There's so much to catch up on, where do I begin? Still haven't posted pics from Luci's bday but I promise I will post a variety soon.
So much has happened. Jennifer came and went. We did lots of things like scour shops for a unique (as in something just not available in America) winter coat for her, biking along the canal with Peanut, loving on baby animals (such as the sweetest baby sheep) at our farm, and giving and receiving foot rubs. Darren and I even got to go away for a night on Jennifer! Did I mention Jennifer GAVE me a computer?
Darren left for Africa. That was proceeded by Luci's first day of school today! I think it went well. She wanted to play with me pretty exclusively for the first half but then welcomed other little girls painting on the same sheet of paper with her. I discovered that Lily (coincidentally a little girl I already know from playgroup) likes to layer/lather it on just as thick as Luci. Luci was quite pleased with herself that she shared painting, as was I. Finally, Luci's friends and school are not a figment of her imagination--they are a reality. (Her school stories had been getting really far-fetched primarily because she wasn't attending school 'til today.)
Afterwards. (and I even find this hard to believe) I had 2 opportunities to socialize! I met with a new friend Joanne at a cafe and then, after dinner and bedtime (Luci excepted on this point as she paid many visits) with the kids, Rory and Anna came over for Settlers and as it got later, I was laughing my eyes out. I just love how the British (specifically Rory) say "Rubbish!" Though he informed me it's not really ladylike. Anna says she says it all the time.....
Jesse and Luci are fulfilling their roles as stated by our new chore chart. Luci faithfully brings the cereal and spoons to the table in the morning and Jesse faithfully clears, though I do see him on the brink of disaster with dishes and spoons stacked up precariously. I suppose it's helpful that they do their chores but really I just love the positive energy that it generates. I like that at the end of the day I get to compliment them on how well they've done. And for one of the kids in particular, we've needed the good vibes to push through some of the nastier ones.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Milestones
Luci's 3rd bday was yesterday. Thanks to Janae and Anneka Middleton for making it a real party. Really we are grateful since Luci has yet to get out on the social scene and make friends. I was wondering who we could invite. I didn't want to break her heart last week and tell her who WOULDN'T be at the party when she said, "Annelies if going to come to party and give me a yo-yo." It was great to celebrate the life of our spicy little girl. I will share more pictures later but her highlights were getting sung to and requesting repeats and getting her OWN pink bike.
Jesse has suddenly hit this amazing stage. He is savoring his gummy vitamins from our friend Scott and his chocolate Valentines hearts. They are both on top of his dresser and supervised by him. He is only having one of each each day, even though the serving for the vitamins is techinically two. He would like to have it last longer. Wow, who is this kid? Is he his mother's child? Wait, don't answer that. We are very proud.
Ran around town with Jennifer today and now I am off, to downstairs, to watch a movie. I love these adult rewards at the end of a long day.
Jesse has suddenly hit this amazing stage. He is savoring his gummy vitamins from our friend Scott and his chocolate Valentines hearts. They are both on top of his dresser and supervised by him. He is only having one of each each day, even though the serving for the vitamins is techinically two. He would like to have it last longer. Wow, who is this kid? Is he his mother's child? Wait, don't answer that. We are very proud.
Ran around town with Jennifer today and now I am off, to downstairs, to watch a movie. I love these adult rewards at the end of a long day.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Oh Luci!
So many times with this child I've wanted to roll my eyes or say "Oh Luci!" She has constantly gone the extra mile to make things messy, a.k.a. wet, slobbery, or totally unsanitary.
A couple weeks ago as we were walking along in an open marketplace, I turned around to find her eating a half-eaten Cadbury egg from the ground, the ones with all the goop inside.
She yells a lot, and this week is back to biting.
She has always, since she could verbalize anything, had the last word at bedtime. You really cannot say "Goodnight" and walk out of the room. She always says something like, "I'm hungry" (which I've now deemed absolutely illegal to say at bedtime), "Hey, you know what Mommy?", or "I'm gonna have dreams of lions."
She went into our room (uninvited and therefore not allowed) and looked under my bed to find chocolate hearts from my parents for her and Jesse and ate the rest of them and then came downstairs to say, "Mommy, I sneaked the chocolate hearts" with a big mischievous smile.
She brushes her teeth a thousand times a day and therefore wets the front of her clothes too many times for my sanity.
Her painting have so much paint on them, that they are in jeopardy of sogging to pieces.
She puts her hands in her drinks and dumps them over her meals.
I remember in SF, she picked up an almost empty beer can in a park, and swigged it just as I was yelling at her to drop it.
So why does this girl freak out about even one piece of dog hair on her food when she drops it?
