Happy holidays from us!

Phase 1 - Complete

OK, I finished Phase 1 of the Christmas grocery shopping today. All of the meat, root vegetables and dry goods are safely tucked away in the kitchen. Well, apart from the turkey and gammon joint. Our fridge is too small to accomodate everything so the meats are in a big plastic bin in the garden with a lead weight on top of the lid to keep out the foxes. It'll stay nice and cold until I start cooking them, starting with the gammon on Christmas Eve (Barry, I know you don't like ham so I have some chicken breasts for you.) I'll complete Phase 2 on Christmas Eve with the breads, salads, fruits and creams. All those things that are best eaten very fresh.

The grocery store was a madhouse, but at least a good natured one. Everyone was filled with the Christmas spirit and there were lots of smiles and jokey jostling over the brussels sprouts.

Jason has gone out to do the last of the Christmas present shopping. We're very behind this year because of the move and our near constant state of illness over the last few weeks. I've got to do the American presents online tonight (you'll never guess what you're getting... no, it's something different this year... well, slightly).

And to end on a jolly note - Rosie's latest habit is saying that she loves everything. We saw some reindeer at a Christmas fair and Rosie started shouting "I love reindeer!". It can be anything... looking at smoke detectors at B&Q "I love those!". Right now she's behind me shouting "I love grapes!" Well, today Jason was taking care of Rosie while Toby and I did the shopping. They had a drink in Starbucks and then J needed to go to the loo. Rosie was standing by the loo door saying "Are you doing a wee Daddy? I can see your willy Daddy."... and then very loudly "I LOVE YOUR WILLY DADDY!" Ah, that's one for the memory book.

Whew! We're in.

I can't believe it's been almost a week since we moved into the house. I think because we still had the flat until Friday it felt like we hadn't totally left yet. Having the flat that bit longer was both good, because we weren't totally rushed on the moving day, and bad because we couldn't totally let go. God bless J for going back to the flat Thursday night to clean and collect the rest of our bits and bobs that were there. I'm so glad to have my paper towel holder! Yes, Nik, it's the one that you brought over for me. The one that was mistaken for a vibrator. I love that paper towel holder.

Unfortunately we've all been quite ill with a bad strain of cold or virus which means it's taking much longer to get rid of all the boxes. I'm typing this now surrounded by boxes holding books and office stuff. I'll be very glad once they're all empty and gone.

The kitchen is mostly sorted out but we still have some work to do in the bathroom. Need to get some blinds up (how can someone have a bathroom with big windows and no blinds or curtains?!), need to get the medicine cabinet sorted out and a few other things like that. No pictures on the walls yet either, but there's time. Toby and Jason finish school and work on Wednesday and then they're both off until after New Year so we'll be able to get some stuff done over the holidays.

J's parents are coming down for Christmas and I'm very relieved that we managed to get the sofabed delivered out of storage in time. We weren't sure if it was going to happen. Hopefully things will be reasonably calm by the time they arrive on Christmas Eve. It's just going to be a bit of a chaotic, disorganised Christmas this year. (Note to self: Must buy some presents!)

I have been calming my moving/illness nerves by watching the Nigella Christmas Special on a loop. I've also watched Gary Rhodes Christmas and the new James Martin Christmas Feast a couple hundred times too. Something about watching people cook food is so calming. I'm thinking about doing the Christmas pancakes for Christmas morning. They sound easy and I can make them in advance and just warm them up on the day. Anything to make life easier right now!

No turning back now

The movers came today and packed most of the flat. Tomorrow is the big day. It's all going smoothly so far (touch wood) but poor Rosie is in a tiz. She's walking from room to room saying "Where Toby's toys?! Where MY toys?". We've tried to explain to her about moving to the new house and having a big playroom but it's a lot for a two year old to understand.

J and I both have colds and are heavily medicated but I think the decongestants are taking the edge off the stress and we're both pretty mellow. God bless drugs.

Now we just have to get there and get everything out of the boxes and put in an appropriate place. Daunting but I do love organising and I'm sure the old obsessive compulsive urge will kick in and sort everything out.

Oh yea, we still haven't exchanged contracts on the flat so the earliest the Canadians will move in is Friday. That does take some of the stress out of tomorrow as normally we would need to be gone by noon. It does add some concern that we might not sell the flat in the end but J has Plan A, B and C to cover all eventualities and I'm happy to leave it in his hands. I've run out of worry.

Finally some pics

Rosie and her new kitchen




Toby performing with the school drama club




Rosie with her party hat and bag at Mary Catherine's birthday party (Annie Hall eat your heart out)

The bad karma continues...

Just picked Toby up from school and was told that he was involved in an 'incident' today. He and two other boys dunked another boy's coat in a puddle. The school takes these things very seriously and I'm worried that Toby is going to get labelled a bully. It's not the first 'incident' in which he's been involved. I think Tobes is usually a bystander rather than an instigator but it's still not good.

And now our phones don't seem to be working. They were working this morning. I have a sneaking suspicion that our phone provider might've disconnected us early. They are so crap. That would just be the icing on the cake of my day.

OK, I know I promised pics...

... but I need to vent. Have you ever gone through one of those times when nothing seems to work? We've had all the house stuff this week and now everything seems off kilter. Bad karma in the air. It's the little things that are killing me.

For example, yesterday a little brother of one of Toby's friends kicked the milk bottles off of our porch. I guess he didn't realise that they were glass. There was broken glass everywhere. Thankfully and amazingly no one was hurt but it was not a great end to what had already been a stressful afternoon.

Earlier in the day I tried to cheer myself up with a little Christmas shopping. I bought a few rolls of wrapping paper and some snowflake window stickers for the children. As I was walking across the parking lot back to the car the bag split and rolls of wrapping paper went everywhere across the wet pavement. I had to get on my hands and knees to dig some out from under a car and the whole time Rosie was shouting at me because she was hungry.

After lunch we went to get a few groceries. I was using a handheld basket since we just needed a few things. Halfway through shopping the handle broke on the basket and my shopping went everywhere. At the same time Rosie jumped out of the stroller which promptly fell over without her to balance out the weight of the nappy bag on the back. Groceries, nappies, toys all over the place. I must've looked like a madwoman because one guy stopped to help me then asked "Are you OK?... Are you sure?"

Today we had a stressful morning getting Tobes ready for school. I had to do some work for the school panto but thought I would go for a quick coffee to treat myself and hopefully calm down a bit. As I was getting Rosie out of the car her stroller (empty) started rolling into the road. A nice man grabbed it before it was hit by a car and brought it back to me. Again I was asked "Are you OK? Are you sure?"

Then I went to buy a parking ticket and pushed the Coin Return button rather than Print Ticket button TWICE before finally getting my ticket. I was ready to kill someone at that point.

I did have a nice coffee with Marija at Costa then went off to work on the seat allocation for the panto at another mum's house. While there I managed to fall down the stairs. Yes, my ass is still suffering from the bumpy ride down. I didn't fall all the way to the bottom but it was close. I also spilled tea down my jumper and choked on a biscuit.

We finally came home, dropping nappies in the street on the way. I'm tempted to not leave the house for a few days. It's just too dangerous.

No wonder it was so crap

I've been counting up our house moves...

1. May 1992 - We move me from San Marcos into our first apartment in Austin. I have to drive the big U-haul because J doesn't have a US drivers licence.

2. Dec 1993 - We move from Texas to England and live with Jason's parents in Raunds.

3. April 1994 - We move in with Jason't friend Craig in St Neots. Very "Three's Company".

4. June 1994 - We move into our first flat in Cambridge on Newmarket Road AKA "The Condemned Building".

5. June 1996 - We decide to try living in the country and move to Stow-cum-Quy into a 250 year old cottage with no central heating and ninja mice.

6. June 1997 - We move back into Cambridge and live across the hall from Jenny & Kieran in Chichester House. Happy times.

7. January 2000 - We kick off the millennium by moving to London and have a tiny flat on Glentham Road in Barnes. Still manage to play cricket in the hallway during one rainy Boatrace day.

8. March 2001 - Move to Japan and have a 7th floor apartment in Kio-cho, Chiyoda-ku in Tokyo, just down the road from the Imperial Palace.

9. March 2002 - Back in the UK and we head back to Barnes. This time we're on Castelnau Gardens which becomes Toby's first home.

