Having Fun with the Kiddos

Last week was a great week. I'm talking about the days leading up to Thanksgiving--we'll talk about Thanksgiving later.

Jesse was home sick on Monday and Wednesday, which worked out fabulously. Given that Jesse now goes to school 5 days a week for 6 hours each day, I almost welcome when he is able to stay home. Indeed, I might even be looking for excuses because we are not allowed to even take him out of school for vacation--he is only to take that on the designated holiday breaks. (Not that we won't break that rule sometime....) After his Monday off, we sent him to school on Tuesday. J reported that after some coughing, Miss Flannery said, "You shouldn't be here!" Well, okay family day on Wednesday then. It was my day off and so Darren took care of the kids. They stayed in their pajamas almost all day and played pretend and filled the house with laughter, similar to what took place on Monday. It was quite enjoyable and I had recently mentioned to Darren that I miss the sound of children's laughter in our house because our kids don't have friends over (either because we don't have friends, or because why have friends from school over when they've just spent 6 hours together?) and therefore we don't have the hootin' and hollerin' of children in our house like we used to. Jesse had to dress up like a book character on Friday so he went as Farmer Brown from Click, Clack, Moo and won 2nd prize though he says it was first.

While I missed the replay of fun the kids had together on Wednesday, I was off to Victoria Park on my bike with Peanut in tow. Aaaahhhhhhh.......I also ventured into the danger zone (Oxford Street, the pinnacle of the worst shopping crowds ever) to purchase a couple of 10 pound sweaters which is miraculous considering I had considered my days of $10 to $15 limits history. I thanked God for H&M on that day. It really was a gamble since shopping failure of all kinds lurks around every corner here and I hate Oxford street. It comes to rob, steal, and destroy one's sense of inner peace.


Jesse is reciting tons of songs from the school play that he's in. I'm so excited to see it on December 5th. It's gone from one line (since I knew he was Joseph) to tons of simple choreographed choral stuff. Today my shreaking "Meeeoooow!, as I gave birth to a kitten under Jesse's instruction, elicited a song welcoming Jesus into the world. The repertoire is ever on his tongue and it is fun to see his enthusiasm The big question for us is "How will self-consciousness play out on stage--or will it?" We'll see. And you are all invited to his play the night of December 5th. I know it's hard to make it but I can't not invite all of you to my son's first school play!


Luci plays baby with Peanut all day. If I am in the kitchen, she repeatedly fetches me to come see her baby. Then I see Peanut upon the couch covered in a blanket in our darkened lounge and surrounded by toys. Luci also may(?) have hit a shy stage. A common reaction to "Hello Luci" is now "I'm too shy!" She asks Darren and I multiple times a day, "Why you guys get married?" We've explained it a million times to her and now I think it is just a joke for her because we've laughed at her so many times. She wants to own a cat all the time but I tell her that we can't (Daddy's allergic) but that she can have lots of dogs and cats when she grows up and has her own place. The other day she added, "and a pig too."

Title: Undeclared

Kid update:

I love how Luci says "nal" for the canal we walk on. Her hair is crazy. It's still very thin and I am destined to cut a bit off the lenght today because the snarls are terrible and she complains EVERY time I brush.

Jesse declared the other night that he was going to be Adam in the activity play. Turns out it is Joseph in the nativity play. Imagine this: "Hello Mary. I think we should go to Bethleeehem."

Peanut likes being D's pub dog--she accompanies him every Tuesday night to his guys group. First she rides the tube, then gets loved on for the evening.

My lounge looks much more glorious the past couple days since it has been illuminated with 100W bulb instead of a 60. It was getting entirely too gloomy in here with the curtains drawn here and there through the day to keep it warm in here.

Anyone have any good hallway color suggestions? I am dying to paint it and assuming a safe and ever-welcoming color is a light blue?

I see I have digressed from the children but these are all my pet projects.

Must go shortly but will include recipes in this plus my next 2 posts because they are fabulous and wonderful when cooking healthy in short time.

On with it!

Festive Shrimp Curry with Coconut Sauce (from Extending the Table)

Feel free to only use 6 peices of shrimp if that all you have like me and put in more veggies. Anyone imagining tofu?

