Gives new meaning

...to the term "closet eater"

And...

We're back. Not as in "back" to the States quite yet, but "back" at posting. Well, at least for today.  I have been A-W-F-U-L at posting - you know, only a three and a half month hiatus.  I can't even say that I have been so busy, because frankly, I haven't. The truth is, I'm just lazy. So, to coincide with my laziness, here are the latest happenings (and not necessarily in chronological order... as that would take a lot of effort):

-My parents visited us in March for 10 days. We had a great time, even with the insanely cold weather. I think the highlight was our trip to Ireland, and in particular, the Guinness Storehouse. We also visited the coastal towns of Malahide and Howth, taking in their quaint little villages and a pint or two. We (okay, maybe just I) also ran from a peacock in the beautiful Kew Gardens outside of London and saw the prisons within the the Tower of London.

-Finally took a day trip to Windsor Castle - the opulence is unimaginable. Truly breathtaking, but also a bit sickening when you realize the amount of money trapped within the Queen's weekend home.

-We have now officially been to the London Zoo 15 times. No need for a map, and Charlotte can point you in the direction of the "Lolo's" (aka Gorillas) any day. Thank goodness I bought the yearly membership on our first visit.

-So far this summer, Charlotte has had her first haircut, inhaled her first ice cream cone, was a flower girl in her aunt Meg's wedding (sorry it didn't work out as planned Meg!), and attended her first professional baseball game - lucky girl saw her uncle Timmy pitch at Fenway!

-After a three week trip turned into 4 weeks in the States in which we saw lots of family and friends, we settled back into our routine for five days before flying to Portugal for a few days. What a lovely place! We travelled to Obidos, which is about one hour north of Lisbon. A relaxing and "just what we needed" short holiday. Tim played golf at the course along the coast (says it is right up there in beauty with Ko'olau in Hawaii), Charlotte marvelled at the ocean (after an initial hatred) and I enjoyed a nice glass or two of Sangria. No complaints here in the least!

Easter bunny

Dear Charlotte,

I'm sorry the Easter bunny did not arrive until Tuesday -  from what I hear, he was a bit busy this year...

Phone call

So I received quite an interesting phone call this afternoon. It started with the caller on the other end of the line saying hello and asking me to recite my phone number. "Ummm... Didn't you just ring me" was my second thought. Sadly, my initial thought was "I have no clue what my phone number is... Don't you know they are 11digits long?"  That one extra digit gets me every time. Well, this woman, Julie, began to explain that she used to hold this said phone number and she moved two years ago and hasn't received a call since. Maybe she should check with the phone company... Or reassess her relationships.
Julie then asked if I had received any post (mail)for her. After inquiring as to what her former address was, it was determined that it was in a neighboring town and so I replied that I had not received any post for her. To which she answered, "Well of course you wouldn't receive any post for me as that wouldn't even make sense." Okay, just making sure there wasn't any confusion in our differing English languages. Julie then proceeded to ask me to forward any mail to her former neighbors and friends Joyce or Saygred (lovely German woman who moved to London a number of years ago).  Seriously, am I on Punked? Julie mentioned that she enjoyed my American accent. She has relations in the States ya know - her cousin used to live in Rhode Island (near the snow and earthquakes) but has since passed away. She was only 65, a very tragic death. But her children live there and she hopes to visit one day soon. She owes it to them since their mothers' sad passing.
In asking where I lived now with her old phone number, she said it was a bit more happening than her former residence (mind you, Julie lived in that one residence for over 50 years... So I am assuming she is fairly ancient). She wondered if I had ventured to the Savior parish not far from me... lovely pastor who resides there.
I came away with the conversation with a new phone number for Julie, should I receive any important calls; an 0800 number to pass along to any hoax calls; and one new best friend.

Little miss mullet

Er, I mean, little miss muffin. Sort of.

I know she won't remember, but the pictures will remain. She is total "business in the front and party in the back". We flip-flop from "I'm cutting her hair myself right now" to "let's wait, the front has to catch up soon, right?". Charlotte has been blessed with my straight, thin and somewhat stringy hair. Poor girl... For now, I have come up with a temporary solution - pigtails. These sometimes last 30 mins and on other days, 30 seconds. At least she can't be mistaken for a little boy with her pigtails... right?

before

after

blood pudding

I vowed NEVER to eat blood pudding, blood sausage, anything with a head (or feet) still attached - mystery meat of any kind while here in the UK. Well... I've gone against my word yet again. And to be truthful, it was a pleasant surprise.

