out walking to the store,  the streets are well-lit, and other runners were out. It felt great to move my muscles again!

Day Trip to Tynemouth

Tynemouth is about five miles south of our town of Whitley Bay--just two stops down on the Metro line. The four of us decided to spend the afternoon there today.

We got a late start because we had an appointment at the bank in the morning to open a checking account. And we stopped on our way home from the bank to buy a ukelele for Ollie from Hound Dog Music, his favorite store, and a scooter for Merrit from a nearby bike shop. Both boys are ecstatic with their new toys!

We left for Tynemouth at 2:00, after lunch and an early nap. We walked to the nearest Metro station, which is about three blocks away.

We are waiting at a small cafe at the Monkseaton Metro station for our train.

Handsome guys.

We rode to the Tynemouth Metro station, which is a beautiful Victorian-styled station built in 1882. It has ornate iron work everywhere, all painted pale green, and a glass roof. It's a gorgeous building. 

Every Saturday, there's a flea market-type bazaar at the Tynemouth station; since it was late in the day, the sellers were breaking down their tables and loading up their wares when we got there. And I read a poster that said there's a farmer's market every third Saturday, so we'll have to stop in for that later this month.

After walking down Front Street, seeing the Congregational Church (built in 1868)
and a statue of Queen Victoria (unveiled in 1902), and war monuments built to
honor veterans of the Boer Wars, we stopped in to a pub for a little snack for the
boys, who were feeling a bit peckish.

Mike and I visited the Tynemouth Castle and Priory when we
were here without the kids. While we didn't have time today
to go inside the priory, we did walk up to it and let the boys
scramble around on the steep hills (I think there used to be
a moat here).

Gorgeous spot for a photo op. It looks like we're perched on the edge of the
precipice, but right behind us are levels of walkways and steps all the way
down to the sandy beach faaaaar below. 

I was hoping we could make our way to the North Shields Fish Quay (prounouced "key"), which I hear is the best place to go and buy seafood. Just popped over to Wikipedia and learned that the town of North Shields began in 1225 as a simple village of shielings (huts) built to serve the nearby Tynemouth Castle and Priory. Since we didn't really know exactly where we were going or how far a walk it'd be, we decided to save that for another day. 

We ambled around Front Street a bit more and headed back to the Metro station. We were getting hungry and ready for dinner.

We ate Italian food at a restaurant in Whitley Bay called Amore.

Dinner was phenomenal. We even scored the Early Bird Special. Three courses--a starter, a pizza, pasta, or risotto dish, and an ice cream or coffee--for just 5 pounds. The kids ate for 3 pounds each. 

Mike and I both had the chicken liver pate, which I thought was yummy but Mike said tasted like cat food. How would he know?

For dinner, Ollie had pizza margherita, Mike had mushroom and chicken ravioli with Napoli sauce, I had smoked salmon with peas in a cream sauce over farfelle, and Merrit had lasagna.

We all had vanilla ice cream for dessert.

What I love about most restaurants I've visited here is that the portions aren't huge. You can eat a starter, a dinner, and dessert, and have a glass of wine and be satisfied but not stuffed.

We walked home in the cold night air and all fell into bed early. What a lovely day.

"I am going to school today..."

Merrit's journal entry this morning.

I woke up Merrit at 6:30 this morning for his first day of school. He pulled on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bathrobe that his Great Aunt Frances made for him for Christmas and said, as we were walking down the stairs to breakfast, "Remember when I went to preschool? Well one time in preschool, we dressed up like clowns. All the kids put on different colored noses. My nose was brown. Some of the kids who had red noses said, 'You can't play with us because you don't have a red nose.'" 

And then he paused. I was multi-tasking and rendered speechless by the toothpaste and toothbrush in my mouth so I just looked at him, waiting to see what he'd say next.

He goes, "I don't have to worry about that at school today because this is school for big boys." And he kept heading down the steps to the kitchen.

I have never heard that story. I am so surprised that he woke up thinking about it. What does it mean? Is there a part of him that's worried about today? About fitting in? About being different?

