Little sighs, little hoorays...daily life in the UK

Little joys and little annoyances filled my day...many hoorays and sighs...



One joy is the delivery of groceries that are ordered online. Well, its a little difficult to get it all in the tiny fridge, though I managed. I shouldn't complain, we are blessed with an additional freezer. The fridge back home was enormous compared to this!

On my fridge I have some magnets---from the National Zoo in Washington DC, from Cedar Run Cattle on the Eastern Shore in Maryland (Where I used to get my fresh eggs and meat from, farmer Lou asked us to put his magnet on the fridge here) I have some pics of my family and Todd's brother's kids. I have some phone lists, including an emergency phone list I only had the sense to make about 2 weeks ago. Hooray for online shopping and the Tesco delivery chap!




Next sigh ...left the knitting out where the 2 year old who loves swords and string can find it. I recently have been learning how to knit, have a scarf I have been working on and because I am so enthralled with the idea that this is actually making something I carelessly left it out. I may need to call in help to salvage my project. Hooray for friends who can teach me new things!



Certainly the biggest sigh of the day happened when I went to register at the GP. (For my American readers, the GP is the general practioner, with the national health system everyone has to register at their local GP) This particular GP would not let us register until we had been here for 6 months. I went in March to register our whole family and I brought all our passports plus an item of mail for the last 6 months that had our name and address on it. Turns out I needed one piece of mail for each of the last 6 months with Todd's name and address on it and one for each of the last 6 months with my name and address on it. Now, because I am not working and do not pay the bills and many places send us our stuff over email, I had to scrounge to get these papers together, and 5 weeks later I return to register at the GP. So there I am with all my papers at the reception desk of the GP's surgery (yes, americans, the surgery is the doctors office, not the O.R.) The woman at the desk oohs and aahs about my American passport. I guess American passports are really patriotic and showy compared to other countries. They all come round to look at it. "There really is a picture on every page." Right, and each page has quotes like.."We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..."

There are about 7 other people politely waiting in the queue behind me. Then someone, not really sure who, comes down and asks me some questions (that I would have deemed private) in front of this queue of people. This is slightly annoying to me, after working in America in a chiropractic clinic when HIPAA was launched and everyones personal health information became super hush-hush. So, slightly embarrassed, I leave the GP surgery knowing I have ticked off one other thing from my list and assured that I still have no idea what to do in this culture! Government run health care....hooray? (By the way, you may be wondering what private questions the person asked me today, and the only answer you are going to get is that they were private, and if those 7 other people have a blog or a facebook or a twitter, they may be sharing that information on their sites.)




Hooray and sigh for the sun staying up later! My children have a really difficult time sleeping when its bright outside. I love the light, its wonderful that now in the beginning of May it already stays light until 9 pm, so...we will have to get some black out shades. Hooray for sunshine and longer days!






I saw the sweetest elderly couple walking along the high street today. She was using a cane and he was carrying the groceries in a bag. They were holding hands and smiling, their white hair blowing in the breeze and their faces beaming. Beautiful people, I thought to myself. Hope Todd and I are like that when we are old.




I popped into a charity shop (thrift shop, Americans) on the way home and found a brand new book that Ethan will love. Hooray for charity shops on the high street!



Hooray also for bank holidays! Yesterday was a bank holiday and so Todd was home, and today was his normal day off so it was a wonderfully nice break for all of us! Hooray!

Oh the things they say

So like most parents, I think my children are pretty extraordinary, but here are some sentences and phrases that have been coming out of their mouths lately...

"Poppa, Little Bo Peep has sheep legs."

"Oh really, how do you know?"

"I saw her legs on the movie (Toy Story) and she had sheep legs."

Tim, after being carried down and set at the breakfast table sits with a terrific scowl on his face. After 1 minute of people telling him good morning, he lets a deep, angry roar. Startled I laugh, and he cracks a slight grin...

Ethan says, "I am so happy, its like I am jumping a thousand feet from one mountain to another mountain and landing on a tower of pillows."