10. March 2003 - Follow friends and move out of London to a flat in Mulbarton Court, Chislehurst, Kent.

11. October 2003 - Buy a little two bed Victorian terraced house in Chislehurst.

12. October 2005 - Miss London too much and while the rest of our friends are moving deeper into Kent we buy a flat in Blackheath, SE London. Rosie is born two weeks after we move in.

13. 2007 - Our thirteenth move. The one that didn't happen...

Yep, it's happened

Our house purchase completely fell apart today. Thank goodness we saw it coming or I would be freaking out even more than I already am. I do feel more calm than I did this weekend. I think it was the not knowing that was the worst for me. Now that the decision has been made I just want to get on with what we need to do. Activity is always better than sitting around waiting.

So, we've found a lovely house to rent already. It's right here on Quentin Road so it'll be less of an upheaval for the children. Toby does not react well to a move and I have no idea what Rosie will be like but we thought it best to at least stay in the same neighborhood. We'll be seven doors down from Toby's best friend, Max, which does smooth things over with Tobes a bit. The house has a HUGE cellar so we can easily store things at the house if we need to. All in all, we'll be fine.

Now I just want to get there so we can put up a Christmas tree and enjoy the rest of the year. We're hoping to move next week but our usual movers can only do Monday or Tuesday and it looks like we won't be able to move until later in the week (of course, nothing is ever easy is it) so I've got to find a new moving company. Our buyers need to move in by the 15th so it'll happen sometime next week. Just got to coordinate it all now.

If you want to check out the rental house it's here and it's a 4-bed house on Quentin Road in Lewisham.

F*ck the diet

OK, I only put the star there because I know moms, dads, aunts, uncles, etc sometimes read this blog. The sentiment is uncensored. I need carbs, chocolate and fried food to deal with the stress of this godawful house move. We've hit yet another snag and this one is a doozy. I won't bore you with the gory details but we've decided that whatever happens with our purchase we're still going to sell the flat. This means that I've started looking at rental properties as a fallback. It makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it.

Renting again. Living in someone else's house. Yuck. There are some possible financial benefits to renting for six months and then trying to buy again. There are also some possible mental and emotional drawbacks. Moving twice in one year! Not that we haven't done that before but we didn't have two small children last time. It would be a lot of work and a lot of upheaval. Not to mention the disappointment of not getting the house. The one I've been decorating and nesting in in my head for the last six months. This totally and utterly sucks.

Oh yes, AND if we're in the midst of chaos and confusion and moving on 10 December I'll have to cancel my trip to see Nikki in Romania. My head and heart just can't take all that at once. Not to mention what an unpopular decision it would be with Jason if I waltzed off in the middle of it all. Man, I've got the real estate blues.

Pics to come soon. I know this blog must be getting so boring with nothing but belly-aching and no visuals.

It's just logical

I'm eating a pint of Baileys Haagen-Dazs for dinner. There is a legitimate reason for this and if you just stick around I'll explain it...

It starts on Monday when I was grocery shopping. Toby's friend Solar was coming around for tea on Tuesday and I thought I would let the kids make ice cream sundaes for their dessert. They were having a special buy one get one free on Haagen-Dazs so I got a pint of vanilla for the kids and a pint of Baileys for whenever.

Tuesday comes and the children all have sundaes. Wednesday night Toby and Rosie have sundaes for dessert again and the vanilla is all gone. The Baileys is still untouched.

Tonight I talk to Kellie on the phone. She's convinced Jason to run the Chicago marathon next year with her and she's started training for it. She decided to do Weight Watchers at the same time and she's lost over ten pounds in the last six weeks. This means that I have to start a diet immediately, like tomorrow. Guys, that probably makes no sense but just imagine if your best mate goes out and buys a fancy sports car or one of those new Apple phone thingies. You're really happy for them but at the same time you're desperate to beat or at least match them for pure coolness.

Anyway, there's no way I can diet with a pint of Baileys sitting in the freezer shouting my name so I have to eat the whole pint. Tonight. Right now. You know, just to get it out of the house. See, it all makes perfect sense.

Ho-leee crap

Well, we're still trying to progress the move. We've been aiming to exchange this week and move on Friday 7 December. Unfortunately our moving company is already booked that date. Aaarrrgh!! They are free on the 6th and 10th December so I've asked for contracts for those dates and J and I need to pick one and send it off ASAP or miss out. The company, Russell Fewins, have moved us the last two times and I hate to even imagine trying to find another company at this late date.

Now we just have to make sure we actually can move on one of those dates. I think we should aim for Monday 10 December. There is so much going on at the moment with school events and the holidays that no date is going to be very convenient. I do have a group of mums coming over to our place (wherever that may be) on the 12th December to get raffle tickets ready for the Christmas Fair. Oh, and I'm going to be in Romania the 8-9 December. That will be fun for J. Ah, what calm stress-free lives we lead.

Ho ho ho!!

Well, I hate to be smug (because it always comes back to bite me in the ass) but I've done almost all of the Christmas shopping for the children. I was going to wait until after the move but I noticed that a lot of the things that I was planning to buy, and that Toby put on his Christmas list six weeks ago, were already starting to sell out. I decided to just go for it and I've been able to get almoost everything. Whew!

Now we just have to find places to hide it all. Not easy when the gifts include two small armchairs. Oh well, with all the moving stuff it'll be easy enough to hide a few big boxes.

Now is the really hard part... waiting until Christmas. I'm so excited I could go wake them up right now and give them their presents. I can't wait to see their little faces on Christmas morning.

Finally getting excited

Yesterday we went to the new house to do some measuring. Over the last few weeks we've had lots of hold ups with the move. I won't bore you with the details but more than once we thought it might not happen at all. I've been really down about it all. I hate instability. I'm the kind of person who likes to know what's happening next. Well, at long last things seem to be moving ahead again. We're hoping to exchange next week and move in the week after. Hurrah!

It was so great to see the house again. I just love it. It was a really cold day yesterday but the house was warm and cozy. The flat is always cold and I was a bit concerned about the loft conversion in the house but it was toasty. With the delays we won't have time to do much painting before Christmas but it'll be fine. It's just such a lovely house with good light and nice proportions. I can't wait to get there.

Not only will we be in a new house but we'll be in a new area too. Still only about a 15 minute walk to Blackheath Village but Lee Gree/Hither Green is like a little village itself. It's smaller and not as affluent as Blackheath but it's very up and coming. I've joined a group on Facebook called "Come Hither to Hither Green" and found some great links with info about the area.

The best one is: http://www.myhithergreen.co.uk/ I love the headline "Highly Contagious Dog Virus in the Village". One of the headlines worried me for a moment then I read it more clearly. It's "Pensioner Has Attack on Bus". At first I thought an old lady had been attacked but no, she actually had some chest pains and they had to stop the bus in Hither Green so she could be cared for and taken to hospital. Now that's news.

And a bit of history about Hither Green:

"There were several greens in Lewisham, and two of them were called Hither (nearer) Green and Further Green. Hither Green, near the entrance to the former hospital, was on the site of a hamlet called Romborough, which had not been inhabited since the time of the Black Death.

Hither Green was a wooded area in the Middle Ages, but by the eighteenth century the trees had mostly been felled, and the first houses were built. More houses followed in the nineteenth century, many of them substantial residences. Mountsfield, for instance, was the home of Henry Tibbats Stainton, a famous entomologist. The grounds of this house became the core of Mountsfield Park, which opened in 1905 - it has since been enlarged several times.

The Park Fever Hospital (later called Hither Green Hospital) was opened in 1897 for the treatment of infectious diseases such as scarlet fever or diphtheria. After the Second World War, when it suffered severe damage from bombs, other cases were also treated there. In 1997, after a century of service, the hospital closed and site was developed as housing.

Hither Green railway station was opened on May 1, 1895. It was nationalised in 1947. On 5 November 1967, an express train from Hastings to Charing Cross derailed outside Hither Green station, killing 49 passengers."

Obviously completely unscripted...

Happy Thanksgiving

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More Thanksgivings

Since we're not really having Thanksgiving here today I've been thinking of more Thanksgivings past. I was just reading Nikki's blog and she mentioned the Thanksgivings we had at Grandma's trailer. It could be jam packed with people, sitting on every possible perch and the floor trying to balance plates on knees. At least one year the weather was warm enough that they put blankets on the grass and the kids were sent outside for a picnic Thanksgiving lunch.