It's only normal to feel that way, but I was surprised by this story because he's normally so transparent about his feelings and this seemed to come from left field.

That was the end of it, though. After toast and eggs, he was revved up and literally counting the minutes till we needed to head out the door. 

Mike on his way out to get the Metro at about 8:30.

We left for school about 10 minutes after Mike. Drop-off time is 8:50. School starts at 9:00.
Merrit ran ahead the whole way, very worried about being late!
It's a three-block walk from our house to the school.

Getting ready to go in for his first day! This is an elementary, or first, school.
They have 3- and 4-year old nursery school (free for siblings of enrolled students),
kindergarten (which they call Year One), and Grades 1 through 3 (which they call
Years Two through Four). Merrit is in Year Three.

Here he is at the front entrance, getting ready to go in for his Big Day!

Here's his classroom. He immediately noticed the big aluminum-foiled robot
in the corner.

His teacher, left, is taking off her coat from bringing her class in from the playground.
This little boy, named Hammish, was kind enough to take Merrit to show him where
to put his packed lunch and coat and hat. 

When I picked Merrit up today (he only stayed for a half-day
today since the afternoon on Friday is swimming and we don't have
his bathing suit yet), Hammish was playing with him on the playground,
keeping an arm around his shoulder the whole time. I could have
cried to see the kindness of this little boy.

Merrit said he thought Hammish
had hair like Ollie and that's how he could find him in a crowd.

Ollie and I said goodbye to Merrit and headed out. I snapped a couple of pictures of
the playground on our way out. Here's the vegetable garden and natural area and pond.

The side of the school, overlooking the playground.

The school has a large Astroturf field with a playground next to it. This
picture is cool because you can see how close the ocean-front is.

I should be getting information about the upcoming term's curriculum next week. For now, I know that the kids do gymnastics once a week, dance once a week, swimming once a week, and outdoor P.E. twice a week. Outside playtime for an hour each day. Every student learns French. (I was hoping they would be teaching a second language!) Art classes. ICT classes (information and computer technology). Music once or maybe twice a week. I saw a number of students bringing in violin cases, so, I don't know...maybe that's available as an extracurricular activity...? I can't wait to learn more about what they'll teach and what his daily schedule will be like. 

I'm so charmed by the idea of uniforms, but here everyone takes it as a given. We have to order a few more uniforms on Monday. He can wear either a light blue or white golf-style shirt with an emblemed navy, royal blue, or red sweatshirt, grey trousers, and black shoes. There are also extras you can purchase, like emblemed anoraks, cardigans, and sweaters. Today, the school sent him home with a cute little Marine Park First School book satchel. It looks like a little soft-sided royal blue briefcase and it has the school logo embroidered on the front. Adorable. He looks like such a little man.

To celebrate Ollie-and-me time, I took my boy out for scones. He
had a raisin scone and I had a cherry and almond scone. 

Two fresh baked scones and a small pot of tea cost me 3 pounds, about
4 dollars and 80 cents.

We stopped by Sainsbury's grocery for milk and eggs.
Outside, Ollie rode the horse for 50 pence.

Ollie and I went to the bank and stopped by a dentist and a doctor's office to register
(you have to register with them--if they are even accepting new patients--before
you can make an appointment to be seen).

Last stop before home and lunch: The guitar shop. This has quickly become
Ollie's favorite place in town. Second favorite: The pet supply store, where
he likes to look at all the pictures of dogs and cats on the bags of food in
the window.

I love the big windows on the store fronts and the window-displays. Such
creativity and time go into them. I've noticed that many of the stores
put out a new window display every few days. It definitely makes it fun
to walk by and see what's new at each store.

So that's how we spent Merrit's first day of school. We picked him up at 1:15, after recess (which they call playtime). He said he had an "excellent" time. He met new friends, but couldn't remember anyone's name except for Hammish (pronounced Irmish). No homework tonight, but we can expect it come Monday, his teacher said. I am glad for it because I can't imagine not being in touch with what he's learning. It is going to be a strange transition for me.