Some kids have imaginary friends, and well Ethan does have an imaginary friend named Sasa...Sasa comes complete with family and extended family. According to Ethan Sasa never gets sick, always obeys his mommy, and has completed several large building projects. Well, thats one thing and here's another...Ethan now has an imaginary plant called "Showdon" The Showdon has leaves in the winter and no leaves in the summer and when you sit in its shade in the winter you feel warm.

Tim, "Where Tim's sword is..." "Where Tim's helmet is..." "Where Tarzan is..." "Where Sir Kay is..." "Where Buzz Lightyear is..." (To this we show him his Buzz...he says no, other buzz...its in America, thats Christopher's Buzz....deep frown, and he says "Merica...")

Whenever we tell Tim something is empty or gone, or we can't have it now...he says, "Have after dinner."

Tim sits in bed saying his friends names..."Cameron, Ella, Daniel, Becca, Ethan, Hannah, Toby, Amy, Bethany, Ethan, Ella..."

For the most part they still talk like Americans, and have only picked up few British words...Tim will ask for dry trousers and Ethan says he needs to use to use the Loo....Tim seems to know if we need more bread, the place we get is Tesco. One time, Tim even called out "Cheers" as he we were leaving a place.

Ethan tells Tim as they are playing with sand, "Tim, God is always with you. Even if you can't see him, he's there."

Tim points to the air and says, "God"

Ethan, "Every day with Jesus is like 1 mile closer to heaven."

Tim, "Jesus Alive."

What unique and wonderful children I have, and how great it is to be with them all day!

I have to be honest and say that they use these same tongues and knowledge of words to say nasty things to one another, tell me a lie, whine or complain. The nasty words are as nasty as the sweet words are sweet. What a reminder to watch what comes out of my mouth!

The End of a Matter is Better than its Beginning...

Hanging up Timothy's wet nappies, my heart is lifting a hopeful song...he has begun to use the potty! Hard to believe my mischievous 2 year old has been wearing the same cloth nappies since we came home from the Birth Center in 2008.

Not to say I don't enjoy the cloth nappies, because the ones we have are so adorable, and they are soft on his bum. Besides the other bonus of how simple and happy they look all hung up in a row, or folded in a drawer. Tim likes to sit in a big pile of his clean nappies unfolding the tabs.

All the same, the idea that Tim is now using the toilet at least a few times a day is a very encouraging one. The daily tasks of mothering are repeated over and over and over. Its so easy to let them be done without love, filled instead with bitterness, resentment, annoyance, irritation, self righteousness, pride. Somehow, day after day these tasks are nurturing these little ones as they grow. Then we get to stand back and see how far they have grown, and marvel that this was happening all the while.

For "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." Ecclesiastes 7:20

Sky News / I Hate Iceland

In case you didn't see this crazy family today....

(This is the tree Todd chased the squirrel up)


For being such a private person, today was a day full of drawing attention to ourselves, so I thought I would write about them here for all the rest of you who didn't get to witness the entertainment we provided London today.

As we are headed out for the day together, Timothy is screaming "MY SCOODER" all the way from our home to the bus stop. He is offended, of course, because though he is learning to ride his "scooder" he is not able to take it into the crowded streets and it had to stay home. Ok, so that is minor.

We walk up Richmond Hill and down into the Terrace Gardens, have an enjoyable walk and time exploring the mud, sticks, trees and rocks with the boys. We stop and have lunch on a bench where we are approached by a very aggressive gray squirrel. Todd throws a piece of bread past it and it goes and eats it and then again approaches us. At this point Todd unleashes his blue umbrella, opens it and charges at the squirrel shouting (with his mouth full of turkey sandwich) "YAH...YAH...YAH..." at which the squirrel dashes up the tree. Meanwhile a very proper, probably very upperclass, British couple rounds the corner and walks past our very strange family.