Before Tobes and Rosie were born I always worked on Thanksgiving Day. I remember our first Thanksgiving in England. We were so broke but I came home from work and managed to have roast chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. I was so proud I even took some photos of the food.

Another year I was at a meeting at the Imperial War Museum on Thanksgiving day and feeling very homesick and sorry for myself. We all had lunch in the museum cafe and I realised that there was a table of elderly American men next to us. I went over to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and we started chatting. They were WWII veterans. The five of them had reunited after fifty years for a memorial trip around Europe. Charming, inspiring men. Just chatting with them for a few minutes made it a memorable Thanksgiving day.

Nostalgic day

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm feeling a bit sad. It's not a holiday here so Jason will be going to work and Toby to school. I have made some turkey-shaped cookies decorated with the candy corn I bought online for Toby to take to school. Usually we would have a big traditional meal at the weekend with friends but this year we have no plans. The flat isn't suited for big groups but I think I'll probaby do a mini-meal on Sunday with chicken for the four of us. I can't imagine a Thanksgiving going by without sweet potatoes and marshmallows or pumpkin pie.

The cookies I made are from Mom's recipe. She makes them every Christmas. I made them with butter instead of Crisco (because we don't have Crisco here) and wondered if they would taste very different. But they don't. They are exactly the same. My first bite almost took my breath away, it was so full of memories. Even now I feel weepy with nostalgia just thinking about it.

My expat grocery order is coming in handy today. I'm drinking a cup of General Foods International Coffee Cafe Mocha. I really wanted the Cafe Vienna but the trouble with expat shopping is that you have to just take whatever is available. The Mocha works though. I love these coffess though I know they are about as far from real coffee as one can get. In fact, they weren't legal to sell here for a long time because they fail the European Trades Description Act for coffee. The same for Velveeta, it can't legally be called cheese in Europe. I don't know how they're managing to sell the coffee now but it's nice to get it every once in awhile.

I've been thinking about Thanksgivings past today and included a couple of photos. I think my most memorable Thanksgiving is the one we spent in Tokyo. Our apartment was Japanese so we didn't have an oven, just a tiny fish grill. I did have a small microwave with a convection oven and managed to make a pumpkin pie but we went out for the big meal. Our favourite restaurant, Westpark Cafe, did a good job with the turkey and sweet potatoes and we filled a long table with friends and had a great time. We went back to our place for pumpkin pie, henceforth known as marrow pie (thank you Chris) and I remember the guys standing on the balcony talking and laughing and me, Nikki and Annelouise sitting at the table, drinking red wine and bemoaning our childlessness, though Annelouise and I would soon discover that we were actually pregnant at the time. Toby and Rowan were born a week apart.

That was in 2001. In 1997 I was in the hospital on Thanksgiving day having a breast lump removed. I remember the stress of the morning, realising they mistakenly had me down for a mastectomy. Thank God I'm a nosy, sometimes bolshy, bird and read through my file then raised the roof when I discovered the mistake. Luckily the day is more memorable now for when I came out of surgery and Jason was there waiting for me. We had been married for five years by then but I fell in love with him all over again just seeing the look of relief on his face when I came out alive.

And then last Thanksgiving was a special one too. We went to Texas and spent the holiday at Mom and Dad's. It was Rosie's first trip to Texas and she was right at home. Jon and Angie were expecting Ian, Nikki came in from San Diego and the whole family was together. I wonder when we'll have a Thanksgiving like that again.

Overheard...

Toby: Look Rosie, I can pick you up now... [Grunting sound and Rosie laughing]... and when we have the new baby you can pick her up. Won't that be lovely! [No, I am not pregnant nor do I plan to be anytime soon!]

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Toby singing Avril Lavigne's I Don't Like Your Girlfriend in the living room with Rosie chiming in on the "No way! No way!" part.

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Toby while holding his crotch: "Mommy my tentacles are hurting."

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Rosie, after Toby shows her the picture he's drawn "Das lubby, dahlin" (That's lovely, darling).

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During the rugby World Cup recently Jason was dreamily talking about Toby playing for England one day. I said that Rosie is the more likely rugby player in the family and this was proved correct in her music class last week. We were singing a new song where we all sit in a circle and the teacher gently rolls a ball to a child while singing and the child gently rolls it back. When it was Rosie's turn the ball started coming towards her and right at the last second she stood up and booted it across the room! Everyone was so shocked and it almost smacked the teacher in the face. I apologised but I was laughing at the same time so it wasn't a great apology.

Busy, busy, busy

So much has been going on! We went to Cambridge at the end of Toby's half-term for Rosie's birthday. Jason's parents couldn't make it in the end so we had Rosie's party at a local restaurant instead of The Orchard. It was just us, Jenny & Kieran and their children and we had a lovely time. Rosie loved it and even did a decent job of blowing out her candles. Toby gave her a Sleeping Beauty suitcase and Jason and I gave her a Disney Princess play kitchen. Those of you who knew me before Rosie was born please do not remind me of the number of times I said that I would not buy loads of pink stuff for my daughter! Rules like that are made to be broken.

We had a great Halloween with our vampire and pink Power Ranger. Quentin Road was pretty quiet but we went over to see Toby's friend Teddy on Boyne Road and there were loads of trick or treaters. Lots of fun.

Tobes is back at school and they've been studying home architecture. We had our parent/teacher conference last week and the feedback was all good. Tobes has really settled in and loves his teacher, Mr Wilson. I've been busy with my new role as Secretary of the Friends Committee. We had a bake sale at the beginning of the month (note to self: rice crispy treats do not sell in England) and next week is a fundraising fashion show. I've also been revamping the Friends newsletter, typing up some pages for the handbook, making posters for the panto and collecting money for tickets. I'm really enjoying it all.

Jason has been travelling with work. Last week he was in Beijing and Singapore and next week he's in Miami. After that he shouldn't have anymore trips until the new year. Of course, that doesn't mean that things will calm down since we'll hopefully be moving by the end of the month. It's all still moving forward, though slowly. I've been making my plans for Christmas in the new place. I have an idea for a treasure hunt advent calendar for the children and a stack of menu ideas for the holiday period. All good things!

Rosie walking like a penguin

Rosie walking like a penguin

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From Elizabeth's blog...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Beauty salon receptionist
2. One of those annoying women who squirt you with perfume in a department store
3. Grants officer for an arts charity
4. Mom

[My addition}
Four jobs I have interviewed for but did not get in my life:
1. Underwater mermaid at Aquarena Falls
2. Door to door knife salesman
3. Vet's assistant (I passed out at the interview while he was neutering a cat)
4. Oil company director's PA (I booked and paid for a trip to Budapest instead of Bucharest during my trial period)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. To Catch a Thief
2. Rear Window
3. Grease 2
4. Hot Fuzz

Four places I have lived:
1. Mesquite, Tx
2. Cambridge, England
3. Tokyo
4. London, England

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Nigella Express
2. Have I Got News for You
3. QI
4. University Challenge

Four places I have been:
1. Prague, Czech Republic
2. Hakone, Japan
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Nacogdoches, Texas

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Elizabeth
2. Nikki
3. Moms in the Friends group at school
4. Family

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Papa John's pizza
2. Those chocolate desserts that are cake on the outside and goo on the inside
3. Bread & butter
4. Cheese

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed
2. On my parents' couch
3. Sitting in a coffee shop reading a good book
4. On an airplane going somewhere new

Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Hopefully moving (who knows at this point!)
2. Seeing Toby in the school nativity play.
3. Seeing Rosie's face on Christmas morning. This is the first year that she'll really get it.
4. Going to the Blackheath Christmas Eve procession with our little family.

Half - term

Tobes is off school for half-term this week. So far we've met up with a new friend, a French lady named Isabelle and her little boy Leo-Paul. Toby and I have been to the dentist. No cavities, lovely clean teeth and two wobbly teeth at the bottom (Toby, not me). Today we went to see Marija and her little boy James for lunch. Marija is a really good cook and today was no exception. We came home stuffed and the children were worn out from playing and painting.

Tomorrow Toby's friends Max and Teddy are coming over to play. I've got some Halloween craft stuff for them so they can make black cat and witch magnets. I'm doing some brownies with jack o'lantern sprinkles (many thanks Nikki for that Halloween package in the past, it's still going!) and Toby chose some big pasta tubes which we're serving with pesto for lunch and calling them witch's fingers.