Ending homeschooling is a bit like weaning, I think. On the one hand, you're a bit sad and sentimental that this particular chapter is coming to an end. On the other hand, you know that you're about to experience newfound freedom and fewer demands and that's exciting. So, mixed feelings. But all good.

New Shoes...and That's Just the Beginning

Merrit needed black trainers (we call 'em sneakers) for his school uniform.
And Ollie needed Wellies -- um -- yesterday!

I have a friend, Darlene, who--when someone asks her, "How long have you been homeschooling?"--likes to say, "From the beginning." In that way, all parents are homeschoolers.

But officially, we homeschooled Merrit through kindergarten, first grade, and for this, his second grade year--at least up till now. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

That kindergarten year we read Pipi Longstockings and The House at Pooh Corner and Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little and so many others, spread out on a picnic blanket upstairs while Ollie slept downstairs in his crib. And when Merrit learned to read all by himself. Wow. What a miracle and privilege to watch my boy learn to read! I was so in awe. Our goal for that year was to teach Merrit to read, and to help him learn to love books. We also took field trips. And made cookies. And worked puzzles. We also participated in Classical Conversations, and Merrit memorized all kinds of facts and formulas to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat" and "Yankee Doodle" and so on. That year was just bliss. Really.

First grade was more challenging. Only because Ollie was older, slept less, and schooling, necessarily, had to get more structured. But still we persevered through Classical Conversations' materials, through Science, Latin, History, Geography, Grammar, Spelling, Handwriting, and a big honkin' Saxon Level 1 math book...the whole thing...omgosh, that book was fat. Our goal for that year was to foster a natural curiosity, to help associate learning with fun, and to gain familiarity with basic material across a wide breadth of subjects.

This year--second grade--has been a good year. It was our third year enrolled in Classical Conversations. Ollie went to preschool and Merrit and I worked hard to squeeze our schooling into those three hours a day. He started multiplication tables, world geography, cursive writing, and chapter books. We read more great literature. Old Yeller, Shiloh, My Side of the Mountain, The Borrowers, the first three books in the Narnia series, The Hobbit, and two books in the Little House series.

Since I love homeschooling so much, I have had mixed feelings about putting Merrit into school. But after a lot of discussion, Mike and I think this will be good.

For one thing, what a great opportunity for Merrit! To go to school in another country. To meet English kids. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The school has an opening now--and it probably won't have an opening in the fall since it's typically oversubscribed with a big waiting list. Even though I hadn't thought about putting him into school mid-year, it seems like this might be the best way to go.

And here's what I was not really prepared for: Merrit is really, really excited to go! We had thought we'd get here, adjust, take some time to transition into the idea of going to school, just take it one big change at a time. But Merrit has been asking, and asking, and asking about school. We walk past it on our way to the library and he is so impatient to go.

Honesty: There's a teeny part of me that's thinking, "Wow, is school THAT bad with me?"

But when quizzed, Merrit gives the reasons for wanting to go to school that must be typical for a kid his age. Recess. Lunch. Making friends. What I know about Merrit is that he loves structure and he is such a social little guy. I really think he's going to dig being in a classroom with other kids.

Another reason that now is a great time for Merrit to go to school: Ollie. Maybe this is a shortcoming of mine, or maybe it has more to do with Ollie's active nature, but all I know is that I am in awe of these moms who homeschool five kids. How do they do it? It has been hard for me to give Ollie the kind of time, attention, and stimulation that I would like to while schooling Merrit.

So, yes, it's Ollie's turn. And he is going to drink it up. He's such an observant, adventurous person. Whatever he sees you do, he wants to try. He's fearless. With structured, intentional time with me, I think he'll do great.

Kitty Update #1 of ?? (No Pressure, Jer!)

So hopefully this doesn't mean they won't drink from their
water bowls in six months. Both your tabbies have joined
the rest of the pets in drinking from the dog water bowl.

We just got an update from our friends, Jer and Kara, who are keeping our two cats, Skippy and Jenga, for six months.

