Sunday, September 27, 2009

News...

I showed the house on Saturday afternoon. Our estate agent called me at about 10 am and said they had a couple who wanted to view the house that afternoon. Having been sick for three weeks, the house was in a right state. But I got it all cleaned and called my saintly mother-in-law to help me vacuum the stairs (the one job I wasn't able to tackle). And...

The guy loved the house!

That's not to say that they're going to make us an offer. But the bloke is an artist and gave me many compliments on the job we've done, the decor, the color choices, and the general quirky feel to the house. It makes me feel good, even if they don't put in an offer. He was asking questions that showed he was keen, and was charmed by the garden and the sheer size of the house--the very things that drew me to the place.

So that's the first bit of news. The second is equally exciting.

DYLAN IS POTTY TRAINED!!!

He has been diaper free all day today, including a drive to Lincoln with Christine. We had to pull over twice so he could pee, but he managed to hold it both times until we found somewhere to pull over. We sang a little "hold it" song while we were waiting. He's still wearing just trousers (if he has underwear on he thinks it's a diaper and forgets to go to the toilet) but we're going to put pants on him in another couple of days to see how he does. He's still sleeping with a diaper on, but it's usually dry in the morning and almost always dry after his nap. It's mostly there just in case.

I'm seeing the light at the end of my bum wiping tunnel, and boy does it look wonderful!

We've just saved ourselves about £3.50 a week and can now afford to buy juice for Dylan again. I'll bet he's excited about that.

So fingers crossed everybody, that Mr. Artistic and his lovely girlfriend liked our quirky old place so much that they decide to make us an offer. Prayers would be appreciated!

Cheese!

She's a hat girl!

A very rare night out...


Such a lovely photo of Emma--she just looks so happy!


Lewis--looking like an alcoholic!


Martin likes the nightlife--he likes to boogie!


Flirtatious...


We love dressing up at our house!

How drunk can the sober people act?

My dear friend Jen had her engagement party last night. She and Howard are a surprising couple, and they are the nicest people in the whole world. Seriously, I feel very blessed to have a friend like her and I'm so glad she's met someone as lovely as Howard. It was supposed to be their wedding, but Howard is in the middle of a very nasty divorce.

Anyway, it was a great party. Jen really knows how to throw them! My in-laws went, and so did Emma and Lewis (we pretty much forced Lewis to go, but I'm pretty sure he had a good time in the end). It was a James Bond themed party, and fancy dress was "optional but appreciated."

Martin's costume was easy--he was James Bond from "Die Another Day," when he's, um, bird watching and sees Jinx (Halle Berry) coming in from her swim. Khaki shorts, hawaiian shirt, flip flops and binoculars. Mine was not quite so easy. I went as a '60's Bond girl from "Diamonds are Forever," Plenty O'Toole. I copied the dress and did my hair and make-up 60's Mod style. It was pretty fun. I made the dress from a purple velvet shirt that I got off Freecycle.

There was karaoke, and the Mundays and Martin and I participated. I am no longer a karaoke virgin!

Some time during the night I decided that it would be a good idea to try to capture the only sober people at the party looking slightly drunk. So I started snapping pictures like crazy. Turns out you don't need alcohol when you only get to go out a few times a year, because you try to squeeze as much fun and craziness and dancing into a few hours as you can! I find the pictures funny.

Martin looks like a merry drunk who does it every weekend. Emma looks like the shy girl who only lets her hair down when she's had a few. I look like a flirty drunk. Lewis looks like the anti-social drunk who starts out quiet and gradually becomes practically comatose.

I'll get pictures on here ASAP. Martin had the camera last night and I don't know where he left it. I think you'll appreciate them, just because they are silly and totally out of character.

Anyway, it was a really good night. But I've decided that having a son who wakes up at 5:30am is worse than a hangover. Oh, and Edith woke up every three hours all night long to be fed. That's pretty bad, too!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

8 years...

It's hard to believe that Martin and I got married a whole eight years ago. And aside from that hour the next day when I totally freaked out, I haven't regreted it for a moment since!

We probably seem like such an odd couple, because we are very different. But somehow, we work. We complement each other and balance each other out, and we are both crazy about each other. It hasn't been all roses and sunshine, but it's always been worth the time and effort. Martin is a terriffic husband and father, and I couldn't ask for a better partner.

