Growing up...

It's official--Edith isn't a tiny baby any more!

As of this week, she is no longer having baby food.  She won't really eat anything if WE feed it to her any more.  She is only interested in feeding herself, and I don't even think she'll want me to nurse her for much longer.  She's so grown up, and it makes me happy and sad all at once.

And Dylan, well, he just gets cuter and more grown up every week.  He says the funniest things, and takes everything so seriously.  He's socially fearless and assumes that everyone he meets will love him.  And they usually do.

Both of them are so beautiful and well behaved (most of the time), and I am so proud to be their mom!

Christmas 2009--just a few snapshots...

Edith mostly enjoyed the boxes and the wrapping paper, though she also had a good time trying to play with Dylan's toys.

I get some rare (and pretty amazing) snuggles with Dylan under his new Thomas the Tank Engine blanket.

Edith likes her new rag doll, Matilda, that I made for her.  She especially enjoys playing with the yarn hair.

Dylan looks stunning in his new shirt and tie.

Edith also looks stunning in her beautiful little Christmas dress.

A bit of silliness during our big dinner.  Christmas crackers are an absolute must!

We all had a beautiful day.  Our Christmas duck was not great, but the rest of the meal was good.  My Christmas pudding was especially popular, which comes as something of a relief as it was made about 6 weeks ago and served without tasting it first.  SCARY!

Anyway, we are all exhausted but happy.  The kids were spoiled rotten by grandparents and great grandparents and certainly didn't feel a lack in the present department.  Martin and I chose small but meaningful and well thought out gifts for each other.  All in all, a tremendous success.

Now it's time for bed!

Fear...

I have always looked forward to the next stage with Dylan.  From the very beginning I looked forward to his first tooth, crawling, talking, walking, etc.  I've loved watching him grow up and become more independent.

But last night I was going through some clothes we were given for Edith, and I saw some cute little jeans that were 12-18 months.  They were so big, and all of a sudden I realized that in just 4 short months Edith will be wearing that size.  And I became a little bit afraid of her growing up.

She won't be my little baby for very much longer.  Already she is nearly crawling.  She also waves hello and goodbye and just last night figured out how to clap all on her own.

Maybe I am just terrified because I don't want to deal with another two year old.  Dylan seems to be past the worst of the terrible twos (though now I've jinxed it and he'll be horrible all during Christmas) and I don't want to do it again with Edith.  But I don't think that's it.  I've loved having a baby in the house this time around.  Seriously, it's been so delightful.  But soon I will have a young child and a toddler, and then it will be two children.  Before I know it, I'll have two teenagers.

Plus, the older they get, the older I get.  I know that's only simple logic, and I should have realized this before.  But it's not something I tend to think about on a regular basis.  In fact, usually only at birthday time.

Bottom line is, I don't want my baby Edith to grow up.  Can't I just keep her 8 1/2 months old forever?  I can't even imagine her as a toddler.  Though I'm sure she'll be a lovely one.  I think I need to start preparing myself for the fact that she is going to grow up and accept that it's going to go faster than I realize.

A not so happy anniversary...

December 18 is a rough day for me every year.  It's the anniversary of one of the most defining events of my adolescence, and is a day I like to spend in quiet reflection about the way my life has turned out.  Looking at my wonderful life helps make me less bitter about that fateful day, because everything changed for me then.  17 is really young to learn some lessons, but I am glad things worked out the way they did.  It took me a long time to get to this point!

Also, a year ago yesterday is when we took Dylan to the emergency room in Nephi while he was having a seizure.  I will never forget holding his limp little body close to mine on the drive to the hospital.  I thought he was dead.  I honestly did.  I have never experienced fear like that before, and I hope I never feel that way again.  Ever.

So yesterday should have been a nice, quiet, reflective day.  Instead it was spent at a break neck pace doing housework, cooking, sewing, laundry, entertaining guests, and working on Christmas presents.  Oh, and taking care of the kids.  Sort of.  I got up at 6am and finally fell in to bed at about 11:15pm.  That's LATE for me.  Martin had a party to work at the Place, and he didn't get home until 12:30 this morning.  We're both pretty tired, and today is another full day. 

So even though I didn't get to spend yesterday the way I would have liked, I am grateful for the life that I lead.  I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children, and they mean the world to me.  I sometimes wish that December 18, 1996 had never happened, but I know I wouldn't be where I am today if it hadn't.  And where I am today is pretty sweet.

All clear...

We haven't had any live bugs in our hair for several days now, and Dylan and I had our hair cut today.  We are officially lice free!  Of course, I am one of the most obsessive people I know about the cleanliness of my hair, so I will probably continue to use the nit comb for a few days at least.  But I feel less dirty now.  What a relief!

