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I've already spent a good deal of the last 24 hours thinking 'four years ago today I was doing, thinking, feeling, hoping..' etc. Today is Mary Catherine's fourth birthday. One was sweet, two was cute, three was really fun but four.. four is.. well, it just seems different.
At four Mary Catherine can count to 100, use a gazillion big words in contexts that continue to amaze us, speak various phrases and count to ten easily in french, say various words in spanish (and german, according to her). She does ballet and circus skills, crayons like a master artist, paints pictures that she then narrates with an enviable passion and sings hundreds of songs from memory. She can write most of her name, knows all the phonetic sounds and most of the names for letters.
Mary Catherine has been to numerous museums, plays, concerts, art and cultural events. At 3.5 she demanded time at the Tate Modern to sketch what a series of Warhol Marilyns made her feel. She adores classical music and throws terms like adagio, allegro, forte and staccato around easily and she has a fondness for Mozart, Vivaldi and Barber's Adagio for Strings that makes me really proud. She has seen (and loves) the London Symphony Orchestra multiple times and knows the difference between the themes to Superman and Star Wars.
She's never watched anything violent, commercial television or old-school cartoons. Her favourite colours are pink and pink and she's recently discovered Barbie. She is most opinionated about what she will (and more annoyingly, what she will not) wear and is decidedly not into trousers and instead prefers dresses and skirts that have 'twirl factor' as we like to call it.
Mary Catherine loves to do her hair in various fashions and is in the process of 'growing it out' as we've been told. She, like most little girls, loves jewelry, tiaras and anything sparkly.
Her favourite foods are lasagne, sausages and mash, ready brek and bagels. She is a fabulous vegetable eater and loves corn, cabbage, brocolli and carrots. Milk is the drink of choice and she now allowed juice/squash every now and again. She adores sweeties, but not if they're the kind that get stuck in her teeth. Like her father, she really likes chocolate.
Okay - I'll stop now. That list was mainly for me for when I start thinking about how crazy it is that she's turning five next year.
Anyway - Happy Mary Catherine's birthday to everyone!
almost four
Andrew scored big time last night. No, not like that - thank you very much - but the man came walking in the door with a big bag of sweet 'taters and a turkey! So we were able to have a Thanksgiving meal after all. It was lovely and my sweet potatoes were most excellent, if I do say so myself.
This weekend is Mary Catherine's birthday weekend, so I'm hoping we'll think of fun and interesting things to do to celebrate her upcoming 'fourness'. She's very ready to be four as in her mind, four is the ultimate age and one in which you are allowed to do exactly what you want, when you want. Or so she keeps telling us.
Enjoy your weekend. x
 Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for each and every one of you, a roof over my head, my fabulous family and friends, my career, hobbies and everything else that makes my life complete.
I was going to say that I was thankful for the food on our Thanksgiving table, but considering that Tesco forgot to deliver the turkey (which also contained the stuffing) at 9pm last night. Also, the bag of sweet potatoes that I bought turned out to be a bit small (I still don't think clearly in grams and kilos, you know. I'm a pounds and ounces kind of girl.) So I used all of them to make the sweet potatoes to send to Mary Catherine's class today.
That leaves us with a jar of cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving feast.
I told Andrew about the above and he said, 'Well, my work canteen (restaurant) is making Thanksgiving lunch and so is yours - why don't we just eat separately?' When I said that I thought he was missing the point of Thanksgiving, which for me is being together with family during the traditional meal and giving thanks he replied, 'Well, I'll be giving thanks that the canteen is making Thanksgiving lunch!'
Figuratively, I suppose you can lead a pilgrim to the table, but you can't make him eat.
From Life in the Fat Lane today.. "I wasn't in the mood to strike up a conversation with a woman who explained to everyone that she'd 'had the gazzie band, luv' and a man who was keen for people to know that he'd 'known a geezer who'd been chucking up in the loo for days'. Uh, no thanks."
 Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have to work, but another American mother and I are making sure that Mary Catherine's class learn all about the holiday. The other mom is going in and doing all the talking while I'm sending food, a book my mom sent to Mary Catherine and instructions on how to make a most important craft... the handprint turkey!
