Berlin & Barcelona

Just photos right now. We went to Berlin for the weekend of the last UK Bank Holiday weekend (last weekend in August), and from there we went to Barcelona to finish out the month. More to come. In a nutshell, Berlin was great - definitely need to go back with more time. Barcelona was way too hot and humid pour moi. I was a cranky sweaty mess there.

This is the view from our hotel - you can see where the Berlin wall used to be -- it marked on the pavement in the light colored stone.

Anna at the Barcelona aquarium.
More aquarium and funny faces.
Aquarium.
Anna and her godmother, Merce, at the aquarium.
Anna and I at Checkpoint Charlie.

Anna enjoying a huge mango smoothie in Berlin.
Anna and Papa at the Brandenburg Gate.
The ladies at the Berlin zoo.
Elsa trying to escape.

Yum ... and not so yum

Mmmmmmmm. I just got back from having a deeeeeeeelish dinner with Carlos at the Glasshouse restaurant in Kew. Wow, it was good. So good, in fact, I've just had to unbutton my trousers as I sat down at the computer. I know, sorry, that may have been too much information.

I had a heavenly main course -- grilled sirloin (perfectly medium rare, closer to the rare side) topped with tallegio cheese (if you've never had this cheese, try it at your earliest opportunity - it is divine) and served with potatoes and a red wine sauce. Very very yummy. Of course, I went over the top and ordered a crazy, completely decadent dessert - hot chocolate mousse with milk chocolate ice cream. It was so good, but really rich. I might, possibly, have been better off with a fruity dessert, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. Top marks for the Glasshouse!!!

In the not so yum category -- Knowing that we were going out to dinner tonight and lamenting the fact that I'm turning into a pudgy pudge pudge, I went for a run during my lunch break today. I'm turning over a new leaf. My plan is to go for a run during lunch on the days that I work and then aim to do one run over the weekend. Modest aims, hopefully do-able. Today I ran a little loop from my house to the river and back. There are strange people that hang out along that stretch of the Thames at midday. In fact, I ran past a pair that reminded me of Lou and Andy from Little Britain (complete with sweatpants and wheelchair). Thank god for my iPod because they said something to me that I didn't hear as I flew (ha ha) past them. I looked back (later wishing I hadn't) to see one wiping the other's bottom. Ick. Although, it was a good incentive to keep running . . . fast.

Garbo in the house

Anna seems to be modeling herself on Greta Garbo (of "I want to be left alone" fame) these days. Today, after we had made little muffins and after she had received her quota of muffins, I put the baked treats in a plastic container and placed it on one of the highest shelves in our kitchen cupboards. Anna was observing intently. Then, she says to me: "Mamma, can you leave me alone please?" I thought this was very strange since, normally, she only says this to me when she's on the toilet. So, I asked her why she needed to be left alone. The response was simply a reiteration of her initial request. Hmmm, I smell some Anna sneakiness afoot! So, I left her alone for about 60 seconds, and then returned to the kitchen to see her climbing onto the kitchen counter in order to try and reach the box of muffins. Aha! Gotcha! I ask her what she's doing. Anna's response: "I don't know. Can you leave me alone please?"

What is it??

Can you tell? Anna latest drawing: a mushroom wearing sunglasses! I love it.

One of my biggest wishes for Anna is for her incredibly fertile imagination to continue growing as she gets older. (At the moment, I'm listening to her coach her Ariel doll in gymnastics. Ariel, after much encouragement from Anna, has mastered the handstand.)

Sif: Version XXXVI

Ouch. That feels old.

My birthday is getting better after a rather rough start this morning. Elsa had a terrible night (she seems to be having a tough time adjusting to being back in London), and she ended up in our bed by 3:30 am because I just gave up. Then just before 6:00 am, Anna came to our room and told me: "Mamma, my tummy hurts." About 30 seconds later, it became clear why her tummy was hurting. She vomited all over the bed. Poor thing. Anna had one more vomiting episode this morning, and then she was fine for the rest of the day. Alas, after a rather groggy day that involved letting the girls watch way too many DVDs, the little ladies are both asleep.

Carlos had to fly to Switzerland today for work, and he should be back soon. We actually celebrated my birthday in Iceland at the beginning of the month. We went to Reykjavik and had dinner at a great restaurant called Við Tjörnina. Afterwards, we spent the night at Hotel Saga and the next morning went to the Blue Lagoon. It was really fun. On Thursday, we're going to celebrate some more with dinner and a movie.

By the way, did you know that I share my birthday with Fidel Castro and the Berlin Wall?!?

New fave

Anna's well developed sweet tooth has found something new to sink into - gummi bears. She loves "gumbly bears".

Cut lefties some slack!

I just saw this article on the BBC News website.

Gene for left-handedness is found - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6923577.stm

So, according to this article, being left-handed means:

• I have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia (?!?!)
• I can think quicker when carrying out tasks such as playing computer games or playing sport
• I could have an advantage in hand-to-hand combat (that's a handy thing to know next time I get into a street-fight)
• I have a greater risk of getting some diseases and of having an accident

Sheesh.