We're doing well.  Edith is doing especially well!  She sat up on her own for the first time yesterday.  If she is laying on her back, she rolls on to her tummy, pushes herself into a crawling position, and then pushes herself back to sit up.  It's quite impressive.  And she is SO close to crawling that it's almost painful to watch.  Especially when she topples forward and hits her chin or her forehead on the carpet.  OUCH!

We are still working on Christmas presents, but are in the middle of our fishing set for Dylan and really enjoying it.  The fish are turning out pretty adorable.  I'll get a picture posted as soon as they're finished so everyone can admire our handiwork.  It's kind of funny.  Last night I was hand stitching polka dots onto one side of the octopus and I realized how ludicrous it is that I am hand sewing and finishing a gift for a 2 year old.  He wouldn't care if it was glued on.  But it wouldn't last as long, and I want him to have something fun and durable.  So we will continue to hand stitch and make these gifts as nice as possible.  For the child who will never in a million years appreciate all the effort we've gone to!

Anyway, lots to get done before the Mundays come over at 4.  Martin got a bunch of bonus curry from Rapi last night and they are coming over to share in the bounty.  Hooray!

Christmas tree fun...

Dylan had a good time decorating the Christmas tree. 

Edith had a good time trying to eat the decorations.

Some of the ornaments were more popular than others.

Decorating the top of the tree took some serious effort!

Our posh tree topper!

The finished result is truly stunning.

Super saver...

£2.48 buys a lot of groceries when you shop the reduced section on a Saturday night.  Hooray for Martin!

Sugar high...

We have gone to two parties today. It was the ward Primary activity this morning, and Nathan Munday's birthday dinner this evening. Dylan has had a steady diet of "party food," like sausage rolls, finger sandwiches, crisps, and biscuits. He is in bed--has been for about 30 minutes now--but he is on such a sugar high that he is in his bedroom singing to himself. I'm sitting downstairs just listening to him chattering away and giggling to myself.

It's been a good weekend, really. Martin worked a dinner party last night so I was on my own for dinner and bath/bed time. But it was ok. The kids went down to bed without a problem, and having me do bath time is a bit of a novelty so they both enjoyed that as well. And today has been so busy that I've not had a chance to sit and breathe, let alone be bored or lonely!

Edith was a little nightmare last night, waking 3 times to be fed, so even though it's only 8 pm I am really looking forward to bed and will be heading there in about 30 minutes. Pathetic!

Nighty night everyone. Here's hoping Dylan doesn't keep me awake with his singing!

Penny for your thoughts...

There are some things you just don't think about very often. One of them has been on my mind quite a lot since last night.

Martin was reading a "news" story on AOL about the cost of Christmas. Readers were polled about how much money they spent on Christmas gifts for their children, and the average for our area was about £260 per child(that's around $400), which was the highest in England. The lowest was in London and was around £160 ($240). Now, granted, I have no idea how much money my mom and dad used to spend on us. But I'm pretty sure it was nowhere near that much, and I remember having fantastic Christmases while I was growing up!

At the end of the news stories on AOL the readers can post their comments, and Martin read a few of them out loud to me. Some people were shocked and appalled that people weren't spending MORE money than that! But one person's post nearly broke my heart. They said that they couldn't even pay their mortgage, let alone buy gifts for Christmas. They said that they were heartbroken because their children would have to face the reality of economics at such a young age and would have to have their dreams of Santa shattered so early.

Martin posted that we were making most of our Christmas gifts this year. He said that he believed (and hoped) that our friends and family would appreciate thses gifts even MORE than store-bought ones since they came from the heart and involved a lot of effort on our part.

I also saw something on a blog that I stalk, erm, read. It was about a charity that helps hungry children in the U.S. They gave some statistics about how many people in one of the richest countries in the world are expected to go hungry this Christmas.

I couldn't even wrap my head around that--there are some families who can't even afford to feed their children! How is that possible in the United States of America? How much would it break your heart to hear your babies crying because they were hungry and not be able to do anything about it?

We have been broke this year. I mean totally broke, not just feeling the pinch a little bit. But we've always managed to pay the mortgage and the bills. Grocery money has been nearly non-existent at times, but we have never actually gone hungry because we couldn't afford food. We are truly blessed.

We are having Christmas this year. We have a tree, which is largely decorated with home-made ornaments and things that were given as gifts to us in Christmases past, and it is lovely. We are sharing the cost of our Christmas dinner with our family, so none of us will go over our food budgets but we will be able to have a traditional dinner with all the trimmings. Martin and I don't really have many gifts for each other, but our children will have gifts under the tree and we have been able to buy or make gifts for our families. It won't be much, but at least our kids will have a Christmas that is fun and memorable. And that will make it special for us--knowing that our children are happy.