On Friday we're packing and leaving for Cambridge for the weekend. Jenny's little girl has her birthday party on Saturday and we're having a little party at The Orchard for Rosie's second birthday on Sunday. It's just going to be us, J's parents, J's Nana and Jenny's family but I've got some Dora the Explorer napkins and hats and I've made favour bags for the children. I also ordered a Dora cake topper that says "Happy 2nd Birthday Rosie Rae". It arrived today and Toby read it over my shoulder then his jaw dropped and he said "Mommy, how does Dora know Rosie's name?!" So sweet.

So, busy days ahead and then all back to normal on Monday when Toby goes back to school.

American food and family smells

I put in an order today to Skyco which is the expat grocery website I use for a taste of home. This is what I ordered today:

Farley's Candy Corn 12oz £ 1.58
Kraft Jet Puffed Mini White Marshmallows 10.5oz £ 1.59
Peppermint Candy Canes (Red & White) 1 oz £ 2.40
Lifesavers Butter Rum Roll 1.14oz £ 0.81
Lifesavers Wint O Green .84oz £ 0.81
Nabisco Teddy Grahams Cinnamon 10oz £ 3.56
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Original 170g £ 1.50
General Foods Instant Coffee French Vanilla 226g £ 5.39
Betty Crocker Supermoist Cinnamon Swirl Mix 608g £ 2.56
Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cake Mix 410g £ 2.57
Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix 454g £ 2.57
Liptons Onion Soup Mix 2pk £ 1.86
Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper Beef Pasta

I got a few things for Halloween and Thanksgiving (the British marshmallows just don't work with yams for some reason, too runny), a few things for Christmas and some treats. I came very close to buying a box of regular Cheerios but at almost $14 I just couldn't justify it. We do get the multi-grain Cheerios here and that will have to do.

As I was going through the groceries I started thinking about the smell of Christmas - cinnamon, pine, cold air and coal fires. And that got me thinking about a study that was recently done on what most people think their parents smell like. They were joking about it on a TV show the other night and I notice that Elizabeth has a link to an article about the study on her blog. The results were surprising only in that they were so stereotypical. Moms smell like laundry detergent and dads smell like motor oil, apparently. Not really how I remember my parents though.

When I think of my Mom I think of cinnamon toast, Dippity Do (though I don't know that Mom ever used it), and two perfumes - Emeraude by Coty and Jontue by Revlon. When I was older it was Sebastian Shaper hairspray and face powder. Smells associated with Dad are leather, gunmetal (Dad was a policeman) Certs and Marlboro cigarettes . The smell of rain and freshly cut grass always reminds me of Dad too. I wonder what the children will remember when they think of us?

From yesterday's school assembly

A couple of videos of Toby at his assembly. The first one is Tobes delivering his line "Please turn off any mobile phones". You can hear me giggling in both videos and in the first one, just as Mr Wilson starts to play the guitar, you can hear Rosie shout "Music!". The special topic for this term has been bears and in the second video the children are pretending to be bears running through a forest during a thunderstorm.


Autumn Year 1 Assembly I

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Autumn Year 1 Assembly II

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It seems I'm constantly writing blog entries in my head then sitting down at the computer and going completely blank. I think it's because I'm usually here at the end of the day when I'm not exactly at my best.

Let's see... Toby has his class assembly at school today. His line was "Please turn off your mobile phones" and he did very well. We could hear him all the way at the back. I've got a few clips from the assembly which I'll post another time.

In the meantime here are a few recent photos. As I was downloading them I realised it's like a Mary Catherine fashion show. MC kindly passed on some of her lovely clothes that she had outgrown and Rosie wears them all the time. I'm sure Elizabeth will recognise the strawberry cardigan and hat and the little sweater dress. We get loads of compliments whenever Rosie wears them so thank you again!

The house move progresses, though slowly. We're hoping to move the week of 19 November. I've been devouring home decorating magazines and trying to channel my energy into jobs that I can do now like getting the sofa re-upholstered and ordering curtains for the new place. I just can't wait to get my hands on the place! Nothing makes my heart beat faster like a new project.

And speaking of projects, I went round to the former Friends secretary's house last night to do a handover of paperwork. I've got three folders full of stuff now and I'm looking forward to getting going. My first meeting as the official new secretary is 30 October and I'm really excited. It's so nice to use my brain a bit more and become a more operative part of the school community.

Still nursing here. Very rough night but I think Tobes is slowly getting better, he's certainly getting more cranky. This morning he corrected my grammar. If he has the energy for that then he must be feeling at least a bit better.

I've been going a bit stir crazy but, fortified with Gu chocolate desserts and a stack of gossip mags, I am surviving. Last weekend we went to Borders and I bought an Us Weekly magazine. I do love the American mags. I was surprised and delighted to see an ad for Alice Temperley at Target of all places! Jason is in the States this week and I've given him a list of everything I like. Hopefully he'll come home with a few treats.

Poorly boy

Tobes is still ill. He was much better on Friday, was out and about this weekend and then last night he took a turn. Fever, rash and a terrible headache which made him sensitive to light. We called NHS Direct and they said we should take him into the hospital so Jason took him down to the Lewisham A&E (Emergency Room).

It was diagnosed as a virus, probably the same one Rosie had, but we learned that Tobes should be taking a higher dose of paracetemol (Tylenol). The over the counter stuff is dosed by age but Toby is a big boy and Jason was told that he should be on the 6+ formula already based on his weight. So, that's why the fever was so difficult to get down. We weren't giving him enough medicine.

Jason left for California this morning and about an hour after he walked out the door Tobes started vomiting. Great. His fever shot up to 102.6 but when I tried to give him any meds he would just vomit them back up. He was even struggling to keep water down. I spent a few hours mopping his brow with a cold cloth and trying to keep him cool and then I remembered the Italian suppositories.

A couple of years ago we were in Venice and Toby developed a fever. On the continent there are a lot of medicines that are taken by suppository including paracetemol. Apparently it's absorbed into the system faster and therefore works faster when taken up the back passage. Of course, they do have tablets too but suppositories are normal as well. Anyway, I dug out the ones prescribed to Toby by the hotel doctor in Italy, checked they were still in date and then... ahem... administered them. Within fifteen minutes Toby's fever came down and he was able to sleep. Magic!

Unfortunately, we only had three left and with the instructions on Toby's new dosage that's just enough for one dose. I have a feeling we're going to need more so I rang the chemist in Blackheath to see if they carried them. They do but they cost 40 pounds for ten!! That's like $80. Good God. I could go to the doctor tomorrow, request a prescription and get them for free but I'm not sure how we would get through the night without them. It looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just pay for them. That is some expensive paracetemol.

Shopping

We're in the depths of another illness phase here. Toby is the latest victim. He's had fevers of 102 degrees since Wednesday afternoon. I went to a school meeting last night and apparently it's a virus that's going around. He's feeling fine right now since he had doses of both Calpol and Nurofen this morning and he and Rosie are snuggled up under Grandma's quilt on the sofa watching Dr Who.

So, I've been doing the Florence Nightingale thing all week, first with Rosie and now with Tobes. But what's a nurse to do trapped in the house all day? Shop online of course! With the house move sometime in November I have a lot to shop for at the moment. We'll need a new washer, dryer and fridge freezer. Such fun shopping for major appliances.

Today it's the fridge freezer. Unfortunately the kitchen is just too small for a big American style side by side model (Elizabeth you are so lucky!) but there are a lot of options. At the moment my favourite is this one. Great features including frost free. I've never had a frost free freezer in England so have spent my adult life chipping out ice and going through the mess of defrosting every six months or so. Absolute heaven to never do that again. I also like this one. It even has plumbed cold water available from the door. No ice, but still a nice little luxury.

But the fridge to have at the moment is this one. Undoubtedly beautiful but look at the price! I'm not sure my thrifty little heart could take that. I spoke to a salesperson about fridges and she said that the Smeg really aren't very good fridges but people love them because of the way they look. They are gorgeous but I'm not sure that they're that gorgeous. What do you think?