Tim and I went out with friends of ours, Sarah and Lloyd, this past weekend (sans children). We visited a great tapas restaurant in Soho and since Lloyd is English, he had some insider info into a few of the English (with a Spanish twist) "meat" dishes that we had never been brave enough to order in the past. The blood pudding was more than tolerable, it actually had a lovely smokey quality to it. Almost made me forget I was eating congealed pig's blood. Almost. The second dish that piqued our interest was pork belly. I hear all about this latter delightful treat on the food network and the travel channel, but had never had the nerve to try it personally. Unfortunately, this might be a new addiction. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Though I swear my pants tightened the second this delectable treat hit my lips.

So while Tim and I dipped our toes into the English delicacy pool, Charlotte had her own adventurous moment. Well, an American experience would be a better way to describe it. She had... ready for it?... Pancakes! With maple syrup and berries! She ate an entire kid's portion yesterday. Perhaps not that impressive... but being in the 9th percentile for weight, this little stinker can sure hold her own at 18 lbs 9 oz.

Future Rocket Scientist?

For sure...

Wow - I love walking blindly into walls. That is, until it hurts and I cry.

Mom, did you know that banging your head on the cabinets is more fun while wearing a colander?

379 days down, 352 to go...

If my math is correct. It is difficult to acknowledge that we have lived in London for over a year now, and our days here now seem numbered. Our adventurous plans to travel last year seemed to fizzle a bit and were postponed until our second year. Well, that time is NOW so we have to get on it. BTW - traveling with a toddler is not an easy task... as we so naively thought otherwise before our first trip. But we are determined to do it this year regardless.

We are reviewing our remaining days here with mixed feelings - we are anxious to get back into our home and have Charlotte play in our yard, but we also like the freedom of not having to do house maintenance/yard work, etc. We look forward to Charlotte getting to see her cousins (and cousins-to-be) , aunts/uncles/grandparents more frequently, but we also realize that the time we spend now is much longer in duration. After being in the States over Christmas, we don't look forward to the car seat wrangling that occupied so much time. We found ourselves missing the ability to walk everywhere! I even missed the tube (Tim would vehemently disagree with this statement). 

So if you want to come visit, you have approximately 351 days and 10 hours to do so. And if you do, please bring a box of US Cheerios with you. 

Little bugger

So...er...ahem...ummm... I found out just LAST week that the term little 'bugger" isn't quite the endearing term here in the UK as it is in the States in reference to these little rug-rats we call children. I use it all the time in reference to Charlotte and her miniature friends- in emails with my moms' group friends, at the GP's office, the market, on the Tube - just about anywhere in public you could imagine. Now, I don't know if my American friend was trying to save me further public humiliation or rather, just a "hey, guess what I found out today" heads-up, but I am now the recipient of this insider information. What to do with this new information is the question of the week. It puts a bit of a kink in my vocabulary, as I'm now at a loss for words when referencing said peanut. I mean, I guess I could call her Charlotte and her friends by their birth names, but really, where's the fun in that? I have to run... I have a long list of mates in which to apologize. Oh bugger!

Turkey Day

So it may not have been a "typical" Thanksgiving day, but we had a great little celebration way over here in London. We had Fr. Cool visiting last week, so the contemplation of making a full turkey dinner easily became a bit more justifiable. Cooking for 3.5 people seems to be more of a celebratory atmosphere than just 2.5 people - this latter contingency would have had turkey (deli meat) sandwhiches. But alas, our first Thanksgiving here in London proved to be a good day.

We started off our day with a mini-beat music class, the gym and then off to the Sigmund Freud Museum. I mean, doesn't everyone start their Thanksgiving with a psychoanalytic adventure? And while we didn't eat until 8:30 (London time), it was right in the middle of the US celebration. So, technically speaking, I wasn't that overdue with my 7:00 estimate. Crying babies take priority... sorry burnt sweet potato casserole.

My first "hosting" of Thanksgiving included: all homemade everything... except for the wine. So here goes: chunky cranberry sauce with lemon zest, stuffing -Martha Stewart's recipe, sweet potato casserole (not too sweet, with nutmeg and a hint of brown sugar), gravy, broiled asparagus, a boneless turkey breast wrapped in bacon and a pumpkin cheesecake. Upon opening the butcher paper for the turkey breast, I was surprised to find it gloriously wrapped in bacon. What a wonderful and unexpected discovery. I'm sure you would agree with me in thinking more foods should be encompassed by a little pig now and again. If Hostess embraced this sentiment, perhaps Twinkies would still be around.

disclaimer: Charlotte only has her pacifier because she kept crying when we entered Freud's study (the "couch" room) and was scared for the remainder of the tour.

