Spoiler Alert: There is a picture of me in this post! 

After the museum we went out for lunch at then drove to a beach that was recommended by our hotel concierge.  

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. 

I will mail European chocolate to whoever can offer me a satisfactory explanation to this mystery.  All over the beach were these little piles of sand and little holes.  I know they look like turds, but they are sand, I promise. You can see them in the pictures above.  It’s as if someone pressed sand through a pasta maker in little piles all over the entire beach.  Then the tide would come in and wash them away.  

Chasing the birds. 

I didn’t even pack mine and Richard’s swimsuits because the forecast said it was going to be 68 degrees.  I figured kids aren’t too picky about weather for swimming but I didn’t think the adults would be interested.  It ended up being over 80 degrees and we were wishing we were in the water!  I’ve never seen a forecast be so terribly incorrect and been so disappointed about it. 

After we finished at the beach we drove back to London, sandy and exhausted, for our last couple nights in our apartment.  

I’m still working on posting this holiday… maybe my subconscious just wants to keep re-living it every couple of weeks. 

On Thursday evening after we got back from Dover castle we went back into Ramsgate for dinner and had Fish N Chips again.  Then we took a walk down by the beach.  It was breezy and cool but that didn’t stop a few beach goers.  For awhile we watched a man doing some sort of sailing/surfing.  He would ride the board out, with the wind pulling his sail, and then coast back in.  He did it over and over.   I want to put it on my bucket-list; whatever it is. 

I wanted to try to get one of those cool jumping pictures that are all the rage for bridesmaids and best men and weddings these days.  This is what I got instead.  

The next morning was Friday, the 4th of July.  We wanted to do something patriotic so we went to a WWII museum.  It was small and had two exhibits: a Spitfire and a Hurricane.  Those were the two British bomber aircraft flown during the war.  The boys weren’t too impressed at the time, but now that they’ve learned so much they are dying to go back and see them again.  

The coolest part for me was that there were three old men there, and two of them had been pilots during the war.  They took their jobs so seriously, even though I’m sure they just volunteer their time there.  They answered all our questions and took pictures for us.  

Today is our last day in our apartment.  I have mixed feelings about this.  There are so many things I’m not going to miss. For example, all the doors in the apartment are spring loaded and close automatically.  I understand this is for fire safety but it’s quite a pain, it makes for difficult temperature control for one thing.  And it’s also really impractical with the kids.  The kids sleep on the first floor and we are up on the third floor and although you can hear surprisingly well from top to bottom due to the small spaces, if our door was closed at night and the kids doors were closed we would never hear Eli wailing when his leg fell asleep or Simon whimpering because he wet the bed.  Wait a minute… maybe I’ve misjudged the value of the spring-loaded doors…  But in the meantime I’ve been propping open the doors with our huge suitcases.

I also won’t miss being on the 20th floor and worrying about what the kids are dropping out the windows or throwing over the patio wall.  But then of course there are so many things I WILL miss.  I will miss being on the 20th floor with almost an entire panoramic view of the city, especially the view at night.  

I will not miss living in the financial district which is not family friendly, it is a hustle and bustle and we are constantly battling commuter crowds.  But I WILL miss living in the financial district with the smart looking people in their business suits and all the posh shops and restaurants.  

I will not miss living with something else’s belongings and worrying about what my kids are doing to them.  But I will miss having the maid come and clean.  

It has also been hard to maintain any kind of kitchen.  I mostly buy only what I need to make a single meal, which has its advantages but can also be problematic when I go to saute the veggies and have no olive oil or anything that resembles it.  I will not miss having empty cupboards and an empty refrigerator.  But I will miss having per diem and eating out at tasty new places.   

I’ve really come to love Canary Wharf. I’m familiar with the trains around here and the restaurants.  I love running along the river.  I like the simplicity of our apartment with so few belongings.  But we are so done living out of suitcases.  We moved out of our house in Kuna on June 4, so it has been a full month of transition.  We’ve packed up our suitcases and changed locations four times now.  We are all jonesin’ for some stability.   This week we took a little road trip and Simon was so confused about where we live.  In a hotel? In the apartment? At Baca’s house?  In our new house?  

So tomorrow we will go to church, and then when church is over we will walk down the hill to our new, completely empty house where we will meet up with the agent and the key.  Then Richard gets the pleasure of using our little car to shuttle our 12 suitcases from the apartment to our house.  And hopefully IKEA will deliver our mattresses so we can have something to sleep on besides the hardwood floors.  