Let's just hope the Tesco man delivers the sweet potatoes I ordered in a hurry last night. I'm going to send sweet potatoes (minus the pecans, which is no fun) and cornbread (Jiffy mix, but since we don't have cornbread here - no one will ever know). Mmm. I did order a few items so that we can have a bit of a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening. I thought I'd make extra sweet potatoes and add the nuts in after taking out MC's class's portion. I bought a turkey breast pre-stuffed with sage and onion stuffing and a jar of Tesco's Finest cranberry sauce.
Not quite the American style feast, but will certainly be better than nothing! I'm still trying to figure out a way to be able to watch the Macy's parade from the other side of the planet - but so far, no real result. I love Thanksgiving - well, I love the memories I have of Thanksgiving, anyway. Watching the parade, waiting for Santa to arrive at the end while the smells of the food cooking invaded the house. One of these years we're going to have to be at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, I think - it's something I'd like to share with Mary Catherine. Except I won't make her watch football all afternoon - I never liked that part. But oh! sleeping on the sofa with a full belly after lunch and just being lazy with friends and family. I miss that a lot.
Anyway - think of me tonight at 10pm making my sweet potatoes and cornbread trying to be a good mother!
From Life in the Fat Lane today... "I'd rather shuck out a $20 co-payment and feel like I and my health matter to someone than be stuck in a system where I'm just a number and in a system that is so overburdened that my health is not a priority."
 Last night Andrew took me to dinner and a movie for my Birthday evening out. We went to see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (official site here)and I have to tell you - at one point, he's sitting at a Southern dinner table and I promise I knew every single person at that table. Not personally - but by personality. It was very weird to see 'my people' in a film poking fun of 'my people'. Every person in that scene has been in my life thus far and well.. it was strange. I looked at Andrew and he leaned over and said, 'I know, weird, huh?'.
 Another scary moment was when Borat finds some frat boys on a road trip.. Uh, I 'knew' those guys as well. Heck, I was even married to one. It was like one life moment hitting me after the next. And not in a flattering light, really. I think I walked away being very glad to not be where I was seven or eight years ago and really appreciate the journey I've been on since moving to the UK.
Although the movie's gotten great reviews - but I just didn't find it as enjoyable as I thought I would. My favourite but cringeworthy part? When he gets everyone at a rodeo to stand up and cheer quite agressively for the US's 'war of terror.' Sadly spot on.
My friend Jodi aaaaaaaalllllllllll the way in Georgia wrote a lovely blog post about me for my birthday! I'm very touched!
drama mama
Hey my village - happy my birthday to each and every one of you! It's been a crazy, busy day full of nice surprises. Funny enough, I did actually get a Barbie outfit .. well, I say I did - Mary Catherine has already taken it so her Ariel doll can be the mostest bestest dressed doll in the entire world. Mom and Dad made me a beautiful scrapbook of my 'greatest hits' if you will from the past 35 years. It's lovely and I know I'll treasure it always.
Work gave me some fantastic things and I'm currently trying to figure out how to haul balloons, doughnuts and champagne with me to go pick up MC. Too funny!
Anyway, I'm rambling.. Hope you're all having as nice of a day as I am.
 Now that we're back to normal in that Andrew is finished with his conference and I no longer have to take and pick up Mary Catherine, I decided to celebrate being back in my daily rut with a grande, skinny, wet, xtra hot, peppermint mocha. When I got to Starbucks, my favourite swishy barista was there almost jumping up and down behind the till. Today was the launchof the new Starbucks card here in the UK (I know the US has had them for yonks) and he did as he'd promised a week ago - I'd been selected to receive a VIP card. Yes - I've finally been officially recognised as a Starbucks junkie!
While I'm not 100% sure if this is a good thing, I am incredibly happy to have it as it was pre-loaded with enough for a free coffee. And hey, we like free.
Why, it was almost like an early BIRTHDAY present! Seriously - the upswing is that you can use the UK cards in the States and vice versa, so no more manic coffee buying, trying to use up US credits on Starbucks cards when we're visiting. (Not that manic coffee buying isn't just plain good fun, mind you.)
and for those of you who think I'd rather have Heely's than MBTs - ya'll are crazy. Everyone knows I'd fall flat on my ass and that is hardly aerobic.