Next on the list today, we head down to a green patch in front of the statue of Old Father Thames, and Ethan picks Tim up lays him flat and tries to get him to roll down the hill. Then Ethan chases what remaining squirrels there are in the area up trees with a YAH, YAH, YAH!

Follow this up with a fairly normal afternoon walking along the Thames. Todd has to leave for the afternoon, and we head to a playground. At the playground Ethan sits in a yellow saucer that spins, and very loudly makes delighted sounds of "whoa, whoa, whoa" while I change Timothy's cow print cloth nappy. Then Ethan's sounds change to HELP, HELP, HELP. There is a chinese family nearby watching him and they begin to look uncomfortable...

For the bus ride home we are the last ones on at our stop, I get on in a bit of a huff, at this point carrying Ethan's scooter, pushing the push chair up and searching for my oyster card, I finally am able to pay for the ride and of course people are blocking the aisle with their feet. This point is very annoying to me. We can easily fit down the aisle if people keep their feet in front of them, but it is impossible if they are in the aisle and any amount of trying to get by and apologizing for bumping will only be met with coughing, eye brow raising or sighing...so I get off the bus and go through the back door. Because the bus is parked in such a caddy-whompas way, I can't get the push chair on to the bus from the curb, so I have to pick the whole thing up and carry it up to the bus. The whole time I am thinking, now everyone just relax, don't everyone get up at once to help the american with the small children. Ahhhh.....

So on the bus Timothy screams until he falls asleep, which I tell myself is what he would have done had he been in a car seat. People keep turning to stare at me, and I think what? He's a toddler, what do you expect? Once he is asleep I sit with Ethan who is looking out the window with his face pressed up against the glass. Ethan likes to write on the windows with his finger when there is condensation. Today there isn't and I get suspicious of his face pressing, I see him with a spit bubble and I say, "what are you doing?" I thought he replied, "Just licking" I say, "Don't lick." And then Ethan indignantly yells, "I didn't say LICK I said, LOOK! Why would I say LICK, don't tell me not to LICK IT, I said, LOOK!"

After a brief respite at home we take Ethan's bike and Tim's beloved scooter to the nearby park. Before we get there, Ethan falls off the bike and cuts his hand fairly badly. He of course screams and cries and we have to go home to put a plaster (band aid) on it. So there we are again, headed down Colonial Avenue with Ethan screaming and holding his hand out, Timothy screaming because we don't get to go to the park and then there's me...head held high, I am the mother of these two delightful boys, wife of this wonderful man, and I have been so blessed!

Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." I sense God has been dealing with my heart over my pride and how easily I am embarrassed. Hopefully it won't take too many more days like today to break me of it!

Signs of spring and I think it is getting easier!

A wise friend told me that I should think of writing my blog like I am writing to just one friend, so today i am writing this post like I were writing to my good friend Patti in Annapolis, Maryland.
We are coming up on our first Easter here in England! It has been so exciting to see all the changes that have come with spring. Many of the parks and green spaces have daffodils planted in large quantities, so its like looking at a blanket of yellow! Its wonderful on a grey, rainy, chilly day to see all the yellow. In our back garden we have a small garden pond that is home to an enormous frog and many, many tadpoles. Our boys love to check on the frog, and have tried to feed it worms. Beside the pond is an area that is covered in small pebbles and stones, with a slide. The boys spend many afternoons digging in the stones and pouring them down the slide. this is also followed with a pitcher or bucket full from the pond. Losing all track of time, they live so completely in the present when they are back there. I find myself enjoying cleaning out the flower beds, scraping moss off the bricks and stones and preparing the garden for the spring.
Todd has been in a very busy season with his work. He recently hosted the school Bible exhibition week at the church, where over 250 students from local schools were able to come and learn about what the Bible says! Todd led a group of volunteers to be actors for the various Bible stories, prepare food and offer hospitality to these school groups. Many students were eagerly asking questions and showing some understanding of the presentation. My friend who had played the role of Mary with her own baby playing Jesus had a student ask, "So after the fairy came to visit Mary..." and she was able to say, "well it wasn't a fairy it was an angel..." What an amazing week it was! In follow-up to this week he was invited back to 2 schools, at one school he gave a 45 minute discussion and follow up, and the other he did a presentation about the message of Easter using the "resurrection eggs" activity.