A Spaniard in Iceland

Carlos arrived from London yesterday. The girls were beside themselves with excitement when they saw him. Elsa instantly became a total "papa's girl". She would not let Carlos put her down; she wanted him to hold her for hours after he arrived. Very cute. Anna couldn't stop talk to him -- she had to tell him everything that had happened in the last two weeks.

My dad arrives a little bit later today. Anna has already drawn several pictures for Afi. All of the pictures are of squid. I don't know why, but all Anna wants to draw these days are squid.

Backyard bounty & careful what you promise

We have had a busy day. All three generations of ladies went out to pick wild blueberries this afternoon. Delicious!! Because it has been such a warm summer in Iceland this year, the blueberries are starting to get ripe already (I think it is about a month early). We went out to an area just beyond the cottage and found a lot of berries and saw a lot more berries that should be ripe in a few days. Anna picked quite a few, and Elsa turned out to be quite the berry picker and berry eater. We found that the berries were best that grew on top of the moss. Anna is fascinated by the moss and how soft it is, but she has yet to master the name -- she keeps talking about how much fun it is to walk on the "mosque".

Earlier today, while Elsa had her morning nap, Anna and I took a walk together. I told her she would have to walk by herself for 30 minutes and then I would take her in the carrier backpack afterwards. By the time we had walked for 30 minutes, we had reached about the halfway point of our walk. What I had neglected to take into account is that the second half of our walk would be mostly uphill. Ooops. I got a good workout of walking uphill for about 40 minutes with Anna (weighing in at 33 lbs) on my back.

Always on the move

Yesterday we took Anna and Elsa to Thingvellir - a national park that is the sight of the first parliament held in Iceland, making it the oldest parliament in the world. It is a gorgeous place, and I thought it would a perfect opportunity to get a good picture of the girls together. This is the best I could do.

These two cannot sit still for more than 3 seconds. I've given up trying to get them to sit for a picture!

Here's Anna in Almannagjá.

This would have been a wonderful picture of Elsa if she hadn't moved out of the frame before I could snap it.

Amma is so clever! She figured out a way to put them both on the tricycle and pull them along the deck. They loved it.

Elsa's ready take a dip!

Waterfall v. horse

We had a pretty lazy Sunday, but we did manage to make a little trip to Gullfoss (a very large waterfall about 20 minutes from the cottage). The girls didn't seem that impressed by the waterfall, but they were super excited by a group of horses that were in a corral near the falls. A group of people were taking a trip into the interior of Iceland on horseback and had made a pit stop at the waterfall. I think it was a group of about 20. Anna and Elsa got to have a good look at all the beautiful Icelandic horses. I think Anna is going to want to try horseback riding sometime in the near future. Actually, seeing the horses even made me want to go horseback riding. And, that says a lot, When I was 14, I went horseback riding in Iceland for the first time and it was an absolute nightmare (the trip included: galloping at breakneck speed with me holding on for dear life, my horse rolling in the sand . . . with me still in the saddle, and shortly thereafter me falling off my insane horse).

Up in the Sunny & Rainy North

Yowza! Nearly a month since my last post. That's not good.

The girls and I left rainy rainy rainy London for a month in Iceland. We arrived on Sunday morning, and not a cloud was in the sky. It was incredible. And Monday, another beautiful sunny day. Tuesday, see Monday. Wednesday, see Tuesday. Today, see London. Rain at last, but this was a good thing because my mom and relatives said that they haven't had any rain in ages.

Anna and Elsa had a fantastic day with Amma while I worked. It is great that I can pretty much do my job from anywhere in the world, as long as I have an internet connection. Given that we finally got some wet weather, I was able to break out the little rainsuits I bought for the girls before we left London. We got them dressed in them this morning, and I think they look like they are wearing little pink hazmat suits!

Yesterday, while Elsa napped, I took Anna out for a walk in the hills behind the cottage. I was so surprised by how much stamina she had. She walked for almost an hour on really uneven terrain and only asked to be carried once. We found a big rock for her to climb.

She did lots of jumping in the fields.

And we picked a pretty bouquet of yellow and white wildflowers for Amma.

Here's a pic of the little ladies enjoying the comfiest sofa on the planet. They better get in some quality time on the sofa before their papa arrives and takes it over ... until their uncle Kiddi arrives, and Carlos and Kiddi are going to have to duke it out for sofa time or cuddle up with one another.

Just in case you don't realize how far north we are, here's a picture I took on Tuesday night at 11 pm. It was a really clear day, and we could see the volcanic Mount Hekla in the distance.

In the other direction, the sun was starting to set, but it still had not dropped below the horizon. Pretty neat, huh?!

Want to laugh?

The guy in the pink shirt is fantastic!

Happy Birthday Uncle Kiddi!

Happy birthday to Kiddi!

Papa & Pabbi

Happy Father's Day!

We had a low key Father's Day today, but fun nonetheless. The day included an outing to the playground where the Reyes sisters took to the swings and wouldn't leave. Carlos and I definitely got a workout pushing them. Elsa loves swinging so much that it practically took two of us to get her out of the swing when it was time to go home. That girl is strong!


