Monday...

We started our day with a trip to Hull...

...where Edith and Dylan shared a blueberry muffin and enjoyed orange juice, Innocent smoothie, and a sip of Chai Tea Latte.  From a mug bigger than Edith's head.

I took Edith in to have her third of 3 blood tests for von Willebrand's disease.  She had a good time playing in the waiting room.  Going to the women and childrens' hospital rocks--they have the best toys in the waiting room!

We also had a lovely meal at Cathy's house, and the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home (again).

I'm sensing a theme here.

Last week...

Sunday involved church, of course.  Then we enjoyed the best of both worlds--a visit with the Mundays AND a quiet night in...

The kids played so well together.

Emma let Dylan borrow the Mr. Incredible suit, and he's been wearing it every time we let him since then!

Dylan fell asleep on the drive home.

So did Edith.

Then Martin and I vegged out and watched telly all night.  Well, until 11pm or so.

Perfect day, really.

On my mind, but not too deeply...

I've been having a bit more quiet time lately.  Not because the kids are quiet, of course.  Having pushed their bed time back by half an hour, if anything they are a bit more noisy and hyper than usual.  But on Friday and Saturday nights, I didn't turn on the telly or listen to music at all.  Like a good little Relief Society teacher, I was preparing my lesson (it went quite well, thanks).

I really enjoyed the peace and quiet, and I've resolved to have more telly-free time in the future.  Maybe just 1 night a week or something, since I AM at home on my own 4 nights a week.

Anyway, this extra quiet time has given me some good thinking time, and here's what's been on my mind lately:

It really pisses me off that people think Martin is gay.  Ok, so I (and my posse of gay friends) thought he was gay when we first met.  To be honest, that's probably what attracted me to him in the first place.  In the grand tradition of "damaged" women everywhere, I used to be hopelessly drawn to emotionally unavailable men.  I've often wondered how many guys I made out wi--erm, kissed who actually turned out to be gay.  I can think of at least two that I know of for sure.  But anyway, I digress.  I'm totally ok with people thinking Martin is gay--until they find out he's got a wife and two kids.  Also, it's especially not ok to continue thinking he's playing for the other team once they've met me.  That's so incredibly insulting to me.  Yes, Pete.  I'm talking to you, man!

Watching Edith growing up is so bittersweet.  She gets more and more beautiful, and I just keep getting older.  50% of her looks came from me.  Sometimes I wish I could have kept them.  I get a little bit jealous.  It's only going to get worse as she gets older, because when she's 15 I'll be 45 (oh boy, pushing 50.  It's looming).  She'll be peaking and I'll be troughing at the same time.  Why oh why couldn't I have had another son?  It's a good thing I love her so much...

I love gardening in England.  Seriously you don't normally even need to water anything.  But it took me a while to figure out which were weeds and which were flowers--totally different weeds here than in Utah.  Except for dandelions. Those seem to be universal.

The new car is so fantastic!  It's such a treat to drive, and it's nice to be able to drive somewhere with confidence that the car isn't going to break down or fall apart.  I need to get some new shades to wear when I drive.  It's kind of funny, really.  Martin and I now fight over whose turn it is to drive.

And that's what's on my mind right now.

See, I told you it wasn't too deep.

Pictures of our weekend activities to follow.

Kiddie pics...

Cute kisses--and man, my eyebrows look fantastic, don't they?

Long and lean, just like daddy.

Best mates!

My little beauties...

Charlotte gets giant cuddles from Dylan and Edith.

Piggy-tails!

Cheese!

Bed bouncing.

One of those days...

I love my job.  No, really.  I do.  But every once in a while I just get fed up with being a full time stay-at-home mom.  Today was definitely one of those days.  But more so.  Today I was just fed up of having kids at all.

The last 24 hours have brought urine and squash on my carpet, crayon on my walls, the iPod speaker getting dropped (and possibly broken), toys left on the floor and stepped on (I hate Lego) and a creeping and pervasive mess in my house. 