As for the food situation, well, that truly is a blessing. We've been hearing at church for YEARS now about the importance of having food storage. A whole year's worth of food is the goal, but money and storage space limit us. I have about 4 weeks worth of food in my house at any given time. Sometimes more, sometimes slightly less. But I ALWAYS have extra. It's saved our bacon more times than I can count--especially in the last 6 months. I pick up a few extra tins of tomatoes or some extra rice or pasta every time I can. And our family and friends always help out when they can. Even if I had a whole month with absolutely no money to spend on groceries, we wouldn't go hungry. Our diets wouldn't be very exciting, but we would have food in our bellies for every meal.

We may not have a lot, but we have enough. And for that, I am truly thankful!

Ignore the picture on my header--this is how things usually go...

The walk of shame...

Probably the first walk of many, too. My poor baby Dylan has head lice, and he's generously decided to share them with me.

I bought my first ever bottle of head lice treatment and a nit comb. Edith doesn't have enough hair yet for it to be a worry. I'll have to check Martin when he gets home, but I think it's just me and Dylan. So we'll be doing some major social grooming at my house this afternoon.

I KNOW that it's not a matter of hygiene. I know that lice prefer clean hair. I know that most children get them at some point. I know I don't need to be embarrassed about the whole situation. But I still am! My child is covered in bugs. GROSS!

I remember having lice in the first grade. Everybody in the school was checked, and they pulled me out of class, called my parents, and sent me home until they were gone. I thought it was good fun. Except for the stinky shampoo, of course. My mother was probably mortified!

So now I know how you felt, mom.

Puddles...

Sights of the Lincoln Christmas market...

A story in pictures...

We went on a Christmas tree hunt on Friday, and found our hunting ground on the back road between Barrow and Goxhill--two local villages...

The farmer led us out to the field of trees currently being harvested, where we chose our favorite.  Then he took out his handy dandy chainsaw and chopped it down for us...

We asked for a 7-8 foot tree, but this one was a BIT bigger than that.  Martin was carrying Dylan and I was carrying Edith, so the farmer carried the tree.  What a champion!

Edith and I chilled while Martin and Nigel (not really his name, but it sounds nice and British and I never got his real name) strapped the tree to the top of the car.  What did Dylan do, you ask?

Dylan splashed in a mud puddle, which we were fine with since he was wearing his wellies.  Then he FELL in said mud puddle, and this was the result.  Since his jeans were all muddy, this was how he had to come home...

We had to cut about a foot off the tree to get it in the house, and we had to do some serious rearranging of the furniture.  Our house was a bit untidy afterwards...

But we DO have an absolutely gorgeous tree.  All it has is lights at the minute, but we shall be decorating it tomorrow evening and more pictures will follow.

Now we're ready for Christmas.  Sort of.

the latest and greatest...

The kids and I have been spending a lot of time playing together lately.  I never thought I'd be spending so much time lying down on my floor before I had children!

Seriously, I love playing with my kids.  Yesterday I played cars with Dylan.  I was Lightening McQueen and he was the fire engine.  It pretty much consisted of the fire engine rescuing McQueen because he couldn't fly, and we had the same script about 10 times, but I was amazed by Dylan's creativity.  He is so advanced for his age!  And Edith just likes company while she is lying there trying to crawl.

The Christmas lights are up in Barton and the high street is looking all festive.  The kids love the lights!

Got this slightly freaky but pretty cool pic of Dylan last night.  Long exposure for night time photos combined with a 2 year old's inability to hold still for longer than about 5 seconds!

I love this one of Edith.  I think she looks like a fashionable little French girl in her little beret.  And this color really suits her.  What a beauty!

Dylan found Martin's "cup" laying around the house and was wearing it like a hat.  We decided to teach him where it really goes, and I can't decide which is funnier.

Such a serious little girl last night.  She's usually all beaming smiles.  I think she looks like an adorable little Christmas elf in this photo.  And that outfit is a 3-6 month.  She was eight months old this week!

I have no idea what Dylan was up to!  It looks like he's in the middle of either jumping or dancing.  Either way, he's having a great time.

This is how Edith looks about 60% of the time.  I have never seen such a happy baby in my life!

Have a nice "trip," See you next "fall..."

I shouldn't be so flippant about this, but it's all good so I can make a joke about it now.

Dylan took a tumble down our stairs yesterday morning.  When he woke up at 5:20am he got up to come in to our bedroom.  He must have slipped, because he ended up at the bottom of the stairs screaming bloody murder.  SCARY!

We got him calmed down, checked for bleeding and broken bones, etc.  Then Martin made sure he could walk ok.  It only took about 5 minutes.  I swear, kids are made of rubber.  We didn't even feel like we needed to take him to the hospital.  I think he went down the stairs like a slide, since he has a goose egg on the back of his head and a huge bruise that follows the shape of his ribs exactly.  Poor kid.  But he's just as hyper and happy as ever, so we're not concerned.