In honor Father's Day, I dug out my all-time favorite photo of my dad and I. This was taken at the beach in North Carolina, August 1977. Pabbi and me.

Start your engines!

Elsa is off! Yesterday Elsa decided it was time to stand up and walk the entire length of our kitchen/family room. All by herself! It was wild. It seems that she's decided that now is time to start walking on her own. It was fantastic to see the expression on her face -- she was literally beaming, so pleased with herself.

I'm thinking that the catalyst for Elsa's pedestrian activity was our lovely friend Alison. I love the company she works for because it keeps sending her to London on business, and she manages to come for a visit every time she comes. It is great to see her, and the girls love love LOVE her. So Elsa must have decided it was time to show off for our favorite house guest!

I've crossed over to the dark side

I had toast with Marmite for breakfast this morning.

Did I mention ...

the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (the organization I work for) launched a new website yesterday. It looks quite snazzy, especially compared with the old one.

London Walkies

Oh to be a dog in London. On two separate occasions this week, I've seen a dog being taken for a "walk" in a stroller. Yes, a dog in a baby carriage! That's nuts. On Monday, I saw an old lady taking her Westie out for a walk in an old fashioned baby carriage (it looked like something from a WWII movie). And today, I saw an old lady in central London with her poodle in a stroller, and it looked like the stroller was made specifically for dogs. Again, that's nuts.

Mother of two?!?!?!

When did that happen?

I know I have two daughters, and I absolutely adore being a mother, but deep down I still think of myself as someone much younger than I actually am. It's not that I have an issue with being 35 (nearly 36!) because there's no changing your age! But, I never feel like a proper grown-up. Isn't that weird because how much more grown up can you get than becoming a parent?!

It is the picture I've posted below that has prompted this random musing. This picture of two slippery, delicious and juicy little girls that constantly amaze me. I love them so much that sometimes I feel like I could turn inside out! When I see Anna and Elsa sitting in the bath together I'm always shocked. I think: "Holy crap! I've got two kids!" What is it about this bathtime setting that brings this fact front and center for me?

Here they are:

3.5 years & 15 months

Anna goofing off on the stairs. 3 and 1/2 already!

Miss Elsa. 15 months today. She's taken some steps on her own, and she can do it, but I think she doesn't see what all the fuss is about because she can scoot on her bottom at the speed of light. I love this picture -- it captures the mischevious look that she almost always has in her eyes.

It's all gone!

My hair, that is. Yup, I've taken drastic measures and cut it all off. It feels excellent! Not sure how it looks, but it feels great. I seem to be on a continual 5 year cycle of growing my hair long and cutting it all off.

I better mark my calendar, here's the beginning of another 5 year cycle -- no long hair until 2012 (by the time the Olympics are in London)!

Here is the result of my attempt at a self-portrait:

Funny

Here's an article from yesterday's Sunday Observer that made me laugh out loud.

"What is it with modern women and shoes?" by Barbara Ellen
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,2087387,00.html

"A brain, a brain, my kingdom for a brain"

Forget the horse, I need a brain that functions at a more profound level than just taking care of the basics, like making sure that my heart beats and my lungs breathe. I'm not sure I need an entirely new brain (I like the memories contained in my current one), but I certainly need it to exit its present foggy state. Stay tuned, maybe a decent night's sleep (here's where we'd have a close up on the wistful expression on my face) will alleviate my foggy woes.

Numbers

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, teven."
New numerical system courtesy of Anna.

Lefty, jr.

Behold, my left-handed child! I'm pretty close to making it official, but Elsa's is really looking like a left-hander. That's pretty exciting for me because I've been the lone lefty in my family.

Elsa and Anna both seem to have inherited my shoe obsession. Elsa's latest move is called "The Clumper". She goes off to find a shoe to put on her foot, only one shoe, and then she scoots around on her bottom "clumping" with the shoe on her non-scooting foot. I tried to capture it in a photo, but I'm not sure it comes through. One of these days I'll capture it on video and post it.

Ascent

Elsa has figured out how to climb the stairs all on her own. Sigh. That means a lot more work for me, and that also means I need to purchase more baby gates to keep her in one place. Elsa thinks climbing stairs (which she can do in the blink of an eye) is super fun, and this activity is made even more fun when I have to chase after her. As soon as I come after her, she shrieks with glee -- what a fun game (and, oh so safe too)!

May Fair

Last Saturday we had lots of fun at our local May Fair. Our town green was converted into a fun fair with lots of rides for kids, food and stands set up by local businesses and charities. Anna was in heaven! She got to ride the "big kids" carousel. First with Carlos then with me. The carousel was gorgeous -- a true, old-fashioned one, beautifully maintained complete with a pipe organ playing the music! I have to say that I enjoyed myself thoroughly on the ride.

Next Anna had her face painted with a butterfly. What? You can't tell that is supposed to be a butterfly?!? Really?? Yikes. I couldn't complain because the face painting was being done for free by a charitable organization, but, boy, that is the worst face painting that I've ever seen! I think it looks like Anna did it herself ... without a mirror! Anna, on the other hand, thought it was fantastic. I was counting the minutes until I could whip out the baby wipes and wash it off.