hand, foot and mouth disease = 1, family trip to prague =0

The last few weeks, we have seen one infestation after another - illnesses not rodents (half-thankfully). Colds, Tonsillitis and now Hand, Foot and Mouth disease have reared their ugly head in our household and these are only including Charlotte's poor little maladies. Over the past 5 weeks, I have been feeling so sorry for this little bugger (and to be wholeheartedly honest, a bit for myself too) as she just can't seem to get well. We have visited NHS on a weekly basis. This latest bout sounds a bit animalistic, but I can assure you it is not the same as Foot and Mouth Disease. I have Googled, Wikipedia'ed and WebMD'ed like crazy to ensure this is in fact, the truth. I almost feel as though I should receive an honorary MD* degree at this point. (*Disclaimer - Just kidding - to all those real MD's out there.)

I question where Charlotte has picked up these illnesses - could it have been from one of the other 10 rotating toddlers at the creche at the gym? or from one of her two playgroups where these toddlers steal each others sippy cups? Music class where sucking on the bells is way more fun than ringing them? Certainly not from the wheel of her stroller which I found her stealthily licking the other day...

In lieu of this latest medical misfortune, we decided to postpone our much-anticipated trip to Prague. To do so, it only required two doctor visits, a letter request, two hotel cancellations, two separate Newsagents fax transmittals, and four phone calls to British Airways and we are now able to re-book at a later time. Anyone up for a trip to Prague before August 15, 2013?

I have been asking myself repeatedly, "When will all of these illnesses end?"... to which I clearly know the answer. This is merely just the beginning... ("wait until she starts school" is the whisper I imagine hearing from all of the parents reading this)

We did manage to get out of the house and into the city this weekend. Christmas Festival at Southbank Centre - yep, Christmas is everywhere here already!

Cornwall

We were fortunate to have our friends Kati and Brett (and their two cute little buggers) come and visit us last week. It was so nice to see some familiar faces from home here in London. It almost makes you forget where you are when you are with your friends. Kati even said that she kept forgetting to take in the scenery because it was as if we were "home" back in the states rather than in England. We headed out to the coast, Cornwall to be exact (a 5+ hour drive with 3 kids under the age of 3 in the car) with Brett as the brave navigator. I have to say that he was cool, calm and collected during the entire trek. Not an easy fete with pouring rain, three car seats and oh yeah, driving on the opposite side of the road! I sometimes have trouble just following the road when I'm walking it, nevertheless trying to drive it. ha

The southwest coast of England is gorgeous. Not a bad location for Charlotte's first ever beach experience. Reminds me of a mix between the cliffs of southern California and the rocky Maine coast. Even a bit of rain couldn't spoil the scenery this breathtaking. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Happy Birthday

And... she's 1! Little miss sunshine turned 1 today and though so cliche to say,it is amazing how quickly the first year seemed to pass us by. While some days were long (think of sunset at 3:30 pm, winter and lots of rain), this past year has been so insanely fast - I am finding it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that Charlotte turned 365 days old today. Reflecting upon this time, both Tim and I have gained many a new life lessons/insights into our new life as parents. A few of these are as follows:

1. Waking up before the sun rises isn't always a bad thing, especially when the alarm awaiting you has a giant grin on her face
2. "Free time" is a term we no longer use - it's easier that way
3. Kids are a lot of work, but knowing you are helping to shape their future makes each moment worthwhile...and a little bit scary
4. calling your spouse mom-ma-ma-ma or dad-da-da-da sounds really normal after a few days
5. We're going to start selling empty boxes and label them as "toys"
6. We don't have a car, but can easily identify the 2012 model strollers
7. Boogers and messy diapers lose "grossness" when they belong to your own child
8. (Off-key) Singing in public is totally acceptable when it is labeled as "Rhyme Time"
9. No one can make her laugh like her dad
10. We wouldn't trade a single day of it

Happy birthday, peanut butter...

celebrity (near)sightings

What a productive 10+ months we have had here in London thus far. To date, we have personally seen John Goodman (old news, walking along the Thames back in February wearing a fabulous grey sweatsuit), Ricky Gervais (power walking in a Hanes tee and mesh shorts, walkman in hand), Chris Martin (no big deal - just the lead.singer.of.Coldplay running along my street) and Boy George. Okay, this last one is up for debate. This most recent sighting was last weekend at the Sir Richard Steele Pub in Steele's Village while casually enjoying a beer and feeding Charlotte dinner. Don't judge, children are allowed at pubs. And we weren't technically IN the pub, we were seated outside in the concrete garden. Back to the story... Upon his entrance, Tim and I (eyes wide open) glanced at each other and stealthily turned away to plan our photo opp. After further review and Tim's paparazzi moment, I concluded that it is NOT a one Sir Boy George. Tim and Charlotte swear it is he, as Google (old reliable Google) confirmed he once lived in walking distance to this pub. And Charlotte couldn't take her eyes off of his striped pants and platform shoes. Can you blame her? You decide.