We DID keep his bedroom door closed last night though. 

Those stairs of mine are a real health hazard sometimes.  I remain the only person in the house who hasn't fallen down them.  Well, Edith hasn't either but she can't even crawl yet, let alone walk.  That stair gate is going to have to start staying closed all the time again real soon!

On a positive note, we did get our first proper night's sleep all week last night.  Both kids were sound asleep by about 7:30 (though it took Edith ages and I had to feed her extra) and Edith woke at 4am for a feed.  Dylan slept until nearly 6am.  Bliss!  Martin and Dylan are healthy again, I am on the mend, and I think Edith is past the worst of the cold now. I think it helped that Martin was there for bedtime.  He's missed it 3 nights in a row because of his Indian food delivery job--they've been really busy!  But the more deliveries he does the more money he makes.  Besides, he brought home a really delicious lamb curry for FREE the other night.

We are going to try to get a Christmas tree today.  I wanted one on Monday, but I want to get one from a tree farm where we can pick our own and have it cut down on the spot and the ones I know about weren't open for business yet.  I miss going up in the mountains and cutting our own down, and that's the next best thing.  Maybe I'll cave and we'll just get one from Mickey B's instead.  So hopefully I will have some adorable pictures to post tonight.

They're not little for long...

Edith had a rough night last night.  She was awake for about an hour and a half.  We'll let her off though, because she's not feeling well.  Dylan did the same thing the two nights before.  Typical.  It's either one or the other of the kids keeping us up.  I really would sell my soul for a decnt night's sleep!

But I digress...

I was holding her on my chest and kind of bouncing her to sleep when it occurred to me how big she's gotten.  She spent the first three weeks of her life sleeping like that--all curled up on my chest.  But now just her torso fits where her whole body, legs included, used to.  She's growing so quickly. 

And while the knowledge that she's going to be grown up before I know it didn't make me any less tired, it did make me cherish her a little bit more.  Even though it was 2 am. 

The whole family either is or has been sick.  I'm ready for all of us to be healthy again.  Taking care of sick kids when you're not well is hard work.  It's funny, how you seem to be able to take care of them even when you can hardly take care of yourself.  Being a parent teaches you an awful lot about sucking it up and just getting the job done.

Other than the sickness running rampant in our house (Which is no big deal, by the way.  It's just a cold!) we are doing well.  Dylan is sort of "getting" Christmas this year, and recognizes Santa when we see decorations and such.  He's jazzed about the Christmas decorations and lights, and can hardly wait to get a Christmas tree.  We're going to get one this week, because I want him to be able to enjoy it for as long as possible.  Edith will probably really enjoy the lights on the tree, and I only hope Dylan doesn't break everything.  He's incredibly destructive and disobedient at the minute. 

Oh, kids.  Part of me just wants them both to be grown up and independent.  But I know that's just the sleep deprivation talking.  I love taking care of them and watching them grow and develop.  I love how they depend on me, and they trust me completely to take care of them.  I'll be sad when they finally realize that mom can't fix everything.  Right now, a hug from me is all the reassurance they need that everything is going to be ok.

I would love to be that innocent again!

My long, lean string bean...

No, I'm not talking about Martin.  It's all Edith.

I had her weighed and measured at the baby clinic on Wednesday.  She is in the 50th percentile on her weight.  A comfortable average.  But her height is up in the 91st.  She is tall tall tall and slender for her age.  It looks like she'll take after her daddy in her build.  Lucky girl!

She tips the scales at 17.11 lbs.  She only gained 6 oz. in the last 10 weeks, and that's 3 lbs. smaller than Dylan was at the same age.  That's a lot when you're only 28 1/2 inches tall.  The health visitor kept reassuring me that it was nothing to be concerned about.  What she didn't realize is that I'm NOT concerned about it.  Edith is so happy and obviously healthy that I wouldn't care if she hadn't gained ANY weight.  She's getting really tall instead of really wide.  This is a good thing!  Besides, she's still on the slightly bigger side of average and her head circumference is spot on with her weight. 

Dylan was always my husky little man.  Perfectly proportioned but BIG!  My kids lucked out.  Dylan is going to be tall and solidly built.  Edith is going to be tall and willowy.  The genes combined just the way I was hoping they would.  Dylan will have a great build for a boy and Edith will be the envy of all the girls.  Well, that will be the case if they maintain their childhood proportions anyway.

Hooray for marrying a man with long, skinny legs to give my children a fighting chance!

On the baby changing table at the swimming pool.  Check out those legs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our dinner was a success.  Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, brussels sprouts, roast sweet potatoes and parsnips, home-made stove top stuffing, gravy, and (of course) pumpkin pie.  Martin's family were all here, and the company was good, the food was good, and the kids were well behaved.  Can't really ask for more than that!

