My parents are here visiting now. We are all having a good time. Oh my goodness, the kids were so excited that they thought every airplane and door opening for the past week and a half were the grandparents arriving. Today was the first real day in town as yesterday was an early arrival and then recuperation from jetlag. We all had a good night's sleep last night though and ventured out into the neighborhood to show my parents the basics--our favorite place to get coffee, favorite park, and the canal. However, it misted or rained on us the whole time so that we are soggy and glad to be home. The kids and I enjoyed some peppermint Joe Joes that had been in my suitcase and highly desired. Jesse wants to stretch them out until next Christmas though he has no idea what that would take.
Darren just returned home from his week in SF and we are so happy he's back but wish we could get rid of that pink eye that is still in his head--keep it far away from this family, Yikes! He also came bearing gifts form friends that were very touching.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Crazy
Life's felt a little crazy since Darren left on Saturday morning to go to San Fran for a week. Much of it has been good but I am really sick of hearing the kids voices (they are so loud) and their dirty and weird, messy, barbaric antics. It has been raining a lot this week and Luci can't resist puddles so I have to take her boots off as soon as we enter the house and likely her pants (trousers) too. . I am sick of hauling them around to do anything, cutting hair, changing poopy pants, etc. The laundry also is marinating in the back yard due to the weather
They are truly wild and do not belong in my house half of the time, but on Stepney Green where they take turns throwing the ball to Peanut who has also completely chosen to defy the norms at this time buy following the ball to the end where she sharply veers of to retrieve, not the ball, but a chicken bone. Catch it no longer fun. And I thought the Mission was bad. I still say we should get some kick-downs for all the clean-up she does. As should I, since for every poop of hers I pick up, I could pick up, and often do, another 2 besides it. No wonder dogs get a bad name. Speaking of, did I mention how I found Peanut in the neighbors yard the other day. I called her in, but I couldn't see her until I heard a woof from the next yard. She apparently can fit through the fence in one corner. I see her glance that way every time she goes out and it makes me wonder, "how long has she been visiting?" Thankfullly, their yard is trashed and they do not use it for anything.
Jesse made a U.K. passport at school today and now he is excited to visit other countries.
On Saturday, over in Stepney Green, an organization who shall remain nameless was there, their purpose being to provide things for kids to engage with and play with at the park. They are good-hearted and I appreciate the ropes they tie in the trees for kids to swing on and the bubbles the kids can use--it has been great entertainment for my kids at certain times. Well, this Saturday, the kids were smashing some kind of board with a hammer, then driving stakes into the ground. Basically, they were setting up for a fire right on the grass and one lad, about 7 with a wild temperment (he also thought it appropriate to chase Peanut around non-stop while making scary sounds), grabbed the matches and lit it. The young boys were dropping cardboard in and bits of wood while Jesse and Luci were blowing on it with long yellow tubes that looked like big bendy straws. Then the boys (but not my Jesse) were jumping over the fire. It felt sort of awkward to me, like these boys are being dangerous and the adults supervising were not as concerned as they should but it also felt really great because I feel like boys are not allowed to be boys sometimes and you could see that it was really therapeutic for the angst ridden youngster who lit the first match. Sure he was close to setting his pants on fire but he was also instructing Jesse responsibly about what to put on the fire next. It was also interesting from a U.S. citizen perspective where everybody could be liable for anything at any time, yet this government funded organization was out setting fires with elementary school kids in parks. The kids want to bring marshmallows back next week and I am happy for that and that the fire is not in my back yard.
They are truly wild and do not belong in my house half of the time, but on Stepney Green where they take turns throwing the ball to Peanut who has also completely chosen to defy the norms at this time buy following the ball to the end where she sharply veers of to retrieve, not the ball, but a chicken bone. Catch it no longer fun. And I thought the Mission was bad. I still say we should get some kick-downs for all the clean-up she does. As should I, since for every poop of hers I pick up, I could pick up, and often do, another 2 besides it. No wonder dogs get a bad name. Speaking of, did I mention how I found Peanut in the neighbors yard the other day. I called her in, but I couldn't see her until I heard a woof from the next yard. She apparently can fit through the fence in one corner. I see her glance that way every time she goes out and it makes me wonder, "how long has she been visiting?" Thankfullly, their yard is trashed and they do not use it for anything.