*Add Tim Burton to the list...ate brunch with him on Sunday. Okay, not "with" him... but he was sitting at the table next to ours.

Bonjour

Now add an "e" in between the "bon" and the "jour" and say it with a Julia Child tone. You are now privy to my exact butchering of the French language. Needless to say, it is only one of two French words in my entire arsenal of french vocabulary. Come to think of it, I think Bonejour is a dog store in Philadelphia. Happy to see I inquired my phenomenal pronunciation from a pet store in Olde City.

This past weekend, we discovered that one can only mask being an American in Paris for so long when the first word you're required to say sounds like it evolved from another planet. However, we only felt very American in Paris until Tim overheard a southerner at the hotel check-in say very loudly and proudly "MERCY, MERCY" to the receptionist. [insert Merci, Merci for those non-french speaking individuals] After that, we considered ourselves seasoned Europeans. I mean, I now call undergarments by their proper name - pants. This coming after a bit of an embarrassing tailoring conversation last week. But that's for another day...

We had a great time in Paris - what a beautiful city filled with rich culture, architecture and the best macarons on the planet. Eating an entire baguette for dinner (not to mention loads of cheese, charcuterie, red wine and grapes) has never been more appealing. Even Charlotte got in on the culinary action with a Croissant. Aside from eating, we saw some of the major attractions the city has to offer - beautiful gardens, The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. A few pics to document Charlotte's first "holiday" are below.

Laduree, mmm macarons

Eiffel Tower 

dinner in our hotel room 

boat tour on the Seine

favorite places

For the last three mornings, while I have been preparing breakfast for Charlotte, she has been scampering away from her toys in the living room (reception room to the English folk) for a much more intriguing and prime location. This is where I have found her on each occasion:

Melts my heart... gushy, gushy

Dear Abby,

My mom keeps trying to feed me [sneak in] various types of food, many of which I try to splatter all over the floor, table and curtains for my friends, the ants, to enjoy. Ever heard of quinoa? If not, keep it that way. My mom says it is super healthy, a great source of protein and the "whole grains" won't bother my tummy. Well, it bothers my taste buds so I hope it disappears from our house as quickly as it appeared in my diet. Oh yeah, and hiding them in homemade applesauce is for rookies... What should I do?

Sincerely,

 Charlotte "I want sugary snacks" Anne

___________________________________

Dear  Charlotte "I want sugary snacks" Anne,

Listen to your mother. End of conversation.

Sincerely,
Abby

Peaches and butter

100% natural and organic. Who would have thought peaches and butter would make such a terrific hair gel? I think she may be on to something here... Any takers?

Olympic fever

Olympic junkies. Yep, that's us. We just can't get enough and it doesn't hurt that they are taking place right down the street. Well, okay a few miles away, but still "local". I am a bit bummed that we have only been able to watch one event thus far in-person - the women's marathon. My attempts to purchase daily released tickets for other events has proven futile. Hopefully we'll be able to attend the men's marathon on Sunday. At least I can say that I attended the 2012 Olympics and our future Olympian (Charlotte seems to have an affinity for water) has pictures to prove her attendance.

a soggy start to our Olympics viewing

Future Gold Medalist? Or just Cadbury chocolate junkie...

Go team ?

On a humorous note, Tim and I had a very interesting swimming discussion. I believe this was during the men's 400m Freestyle finals - (preface: after watching every swimming event occurring during the Olympics thus far... and every Olympics prior to 2012) Tim casually stated, "I don't even know why they call this race the freestyle, as if anyone is going to choose to doggie paddle or breaststroke while everyone else is flying by with this stroke." Oh Timmy...I guess neither Ian "Thorpedo" Thorpe nor Gary Hall Jr. made much of an impression on you growing up. ha

Stonehenge

Okay, so not the real Stonehenge, but how cool is this? In the spirit of the Olympics and festivals across London, Sacrilege (a life-sized inflatable bouncy replica of Stonehenge) visited our local park. Even after nearly getting pounced by very enthusiastic "children" (aka, other parents trying to show off their glorified high school gymnastics skills), Charlotte enjoyed every minute of it. While I hope to visit the real Stonehenge one day soon, I'm sure it will not compare in the least to a bouncy castle. Ahem, you know, for Charlotte.