As always, Thanksgiving makes me miss my family.  But this should be the last one that we spend in England, and then I can relax and let my mom do the cooking again!

A question for all the parents out there...

How do you feel about leaving your kids in the car while you run in a shop to do a quick errand?  Like pay for your petrol or buy a stamp or pick up some train tickets or use an ATM?  It's such a hassle to get both kids out of the car to do these things when I'm only going to be about 3 minutes, but I'm not sure it's cool to leave them in there on their own.  With the doors locked, of course.  Any thoughts on this?  I'm not sure if it's kosher to do it or not!

Thangs that make me smile, and sometimes laugh out loud...

Dylan is such a talker!  I was so excited for him to start, and now we can't get him to shut up.  But I still love to listen to his sweet little voice.  And I especially love how he pronounces things.  Some of my favorites, before I forget his funny little toddlerisms, are here:

Issinge = orange
mish mingers = fish fingers
Tinkybell = Tinkerbell
Nocules = binoculars
ottocker = helicopter
Dinnan = Dylan
Eeediss = Edith
Marton = Barton
Sp'oso = Special Agent Oso (one of his favorite cartoons)

Then, of course, there's the usual cute little toddler lisp.  His els tend to become w's.

And Edith, well, she has the best giggle inthe whole world!  She loves to play catch in the evening after dinner, and she loves splashing in the bath.  She can move now, but only backwards.  She is absolutely desperate to crawl, and lays on her belly and kicks her legs like she's swimming, with her arms held behind her.  And she has that crazy Cindy Lou Who hair--bright coppery red with a curl at the top.  Sometimes all she has to do is smile at me and it makes me laugh.

My children continue to be the biggest source of joy in my life.  I'm tired, but so happy!

Hooray!

I feel like a new woman today.

Yesterday was rough.  Edith had a bad night so it was a VERY long day, with Martin at work from 9 am and a lot to do on not much sleep.  We made it through though, and I cleaned the house and prepared awesome Chinese food for dinner.  We even had Christine over since she's not been feeling well lately.  And, the best bit of yesterday, we bought a car.  It's not my first choice, but I'm sure I'll learn to love it.

I've been in a funk ever since the sale on that Seat fell through.  It's funny, because with NO car we were automatically £150 a month better off, but not having one makes me feel poor.  There I sat with loads of cash in my front room, knowing that I didn't have a £50 monthly insurance bill to pay and that I wouldn't have to shell out £80 a month on petrol, and I was all depressed about being broke.  This car is a Nissan Primera, and it's got a much smaller engine so should REALLY help with the fuel consumption.  And it will cost about £18 less per month to insure.  It's a nice car.  I'm trying to get excited about it.

That's not what the "Hooray" was for though.  It's all about that adorable little monster baby of mine.

She's been waking up two or three times a night for the past 6 weeks, feeding for about 5 minutes, then going back to sleep.  We decided to just let her fuss last night, and she slept through.  Well, she fussed for about 15 minutes at 1 this morning.  But she went back to sleep on her own, and then woke up at 5am--15 minutes before Dylan did.  She had a good feed, then went back to sleep.  That was 2 1/2 hours ago.

It feels so good to get a decent night's sleep!

Anyway, I need to get ready for the day.  We are going on a little drive with Christine to pick up our "new" car.  We have to go to Derbyshire.  That could be really fun, since we'll be in the peak district.  It could also be a really long day.  We'll see.  Derbyshire is lovely, and we're going somewhere I've never been.  That's kind of exciting.  I'll bring the camera in case there are any great photo ops.

Happy road tripping...

I hate it when I'm right...

The car that was "too good to be true" ended up being too good to be true.  Martin is on the train home from Sheffield as we speak.  So here we are with no car, and now nothing else is going to look as good.

C'est la vie.

Looks like something may be going right for once...

We decided a few weeks back that we couldn't afford the petrol, tax and insurance costs on our car any more, so decided to try and sell it and look for something a bit smaller.  We listed it on eBay in a 5 day auction, and sold it for the reserve price.  Success! 

We needed to find a new car, and fast, because of hospital appointments, Kleeneze, and Martin's delivery driver gig, so we started looking on eBay.  I found something that looked too good to be true, but we decided to call about it just to make sure.  And after an impromptu trip to Sheffield to check out this car, we are halfway to ownership of a 2005 Seat Leon.

Our eBay buyer is coming to collect the Rover tonight, and Martin will be taking the cash and catching a train to Sheffield tomorrow morning to pick up our new car.  Instead of being carless for a month, like last time, we will only be carless for about 18 hours.

And this car...

