Dancing, Dancing, Dancing

Lady Jane has been taking ballet for the past two weeks on Fridays after school. Little Man commented a couple weeks back that he would like to do it as well. We talked about it off and on and then presented it to Dad. Both Phil and I would like to let our kids try new things. The biggest thing though is that they stick with it. Little Man is a perfectionist. Sometimes if he can't live up to the standards in his head he just gives up. This doesn't work well when you are learning something complicated. You have to take baby steps before you can leap and bound. So, I told Little Man that if he wanted to do this he would have to commit to lessons for the next two years. Phil thought a year would be enough, but I really think 2 years will get him past beginner's lessons and give him a good understanding of what goes into learning a new skill.

So today is Little Man's first lesson. We'll see how that goes. In other news, we are making a last ditch effort to camp before the true chill of winter sets in. The heater has been on this week and doing a fine job. The weekend should be fairly nice and we're only sleeping outdoors on Saturday. We're going down to Bath and then on Sunday to Stonehenge. I'm psyched. It's one thing to see boulders in a circle and another to see such a fine example of what the people were capable of. So, there will probably be new pictures next week. I'll keep you posted.

Another Night Out

Saturday we had invited a couple over for tea (dinner). They have two children, a 22 month old and an 11 week old. They weren't sure about coming over because of bed times, so we took food over to their house. We cooked dinner and sat and talked. I proved I'm magically by putting the baby to sleep. Hey, I never said I was that entertaining. We put a movie on for the kids and we played Settlers of Catan for the first time since we arrived in England. I won the first game and then the second game took longer because no one rolled bricks in the beginning (8, 9, 12). It was brutal. Jim ended up winning the second game but it was a close race between all four of us. The kids had fallen asleep on their couch. We headed home around midnight.

These are the types of nights that we miss the most. At home with friends so close by, you could ring on a weekend night and find someone to do something with. I'm getting over the shyness to ask people to dinner and over to play because I know some people now. It won't be long before we leave though. We've almost been here 6 months.

Drowning in a Ball Pit?

At the party Lady Jane went to, there was this huge ball pit and play area. I was standing talking to another parent when Lady Jane's BFF came up to me.

"Lady Jane is stuck in the ball pit."

I look over to the ball pit and don't see her. I follow her BFF who shows me the sight of the drowning. A hand comes out of the balls. CRAP! I grab her hand and pull her to safety. She's shaken up by the experience and stays with me for quite sometime, before one of Little Man's friends helps her go up to the upper levels of the play area.

Much later she's back in the ball pit, but LM's friend is helping her when she gets stuck. It was very nice of him. He's very thoughtful and a great little boy. Luckily she didn't drown again and need adult intervention.

I Still Got It, Whatever It Is

Tonight was ballet night for Lady Jane followed by a birthday party for one of her friends. Both kids went and had a great time. The mother was one of the mothers who went out tonight. There were four of us. We met up at a bar, had a drink and talked. Then we moved to a Turkish restaurant. I had hummus and shish kabob (lamb). Both very yummy. We sat and talked until they were closing the place. We were seated at 9 pm. I'm writing this at 1 am so it may not make sense, but I don't care.

So we left the restaurant and decided to get one more drink before going home. We all took taxis. We're seated in a crowded bar trying to shout at each other to be heard over the DJ. Thank God for the smoking ban in public places. So I'm on the end of the table and a guy pulls a stool up next to me.

"What's your name?" said dude who vaguely resembles a singer.

"Amanda." He didn't hear me. I don't feel like repeating myself and give him the tight lipped grin.

"You're from America. Which part?"

"St. Louis."

"Me, too." This deserves an eye roll and a glance at the other girls who are talking and giving me the you're-getting-hit-on look.

"I'm Bryan Adams." This boy has to be in his twenties and he thinks I'm going to believe he's Bryan Adams. Yeah, right.

Tight lipped smile.

"I'm not really Bryan Adams, but I do look like him." Wow, this man is brilliant. Why couldn't I have met him before Phil. Oh, yeah, he was probably 12.

He holds out his hand to shake. I take it and as he turns to the hand kiss position, I slip it out of his hand. I didn't sign up for this.

