A Sudden Life Change

We've only been in Glasgow for two months but we're moving away.

It's bittersweet.

My husband wasn't sure he wanted to attend the University of Glasgow. It was going to be more work than the English university he was accepted into and the course would last a year longer, finishing in four years rather than three years as is standard in England. It would involve moving away from his family and starting over in a lot of ways.

But, it's one of the ancient universities and they have high standards for being accepted, so it was a big deal. We were both afraid that if he didn't go he would regret it. And, there would always be the opportunity to change to the other university if he didn't like it.

We both love Glasgow. We've really enjoyed our time here and we really enjoy living in a big city. But, the truth is, my husband was really beginning to doubt his choice to attend the university here. It wasn't just one or two things; it was a lot of things.

He's 32 years old and the majority of the students in his classes were 17 and 18 years old. Besides studying psychology (the subject he's getting a degree in)  he also had to choose two other subjects to study. In the English university you only ever study one subject. He couldn't find a third subject he was happy with (options were quite limited) and ended up with something he really didn't like. Not only this, but it was loads of extra work for subjects that were essentially pointless in his education. Add on several other issues and it was quickly becoming clear that he'd be happier at the English university.

So, he contacted them to see about getting an application in for next year. Because they were only two weeks into the semester they sent him an email and said they'd still consider him for this year.

So, in one day we made the decision to move back.

Last week was incredibly stressful. It involved staying in a hotel one night, driving back and forth between Cumbria and Glasgow several times, viewing houses, and working out how much money quitting our lease here early was going to cost.

We've found a beautiful Victorian house that has been converted into two places. It's very modern but is full of original features. It's so beautiful. The final checks are going through today and we should be able to sign the lease by the weekend. If the moving boxes I've ordered arrive in time, we could be moving this weekend.

I will miss Glasgow and I'm sad that I didn't get more time here. But, I'm also looking forward to being around my in-laws again and being back to where my friends are. It was a little bit lonely here but I'm good at lonely so it was never going to be a major issue. My sister-in-law just found out she's pregnant this week too, so being around for that will be really cool.

So, busy times ahead! But I am looking forward to the new house!

The Creation Station

I've just discovered The Creation Station and I love it! They appear to have classes all over the UK and I found a local one to our part of Glasgow. I took Isaac yesterday for our first session to try it out. I'm used to taking him to loads of free things back in Carlisle run through Barnardo's and Sure Start so when I heard this was £5 per 45 minute session I thought to myself, "It better be good!" Well, it was and next week I'll be dropping £50 for 10 weeks.

It was held at a local church and run by a really nice, friendly woman. She was great with the kids and the adults as well, engaging us in conversation that never felt forced or uncomfortable during the session. I say that because I can be a bit awkward around people I don't know, especially being in a new city and a new country where I don't know anyone. So this helped me enjoy myself, too.

The session started with everyone sitting in a circle and making waves with a parachute and then lifting it up and pulling it down over us, like we used to do in P.E. as kids. I remember parachute days being the best! The session revolved around autumn leaves so a box of leaves collected from outside was dumped onto the parachute and we made them bounce around and fly all over.

Next we sat at tables and did chalk rubbings of leaves. Then we painted leaves to do prints on some construction paper. After that she passed out paper plates with the centers cut out and a hole punched in the top to make a wreath. We glued down leaves and were given other things to embellish them with (like confetti, pom poms and feathers). Lastly, we got to sprinkle some silver glitter on them.

And finally, she had some cardboard binoculars to put together and then decorate.

We were constantly doing something and it all moved along quickly so Isaac never got bored. I was impressed with all that was packed into that session.

Yesterday I got out a cotbed sheet and told Isaac it was our very own parachute. Daddy joined us and we made waves with it for awhile. Then we added different sizes and colors of pompom balls to bounce around on it. The joy he got out of that was awesome. Then he decided he wanted to be bounced on the parachute! So we very carefully gave him some rides in the sheet. I think it's his new favorite thing to do.

I can't wait to see what we're doing next week!

An update!

I currently have 12 drafts sitting on this blog. That means there have been 12 different times that I've sat down to write an entry and abandoned it before finishing.

Do you know why I suck at blogging? Because I'm lazy. Simple as that.

There won't be much for me to look back on if I don't write entries.

I'm not going to make any bloggy friends if I don't write entries.

So, I'm back at it!

Really, I am.

Like, I mean it this time.

I'm totally going to do it.