The earth moved...

We had an earthquake last night! About 1 am Martin and I woke up to some serious shaking. I found out on the news this morning that it was a 5.3 on the Richter scale and the epicenter of the quake was Market Rasen, which is a small town about 30 miles south of Barton. The quake lasted about 10 or 12 seconds, but it felt like longer. It is the first earthquake I've ever been in that I was awake for. There were a few small ones when I was living in Utah, but I always slept through them. Anyway, there was no damage to our house. Amazing, when you consider that our house is about 180 years old.

No news really. Life just continues plodding on. Martin still hasn't heard anything about the job he applied for. Not a big surprise, to be perfectly honest. We're waiting patiently, and I think he's planning on calling them tomorrow.

I got a fantastic book at the British Red Cross shop on Saturday. It's called "Home Comforts--The Art and Science of Keeping House," by Cheryl Mendelson. Oddly enough, it's about keeping house. I'm learning so much! Not that my mom was a lousy housekeeper and didn't teach me anything--quite the opposite. It's just that I never cleaned the whole house on a regular basis by myself. Velecia, Angie, and I all did chores. So I know how to clean a house properly--I just didn't know how to organize myself to get it all done by myself. I also didn't know how often things need to get done. This book gives you lists of things that need to be done daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

This book is really making a difference to me. Ms. Mendelson says that the reason most people don't enjoy cleaning their houses is that they feel like the job is never done. She says that the key is to do specific jobs on specific days so that you actually finish the housework every day. So I sat down and wrote out a schedule of when things need to be done. I've only been doing it since Monday, but already the house is cleaner and I don't feel like I'm working that much harder than I was before. My clothes laundry is caught up, the entire house has been dusted and vacuumed, and my bathrooms are sparkling. Tomorrow I will clean the kitchen from top to bottom, and then on Friday I will be laundering my linens. I've left Saturday for odd jobs (it'll probably be my gardening day in a few months' time) and I've already got a head start on the kitchen for tomorrow. I highly recommend this book to all full time stay at home moms. After all, our job is to keep house so we might as well be trained in it!

I went to an enrichment mini class in Grimsby today. It was on interior design, and it was a lot of fun. I brought Charlotte with me, and she had a good time, too. The babies weren't that good, but it was fun anyway. I left the house at 9:15 this morning, and didn't get home until nearly 5. Everyone was really nice to Charlotte and Beth, and I think the church ladies made a good impression. I know it was nice for me to have some company on the drive in and back. That's over an hour when I had a grown up to talk to!

Anyway, I'm exhausted so I'm going to get an early night. Pictures on the next post!

Dylan (and family)update...

Today Dylan rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time. He's been doing tummy to back for ages, but this is a first. He is getting so big--and INCREDIBLY strong! He weighed 18 lbs 7 oz as of Wednesday. Marley, the baby next door, weighs 21 lbs. They both weighed about the same at birth, and now Dylan is long and skinny and Marley is pretty much round. Of course, Marley is bottle fed and Dylan is still breast fed. In fact, he has made it to 6 months without ever having formula. I am so proud of that!

We went to the Mundays' house last night--haven't been over in ages. We give Dylan his bath there and put him to bed in their travel cot upstairs. It's always been a nice way of still being able to go and be social, but last night I really missed my cuddles and quiet time with Dylan. The longer he's around, the more I love spending time with him. It really helps that he's getting cuter all the time. He's really becoming such a smiley, happy baby.

Martin went for his job interview at Grimsby College yesterday. Can't remember if I've mentioned it or not--he applied for the position of Restaurant Manager and NVQ assessor at the training restaurant there. I hope he gets it--the hours are a bit longer and he'll have to drive to work every day, but it'll be so good for him. Plus he'll be making about twice as much money as he currently does and he'll get sick pay (which he currently does not).

I'm doing really well. I've been doing Pilates about 5 days a week, and I'm starting to see the benefits. From the waist up you can't even tell I've had a baby. From the waist down, well, that's another story. But I'm working on it, and that's the most important part, right?

Got to go play with my baby now. Sorry it's such a quick update--I'll try to get some pictures up later.!