Rosie talking

Rosie talking

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A lost memory rediscovered

This morning Toby came in to use the loo while I was in the shower. Ah, the joys of having only one bathroom. After he washed and dried his hands he buried his face in the towels and robes hanging on the bathroom door. He does this so often that Rosie has started copying him and now they both stop and bury their faces in the robes before they leave the bathroom. I thought they were just being silly but it dawned on me this morning that maybe Toby likes the smell of the robes. Both mine and Jason's robes hang on the door and I guess they must smell of us.

This realisation brought back a lost memory of my own Mom's robe. When I was little Mom had a very soft bright orange robe that was kind of shaggy. I can't imagine what it was made of but it had great big orange plastic buttons shaped like flowers (well, it was the 70s). I loved the smell of that robe. I can remember burying my face in it and finding the smell so comforting. In fact, when Mom finally threw it out I kept one of the buttons and probably have it somewhere here in the flat, tucked away safe and sound. I wonder if Mom remembers that robe?

Autumn

Autumn is officially here. I've turned on the central heat and spent all day yesterday coat shopping for the kiddos. It was an interesting experience. It's the first time that I've really shopped for Rosie and asked for her opinion. I knew if I bought a coat that she didn't like then there would be hell to pay every single morning when I tried to put it on her. OK, I'm all for democracy in the home but it was an exhausting experience. Rosie wanted to try everything on, then she'd look at herself in the mirror and immediately want to take it off again shouting "NO LIKE IT! OFF! OFF!"

We must've tried on every little girl's coat in Bluewater but everything was itchy or too big or too small but mostly it was just a case of "no like it". For a moment I thought Rosie was going to choose a hideous white fake fur coat because she kept it on for a millisecond longer than the others but, thankfully, decided "no like it" too. Finally we found a brown tweed herringbone coat at Next with pink flowers embroidered on it. Rosie admired herself in the mirror while wearing it and decreed it "nice". I paid for it before she could try on anything else.

And Toby is no easier. This year he wanted a duffle coat but they were very hard to find. I finally found one in Monsoon Kids. It was nice and "flat" too (Toby hates anything too puffy) but was more than I was hoping to spend. I couldn't find anything else remotely suitable so ended up buying it in the next size up so Tobes can hopefully wear it for two years (ha ha). I made sure not to remove the tags until the new coat got the royal nod but I'm pleased to say that all was well.

Pictures to follow soon. They do look so cute in their winter clothes. I still need to get Rosie a new hat and scarf but I need to prepare myself for another afternoon of "no like it" first.

Suffering now

Thank god Jason gets home tonight. After our day out yesterday I'm really suffering. Cough, fever, runny nose, the works. I thought I could rest a little and entertain the children in the flat today with movies, a tent, milkshakes, etc, etc, but they seem to be below par too. It's been a whole day of bickering, tears, "I don't like it!" and "She hit me!". And my cleaner just rang to say that she can't make it this afternoon so I'm going to have to get my sorry butt out of the chair and hoover up all the crumbs the children have scattered throughout the flat this morning.

Kill. Me. Now.

Ill but trying to ignore it

I've had a sore throat for over a week but I've been doing my best to ignore it in the hope that it will go away. It seems to have gone up a notch today though but I'm still not letting it get to me. Toby was collected from school to have tea at his friend Teddy's house today and I don't pick him up until 6pm so I've had the whole day to do whatever Rosie and I wanted. I couldn't waste that.

We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks (don't tell the guys at Costa!) and took the train into town. First stop, National Gallery. This is the kind of thing I did all the time with Toby when he was tiny but just haven't managed that often the second time around. We strolled through the galleries and I would ask Rosie if she could find a dog or a baby or a boat in a painting and she would walk around looking at everything until she found what she was looking for. It was a lot of fun and we found lots of babies since we were in the Renaissance section most of the morning.

After the gallery we took my usual path through Leicester Square down to Waterstone's and spent another hour in the children's section reading books and choosing treats for Tobes and Rosie. Then lunch and Rosie passed out. I retraced my steps and managed a quiet cup of tea at the National Gallery cafe while Rosie slept and then we headed back to Blackheath. A lovely afternoon.

Things we saw today:

A group of tramps sitting on the steps of the National Gallery singing at the top of their voices along with Madonna's Holiday being played on a cheap jam box.

A very elderly woman in full Goth mode including purple eyeshadow and black fishnets.

Leonardo's cartoon for Madonna of the Rocks which has been moved from its special little viewing room for some reason.

Japanese tourists buying cartons of tea in Fortnum and Mason (the Queen's grocery store)).

The new signs in Trafalgar Square warning of a five hundred pound fine for feeding the pigeons. I remember when they used to sell dried peas from a little booth in the square expressly for that purpose. I'm getting old.

Time for some photos

This is me and my friend from high school, Walt Moran. Walt was in London with work and came out to see us. The kids loooooved him. We picked Tobes up from school and went out to Pizza Express and talked and laughed a lot. So great to see Walt and catch up. I'm hoping we can go visit him and his soon-to-be-wife Jen once they get moved to DC.



Here's Rosie and J watching the buses go by at Costa. Rosie is wearing her favourite top that Mom sent her. Every morning Rosie says "Cat! Cat! Nana Cat!" when I'm trying to get her dressed because she wants to wear her cat top from Nana. That thing has already been through the wash so many times I'm surprised it isn't falling apart.



Look at those eyes. Such a gorgeous girl.

Into the belly of the beast...

I have officially put myself forward to be the Secretary of the school Friends Committee. A thousand thanks to Elizabeth for taking care of the children so that I could attend the meeting tonight.

It was a strange experience. So often I find myself in situations that seem surreal. I remember having Christmas lunch in Tokyo with the British ambassador's wife who was telling a story about the corgis playing up the last time she dined with the Queen. In the middle of the story I had an out of body experience and I seemed to be looking at myself sitting at the table and saying "Kathy Black, how the fuck did you get here?!" It was the same tonight. One moment I was listening to a discussion about the new surfacing material for the playground and the next I was floating above the meeting wondering when I had moved to Stepford.

Because all of the cliches are true. The same scenarios must be playing out at parent/teacher groups all over the world. I think the highlight of tonight's meeting was when one of the mum's suggested that the sweatshirts which form part of the school uniform are a bit expensive and perhaps we should look for a different supplier. She was silenced by another mum snapping "Well, if you want something made in a third world country!" Oh, it gets dirty on the Friends Committee.

So, soon I'll be driving a Volvo station wagon and plotting to overthrow the Chair of the Friends Committee with a politically charged coup based on her use of margarine rather than real butter in the cakes she submits for the bake sale. Stand back.

Sunday

Had a nice morning. We all got up and went to Costa for breakfast. Usual chaos with J and I attempting to drink coffee, look through the papers, have a conversation and keep the children entertained all at the same time. Our friends Marija and Andy came in with their little boy James and the children took it up a notch. We left before the whole place was demolished.

Came home and Toby and I made key lime pies for a birthday party we went to this afternoon. J is off on a weeklong trip now. He's in Milan for the first half of the week then he's taking a train to Paris to meet Kieran and they're going to the France vs Ireland rugby match on Friday at the Stade de France.

J left at lunchtime and I got the children ready for the party. I decided to take the car even though one of the shock absorbers is broken. I've got to have it repaired this week but with both children, the nappy bag, the birthday present and two lime pies there's no way I wanted to attempt walking to the party. So I got everyone and everything into the car and we bumped our way over to the party.

We were there about fifteen minutes before Toby and Rosie started arguing over a toy. I finally calmed them down and was just getting into a nice conversation with another mum when Rosie started pushing a little boy. I broke up that little argument then got another glass of champagne. Toby and Rosie were soon at it again and I walked out into the garden just in time to see Toby smack Rosie in the head. Put Tobes into Time Out, cuddled Rosie and tried to enjoy myself.

After breaking up yet another tussle I attempted once again to have a conversation with a grown up. I soon realised that Toby and Rosie were no longer in the garden. I went into the house and found Rosie playing very nicely with some puzzles but couldn't find Toby anywhere downstairs or in the garden. I was standing in the hall checking the living room again when I heard "Mo-om!" from upstairs. Uh oh.

Tobes had wet his pants. At least he made it to the bathroom first but he was soaking. His T-shirt, his trousers, pants, socks and shoes were covered as well as the bathroom floor. Oh. My. God. There was no way to just tidy him up. We would have to leave. I explained this to Toby and he started crying and shouting that he hadn't had any birthday cake yet. Managed to calm him down, clean the bathroom floor, dress Toby in his wet clothes and stand him by the front door before going in search of Rosie who had wandered back into the garden and was now happily playing with the other children.

