My new friend Zooey and the Ball

So we went to the ball last night and declined to have our photo taken (just like prom, which is why it is also called the Bechtel prom) and now I'm sad because we were quite dressed up and someday I might want to remember what I looked like when I had my hair done and put on a pretty dress. Eli looked very handsome and even though he will obviously always be smokin' hot, I wouldn't mind having a picture of last night just to remember it. But no picture. (Not sure I'd post it even if we did have one, though.) It was fun sort of. There was a band and somehow made the whole thing feel a bit like Glee (I love that show, obviously).

Actually, telling this story makes me think of and want to tell you about my newfound kinship with Zooey Deschanel (I know that is probably not how her name is spelled but Eli is working on a presentation so I'm on the iPad (not guilt free thanks to Mike Daisey who is a Seattle guy like I though but did not mention in that post)). Emily will feel the same kinship with Zooey when she returns from Samoa and reads this. So I had my nails done yesterday in preparation for the prom,-and I was reading one of the British versions of "People" magazine. And there was an interview with my new friend Zooey who said that one of the two movies she watched over and over again when she was a kid was "Meet Me In St.Louis" and do you know what? That is one of the three films Em and I watched over and over and over. The other two are "The Long Long Trailer" - which I should find and watch again because it's funny but also because I swear to you I have never watched that movie without feeling like my grandpa was sitting next to me on our very ugly and uncomfortable tan sofa. He brought video tapes to us of both of those movies and I guess he knew his audience because Emily and I must have watched both of those movies fifty times each. The other movie we found on our own: The Little Match Girl starring Keshia Knight Pulliam. Truly a breathtaking made-for-television-for-the-holiday-season masterpiece. We watched these movies so much that we could do the dialogue, and often did. I bet my parents thought we were somewhat annoying in the little match girl phase. I remember running around screaming to Em, "Joe's in jaaaaail."

And now back to the ball. We got to sit with good people. I whooped once inappropriately and didn't get drunk until the end of the night (yes, I most definitely regretted that decision (can you call it that when waiters keep filling your wine glass?) at six-thirty when our children awoke having slept far more than four hours and anxious for some parental attention), and then we jumped in a taxi and were home in 15 minutes. I was sad that we didn't win any of the door prizes, well the grand prize which was £3500 for the holiday of a lifetime.

Trial starts on Tuesday now. I worked a lot last week but I haven't had to work this weekend at all (in stark contrast to trial in the US). And how come none of you have emailed me yet to say how grateful you are for the "Downton Abbey" recommendation?? I think Mary has the nicest English accent EVER. Of people I actually know, that distinction goes to my coworker named Sarah Louise Emma Batley. I also love her name which is why I wrote it in full. When I told Sarah that I like her accent she said, "ugh, I think I have a horrible accent. Sort of wanna be posh, but not post at all." Friends. These folks are very touchy about their accents.

On the yellow light...

On our walk to school this morning, Tommy and I continued our conversation about whether there is magic in the real world.  (His words, his subject.)  After reflecting on it from the day before, he told me this morning that magic is not real and there is no magic.  

When we got to school, you will never guess what Miss Jo told me.  Yesterday, for the first time ever, Tommy went on the yellow light.  Miss Jo said that he had a very hard time listening yesterday (it was raining and they didn't get outdoors much, which she says the entire class really needs).  And finally she told him that if she had to remind him again, he would go on the yellow light.  After she put his name there, he apparently felt horribly and really embarrassed.   

As I said goodbye to Tommy, I told him that I heard he went on the yellow light but that I was sure that he wouldn't again today because I know he's a great listener.  Again, he felt awful and was obviously really embarrassed and miserable.  (Note to self not to address such huge topics right as I'm leaving for the day.) 

Here's a photo from our walk to school yesterday.  The yellow light day.

Do you love your apple?

Listen to this.  (A big thank you to Sid for sending it to me.)

Last night, Tommy had such a bad sore throat that he spent much of time time between 7pm and 11 pm moaning in pain.  Finally, we gave him ibuprofen, and let him sleep in our bed (Eli moved to the couch which was very sweet indeed) and he conked out.  Lulu continues her super grumpy streak because she's sick (and very very snotty, ew) and not sleeping well.  It's a little bit sad around here.

Also.  Did you know my kids used to be babies?