Animals, including pets, must prove symptomatic-free of rabies for six months AFTER they've had a vaccine and a blood test for the disease BEFORE they can legally enter the UK. It's complicated, but understandable since the UK is a rabies-free island.

Jer and Kara, who already have three Bengal cats, a dog, and a baby are REALLY good friends for keeping the kitties and for flying them over later this year!

And now, here's Jer:

Thought you might like a little update and do know that all are coexisting just fine now. Skippy gives a bit of her mean side to the others here and there but for the most part has ceased from hissing whenever a Bengal gets within 5 feet of her. They are not all quite best buds with each and every other animal but they keep the peace quite well. We've even had an occasion or two with all 6 pets chilling with us watching TV.


All litter boxes are located and food is served to all in the mud room. So far the only crossover is our cats appear to be very welcoming to Skippy and Jenga's litter box, making it their own. Surprisingly food is staying separate. Whether it's the Harwood cats bowls being too high on the dresser or more that the Haynes cats are too lazy to even check it out, I don't know. Our cats don't like to change their diet either so the rare time there is food in the bowls on the floor they just walk on by.


I'm addicted to your blog, Mir, and it is great motivation for us trying to work our way over sometime soon ourselves, but mostly it makes us miss you all wishing we were there, too.


Get your number to us and let us know when a good time for a phone call would be. :-)


Cheers,
Jer

"Next Time, Mom, Let's Pack a Lunch and Take the Bus."

There's a white lighthouse we've been seeing from the boardwalk near our house. We didn't know what the lighthouse was called, if you could actually go up in it, whether the boardwalk would take us all the way there, or how far away it was. We really didn't know anything about it.

But we wanted to go there.

I talked to a shop keeper about the lighthouse yesterday and learned that you can go all the way to the top, that it's called Saint Mary's Lighthouse, and that you can walk there if the tide is out.

The boys and I set out early. About 9:30 a.m. We walked all the way there. (Google mapped it when we got home and it is 2.4 miles one way.)

The boardwalk overlooks the sandy but sea-weedy beaches that become
more rocky the closer you get to Saint Mary's Island.

We are inching closer to the lighthouse. Merrit took this picture.

A concrete foot bridge connects the mainland and
the island. The boys couldn't resist the tidal pools
on both sides of the walk. Seaweed, snails, shells,
and algae-covered rocks.

We made it across the foot bridge and went exploring
on the lighthouse grounds. Unfortunately, the
lighthouse and shop were closed...but that just means
that we'll have to come back another time.

Steps on the ocean-facing side of the lighthouse led
down to the water's edge. Waves splashed against
the rocky edges of the island.

The cover of John Eldridge's book "Wild at Heart" comes to mind when I look
at this picture. The nervous mama in me bit my tongue while I let my boy jump
and explore around on the rocks.

The cover shot of Merrit's first rap album.

We had the sunniest, prettiest day we've had since we arrived in England.
It was so warm, all three of us took off our coats and hats.

Love these colors.

Here's where our day got interesting. The lighthouse keeper told us that we'd
best stop exploring and head back or we'd be stuck on the island for another
three hours. The tide was coming in. And quickly!

We started walking back across the
foot bridge. The tidal pools were now covered in water, about three feet deep.
And tiny waves were lapping over the walkway. It doesn't look deep here, but it
was about six inches deep! I was a little scared! I had a death grip
on each boy's hand as we crossed over!

Both boys had cold, wet feet after our close call, so we decided to walk to the
nearest bus stop to fast track our trip back to the house.

While we waited for the bus, Merrit picked flowers for me.

When our bus came, I asked the driver to break a 20-pound note for a 90 pence fare but he said, "Ah, don't worry about it. I'll take you to your stop for nothin'." So we said thank you and hopped aboard.

The bus ride was probably Ollie's favorite part. He loves anything with wheels.

We dragged ourselves, hungry, wet, and heavy-footed, into the house at about 1:00 p.m. What a full day. Merrit says we will definitely have to go back when the lighthouse is open and next time, he says, we need to pack a lunch and take the bus.