Next week D will return to school to join 2nd grade! Can't believe how quickly it is all going really, but today we had to go up and find out who his teacher would be. He was extremely thrilled to discover that he'll have Mrs Simpson again, as was I. She was brilliant with him last year... and is reportedly one of the best teachers in the school. She had said that she wanted him back again for 2nd grade. Last year she taught a 1/2 split class but this year it's 2nd grade only, and she takes the most gifted kids from last year across the 3 classes ... so I'm thrilled that he's one of them!
The new classroom was impressive too, they have this cool 'ActiveBoard' which projects computer or similar images that the kids can go up and touch, several computers for the kids to use, and tons and tons of books and teaching supplies. I'm so impressed with this school.
When I was a kid I loved the excitement that birthdays brought - being the centre of attention all day, getting excellent presents, surprises, etc.
Growing up, I wasn't able to let go of those childish expectations for my birthday until recently. I still woke up with that nervous excitement in the pit of my stomach, then found myself enormously let down by receiving presents I didn't really want or need, and the day itself continuing like 'normal' rather than being special in some childish way.
30 was the worst birthday. I had moved to Canada a couple of weeks prior and was stuck in a place where I knew nobody, moved from a thriving and busy city where I had tons of friends and a busy social life to a place which seemed like suburban hell and here was me reaching this age that said, somehow, 'you have to grow up now. You can't enjoy yourself anymore, you are a suburban housewife, you must act like one and let go of the life you have known'. Obviously this was all in my head but it was an extremely depressing day... I spent the whole of it in tears.
Since 30 they haven't been all that much better, on one particular one the only person that phoned me to say Happy Birthday was G's mum (bless her) and nobody from my family did...... but I have at last begun to let go of those childish expectations!
Today I turn 35 and it occured to me this morning after unwrapping a lovely Bose Soundock for my iPod (that I had asked for) and a Pedicure at the Spa from Dylan and some flowers from Harry that these were lovely gifts..... but that the only significance of my birthday that mattered now was that I WAS A YEAR OLDER AND THIS IS A BAD THING.
So, sitting here this morning doing very little other than ferry the kids between various activities and feeling a bit blah that the day holds little more in the way of excitement (except that G and I are going out tonight)..... I finally grew up about birthdays, I think... and I'm aware this might read slightly depressingly and it's really not meant to be...... I just realised that instead of looking forward to them I now really need to be dreading them because I seriously do not want to be 35 or any older than that... I am still young!! Down with Birthdays!
As you know I've been battling with the DUST and the GRIME here since the Kitchen demolishing started. Prior to that, I was also fighting a constant battle with the new glorious wood floors we had installed. The ones that perfect shade of cherry that show up every single last crumb, speck or dust spot that settle on them. I must've bought 100 different implements to attempt to get them clean. Yesterday in desperation we visited the Oreck store and came away $1300 poorer with not only one of their top of the line vacuum cleaners but a floor polishing too. They ain't half clean now.
After seeing some friends and finally getting out & about alot more, I feel like I am at home at last! Weird adjustment this time, but I do think I've settled back and feel alot happier.
My friend who had premature twins while I was in the UK gets to bring them home today too so I can't wait to go and see the little lovelies!
D has thankfully stopped throwing up at last! We even managed to leave the house for what felt like the first time in weeks yesterday. Nowhere exciting, just to the Pediatrician to see about his feet and then to the supermarket. Still! An outing! Wow!
Today it is blessedly cooler too. The heat in this house has been driving me mad. You get through the day only to end up really grumpy and irritable thanks to being far too hot by 5pm. We really are going to have to invest in proper air conditioining sooner or later.
The MESS in the house still continues to drive me mad, of course. The dust generated from the plastering in the kitchen is permeating every corner of the house and you only have to walk 10 steps to trail it behind you and leave white footprints. Even if it appears to be clean, it's not. ARGH.
On Friday I took the kids to a local beach. Needed to get out of the house and get some sunshine to cheer up so thought this would be a good way to while away a few afternoon hours.