We had a nice anniversary. Martin booked the day off work and we decided that rather than do something with just the two of us, we'd have a family outing. We drove across the bridge (makes my blood boil every time, £2.70 each way to cross the darned thing) and went to The Deep. It's the world's only submarium, and very cool. We had been talking it up to Dylan for days, telling him we were going to see big fish. He was completely entranced by the coral reef area and loved all the brightly coloured fish. He was also excited to see "Nemo," and couldn't get enough of the rays--especially the smaller ones with bright blue spots. In the end, he was more interested in those than in the "big fish," pretty much ignoring the sharks and stuff.

So we had a delightful time with the family, then came home to give the kids dinner. We did bath time and bed time at the Mundays' house and deserted the kids there for the evening. Martin and I smuggled a bucket of KFC into the cinema and watched a movie. We had a great time. Very nearly had the theater to ourselves because it was a subtitled showing, but two guys came in at the last minute. We picked the kids up and brought them home to bed. We kind of plan on having a rough morning when we put them to bed there, because neither kid sleeps as well when we interrupt their sleep like that. True to form, Dylan was up at 5am. Edith was the realproblem though, waking up at 4 for a feed, greedily gulping down milk and then throwing it up, first in our bed and then in hers. So our night was filled with crying and vomiting baby, plus late night bed linen changes.

But the day was great, and our date was fun, so I can't really complain. I've got a few pictures to post, but that'll have to be done later. I'm so behind on the housework because the weather is changing and that means my asthma has flared up. It requires constant effort to keep my house from looking dirty and disgusting, and that becomes very apparent when I can't supply that constant effort. But it's kind of nice--makes me feel like I do a lot of hard work and contribute lots to the running of our house!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Unique to England?



See the info on the car boot sales below. Kind of weird!


Edith got some really nice cuddles from her nanna, and found the whole even t really relaxing and restful.


Dylan, on the other hand, was a live wire and was hard work to keep up with. Thank goodness for his aunt Cathy!


Wish I could have joined in on this one!

a very busy weekend...

As weekends go for me, it was a very busy one! Martin worked all day on Saturday--9am until about 11:30pm, with a short 1 1/2 hour break in the evening. But we need the money, so it's a good thing. But there was a car boot sale, England's answer to the yard sale, and Martin wanted me to try and sell some more of our baby stuff and a few other bits and pieces. Then, after the car boot sale we went to a ward activity at the church in Scunthorpe.

First, the car boot...

Martin loaded the stuff in the car for me, and we dropped him off at work on our way to Ulceby (the car boot sale was being held in the car park of the Brocklesby Ox, one of the local pubs). Christine was the organizer, and Cathy was selling a bunch of stuff as well. We got there and got set up, paid our entrance fee, and the fun started. I made a profit of £2.50--sold £7.50 worth of stuff, but the entrance fee was a fiver. I was only planning on staying until the kids' lunch and nap time, but some people set up their stuff in the narrow car park exit (in the grand tradition of English parking lots, there's only one way in and out) and so I was trapped in car boot hell until 2 pm. SO not worth the effort. When you figure in the cost of petrol to get to Ulceby, I think we broke even. But we got to visit with the girl in-laws and all of the stuff was in the car and convenient to drop off at our local charity shop.

So we came home, and almost immediately left again. It was the one year anniversary of the ward boundary change, and we had a party to celebrate. I made brownies, which were a big hit, but it was kind of a strange party. A full year on and the same cliques exist. Plus I was exhausted and Dylan was being high maintenence and Edith was demanding to be fed. We left early, with almost no socializing done by me. I was too busy feeding Edith and taking Dylan to the toilet and making sure he didn't nose dive off the stage. In the end, it just wasn't worth the effort. We came home so that we would be able to see Martin for a few minutes before he had to go back to work.

So yeah, super busy and exhausting day! And I'm sure it was equally exhausting for Martin. The private function he worked that evening was a 13th birthday party, and he had 15 screaming teenage girls to cater to all evening.