After a 3 month bout of not making it to Bible study due to illness of the boys or myself, or being in the states, or Christmas holidays, I have been able to attend regularly recently. We are studying the book of Hebrews and it has been most encouraging. The group is called "Mum's the Word". Between 15-20 mums faithfully come and study the word together. Most of these women are from the church, but one or two have been coming from the community. We have wonderful helpers for the children. Todd and I were humbled to be asked to lead a session on raising a godly family. It was quite interesting putting our thoughts together, and many times we thought of you and Chris and all the wisdom that you had shared with us in our small group!

At times we pop in for a bit to the weekly play group called "Little Laughs". There is a gate that opens to a small parking area and the glass doors that lead to where the group meets. When I open that gate for Little Laughs, the brick-lined parking area is completely filled with push chairs, prams and buggies (what Americans would call strollers) from all the mums/care givers who have brought their little ones for a play. There are a few faithful ladies who set up this area with toys in an inviting manner--teddies with books and teacups, train tracks with the trains ready to make their journeys, dinosaurs facing one another for a battle, playdough ready to be cut and molded. I stay for a few minutes, then Timothy stays with Todd while I take Ethan to the cafe (There is a cafe in the lower part of the church where anyone from the community can come and enjoy a cup of tea and a bite to eat) to have some time for home school. We will read books or play games while Tim is enjoying playing.

Often after one of these mornings we will have lunch in the cafe and then go walk along the River Thames, feeding the geese (Canadian Geese here!) swans, ducks, pigeons. We might go to a play ground if the weather is okay or head home and stop at our local library. The libraries aren't the same as the ones in Annapolis, but we can always find something exciting. When Ethan gets home with those books, he will sit for long periods of time looking at the pictures and noticing every detail. Tim has really just begun to listen to stories and he will request books again and again. His attention to the story has really grown and he is able to sit and listen to every page now!

On Thursdays we enjoy getting together with some other friends who are home schooling. The children are playing together quite nicely and it is always encouraging to be with other moms who are doing the same thing. When the weather allows we have been able to get outside more. A couple weeks ago we went to a park and while the kids had to have their sticks and do their pretend sword fighting at the beginning, by the end, they were all completely enjoying themselves digging in the dirt, being creative and full of life. We had to pry our selves to leave that sunny warm afternoon!

All in all, I do feel like I am adjusting more to the culture here. I know I am not fully there but certain things are not so noticeable as they first were. I even have started thinking in terms of centigrade, not Fahrenheit! Though I do think I am still a long way off from really understanding people from another culture, and I find I have my blatantly obvious American moments. I still miss having a dryer, but the warmer weather means that even inside my house the nappies (diapers) will dry within 30 hours. Sigh....

We miss and love all our friends and family, and Patti my house is full of signs of your imprint on my life! We have the quilts you made for the boys, the quilt our small group gave us. I think of you when I set out my one or two Easter decorations, and how you always had your house dressed up for every holiday. Miss you dear friend, Happy Easter!

A day out in London...