Dylan and I met Charlotte, Beth, and Dave at Baysgarth park on Saturday. The weather was so glorious that we just HAD to get out. Martin was at work, but we went and had lunch at the Place and saw him. We had fun, and had Charlotte and Dave over for dinner last night--that was fun, too. They are a great couple. They are the first practicing Catholics that I've ever met. Charlie is from Hull. Dave is Welsh. And Dylan and Beth play really well together.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't stay glorious for very long. The fog has rolled in now, and we can hear the fog horn going out on the North Sea all night long. Plus, it's been really cold! And I'm not just saying that because I've been in England too long and have gone soft. It was -6 celcius two nights ago. Our water pipes froze. I know they do it all the time back home, but it's never happened to me over here and I wasn't expecting it. I left a tap running last night, and so our pipes didn't freeze again.

Martin has his job interview at Grimsby College on Friday, and he's looking forward to that. I'm giving a massage tonight, taking Dylan swimming on Wednesday, and then we have a birthday party on Thursday. It's Martin's mate Nathan's 30th, and we're going to some big play area near Leeds. They do dry skiing, and apparently have a great area for kids to play in. Family friendly, you know? Then we have Choir on Thursday night. On Saturday we're going over to the neighbors' house to hang out. This week is so busy!

The picture's rubbish, but Dylan shrieking is so adorable I just had to add it!

Dylan rides the badger!

We try the hip carry in the sling--brilliant!

Dylan and Beth

Dylan and second cousin Emily.

So alert!

News...

I have my UK Visa! And the best part of it is, it is only good until 2010. We will be moving home when it is expired, so now I have something to look forward to!

In other news, Martin has an interview to be the restaurant manager at the Grimsby Institute's training restaurant. If he gets the job it would be really good money, all the school holidays off, and 5 days and 4 nights a week. I don't really mind what he ends up doing--I know he would be really good at that job and it would make him happy. Besides, nights alone with Dylan don't terrify me any more. He is such a good baby now, and spending time with him is really a joy!

Our entrance hallway has been plastered now, and it looks marvy. Just a few days to dry, and then we will get it painted. We're also going to change the color of our front room. It's going to be "Willow Tree" green in both. Our house is really starting to look good. It's nowhere near done, but it gets a little better all the time.

Saturday was such a gorgeous day that I decided to work out in the garden with Dylan. I pulled weeds in the borders and dug them up to get them ready for spring planting. Then I decided to start digging out the concrete so we can plant grass back there. We got another unpleasant surprise--the concrete was laid over a little bit of rubble and topsoil, but there is brick all under the topsoil. I am going to have to do some MAJOR work out there to get it ready to plant grass. But I want Dylan to have a lawn to play on.

Speaking of Dylan, I need to feed him. I'll try to get some pictures posted later on this week. He's getting so big now (though he's only gained 5 ounces in the last three weeks) and cuter every day!

Pictures, as promised...

Dylan's second train journey--the ride home tonight

"I Love Milk"

My little ladies' man

Reaching for the camera

Hugs, cuddles, and smiles by the bridge

I'm going to bed now--it's been a long day (but a good one) with my little man. One bit of news, though. Today Dylan started saying "Bah" for the first time. He's never made any "plosive" sounds before, and it's SO adorable!

Getting plastered...

No, not me or Martin. Our entrance hallway is going to be plastered next weekend. Martin's cousin James and his dad Barry are coming to do it. Once the plastering is done, Martin will lay the slate tile and switch the door around. Then my bookshelf will be built and things can start to get a lot more tidy in here!

Dylan and I have been going swimming a lot lately, and he is really loving it. We have started going every Friday with Joanne (neighbor) and Marley. Baby Marley is cute, but Dylan is SOOOO much cuter. I'm not just saying that because I'm biased, either. He really is adorable.

Christine has been making an effort to play with Dylan more. I invited her for dinner last night, and she helped with Dylan's bedtime routine. She even spent most of his bath alone with him, and they had a good time. She told Martin off for letting Dylan's ears go under the water, and he pretty much told her where she could put her unsolicited advise. That was my favorite part of the whole night. Anyway, Dylan is getting to know her a little better.

The weather has been so weird here lately. The snowdrops are blooming (they're the first bulbs of spring), but it's been so cold. We had some snow yesterday, and it froze last night. Plus we've had gale force winds blowing down from the arctic. Brrrr.

Martin is still at the Place. Things are on hold with job stuff at the minute. His hours have been cut since they're no longer open on Friday and Saturday nights, which is great for me and Dylan but bad for our bank account. Martin may work just a few days a week for Birse to supplement our income, or he might look for a part time job tending bar--we haven't decided yet. But we're managing. Me taking control of the finances was the best financial decision we've made in a long time!

Anyway, Dylan and I are going to walk up to the Place to pick Martin up from work. I'm planning on posting pictures either tomorrow or Monday!