Jesse made a U.K. passport at school today and now he is excited to visit other countries.
On Saturday, over in Stepney Green, an organization who shall remain nameless was there, their purpose being to provide things for kids to engage with and play with at the park. They are good-hearted and I appreciate the ropes they tie in the trees for kids to swing on and the bubbles the kids can use--it has been great entertainment for my kids at certain times. Well, this Saturday, the kids were smashing some kind of board with a hammer, then driving stakes into the ground. Basically, they were setting up for a fire right on the grass and one lad, about 7 with a wild temperment (he also thought it appropriate to chase Peanut around non-stop while making scary sounds), grabbed the matches and lit it. The young boys were dropping cardboard in and bits of wood while Jesse and Luci were blowing on it with long yellow tubes that looked like big bendy straws. Then the boys (but not my Jesse) were jumping over the fire. It felt sort of awkward to me, like these boys are being dangerous and the adults supervising were not as concerned as they should but it also felt really great because I feel like boys are not allowed to be boys sometimes and you could see that it was really therapeutic for the angst ridden youngster who lit the first match. Sure he was close to setting his pants on fire but he was also instructing Jesse responsibly about what to put on the fire next. It was also interesting from a U.S. citizen perspective where everybody could be liable for anything at any time, yet this government funded organization was out setting fires with elementary school kids in parks. The kids want to bring marshmallows back next week and I am happy for that and that the fire is not in my back yard.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
A quick little bloggy blog
The kids are upstairs and who knows what they are doing but I have a moment before they demand their late afternoon DVD watching on this computer. That's my chance to cook and breathe so I always go for it unless there is terrible behavior.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Relaxing to be at home with no agenda and no plane journeys with small children. I thought it would be a lot of work to have J at home for 2 weeks with his sister and with us having minimal acquaintances and being in such a quiet neighborhood (you can't even chat it up on the playground because generally no one's there) but it was so great. Jesse took staying in his pjs and playing all day to the limit and never tired of it. It has been great to see him indulge in his artistic side it seems like all the time now, pulling out paper and glue and spreading it all over the kitchen floor with the main objects making it to the table. The kids played together so thoroughly and so well that it felt relaxing A LOT. And with my loud kids that's saying a lot. Highlights were watching Jesse joke around and deal maturely with Luci, seeing Luci's bliss at being with her big bro 24/7, and going to Leeds Castle (day trip by train) and having it snow on us!
Then it was back to school for J on Monday. Actually we thought it would be Tuesday, but decided to check and see to make sure so we had to get J to hop into his uniform and head out--thought this would be tough but a light went on when we mentioned school so I knew it would be okay. From D's report, he was very chatty upon arriving, telling Mrs. Flannery that we had rearranged the furniture to make room for Grandma and Grandpa coming. That's not for 2 weeks but we're trying out putting the dining table in the lounge because we can fit more than 4 around it that way. I too have enjoyed going back to school because I can actually engage with people--I find that I am now in a different place with the parents (whether it is my perception or theirs) and have gotten a couple phone numbers and details of people lives including meeting a woman who lives in my estate who said come over any time--I'm envisioning meal swap but maybe that's taking the relationship too far? As a side note, my personal life meets world headlines as my new friend is Kenyan (and of Kukuyu tribe)and very worried, unable to locate her sister there. It is hard to hear about her holiday time that is overshadowed by how sad she feels about her country. In the midst of all this, I have been missing San Fran significantly, imagining the cheery sunshine and people I have left behind. British people and culture can be friendly and warm but not on the sidewalk. There is some kind of palm tree that grows here that is hard to see also when I stumble upon it, it reminds me too much of home.
