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we went to a national trust property whilst up north... cragside. very interesting. MC was a bit cranky and destructive, so she and i didn't tour much of the house (the first in england to be powered by electricity, apparently) so we hung out outside and went for a nature stroll down a nice path. the air was soooo fresh there.. made me want to go camping. speaking of camping - i think i'm the only person i know who loves to do that. i hate that. 
back from northumberland where we spent a long holiday weekend with A's parents. we had a great time and MC seemed to really enjoy spending time with her ama and ampa. she would go into their room every morning and say 'morning ama' and 'morning ampa'.. it's so beautiful up there and A's family is really fun to hang out with. a good time was had by all. picture is of MC standing outside on the windowsill to their kitchen. you can only do things like that when you're that little!
i am pleased to report that we got a good nights sleep last night... sound as a pound. thank gosh. now click here and read this comic. it's hilarious!
i've decided that the time has come for me to finally put an online portfolio together just in case the world isn't sure what i'm capable of. or just in case someone rich, powerful yet strangely lacking an online presence needs a designer. i'm sharing it with you because i want to ... you'll notice it's nowhere near ready, especially given that it has no proper words! but thus far - what do you think? would you hire me? designerforhire.
last night was a nightmare. a big fat no sleep hazy 6 hours with a pushy, squirmy toddler who could not settle. A got a bit more than i did - but not very much. lucky he was not the person that mc decided that she needed to lie on their pillow. she literally replaced my pillow with her body in my arms. at one point i was so exhausted that i actually put my head down on her bum to sleep!
it's all because the neighbours upstairs have cement shoes. and obviously matching cement doors that can't help slamming themselves in the middle of the night. so frustrating!
good news is that mc woke up refreshed and in a great mood. mummy and daddy look like they've been run over with a dump truck, but as long as the princess is in good spirits! this morning she announced to A that she needed to go to the potty. he put her on the big one in our bathroom with no result. took her off so she could flush (which really is the best part of the potty, isn't it?) and she wee'd on the floor. so they both had a shower immediately after the big flush. surprisingly, we made it out of the house on time. go figure!
last year over the bank holiday we went to andrew's parents' house and came across a scarecrow festival on our way back home. we're going to try and find our way there again this year - because some of the scarecrows were very very funny. more here.
henceforth and thuswith please observe my child's new shoes. i adore them! (enough to even pay full price at babygap) zoiks!
ah. friday.
take a second to roll that around on your tongue. friday. f-r-i-d-a-y. friiiiii day. just the sound of the word is relaxing, isn't it? i must admit that most fridays i spend trying to do as little as possible in hopes of slipping into a peaceful weekend.
now, most of my fridays aren't really like that - but it is my weekly goal.
the arm is fine. she was sore and pretty grumpy most of the day on monday. i stayed home with her because i couldn't send her to nursery when i knew she wasn't 100% ready to be rough and tumble. so she went back yesterday and had a good day. well - except that she got bitten again at nursery. i know she can give as good as she gets, but we've been working with her on the biting. this is the 6TH time she's been bitten at nursery. i'm thinking it's time for a muzzle for the other child. i can tell you that whoever bites her most often only has two teeth on the bottom row. it's so frustrating.
the picture is from this past weekend. we went to the fountains at thames barrier park and played in the water. mary catherine and her friend olivia had a fantastic time playing and andrew and i had a nice time just lazing around with good friends.
this week my friend kate is here from the states... so it will be fun to see the place i live through her eyes for a while.
yesterday mc and i had a little tug of war with her arm... (ie i wanted her to go this way, she sat down and lurched the other way) and she dislocated her elbow. it's apparently a very common incident, so common that it's often called toddler's elbow.
we went to the royal london's paediatric a&e, where we seem to be frequent customers. they were excellent and saw her right away. it was the fastest hospital experience ever - we were there for a total of 45 minutes. they did a bending twisting motion to 'reset' her elbow and said to encourage her to use the arm and keep her comfortable on ibuprofen. she's using it much more today then she was... but still winces when she moves. i'm home from work today with her - but she'll be back at nursery tomorrow.
