And we're off...

Sitting here surrounded by boxes and utterly exhausted. Still on Quentin Road tonight but we move into Chalcroft tomorrow. It's all gone smoothly so far. The decorators finished today and the cleaners came in. Still some bits and pieces to do like touching up the varnish on the stairs where some tape took it off, putting some shelves in the kitchen back up and stuff like that, but mostly it's done.

Jason stayed at the house today to oversee the packing. I took Rosie to playgroup, went over to Chalcroft to deal with decorators and cleaners, hit the home stores for bits and pieces like light shades and a new toilet seat, then bought food, plates and cutlery for dinner. Everything was packed.

While I was at Sainsbury's Jason and the children took Indy for his first vet appointment. He was looked over, given some flea drops and his first innoculation. The vet says that he's a very healthy kitten. But judging from his energy and appetite, we knew that already.

So tomorrow is the big day! The house looks great. I can't wait to see it with all of our stuff in it. Pics soon!

Overheard

Rosie playing with the kitten...

Rosie: Smell it... smell it... now you take it!

Kitten: MEOOOOOW!

[If you don't understand this then watch this clip. No, Rosie hasn't seen the movie but she saw the preview at another film... an age appropriate child's film.]

Love this!

I wanted something Texan for the landing leading up to the loft in the new house. I was thinking maybe a vintage Texas travel poster or something like that. Then I found this poster on Ebay. Love it! I might have to put it in the kitchen just so more people will see it. So funny!

What's been going on

So much going on here. My 'To Do' lists have been amended and extended so many times that I need a list of my lists just to keep up with it all.

Let's see... cut my hair... got a cat... potty trained Rosie (she's been clean and dry for over a week)... got Rosie started at preschool... got Rosie started in ballet (sooo cute)... working on Toby's times tables and handwriting... builders finished their work in the house and the decorators have moved in... had the car broken into (all fine, they tried to hot wire it but obviously didn't know how)... booked movers for Tuesday 30 September (woohoo, one more week!)... couch being reupholstered and delivered to the new house on Saturday (can't wait to see how it turned out)... J's in Edinborough this week with work... I've booked a spa day with Philippa on Saturday at The Sanctuary in Covent Garden (can't wait!)... the children have three birthday parties this weekend (their social lives are far more active than mine)... and that's all I can think of right now!

Indian Summer

A rare photo of me and Jason together. It's usually me and the children or Jason and the children. Toby took this one today on the heath. We've had an unusually sunny spell the last couple of days and everyone has been out enjoying the sunshine. It's probably the last we'll have for a while.

So much is happening!

Crazy busy at the moment and it's all change. Rosie started her first playgroup on her own this morning. She was fine though I cried after I left. We got a kitten, a tiny tomcat that the children have named Indy. School is in full swing as well as my PTA work and we're moving to the new house on 30 September. I'm sure there are a dozen other things going on but my head is spinning!

Yes, I've cut my hair off again

I'll p ost some pics as soon as I get my camera recharged but in the meantime let me say that I took in a photo of Claudia Schiffer in the new Chanel ads for my haircut. She looks so chic, flirty and elegant. Ray, my hairdresser, did a great job copying the cut but somehow on me it's more Volvo driving soccer mom. Either that or Dora Carrington. Not quite the look I was going for but hopefully it'll grow on me.

A couple of interesting articles

This one clarifies some of the lies and exagerations in the McPalin campaign. This bit particularly caught eye:

McCain Myth: Palin Traveled Abroad to Ireland

FACT: Palin Stopped In Ireland To Refuel Plane.

Palin’s Ireland Trip Was A Refueling Stop. Politico’s Ben Smith reported, “I wrote the other day that a Palin spokeswoman said trips to Germany, Kuwait and Ireland made up her foreign travel. Two details worth clarifying: The Ireland trip was a refueling stop on her trip to military installations in Germany and Kuwait, spokeswoman Maria Comella said. And she’s also visited Canada, another spokesman, Ben Porritt, says.” [Politico , 9/2/08]

As an American living abroad foreign policy is particularly important to me. I think being outside the country allows, in some ways, a clearer view of America's place in the world and it's definitely something we need to work on. I'm not saying making nice with everyone is the most important thing but I do think a bit more sensitivity and diplomacy would make things better for everyone.

I think the scariest thing about the "I can see Russia from my house" comment is that even though it was so close Palin has never visited Russia. That is mind-boggling. A country with an important role in world matters, so close to her home state and she obviously has national political aspirations and yet she's never been there.

A more uplifting and positive editorial is here. It's about the fuel crisis and how America and the American gung-ho attitude can make a difference.