I actually envisioned the title of my overdue blog entry to be "Just can't get ahead?" because of the interior house difficulties we have. Last week, it seemed that every exit from the shower would be followed by the shower curtain falling down, finally giving way to the moisture that had accumulated between the ends and the tiles. (This makes J wary of having a bath with it overhead, I mean who can trust it?) The curtains that I barely got into the wall in the kids room came down for the 3rd time given that you can't drill very deep into our walls and they seem to be made of chalk dust. This was very demoralizing but I summoned my anger and channeled it into drilling yet again, savoring every moment that they actually stay up. It's been 2 days and they are still up.....I won't reapply them if they fall again, that is my limit, but you never know, I may attack the window with a staple gun. Staples and Elmer's are not beyond me when it comes to improving my domestic plight. I took it as a sign of hope, however to find turnips growing in my yard last night. I bit into it and it tasted as wonderful as the big white ones we used to get in our Eatwell box. I just don't know how to get them to grow big. Right now they are puny and the harvest is mostly the greens which I will cook up and eat tonite.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Relaxing to be at home with no agenda and no plane journeys with small children. I thought it would be a lot of work to have J at home for 2 weeks with his sister and with us having minimal acquaintances and being in such a quiet neighborhood (you can't even chat it up on the playground because generally no one's there) but it was so great. Jesse took staying in his pjs and playing all day to the limit and never tired of it. It has been great to see him indulge in his artistic side it seems like all the time now, pulling out paper and glue and spreading it all over the kitchen floor with the main objects making it to the table. The kids played together so thoroughly and so well that it felt relaxing A LOT. And with my loud kids that's saying a lot. Highlights were watching Jesse joke around and deal maturely with Luci, seeing Luci's bliss at being with her big bro 24/7, and going to Leeds Castle (day trip by train) and having it snow on us!
Then it was back to school for J on Monday. Actually we thought it would be Tuesday, but decided to check and see to make sure so we had to get J to hop into his uniform and head out--thought this would be tough but a light went on when we mentioned school so I knew it would be okay. From D's report, he was very chatty upon arriving, telling Mrs. Flannery that we had rearranged the furniture to make room for Grandma and Grandpa coming. That's not for 2 weeks but we're trying out putting the dining table in the lounge because we can fit more than 4 around it that way. I too have enjoyed going back to school because I can actually engage with people--I find that I am now in a different place with the parents (whether it is my perception or theirs) and have gotten a couple phone numbers and details of people lives including meeting a woman who lives in my estate who said come over any time--I'm envisioning meal swap but maybe that's taking the relationship too far? As a side note, my personal life meets world headlines as my new friend is Kenyan (and of Kukuyu tribe)and very worried, unable to locate her sister there. It is hard to hear about her holiday time that is overshadowed by how sad she feels about her country. In the midst of all this, I have been missing San Fran significantly, imagining the cheery sunshine and people I have left behind. British people and culture can be friendly and warm but not on the sidewalk. There is some kind of palm tree that grows here that is hard to see also when I stumble upon it, it reminds me too much of home.
I actually envisioned the title of my overdue blog entry to be "Just can't get ahead?" because of the interior house difficulties we have. Last week, it seemed that every exit from the shower would be followed by the shower curtain falling down, finally giving way to the moisture that had accumulated between the ends and the tiles. (This makes J wary of having a bath with it overhead, I mean who can trust it?) The curtains that I barely got into the wall in the kids room came down for the 3rd time given that you can't drill very deep into our walls and they seem to be made of chalk dust. This was very demoralizing but I summoned my anger and channeled it into drilling yet again, savoring every moment that they actually stay up. It's been 2 days and they are still up.....I won't reapply them if they fall again, that is my limit, but you never know, I may attack the window with a staple gun. Staples and Elmer's are not beyond me when it comes to improving my domestic plight. I took it as a sign of hope, however to find turnips growing in my yard last night. I bit into it and it tasted as wonderful as the big white ones we used to get in our Eatwell box. I just don't know how to get them to grow big. Right now they are puny and the harvest is mostly the greens which I will cook up and eat tonite.