I admit I have had trouble blogging. Lots of excuses, some of them good, most of them not. So here I go.
I have been reading through various Little House books aloud to Ethan. I love all the detail about their daily life, and I think there isn't anything so interesting about our daily life. Maybe there is and maybe you would want to read it, but if you get bored there are plenty other places to go on the internet! I've used initials for our boys, E is 5 years old, T is 2. My other disclaimer is that these pictures are from when we went out to the sciene museum in December. I forgot to charge my camera batteries. Now that I have figured out how to include pics in the blog itself (duh, not that hard afterall!) you can hope to look forward to more!
After a morning of making, eating and cleaning up from oatmeal and eggs, playing chase and hide and seek, looking at books, snuggles and tickles, doing a load of wash and hanging it to dry on the drying racks, getting dressed, changing nappies (diapers), packing for a day trip, consulting the train schedule, visiting the hamster that is residing in the bathroom (the downstairs is too cold right now), shoes and jackets on, debating which push chair (stroller) to bring --ah yes, it will rain this afternoon better bring the one with the rain cover--and out the door in time to make the 9:55 train. E is walking the whole way to the train station, and once we pass our usual bus stop and he realizes he has to walk another 1/4 mile he is waling "I CAN'T WALK ANY MORE" I patiently take his hand and keep walking. We stop for a moment, and I say " I know you are tired of walking, but if we don't keep going and get to the train station we will miss the train and have to wait 30 minutes for the next one." We made it with 2 minutes to spare.
We saw some friends at the train station. In a bustling place, we don't often see people we know, so it was quite pleasant to see them. they were headed to the V&A museum as well, only to meet up with other older home school students for a scheduled outing. On the train E wanted to use the loo, we happened to be in the one coach with a toilet. It was occupied the entire ride, Todd wondered out loud if the occupant might be doing drugs, I don't know about that, but our eldest was crying as we got off the train, because he didn't get to go. We stopped to go at the next station where we had to change trains, by the time he got back with Todd, we had missed the next train.
The following train we got on and the boys enjoyed looking out the windows at the buildings and other trains. When we went through tunnels, T would say "lights off" and E would say, "Who put that baby out there?" (this is a joke in our family, when babies are little and they look out a window at night or into the dark glass of the oven, I say, "Who put that baby in the oven" or "Who put that baby outside?")
We finally get to the south kensington station, and make our way to the museums. I am carrying T and the back pack (I don't let him walk in the train station, it scares me that he could fall in front of a train or that someone else might snatch him, but really he would just be in other people's way a lot) Todd is carrying the push chair up and down the stairs (and there are a lot of them) and E is hustling to keep up with us.
The South Kensington station is big, and there are tunnels leading away from the platforms. We walk through a long tunnel that was built a couple hundred years ago. It has brick work on the walls and arched brickwork on the ceiling. There is a man playing a Duke Ellington song on his saxophone, and the music slides down the tunnel. There are posters for the various museums and upcoming shows along the walls. We pass the exit for the Natural History museum. We have been there before, it is a beautifully built museum with a fantastic dinosaur exhibit. today we are headed first to the V&A museum. We pass by an iron divider with rows and rows of little fans. The fans are about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with little blades on them, there are about 15 rows, and about 70 fans per row. When you pass the fans they move, and when you stop they stop.
We enter and pass the securuity guard to come into an enormous selection of statues carved into stone. Its breath taking, and this is only one room! It goes on and on! At the base of the stairs there are about 40-50 mirrors. They are small rectangle mirrors are little stands that rotate. If you step close to them, they all move in unison to reflect your face! So if you move from side to side, they move with you!
We go up the stairs and past some galleries to an overview gallery where we see this huge pillar.
(Now before I go further i have to explain what going through musems with a 5 and a 2 year old means to me) For me going to museums has a few purposes. One is that I get to spend the day with my family. Two is that I get to see some exciting things, that especially, living in London, I want to take every opportunity to get to see. Three is that I feel for at least an hour or 4, that there is something bigger happening in the world around me. Fourth is that the kids get sort of exposed to the same idea as number 3. Fifth, they get to let some energy out during these cold dreary months, and even though they whine and complain or misbehave a bit, they are not couped up. So going to museums in this way means I don't get to read much of anything. I may remember a few things about what I saw, but it mostly just leaves an impression. My impressions of the V&A museum is that I want to find a babysitter to watch the kids so I can go enjoy it with Todd! I did like all the carvings and statues. We saw some fabulous iron work, bronze and clay. We saw a huge Chulluly chandelier, which was fun because E recognized it as a Chulluly! Plus its just cool to look at.