Random

Happy weekend.  We had a busy week -- or, maybe just I did -- and so the weekend is feeling especially nice.  I'm excited because I found a tailor to do major alterations on a dress that I've loved forever but which has never fit me apart from the Christmas party I attended when I was six months pregnant with Tommy.  And, I get to pick it up on Friday which is in time to wear it to the Bechtel ball!  (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Anyway, Lulu wears her hair most days in pigtails now, which somehow makes her even cuter.  She got her first trim and for all of you concerned, her curls were not cut off.  She has a bad cold (likely from me, which is sad) and so she's been sleeping horribly and been in a very bad mood.  Today I told her she is mean as a snake and Tommy heard me and won't stop saying it.  Nice.

One of my nice friends recently did a post on her blog in which she admits that she doesn't like playing with her kids.  She likes baking with them, reading to them, crafting with them -- but not lego.  And you know what?  That's my life, exactly.  I always tell Eli that I don't know how to play lego because that's not what I played when I was little.  And so this morning when he came back from his run, he complimented me on the hull of a ship I'd been building at Tommy's request.  You know you really suck at lego when your husband uses positive reinforcement on you.

We went shoe shopping and you would be astonished at how thrilled Tommy is to have the tiniest bit of red on his new running shoes (trainers, as they are called here).  Lulu got some tall pink boots (on sale, so cute I couldn't stop myself and exactly the reason I should've had two boys) and some pink running shoes for football (she's been wearing some shoes that are pretty much aqua socks; my mom got them for her to wear during the summer but as her only non-mary jane shoes, they've made a solid showing this winter which is embarrassing).

Tonight Tommy requested a story about me, and I told him about the time my parents took us camping for a week and I got three bee stings.  He said that he still likes camping, and he's never been camping, but he can tell me his favorite part of camping is going swimming in a lifejacket and jumping off the dock and going down to the bottom of the water while wearing his goggles...

This is going to be another tough week -- trial starts a week from tomorrow -- so I may not check in. Photos next time!  xoxo

Homework

Hi Friends: It's Tommy's first week of homework.  Mandy didn't realize that it was meant to be done over the course of the whole week, so he finished it all on Monday night.  He seems to be very proud of it.  Upon reviewing it, I said, "gosh, you're getting really good at writing your letters!"  And he said, "yeah, but I'm not very good at 'g'."  I was surprised, because actually his homework had some very nice 'g's.  "Really, honey? This one is great!"  "I know, Mommy, but Mandy done [sic] it."

So that's our homework situation.

Lulu needs a helmet...

Braids...

Lately

So last night I worked until seven or so, and as I walked to the tube, I called Eli to tell him that I was on my way to the gym.  Eli was still reading to Tommy, and when I heard Tommy ask if he could talk to me, I told Eli I wanted to talk to Tommy and would he give him the phone.

Friends, it was a striking telephone call, and let me tell you why.  I said to Tommy, “how was your first day back at school?”

And he answered.  A description of the entire day poured out of him, in his sweet little voice.  I couldn’t believe it.  Normally, the only thing he will tell me about school is what he was served for dessert after lunch.  But put him on the telephone, and no detail is too small to omit.  It was lovely.  When Eli took the phone back he said, “that was a lot more than I got.”  So now I plan to call Tommy every day.

I had the brilliant idea of a pancake morning last night, and this morning Eli remembered and executed the idea while I was getting ready.  I came down and helped finish everything, and then looked at the clock and realized that there is a reason we don’t have complicated breakfasts (that’s right, pancakes are complicated because we make them from scratch over here) on school and work mornings.  We become very late.  On Monday, somehow things were running ahead of schedule, but Tommy was anxious to go to school and kept telling me that we were late.  It was very confusing and I asked him to please stop until he can tell time.

This morning on the walk to school, Tommy asked me if he and I would always be together.  And so began another conversation about death.  I am not sure what has prompted his concern about death (possibly the death of Hanh’s dog; maybe the 24/7 listening to his fairy tale CDs), but it has created a challenging parenting moment for me.  This morning I answered that we would be together for a long time, and he asked me what about when I’m old like Grandma Ruth (Eli’s grandmother) or Gigi (my grandmother)? And so I asked him what he’s worried about, and he explained that he is worried about being hit, pushed, and kicked (probably not going to cause death, I said), but also being crushed by a car (his words), or having a house collapse on him (which would result, he thought, in many bandages).  Though he did not mention it this morning, he is also very scared of the long escalators in the tube.  Now I worry that when I kissed him goodbye, told him to have a good day, and not to worry about anybody dying that I closed off the conversation when he might not have been ready.  (But I was definitely ready.)  I actually found myself wondering if this is how Joseph Smith came up with (what I would argue is) the defining feature of Mormonism, that you are with you family after you die – because his four year old started asking uncomfortable questions.  I’m off to find a book on the subject right after I finish this blog post. (But if you have a good recommendation, feel free to email me or leave a comment.)