On the way home, Dylan started to complain that his tummy hurt. Then proceeded to throw up all over himself and the car. I am really bad at dealing with any kind of vomit...... so after winding down all the windows and telling him DONT MOVE... we dumped the car in the drive and rushed him into the shower, leaving his sicky clothes on the doorstep. When we got in he continued to puke, in his usual 'let me get on with it and don't come near me' stoical manner.
At 1am Saturday I woke up feeling less than great, and by 2am I was joining D in the expelling-all-consumed-recently stakes. And feeling dire. Both of us continued to feel dire all day Saturday. I managed to feel a little better yesterday but D continued to throw up, only waking today having not been sick for a record 12 hours straight.
I dunno what we have but I suspect food poisoning, seeing as the other two boys didn't get it. The only things 'different' to the others we had were an ice-cream on Thursday afternoon and a Baked Potato with Beans on Friday lunchtime...... although I have a suspicion that the butter in said might be to blame as it had clearly melted once and been put back in the fridge.
Urgh.
Since I got home I've been feeling very lonely. After 3 weeks of being surrounded by people I'm back to days with only small children to talk to. This sense of isolation and downright misery is also compounded by the fact that the house is a total disaster and there is shit everywhere thanks to the kitchen being ripped out. And did I mention the DUST?
Before I went away life was pretty hectic and the reason it's not, right now, is that 2 of my best friends are out of the picture at the moment - one away and one in hospital. So from loving family everywhere to bugger all + mess.... poor G is trying to compensate but is obviously v busy with the new job and the kitchen and I'm being really horrible and miserable with him.
I'm going to take the kids to the beach this afternoon to get out of the house & get some sun. At least it is still summer here, unlike Blighty which was downright wintery! Ah well, things could be worse...
While we were away Harry's speech picked up no end. Probably because he was surrounded by people talking to him! He has so many more words now for things, and is clearly using his head to think where to put them. The other day at Mum's, Dylan was giving me a hug and Harry aka 'Jealous Jones' came over and tried to push Dylan out of the way so that he could hug me instead. When Dylan refused to go he shouted at him 'HOT!!!'. Obviously associating HOT with 'don't go near that'.. too funny.
He's also communicating when things are 'STUCK' and if something needs to be kissed better because it hurts. His favourite shows on TV if allowed, are 'Boos Coos' (blues clues) and 'Dora!' and he will ask for them.
There are many others, but it's definitely nice to see him beginning to communicate more :o)
Heathrow was absolute chaos yesterday. I decided to go and risk it despite the chaos because a) I wanted to get home and b) I didn't know whether things would improve much and it would be worth delaying for a few days and also c) I figured it was about as safe a time as any to fly.
Having called BA and been told that my flight may well be cancelled, Auntie Kay & Uncle Ken drove down in convoy with me so that after I'd returned Dad's car and posted his keys through, in the event that my flight got cancelled and/or I had to wait at Heathrow for hours with the kids, I wouldn't be stuck or stranded.
They told me to get there 4 hours early - a complete waste of time. Nobody was allowed into the terminal building until their flight was booking (max 2 hours prior to take-off). Meanwhile we had to mill around with thousands of other people in and around specially erected Marquees (complete with chandeliers on the ceiling) wondering what on earth was going on and with heart sinking further every time the next few hundred people were called to be told their flight had been cancelled.
When finally we were called into the Terminal building for our flight - we were told to join a (very enormous) line. After being in it for a while, someone came by telling us that electronics were finally being allowed onto the plane - hurrah! Nintendo's and iPods to entertain the kids! Then someone else came over and told us that we were in the wrong line ..... so we all moved. Checked in and were given Bulkheads, result! V happy, we went through security (very quickly) and got a snack then boarded the plane. While texting on my mobile I was asked by the plane staff whether it was OK to bring phones on board now. Yep. OK. (Amazing security, lol). Then someone else told me she had a bottle of Ibuprofen and nobody had queried the liquid!
Once on the plane we left the gate only a little late but then ended up being stuck on the tarmac for 3 hours while the passenger manifest was cleared by US Immigration. Tedious. The kids were a little fractious to say the least. Then we finally took off and had a pleasant if lengthy flight. The kids slept for around 4-5 hours, as did I.
