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...