Parks have been our saving grace the last three weeks.  This one is our favourite- Sir Jon McDougal Gardens.  We all loved this cool swing.  

We’ve been here two weeks today.  I haven’t felt too much homesickness but that might just be because right now it feels like we’re on vacation.  Of course there are some things that I’m having trouble getting used to, but for the most part I’m falling in love with London.   

Things I don’t really love:

–          Cigarette smoke.  I don’t know if the UK government has just thrown its hands in the air with regard to public education campaigns about the harmful effects of smoking, but I did notice that cigarette packs have pretty bold and obvious warnings.  It sure feels like a LOT of people smoke.

–          That I can’t make my kids wear their neon shirts every day, because every where we go there are so many people! And I miss just being alone, driving alone in a car or even being alone in an aisle in a grocery store. 

–          The frustrating lack of public toilets.  I get it, I mean I know it’s the problem of big cities with indigent people.  Despite our efforts to be more proactive with our kids and their bathroom needs, (using them before we leave and when we are patronizing restaurants) it still feels like someone always has to wee RIGHT NOW.  In fairness to the English and their polite manners, no one has ever turned away one of our kids when we’ve been desperate. 

–          The noise.  You’ll see this in my other list too.  It’s one of those love-hate things.  But sometimes I just long for quiet. 

–          The people who expect you to move out of THEIR way.  They just keep on walking, full speed ahead, directly toward you and it’s really a “move it or lose it” attitude. 

–          The lack of people I love.  I know I’ll make new friends, but the kids and I feel a little lonely at times.  No play dates, not much social interaction at all really. 

Things I really love:

–          Girls in Hijab.  Something about these girls and women moves me.  Maybe I’m projecting my ideals of modesty, courage and spirituality on them, but regardless they are committed to their religion. 

–          The smells! When I go running I usually seem to end up running “upstream” in a river of commuters. I love it.  There are so many perfumes and colognes.  And of course there are so many delicious food smells, so many ethnic foods and bakeries too.

–          All the beautiful people I see.  I’ve noticed in the past couple days that living here in the corporate part of the city I’m seeing a more refined demographic.  The people I see each day are well-dressed, well-kept professionals.  But it’s fun for me.  They look so grown up and “smart” – as the British say. 

–          The cheese section in the grocery store.

–          The bakery in the grocery store.  My favorite treat is a shortbread cookie covered in caramel with Belgian chocolate on top. Mmmm it’s so good.  So far I think Nero coffee shop has the best one. 

–          The street/tunnel performers.  I think I might have to carry less cash with me because I just want to give it to them all.  Walking through the tunnels while changing trains or rail lines can get so tedious, and when there is music it just makes everything better.  I’ve seen accordians, violins, a saxophone, a rapper, singers, guitars… you name it. 

–          The way everyone calls me or the kids “darling”.  It’s so kind and friendly.  People are constantly knocking the kids over or bumping into them.  There aren’t many kids around here and our kids are learning a little too slowly about being aware of the people around them.   But most people are quick to apologize when they’ve bulldozed a toddler.  “Sorey darling!”

–          The food.  We certainly heard our share of “British food is terrible!” from people when we said we were moving here.  But as Richard likes to point out, let’s be honest here. We are moving from Boise Idaho.  Is someone going to claim that Boise has better food?  (No offense Boise! We love your food!) There are international restaurants everywhere of course, and even our experience with local food has been great.  Pie and mash hit the spot for meat and potato people like Richard and Cameron. 

–          This is obvious, but the never ending supply of museums.  We’ve barely dipped our toe in and I’m in love.  Two years won’t be long enough to see all the museums. 

–          Despite being in this huge city it doesn’t take long to get to the countryside.  And what a beautiful countryside! 

That’s probably enough for now.  I’m sure as time goes by I’ll discover new treasures and annoyances.  

Living in this temporary apartment, Richard not working yet, and being in a new place make it feel like we are on vacation.  But we aren’t- and even though we have a sufficient per diem to cover our meals we still have limited funds for sight seeing and exploring.  The kids are mostly free on public transport but Richard and I aren’t, so wherever we go we pay.   And even though there are many free places to visit, many are not free.   So we’ve been trying to find a balance of taking advantage of  this work-free, school-free time without burning through our savings.  It is also exhausting being tourists so we have spent a fair amount of time just relaxing around our apartment and watching the World Cup.  But after a day or two of sitting around I get antsy, so on Monday afternoon I said “Let’s go somewhere!” By the time we got out the door it was rush hour, and I didn’t check the forecast, so we didn’t bring jackets or umbrellas and that’s how our adventure began.  