Tried to explain to Rosie that we needed to go and she immediately went into kicking and screaming mode. I couldn't even pick her up because she was thrashing around and every time I came near her she ran off. Finally managed to catch her, plug a dummy in her mouth, grab the nappy bag, make our apologies and get out the door. We had been at the party less than an hour.

Got Toby home and bathed and then put him in his pajamas. I thought briefly about trying to return to the party but decided to just surrender. It's 4.30pm and I'm just waiting until a time that I can decently go to bed.

Cautiously celebrating

It looks like we've finally sold the flat! It's the Canadian couple who are buying it. Thank goodness Jason is such a good and determined negotiator or I'm sure it would never have happened. We got them up to a price that we can live with and have agreed to their numerous demands which include keeping all of our white goods (large appliances, do we call them white goods in the States?), all of our window dressings and to have some bad plaster in the living room repaired. Jason asked if they wanted one of the children too but they declined. Maybe an arm or leg? Pound of flesh? No? Oh, OK then.

Jason also managed to get a reduction on the price of the house. Yes, he's been on fire this week! Everyone wants to move quickly so we're hoping to be in by November. Yes, that is quick in England. I was afraid it would be after Christmas but it looks like we'll be having Christmas in our new house.

We have one other hoop to jump through for the Canadians before we get too excited though. There's a patch of bad plaster in the living room from when the window frame leaked during one of the heavy rains this summer. We spoke to our builder about it and he agreed to repair it but the Canadians want for their surveyor to see it and assess it before it's repaired!! Good lord, do they honestly think we're trying to con them or something? I do find their approach rather offensive. At first I thought we might become friends being fellow North Americans and all but now I think not.

Ah well, we'll have plenty of friends and neighbors on Kellerton Road. I'm already thinking about organising a regular Coffee Morning, maybe a neighborhood book club, a Christmas drinks party, oh the possibilities are endless. And we'll need to buy some new furniture for the new place. I want a Welsh dresser for the dining room. Not very fashionable but I do love them. We're going to hit the antique stores because I'd rather have something with a bit of character. God, next it'll be gingham at the windows and ducks on everything. I really am turning into my mother.

God is a hermaphrodite and Adam & Eve didn't have bellybuttons

Toby and I have a little chat every night before he goes to sleep. We talk about his day and our plans for the following day and it's when I really learn what's going on in his head, what he's worried about, what he's excited about and generally what's on his mind.

Tonight he was telling me about a story he heard at school today about how God made a man named Adam, then took out his rib and used it to make a woman called Eve. Ah, the joys of church school. Now that Tobes is in Year 1 he'll start having religious studies every week. They start out with Christianity, it being a Church of England School, but as the children get older they'll learn about all the major world religions. I'm really pleased about this but since Jason and I are both atheists it does make for interesting conversations with Toby.

We generally take the approach of "Yes, that's what some people believe but other people think this or that but no one knows for sure." and end these discussions with "The important thing is to learn as much as you can, ask lots of questions and then decide what YOU believe when you're older."

Today's story at school (done with teddy bear puppets, I might add) was all about the creation of the world and the first people. Toby found it all very interesting but wanted to clarify a few points such as who was the Mommy of Adam and Eve. I explained that God made them as adults and they were never babies. Tobes thought about this for a while then said "So God must be half man and half woman because he had an egg and a seed to make people." I tried to explain the idea of a miracle and that God wouldn't necessarily need biology to make a person. Toby thought a bit longer and then said "So, if they were never in a Mommy's tummy they wouldn't have had belly buttons. That's weird." Oh the lovely sweetness of a five year old's mind.

We chatted for about half an hour about the forbidden fruit and the Garden of Eden and Toby explained that the teddy bear puppets had clothes on after they ate the fruit because they realised they were naked. We also talked about evolution just to balance things out but Toby decided that we couldn't come from monkeys because we don't have tails. Just before falling sleep Toby yawned a big yawn and whispered "It's all such a big mystery." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Feeling much better after my day of frustration on Friday. When I read back through my post that day it sounds as if I'm very pro-globalisation and want for England to be more like America. That is definitely not true. I may love all of the convenience and ease of living in the States but I love England for all its quirks and differences. Why else would I continue to live here?

Jason is in Monte Carlo this week... and he says he's working. He also said that they organised a helicopter to take him from the airport to his hotel. Sounds like fun to me!

My recipe has been published in the Good Granny Cookbook by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall. I was hoping they would include some of my stories about growing up in Texas but it's just the recipe (for Blackberry Cobbler) and my name. I am mentioned in the acknowledgements though, which is nice.

My next little escapade is taking part in a TV show called Real Women where ordinary women go out for ad campaigns against actual models. I think I must be completely mad to even contemplate this one. Especially since I've just learned that the ad they think I'm best suited for is the Ultimo campaign. I'm not sure my ego will survive the experience.

Still no new news on the flat. I've been to-ing and fro-ing between the management company and both estate agents this week but no new developments so far. The Canadians are apparently still interested and I've been doing my best to find answers to their many, many questions. The house is still available too so hopefully by some miracle it will still all come together.

It's never easy

One of the things that still bothers me about living in England is the lack of convenience. It has improved in the last 14 years that I've been here. When I first arrived most shops were open from 10-6 Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays. And that included grocery stores though they would often have a 'late' night on Thursdays and be open until 7 or maybe even 8. Woo hoo. TV channels started the day at 6am and finished somewhere around midnight. There were also a lot more individual shops then so if you wanted to buy say a T-shirt, a pair of scissors and a pint of milk you would have to go to three different shops.

Those things have improved but it's still not nearly as convenient living in England as it is in the States. One of the things I really miss are drive-thrus. They are rare, to say the least, in England. First of all because there just isn't the space for them. In urban areas where they would be most useful every meter of land is in use and no one wants to potentially waste a lot of space with a drive-thru when there could be another shop in that space instead. There are days when I would give my left arm for a few drive-thrus. Today was one of them.

Toby had his heart check-up today (it all went well but there's no change in his condition). Of course, we were running late and I hadn't eaten a thing so I thought we would stop by Costa and I would grab a coffee and croissant for the journey to the hospital, which takes about an hour. No drive-thru of course so I had to drive around the village twice looking for a parking space, park on the other side of the village, buy a parking ticket, get both kids out of their carseats which involved Rosie throwing her bottle down the gutter, then get Rosie into the stroller and finally schlep over to the coffee shop. By the time we got back in the car with breakfast half an hour had passed.

After Toby's appointment I needed to feed him before taking him into school. The idea of taking them to a cafe or restaurant was out of the question because time was short. There's a McDonald's near the hospital so I decided to go there. And yes, I am aware of the irony of taking Toby to McDonald's after a heart check-up.

Realised I didn't have any cash. Stopped at one gas station but they didn't have a cash point. Of course, no drive-thru banking and no drive-thru cashpoints. I decide to stop in Chislehurst, get some cash and then go to a Burger King that's on the way back to Blackheath. Get to Chislehurst and it's impossible to get to the cash machine at the HSBC. I drive into the tiny carpark but there isn't a single space. I contemplate just stopping in the driveway, I'm so desperate and irritable by now, but there are cars trying to get in and out. I drive off in frustration.

I try the Barclay's cashpoint next. Nowhere to park. You're supposed to park in the Pay & Display car park and then walk over to the cash machine. The car park is far enough away that I wouldn't feel safe leaving the children in the car so would have to get them both out and back in again. Finally I lose all patience, park in the middle of a Keep Clear zone and jump out with cars honking from both sides and get some cash. As I try to pull out again some daft old bat tries to turn in as I'm pulling out and we both get stuck. Cars are honking, dirty looks all around but no one is shouting yet so I'm not too concerned. Finally manage to set off again by pulling forward and backing up inch by inch (the old bat won't give a single centimeter).

In the end we eat and make it back to Toby's school only half an hour late which isn't too bad considering the morning we've had.

Now if I was in Texas I would've got my coffee at a Starbucks drive-thru, my cash at a drive-thru ATM and gotten the kids something from another drive-thru and had a car picnic. So much less frustration. I have heard the argument that it's the convenience of life in the States that make Americans the fattest nation in the world, and I can see some truth in that, but sometimes it would just make life a lot more pleasant and me a much nicer person to have that convenience.