Its fun to people watch too. There are the serious people who bring their sketch pads and are busy sketching the things they see. There are people speaking many foriegn languages! There are school groups in their uniforms. There are a lot of moms with children and I wonder if they home school too. There was a strange woman wanderng around asking for the time, repeatedly.
The bathroom had these funky rectangle sinks that were only an inch deep. The water just ran to the sides. The bathroom attendants were speaking Polish. Oh, and of course it wasn't called bathroom its called "toilets"
We saw some Rapheal work of Peter and Paul, and we saw some Muslim artwork. We left there and walked back through the tunnel to the Science Museum.
We ate lunch in the science museum, this is how cheeky we are about eating lunch in the museums. I bring pack lunch for everyone and a plastic plate, and todd goes and buys everyone water bottles. We eat at the table in the corner of the cafe. I rationalize its because we have food allergies, which we do, but its also just cheaper that way!
Afterwards the boys have more energy and run around in front of this giant circle with a light going around it. We make our way to the lift (elevator) to go to the basement. I get confused because here in England, the ground floor is the main floor. So the sign says ground floor, but there is still the basement. T pushes the up button as well, so we end up going in an up "lift" and ride to the top to get back down. We go use the toilets again. Again people are speaking various foriegn languages, there are swarms of kids from school groups. They all have on their uniforms. I find it so interesting to see them all in their uniforms, and I think of the USA and how the kids all dress for school. I see now how that helps them have their own individuality.
We head to an interactive area for 3-6 year olds called "the garden" Its nothing like a garden, but it is geared for 3-6. First of all it is so LOUD! Kids are screaming and running everywhere. There is a really great water exhibit. The kids put on smocks to keep from getting wet. Then they can go play at any point along the water way. They can push buttons to make bubbles go up through the water, pump water through canals, place blockades to build dams, put boats in and out, etc. T and E play there for 20 minutes or more. T is hoarding all the boats. He tries to pick up 6 boats but can't carry them all. E is facinated with the blockades and controlling the water. There are probably 15-20 other children playing here too, and the adults are watching from the sides. After they are finished we head to the construction area. This area is a bit over run with kids from school groups who have their own plans going. We start to build and dodge their bean bags, helmets and cones that are being thrown from above. I give one boy a don't do that agian look. Todd says, why didn't you say something? I gave him a look! Well, he didn't do it again anyway. We build a huge structure with oversized soft legos and the boys enjoy crashing it down. They play for a while throwing bean bags down the shute, and going though the shadow and sound area. Finally its time to leave and T cries as he's put back in the push chair. A little snack keeps off the whining. On the way back through the museum we glance at the space section. My heart does a little whining cry for missing the air and space museum in DC. E had so many questions last week about space shuttles...Its raining and E wants his buzz lightyear umberella. T is mad that he has to have the rain cover on.
Someone is playing the guitar in the tunnel on the way back.
We just miss the train and wait for the next one. T falls asleep on the train, E is very mellow and is enjoying his snack. He complains and dilly dallies and we miss the next train, but we make it home eventually. Todd stops at Tesco for some salmon for dinner. I like to cook fish on the night the trash goes out.
While I am getting dinner ready, I try to play a game with E. I have him count cards and hide thrm around the room, then I find them. I hide them for him, but he is not so good at finding things. A bit like his daddy in that regard I must say! Could be staring him in the face, and doesn't see it. Todd plays with the boys, until dinner is ready. E had made some place cards for everyone using a pen he made from a feather. His writing is not that steady, but getting better.
After dinner, we clean the hamster's cage out. The boys pet "Conker" (named after the medium sized chestnuts, called Conkers), we put her in her excercise ball and I fiddle with the cage. I do a brief is this worth it analysis in my mind. I suppose it is, but it does seem like a lot of extra work.
The boys have their story time, extra drink of water, pillows situated, lights off, and the day is done!

These are links to the museums we were at: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk, www.vam.ac.uk