I just feel as though the kids are gradually turning everything we own into absolute crap!

I remember one day not long after my grandpa died when I broke a bowl.  It was an accident.  I opened the cupboard and it fell onto the ceramic tile floor in my parents' kitchen.  My mom screamed at me, and then she started sobbing.  Her parents had bought her those dishes when she got married, and she was devastated when that bowl broke.  I thought she was being ridiculous at the time.

I so get that now.

Nobody tells you when you start this whole parenting thing that all your stuff will be systematically destroyed.  You know, it would probably be really good birth control if they did.

I love my little mess makers, but jeez louise, enough already.

Tomorrow should be a better day.

A sound financial decision...

Things that are wrong with our car and cost of fixing them:

2 new tires:                          £100
Front end suspension:          £250 (inc. parts and labor)
Blowing exhaust:                  £100 (estimated)
Wing mirror:                        £25
Brakes:                               £125 (estimated)
Climate control fan switch:  £50 (estimated)
Road Tax:                          £105
MOT test:                           £35
Ignition repairing:  Not a clue!  Just started having problems last week.

Grand total:  £790 (plus the cost of fixing the ignition, whatever that would be)

Total cost of new car which we just bought:  £800

This includes the tax until September.  The MOT is good until February 2012.  The new car is 4 years newer than the one we currently drive, will cost about £40 less per year to insure, is in a lower tax bracket, and gets better mpg. than the Nissan we are currently driving.  The bodywork has a few bumps and scratches, but it is in much better shape than the old one.

Plus, it is a Seat Leon.  I have wanted one of these cars for about 4 years now. 

We'll be picking it up from Heanor first thing Wednesday morning, and leaving the Nissan with a scrap dealer in Nottingham.  I can hardly wait to start driving this new car. 

Of course, the most sound financial decision of all would be to do without a car entirely, which is very feasible for us.  Martin walks to work, we live super close to a Tesco, Dylan's school takes less than 5 minutes to walk to.  But we have that 35 mile round trip journey to church every Sunday.  The church isn't on a direct bus route so we would have to change buses twice, and leave home 2 hours early and church 30 minutes early every week.  AND would cost us about £15 a week to do it.

The best decision for our finances isn't necessarily the best decision for our family.

And, well, it's a really pretty car.

Ewww...

I know my kids are entirely too old for me to blog about their poop, but here goes anyway.

Edith wouldn't come in the house this evening for bedtime cartoons.  That's very unusual!  She just stood out in the middle of the garden and cried.

When I went to collect her, I discovered a big old mess.  She had to be sprayed down in the bathtub.

I guess I will stop blogging about my kids' bowel movements when they are no longer the most interesting part of my day.  But scraping human waste out of Edith's boots sure seems newsworthy to me.

Motherhood is such a treat sometimes.

ARGH!!!

Dylan has an annoying new habit.  It's even worse than the incessant "Why?"

He asks a question (or makes an observation). 

We answer the question (or acknowledge the observation, because he's Dylan and he won't shut up until you acknowledge his comments).

Then, 10 seconds later, HE ASKS THE QUESTION AGAIN!

Seriously, the kid is making me crazy.

Oh, and for some reason Edith has started freaking out if she doesn't have her feet covered. 

My little neurotics.

They say the apple never falls far from the tree, right?  So who's the nut job--me or Martin?

Ooooh, don't answer that, ok?

Girl time...

Dylan is sleeping over at the Mundays' house tonight.  Emma kindly invited him over, and I couldn't say no.  So Edith and I had the house to ourselves for dinner, bath, and bed time.