Mandy put Lulu’s hair in braids on Tuesday night and Eli sent me a picture.  It kills me.  A year ago she was a baby; now she’s a big girl.  Honestly, I think the baby part could last just a little bit longer and if I’d invented humans, I would let it linger a while.  (Not the part where they don’t sleep and don’t weigh enough to sleep train, though.)  Our favorite little moments with Lulu are those when she asks questions.  In the mornings, when I’m at the gym, she wakes up and when she realizes I’m gone, she says to Eli, “Mommy…Doing?”  I banged my foot into the bathtub and said, “ouch” and she said, “happened?”  Not an early talker by any means, but a talker for sure. Also, she can scream like you’ve never heard when she’s crossed.  I realized this morning (she was screaming because Eli was going to work and took the iPad from her to pack it up) that I’m actually used to functioning – talking to Eli, doing the dishes – with her tantrum going on.  If you happen to be holding her when she’s mad, she looks you directly in the eyes and screams, her mouth four inches from your ear.  She’s a scrappy one.

Being back at work this week has been fine.  Not wonderful, but just fine.  My boss is very impressively named one of London’s HOT 100 lawyers, so it’s fun to tease him about that.  I am itching to plan our next trip, which I believe will be Croatia the week of April 9th for those curious, but it’s not certain yet.  We’re planning to rent a house and relax with Hanh and Eleanor.

And that’s all I’ve got for you, apart from another suggestion that you watch Downton Abbey.  I will say that I liked the first season more than I’m liking the second (which we will finish this weekend but don’t worry, I won’t give anything away).  OH!  And I’ll also recommend “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach.  It’s a nice one, especially for the baseball fans out there.

So, what am I doing with my free time?

I'm watching Downton Abbey, of course.  If you haven't, get it immediately.

Ahem

I am not currently on track for my posting three times per week resolution, and while I have excuses, I'm not sure they help me look less pathetic.  I mean, it's January 6th.

So, I thought I should do a post about what we did with Mom and Dad, apart from Christmas.

Here we are at a coffee break.

 Mom, Dad and me at "Crazy For You."  (Eli took the photo.) So fun, except for the parts I slept through.

 The Museum of Childhood.  DEFINITELY worth a visit when you come to London with kids.  It's just fantastic.

 This is Christmas day -- crashing on the new balance scooter.

 This is the closest we have to a picture of the four of us with all of us looking at the camera.

 A round of "Apples to Apples" after the kids went to bed.  It's clear that I'm objecting something dad has said.

 Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.  Too crowded, and Lizzie cries whenever she has to get off rides, but otherwise quite fun.

 An outing to Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, etc.

 Watching skating at Somerset House.

Tommy, lately

Tonight at dinner, Tommy said, "When I was a baby.  When I was a baby, I would go to school all the time and poo in my diapers!"  And then he laughed.

He's also been saying, "you're so slow, it takes you all day to go around a tree."  And then he laughs.

Finally, on a sweeter note, today we had this conversation:

Lizzie, handing Tommy a little car:  "here you go, Nommy!"
Me:  "That was nice, Lulu!"
Tommy:  "Very nice, I agree!  You've been so kind to me!"

Happy New Year!

It makes me a bit dizzy to realize that an entire year has come and gone, but it also makes the sting of Christmas being over a little bit easier to handle since I know it'll come again so soon.  Plus, I really do look forward to nice weather.  I do.  I am just one of those people.

It's going to be a big year.  My mom is retiring, my dad is turning 70, Tommy is going to be able to chew gum (I randomly chose five as the age at which he could do that; I would suggest eight to those who are still deciding), Lizzie's going to be potty trained and start speaking in more-than-two-word-sentences, Tommy will learn to read (all the words), and we might move!

Here are my resolutions:
1.  Go on a vacation with just Eli
2.  Stop swearing
3.  Do 10 posts each month

And that's all I've got for you today.  I really hope it's a lovely year for all of you!