Sunday was better. Martin gave a talk in sacrament meeting, so Christine came to help with the kids. Church was really good, and Martin did an excellent job on his talk. We had a quick picnic on the grass together, and afterwards we drove to Caenby Corner to pick up a wooden bench with storage that I got on Freecycle. The drive was beautiful!

We got there and tried to load the bench in the car, but it wouldn't fit. We needed an allen key to dismantle it and didn't have one, but we were really close to Hemswell Cliff, where they hold the mother of all car boot sales every Sunday. We popped in to get some tools, and did something aweful and awesome at the same time. Most of the car booters had left already, and had abandoned the stuff that they didn't manage to sell. So we wandered around the field and sifted through the stuff that people had left behind. We got some pretty nice stuff and it was totally free, but I felt so dirty--like I had just been dumpster diving or something. It felt shameful, yet good, too. It must be my scrupulous nature combined with the love of a good deal that I inherited from my mother!

Anyway, we dismantled the bench and brought it home--it's going to look amazing on my upstairs landing and will provide even MORE much needed storage.

Incidentally, we have finished scraping the wallpaper on the top landing and have started painting. What a difference that makes! It has been nasty and dirty, with peeling wallpaper and a few bare walls, for over two years now. I still need to patch the plaster in a few places, but seriously--wow! I'll have to get some pictures so that everyone who saw it "before" can appreciate the "after."

I should have some fun stuff to post about tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

just playing...


She looks so muck like her big brother in this one!


Totally punk rock!


Happily playing in the "treasure basket" that I made when Dylan was just a baby.


Biker in training...


My future heartbreaker. Watch out ladies. This is Dylan's "very very bad" face (from "One fish two fish red fish blue fish"--good ol' Dr. Seuss)

England's green and pleasant land...

I have decided that I need to try to appreciate the beautiful places that I see every day. I need to look for the beauty all around me and try to remember why I wanted to move to England in the first place. I need to look with fresh eyes and show everyone back home the things that I have started to take for granted. England hasn't changed in the last 4 years, so me being bored with it is my own fault! Time to open my eyes and take a second look--




We had a fantastic day on Sunday! Church was ok. Dylan gets a little bit better all the time, which makes the meetings more enjoyable. But the really great part was afterwards, when Christine took us in to Cleethorpes. There was a clipper race going by, and she thought it would be nice for us to see the boats. They were the least exciting part of the whole afternoon. Everything else was great!



There are duck feet painted every ten feet or so on all the paths, and Dylan wanted to stomp on all of them!




Martin and I both got big cuddles from Dylan. He gets more affectionate all the time, and we love it.



Poor Edith spent most of the afternoon in her pushchair because it was SUPER windy and I didn't want her to get too cold. But she had a good time anyway, I think. Plenty to look at and loads of fresh air.



So we had a good walk, Dylan played in a giant sand pit, saw a miniature steam train, fed a few ducks, picked and ate some yummy blackberries, listened to a live band with horns (he loves trumpets), and got to spend loads of quality time with Nanna. And I got KFC--yummy!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Food...

Bubble and squeak is simply leftover mashed potatoes and chopped up cabbage, mixed together and fried (in butter tastes best). Basically, it's hash browns with chopped up cabbage in it. You can use pretty much any leftover vegetable in it though. A lot of "traditional" English dishes use leftovers--I guess because there were a lot of poor working class people here for a long time! Anyway, it's delicious with toast and a fried egg.

Toad in the hole is sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter. You serve it with a little RBG (that's rich brown gravy to all the uninitiated), mashed potatoes and green veggies--usually cabbage. We eat a lot of cabbage at my house.

I of course don't cook English food all the time. But any time I have Martin's grandparents over for dinner I do something very traditional. Cottage pie goes over really well. So does fish pie, and I did a really DELICIOUS one last week, if I do say so myself. The key there is to use smoked fish along with a nice white fish. It sounds nasty, but it's fish and veg in a parsley sauce, baked in the oven with mashed potatoes on top. It's actually really nice. I also make meat pies fairly regularly, though more in the winter than in the summer. Steak and ale or chicken and vegetable. Yummy--I think I'll have to put pie on the menu next week, even though it is a big pain in the bum!