All I know is that this girl is constant, constantly Luci. I love her but she is tiring. She is definitely a reason for laughter but also for a vacation.
Good thing Jennifer has arrived! We're going to have a night away soon while she is on children duty.
A couple weeks ago as we were walking along in an open marketplace, I turned around to find her eating a half-eaten Cadbury egg from the ground, the ones with all the goop inside.
She yells a lot, and this week is back to biting.
She has always, since she could verbalize anything, had the last word at bedtime. You really cannot say "Goodnight" and walk out of the room. She always says something like, "I'm hungry" (which I've now deemed absolutely illegal to say at bedtime), "Hey, you know what Mommy?", or "I'm gonna have dreams of lions."
She went into our room (uninvited and therefore not allowed) and looked under my bed to find chocolate hearts from my parents for her and Jesse and ate the rest of them and then came downstairs to say, "Mommy, I sneaked the chocolate hearts" with a big mischievous smile.
She brushes her teeth a thousand times a day and therefore wets the front of her clothes too many times for my sanity.
Her painting have so much paint on them, that they are in jeopardy of sogging to pieces.
She puts her hands in her drinks and dumps them over her meals.
I remember in SF, she picked up an almost empty beer can in a park, and swigged it just as I was yelling at her to drop it.
So why does this girl freak out about even one piece of dog hair on her food when she drops it?
All I know is that this girl is constant, constantly Luci. I love her but she is tiring. She is definitely a reason for laughter but also for a vacation.
Good thing Jennifer has arrived! We're going to have a night away soon while she is on children duty.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Church Retreat
Yesterday evening we returned from our church retreat. It started on Friday night with dinner at 7 (there's definitely a different dinner time in this country) and the kids resisting bedtime at 9. It was one of those times to remember with your kids when you are sharing sleeping quarters--4 single beds in a room. Luci resisted sleeping the most with me threatening to turn of the night light (the light over the sink in our room), an action which I finally took to which she started having a melt-down due to her fear of the dark. I was sick of it by then so I succumbed, allowing her to sleep in my saggy single for the night. I remember trying to pull the covers up near our heads at one point only to find that what I thought was her head were her 2 feet. That perhaps was not a good start to the week-end but it got better. We had an interesting speaker give some talks during which the children were in childcare. The kids had a blast and bonded a little further with Rachel(6) and Ben(2), siblings from the church. They and their parents also stayed across the hall and it was cute to see the kids playing together with trucks and cars near the edges of our beds and showing off their pjs to one another. My favorite time was sitting around with a few of the parents when the kids had just finished their fish fingers (sticks) and were running around and the time when the kids were playing house inside a giant bush. I confess I took no pictures--I thought we didn't have the camera with us until I unpacked it from our luggage today.
Jesse has this week off and I can see that it will consist of lots of artwork. He has already made a Farmer Brown book for himself and Luci.
I keep forgetting to report some of Luci's funny business.
For 2 months now, she has, after brushing her teeth (which is at least 3 times a day) said, "Wanna see my teef? They're clean and shiny!"
She also, as the person chronically manipulative at bedtime and often throughout the night, says "I'm not umcomfortable, my bed is not umcomfortable."
The other day as we were on our way to playgroup, I told Luci that this is where she would be going for school pretty soon and she said, "Mom, when am I gonna be a boy?" Once again I had to tell her that boys are not the only ones that go to school.
Jesse has this week off and I can see that it will consist of lots of artwork. He has already made a Farmer Brown book for himself and Luci.
I keep forgetting to report some of Luci's funny business.
For 2 months now, she has, after brushing her teeth (which is at least 3 times a day) said, "Wanna see my teef? They're clean and shiny!"
She also, as the person chronically manipulative at bedtime and often throughout the night, says "I'm not umcomfortable, my bed is not umcomfortable."
The other day as we were on our way to playgroup, I told Luci that this is where she would be going for school pretty soon and she said, "Mom, when am I gonna be a boy?" Once again I had to tell her that boys are not the only ones that go to school.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Notes from an Exciting Life
Today our friend Scott departed London. Lots of anticipation led up to the visit and now we have said goodbye. I regret I didn't take more pictures....
Yesterday was Pancake Day in Britain. That's right--the day before Ash Wednesday you live it up with pancakes. We had pancakes as an IC team and when I picked J up from school, the kids were being sent out the door with tasty folded up pieces of pancakes. When Jesse came home he ate our pancake leftovers.
I just finished the book There is No Me Without You, a fabulous story of one woman who takes in orphaned children in Ethiopia. The story is told intertwined with facts about the history of the AIDS crisis there and individual stories of kids uniting in life with their adoptive families.
