Lasts

My favorite mug that I drink my coffee out of every morning. 

The sun has been shining brightly for about 18 hours of the day. It sure is hard to leave London when the weather is this perfect and the city seems to be so infectiously alive. 

It's funny comparing this time last year to this time now. The year has flown by, and we are both so thankful we made the choice to move here, even if it did end up being only for a year. All of the sacrifices (moving is very stressful, not to mention I quit a job I loved and we had to be apart from family and friends) that we had to make to spend a year in London were definitely worth it, and the idea of us saying "no" when the question to move here first arose makes me sad to think about.

What keeps coming to my mind is how everything just seems to fall into place- there is no need to worry or bust your butt to force things to happen. Last year we were so stressed out about moving- would we find renters for our house? What would it be like losing my income? Will we hate London? I see how having those worries didn't help anything and made for some unneeded anxiety. Remembering this is keeping me sane while preparing to move back to Houston, knowing that what needs to get done will get done and everything will just work out. 

So, that's where my mind has been recently. Reminiscing on this past year and legitimately excited to find out what will happen in this next chapter of our life! Also, I don't tend to be a sentimental person, but I find myself lately being one of those people that starts every activity with "This is the last time I'll ____". 

This weekend was my last weekend to be alone with Daniel in London, as his family arrives tomorrow!!! And my brother comes in a couple of weeks!!!

We were blessed with sunny 80 degree days, so on Saturday we went up to Hampstead and enjoyed some beer gardens. 

Unfortunately I forgot how to smile, and look derpy in ever single picture. We also went to a new burger place that just opened and followed that with dessert from Louis, a Hungarian Confectionery. So good! 

On Sunday, Daniel went to see a movie with a friend while I did some chores around the flat. Then, we did one of my favorite things- walked along the canal to Regent's Park. The Queen's Rose garden in Regent's is blooming in full force and has been something I have been wanting to walk through for awhile. It is only blooming a few months out of the year, so I'm happy we got to walk through there one more time. 

   

Speaking of blooming flowers, the Hydrangeas in our front garden are beginning to bloom! So exciting to see that some beauty has come from the past 8 months of cold, dark and rainy days. The parks are so lusciously green and it's like the streets are lined with different flowers.

 This week has been my last week to nanny for my little loves, too. I am pretty sad about that one. I have bought them each their own stationary set, complete with gel pens in every color and stickers. I also went ahead and stamped/ addressed some envelopes to myself to ensure that they'll write me!

On a lighter night, I am also counting down the days until I can say "This is my LAST TIME to have to hand wash dishes!" Cannot wait to have a dishwasher again, along with my large kitchen and oven. Because my kitchen is an overwhelmingly disaster of grimy dishes every night that I cook.

Sick Girl

Hello all,

I had plans for a nice long post about our trip to the Cotswolds over the weekend, but I have come down with an evil flu that incorporates a nasty stomach bug with extreme lethargy and headaches. Fun! And I just don't have the energy today to do much more than drink chicken broth and lay in bed without falling asleep every 10 minutes. So, here's some random pictures and I promise I'll write a longer post once I feel better.

Last week I took the kids to Cafe Rouge (a french chain here in the UK) for dinner and we got to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous sunny weather. They always want me to take pictures to put on my blog :-D

 Miranda wanted you readers to know that she recommends this book, called Wonder. It about a boy who has some physical deformity, but the reader never really learns what it is. Each chapter is a different character's perspective. Sounds pretty good!

 My family friends Carol and Jim came to London, along with their friends Teresa and Pat. We went to have some ciders at a cute pub by where their hotel was, and then had some delicious tapas. A great lunch!

On the way home from dining with them, I rode by Kensington Palace. Had to stop and take a picture!

Ok, sorry for the random post. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better!

Nanny of the Year

So I have been on a downward spiral ever since giving the kid 3 ice cream cones. I've been testing the limits for sure. 