Piccadilly Circus isn’t a circus at all, in case you were wondering.  A circus in this context is just referring to a circle, which is what is at the center of this really nonsensical intersection.  Let me take this opportunity to say that the roads in London have no rhyme or reason.  They are what they have been for a couple hundred years, or more.  They don’t run north-south, east-west, they run hither and thither.   It’s completely opposite the grid type system you’d find in Salt Lake.  (Those Mormons are so organized!) London consists of many small villages that all just grew together, and since the English are reluctant to tear down buildings to make more organized “motorways”, they just make do.  The idea of driving in London is terrifying to me for this reason, and because of that minor detail about driving on the other side of the road.  

Piccadilly Circus is in west London.  It is the heart of the theatre district so all over we saw signs for all the classic musicals and some new ones we’ve never heard of.  I had no idea there were so many theatres, and each theatre only shows one play.  

We got to Piccadilly Circus right at dinner time, so of course the kids were starving.  I always imagine these little outings so much differently than they actually occur.  I imagined we would meander past Piccadilly, through Chinatown and toward Covent Garden Market where there are some fun places to eat.  All the while soaking in the experience, observing with wonder and awe the old buildings and charming little streets.  It was less than a mile of walking and was only supposed to take 12 minutes.  But right after I took these pictures it started to sprinkle.  And instead of doing the responsible thing and coming up with a back-up plan, I ignored the rain and my husband’s promptings to find a closer restaurant and the hungry pleas of my children because I was TAKING IN THE SIGHTS BY GOLLY.  Then it was an all-out downpour.  And Mim needed to wee.  And and and… 

I’ll skip the next twenty minutes and suffice it to say there were some immature and stubborn adults and some wet children by the time we ducked into a Chinese restaurant called Kai in the heart of Chinatown.  

The food was delicious.  Cameron wanted to try roasted duck, which turned out to be quite tasty.  I have to give credit to the kids for their open mindedness and flexibility with all the different foods we’ve tried.   They have been good sports. And Eli and Miriam were determined to master the chopsticks.  Simon thought he was determined too, but he was making such a mess that we confiscated the chopsticks.  Sorry buddy, maybe next time.   Fortunately by the time we finished eating we were mostly dry and in much better spirits.  

In an effort to ease my mother-guilt for dragging my children through the rain, we made a quick stop in a candy shop.  But who am I kidding? The candy stop was all about me too.  

The street performers were probably my favorite part of Covent Garden.  There was a guy singing through/playing an orange traffic cone.  There was also a magician/comedian and a Freddie Mercury impersonator that was probably rated PG-13, because well, Freddie Mercury.  But this guy was our favorite.  Flames came out of the bell of his instrument (have I really forgotten what instrument that is?! I’m ashamed of myself.) We watched him for several minutes and all the kids wanted to throw money in his hat.  I’m grateful to whoever told me the informal rule that if the performer is good enough to make you stop, or if you take a picture, you ought to give them money.  (Adri? Lori?) 

Covent Garden Market was fun and quaint and definitely has some restaurants we’ll be coming back for.  It’s a pretty tourist-y type place so it seemed as good as any to take this obligatory photo.  You knew it was coming.  

After I spent a busy day trying to sort out school applications for the kids, which involved errand running and train rides and paperwork I really wanted to get out of the city.   I’ll write more about school hunting when I have more energy. even just thinking about it makes me tired.  

I looked through the guidebook I stole from my parent’s massive guide book library the night before we left, and found Hever Castle.  I sold it to Richard and he figured out which trains to take and when.  (Each day we get a little better at this.) 
The journey altogether took almost two hours, but that’s partly because we missed our train and took a lunch break in East Croydon.  

When we got off at the station it was hard to imagine there was anything worth seeing nearby.  It was soooo quiet.  The station felt like it was in the middle of nowhere.  So we walked the back roads to the village and found the castle.  

There was a lot of really fascinating history about King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and his other wives.  There was some pretty messed up relationships going on. I guess that’s nothing new to history and present, but it was scandalous all the same.  Throughout the castle there were letters back and forth from Anne and Henry.  She was ultimately executed for alleged infidelity but there is speculation that it was really because she wasn’t producing him a male heir.  Her last letter to him, in which she tries to convince him of her innocence and plead for her life, was really painful to read.  