Desserts are where we really go all out. I will be making my Christmas pudding at the end of this month, which is always nice. Prunes and raisins and egg and orange zest, with lots of nuts and brandy. The longer it sits before you eat it, the better. I have last year's pudding on the shelf, but I'm making a new one this year just in case last year's has gone bad. It's served with a brandy and cream sauce, and you pour brandy on top of it and set it on fire before serving.

Martin has made a few summer fruit puddings this year, as well. It's the easiest dessert in the world! Stew a bunch of soft summer fruits with sugar for a few minutes. Drain most of the juice and save it. Line a bowl with stale white bread, crusts cut off. Dump the fruit into the bowl, put something on top to weigh it down, and stick it in the fridge overnight. The juices soak in to the bread, and it it so yummy. Serve it with the fruit juices you saved and loads of fresh cream.

Lots of cream involved in my cooking. I even use it instead of milk to mash my potatoes, when I can afford it. I always have cream in the house!

I like cooking English food when we have Martin's family over. For some reason, it seems to impress them that I can cook "their" food. I guess it is kind of nice that I've learned to make Martin's favorite foods, but that's what I do. I'm a full time housewife, so my job is to cook and clean and take care of kids. I decided that when I started staying at home, I would try to be the best homemaker I could be. You always want to be good at your job, right?

Monday, September 14, 2009

How fragile and precious...

Two things have happened this week that made me so conscious of how fragile my children are.

1) A toddler was hit by a train at a level crossing. He squirmed out of his mother's arms and ran onto the tracks. She saw the whole thing happen. He, of course, died at the scene.

2) A two year old boy in the next village over, Barrow Haven, fell into a pond and drowned yesterday. His parents turned their back for just a minute and he wandered off. They didn't even think to look in the pond, but called the police immediately when they couldn't find him. They did find him, but not in time. CPR was performed, but was unsuccessful.

I love my children so much! And I worry about them all the time. Martin thinks I am over-protective, I know. But I won't let Dylan out our front door until I am out and I totally corral him in our entrance way--absolutely terrified that he will run out in the road and be hit by a car. I make him hold my hand when we are walking--especially in car parks and when crossing the road. One hand is on him at ALL times when we are near water. I have this deep seated and abiding fear that something will happen to him--death OR disfigurement--while I am supposed to be watching him.

I've been thinking about those two kids' poor parents. Both incidents were purely accidents, and nobody was at fault. 2 year olds are FAST and inquisitive and haven't yet developed a sense of danger. But you just know that those mothers are blaming themselves and running over the events of those days over and over again--constantly thinking about what they should have done. You would never forgive yourself for the death of a child.

We don't really tend to think of our own mortality until we have a brush with death. I feel invincible most of the time, and I try not to fixate on how fragile my body is--that would be unhealthy. But when you think about a tiny toddler being hit by a train, well...our bodies are so delicate and so easily crushed. Dylan runs around like a maniac most of the time. He gets bruises and scrapes and cuts, but we don't treat him like he's delicate. Sometimes, though, it's hard not to. It's that knowledge of how fragile the human body is that makes me go out of the house first and block him from the road. I know how precious he is to me, and how it would crush my spirit to see his body broken like that--the body that I made inside my own.

It is always a tragedy when a young person dies. There is always a feeling that their death was untimely and senseless, and just not fair. And when a child dies, it is even worse. But it makes me realize that life is fleeting. I will spend today loving and cherishing my babies, because they could be taken from me at any moment.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Time to move on...

I have been in England too long!

One of my sister's friends is in Scotland. I was blogstalking because she posted a comment on Krystle's blog about being there and I was curious (incidentally, why do people think that's such a shameful thing? I'm totally addicted. Say it with pride, Michelle!). I read a few of her posts, the ones that the kids and time allowed, and it made me sad.

I remember when everything here was fresh and new and quaint to me, the way Scotland is for Michelle. Now a lot of things that I loved about living in England are just the way things are--not exciting or unusual. Just ordinary and boring and sometimes irritating!

I suppose some parts of my life might still seem quaint to my fellow Yankees--especially the ones in Utah. I buy my cakes and some of my meat from a traditional butcher's shop. I live in a nearly 200 year old house. I pick wild fruit from the hedgerows. I drive on the left side of the road. I frequently make delicious foods like Toad in the Hole, bubble and squeak, etc. I go to pubs that are hundreds of years old for meals. But life over here is just life now--there's no sparkle!