Heat in large frypan:
1/4 c. oil

Saute:
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Add:1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/3 c. cilantro,chopped

1 1/2 lb. fresh or frozen shrimp, shelled and deveined

Saute a few minutes util cooked through.
Add:
1 T. flour (optional for thicker sauce and why do it?)

Cook 1 minute. Add:
approx. 2 c. coconut milk

Cook over low heat until thickened.

Add:
salt and pepper to taste

Serve over rice and garnish with"

3-4 chopped scallions (that's if you have it!)

Feeds about 4 (2 adults and 2 distracted children)

In a Flash(Back)--the positives this week!

All of Sunday! Went to Christ Church Spitalfields, chatted it up with some folks, came home and packed PB+J for a picnic in the park with Pea and kids, loaded up the wagon, laid out the spread, watched the kids run, went to the farm where Luci's new favorite animal is the ferret, held the bunnies, contemplated Aunt Sally the pig, journeyed on to the church yard where I hid D's gift of Starburst behind tombstones for the kids to find, came home only to be somewhat dragged upstairs to our neighbors the Begums to visit the cat and be treated with more food, learned 2 phrases of Sylheti, ran off to the vicar's house for a Guy Fawkes' party, laughed myself silly watching the kids be amazed that they could brave fireworks over their heads (it was the vicar setting them off the whole time and the kids eyes were so big), ate chestnuts roasted on an open fire and fellowshipped--loved just about every minute of Sunday, all without Darren, had the kids to myself and actually couldn't complain!

Don't remember much but lucked out making a couple of good meals this week, an encouragement to my soul to find recipes that actually really work (simple, fast, yummy, and vegetabley) and will post them soon.

Was summoned up to the Begums another time, on Thursday, instantaneously received 3 cups of juice between the 2 of us (Luci and I) as well as jam bread and had to run just as Bela was about to serve me her delicious chapati and aloo (potatoes). But not to worry, her cheerful face showed up at our door a few minutes later, just as we were commencing our IC lunch team meeting, with a delicious delivery and I was delighted that she came in and was able to meet John and Deanna. We are now officially in the food exchange program and are excited to have currys coming our way. The only question is, now that I have 3 plates that aren't mine, what will I send them upstairs containing? As you can see, I am really happy about this reciprocal arrangement.

Jesse is singing an Alleluia song from Catholic school with verses about Jesus and Mary and now he hides in his red tent so that his Pirate can put on a show by singing it. Jesse has a great voice and it doesn't look like a pirate is singing but it is so cute.

Today also marks my first real outing with a girl friend I've made since moving to London. We had coffee and biscuits with Lu and wandered around a shopping center and got to ride in a car--it was the special treatment today! Luci reported that her fairy (a little doll) was afraid of the dark in the tunnels we passed through.

Events of the last 48 hours

Darren is off in Glasgow, Scotland for some church event and I am home with the kids and Pea. All is quiet here now though I cannot believe how full of fireworks our neighborhood has been this week-end. Guy Fawkes' day is the 5th and since that is a Monday all the celebrations are now. I think I 've heard more than in the Mission--is that possible?

Darren's been saying "I think Jesse needs a winter coat" for some time so I went out and bought him one. I thought it was cute, a blue coat with a liner that zipped out into a red vest. When he tried it on he said "It makes me feel chubby" and "It's touching my neck" and preceded to walk around with his face pointed towards the ceiling. We could send this boy back to CA but I decided to bring the coat back to the store instead with hopes of finding one that is soothing to his neckline.

I had big plans for today--take the kids and Pea to the park, go to Ratatouille and then go to fireworks at Victoria Park via a bus ride. However, it was all thwarted when J decided to be repeatedly disobedient and I took away the Ratatouille privilege. Boy he didn't like that and I didn't appreciate the two women and their children coming to the door of their house to stare at us as we walked down the street. I think it's good to check for child abuse but this was blatant staring and when I said hi they did not say anything (you know when you try to play it cool during a temper tantrum though it's just eating you up inside) and they stared at us as we walked the whole length of the street as if we were a float in the parade. I was so annoyed but tried not to let the whole situation get me down. But I didn't have a very good day because downward spirits did not afford me much energy. We did however get to the supermarket to pick out cereal and then stopped for Indian food on the way home and that did redeem the day somewhat. Nevertheless, I find I don't enjoy getting the kids through the day all by myself too much anymore. By dinner time I can hardly make it through til bedtime, I'm just aching for space. Maybe I could send them to bed early to read books in bed?