"I'll be back later."

Tight smile and slight nod. He gets up and heads toward the bar.

And we're giggling school girls for a few seconds. During the conversation, I'm sure I could have just said I'm married or whipped my ring in his face. Though I'm afraid he'd think I was trying to sell him a diamond. I just wasn't in the mood to be rude, so I just maintained stand-offishness (it's a word now damnit) and turned back to the girls for moral support every few seconds blushing like a little girl.

It's good to know that I can still attract drunk men. Wow, I bet my mom is so proud.

Chip Buttie, Anyone?

So Britain has this fascination with the Buttie. There's a bacon buttie and a chip buttie and I'm sure there are others I haven't heard of yet. Regardless, I've had both. What, you may ask, is a Buttie? Well, you take a roll or bun of some sort and slather it with butter. Are you with me so far on how healthy this is? Yeah. Right then. Next you put bacon on the buttie for a bacon buttie. If you'd like a chip buttie, you pile chips (french fries) on the bun. Yes, a potato french fry sandwich. With this you can either put ketchup or malt vinegar on it.

Little Man and Lady Jane went to a birthday party and at it they served chip butties. After we did some weaseling and hunting. Translation crawl through rocks and go for a hike. Lady Jane went because it was for her friend's older sister. The girls had a fabulous time. Little Man has difficulty finding the good in situations and chooses to mostly see the negative. Currently, I'm the optimist of the household and the pessimism is driving me mad. Everyone cries too much which I'm not sure how to cure since they don't get what the want from it.

The Art of Flirting

We all remember doing it as kids. Hitting the person we like. Standing around the person we like. Well, Lady Jane has moved to the next level of flirtation. Grabbing a boy's cap and playing keep away. Even putting it on her own head. Poor Samuel was her guinea pig. You could almost see the idea spring to life as she realized he rarely notices her the way she notices him. He couldn't ignore her if she took his cap. I'm afraid it was so effective that she stole Vincent's cap as well. It does get attention.

Of course I remember doing that in high school and yes, it was a guy's baseball cap that I played keep away with. Boys can be quite silly trying to get it back. Let's just hope she sticks with this flirting for a while before she moves on to trying to kiss the boys. Please don't let her figure that one out yet.

When Do We Get to Go Home

Though the kids are having a good time here, I get to hear this question at least once a week. Phil also has had some home sickness. I won't say I haven't missed home, but I don't think I've felt it the same way everyone else has. I miss my family and friends. I'm just now starting to make friends with some other moms. We're even going on a girl's night out, which when I get home, we definitely need to institute. There's always something that needs our attention at home or something that we're ignoring to do something else. Here there are no house projects waiting to get started or finished.

I'll be happy to be home when that time comes, but I'm quite content to be here right now.

Kids love school. School is great. Phil's doing well. He has news which hopefully he's posted or will post soon. I have no news, but life is good.

School Daze

Both Little Man and Lady Jane woke early and were ready for school long before we needed to leave. It's great that they are excited to go to school. Little Man said that I must have missed them during the day as a statement. Not so much. I love having my kids with me, but I also like my time. Today was spent doing laundry, picking up stray toys, putting away clothes, dishes and the like. I found time to write which was nice. I'm still babying my hip for the time being. It hasn't quite recovered from the pull at Chatsworth and then legging it everywhere in Ireland. But hopefully it will pass. One of the other mothers suggested a mommy outing sometime which sounds fabulous. For now, yeah. I'll post a picture of Lady Jane's new uniform in a bit.

Ready for School Now, Please

We went through all our school clothes this morning for fit and function. Everything is labelled and in its appropriate bag. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes. I have to remember their morning snack. Do you think the kids would take their baths early and go to bed now at 10 am and not get up until they have to go to school tomorrow? I'm ready for them to go to school. They're ready to be with their friends again. Not too much to report on the weekend. Tidying up and laundry. I'm almost to the point where I want to go look at something again. This summer we took in so much stuff that I'm a little burned out on historical sites. I know I couldn't believe it either. But Ireland was the last straw. I'd seen so many castles that they were starting to look the same. Phil seems to think I'll get bored without the kids at home. I'm thinking not. There's ton to do all day.

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