Elsa slept through most of the fun fair. Next year, my little one, next year.

Girls in the garden (and Bugs Bunny's secret)

I love this shot because you can really see how juicy Elsa's chubby cheeks are. Delicious.

"I'm not so sure about this sunhat thing."

A surprisingly nice picture of Anna (given that she nearly always makes faces at the camera these days). Notice that Bugs Bunny is modeling a lovely pink frock -- who knew he cross dressed? And, yes, Anna is wearing cowboy boots. In fact, she's wearing a pair of boots that my dad gave me as a little girl.

Five Years

Five years ago today, Carlos and I stood at a church altar dressed in some pretty fancy duds and pledged our love for each other. It was a great day. Five wonderful years -- it is amazing to think we are just at the beginning of our journey together!

Zzzzzzzzzz

Shhhh. Can you hear that??? It is silent, totally and completely silent. Miracle of miracles, Elsa is asleep in her own bed and hasn't woken up yet. Thanks to Angelika (I spent the evening at my monthly Bunco event where we didn't actually play Bunco but just sat around and chatted while drinking some wine -- how nice). Maybe it took someone other than me or Carlos to tell her enough was enough. Angelika (who also is not a fan of the cryinng it out) told me that she put Elsa to bed and stayed with her for an hour until Elsa finally fell asleep. Then, as she moved to go out the door, Elsa woke up and started crying. According to Angelika, she just said: "Elsa, go to sleep!" and that was it. Elsa stopped crying and went to sleep. Sounds too good to be true.

The Power of Speech

Thank you to Amalah and Mimi Smartypants! As a result of reading Amalah's blog with a reference to Mimi Smartypants' blog, I got a parenting tip that avoided 3 whole Anna-tantrums today. OK, are you ready for the big tip .... make it talk. Yup, that's it. Make whatever you want your child to do talk. It really works.

[The scene is set -- 8:58 am, Anna is still in her pjs and wants to wear them to school. She needs to be ready to go out the door in about 7 minutes. ]
SIF: Anna, let's get dressed.
ANNA: No, I don't want to. [tone starting to change to the whining tone that makes my hair stand on end]
S: Come on, you need to get dressed to go to school.
A: NO!
S: [remembering the sage Mimi Smartypants advice] Look Anna [holding up Dora the explorer underpants], Dora wants to say something to you. [In a high squeaky voice] Hi Anna, I'm Dora. I want to ride around on your bottom and go to school with you today. Come on Anna - put me on!
A: [tantrum rage instantly subsides, and a giggle starts to form] Mamma, what else does Dora say?
S: [after getting over the initial shock of how easy that was] Anna, I want you to put me on and then I'd like you to put your stripey shirt and tights on.
[without any more fuss, underpants, tights, shirt all go on]
S: Anna, let put your dress on. Look, your dress has little doggies on it. Do you know what this doggie says? Woof woof! Anna let me go to school with you today! Please please please!
A: [giggles, and puts the dress on]
THE END

AMAZING, I tell you, absolutely amazing. And the talking underpants weren't a fluke. It worked again at lunch time and again at bathtime [although, the bathtime "talking" involved some humiliating imitations of the Little Mermaid's singing].

I wish I could find something like that to solve Elsa's poor sleeping habits. Thankfully, I finally kicked my nasty houseguests to the curb -- SEE YA SUCKAHS! I hope we have no more visits from Messrs VB and ED. So, Elsa's back to her relatively cheerful self. But, she's been having bouts of extreme grumpiness. And I think this is due to the fact that she's cutting a molar! What??? The child only has 4.5 teeth (2 on the bottom, 2.5 on top)! But, the other day I noticed that she had an area on her gums, toward the back, that was really red and swollen. At first I thought she might have scratched it somehow, and it was infected. But, upon closer inspection, and finger probing on my part, I think is it a darned molar. How crazy is that? So, after being sick and having a bunch of teeth take forever to come in, Elsa is not, I repeat, not sleeping well. I've just spent the last hour and a half doing some controlled crying to see if I can't get her to fall asleep on her own. Crying it out is really an option of last resort on my part -- I find it extremely difficult. Let's hope she'll stay alseep. Fingers crossed.

PS: Anna has started calling her stuffed animals, and me, "darling". Yesterday, when I asked her to come to the table for dinner, she responded: "Just a minute, darling."

The worst house guests ... ever

I've just had a visit from the worst house guest ever - Mr. Vomiting Bug. He first arrived last Sunday evening and before I realized that I had even let him in the door, he snuck in his buddy - Mr. Explosive Diarrhea.

Reason #1 Messrs VB & ED are the worst house guests: They dared to attack my baby. I mean, really, gentlemen, why not pick on someone your own size and who isn't so damn cute? Elsa dealt with her first attack, initially just Mr. VB, pretty well, but she was clearly feeling awful. I know something is up when she has no appetite.