My neighbors from upstairs brought some fabulous lamb curry down via 4 of the 8 children that live up there. I had heard that if I brought some food to my neigbors (i.e. choc. chip cookies) that I would be on the receiving end of some curry. Wednesday was the day that Luci and I made our delivery. We were quickly ushered in and made at home,Luci receiving strawberry milk and me being treated with coke, fresh, hot chapati, beef curry, and spinach and potatoes. Yum! I got to learn a lot about the family. The mom Bela doesn't speak much English nor I Sylheti so the daughter was the translator and we did most of the conversing while her mom was in the kitchen. They had a great oreo cat that was too kind to Luci and she was in heaven. I feel blessed to have met such warm neighbors who have twice said "you have any problems, ring number 13."

After bedtime, I watched the end of one movie and all of another and I am so glad I've had this down time.

Ups and Downs

Sometimes it's so hard to blog, like when you don't have the internet at your house. But maybe it's harder once you get it? Ever since the internet touched down here on Jubilee Street, I don't think I have done a blog entry.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with lots of good times and some not so wonderful.

My high was having time to myself on the Wednesday of last week. With my time, I decided to go it alone on my bike down the canal, except I wasn't really alone because I had Peanut. We rode through Stepney Green up Ben Johnson Road (the only place I really had to brave car traffic) and down to the Canal (Regents). I cruised at a very relaxing pace while Peanut ran behind me. My planned destination was a coffee shop on par with Ritual in SF but we stopped at Victoria Park (the definition of gorgeousness) for a little bit on the way and then continued. Peanut sat with me inside the cafe while I read the newspaper for an hour and then we walked to London Fields across the street and played catch. (I cannot get enough of the autumn leaves here, not to mention the smell of the leaves and the grass together.) Then it was back down the canal, around Victoria Park and home again. The only thing that would have made my day better would be flannel lined jeans.

The low came this week when I was looking into nursing schools and I turned up some information that I feared I might. Basicially it is impossible for me to get a nursing education here. All the nursing programs are run through the NHS which fully funds the education of its students. I don't have access because I would have to be a resident for 3 years and that would be 8 more years for me since you can only apply for residency after 5 years of living here. Not a huge deal if they'd just let me pay. But NO. It does NOT and will not allow me to pay to get a nurse's education here. This was confirmed over and over again by several people though a managing nurse and doctor who I am acquainted with had no idea that this was true. Apparently the system was different years ago and you could pay. I don't know what to make of this situation since I had been counting on being ABLE to take some nursing classes. Yesterday, on the phone with someone with NHS, I received information that there are actually very, very few spots that are incredible hard to get for those who want to self-fund their nursing school in the country but they are very difficult to find. Hmmmmmm.......Do I feel like hunting for those spots?

This was a downer and it didn't help that I paid 17 pounds and 52 pence (basically $36) to send my parents 6 dollars of cookies the day after. Apparently since the clerk had already printed out the postage even though I hadn't paid for it yet,it was irrevocable. Rather than go to jail or look like a cultural moron, I capitulated after an ernest objection. (Sorry Ken, if you thought there was any hope I would actually send you those digestives, you can forget it now.)

I can't believe how utterly powerless I felt with the rejection from nursing. I wasn't even dead set on it but I always counted it an option and it seemed like a good plan. I am reassured that God is in control and I know that he brought us here so perfectly and smoothly and don't doubt this is where we are supposed to be but it was hard to get my mind around the fact that this willing, paying adult could not have the choice to go to nursing school anywhere in the UK. (My friend Scott facetiously says it is "another reason to hate nationalized health care.") It made me think about the position that other people are put in on regular basis--infertility, terrible political situations, not knowing where your children are when your country's at war, bad health, etc. That gave me a bit of perspective but also a touch of empathy for people in those situations in a way.

Anyways, interesting journey this week. And on my bad day, D's computer bit the dust. However, it is under warranty and the hard drive is currently being replaced free of charge.