At first, it was a bit strange.  She cried when Dylan left, but perked right up when I let her sit on the kitchen counter while I cooked dinner.  She loves to do that--mostly because I give her pieces of vegetable and chunks of cheese, etc. while I am cooking.  So we cooked dinner together, did a little bit of shopping while it was in the oven (cottage pie, and one of my best ones yet), then came home and ate.  She watched "In The Night Garden" instead of "Octonauts" for her bedtime cartoon, and got to sit on my lap the entire time.  Then she had the bath to herself and got lotion rubbed on her cute little body before we got jammies on.  We read the story that she chose ("Good Baby / Bad Baby) whilst lying side by side on Dylan's bed.  She got to hold my hand while we said bedtime prayers.

Edith was in heaven.

I liked it, too.

Sometimes I miss the attention I was able to pay to Dylan when he was an only child, and I feel guilty that I can't lavish that kind of attention on Edith.  She never has me to herself.  So the rare occasions when I do have her on her own (she usually sleeps the entire time Dylan is at school) are such a treat. 

The thing that amazed me the most was how much more she talked tonight.  Seriously, she was a little chatterbox.  I guess she just can't get a word in edgewise when her big brother is around.

Edith has always called me either "mama" or "mom."  She learned it from Dylan, who always calls me "mom."  But just this week she has started calling me "mommy."  It just makes me want to pick her up and cuddle her every time.

Having just said all of this, I DO prefer having them both around.  When they aren't fighting, they play together so beautifully.  Every once in a while, Dylan asks Edith if she will be his best friend.  And she always replies, "Yes, Did-dun." 

Girls' nights are fun, but I prefer it when our little family is complete.

Awww...

Today my son stripped down to his birthday suit and ran through the sprinklers. 

I looked at his little pile of clothes on the kitchen floor.

I watched him tentatively sticking his hands and feet in the water.

I listened to him shrieking with pleasure.

I melted a little bit.

Sometimes my kids make me all gooey inside.

A revelation...

Sometimes my bathroom really reeks. 

The smell seems to be coming from the toilet, so I often bleach it and scrub it to get rid of the smell.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

Last night, as I was getting the kids into the bath, I looked down into the (empty) laundry hamper.  It was wet.  I wondered aloud, how on earth did the hamper get wet?  And Dylan told me...

"Sorry mom, I accidentaly peed in there."

So the times when the bleach worked probably coincided with laundry day.

Sometimes it is awesome having a not-quite-four-year-old boy living in the house.

Hey, at least now I know.

Right?

Empty nest...

I took dad to the train station this morning, and by now he should be winging his way over the Atlantic ocean.  Back to my mom, who he has been missing terribly, and back to my brother and sisters over there.  Oh, and his tomato plants.  He's been pretty concerned about those!

I have to be honest, I was a bit worried about having him here.  Dad and I haven't had much to say to each other since my rather difficult teen-age years.  But we never ran out of things to say, and I enjoyed every minute of his visit.  Matter of fact, I would have been happy to have him stay a bit longer.

The kids have also enjoyed getting to know their grandpa face-to-face.  They were very affectionate with him, which made him very happy.  And he told me they are sweet kids and I am doing a good job with them, which is all I ever want to hear from my family members.

Now Dylan is back at school and Edith is napping.  Martin is at work.  My front room is tidy for the first time in about 2 weeks.  I've caught up on all my recorded telly for the last week.  Just another hour or so worth of back-ironing to complete.  Life is back to normal and under control.  It's nice, but kind of sad at the same time.  An upheaval is wonderful when it comes in the form of a mini-vacation and a visit from family.

We will miss you, dad.  Bon voyage!

Holiday: Part 3 (or boredom, anxiety, panic and relief)...

We got an early start on Thursday because we had to clean the holiday cottage before we left.  Christine and I cleaned up while Martin loaded the car.  Then it was a greasy full English fry-up at the truck stop and the open road.

