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I'm on the train at the moment, repeating over and over to myself that it's TUESDAY - not monday as it feels. We did lots of fun stuff this weekend, including bowling, the London Zoo, shopping and swimming. Oh and the toddler's gym as well. Lots. More later.. New pics on flickr
friday.
ahh. take a deep breath with me and say it. it's friday. and better yet, it's the friday before a bank holiday monday. four days. very exciting.
we don't have much planned for those four days, however. we might go to leeds castle and maybe back to the toddler gym. we have swimming tomorrow as usual and i'm sure we'll find coffee afterwards.
when we go to starbucks on saturday mornings (as we do EVERY saturday morning after swimming) mary catherine has a child's milk in a small paper cup. they put the lid on it and she calls it her coffee. don't even try and tell her it's milk - because she'll insist it's coffee until you beg for mercy.
the weather in london has finally warmed up. it went from fleece wearing weather to shirt sleeves in the space of a day. i think the high today is going to be 27. glad i'm in the office with air conditioning!
found!
the orb has been found - apparently andrew found it in a puddle of milk in the car. mary catherine's sippy cup had leaked and viola. how it got there, i'll never know. crisis averted. :)
bummer.
today my favourite charm fell off my favourite bracelet. i am in no way a royalist, but i have an odd fascination with the sovereign's orb (housed with the other crown jewels at the tower of london). maybe it's just because my name is elizabeth. maybe it's because i think it's silly she has to lug around a big round metal ball.
so now i'm orb-less. my mom bought me that charm when she first came to london and we ventured to the tower of london together with some of her friends. i'd had it for four years and now, without notice, it's gone. oh well. i'm tempted to replace it, now that i've seen there's an online gift shop.
i'm also contemplating a new necklace. now, i'm not the girlyest of girls, but i've found a new desire to have a necklace. i'm totally thinking about the elsa peretti alphbet pendant (in 'e' of course).
what do you think?
caution: holiday weekend approaching...
we have no plans for the upcoming bank holiday weekend and it's driving me nuts. for some reason i have a real proverbial 'bee in my bonnet' (not that i've ever worn a bonnet) about doing something fabulous since we have an extra day to enjoy.
i'm about to rant - so i'll just leave it at that. lovely stuff, pmt.
well.... hmm. star wars. now - i'm not a fan, really. but i'm also not an UNfan, if that makes sense. it means i'm not going to be buying a commemorative darth maul figurine any time soon, but i will go see the movies.
and go see the movie we did. i ....erm... yeah, i fell asleep. all i can say in my defence is that it was incredibly warm in the cinema and i'd had a very long day.
i won't give my opinion of the movie too much, as you may want to see it for yourself. but i didn't care for it. andrew, on the other hand, really enjoyed it. i did like all the hand holding we did and my nap was pretty cozy.
so there.
630am on a saturday morning and i'm awake. i could have another hour of sleep if i wanted - but no. when i can sleep in, it's usually then that i'm fresh and perky and up with the birds.
more later this weekend...
ah.. friday. tonight andrew and i are going out to see the new star wars movie. i'm not that thrilled, but am looking forward to a little couple time with him. and if said time has to be in a dark room with 100 other people in silence - well, that's cool.
when you have a moment - you should go to flickr and have a browse of everyone's photos. you're sure to find some amazing images! flickr
new fun thing... go to ebay and search NTSA. You'll get to see all the weird things that have been claimed by airport security in the States up for auction. i mean, who wouldn't want 40lbs of silver pocket knives? link
all of a sudden i totally realise why yesterday was such a wash.... hello PMT. yes, yes, i know - all three male readers just recoiled in horror. get over it.
now that i know what the problem is, i'm stocking up on magnesium and trying not to attack people for no particular reason for the next 4-5 days.
nothing much else to report. andrew is stoked because star wars opens this week. to that, i say woobleepin'hoo. we are doing a babysitting swap this weekend and going to see the movie on friday night. all i can hope for is decent nachos and funny ads at the beginning. some date i am, huh?
get this.. my child has been in big girl undies for a week and one day! accidents here and there, but i have to say that she is, apparently, potty trained. go figure!
andrew and i have always let mary catherine lead the way and this has been no different. we never did gina ford (and not just because i think she's satan), we never set a rigid routine for sleeping or a strict feeding schedule. we held her until she fell asleep almost every night for her first year, we never let her cry it out, we never did anything 'because the book said...' we've just listened to what our child told us through her behaviour and actions.
so many people, it seems, look for guidance and a 'how to' baby manual and end up living their lives with their babies/children by a generic routine that promises results. how can one schedule or set of rules work for every child? after all - it's drilled into our heads as soon as they're born, 'every baby is different.'