Reason #2 Messrs VB & ED are the worst house guests: They dared to attack my baby again. Wasn't Sunday enough?? Clearly not. Tuesday our washing machine got a work out. Tuesday Mr. VB decided to relax a bit, but Mr. ED wanted to party. I've never seen poop run down a pantleg with such speed and velocity.

Reason #3 Messrs VB & ED are the world's worst house guests: They dared to attack my baby a third time. ENOUGH ALREADY -- GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! Yesterday we had more vomiting and explosive pooping. Today, however, so far, so good. Poor Elsa is stuck eating bread, bananas and rice.

Me - I've had almost no sleep for a week because of these high maintenance house guests. Today I nearly went out to the grocery store in my slippers.

Pink Ladies

Elsa and I have started the London chapter of the Pink Ladies. Pink eye has arrived in my household. First Elsa, and now me. Ick ick ick and double ick. I'm not surprised that I've gotten it since Elsa's favorite activity of late is to blow huge, wet raspberries right in my face.

I'm just waiting to see if Anna will become a member of our exclusive club or not.

P.S. Way to go UK government - they've just extended their paid maternity leave from six months to nine months. US government -- get with the program!

Elsa & Sir Edmund Hillary

What do Elsa and Sir Edmund Hillary have in common? They both like climbing tall things. In Sir Edmund's case, it was Mount Everest. In Elsa's case, it is the stairs in the house. And, for someone just shy of 80 cm, that involves some Everest-like climbing.

Elsa has fallen in love with walking up the stairs. The key word here is "walking". She wants me to hold her hands as she steps up the stairs from the bottom level all the way to the top. That's 50 steps. Does that mean I have something in common with Sherpa guide Tenzig Norgay?

By the way, we had our 1 year check up on Friday, and no surprise here - Elsa's still pretty big (23 lbs and 78 cm). Anna better watch her back because at this rate Elsa's going to catch up with her big sister soon.

Good morning and farewell

Today is a grey and cold day. Grey in the way only London can do – steely with a damp cold that takes many cups of tea to shake off. In keeping with the weather, I saw the most bizarre site while walking with Anna to school – horse-drawn funeral procession going right down the main street leading into Richmond. Two jet black horses with jet black feathery headpieces were drawing a hearse carriage followed by a slow procession of black cars. Wow.

I’ve never seen something like this before. It is definitely a way to make a statement as you exit from the physical world – black horses clop-clopping down the street with two black-clad coachmen in black top hats.

Sneaky in the AM, Part II

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson last month when I discovered that Anna had been sneaking down to the kitchen in the mornings and gobbling up anything sweet that I may have left on the counter. But, no, not this mom.

Last Sunday was mother's day here in the UK, and Carlos went out in the morning to a cafe/bakery that's down the street to get some delicious pasteries for us. While he was there, he found a chocolate/marzipan sheep shaped like Shaun the Sheep. Shaun is a creation of Nick Park, the claymation guy who created Wallace and Gromit. Shaun the Sheep now stars in a TV show here (see him at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/cartoons/shaunthesheep/), and Anna loves the show. As a matter of fact, we all love the show; it is very funny. So, Carlos thought Anna would enjoy getting a little Shaun the Sheep sweet. And I thought it was a good thing to use to incentivize Anna to finish her food.

Last night, Wednesday, Shaun still had not been eaten by Anna because she had failed to finish a single dinner since Sunday night. I put Shaun on the dinner table last night and told Anna that all she needed to finish were a few measly piece of pasta and some vegetables and Shaun would be all hers. She seemed pretty excited, but promptly started whining about how she couldn't finish her pasta and didn't want to eat vegetables. Shaun the Sheep went back into the packaging and back on the counter. BIG MISTAKE. Shaun was now on Anna's radar. This morning Anna came into my room at a little past 7 am. We all got up and went down for some breakfast. Nothing downstairs looked amiss, but then I looked a little more closely. The Shaun the Sheep packaging had, in fact, been tampered with. I peered inside to find a small portion of Shaun's sheep butt left, but the rest was gone. ANNA!!!!!! I was not pleased in the slightest.

Note to self: You have a small, browned-eyed sweetie thief living in your household. Do not leave sweeties lying around the kitchen.

I've been warned.

Eating and Sleeping

Eating and sleeping are two things that I enjoy immensely. Good food not only satisfies my hunger, I think it also is good for my soul. And sleeping -- I wish I could sleep 10 hours a night.

Eating -- Anna has developed the world's smallest appetite. I am at my wit's end as to what to do to get this child to eat properly. The thing the worries me the most is that I remember what a poor eater I was as a child, and I'm dreading have to deal with someone who is like I was. Anyone have any ideas for what I can do to make mealtimes less of a struggle??

Sleeping -- Anna, despite not eating much, is a pretty good sleeper. She's a deep sleeper and falls asleep easily on her own. Elsa, on the other hand, is a champion eater, but a lousy sleeper. She craves physical contact so badly that getting her to fall asleep on her own is a monumental task. Argh.

I went to Spamalot last weekend. It was pretty darn funny, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like Monty Python. A lot of silly humor and poking fun at musicals, particularly Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals.

