He's Baaaa-aaaaack! And then Gone Again, just like that.

My delicious Daddy-007 finally got back last night from England! Hooray!!! I can finally turn down the electric blanket! I was planning on having a lasagna for dinner and giving him a big home-cooked meal with all his favorite people (the Furious Five, back together!) but my plans got derailed when I didn't have any mozzarella and then had a little too much fun running out to Trader Joe's on my own (remember that I've had to tote along at least one child with me to the grocery this week and, oh, yeah, that I just never went to the store because I vowed not to cook on my "vacation at home"); so the lasagna, though I assembled it, did not get baked because we wouldn't have eaten until after 7pm and that is just too late for the kids.

Insead, we went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was CC's idea and he was pretty adorable after dinner when he looked at me and 007 and beamed, "High-Fives for coming up with the idea for Mexican, right?" Delivered with a waggle of the eyebrows, open mouth smile, and uplifted hand ready for giving a high-five to. :) Recognition given, where recognition is due. High-fives all around! Go team Furious!!!

Unfortunately, Daddy-007 just left (at 5:45am) for Chicago, where he is taking a weeklong seminar on some program he needs to know for his yacht design studies. He says he's coming back tonight for one more night at home with all his loveys, but I think he is going to be too exhausted and will end up crashing at my uncle's like he had planned before to do. We'll see. This week will definitely get interesting without him around (again).

So, here's the skinny on the trip: HE LOVED IT. The program at the school looks great. The stats for graduates getting hired for the kind of job that he wants to get are super. There is a huge boating industry right there so he can get internships while he is taking classes. He was impressed with the faculty that he met. He liked (not loved) Southampton, but thought that the areas around it were pretty great. On the whole, he thinks it is a chance of a lifetime.

So, all that adds up to: This whole "Moving to England" thing is a GO.

His gut feeling on neighborhoods was to concentrate on Eastleigh, Netley Abbey, and Chandler's Cross. (What happened to Winchester?! We'll see what mama can do about that when we head over together ;^) I will now start obsessing over property searches and school information in those cities.

And most importantly, his favorite place that he went to on the trip,... his most vivid and heart-warming experience on the trip: The Duke of Wellington Pub. Check the link for more info on this totally cool pub built in the 1200s. It's right around the corner from the Baitkeeper's Cottage, natch. :)