so my child.. who has been brought up without help from a book and who was allowed to sleep and eat (and sometimes stay awake) when she needed to... well, goes to bed, without a fuss most evenings, and to sleep on her own and has now potty trained when she wanted to.
i should write a book about 'unscheduling'! our ideas are mostly based on attachment parenting, if you're interested.
sorry that got a bit preachy - it's just that i'm really impressed with how incredible mary catherine is. i look at her and her behaviors as compared to other children who are/have been raised using different methods and it's incredibly interesting to me. before you get your fingers ready to bang out a complaint - just know i'm not being that judgemental, just making observations.
i am having the hardest time getting into my day today. maybe it's because i didn't get up and out with andrew and mary catherine. ugh. feels weird. not connecting. odd.
maybe i just have a legoland hangover. i need a holiday.
we went to legoland today.. how fabulous it was! we had an excellent time and that park is IDEAL for toddlers and smaller children. mary catherine had the best time and we really enjoyed it as well.
so much that we bought a season pass... guess we'll be going again over the next year to make sure we get our money's worth. (i really don't think we have to worry about that, as we had such a good time today).
more photos on flickr. click here.
a few months ago, we decided it was time to try potty training (or learning, if you want to call it that) with mary catherine. we got nowhere so decided to stop and wait and hope that she wouldn't, as we feared, wear nappies to university.
all of a sudden this week she's decided it is now time to wear underwear and use the toilet like a big girl. it's so bizzare - as if a switch has just suddenly flipped in her brain! so, i guess we are really going to do it this time. she's been travelling to and from nursery this week with no nappy and has had very few accidents.
last night, when she and andrew picked me up from the train station - she was wearing a pair of underwear (clean, i promise) on her face with her hat and sunglasses on. the gusset was over her nose and mouth like a bank robber, she was using the leg holes for her eyes and had her sunglasses over the sides of the pants. i almost fell over.
i leave you today with a quote from a most excellent film that is quite possibly going to overtake meatballs as my favourite film ever... lost in translation.
it's when Charlotte asks Bob what it was like to have children and he replies, "your life, as you know it - is gone. never to return. but they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk ... and you want to be with them. and they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life." (reminded of said quote by the wonderful loobylu.)
totally didn't get the wrinkle filler. jannah, who i drug with me to space nk, said i wasn't wrinkly enough. while i'm flattered, i still think i should've gotten it.
i did get a generous sample set of some of philosophy's other products, including the 'purity made simple' cleanser. i've heard great things..
good things
last night, claire and i went to space nk (my favourite-ist of favourite lotion and potion shop) and found an amazing product. seriously fabulous - philosophy's unplastic surgery fine line filler.
it was the first time i've ever RUN to a mirror to see the results of using a beauty product. i am not sure how it works, but motherofmoses, it really made my fine forehead wrinkles disappear. i'm not talking 'looks less obvious' disappear, i'm talking like 'movie special effect they were there, now they're not' kind of disappear.
i have vouchers from my lovely last boss - and i think today's the day to finish them off. fine line filler, here i come!
and yes - for those of you saying that i'm not that old or that i'm not that wrinkly.. i know, i know. but how do you think i stay that way? hmmmm?
i am really digging the philosophy range of products. i've always had my eye on them as i think their packaging is aboslutely divine, but now that i've started trying and (i have to admit it) buying... they're really nice. check out their website. click here. of course, they're much cheaper to purchase in america, fyi.
i've just finished reading a book my wonderful sister-in-law, sarah, gave me for my birthday (yes, i know it's may and my day was back in november - but i'm a mother of a 2.5 year-old). it's called the shops by india knight. if you live in the UK (especially london), it's totally useful and entertaining. i loved every second reading it and i am sure my copy is destined to become dog-earred and well used. my bookmark is raised in thanks, sarah!
and i have to give mega-props to the new moby album, hotel. it's the only album i've heard in a long, long time that's made me turn off the shuffle feature on my ipod shuffle. that's saying something.
tuesday. all day i've thought it was monday. crazy day today - but very enjoyable.
this past sunday we had a mega-adventure with mary catherine's friend drew and his mommmy. andrew had to work, so it was totally mom's day out. we went to a new pool and daredevil dunne was totally taken with the slide and threw herself off it at every possible opportunity.
we then went to the london aquarium. while it was nice, it was late in the day and slightly crowded. i think we'll go back, but it'll be a little while. mary catherine did like the fish and the sharks. we saw nemo, what else can you ask for.
not too much else to report, i don't think. sad, huh?
monday
The people who work in my building go through the revolving doors so quickly that I have to stand there like I'm on a playground bobbing and weaving for the chance to get in on some groovy jump rope action.
In other words, I look like a dork.
my how things change..
i just found this entry in the blog i used to half keep for mary catherine.. it's dated from the end of may last year.