It was a really fun day trip.  The countryside was just as beautiful and charming as I imagined it.  But by the end the kids were kind of driving us crazy and we were all really hungry so we made a quick stop to eat.   We ate at an “American” place called Morley’s.  It was hamburgers and fried chicken.  Pretty gross actually.  But there were a couple 20-something girls eating by us and one of them said to me  “Are you American? Your language and accent is so beautiful.”  I had to bite my lip not to laugh.  It’s all about perspective I guess.  

Before we even left the states I took comfort in the fact that as soon as we arrived we would have friends.  I reassured the kids that in primary they would sing the same songs as they sang at home.  

We found our ward online based on the address of our house.  It is the Catford ward in the Wandsworth stake.   Most wards in London have their own building, so church usually begins at 10:00am. The perfect time if you ask me.  We left our apartment about 9:15 thinking we had plenty of time but we forgot to account for the fact that the trains run less frequently on Sundays.  There was one pulling away right as we came up the escalater.  Watching your train pull away is a new kind of disappointment for us, that unfortunately is becoming more familiar. 

We took the train to Lewisham and then caught a bus, the kids first time on the red double-decker buses that are a fixture of London transportation.   Eli and Miriam were so slow getting back down the stairs to the bus door, the three of us almost got left behind.  But someone shouted at the driver on our behalf and we escaped. After which I’m sure the locals rolled their eyes at the inept Americans.  (I’m always sure this is happening when we do something wrong. Although I have no reason to be, it’s purely based in insecurity and not at all in experience.) 

Our ward is very small.  The bishop wasn’t there, and he only has one counselor.  The chapel doesn’t have benches, only chairs.  Chairs that were not very comfortable or kid friendly.  There were less than 100 people there and a wide variety of ethnic diversity.   There were several local British couples whose kids are raised and out of the house, and then a large percentage of the ward population seems to be middle-aged singles.  Next week there will be a new set of students from the BYU Centre.  The BYU centre is located in West London but rather than have wards/branches there that cycle every 6-7 weeks, they send the students out into the local wards. I got the impression that the students really liven up the congregation and are loved by the local members.  

The missionaries were the speakers during the meeting and the first Elder was from India.  He told the story of his conversion and it was a really faith promoting talk.  I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of living in a non-Christian society and hearing the story of the gospel, and it’s principles, and being able to relate to it at all.   And then going on a mission and making all the sacrifices he made to be committed to his religion.  Having lived mostly in Idaho, which is similar to Utah, it’s easy to see how young men and church members can participate in the church on a social level.  There is social pressure to serve missions, and social advantages to church activity.  It takes a different kind of faith to do the things church members outside of the states do.  (Or at least that is my perception so far.  But I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts about this.)

There was a couple behind us that introduced themselves after Sacrament meeting was over, the first people we met in the ward.  Her name is Myriam and she is the YW president and his name is Yuneh.  (I’m pretty sure I messed up the spelling on that.)   Each time we introduced ourselves I was worried that people would think two years wasn’t very long, but it was just the opposite.  Every time we said two years they got really excited.  I’ve never felt so wanted! 

I took the kids into the primary room where there were five other children.  Miriam clung to my legs and Simon started sobbing.  I told Miriam to be brave and I would come check on her in a little bit. It was nice that she could sit right next to Eli.  Then they told me that there was a nursery upstairs so I took Simon up to the nursery, where there was a nursery leader, Sonya, and one other little girl.  Once he saw toys he was content to be abandoned.   When I went back to check on Miriam later she was back in her element, talking boldly and loudly, about herself.  

Relief Society was a really tender experience for me.  We recited the RS motto and it says something about being part of a worldwide organization and for the first time I felt the reality of that statement.  I’d only met two women so far in the ward, one from Portugal and one from Grenada.   Then we sang a song that I guess they are practicing for Sacrament meeting and it was a really simple but pretty melody from an old English school song.  I just felt like even though I was so different from everyone else in the room, I still belonged.  

The kids said that the primary was all combined for sharing time and then they split into two classes, Sr. Primary and Jr. Primary. Which meant that Eli and Miriam are in the same class.  I feel sad for them that the primary isn’t bigger, but I hope over the next few weeks there will be a few other children that show up.  

I do feel so grateful to have this home away from home at church.  I would feel socially lost if I didn’t have this avenue to meet people and have immediate relationships.  