Arriving in Seattle we were met off the plane by 15 (I counted) armed guards lining the corridoor and 2 sniffer dogs. Getting to the enormous and slow moving Immigration queue my heart sank, but miraculously they pulled me to the front because Harry was grizzling a bit (this NEVER happens!) and we got through very quickly. Collecting bags, we did all the other faff and finally met Gareth and came home.
Home. A place which is a bloody nightmare. I came in to 3 inches thick dust everywhere from the construction that's being done, and no kitchen. Washing up in the bathroom sink. No method of cooking other than the BBQ. Did I mention the dust? And the revoltingly dirty bathrooms after man + 3 weeks alone at home to contend with? G proudly announced that he'd done 3 loads of laundry. I recall that I left him with no laundry to do so it was all his own stuff! Oh and let's not forget the DUST.
The kids went to sleep about midnight last night and woke up at 4am.... I got up at 7 (G got up with them at 4) and ended up cleaning the dust for ages .. only for it to resettle and look just as bad 1 hour later. We then went out to Lowes to buy a microwave so that we could at least warm some food up at some point. G is now grouting the tiles. The kitchen is NEVER GOING TO BE DONE. EVER.
I'm tired and grumpy.
Grrr.
Last summer the London bombings happened and it was all a bit scary and tense and I had to fly out of Heathrow shortly thereafter with increased security and whatnot.
This summer, the latest bomb threats mean that when I [attempt to] fly home on Monday I'll be doing so WITH NO HAND LUGGAGE TO ENTERTAIN THE KIDS. I have no idea how I'm going to get Harry through a 9 hour flight with nothing whatsoever to do. He can't take his teddy (and will struggle to sleep without it). I cannot take a change of clothes for him for the inevitable poo/sick that occurs every time we fly. Less importantly, Dylan won't have his Nintendo to keep him occupied and will be hard to keep entertained.
Obviously I would rather be safe than be too petty about these things but *screaaammmmmmmmmmm* it is going to be a *hellish* journey.
Have spent the last few days seeing grandparents and cousins and the like. Last night I also went to Bingo (!!!) with the usual mob + Andrew which was hilarious and the bloke with the speech impediment that did the calling of the numbers last year when we went did some of it again and we were crying with laughter.
Today we went to Ashby Castle. I haven't been since I was a child & Dylan like the look of it and wanted to go. My cousin and I had been reminiscing about the dungeon passageway that exists that you can walk through - remembering it as pitch black and scary. On the way in the bloke who took our money informed us that they had new lights in there. LIGHTS???? we exclaimed in horror, they didn't have lights 20 years ago!! Anyway, it was still alot of fun and Dylan really loved it - running through from one side of the castle to the other about 12 times. He also climbed to the top of the tower and gave me kittens as he leaned over the wall at the top and waved at me.
Got a few more things lined up before we go home on Monday.
Back at mums after a weekend down south ('darn sarf' for you Londoners out there). We had a great day on the beach at Sandbanks on Saturday - I love that place, somewhere that holds many great and amusing memories from days gone by - most of which are unprintable.
I have one more week left before going home. G has been working on the kitchen in my absence and it is now officially a 'shell' ready for the floor to go down. In otherwords, it isn't going to be ready when I get home *ARGHGHGH* ... not that I honestly expected it to be but ARGHGHGHGHG all the same.
The boys are knackered after the weekend and a bit ratty and I'm knackered from the driving so I'll sign off. Got a few more excursions planned for this week including lunch with my Nan, playdate with my cousin and her kids, trip to see G's mum and sister + the boys cousins, a potential trip to Warwick Castle, and a night out with the UKChatsters at the weekend..... lots to do!
As we left London for pastures North, it appeared that the Summer left too. It was insanely hot last week in London but it's verging on Winter up here, rain and drizzle and rather cold!
We're staying with Mum now for 2 weeks with a break in the middle to visit Sis in Bournemouth. The boys have settled in nicely and H is still sleeping without complaint - bizarrely (and no I am not complaining).
H has had lots of 'Choo Choo' presents for his birthday and is very pleased with them.
D has had his head stuck in a new Nintendo game for the last 12 hours and hasn't said much!
Having a good time, except I miss G!