Martin and I love Seats.  They don't sell them in the U.S. but they are a subsidiary of Volkswagon.  VW test out their new stuff on Skodas, then Seats, then put them in Volkswagons, and then into Audis.  So it's a lovely little Spanish Volkswagon, pretty much.  Our first car when we moved here was a Seat Cordoba, and this is the updated version.  Seriously, if money had been no object, this is the car we would have chosen for ourselves.  Maybe not this color (it's BRIGHT yellow), but this car is seriously gorgeous!

We are getting the car for about 1/10 the actual value.  The insurance will be the same, but it will get about twice as many miles per gallon.  As Martin says, if the cost of running it doesn't end up being that much less, we can always sell the car for 5 times more than we bought it for!  We just have to scrape together a little bit of extra cash to tax the beast!

Pictures are coming!

Our afternoon at Donna Nook...

We arrived in the middle of the afternoon--at about 2:30.  The sun was dipping low on the horizon, but at least it was shining!  We strapped Edith into her sling, and off we went!

We had to climb over some sand dunes to get to the seal viewing area.  The climb was Dylan's favorite part!  Then we finally got to see the seals.

There were so many of them--some of them closer to the fence than others.  This one was close enough to touch, and was so lovely and fluffy and soft looking.

Dylan really liked the baby seals close to the fence.   He kept saying, "Oh, so cute!" and telling us that he wanted to kiss them (much to the amusement of all the other people there!).





Cathy took a picture of all 4 of us together-such a rare occurrance!

Dylan returned the favor by taking one of Cathy and John--with a little help from Martin, of course!

Then we got to see the baby seal (mentioned in an earlier post) that was just minutes old.  Amazing!  Kind of bloody and gross, but still amazing!  Edith and I stood and watched the mother seal try to get the baby to feed for the first time.  It was almost painful to watch, and I'll bet arms would have come in really handy at that point!

Then Dylan wanted to climb on the sand dunes, so Martin happily obliged with a rousing game of hide and seek in the bushes and running down the hills!

Edith and I just watched.  Having her strapped to the front of me is eerily like being 9+ months pregnant.  Can't see my feet, center of gravity really off, back aching, etc.

I captured a really good picture of the reason Edith gets called Cindy Lou Who...

She has the craziest hair on the planet.  But she's still a lovely little lady.  See...

A good time was had by all.  Wish you could have joined us!

The End

I love weekends!

Although I would like them more if Martin had two days off!

Yesterday was good. Martin wasn't feeling so hot when we woke up, so I took the kids to church by myself so he could get a little bit of rest. Hard work for me, but needed and appreciated by him. I managed to get the three of us ready and out the door by 9:20, proving to Martin that it really IS him who makes us late every week. I even stopped off in Scunny to pick up a crock pot that I got off Freecycle and we were STILL on time. Yay for me!

Church was ok, though I only stayed for Primary. It is actually impossible for me to handle both kids on my own during Sacrament meeting--especially now that Edith is bigger and either sits on the bench or on my lap the whole time. Dylan has a tendency to wander up on to the stand and try to talk into the microphone. And we left immediately after singing time, too. I was standing by the nursery and looked through the window to see Dylan pushing a little girl over and making her cry. I figured he needed to come out, and figured that would be as good a time to leave as any. Dylan cried because he didn't want to leave (he loves nursery and Emma)so I had to carry both kids and all my gear out to the car on my own. I love it when people at church see me struggling with my arms quite literally full of babies and other stuff and don't even try to open doors for me or offer to help.

Finished ranting now!

We had lunch when we got home, then hopped in the car for a little drive. We'd planned several weeks earlier to have a family outing to Donna Nook (the RAF bombing range) to see the baby seals. There's a large colony that uses the coast there as a breeding ground. Because of the bombing practice there, they have no predators. It's one of the safest places in England for seals to come ashore to have their pups.

It was a lot of fun! Cathy and her boyfriend John came, as did the mother and father-in-law. We got to see a seal that was just minutes old. I kind of wished I'd been able to watch it being born, and Martin was relieved that we'd missed it. There were so many tiny little fluffy white seals, though the seal placenta lying all over the sand dunes was pretty disgusting! We also got to watch the, erm, courtship of a couple of seals. That was interesting. It felt like we were watching a nature documentary, but it was much more visceral than telly!

After we saw the seals, we went back to Laurie and Christine's house and had dinner. It was delicious--especially since I didn't have to cook it! Then it was home to get the kids to bed. It was so late that we didn't even stay to help clean up and we skipped baths.

Edith was awake twice for feeds again. That girl is going to be the sleep-deprived death of me!

I have loads of pictures,, but the camera is in the kids' room and Edith has gone back to sleep. I don't want to chance waking her up just to put a few pictures on the blog. So I'll put this one on for now...

Dylan and I do our "very very bad" faces (from Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish--some are glad and some are sad, and some are very, very bad!).

