Holiday from heaven and hell

This will either be very short or long, rambling and nonsensical (is that a word?) because I am so freakin' tired. We're in San Diego and we've been having a great time. Nikki's graduation was very moving, Easter was fantastic and the days after that were spent on the beach, eating nice food and just chilling out. Then it started...

Toby had a fever on Thursday night which I put down to a little too much sun and heat. He is, after all, half English and my son. Not a great combination when it comes to heat exposure. The next day we decided to go to the Birch Aquarium and stay indoors. It was lovely and the kids had a great time. As we were leaving Toby started complaining of being tired and he ended up falling asleep in the stroller. A few hours later he had a fever again and I saw a little red spot on his neck. I looked under his shirt and counted 13 more spots. Chicken pox.

Poor old Tobes has it bad and, being half me, he's not taking it well. I got the chicken pox when I was 13 and was an absolute terror. I remember laying on the floor in nothing but my underpants with the AC vent pointed at my back and every time the air went off I would start shouting. I remember taking oatmeal baths and crying that I was a monster. Screaming at Mom and Dad and generally making life hell. 25 years later and I'm on the other side of the equation. Tobes has been screaming such things as "I want my pretty face back!!" and "Put the cream there... NO DON"T TOUCH ME!" and my favourite... "I need cream in my bottom... no, ONLY MOMMY CAN DO IT!" I talked to Mom last night to let her know the situation. Her motherly words of advice? "Yea, payback's a bitch, huh?"

So, we've extended our stay in California by two more days and will hopefully fly to Texas on Tuesday. Of course by then I fully expect Rosie to be in the throes of the pox but she's more like her father and a more mellow child when it comes to that kind of thing. Wish us luck.

On a happier note, Nikki and I managed to go paragliding yesterday. It wasn't windy enough for hangliding but paragliding was the next best thing. We spent twenty minutes going up and down the coastline and even saw a baby whale surface and blow water out of his blowhole. It was amazing but we both ended up with motion sickness. Nikki coped well but me, being the drama queen when it comes to illness, ended up throwing up. Thankfully I did not throw up in my helmet or over the sunbathers on the nudist beach or in the fancy backyards of the big houses we flew over. I managed to keep it in and throw up in the bathroom of the cafe where we had lunch afterwards. That felt like an accomplishment.

Today's the day!

The car will be here to pick us up in four hours. We fly in nine hours and then twelve hours later we get off the plane in LA. A two hour drive after that we arrive in La Jolla and see everyone! So, about 24 hours from now we'll get there. It's going to be a long day. I should probably go jump in the shower and start getting things moving here. See you on the other side!

Counting down...

The bags are almost all packed. Flights, hotel room, rental car all confirmed. I've been doing laundry and laying out the travelling clothes. Yes, we have another day before we fly on Friday but I have learned over the years that if I prepare in advance as much as possible it makes travelling a more pleasant experience for all of us.

This way we can have a nice breakfast Friday morning before the car comes to pick us up. I'm making chocolate croissants (the premade Pilsbury dough stuff, come on I'm not crazy!) and we will hopefully have a pleasant, relaxed morning. If I don't prepare then the morning would most likely consist of a lot of shouting, running around, sweating, harsh accusations and tears on the stairs. All from me. And then I would most likely forget something crucial like the passports (it has happened before and what a freakin' nightmare it was) or something less crucial but convenient like the Calpol and then both children would get raging fevers on the flight and I would be arrested at Arrivals for threatening the flight attendants if they didn't get some medicine for my children RIGHT NOW. Then the hassle of arranging bail for me, getting put on some airport shit-list and having difficulties travelling for the rest of my life. So you see, much better to prepare well in advance.

I think I'll just go double check the bags now.

It's never boring...

Excerpts from my bedtime chat with Toby tonight:


Me: When we get to San Diego one of Aunt Nikki's friends is going to be there too. Her name is Mary.

T: Is she Jesus's mommy?

Me: No, this is a different Mary.

T: Oh. [singing] Mary had a baby, yes Lord. Mary had a baby, yes my Lord...

***************

Me: OK, enough talking. It's time to sleep. Nigh night. I love you very much.

T: Do you love me more than Rosie?

Me: No, I don't love one of you more than the other but I love you for different reasons.

T: Why do you love Rosie?

Me: Because she's my baby girl and she has a lot of personality in her little body and she can be silly and funny and sweet and kind and she has nice squishy legs.

T: Why do you love me?

Me: Because you're my baby boy and you're nice to talk to and you have lots of imagination and you're good at drawing and math and you can be really funny and sweet and helpful with Rosie and you have the cutest little bottom.

T: Hmmm. And what's the name of that new planet they found?

Me: I think Chiara but I'll have to check that.

T: OK, night night.

Ten seconds later he was snoring.

[NOTE: The new planet is actually called Sedna. I'll let Tobes know in the morning.]