Struggling

Ugh. I'm really struggling to get work done today. I've been feeling gross and nauseous since last night, and I'm worried because there's a nasty vomiting bug going around. I hope I'm just feeling icky due to lack of sleep. I just bought tickets for Spamalot for tomorrow night to go with my brother and Carlos. I'd really much rather listen to Monty Python gags than do a close examination of my toilet's porcelain.

Happy Birthday Elsa

It has been 12 whole months since that moment in the wee hours of March 12, 2006 when I told Carlos: "I wouldn't bother getting changed into your pyjamas if I were you." And 12 whole months of getting to know a lovely little person named Elsa Lind. She is a mischevious little slice of joy.

Today was a glorious and unusually warm spring day -- what a wonderful way to welcome Amma, Afi and Kiddi. They arrived this morning and Anna and Elsa were thrilled to see them. Anna immediately co-opted Kiddi to be her own personal entertainment -- she loves her Uncle Kiddi. Meanwhile, the birthday girl entertained with her belly laughs, bear hugs and bottom scoots. It was one of those days that made me feel like a very very lucky person.

P.S. In the background of the pictures you can see some of the new colors of the house. I'm particularly in love with the terracotta color.

Queen of Scat

I've been waiting for this moment to come, and it has arrived. Anna is the queen of scat in this household. Scatalogical humor, that is. Lately, she thinks anything that involves the words: poopoo, stinky or poopy is fall down laughing funny. Her favorite saying is "Elsa's a stinky poopoo." Then she proceeds to crack herself up for about 10 minutes. Hilarious.

This may be something to file under "too much information", but I think my hips are finally moving back to their pre-pregnancy location. Either that, or I'm developing some wicked arthritis in my hips. I hope it is the former. It started a few weeks ago with my left hip aching, and that made me feel like a crooked grocery cart (or "shopping trolley" if I'm to get all British with you). My bad left hip made me feel like I wanted to veer off to the right all the time. At least now that both hips are aching, I don't feel like I'm veering off course anymore. Maybe this means that some of my prepregnancy clothes will start fitting again. Yeah, that's right -- they don't fit because my hips haven't gone back and not because I continue to consume too many biscuits and other sweet treats. (As Anna says: "I love sweets -- they're so tasty!" -- like mother like daughter)

Is it too good to be true?

The insurance company's claims adjuster came today to check out all the damage under my floors from the drain fiasco. I was ready for a fight -- I was positive he would tell me that the insurance would only cover the replacement of a portion of the flooring instead of everything. Replacing just one portion of the floor would look ridiculous since we the same wood flooring covering the entire kitchen/family/dining room area. But, the claims adjuster agreed that would should replace the entire floor (especially since we don't know how extensive the water damage is). Wow! Although, I'm going to wait until I get the check from the insurance company before I really celebrate.

On a side note, this part of my homeowners insurance coverage is for "escape of water". I think this is such a funny phrase. To me, this phrase sounds like something that has been translated into English from another language -- it doesn't sound quite right to my ears, even though it is technically correct. I'm a weirdo.

Anna continues to raid Elsa's closet. I'm thinking of putting a child lock over the knobs of the closet doors. Also, she's decided that she no longer says "No thank you"; she says "no thank".

Gorgeous

Spring spring spring spring. Today is a perfect, sunny spring day. Lots of puffy white clouds in the sky, and I see small green buds forming on the trees. The sun is an instant mood lifter, especially after the torrential downpours we've been having.

Painting on the house is nearly done, and I'm really loving the new colors. I just wish we had added the living room to the rooms that we decided to paint. That will just have to wait until the next painting project.

When do children start to understand the concept of time? I told Anna that Amma, Afi and Kiddi are coming for a visit in one week, and she's been asking me constantly if Amma is coming today. I say, no, not yet, and point to the calendar and show her how many days we have to wait. It doesn't seem to sink in.

How does she do it?

Anna has developed a strange talent. I've mentioned that she likes to raid Elsa's closet and use Elsa's clothes for her stuffed animals. Well, Anna has decided that her stuffed animals shouldn't be the only ones to have all the fun, and she's started getting dressed in Elsa's clothes (many of these clothes are too small for Elsa). The recent pattern of events has been as follows: we come home from school; we eat lunch; Anna says she wants to play in her room; I hear nothing for an extended period of time; Anna descends in a dress intended for a 6-12 month old. I have no idea how she manages to get these dresses on because it is quite tricky to get her out of them.

We had a great visit from the lovely Alison this weekend. I love it when she has business trips to London which can be extended to a weekend visit with us. Anna and Elsa just love her. We are lucky to have her friendship.

Metamorphosis

I could have sworn that this morning I left a small, brown-eyed girl at nursery school. However, this afternoon, I collected a small, brown-eyed crab to bring home with me. Crabby crabby. Hopefully, she's just hungry and will feel better after a lunch of yogurt and bread with butter (apparently, that's what crabs eat). I guess everyone is entitled to be in a bad mood once in a while.