...and will put some pictures from our weekend on the blog later.  Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but soon.  I got a lovely sunset picture.  The sun is now setting at around 4 pm.  Only 5 move weeks until the shortest day of the year, thank goodness.  English winters are rough, when the sun rises at around 9 am and sets at about 4pm.  That is, of course, if the sun comes out at all.  Today is a gray and rainy day, so there will be no sunshine for us today!

Oh, Edith is awake.  Time to really start the day!

Dylan's funny little voice...

Edith's eyes...

We went to Ulceby yesterday and hung out at the in-laws' house so Martin could change the oil in our car (and it was DISGUSTING!). My father-in-law is currently on 10 days off at the refinery where he works, and my mother-in-law gets off work at about 1pm, so we had some good bonding time with both of them.

I, quite comically, took both kids and the dog for a walk at the same time. Dylan was riding in this little ride on car thing that I had to push, Edith was in the sling, and I had the dog on his lead until we got past the houses on their road. Must have been a sight to see, but it worked out ok. I was pretty tired by the time we got home though, with pushing Dylan, pulling on the dog's lead, and carrying Edith.

When we got back to their house, I was looking at Edith's eyes. They've been a deep sea green-blue color for quite a while now, and I thought she was too old for them to change. But yesterday, I saw a few flecks of brown in her eyes. I got all excited--I might have a cute little brown-eyed girl after all!

I remember when I was pregnant with Dylan getting all excited (and nervous) about how my baby would look. I thought it would be fun to see which features popped up in our children. And I was right--it IS fun to see who got what from which parent. And now it looks like we'll have a blonde haired, blue eyed male version of me and a brown eyed, dark haired female version of Martin. How cool is that?

We were looking at baby and toddler pictures of Martin yesterday, and I'll tell you what--Edith DOES look a lot like her daddy. I've always thought so, but looking at pictures yesterday totally confirmed it for me. The shape of their eyes, their mouths, their pointy little chins--it's all there. And Martin finally believes me. At least a little bit!

I hope you all enjoy the videos. I've been having trouble getting my videos loaded onto Blogger, so I finally just joined the masses and opened a YouTube account. It's so much easier that way, and now I can show videos of my beautiful children to my distant family. I have a cute one on my camera right now that I'll try to get posted soon. It's all about Dylan discovering that it's fun to make Edith laugh, not just to make her cry!

So other than the thing with Edith's eyes, not a lot going on right now. Martin is going to try to sell our car on E-bay so we can get one with a slightly smaller engine that will use less petrol and cost less to insure. I guess that's exciting, because we might not have transport for a few weeks.

Oh, I just thought of something exciting! We have decided to put our house up for auction. The property auction is in February and if it sells there it will take about 56 days (no more than that) for paperwork to be completed and the sale to be final. Then we will rent somewhere until we can get Martin's green card and get Edith's birth registered at the embassy and her U.S. passport sorted. Things are moving along again!

Edith is an early bloomer

Dylan does "yogo"

A fine line...

Ok, now I'm torn between wanting to move home and wanting to get some stuff done first!

I went to see my GP yesterday.  Dr. Wellings wasn't there, so I saw Dr. Jaggs-Fowler instead.  And yes, he is just as posh as the name sounds.  But I like him, and here is why:

I started my visit with a discussion about my pre-natal vitamins (which I am about to run out of).  He told me that the NHS won't provide them but the chemist should be able to recommend an over the counter brand that will be comparable and that it IS a good idea to continue taking them while I'm still feeding Edith.  Then we moved on to flu shots, and he gave me mine (not for swine flu, but I will receive that one at some point as I am high risk because of my asthma).  He also gave me a pneumococcal vaccine, which is standard for kids now but wasn't available when I was a baby.  It gives you immunity to some of the nasty germs that cause chest infections, which is really good news for me.  Then we moved on to the really embarrassing bit that I have been wanting to see a doctor about but have been putting off.  Finally, Martin made me do it!

We discussed the stretched skin on my stomach.  I showed him my horrible "apron" of skin that came courtesy of carrying two huge babies REALLY low.  Martin is the only other person who's seen it and it was rather humiliating to show it to someone else, but I needed to do it.  I explained how after I had Dylan the loose and hanging skin was an annoyance and I really disliked it.  But since the birth of Edith the skin has stretched so much that it is now uncomfortable at the best of times and downright painful at others.  I told him that it is affecting every part of my life, and keeps me from doing a lot of things that I'd like to do.  I totally broke down and cried like a baby in his office.  Over my disgusting tummy!

Dr. Jaggs-Fowler was most sympathetic.  And he is willing to try to help me.  We talked plastic surgery, and we talked about the NHS paying for it.  There are just three obstacles, and he said that they are not insurmountable.

#1-Can't do anything while I'm still feeding Edith. 