These past two days have been gorgeous, so we walked to a new park in Kilburn. 

 Walking ain't half bad when the weather is nice and the houses are pretty. At the park, we mostly read our books and picnic-ed. The park was great, but there weren't any washrooms! So we had to go to the nearby pub.

 In America, it is frowned on to take a kid to a bar. Pubs are different here. They are family friendly and it isn't strange at all to see friends having a beer while holding on to their kids. With that being said, I still felt a bit guilty sitting at the pub with Michael.

 I really loved the pub we went to- a real gem, considering Kilburn isn't the nicest area. Funky interior and really good food.

 He asked if we could take pictures for my blog! I couldn't say no. I needed to document how I brought a kid that isn't even my own to get a drink (of hot cocoa) at the local pub.

 

Afterward, he wanted me to teach him how to play a card game. I already had taught him speed and we have grown tired of Go fish, so I taught him Black Jack. And this won't be surprising to anyone who knows me and my love for gambling- we played with pennies. And now he is addicted. As soon as I came over today, he asked if we could play black jack. We've probably played over 100 rounds. We put the money back in the jar when we're done- don't want the police to come and get me for childhood gambling!

So yes, during the break I fed the kid 3 ice cream cones, took him to a pub, and taught him how to gamble. Babysitter of the year, indeed!

Ice Cream Hangover

Yesterday started out like any normal day. I was with Michael and we were trying to figure out what to do during day 2 of the break.

Ben and Jerry's was giving out free cones of ice cream, and we decided to just go for one. One little cone of ice cream has never hurt anyone, right? But here's the thing with free ice cream. You can't just have one.

We took the underground to Bond St, where we then walked 10 minutes to the nearest Ben and Jerry's. By this time, we were achin' for some delicious ice cream. The line was long, but not too long- maybe 15 minutes of wait. Michael and I anxiously discussed what flavor to get, and immediately second guessed our decision once we saw all the chocolatey, creamy, decadent choices.

As we are eating our treat (me- Smores, him- Peanut Butter Cup) we start discussing about the possibility of just having one more tiny little scoop of ice cream. We decide that if the next Ben and Jerry's is less than a 20 minute walk away, we'll do it. Can't pass up free ice cream!

And so our Ben and Jerry's Crawl around London begins.

The walk is 33 minutes long, but like an alcoholic to just one more beer, we are both in desperate need of another cone. Honestly, we probably would have walked even further if need be. And the walk sobered us up a bit, making us ready for the next cone.

We arrive to the next Ben and Jerry's, and this is where things start to get blurry.

It is in a square with 3 other Ben and Jerry's.

We meet my pregnant friend Erica there. She's that friend that causes you to get more ice cream drunk than you normally would. Terrible influence.

In line for our second round of cones, we meet a girl who is one ice cream # 5. She's slurring her words when describing the best flavors, she's so ice cream wasted. This makes us feel better about our decision. It's normal to have 2 ice creams, right? This girl clearly has a problem, but we don't.

We have our second round of cones (me- Phish Food and him- Smores).

Erica says "Just one more. This'll be the last one."

We get in line for our third one.

I can barely even taste my strawberry cheesecake. The sugar has rushed to my head, and I am losing consciousness.

I drop my ice cream. I contemplate still eating it, but after seeing a hair stuck to the sticky goodness, I realize I have a problem and need to stop. But I don't. I just cut of the bit that hit the ground, and keep eating.

Honestly, I don't even know how we made it home after this, but we somehow did.

We came home and laid on the couch, moaning that our stomachs hurt and we just need to sleep it off.

I woke up today feeling awful. And I will never have a lick of ice cream again. Or at least for the next few days. I'm detoxing.

Successful Half Break

Here, the school calendar is just cray-cray. Summer holiday is very short- about 6 weeks. Because of this, kids have so many breaks scattered around the school year. For Easter, they have two weeks off! Which means I am doing LOTS of nannying!