A few verbal snapshots...

Rosie and Toby sitting in the bath. Rosie notices Toby's willy, points at it and...

Rosie: Ewww! Yucky!!
Toby: It's not yucky! It's my willy!

A few days later Rosie comes into the bathroom as I'm getting out of the shower. As she walks off I hear her shouting to Toby: "Mommy's willy gone-gone!!"

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

Overheard as Toby and his friends were playing in the trees at the park...

Solar: Look I can climb the tree!

All the boys: Me too! Me too! Let's all climb the tree! Let's all be monkeys!

Toby: I'll be a cheeky monkey!

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

At bedtime...

Me: Rosie, do you want your dummy?

R: No!

Me: Are you sure?

R: No dummy!

Me: Why don't I just leave it here so you can get it if you change your mind.

R: No! NO DUMMY!

Me: OK then. [I put the dummy away.]

R: Want dummy! Want dummy!

Me: OK, here's your dummy.

R: No!

-Repeat ad nauseum-

Back to school

Today is Toby's first day in Year 1. Last year he wore a polo top and the school sweatshirt but he's decided that he wants to wear the blazer and tie this year. Now, this isn't down to any kind of fashion sense but rather a growing interest in Dr Who. Toby's friend Teddy was the only boy who wore a blazer last year (also because of Dr Who) and this year Toby and Solar joined him. I also heard at least two other mums talking about trying to get blazers for their boys. So, fashion mags take note. This term the look for stylish Year 1 boys is all about the blazer.

Yesterday we went to Manor House Gardens and bumped into loads of children from Toby's class. It was a nice way to ease back into the school term. I've really missed the routine of the school year and I know Toby has missed the stimulation and his friends. Because the children get just six weeks off every summer the families seem to disappear on vacation for most of August so we didn't see that much of Toby's friends. We stayed put in London and, though it was restful, we have seen the wisdom in getting away. No one is here, London is overrun with tourists and everyone benefits from a change of scene. Next year we'll be going away.

So, it's with a huge sigh of relief all around that the school year has begun. We've already got two birthday parties to attend this weekend and once I join the Friends Committee I'll be even more busy than usual. Can't wait!

Still haven't sold the flat but the house we want is still available and we're deep in negotiations with the couple who gave such an initial low offer. They've raised the offer to a more acceptable level and we're just trying to fine tune the details now but we're hopeful. They're a Canadian couple and I assume that it's all a bit different and perhaps confusing here. I know it's a lot different to the way things are done in the States.

The funny thing is that the estate agent obviously doesn't realise that I'm American but, I guess because of their accents, she thinks that the couple trying to buy the flat are American. We've heard such witticisms as: "I know they're Americans but we all have our problems, heh." and "God, these Americans. You have to spoon-feed them everything." Jason and I keep saying we should probably set her straight but it's just so entertaining.

Gym Mummy

I never thought I would say this but I'm really enjoying going to the gym at the moment. I have never been a gym bunny... well, there was that brief spell in 1990 when I worked at Presidents Health Club and lived in lycra. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I do love our gym though. We have our fair share of posers but overall there's a real mix of people of all ages, shapes and sizes. This morning I watched a woman walking on the treadmill who was at least 80 years old and wearing a kneelength full skirt with the latest Nikes. We have lots of older people, especially women, who do yoga and Pilates. Lots of mums like me who are there for a bit of exercise and to get away from the kids for a couple of hours. And lots of families there to swim and eat in the cafe.

The cafe is great. Not a power bar or glucose drink in sight. They have a few healthy options like fruit salad and yoghurts and some lovely salads on the menu, but they also have a Costa franchise and make huge great frothy cappucinos. They do a full English breakfast with bacon, sausage, eggs, the works. And they sell gorgeous chocolate cake and caramel slices too. Well, what is the point of exercising if you can't then eat a cream cake every once in a while.

I don't go to the gym to socialise. It's my Me time. My routine is to get there as early as possible and do my half hour on the treadmill then stretch and do some pilates. Afterwards I take a long shower uninterrupted by shouts of "She hit me! Give that back!" and "Moooooomeeeee!!". Then I have breakfast, either two poached eggs with toast and jam or a big bowl of oatmeal, with a cappucino of course and I sit and read the papers or a good book while I eat. No one interrupts me. No one asks for a bite of my food or shouts that my eggs look yucky. I might even check my email too and by the time I go home I feel refreshed and relaxed.

I don't know where she gets it from

Rosie's Favourite Word

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London Lad

Here's Toby having dinner at his favourite restaurant yesterday. We had a Mom & Toby afternoon out and went to Waterstone's at Piccadilly, the Japan Centre and then had dinner at Yo Sushi!, which Toby loves. He always has the same thing: edamame, miso soup, yakitori, gyoza and veggie noodles.

London Lad

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Not good

We had an offer on the flat... 70,000 less than the listed price PLUS we pay the lease for the first year AND leave all of the appliances. That would be a big N-O. And the agents for the house on Kellerton Road rang to say that the house was going back on the market because we're taking too long to sell. Not a good morning.

Catching up

Jason and I had our 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Since we met at the beach in Texas we decided to spend the day at the beach here. The contrast between South Padre in the Gulf of Mexico and Whitstable on the North Sea is quite marked, to say the least! We did have a lovely day out though. It was wet, cold and windy so we bundled up and drove to the East Quay Restaurant for fish and chips before walking along the pebble beach, collecting shells and chucking stones in the water. Afterwards we went for a walk in the seaside village, stopping for coffee and huge slices of chocolate cake. Both children fell asleep in the car on the way home which gave me and Jason a chance to talk about the last fifteen years together and the next fifteen ahead.

This week we've started the back-to-school processs. Yesterday I took the children to Bluewater to get uniforms for Toby. This year he wants a blazer and tie. He looks so cute in them and spent a very long time admiring himself in the changing room mirrors. I can't wait to take photos on his first day back.

Both children also needed new clothes since they've had growth spurts. I dressed them recently and Rosie's top barely covered her tummy and Toby's jeans were high-waters. So, two pairs of jeans each and various tops & trousers plus sweaters for Toby and skirts and dresses for Rosie. I'm very lucky that Elizabeth passed on some of Mary Catherine's clothes so Rosie already has lots of lovely sweaters and jackets this year. Rosie needed shoes too and I was amazed to see that she'd grown a size and a half. I bought her new sandals just two months ago. Good lord, these children are expensive.

Toby has one more week off before starting Year 1 and we've filled it was visits with friends and days out. We're going to go see the play of The Gruffalo's Child on Thursday which should be fun. On Friday Toby has an appointment for an ECG and a chest X-ray to check on his heart, which I'm sure is fine, but it means that we'll be in Farnborough all day.

School starts on Tuesday 4 September and we're all looking forward to autumn and getting back into our routine. I've missed seeing Marija at Costa in the mornings. It feels like we'll soon be wrapping up, drinking hot chocolate and thinking about Halloween, Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Kissing games

Kissing Games

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You're how old?!

Tomorrow is Jason's birthday. He'll be 38 years old. He's on holiday this week and we're celebrating with a birthday breakfast, trip to Bluewater to buy J a camera, a hammock from Toby for the new garden and a little treat that Rosie made and a surprise or two.

Happy birthday Jason!!

Conversations with Toby

After Toby's bath tonight:

Me: Tobes, I noticed you were holding your willy a lot today. Is it feeling sore? Does it hurt when you wee wee?

Toby: I wasn't holding my willy. I was holding these little things underneath my willy. They're like little bubbles and I like to hold them.

Me: [thinking] ...and so it begins.

A sad week

Last week was a week for sad news. My friend Marija's father died, Rosie's music teacher miscarried at 21 weeks into her pregnancy, one of Jason's parents' friends died quite suddenly, a dear friend lost his year long battle with cancer and I learned that a much admired colleague passed away last year.

Some of you might have heard me talk about my friend Xavier in Paris. It was only 18 months ago that he discovered a lump on his collarbone which started a long and painful fight for his life. He leaves a wife and three children behind, his youngest a little girl named Rose who is the same age as Rosie. He was such a family man and so adored his children. I can't imagine them growing up without him. So sad and so unexpected. Xavier never smoked or drank and lived a healthy, happy life. So very sad.