 On Saturday, for my birthday, Andrew bought me a pair of trainers/sneakers that I'd been thinking about buying. As they are quite dear, I'd been mulling over purchasing them for about six months. They're called 'MBTs' and are, apparently, all the rage for fitness fanatics (uh, I know.. not really me). I figure that if I have to walk during my commute, I might as well make it count as exercise. Although slightly unsightly, they're designed to 'activate neglected muscles, improve posture and gait as well as tone and shape the body.' Achingly hip top spa Bliss sells them as 'the world's most celebrated shoe' to (their words, not mine) celebrities and supermodels alike.
Being a supermodel in my spare time, I just had to have some. When you look at the price tag, you'll know why I waited so long to invest in them, shall we say. So I wore them on my commute yesterday, taking and picking up Mary Catherine from school. I didn't expect anyone to notice nor to receive loads of compliments on them. However, I was most put off when more than one person asked me if I was wearing Heelys!
 Heelys are all the rage with the 8 - 12 year-old set here in the UK (and maybe beyond, who knows). They're the shoe with the wheel in the base that allows the wearer to walk or skate whenever the mood hits. They're umm.. well, they're not my £129/$245 shoes!
So much for looking hip and trendy now that people think I've stolen the 'Christmas must have treads for teens'. Putting that behind me, I will say that my MBTs definitely work - I've had to take a break from them because my legs/muscles are just too sore to face another 40 mintues of fun today! Nothing like the gift of pain (but pain for a good cause) for my birthday...
Birthday? Oh, why yes - did I mention it's on Thursday?
I asked Mary Catherine what Andrew was getting me for my birthday yesterday. She said, "I can tell you now because Daddy isn't here.. it's a Barbie outfit, now what size will you need?" Too cute.
I had to run an errand today - so I decided to whoop it up at lunchtime and have my first Pret Christmas Sandwich of the holiday season. I must've been in a fog, because I walked in and grabbed a sandwich, lovingly tucked into its cute little red faux cranberry covered Christmas box.
Of course, I grabbed the wrong Christmas sandwich (who knew there were two this year?) and have just tried and not gotten all the way through a Christmas brie and plum chutney with pine nuts sandwich. Not that it was bad - it just wasn't my favourite turkey and cranberry with rocket and stuffing. Darn it.
We had a nice weekend - went to an LSO childrens concert at the Barbican yesterday. If you were there and heard a small voice screaming that Mars by Gustav Holst was really, really too loud, uh, that'd been Mary Catherine. She was also the one who wondered rather 'outloudly' when they were going to play Star Wars. Bless her, she is her father's daughter.
the cold continues
Just in case you weren't paying attention - my birthday is one week from today. But I digress.
My cold is now taking hold of me with both hands. I went ahead and went into work today .. well, you know, just because. I did leave early and went to pick Mary Catherine up from school because she, like me, has a cold and I thought it would be nice for her.
So I got to do the proverbial 'school gate' thing. What a trip. Everyone lines up outside the gate that leads to the playground and when it's time, they open the gates and the parents/nannies go flooding in. I think I was the only person there who didn't do this sort of thing on a daily basis. Most everyone else was there, talking to others and I generally felt like a total imposter. As I was walking to MC's side of the playground, I did recognise some of the mums from her class - which was a relief. We've met most of the parents a few times now at various birthday parties - and it's quite nice to get to know them. Who knows - our children could know each other for a very long time, considering that the school goes until age 18, right?
We're home now and Mary Catherine and I have changed into our PJs and are hanging out. She's in her room, curled up in her bean bag (which she has started to drape in a very homey fashion with a quilt) reading books to herself - well, talking her way through them, I suppose is a better way to put it. She has her Buzz Lightyear doll with her. I think Buzz is being read to - lucky guy.
As we've gotten back in the swing of things this week Andrew and I have done the strangest thing. We've never really let Mary Catherine watch a lot of television on 'normal' days. She gets about 20 minutes of it a day, I suppose. This week - for some reason - we had the idea to tell her that the telly is broken. You wouldn't believe how wonderful it's been. She's actually paid more attention and been better behaved without it. Who knows - maybe it's the result of being back in a normal routine.. but it really does seem to be the lack of television, I think. She's not asked for it to be on once and instead has been playing with her toys, drawing, reading and generally bouncing around. Veeeery interesting. I kind of want to put it on now and just slob out and feel ill - but it's been such a good result not having it on when she's around that I just can't bring myself to press the button.