"mary catherine can now say: duck, ball, boat, shoes, bird, cat, mama, mommy, daddy, nana, poppa, ama (which is grandma), beep beep, neenah, nemo, tick tocks (for socks), cheese, hello, bye bye, hiya, mummy, mimi, no, yes, baby..."
so in just under a year, her vocabulary has gone from about 25 words to a quarter of a gazillion. that is absolutely amazing. for those of you who don't have the pleasure of speaking to my daughter - her language skills are quite advanced and she's capable of holding entire lucid, clearly spoken conversations. it's not unusual for andrew and i to be amazed by what she says and how she thinks.
child development is really cool.
wednesday..
1) My uncle: passed away a year ago and it was really, really sad. the other one i don't remember..
2) Never in my life: have i not done something because i thought i might regret it later..
3) When I was five: i was in first grade at redan elementary, which is seen in one of the chase scenes in smokey and the bandit..
4) High School was: a really excellent time, once i settled in and found my niche..
5) I will never forget: the day i met andrew and the day mary catherine was born..
6) I once met: gwen stefani and she borrowed my lipstick..
7) Thereā??s this girl I know who: moved back to america after being an expat with a one month old baby.. i think she's crazy..
8) Once, at a bar: i was left by a first date who said he had to go to the bathroom. he never returned.
9) By noon Iā??m usually: happily knee deep in work, ticking right along..
10) Last night: i had to lie down with mary catherine to get her to sleep..
11) If I only had: a lot of money and the willpower not to spend it stupidly..
12) Next time I go to church, I: will get registered with the parish so that mary catherine could go to school at the parish school if we wanted her to..
13) Terry Schiavo: .....
14) What worries me most: lots of things worry me, more so than they ever used to.. so much that i have considered medication to calm down a bit.. but even the thought of taking something worries me..
15) When I turn my head left: a filing cupboard..
16) When I turn my head right: offices and a fantastic view of the london skyline..
17) You know Iā??m lying when: you'll never know when i'm lying to you..
18) What I miss most about the eighties: good movies like footloose, fame and dirty dancing..
19) If I was a character written by Shakespeare, I'd be: the nurse in romeo and juliet..
20) By this time next year: i will be a year older than i am now (how's that for skirting the question?)
22) I have a hard time understanding: how to pronounce foreign names..
23) If I ever go back to school Iā??ll: study more and drink much less..
24) You know I like you if: i start telling you stupid details of my life.. past and present..
25) If I won an award, the first person I'd thank would be: my family..
26) Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: umm.. sure!
27) Take my advice, never: be afraid to be yourself or do things for fear of people thinking you're a dork..
28) My ideal breakfast is: eggo waffles with mrs butterworth syrup..
29) A song I love, but do not have is:
30) If you visit my hometown, I suggest: checking out cool things like the centre for puppetry arts and fernbank science center..
31) I most like shopping for: clothes for mary catherine and gadgets..
32) Why wonā??t anyone: whisk me away for a fabulously perfect holiday?
33) If you spend the night at my house: please remember to take us as you find us..
34) Iā??d stop my wedding for: anything reasonable, i suppose?
35) The world could do without: george bush.. needless poverty and homelessness
36) Iā??d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: touch newspaper or walk in high heels for 8 hours a day..
37) My favorite blonde is: umm.. does mary catherine count as blonde?
38) Paper clips are more useful than: people who don't have time for others..
39) If I do anything well, itā??s: add humour to any situation..
40) And by the way: thanks for reading all this dribble..
41) The last time I was drunk, I: had a very good time, but the hangover was horrid and thereby negated the fun of drinking..
Can I just tell you how much I love my ipod shuffle? Now that I'm commuting once again, it is so incredible to have such a tiny device. And you know I'm mentaly partying like a rock star on my way to and fro work.... The new Moby (Hotel) is really good and I'm also enjoying the new Beck (Guero) and hope to get my mitts on the new Ben Folds (Songs for Silverman) asap... Very cool that all my faves have new stuff out at the moment. More later, I'm sure...
holiday long weekend
ah monday evening after a fabulous long weekend of doing not much and lots at the same time.
friday and saturday we had andrew's sister and family in town for a nice, brief visit. now that they have a child, it's fun watching them go through life with a new baby and remembering all that was good and not so good about those early months.
sunday we ventured out to the science museum and had a wonderful time. we didn't try and do the entire museum, just bits and bobs. before coming home, we perched on some steps of the building on andrew's photoblog, and ate ice cream in the late afternoon sun.
today we stuck close to home and went to the shops and for coffee. i bought a wrist rein for mary catherine, as she's run away from me in shops twice now and i hate it so much that i'm willing to bypass the guilt i feel tying her to me.
dinner was apple sausies and onion mash and tonight we're hoping to relax and mentally regroup for the week ahead. new pictures on flickr.. click here.
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