But before you get all offended (Emma), I'm not saying I don't like it. I DO! It's just ordinary now. I don't feel like an ex-pat. I feel like I belong here. Sometimes I even forget that I don't.

It's so time to leave!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

To monetize or not to monetize...

Will any of you, my faithful readers, be irritated or annoyed if I go ahead and monetize my blog? It will just mean some adds in the side bar, and although we probably won't get much for it--well, every little helps, right? I just wanted to put it to my readers first.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Unashamedly superficial...

Sometimes when I look at my children they are so beautiful that they take my breath away.

While I was pregnant with Dylan I worried that I would have an ugly baby. Those people who say that all babies are cute are LYING! We've all seen ugly babies--don't pretend you haven't. Then he was born, and I didn't see him right off since the doctors were seeing to him and stitching me up. The first thing I asked was if he was cute, and the midwife reassured me that he was. The next thing I asked was, of course, if he had the Lofley toes.

Over the course of Dylan's first year of life, I was constantly amazed by his beauty. When I learned I was pregnant again, I once more became anxious about having an ugly baby. And it was WORSE the second time around. Having a gorgeous son, what if the second baby wasn't as attractive? It would be horrible to grow up plain with a gorgeous sibling. Of course, those fears proved ungrounded as well. Edith is gorgeous as well, and gets prettier every day.

I know that looks aren't everything, but I am still glad that I got some real lookers. I'd hate it if my kids got all of the "bad" stuff from the combined genes.

In some non-superficial news, we had a surprise visit from Christine yesterday. It was lovely to see her, and we spent the afternoon playing with the kids. Dylan got a train set for his birthday, and it was the best money we ever spent on him. He plays with it for hours!

Edith was laying on her tummy on the bedroom floor, and before we knew it she was up on her knees. She is just weeks away from crawling, and I am SO not ready for that. Yet at the same time I am so excited to see her growing up. I really wanted more time of her just sitting though. Moving is hard work, especially because Dylan is still into everything. Chasing after two kids is going to be even harder work than feedng one and watching the other one being a housewrecker.

I also need some help from all those mommies out there who had big babies. My skin was SO stretched out with Dylan and Edith only made it worse. Darn those nearly 10lb. kids! My stomach above my belly button is OK--just needs a little firming up. I don't even have that many stretch marks. But I've been losing weight since our financial crisis hit, and the more I lose the worse my stomach looks below my belly button. I'm thinking that there might be no help for it, but does anyone have any tips for tightening that up? I'm going to start doing pilates again soon, but is there anything else that will work a tummy tightening miracle? Velecia, I know you had a couple of big ones. Anybody else? Angie, don't even talk to me about this. It wasn't even obvious that you were pregnant with your three kids!

My skin is hanging down so far that is actually causing me discomfort, so I'm thinking that I'll suck up the embarrassment, go see my GP, and ask for a referral for surgery. Wouldn't that be awesome? Having the NHS pay for some skin removal? The skin is horrible! It just hangs there and I can't even feel it anyway. Fingers crossed, because having my gorgeous babies totally ruined my looks!

a package from across the pond...

Edith looks on with interest as Dylan...

eats swedish fish...

plays with his new cars...

tries on his new pants, and eats MORE swedish fish.


Thanks for my birthday package, Grandma!

Family snuggles...

Family snuggles after church are the best!





Presents...


Dylan loves playing in our curtains. He goes behind them, peeks through, and shouts out "ta-da!" He's already quite the little performer!


Dylan never really liked soft toys, but Edith is a big fan of cuddling with a teddy bear now and again.


Dylan's birthday present from his Nanna and Grandad was this Bob the Builder bike. He loves it and wants to ride it every time we leave the house. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite mastered the art of steering yet.


Edith got this dress from her Grandma Cook, and I can't believe how stunning she looks in red--even with her red hair. She looks so adorable sitting up, doesn't she? Already so grown up!


Dylan got a bubble machine from his great grandparents (I suggested it to them) and he absolutely loves it. He squeals like a little girl when we turn it on and dances around in all the bubbles. It's hours of fun for everyone. Edith likes the bubbles and we both like watching Dylan dancing aorund in them.