We took the scenic way home, which was absolutely beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was a bit TOO scenic.  I had my Britishness test scheduled in Sheffield at 1:30pm, and was supposed to meet Noelle (she was taking it as well) at Meadowhall at 12:30pm.  I did a bit of studying on the way there, but started to get more anxious as it got later and later.  At 12:25pm I sent her a text to let her know that I was running late.  I asked her for the postcode of the testing centre as we had Laurie and Christine's sat-nav for the trip, I programmed it in, and we weren't going to arrive there until 1:47pm. 

This is when panic ensued.

Martin drove like the wind.  Seriously, he was SPEEDY!  Then the battery in the sat-nav (btw, that's GPS for all you Yanks out there) started to die and we were in the middle of Sheffield with no idea where we were going.  Every time we had to stop at a red light, I had a mini panic attack!  Noelle was texting me updates, including what the building looked like, where to go once inside the building, how many people were ahead of her in line to pay and register, etc.  Those texts were a God-send!

I finally bolted up the stairs to the testing centre at 1:37pm, just as Noelle (the last in line) stood up to take her seat.  I got registered, and even had the chance to use the toilets (been holding it for the last 45 minutes, no time to stop!) before the test began.

All that stress, and it only took me 6 minutes to complete the 25 questions on the test.  I was the second one done--Noelle beat me by about a minute.  We waited for our results, and both of us had passed.  Good news--I didn't waste all that time and the £35!

I had been so worried that we weren't going to make it to the testing centre that I didn't even feel nervous about the test itself.

Some of the questions that I remember from the test were:

What percentage of the UK's population live in England?

What are the two main purposes of the United Nations?

What percentage of children in the UK attend a private school?

By what percentage has the population in the UK grown since 1971?

Does the UK have an international football team?

Just to name a few, of course.  They didn't tell you how many questions you had missed afterwards--you either passed or failed.  I think I might have missed as many as 4, but think I only missed probably 2.  It was easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

Met up with the family at a pub where they were just getting finished with lunch, drove back to Lincolnshire, dropped Christine off at her house, came home, fixed dinner, got the kids in bed, then collapsed.

Holidays are hard work!

Holiday, part 2 (or, This was such a perfect day)...

The kids let us sleep until nearly 7am, which always feels like a special treat.  We went downstairs, made Christine a cup of coffee and brought it to her in bed so she could function for the day.  Ate a quick breakfast of cold cereal, got ready, and left the cottage at 8:45am.

We went on a fun drive to a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere and went on a hike to Christine's favorite place in the lake district--a small waterfall that flows into Haweswater.  It was approximately 5 miles round trip, and Dylan walked the whole way.  Edith walked the whole way there and part of the way back.  The kids were absolutely amazing.  Seriously, they blew me away!  The waterfall was beautiful, and we enjoyed a small snack when we got there.  But the highlight of the hike were the small puddles on the trail that were full of tadpoles.  The kids were totally entranced.  I thought they were pretty cool, too.

We had a delightful picnic on the village green when we got back to the car, then we drove to the chocolate factory in Orton and all had icecream--Nanna's treat. 

Afterwards, we went for a lovely drive around Lake Windermere.  Up to Ambleside and then over the hills through the middle of nowhere on a road that hardly deserved to be called such.  We got stuck behind the WORST DRIVER IN BRITAIN.  I am not exaggerating.  That woman should have her license revoked simply because she does not have enough common sense to be allowed on the road.  We made a big loop and ended up back at Ambleside, stopping beside a small stream to have a quick paddle in the water and cool our feet off/let the car have a little break.  Then it was back to the cottage, corned beef hash (home-made, of course) for dinner, a trip to the local playground for the children, and bed again.

Martin and Christine helped me to study for my Britishness test and we all had hot chocolates and snacks.

It was even a good night's sleep!

Holiday: Part 1 (or, It's probably only funny if you're Mormon)...