Yesterday I think marked the beginning of a fun break.

My kiddos are very easy going. They would be perfectly content staying home in their pjs and reading. I just cannot do that, though- I'd go crazy!

I got there Monday morning at 9, we played a bit, and then went to the Transport Museum. I highly recommend this for kids! They get in free, adults are £15, but it's good for a year.

It was understandably packed, but still not terrible for a holiday. I loved it- I could just sit down and drink tea while my kiddos ran around and had fun.

 The museum itself was actually really cool. It had old trains, subways, taxis, and buses in it that the kids could run around in. It was very nicely done. But don't go there if you aren't with children :-)

The museum is in Covent Garden, so afterwards we walked around and looked at all of the antiques. It was highly entertaining trying to explain the different items and what they were used for to an 8 year old. I got to show him Trolls, Beanie Babies, phones, typewriters, and records.

I am hoping that the rest of this holiday is as fun as yesterday was!

Fall Break

Hello all and Happy Halloween! I have been CRAZY busy nannying during the fall break...so happy it's nearly over and just in time for me to spend it all on my new yoga membership...I am biting the bullet and purchasing 6 months worth. Which costs the same as a years worth in Houston. BOOhoo but it's something I love, use daily, and it's good for me.

OK, so I have literally been babysitting my normal family for 12 hours every day. It has been exhausting. They are GREAT kids, too! But I used to always think that having the job as a Stay At Home Mother must be so easy....now, after practically taking on that job for the past 3 days, I am realizing it SO isn't. You have no time to yourself. At least while working out of the home, you have lunch breaks! But, as the mom I babysit for told me, you have no time to spend with your kids when you work out of home and that just sucks. These past few days have just shown me how much I love having time to myself and freedom to do whatever the heck I want and I am not sure if I want that to end anytime soon! So to all of you moms out there...Stay at Home and the ones that work out of home....I just have to say, you are all amazing and deserve so much recognition and praise.

On Sunday night and Monday morning, a "hurricane" blew through the south of the UK. I know it was worse outside of London, but the way the media was describing it, you would think that the apocalypse had hit the UK. A couple of trees fell, and that's it. Monday actually turned out to be a beautifully sunny day and I actually walked during the supposed height of the storm.

 

The girl had an acting camp this week, so I only saw her in the mornings and afternoons. Since traffic was crazy and things were shut down, we had a low key day of pumpkin carving, seed roasting, and book reading. The boy, Michael, is just so cool. He was content walking around the stores and drinking hot chocolate with me at Starbucks to pass time.

 On Tuesday, we went to the Imperial War Museum. It is under lots of reconstruction for the 100th anniversary of WWI, but it was still a magnificent museum. So well done- we walked through the exhibit on WWII and another exhibit geared towards children that was about spies during WWII, which was SO cool and informative! It showed different weapons (pens that were guns!), taught about spies that risked their lives for freedom, and shared crazy methods of sabotage (like putting explosives in dead rats and placing them where the Germans were, so when the Nazis went to throw the dead animals in the fire, BOOM!).
I think this is obvious, but WWI and WWII are focused on a lot more here than they were at home, just because it really did influence London more. So many people were killed during the Blitz and most of the buildings were destroyed, let alone the fact that 1/3 of all British men aged 18-30 were killed during this time. It's all so tragic and interesting to learn about because we are there, where it all happened.

Yesterday, we went to the Princess Dianna memorial park near Kensington palace. It reminded me a lot of Peter Pan- a pirate ship, teepees to run through, tree houses. It was a gorgeous day and my face got a little burnt!

After the park, we went to go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. And the cost, for 1 adult, 2 children, and two kids pack of popcorn.....drum roll....$70. I was in SHOCK. And the theater had nothing on the ones back home. The movie had some laughs, but I really don't like movies much in general, and I find that children's movies that are not Disney/ Pixar generally suck. But the kids loved it, so I'm glad they were happy.