I suppose it's good for me too!
foggy
Today's dorky moment - for some reason I got out my work security pass when getting off the Tube this morning instead of my Tube ticket/Oyster card. Then I proceeded to try and exit through the gate using my work security pass. I exit at a very busy station - there was a huge queue behind me by the time I had a 'd'oh' moment and figured out I was using the wrong thing.
In my defense, I do have a cold today and feel really foggy brained. What a dork I am.
When I got to Starbucks (because what else clears the fog but a grande, wet, extra hot, skinny mocha?) they have out the Christmas cups and I gushed to the guy behind the till about how much I liked them. I think he thinks I'm strange. He did offer to give me a VIP version of the new Starbucks cards they're launching next week, though. I suppose if you're silly enough to go on and on and on about how happy red paper cups make you, then you must really be a fan.
Right?
grossed out yet strangely attracted..
well - this is different! I like the part where the creator says, "The best I can hope for is that it's the original and hopefully the best fried Coke out there." You mean there's more than one version?!
fireworks and whatnot
Last night, the three of us bundled (and in Mary Catherine's case, bundled to the point where she couldn't actually lower her arms) up and went down the road for our local fireworks extravaganza. We opted not to go in, but stood outside the fence with a perfect view of the 'works. Mary Catherine's main focus wasn't the fireworks - she really wanted a pair of pink bunny ears that lit up and talked about those when she should've been going 'ooooh' and 'ahhh' like the rest of us. Bless her, she actually fell asleep during the finale. I suppose it just goes to show that you can lead them to a display but you can't make them watch!
We had a nice weekend - we went up to Nottingham to see friends and had a good lunch out on our way home yesterday.
Mary Catherine's half term is over now - it's been a long two weeks but I'm very glad that she's back in the proverbial saddle. Mainly, because getting her dressed in the mornings sans uniform was a nightmare! I love that she's her own person, marching to the beat of her own style drummer - but my goodness - trying to get her to decide what to wear is incredibly tedious. Andrew and I were laughing - she put her uniform on so easily this morning and our stress levels were SO much better.
I feel the need to also mention that Mary Catherine (and heck, our whole family) now have a favourite song. Click here and then 'play sample'. At first, she and I had a great time doing some funky dancing (and when you let an almost four year-old lead the dance moves, trust me, it's funky) but I'm sick to death of it now. Mary Catherine and Andrew have been constantly singing 'baby, baby, baby' until I think my ears might actually bleed. She was actually humming it while going to sleep yesterday!
we're about to head out to the big community firework display. this
year, they're hosting it in the large natural area near our house -
so it will be nice to just walk our our door and be there. happy bonfire night / guy fawkes day!
If you're following along with my adventures in Weight Loss Surgery land.. there's a new post. If not, you may proceed to the below as normal.
People it's my favourite day - Thursday. I know I've waxed poetic about Thursdays before. The sun is shining, my daughter is happy and actually wearing trousers (the planets must have aligned or something)... However, it's cold as crap outside! I'd been marvelling at the climate-change fuelled weather weirdness we've been having in Britain until this week. You know, trees that still have green leaves, children playing in short sleeve shirts, the wonder that is not having had to put away my favourite capri trousers for a while now. Then it's like KA-BAM, hello winter.
Mary Catherine has even gotten in on the winter weather eyebrow raising. Yesterday evening, she came home and announced that she was an iceberk!
wednesday
I'm so excited - I'm leaving work today at noon. Woohoo. I mean, so what if it's to trek all the way to the middle of nowhere for a doctor's appointment that I can't quite recall the purpose of.. NOON, baby, NOON!
Okay - today is 1 November. The birthday countdown can officially begin. Did you hear that? That was the sound of my husband and mother cringing.. seriously. I have vowed to not be grumpy on my birthday this year. But it should also be noted that I take my birthday very seriously and I have stated that up front. But no, really, I do plan to be better. I think I was well behaved last year...
Did I mention that I'm out of here at noon?
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