Color and Colour

I'm so happy! The walls of my house have been transformed from icky beige to lovely shades of yellow and cream and terracota. Hurray! Tomorrow the painters should finish the halls and stairs which are now a lovely combination of cream and terracota (a sort of brick red/orangey brown) and my family room/dining room is yellow (and the office will be a lovely shade of green). I love it! I think my love for colorful rooms harkens back to my childhood bedroom, for which I have my parents to thank. As a kid, my bedroom was painted bright colors - yellow, green and orange and I also had curtains made of this fantastic Marimekko fabric (a tulip pattern in similar colors).

Has anyone ever played Bunco? I just got home from a monthly outing with some American and Canadian women I know here. We play a dice game called Bunco that is really quite fun. Usually I do very poorly, but tonight, miracle of miracles, I got the high score and won £20!! Wowee!

Sneaky in the AM

When I woke up this morning around 7:30, the house was silent. Ahhh, I thought. Maybe I can either have a much-needed shower or go down to the kitchen and have a quiet cup of coffee before the girls wake up. I went into Anna's room to make sure that she was still sleeping, and her bed was empty! Hmmm. So downstairs I go, and guess who I find in the kitchen -- Miss Anna herself. Her mouth was covered in white stuff. She had snuck downstairs, gotten onto the kitchen counter and eaten up 4 cupcakes with white icing! We made cupcakes the day before I was using them as bribery to get her to eat her food. Well, I guess she decided that my method wasn't to her liking. I can't believe she ate so many.

Sneaky little girl.

P.S. I didn't get the quiet cup of coffee nor the much-needed shower (ponytails are wonderful things on days like today).

Flowing

The water is finally flowing through my kitchen sink and down the drain! Hurray for Glen at Dynorod! At last, I can use the dishwasher again. Washing the dishes by hand is a real drag.

Painting is underway at the house. I'm very excited to see how it turns out. We're going rather bold with the colors. I guess it is a reaction to all the beige in the house. I'll finally post pictures of the house once this is complete. I've given the painters a deadline -- they need to be done by Elsa's birthday. Can you believe that she turns one in two weeks time???

Here's Elsa's latest party trick: when she hears a phone ring, she puts a hand up to her ear like she's answering the phone and starts babbling. Very funny.

Banged up

Maybe Anna isn't that cautious after all. Recently, I had written about Anna being cautious at gymanastics. But, today when I picked Anna up from school, I found her with a bloody nostril, scraped cheek and fat lip. Yikes! Her teacher informed me that she had taken a tumble off on of the bikes when she was outside playing. She told me that Anna loves to go really fast on the bikes, and I guess she got a little carried away. Poor little one.

My house is abuzz with activity. I have someone here painting the interior -- hopefully transforming our house from being all beige all the time to something more colorful. I've also got someone coming tomorrow to hopefully resolve the drain problem. I'd really like to have the kitchen sink back in working order and reall really want my dishwasher back. I've also made a claim under my homeowner's insurance to see if I can get some help repairing the water damage on the floor. Fingers crossed.

Down the Drain ...

that's where my money is literally going. I'm still trying to resolve the kitchen sink drainage problem and on Friday I had a drains specialist here with a camera in the pipes trying to figure out the problem. He discovered that the main drain for the house is smack dab in the middle of my family room, and, here's the kicker, it has been covered up by our floor. Yup - no access without cutting a hole in our hardwood floors. What the f**k? Who builds a house where you cover the main drain for the house in concrete and put the dining area/family room over it???? I'm so annoyed. I know my house is old and has had many incarnations -- first a single family home, then a divided into two apartments, then a single family home and extended out the back, then the attic was converted into livable space. But this just makes me boil. It is just stupid to cover up this drain. Now, I have a 3 foot square cut out of my floor to reveal access to the pipe that drains water from the kitchen sink -- which, by the way, had bubbled up and leaked water into the subflooring, but that's another story. I have drain people coming again on Monday to see if they can't fix the problem with what we've already done. Hopefully they'll be able to fix the problem just just accessing the pipe and not the actual drain (that's buried in concrete further below the floor).

On a lighter note, I was smiling today about some of Anna's funny speech patterns. She calls skating "scaping" and sweeping "sweeting". Also, when she asks for help, she says: "Mamma, can you help for me?"

Pardon the bad pun, but I'm drained.

Nothing But the Truth

I just got home from an outing with the people that I work with. The director of the organization has treated us to tickets to a play at the Hampstead Theatre called "Nothing but the Truth". You can read about it here. It was amazing. The best play I've seen in a really long time. The play is about the transition to democratic government in South Africa and the process of coming to terms with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process. It is written by John Kani, and he also stars in it. He was truely incredible. What a performance. I was completely blown away by him. The play itself was also so interesting because it involved a storyline which showed the interplay of the personal and the political in the people's lives. If you get a chance to see this --GO.

Francesca Pig

Meet Francesca Pig. This is Anna's latest best friend, favorite toy, constant companion.