On our first Saturday here, we had the brilliant idea to be tourists, because isn’t Saturday the best day for such outings? It is if you’ve been sleeping and house hunting for the first four days of your expatriation.  

We really wanted to take the kids to a park, so why not Hyde Park?  We consulted Yelp for a lunch suggestion- which was The Laughing Halibut, a tasty fish and chips joint.  Then we made our way to Hyde Park via Westminster and Buckingham Palace.  

The kids love riding the train.  Cameron loves planning out routes and Eli loves looking at the maps.  Miriam and Simon love watching out the windows.  I would say this has probably been their favorite part of London.  

This must be some of the most expensive real estate in London.  (Can you tell I have house hunting on my brain?)  This is Buckingham Gate in Westminster.  These buildings are so old and so well kept.  It’s just delightful walking along these roads. 

Buckingham Palace guard.  Our stop by the palace was a little impromptu so we didn’t know much about it until we came home.  They fly a flag when the Queen is living there but we didn’t know to look for it.  It has something like 661 rooms, and only 11 are open to the public for tours.  Miriam was dying to go inside.  Cameron and Eli were really interested in the guards.  The buttons and feathers are unique to each country in the UK.  

Wellington Arch- built in 1825, on top is the largest bronze statue in Europe.  

The weeping beech in Hyde Park – also called the “upside down tree.”  The kids played under it for a long time, it has great climbing branches and it was nice and cool in its shade.  

Hyde Park was bustling with people. It was a beautiful day, just really nice.  I couldn’t stop smiling from all the different kinds of people we saw.  And everyone was so pleasant and happy to be in the company of their family and friends.  Picnics, football games, amorous couples, and music.  

Speakers Corner is at the northeast entrance to the park, I imagine it was the best place to stand to catch all the passersby as they came into the park.  On Sunday afternoons people still come to share ideas and debate.   I’m sure some really exciting moments happened on that corner.  More than I can even imagine.  

London is such a busy place, with such diverse people and I often feel a little overstimulated.  But it’s growing on me so much and I continue to feel really grateful.  

Richard and I went through House Hunters International craze for a few months when we had cable.  The idea of flying to another country and looking around at houses looked so fun and exciting.  Of course I later learned that it was mostly staged and rarely were the people actually making a decision, but I still thought the idea of it all was enchanting. 

Our house hunting experience was nothing like that.  

It began with months of periodic searches on a couple UK property sites.  I did research about areas in London and then I would search for places in those areas.  Our real estate agent later explained to me that these websites have their advantages and disadvantages, and can be misleading.  Landlords and other agents often use pictures of previous properties to get your interest and then pull the bait and switch.  But what happened for me was that in my mind I collected all my favorite ideas, areas, features and they became a jumbled and inaccurate view of what actually exists.  

KPMG pays for two days of “house hunting” with a local agent and we chose Thursday and Friday after we arrived.  Our agents name was Jo, and he and his business partner Justin worked hard to schedule viewings for us.  On Wednesday night they emailed us a “programme” of Thursday’s scheduled viewings. I looked through them and burst into tears.  It was nothing like I what I had dreamed up in my mind and I was terribly disappointed.  Richard tried to console me but I went to bed feeling like Jo and Justin had totally misunderstood what I wanted. 

It turns out that Jo had misunderstood me a little bit, he kept asking what my life back home was like, and he wanted to try to replicate that for us here.  Eventually (but not until Friday) I was able to convey to him that we were here for London experience, not a Kuna experience.   But I had also done myself a bit of a disservice by letting my expectations get wildly out of hand because I completely lacked the appropriate knowledge to keep them grounded.  

So we spent Thursday (with all four kids in tow) searching properties in Southeast London,  approximately within 40 minutes of Richard’s office.   Jo was fantastic with the kids, and Simon was his best buddy by the end of the day.   After the first three properties my mood had completely changed.  I felt like I would have been comfortable in any of them.  Of course none of them had everything I wanted- but I was reassured that we would find something we liked.  

We were looking for 

3-4 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
A comfortable commute time to Richard’s office and for me to get into central London
a “garden” (backyard)
Character/charm (Classic Victorian/English features)
Proximity to good schools
Proximity to transportation
Budget of course
A large or open living space/kitchen 
Quiet street


The city of London originally existed in what is now central London (Buckingham Palace, Westminster, etc.) but as it grew it absorbed small villages that still have their old churches and infrastructure.  These little villages are charming and we looked at houses that were really close to them.   We also looked at a house in the heart of Greenwich and a house that was very new and modern with a swimming pool and gym.  We saw quite a variety.  And when I say “house” I mean what we would call a townhouse in the states.  Rows of houses with neighbors either on one side or both sides, sharing adjacent walls.  