i feel just horrible about it. so please - let my shame be your example. don't lift your toddler by their arms!
what do you do when it's really hot outside? why, go to starbucks and take your shoes off of course! the starbucks at border's is great - it's upstairs, which gives mary catherine loads to look at and it's narrow. fabulous because we sorta push the comfy chairs together and make a safe play space where we can sit back while she plays and enjoy our overpriced coffee.
ever buy an album (technically it was a cd, old habits die hard), listen to it once and then put it aside for a long time thinking it's a bit disappointing only to go back to it much later and find it fantastic? happens to me all the time. ALL the time.
this week's case in point - Beck's Sea Change. maybe i'm just in a different place now - but man.. what a fantastic album. i've been listening to it through my new ipod headphones andrew brought me back from his california trip. they, like beck, are amazing. my ears always hurt with the ones that came with my ipod. these are the in-ear ones and are all soft and squishy and block out all outside noise. i've had to turn the volume down by half because they're so effective. so even though i have a first generation ipod and get depressed because it's still in such good working order that i can't justify getting a new one.. well - at least i've got trendy earphones.
happy thursday.
flashdance flashback..
ah - wednesday. so i've recently gotten back in touch with an old friend from the way back. i mean, way back. i flipped out when i realised that i've known him for twenty years and that's not like, 'oh, we've known each other since we were in kindergarten together' twenty years. that's like 'duh, since puberty' twenty years. holy moses. i think i aged by at least three years when figured that out. time flies when we're not watching, friends. time flies.
it's been fun remembering things from that era of my life. fact about me you probably didn't know: i've always been a tiny bit nerdy. when i was 12, i used to play around on our radio shack trs-80 home computer and log on to BBSs and chat to people. sort of like the internet before there was an internet.
i remember that you used to have to load programs from cassette tape and it was a hoot to write mini-scripts in basic that would make 'lizzie loves (insert random boy of the day name here)' blink on the screen ad infinitum. you used to have to press the handset of the phone into the modem's cradle (ala war games) and chatting to a sysop was a complete thrill. that's how i met this friend. when i was 12. he was a boy, i was a girl (okay, a little over poetic - but i'm setting the scene) and he won tickets via 96rock to a preview of the new talking heads movie stop making sense. my parents took me to the movie theatre and picked me up afterwards. i can totally still remember what i was wearing. dodgy 80's outfit i can assure you consisting of my red and black plaid tuxedo shirt, grey jeans and my red suede ankle boots (trendy!) from sears (not trendy!). i cringe at the thought of it. but in a delicious way.
i wasn't a talking heads fan then. but i am now, all thanks to that guy (who, in a wish to respect his privacy, i shall not name but let's call him Kippie) and his willingness to share his movie pass with me. what a fantastic walk down memory lane.
now if mary catherine EVER asks to go to the movies with a boy she's only met online when she's 12. uh. no way, hosea. what does she think this is? 1984?!
i am alive. and feeling pretty good considering that this time yesterday all i could do was lie in bed and contemplate the eternal question of 'toilet or sink' as the best place to be ill. you'll have to come to your own conclusions on that one. i never made a firm decision.
auntie rah rah and uncle gee are with us for part of this week. mary catherine is very glad and so are we. above is a picture i took of her on sunday. we'd schlepped into borders for a coffee to escape the heat and then spent the next half hour using the children's book department as our own personal reading room. mary catherine LOVES to read. loves it. her big time favourite books at the moment are anything maisy. she adores maisy. and i do too!
exit by the drain (part II)
well - not much to report today. just that i've been horribly ill overnight and am totally feeling like death. i must've caught a tummy bug somewhere. nice one. can i just tell you that i love my husband? any man that will clean up after you when you've been incredibly ill (and that's putting it nicely!) deserves public admiration.
back to bed i go - i'm a lunatic with a 102.4 degree fever trying to keep down apple juice. now - don't go and be all jealous.....