It was revealing, heart-wrenching, and touching and if you have time, it is a must read. Thanks to my brother's wife Sarah for that!Darren's dad, as of yesterday night or early this morning embarked on life in Kenya for a month. He is helping organize relief efforts with World Relief, etc. in the wake of chaos in that country. If he can he will document some of his experiences on danbloghog.blogspot.com.
Luci persists in her fire-crackerness. Our friend Scott kept saying in his deep voice, "Luci----you are a very expressive girl!" The scale now tips more onto the side of bringing zest and joy to my life instead of being heavily weighted on the exasperating side. She loves to dress up like a fairy every day and since watching Cinderella insists on being a "berry good mother" (fairy god mother).
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Full Circle
Here we are again on the eve of taking a loved one to the airport at the finale of their visit.
My parents were here almost 2 weeks back. We had a great time. We did some touristy things such as a tour of Westminster Abbey that Luci tagged along for (I do believe she liked being in the presence of dead royalty as she gazed at life size sculptures upon their tombs), a walking tour of our neighborhood, a day trip to Cambridge and seeing the Tower of London. And the kids indulged their needs to be around Grandpa and Grandma by putting on a performance where Jesse dressed up as a king (or was it a superhero with a crown) and Luci was a princess, getting Gpa and Gma to walk Jesse to school, and playing together with Pea at Stepney Green. I think my parents favorite
neighborhood outing was visiting the library cafe to take in the location and then visiting the local grocery store Sainsbury's and returning to the cafe to eat their sandwiches. Alas, this routine may now be recommended to all guests as our friend Scott seems to have repeated the procedure today. You see there are newpapers up for grabs in the cafe as well as that down-home (dare I say free and therefore available to all) local feel where you can view Whitechapel Street and the trains going by. Yet you are peacefully away from it all. Scott has been an early morning greeter to our children when we have not wanted to be upon their early rising, he has enjoyed a couple walking tours, learned how to navigate the Tube, and entertained us and the children with videos of people doing their workouts on YouTube. The kids jumped up and down upon his arrival and on the flip side, it will be hard to see him go.
2 spiders at Stepney Green playground
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Friday night, pizza, movie, and popcorn night
celebrating an early 3rd birthday with fairy cakes
Out front, returning from playing outside with scooter and stroller (pram) in tow
My parents were here almost 2 weeks back. We had a great time. We did some touristy things such as a tour of Westminster Abbey that Luci tagged along for (I do believe she liked being in the presence of dead royalty as she gazed at life size sculptures upon their tombs), a walking tour of our neighborhood, a day trip to Cambridge and seeing the Tower of London. And the kids indulged their needs to be around Grandpa and Grandma by putting on a performance where Jesse dressed up as a king (or was it a superhero with a crown) and Luci was a princess, getting Gpa and Gma to walk Jesse to school, and playing together with Pea at Stepney Green. I think my parents favorite
neighborhood outing was visiting the library cafe to take in the location and then visiting the local grocery store Sainsbury's and returning to the cafe to eat their sandwiches. Alas, this routine may now be recommended to all guests as our friend Scott seems to have repeated the procedure today. You see there are newpapers up for grabs in the cafe as well as that down-home (dare I say free and therefore available to all) local feel where you can view Whitechapel Street and the trains going by. Yet you are peacefully away from it all. Scott has been an early morning greeter to our children when we have not wanted to be upon their early rising, he has enjoyed a couple walking tours, learned how to navigate the Tube, and entertained us and the children with videos of people doing their workouts on YouTube. The kids jumped up and down upon his arrival and on the flip side, it will be hard to see him go.
2 spiders at Stepney Green playground
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXysy-oVdfezl01Cw-GiXIx_D9ISYMOCvOg5w8TCxquEA6VzUqhO4n7_tBpp5kM-PxOjokirNGglfrepzAiHKq3q3iB3dp6ln13x7KcxSoF5PHg7mtEtwo2LThBDXMR68zyij8ew/s1600-h/DSCF0273.JPG">
Friday night, pizza, movie, and popcorn night
celebrating an early 3rd birthday with fairy cakes
Out front, returning from playing outside with scooter and stroller (pram) in tow
Take a cue from the birds, folks?
Maybe I forgot to tell you about our visit to Leeds Castle over Christmas? Well, we went as a family--it was fabulous to run around the grounds and be snowed on! You might want to see pictures of the kids but I'm too lazy. What I have is this picture, taken at the castle, that I meant to post a long time ago. Some humans would do well to contemplate its applications in their lives!