Tim & Jules: September 2013

Monday, September 23, 2013

Menu Plan Monday ~ Sept, 23, 2013

Chicken Tacos

Lemon Dill Salmon

Spinach and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Lentil Soup

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

Friday, September 20, 2013

# 016 You Might Live in Scotland If...

Your child wears and adorable uniform like this:

She was trying to catch the fog in her mouth ;)

Now that it's cooler, she also wears a blue sweatshirt (they call jumper here) overtop.
She can also choose to wear the white and blue checkered dress underneath as well.

Another difference is that the schooling goes by primary and secondary instead of by grades like I am used to in the states. I'm sure many places around the world use this system. But it's all new to me having a daughter in full time school now!

So the equivalents in the states would be:
Nursery = preschool
P1 = kindergarten
P2 = 1st Grade
P2 = 2nd Grade
...and so on and so forth...

We just had Maddy's first parent teacher conference meeting last night and all seems to be going pretty well. She is one of the youngest in her class (if they turn 5 by February, they start P1 that school year). And of course she has a December birthday, so that's that. But she seems to really be enjoying school and setting well. She is working hard even when the work is hard, which makes me proud!

She did ask me one morning if it was a school day and when I said yes, she said, "Oh dear!" When I asked her why she said school was SO long and there is TOO much teaching - haha! Sounds about right for a child's first year in school. I know it will take some time of adjusting.

I have gotten to help in her classroom which has been really nice to see what they are up to and how she is interacting with her classmates and her teachers. She seems right at home there.

It was quite hard for me at first for her to be gone 9-3, but she seems to be enjoying school and growing more each day. She has made lots of friends in and out of her class and loves playing at the park with them after school. I tell you what though; I sure do soak up every moment I get with her outside of school! I can't believe how quickly this little gal is growing up! I'm thankful for the gift she is to our family!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Menu Plan Monday ~ Sept, 16, 2013

East Baked Chicken, grilled broccoli

Baked Mac and Cheese, salad

White chicken Chili

Beef Stew

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

More great menu ideas at orgjunkie

Sunday, September 08, 2013

Menu Plan Monday ~ 9.08.13

Monday (Breakfast)

Veggie Omelet and toast

Tuesday (Soup)

Chili and cornbread
* I also added a some brewed coffee, brown sugar and cayenne.

Wednesday (Meatless) * Never got to this last week!

Cheese and Vegetable Stuffed Shells

Thursday (Mexican)

Beef tacos

Friday (Crockpot) * Never got to this last week!

Sloppy Joes

* More great menues at orgjunkie

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Exploring St. Andrews {Crail + Anstruther}

It's hard to believe, but we've been in St. Andrews for 3 weeks already! We are unpacked and starting to feel settled. We are living in a little village just outside of St. Andrews called Strathkinness. It's so tiny it doesn't even have a convenience store, only a pub, primary school, church and a post office.

We're definitely out in the Scottish countryside! You might think I would feel isolated, but I'm enjoying the peace and the quiet. We have a lovely view of the Eden Estuary and down into the city of St. Andrews.

The blue in the distance is the Eden Estuary that leads to the North Sea

If you look closely in the distance you can see the towers in St. Andrews!

The drive "into town" is only about 5 minutes for us, so we're certainly not far from the things we need. We feel very blessed. Everyone here seems friendly and helpful. I pass neighbors and local villagers on my way to drop Maddy off at school each morning or at the park on the way home. It seems like a really tight knit community and I'm looking forward to becoming part of it. It's certainly been hard to leave our dear friends in Aberdeen. But it sure does help when you land in a place where you feel at home.

One of the added bonuses of moving is the opportunity to explore a new part of Scotland.
Last weekend we took the short drive down to two fishing villages on the fife coast called Crail and Anstruther. It was a gorgeous 70 degree day and the sun was shining. It was so nice spending time as a family and getting to see some beautiful scenery!

{A Few Pictures of Crail}