Wild weather

I keep hearing about the snow in Texas and the weather here is pretty wild too. We're having torrential rain and windstorms. It's unbelievable. The windows in this house are the original Victorian and they are very drafty. Most of the time I like it because it keeps the house from getting musty but for the last 24 hours or so it's meant that the blinds are all billowing and flapping because the wind is blowing so hard.

This morning we all got up to start the day. J left for a week in Tokyo. We were surprised that his flight was still taking off but it was all going to schedule. Toby's school is only about 300 yards from the house and we always walk it but today I seriously considered taking the car. In the end, we all just put on our raincoats with hoods (far too windy for umbrellas) and braved the walk. We went a few doors down and collected Toby's friend Max so that his Mum wouldn't have to come out with the baby and we all trooped in. We were pretty wet when we got there but it was actually nice to be out and the boys had a great time pretending they were caught in a tornado.

By the time Rosie and I walked back home I had to hang our jeans on the radiator to dry. My socks were also soaked so I took them off and put on some pajama bottoms and started tidying up the breakfast things while Rosie watched some cartoons and drank her milk.

I have never lived in a home in England where the front door didn't automatically lock when it was closed. Some doors can't even be opened from the inside without a key. I remember once, when we were in the flat, our neighbor locked himself into the communal hallway. His flat door had accidently closed behind him and the front door was bolted so he couldn't get into his flat or out the front door without a key! I have no idea how long he sat there but he was very glad to finally get out.

Well, as part of my tidying this morning I decided to put out the rubbish and recycling. I stepped out the front door, put the rubbish and recycling in the bins, turned to go back inside and realised that the door had blown shut behind me. Oh bugger. I was standing outside in a freezing rain and windstorm barefoot wearing a T-shirt and a pair of flannel snowman pajama bottoms.

I tiptoed to the living room window and managed to get Rosie's attention and asked her to go and open the door for Mommy. She's such a good girl. We have glass panes in the front door and I saw her run into the hallway and up to the door. She can't reach the handle. Oh bugger bugger bugger. My keys were in my handbag in the hallway so I pushed open the letterbox and asked Rosie to get my keys out and hand them to me through the letterbox. This was a long and testing process. Imagine trying to explain to a two year old that the keys are in the middle zipper compartment... no, not that one sweetheart, the other one... yes, that's the one... now unzip it... no darling, the other one... the one in the middle... you know what 'middle' means don't you, yes that's it... OK, perfect!... now, get my keys... no, not the mints... yes, you can have one when you give me my keys... OK, you're going to have one now are you?...

As all of this was going on I was losing feeling in my feet and my clothes were getting soaked. Finally Rosie got the keys and managed to put them through the letterbox so I could let myself back into the house. I came in freezing and dripping wet with my hair looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. I must get another set of keys made for the neighbors.

Yeee - haw!!

Toby and I were having our usual bedtime chat tonight and he was telling me about his teacher Mr Wilson and his accent (he's from Scotland) and the way he says some words differently. This led to a general discussion about accents and I mentioned the Texan accent...

Toby: Do Texans have an accent?

Me: Yes, you know how Papa and Nana sound different and say some things differently?

Toby: Do they?!

Toby then got me to say various sentences with a Texan accent (yes, I can still do it). He was copying me each time and told me that he could do the accent really well because he's half Texan. Then he asked me to count to ten with a Texan accent and said "That's cowboy talk, Mom!"

I thought it was so sweet that he didn't notice that Mom and Dad sound different to what he's surrounded by everyday. He sounded so funny with a Texan accent but I bet after three weeks in the States with me getting my accent back, which always happens when I'm there, and playing with Kellie's boys that Tobes will have a little Texan accent of his own when we come back to London. It's lovely that he's getting old enough to appreciate the differences.

When will I learn?

Spend two hours making fresh stock from a chicken carcass, carrots and other lovely things, then another half an hour standing at the stove stirring the stock into a risotto. Pop some store-bought chicken satays in the oven for ten minutes. Serve it all to the children.

Your looking at two plates with untouched risotto and not a scrap of chicken left. I shoud've just microwaved a rice sachet for these guys and they probably would've eaten it all up.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day in England. I was woken up late with breakfast in bed plus cards and a present. Jason bought me a Nintendo DS Lite (I think that's what it's called). It's the one with Brain Games. So at the tender age of 37 I have my first video game. And it's one designed to keep my brain working so I don't develop Alzheimer's. Who says I'm getting old?!

We had a very calm day and went out for Sunday lunch - roast and all the trimmings. Afterwards I treated myself by cleaning out the car. Doesn't sound like much fun, I know, but Rosie has a new car seat and I really wanted to get it set up. Her old carseat was supposed to last until she was 4 years old or 35lbs. Well, Miss Rosie is now 36lbs so it was high time to change. The funny thing is that Toby is just 45lbs! Tobes is a long, tall drink of water and Rosie is a tall, curvy girl. She's going to beat the crap out of him as soon as she realises she can. God help us.