OK, gotta run to do some more babysitting! Hope you all have a great, chocolate filled day!

The Heath

Yesterday, London schools were having a strike. Meaning, the kids didn't have school and the teachers (in my kiddo's words) "walked around holding a sign asking to pay them more" for a bit then (in my words)  probably went to the pub before 2 pm and downed a few beers, knowing Friday would be a complete waste of a school day.

Sooooo, the kids I nanny needed me all day. I walked there bright and early to get there by 9. It was an absolutely gorgeous day- cool breeze and sun, without a cloud in site!

Miranda (the 9 yr old girl) actually ended up having a play date all day, so it was just Michael (7 yr old boy) and me. We decided to walk to The Heath, a park in northwest London that is just 720 acres of overgrown trees, muddy paths, and crisp air. It felt like being in the English countryside!

As I said yesterday, we think that we walked at least 7 miles. It was about 4 miles to the park round trip, and then we guessed we walked 3 miles around the park.

I love the blue plaques naming who used to live in these old homes. It was a nice surprise passing Freud's home!

The walk to the Heath is just gorgeous. It is through the NW3 post code, which is the postcode with the most millionaires in all of the UK. We walked by some truly stunning homes. Note that none of the homes are mansions like you would see in the US.

Once we got to The Heath, we sat down a blanket and enjoyed a nice little picnic. I just love the little boy. He is so, so genuinely sweet, kind hearted, and loving. It's like having a conversation with a tiny adult. He kept saying, "Isn't it a brilliant day for a picnic?' "Isn't The Heath lovely?" "Isn't this the best day?" So sweet. Although  he is American, spending all of his school days in an English setting has made him sound very "proper".

We bought some bread at Carluccio's, an Italian restaurant and bakery. Those birds were eating some fine bread!

According to Michael, that hole in the tree is a "portal to tooth fairy land in galactic space" and he was too scared it would transport him to another dimension when I told him to go in it. Him and his sister are both obsessed with fairies. They coauthor books about fairies. They once argued about if fairies come from an egg or a berry, and then decided they needed to do more research. Ha!

The Heath is so different from the pristinely manicured, uniformly gardened, perfectly kept parks of London (Regent's, Hyde, Kensington). Don't get me wrong, I love walking through those parks and looking at the array of bright colored flowers. But there is something so refreshing and peaceful about walking through the rugged terrain of The Heath. I really feel like the cool, earthy air there was cleansing to my lungs.

I mean, really, how could I deny a child the opportunity to climb some trees? We probably climbed trees for a good hour and a half.

 

Wide, open fields. Lots of people bring their dogs. Dogs are just drawn to little boys and kept running to Michael with fierce  joy and hope of having a play mate. Michael is terrified of dogs and would scream and literally jump on top of me to save him. A sweet terrier with a slimy tennis ball between his teeth sprinted to Michael and dropped his ball right by Michael's feet. I coaxed Michael to throw it for him, and he did. And the dog (Logan) just kept coming back, and back, and back. Michael concluded that Logan is the only dog he likes. And he's a pit bull. Made my heart happy.

For some reason, there were a crazy amount of ladybugs at the Heath. I accidently walked into a swarm of them, and they all just stuck to me and traveled the Heath with us. We counted 8 on me at one point! I know I look just incredibly cool in these pictures (don't be jealous) but I wanted to show you all of the ladybugs that were on me- they are all the little black circles. That means I have really good luck!

 

 

A few months ago, I named Primrose Hill as giving  the best free views of London. I take that back and award the title to Parliament Hill on The Heath.

A neat bench that we sat at for a bit. Hilarious listening to a 7 year old trying to make sense of the quote. He called it a typo. I told him I think it means that everyday we are changing. He thought that was a ridiculous notion!

So, that was our spectacular day. It was so enjoyable and I'm blessed that I was actually getting paid to have such a fun outing!