By the end of the day we had narrowed it down to three choices and on Thursday evening we looked at schools that were close by and tried to estimate Richard’s commute time.  

Friday we were lucky to have our friend Michelle watch the kids.  (I “met” her months ago through a mutual friend and she has been super helpful to us.)  Jo picked us up and we drove out to Wimbledon.  He insisted that we look in this area because at this point I think he was still convinced we were looking for a suburban, family friendly lifestyle.  And I won’t lie- Wimbledon was beautiful.  Huge trees and parks everywhere, lots of families.  Malls and restaurants and fantastic ambiance.  But it’s nearly an hour train ride into Richard’s office, and probably over 30 minutes into central London and so despite it’s open spaces and bigger “gardens” we just weren’t into it.   We did see a couple houses in an area called Wandsworth but they were a little high for our price range and still a 45 minute commute.  

Jo wanted us to make an offer on a place by end of day Friday so we were scrambling to make a decision.  We had talked and talked about it and prayed and pondered.  Nothing seemed like an obvious choice, and Richard deferred to me, so I just went with my gut.  I’ll write more about the house we decided on later, when it’s official and paperwork is signed, but it was really hard for me to choose.  

There was never going to be a perfect place, I had to weigh so many options and it felt impossible to decide which things were the most important.  And even afterward, when we tell people where we plan to live everyone has an opinion.   But when it comes right down to it, we are in a really exciting place, we are going to have some really neat experiences, and wherever we chose there would be things that drive me crazy.  

Hopefully things will get sorted out this week, but we won’t move until July 5th because that is when the current tenants will be out and the property will be cleaned.  I’m crossing my fingers that our house hunting days are over.   It was a fun experience to see many different parts of London, Jo was a knowledgeable and entertaining guide, and I did enjoy walking through many different types of houses.  But it wasn’t simple or easy or straightforward like it was on HHI.  Just sayin’. 

Here is my little disclaimer- because I love me a good disclaimer. 

I’ve realized that I am hesitant to say anything that might be interpreted as complaining or ingratitude on this blog.  But I believe in being authentic, and if I can’t be honest about the things that are hard because I am afraid of being judged, then I can’t write at all.  

So I will be real.  

But know this- I am immensely grateful for this opportunity.   I spend most of my time feeling blessed.  But there are hard things and no one’s life – no matter where they live –  is perfectly charming.  

So there’s that.  

I’m quickly learning that I’ve really underestimated things.  I shrugged my shoulders about culture shock.  I shrugged my shoulders about house hunting.  And I shrugged my shoulders about jet lag. 

We left Boise on Monday morning and arrived in London on Tuesday morning.  The kids slept a few hours on the plane but by Tuesday night we were all so tired I was sure we would just jump right into our new schedule.  I gave everyone Melatonin and they were all asleep by 9:30.  Unfortunately everyone but Cameron was wide awake at 3:00am.  Thank goodness for the World Cup to entertain us at such a bizarre hour.  

Cameron ended up sleeping until 10:30 that morning.  And he was good to go after that. Regular bedtime, regular awake time.   Richard and I went back to bed Wednesday morning around 5am and Eli, Miriam and Simon watched cartoons and did who knows what while we slept. (Don’t report us to the authorities.)  Mim and Simon took a nap that day but Eli didn’t go back to bed until after 9:00 that night.  

By Thursday night through to Friday morning all six of us seemed to be sleeping somewhat regularly and our appetites seemed to have returned to appropriate meal times. 

It’s a strange and almost helpless feeling to not be able to sleep when you want to and then to be utterly exhausted during the day.  I have a new found empathy for anyone who has insomnia.  For those who deliberately and voluntarily stay awake all night on a somewhat regular basis on the other hand… (Ahem. You know who you are…) 

And in case you are gathering anecdotal research about melatonin, here’s my two bits. 

I gave my kids melatonin drops each night before bed and they never had trouble falling asleep in the evenings.  Now of course that could be attributed to sheer exhaustion, but it sure made our transition easier.  Now if we can just get used to sleeping with no air conditioner, with the windows open, with the noises of the city and with a 4:30am sunrise…