The lives of books

I had some time to myself Saturday morning and went into the village for a quiet coffee. I decided to take a look in the Bookshop on the Heath. It's a wonderful old bookstore crammed with second-hand books, vintage posters and postcards and lots of other beautiful things. Not a great place to take children though as there are lots of fragile and very expensive books so it was a treat to get to browse around at my leisure.

There was a beautiful miniature collection of the complete works of Shakespeare bound in leather. I didn't even bother to look at the price. I also found some old maps of Blackheath from the 18th and 19th centuries. Our neighborhood appears at the very beginning of the 19th century but the new house wasn't built until a few years later. On the map I saw that area was still part of the orchards of the old Manor House, which is now a library. That explains why there are so many fruit trees around there!

In the end I bought three Penguin books of detective stories. My much loved Agatha Christie, a collection of Sherlock Holmes and Ngaio Marsh's Vintage Murder. On the inside cover of the last book there's an inscription that reads "Minnie Hood, Buenos Aires, 1951". There's also a sticker for Mitchell's English Book-store, Cangallo 570, Buenos Aires. I love the idea that 20 years before I was born someone was reading this book on the other side of the world and thought enough of it to bring it all the way back to England. Now, 57 years later it will be read by an American expat in London. What an interesting life this little book has had.

Fun stuff

Loved this article in the Sunday Times magazine:

50 Things Every British Girl Should Have

Does anyone know which magazine the American list is in? They don't say in this article but I'd love to read it. The British list is so very British - eccentric, practical, sexy, funny. I'm curious to see what appears on the list in the States. I read a quote recently that said "American women are glamourous, British women are elegant and French women are chic." I can see some truth in that.

Terrifying

I just watched Sarah Palin's interview on ABC. It literally sent a chill down my spine. She's in way over her head. One trip out of North America in her lifetime?! Never dealt with foreign heads of state?! Full of mumbo jumbo and with obviously very little understanding of world issues. She just doesn't have the scope of experience needed to be Vice President.

Some of her points about making the US less dependant on foreign countries for power and teaching creationism in schools I can see. (Though I only support creationsism if taught equally alongside evolution and examples of other belief systems.) There are some interesting ideas under all of the ranting about God and war and family values. She may be able to make some positive changes in the country but not as the VP. Run for Congress.

Something finally clicked...

Rosie has been clean and dry for two days! In the last couple of days she's had a bunch of potty training milestones:

Her first poo in the potty

Telling me that she needs to use the potty

Sitting on the big toilet

I'm so excited. She's even kept her Pull-Up dry overnight so it won't be long before we have no more nappies in the house. Now that makes me so sad! No more babies in diapers. No more little babies. I've made a conscious effort to savour every moment but it still seems like this baby time has just slipped through my fingers.

And now I'm crying.

Ups and downs of potty training

Still struggling with the potty training. It's not that Rosie can't do, it's that she won't. She wakes up every morning with a dry Pull-Up and then does a massive wee in it. In the last week or so it's gotten to the point where her Pull-Up can't cope with the deluge and leaks all over her pajamas and usually the bed. Rosie hates this so I've started keeping a potty by the bed and as soon as she wakes up I plonk her on it.

The first morning she did a wee in the potty and it was a decent one, though not as much as I expected. We did the potty dance and clapped hands and Rosie was very proud of herself. As I went downstairs to get her some underwear I heard her start crying. She was standing at the top of the stairs finishing her wee. It was unbelievable. Like something out of The Exorcist. Rosie was standing their weeping her heart out completely unable to control it. The top three steps were soaked.

I promised to buy her a pink potty (which is our third potty) if she would put all of her wees and poos in it. Rosie said she would so we went off to Bluewater and looked at every potty known to mankind. She chose a pretty little pink one and I put it by the bed that night. Next morning we talked about making sure she was totally empty and she did a great job. I started to see a small light at the end of the tunnel.

Today I took Rosie out of the house in underwear for the first time. She did her morning wee and then tried again before we went out. All on the pink potty of course. I cleaned the potty, put it in a grocery bag and took it out with us along with a change of clothes, potty wipes, Pull-Ups just in case and Dettol wipes. Have potty, will travel.

When we got to the cafe I saw that Rosie was doing the wee wee dance so I took her to the loo along with her potty and she did a wee! In a public loo! Breakthrough!! Unfortunately half an hour later I caught a whiff of a very distinct aroma. Rosie had pooed in her pants. Oh my God it was not a pretty site and she was completely unphased and unrepentant. I just threw the underpants away, cleaned her up and changed her clothes. Two steps forward and one step back.