We were supposed to leave bright and early on Tuesday morning for our mini-break to the Lake District.  Bright and early turned into 9:45 am as we packed up everything we'd need and then the kids and I sat in the car for about 15 minutes while Martin searched the house for his temple recommend.  It was removed from his wallet by the kids.  Don't be sympathetic--he shouldn't leave his wallet down where the kids can reach it!

He never did find the thing.  It is "somewhere in the house," which currently doesn't bode well...

We drove to Ulceby to pick up my mother-in-law.  Martin left her toiletries bag sitting on top of the car, and we added about 45 minutes onto our journey by turning around and trying to find it.

Are you getting the picture that Martin was batting a thousand on Tuesday? 

Surprisingly, this did not irritate me in the slightest.  I really mean that, too.  I am totally shocked that I wasn't mad at him.  I wasn't even mildly annoyed.  Just amused.

The drive from Ulceby to the Preston Temple in Chorley was pretty uneventful, except Martin missed the junction for the motorway that takes you to Preston, so we had to switch on the sat nav (thanks, Christine) and find an alternate route.  Found out later, incidentally, that it was set to "shortest distance," not "fastest route."  That explains a lot!

We were going to try to make the 11am session.  Made the 2pm session instead.

Got to the temple, Christine took the kids, and we went inside.  I showed them my recommend with no drama.  Martin had to jump through some hoops.  They can verify the fact that he has a temple recommend electronically but then have to contact our bishop or stake president to make sure that his recommend hasn't been confiscated by them.  They also have to see picture ID to make sure he is who he says he is.  So there we are, sitting in the Temple, and the only ID Martin has is his personal alcohol license--a council issued document which authorizes him to sell alcohol.

I found this hilarious.  Martin thought it was kind of ironic.  Not really sure how the temple worker felt about the whole situation.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time at the temple.  And I have resolved to never let that much time lapse without a visit.  It had been nearly 3 years.  We've had recommends the whole time, but haven't made it there since Edith was born.  That is way too long!

Got out of the temple, and Christine was a bit frazzled.  We got in the car to finish our journey to the holiday cottage in Tebay (pronounced tee-bay) and had snacks and drinks.  Everyone calmed down and we enjoyed the stunning scenery.

The holiday cottage was small, but nice.  I cooked some pasta for dinner, we went for a little walk around the village, then we got the kids bathed and put in bed.  They settled in immediately and didn't make a peep about sleeping in a strange place, probably helped by the fact that they had their duvets from home on their beds.

Martin and I went to pick up a few essentials from the shop, and returned 3 hours later.  We got lost in Kendal and then got lost coming out again, too.  Martin was pretty stressed out about it.

So yeah, that was the first day of our mini-holiday adventure.  Eventful, slightly stressful, but still nice.

Fail...

I tried to take the kids to the beach yesterday.

Dylan had a good time.  Edith was miserable and she kind of ruined it for the rest of us.  I spent the whole time carrying her around, and threw my back out as a result (she is small for her age, but she's still two years old and quite heavy)!  Today has been painful.

What a waste of petrol and parking money.

Especially because when we got home, both kids stripped down to their underwear, planted peas out in the back garden, and had a fantastic time. 

Incidentally, why does my mother-in-law always show up when my kids are dirty and only dressed in pants and the house is a total wreck?

Martin started a week's holiday today.  We don't have anything going on tomorrow, but we leave for the Lake District on Tuesday morning and I am taking my "Life in the UK" test on Thursday (on our way home).  Martin and I are going out on a date on Friday night--hopefully to celebrate my pass on the test.  Then he's working on Saturday.  Dad will be here on Sunday.  I'm also giving my first lesson in Relief Society and singing in Sacrament meeting.  It's going to be a busy week.

Fingers crossed that little miss grumpy pants cheers up before we go!

Family photos

A few weeks ago we had some photos taken, and I am just now getting around to posting a few--what a slacker!  I'm really pleased with the way they turned out.  We got some particularly lovely pictures of the kids and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Over the river and through the woods...

Elsham Hall lambing Sunday...