i knew something was wrong...
went to the doctor this morning.. i have strep throat. lovely. the upswing of this is now i'm on antibiotics and therefore, the throat ache from heck should be gone soon. andrew has it as well. aren't i nice to share?
here's another view of our house i found on the net today.. i'm totally scamming another site to show it to you. naughty.
exit by the drain..
four years ago today i got off the plane after arriving on a one way ticket to london. it's funny.. there are days where i feel every nanosecond of those four years and others where i sorta feel like i'm on vacation in another country.
at the time - i never really thought about what a big, brave, daring leap i was making. i was in a bad situation and wanted a better one. of course, my better situation just happened to be 4,332 miles from all that i knew to be home.
there are times when i really miss living in the states. but that's mostly when i think of my family, who i miss greatly. when i think of living so far away from them i feel a great suffocating pain in my chest that gets harder and harder to ignore. i don't know what to do about that as it's not something i see resolving itself any time soon. but on a more positive note - for the most part i do like living here and do not regret making the jump.
four years under my belt as an expat. cheers m'dears.
well he eventually made it to pick up the princess. the last baby wasn't picked up, i'm told, until 9pm. poor nursery and poor baby's parents. glad that's over.
i'm finally going to book a spa appointment and i'm stoked. andrew gave me a generous voucher to use at spa nk for my birthday back in november. well - i think i'm finally ready to use it! here's what i'll be having....
BODY BALANCING THERAPY
specially created for SPAŠ NK by Michelle Roques O'Neil, this integrated bodywork treatment combines the subtle use of chi massage and essential oils to revive and rejuvenate the physical being and create a space for inner quiet. this gentle treatment incorporates a subtle combination of reflexology, acupressure and healing massage to ease away stress and built up tensions whilst restoring physical and emotional health. the individual rests, enveloped in sensual aromas that evoke the body's memory of harmony and balanced, refreshing both the body and spirit. body balancing Therapy helps restore a zest for life and a new sense of understanding equilibrium.
sounds like heaven on a massage table, huh? 90 minutes of having my equilibrium understood and my physical and emotional health restored.
i'm all booked. oh i can't wait! i put off using the gift for such a long time .. because as we all know, anticipation is 50% of the enjoyment of things.
powerless.
here i sit at work..
there's been major flooding and andrew can't get to mary catherine's nursery to pick her up. i've called and she's not the only child there and they certainly won't leave her sitting on the curb. but still - there's absolutely nothing i can do. i thought about getting a cab, but the roads are closed from this direction as well.
i'm having, what i'd like to think of as a controlled panic. if this doesn't resolve itself shortly, it'll probably end up a not-so-controlled panic. finger's x'd that andrew finds a way through the closed roads and flooding and picks up our baby!
sometimes i hate being a full time working mom. :(
i know there's only one day left - but if you wanted to purchase anything from the shop... take advantage of the sale. EDITED: they've actually put on another sale - $3 off orders of $30 or more. use code 'BACK2SCHL'
oh look it's monday again.
this morning mary catherine and i had appointments with our new doctor. the local health centre near our new house is pretty nice and the practice nurse today seemed pretty cool. turns out i'm in pretty good health (well, you know, despite the obvious black cloud of obesity). no sugar in the urine - that's always nice to see.
we went to the Glen Miller Orchestra concert on friday night at the wharf. it was good - but not as good as the LSO. mary catherine and i did a little toddler swing dancing of our own and she thought that was the most fun. saturday was lunch at a good friends house and yesterday we had the same friends over for dinner. mm.. taco salad. an inspired choice on my part, i think. spesh since i don't cook.
i'm feeling 1198% better about the house. since andrew's been home my nerves have untangled themselves and i'm taking all the noises in my stride. i think i needed the week of panic to sort myself out. but i'm really glad he's home and that i'm able to get a full night's sleep, more or less. the people above us still walk around with heavy feet - but whatever. i'm over it.
i had something i wanted to write about in my head this morning... but it's since escaped. oh well - should it return i'll let you know.
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