Then to top things off this morning while my friend Poppy and I were talking Rosie and Poppy's daughter Eva wandered into the loo, put the plug in the sink and turned the tap on! Poppy and I ended up on our hands and knees mopping the floor with paper towels, gulping down our coffees and exiting the cafe as quickly as possible. It's a tiny place run by a grumpy lady. I'm sure we just made her Shit List. If we didn't make it for the water then we will when she finds what I left in the bin. Yet another place I'll need to avoid in future.

ADDENDUM:

Just picked Toby up from school. Rosie sat on her potty for 20 minutes with no success before going out. Once we reached the school she wet her pants. We collected Toby and Finn, who came home for dinner, and as we walked back they noticed Rosie's wet bottom. I thought I would let the boys tease her a little bit in the hope that shame might succeed where bribery, threats and pleading had failed. Was Rosie embarrassed? No she was not. When the boys started to tease her she shook her wet bottom at them and then laughed when they ran away.

I see a long road ahead.

Conversations with the kiddos

Toby, after overhearing a conversation about Sarah Palin:

Toby: What's wrong with that lady's baby?

Me: He has a condition called Downs Syndrome that makes him a little different to most people. Like Archie at school.

T: Oh yea, he's wierd. Have you seen his face?! [I brace myself for a long discussion about accepting others, how people are all different, etc, etc] He has these little brown dots on it. Is that Downs Syndrome?

Me: Um... no that's freckles. Lots of people have freckles.

T: Oh. Can I have a cookie?

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Rosie after seeing a big spider in the cellar:

"That 'pider weally fweaked me out, Mommy."

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I had to balance on a chair to shut the hundred year old kitchen window which is falling apart and the lock came off of it:

Me: Oh shoot!

Rosie: Oh shit!

Me: No, I didn't say shit. I said shoot.

Rosie: I know but I said shit.

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Rosie at top volume after shaking hands with a customer at Costa:

"Mommy, that man is WEALLY, WEALLY black."

My husband

This is Jason's new work portrait. Doesn't he look handsome.

First day of Year 2

Overheard

Rosie singing the children's song that goes "There's a worm at the bottom of my garden and his name is Wiggly Woo" but in her own inimitable way:

"There's a worm coming out of my bottom and his name is Wiggly Woo..."

The new neighborhood

Here are some links to info about our new neighborhood, Hither Green.

Time Out article

Wikipedia entry

I think the Time Out article gives a good sense of what it's like. Quiet, good park, community library, lots of families with young children and a quick train ride into town.

We closed on the house yesterday and it's all happening now. The children and I picked up the keys at lunchtime and spent an hour or so just walking around the house, looking in cupboards and making plans. It's an Edwardian terraced house and we met our neighbor on the left, an elderly lady named Mrs Fitzgibon, and our neighbor on the right came out and gave us a card and a box of chocolates.

We met Jason at the house after work and Pete, Philippa and Joe came over to check it out. The children ran rampant through the empty rooms and terrorised the frogs in the frog pond while we talked about the renovations. Our builder, Mick, came round to pick up the keys and as we were leaving I saw my friend Sarah who lives three doors down the opposite side to Philippa. Sarah gave me a big hug and welcomed us to the neighborhood. It all feels really good and we can't wait to get there.

At midnight last night I suddenly changed my mind about bricking up one of the doorways in the house and we texted Mick to tell him. We met him there this morning and talked over the change and he agreed that it sounded like a better plan. Whew! I'm so glad we sorted that out before they started working! Now we're keeping the doorway to the kitchen and bricking up the door to the dining room instead. I'll post photos soon and it'll all make sense.

Anyway, all going well. Now I just need to sort out a decorator. Once the house was empty we realised it needs more painting to freshen it up than we thought. Anyone know a good decorator in London??

Slebs

Took the kids to Costa for lunch today and bumped into my friend Marion there. She spent the summer travelling around the States and visiting old friends and just got back. She's English but was a school teacher in Connecticut for 20 years so we understand each other well since we're both trans-Atlantic at heart.

Marion is in her 60s and has struck up a friendship with one of the local celebrities, Paul Sculfor. He lives in Blackheath and is a regular at Costa. Marion is the Grande Dame of Costa and knows everyone who comes in so she struck up a conversation with him one day and we've been teasing her about her toyboy ever since. After I updated her on her current competition for Paul (Cameron Diaz) we started talking about the other celebs in Blackheath. Dominic Cooper worked in Costa a few years ago when he was at acting school. Terry Waite lives in the village and Jools Holland lives in Blackheath Standard.

I knew that Marion had a sister who's an actress and I've met her a couple of times in Costa. While we were talking today Marion mentioned that her sister is going to be in a play at the National Theatre this autumn with Helen Mirren. I was really impressed and Marion said "oh yes, she's very good. She's won a Tony and all that kind of thing." Wow! I had no idea. A Tony award winning actress! I've been talking to Marion for almost three years and she's never mentioned that before.