The pig was actually a gift to Elsa from our lovely friend Kelly, but Anna seems to have appropriated for her own use (as she has done with a number of other things that Elsa has been given; just wait till Elsa's a little bigger!!). When we returned to London after our Christmas trip, and Anna started school again, suddenly the pig was named Francesca. I thought where on earth did she come up with that name? It turns out that there is a girl at her nursery school that is named Francesca, and it seems that she is the "alpha" girl in the class. She's among the oldest, has long blond hair, etc., etc. I can't believe it starts so early, but one of Anna's teachers told me that all of the younger girls are completely enamored with Francesca.

Francesca (the pig) has quite an extensive wardrobe. She's pictured here dressed as Tinkerbell with a string of pearls. Usually, her outfits are pulled from Elsa's closet. At one time or another, I think Francesca has worn most of Elsa's clothes, and some of Anna's.

Following the success of Francesca Pig in Anna's stuffed animal menagerie, Anna now has recently named her beloved stuffed hippo, Violetta Hippo. And guess what? There's a girl in Anna's class named Violetta, and she's friends with Francesca. What a surprise.

Valentine's Chaos

Happy Valentine's Day!

Picture my afternoon -- Anna and Elsa had cute outfits, had just eaten a good lunch, and were both in good moods. It is a nice, sunny day. What a perfect time to take a picture of the two sisters. I don't have very many pictures of the two of them together. Who could have imagined that it would be next to impossible to get a proper picture of the two of them together.

This is what I took before I gave up.

Erratum & Dumb-dumb

Elsa actually has four teeth now. The second front tooth up top has popped through.

Figured out what was wrong with the digital camera -- it needed new batteries. Duh. I thought I had put new batteries in it, but I guess I put in old, dead batteries. Double duh. Now, the girls are asleep in bed, so no pics. Maybe tomorrow.

Back, 11 months & cautious Anna

We're back from Barcelona. Yayo loved seeing his two little grand-daughters for his birthday, and the girls loved seeing their grandparents. Anna loves the extra attention, and Elsa loves the extra food. Elsa is turning into a bottomless pit at meal times. I swear, I think she would eat an entire roast chicken if I let her. Mind you, she only has three teeth.

Elsa, or the Chubster as she is known intra-familia, is 11 months. No pictures, I'm afraid. Our digital camera seems to have died on me. I need to figure out how to revive it. Elsa is growing and changing so fast these days I feel like she's going to be a completely different person by the time she turns one next month (I know, next month, can you believe it?). Elsa's decided that crawling on all fours is definitely not her cup of tea. She scoots around on her bottom remarkably fast. The scarey thing is she always scoots her bottom over to the stairs (going down) and thinks it is incredibly funny when I tell her no and move her. What a fun game. Other than scaring her mother, Elsa is clapping, waving bye-bye and generally being a jolly baby (and, dare I write it, sleeping better).

Yesterday, Elsa and I got to observe Anna again at her gymnastics class. She's really funny to watch. Unlike her daredevil sister, Anna is a cautious one. She's finally feeling comfortable on the trampoline and doing some jumping there, but she doesn't like jumping into the foam pit. The foam pit is at the end of the trampoline and about the size of a small swimming pool. Most of the kids in her class jump into the pit as if it were a pool, but not Anna. Anna will go running full speed toward the pit, only to stop at the end, sit her bottom down and slide in that way. Bless her cautious little heart.

Anna also has decided that band-aids (or plasters as they're called here) are solutions to everything. So much so, that when we were watching March of the Penguins the other day, and one of the penguins was eaten by a seal, Anna told me, "Oh no, poor penguin. I think he needs a plaster."

New Toy

I've got a brand, spanking new toy -- a new laptop!! Hurrah for my job! My old computer was giving me so many problems it almost wasn't worth using. However, that is now a thing of the past. I'm just whizzing around the internet today with tons of applications running, and not a problem in sight. Fantastic!

We're off to Barcelona tomorrow for Yayo's 80th birthday.

The Midas Touch

Everything I touched today turned to crap. Boy, what a day. I feel like I'm living in the Money Pit. First, the kitchen sink got clogged, and I went off to get the horrible chemical stuff to clear it up. Didn't really work. I'll try again tomorrow. I'm trying to avoid calling in a plumber. Then the toilet in the girls' bathroom wouldn't stop running. The water tank wouldn't fill up and water kept running into the toilet bowl. I opened up the tank to see that toilets in the UK look different than toilets in the US. I didn't really know what to do. Argh -- if it were a standard US toilet, I'd know how to fix this (believe it or not). Then to cap off the day, I blew a fuse that caused a lightbulb to burst and all the lights in the upstairs part of the house to go off. Double argh because this confirmed something that I already knew, but didn't want to acknowledge -- the electrics in this old house totally stink. At some point I need an electrician to come and fix it. For now, I'm taking the ostrich approach.

By the way, I was supposed to be working today, and I didn't finish what I needed to finish. This means I'll be up late.

Also, I agreed to host playgroup tomorrow. Why????? This means I'll be up even later to clean up and go over the toy boxes to make sure there's nothing disgusting (i.e., petrified raisins) in there.

In other news, Elsa has definitely taken to walking around if you hold her by the hands. It is amazing. She's figured out the one foot in front of the other thing. She still doesn't crawl on all fours, preferring to do a very weird bottom scoot.