Kicking into high gear

The flat is online here now. Click on Southeast London then Blackheath and we're the 3 bed flat on Quentin Road. Still no offers. Grrrr. Keep your fingers crossed that something comes up soon.

Happy birthday Toby!

Today is Toby's 5th birthday. I thought I would be freaking out but I feel remarkably calm. Perhaps that's because the fact that my baby boy is five years old hasn't completely sunk in yet. I remember his birth like it was yesterday and all day today I've been thinking about what I was doing at the same time five years ago.

You can read Toby's birth story here and if you're really interested that website includes my first pregnancy journal too.

Still in one piece...

... but only just. Came home with a splitting headache after our day out. I'm sure it wasn't helped by the fact that my breakfast consisted of chocolate palmiers. Not the best start to an active day. We did have a nice time at the museum but keeping up with the children while taking calls from the estate agent was hard work.

Our initial feedback on the first five viewings has been - two think the kitchen is too small, one is very interested and two haven't gotten back to the agent yet. We had another viewing today and have one tomorrow and another on Wednesday. I'm really hoping that by Friday we've at least had a nibble.

House for sale

There must be something in the air. Mom and Dad moved last week. They bought a house in Lufkin and have returned to the place where it all began. We're in the throes of buying and selling and Jason's parents put their house on the market on Friday. Anyone interested in a lovely house in Cambridgshire with a beautiful English garden should check it out. It's a 4-bed house between 250,000 and 300,000 in Sawtry.

Jason is back at work today and the children and I are going to the Museum in Docklands. We're packing a picnic lunch and going with Toby's friend Max, his mum, brother and baby sister. That's right. Rachel and I will have five children between us. Should be interesting. Hope I make it home in one piece.

Haircut and flat for sale

Got a major haircut this morning. Now, before anyone starts freaking out (Mom) I've just cut off all of my damaged, hormone-ravaged pregnancy hair and will grow it out again into something that is hopefully much more healthy. At the moment I like to think I'm channelling my inner French girl or maybe Cleopatra or Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface...

And the flat is officially on the market. We've had five viewings so far and are hopefully going to have an offer this week. Keep your fingers crossed. The Kellerton Road house has been taken off the market for a week to give us a chance to get under offer and then hopefully everything will proceed quickly. I'll let you know when the spec ends up on the agent's website so you can have a nose around. I know I would want to check out your house if you were selling! We just signed the contract though and the five viewings so far have come from them ringing around. We have two more scheduled early this week and hopefully lots more once the spec comes out. Someone must want to buy this flat!

Sleepy Girl

Sleep girl

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Keeping them entertained

One of those days that make you happy to be you

Lovely day. Dropped Tobes off at holiday club, went to see the Hereford Gardens house then headed to Costa. The whole gang was there - Philippa and Little Joe, Marija, Marion, the Book Lady, The Smoker, Lily and her parents, etc, etc. Our little coffee clache, as Marion says.

Afterwards I came home and did some laundry (the dryer was fixed on Tuesday, hurray!) then picked Tobes up and went to his friend Finn's house for lunch. I really like Finn's mum, Jo, and we had a lovely lunch. Finn has a little sister Amelia who is almost three and all of the children played very well together. Jo and I ended up being monsters chasing Spiderman, a princess, a red Power Ranger and Rosie around the garden. Lovely afternoon.

We came home to have the flat valued by another agent and then had breakfast for dinner (bacon, toast, eggs and beans). Now if I can get the children to sleep at a decent time I might just manage to have a bit of quiet time tonight. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

And we're off..

Saw the house in Hereford Gardens this morning. Beautiful ground floor though smaller rooms than Kellerton Road. The finish of the house is amazing - original wood floors, gorgeous kitchen extension, lovely kitchen, etc, etc but it's that bit further from the village, that much smaller overall. Definitely a no. It has shown me that Kellerton Road is the house for us and given me some ideas for improvements though.

So I've got another agent coming to value the flat today and then hopefully we can choose with whom to list the flat. The owners of Kellerton Road have another viewing on Saturday (fingers crossed we don't get gazumped) but they will stop viewings after that for a period of time so that we can sell our place. Hopefully we'll sell quickly and it will all move smoothly. Our place is in a very popular location and we've done a lot of improvements so we're cautiously optimistic. I can't believe this is all happening while J is on the other side of the world!

OK, off to look at potterybarn.com for some decorating ideas. The children are going to share a room so I'm looking for things that would both like. I'm thinking red and white ticking fabric, white walls, big blackboard... ohhhh, I'm in my element now!

Now I'm really shitting myself

They accepted our offer. Holy. Crap.

So now we just have to get our place sold. I had one valuation today and I've got another coming tomorrow. Hopefully in the next few days we can choose an agent and get the flat on the market.

At the moment my greater concern is getting Rosie to sleep. Tobes passed out about an hour ago but Rosie is holding out and is now running around the living room full of energy. They've been a real handful today. I've probably been distracted with all the house stuff and found it harder to cope too. Taking care of the children is a piece of cake... as long as you don't try to do anything else at the same time. Buying a house and selling the flat definitely qualifies as "anything else".

Gotta get this girl to bed before I lose my mind. Really need some quiet thinking alone time tonight.

Oh man

We weren't even thinking about moving. Just kind of kicking the idea around a bit. Now I've found another house I want to go and look at. It's in the same area as the first one, costs less and has more space. It's here. Very grand and we would definitely need to redecorate and pare it down a bit! Check out the formal dining room in the IPX videotours at the bottom of the page.

Well, the sellers came back to us about the house. They've asked that we raise our offer a bit (well, of course they did) but J and I have decided to stick with it. We love the house but we're in no rush to move so we're going to play hardball and risk it.

It's listed with another agent here and there are some different photos including the main bathroom.

Having our place valued this morning. Can't wait to see what they have to say!

My head is spinning!

OK, last week a house on our street came onto the market. We're in a flat made by knocking two houses together and then turning each floor into one big flat. Hard to imagine but cleverly done. We decided to view the house just to see if it was worth the price to stay close to the village. At the same time I booked a viewing for a house in Lee Green which is the other neighborhood we're considering. It's a bit further from the village, though still walking distance to St Margaret's and it's very near Manor House Gardens. Plus it seems that half of Toby's class live in the neighborhood which would be great for the children.

The day before the viewing the agent called to say sorry but the Quentin Road house had accepted an offer of the full asking price and been taken off the market. We decided to go ahead and see the house in Lee Green just out of interest... I loved it! It's an Edwardian terraced house with a loft conversion. Five bedrooms (though two are quite small), a bathroom and a shower room. It also has a garden which Toby loved and a summer house. They've kept lots of the original features including fireplaces in all of the original rooms and an old freestanding claw-foot tub in the main bathroom. I've already been thinking of wall colours.

So, I went to the estate agent and made an offer this morning. It's a low offer but the house does need some renovation and updating. They're coming to value our flat tomorrow and then we'll see... J is in Sydney and Tokyo this week. I can already hear the stories in the future "I went on a one week business trip and Katherine sold the flat and bought a house while I was away!"

In other news, Toby has suddenly had a growth spurt. Jeans that fit him last week are now too short and he's gone up a shoe size. We had to go out to Bluewater yesterday and get some new Geox (it's what all the five year old boys are wearing apparently) and we got Rosie a potty. I really wanted the pink Princess potty but Rosie wanted the one with a lion on it. Ah well, I like a girl that knows her own mind so we got the lion potty. Last night I stripped Rosie for her bath and asked if she wanted to sit on the potty and try to do a wee. She said "No". I decided to respect her wishes, not wanting to start any negative associations with the potty, etc, etc. Then when I turned my back to turn off the taps she picked up her potty and wee'd on the floor. Not quite right but hopefully we'll get there.

This week Toby is at the church holiday club each morning. We arrived this morning to find most of his friends there and Tobes was thrilled. It's funny how involved we're becoming with the church now that Tobes is going to a church school. J and I are such heathens but I even made it into the parish newsletter last month working on the school summer fair. I have nothing against religion and I do think it's important to have all the information. I'm just lacking in that most important element of faith. I would feel too hypocritical calling myself a christian when I don't really believe but, saying that, the Church of England is a lovely, liberal, very laid back religion (created so that Henry VIII could grant himself a divorce!) and it has a nice community attached to it which is wonderful for the children.