#2-My current weight.  Logically, I need to wait until I've lost the baby weight before they will do surgery of any kind as it wouldn't be 100% effective if there was still fat to be lost when they removed the extra skin.

#3-I would have to get special funding which my doctor would have to apply for as this is a cosmetic procedure and the NHS don't pay for frivolities. 

So, feeding Edith.  Well, time will take care of that one.  I'm sick to death of feeding her anyway.  And the weight loss one, that's a toughie but very do-able.  The last one is the highest hurdle, but (and this is why I heart Dr. Jaggs-Fowler right now) he said he is willing to pursue that special funding for me.  Because although it's not a life or death situation for me there is a good chance it will be deemed medically necessary.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  And now I have a good reason to try to lose some more weight.  I HAD lost some, that month when we had no money, but I was actually afraid to lose more because it made my stomach look so much worse.  Without fat to cushion it, the skin on my stomach hangs even more.

I am also glad that it's not all in my head.  That makes me feel better.

So now I am conflicted.  I want to sell the house and move home, but not before I can have this surgery done.  I'm starting a little "diet," though not a drastic one since I am still nursing my baby, and I am going to do pilates and ride my bike every night if I can.  It's a race against time and the housing market.  It's going to be goodbye butter, cream and cheese at my house, too.  My snack for date night was fruit tea and an apple.

Hungry days to come, but I'm all fired up to do this.  My loathing of my body is strongerr than my appetite for yummy food!

My girls...

I have never made friends easily.  I guess it's because it's not in my nature to trust people.  I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and like to assume that people are decent until they prove otherwise, but I don't open up that often.  As a result, I don't have many close friends.

As I entered my teens, I pretty much stopped having female friends all together.  I couldn't bring myself to like the cookie cutter Mormon girls I went to school and church with, and my parents couldn't approve of any other kind.  They did their best to make sure I didn't have any "bad influences" in my life, and that pretty much meant that I didn't have any friends.  I did have some guy friends, but it's not really the same.

I have formed a few bonds since then--with my lovely college roomies Amber and Krista, with my girl Becca, with my friend Michelle.  These friendships have been few and far between, but all the more treasured for it!

So imagine my surprise when, on reflecting about friendship, I discovered that I have two "best friends" here in England!

Emma and Jen, you always have my back.  If I had to, I could drop in at a moment's notice (or with  no notice at all if I was really desperate).  You help me with my kids, let me whinge about my husband, do fun things with me, share meals and trips to the park and swimming pool, and most of all, just let me be me.

I struggle in England.  I have never felt like I fit in here, and probably never will.  Americans and Brits are totally different.  Don't let the fact that we both speak English fool you--we are not the same at all!  I try to keep my head down and blend, but with my best friends, I don't need to do that.  You make life over here more than just bearable.  You make it enjoyable.

Thanks for the estrogen (or oestrogen, for you two!) influence.  A girl needs a couple of good friends, and I'm glad you are in my life!

A day off...

Oh, the bliss!

Dylan is having one of those weeks where he is pushing all the boundaries and just being two.  Combine that with the fact that Edith hasn't been sleeping well and it's made for a rough couple of days.

We took the kids over to the Mundays' house because Dylan was crying and Martin asked him what he wanted.  He wanted to play at Emma's house, and that's ALL he wanted.  When we got there, Emma said that she'd just have him for the night, and it was like a dream come true.  So Martin and I abandoned our kid and enjoyed being parents of one for a night.

I've decided that most of our stress with Dylan comes from his refusal to use the toilet.  He keeps peeing all over my carpet and it's making me so stressed and angry.  So we've decided to put him back into diapers for a little while.  It's frustrating because he was totally potty trained last month and this month it's like he doesn't even get it.  What a huge step back!

Other than that, we're doing well.  Martin got another "job."  He's working 4 nights a week as a delivery boy for Rapi, the Indian restaurant just up the road.  Since we live so close, he stays at home and is sort of on call.  He only actually has to work if there are deliveries to make, and he gets paid £5 a night regardless and a set amount for each delivery he makes based on the location.  It'll be an extra £20 a week no matter what, which will be great to have.  Especially since he doesn't really have to do much for it!

I'm just hoping that he can bring home a curry every now and again...

just a glimpse...

Every once in a while I snap a picture of my kids and catch a quick glimpse of what they might look like as adults.  They take my breath away sometimes!

Edith is going to be quite a little beauty.  That fiery red hair, those deep greenish blue eyes, that creamy pale skin, and those perfect, delicate features.  I can hardly wait to see her grow up!

And Dylan--well!  Those beautiful baby blues, that cheeky grin, his sunny, flirtatious personality.  Oh, he is going to break a few hearts!

And I just love this picture because of the long, skinny legs flying all over the place.  Finger crossed the kids ended up with Martin's legs!