Changes

So it's no secret in my house that I'm a bit stressed out lately. My case is exploding; we're going on vacation to Andy and Katherine's wedding; the kids are sleeping badly (and so am I to be honest); oh, and we're going to leave London sometime in the next few months.


Eli says -- and he's totally right -- that I am getting better at these transitions as they come along. And I admit that I can find many things to be excited about in Gabon (the current frontrunner): bilingual children (even if they speak French with a somewhat odd accent), beaches, being sort of near Hanh and Eleanor again.

But, it's hard to feel like I'm just hitting my stride in my job and now I'm going. Our kids go to such great schools* and we live in such a nice neighborhood, and I like London so much and on and on.

If we go to Gabon, my twenty readers are going to be the real winners, you know. Can you imagine the stuff I will have to write about? I'll have to write two posts a day just to process. (What did I do before blogging? I think I talked more on the telephone?)

In the meantime -- while we figure out where we're going and when -- you'll have to bear with me as I publicly worry through all of this. Sorry, charlie.

Happy Tuesday and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIBBER (and Ollie tomorrow and Chinka yesterday).
-----

*On the way to school one morning last week, I asked Tommy which school he liked better: Eridge House or Paint Pots? "Eridge House. At Paint Pots there's no playing; you just work all the time."

**This morning on our walk to school, I was explaining piling and foundations to Tommy just because I couldn't think of anything else to talk about and yesterday I sat in three expert interviews about this stuff (anyone who wants to explain negative skin friction, please send an email). Anyway, he was pretty engaged and talking about settlement and what piles do (in simple terms) when all of a sudden he said, "okay, now I'll tell you what I learned yesterday at my school. About minibeasts. And some beatles are flying and some are not." I realized maybe I wasn't as interesting as I thought...
 
***I was so mad at Tommy on Sunday afternoon that I told him if he didn't stay near me (we were out and he was badly behaved) that I would leave him there.  I know, HORRIBLE and something I never imagined saying to my kid.  And later when I was apologizing, Eli asked Tommy what he would do if he ever was lost, and Tommy said he'd go find a policeman and say, "My mummy and daddy have left me..."  Yikes.

What Tommy knows.

We had a huge breakthrough last night.  At bed time, Tommy picked out a book at he read it to me.  He was so proud that he then marched into Lulu's room and read it to her and Eli.  We didn't help him with any words (though, to be fair, it was definitely a book for new readers).

I did not cry but I did jump up and down and his sweet little proud smile was just so amazing.

The other adorable thing he does - constantly - is spell words.  So, as we walked to school on Friday, I asked if he could have any kind of b-a-n-d a-i-d-s,* which kind would he like and he replied, "s-p-i-d-r-m-a-n." (I know, he missed an e, but give him a break.)  And if there are no Spidey, I asked? He said, "c-a-r-s-t-o."

Here's a video, sort of:

* I am purchasing them each a box of band aids for the flight.  You can call it wasteful, but I bet you that an entire box of band aids in Lulu's hands (she's getting D-o-r-a) will mean that Eli and I can read for an entire hour.

On how the lovely weather is killing us

It is 6:08 am.  Eli and I went out for dinner last night and while we were not out late by our pre-kid standards, we did not go to bed until after midnight.

I am currently watching my second episode of "Charlie and Lola" with my daughter, Elizabeth.

It has been hot here, and when it is hot, the upstairs gets a bit uncomfortable sometimes.

But we have fans, and we have figured out how to keep it nice up there and right now it is perfectly pleasant.

We all have a bit of a cold, and Lulu has developed a cough that was bothering her this morning, but that can only have a role in this morning's 5:00 am wake up; not the four previous mornings this has happened.

And right now I'm so tired my eyes are burning.  We have gone through phases of this in the past, I think because our house is very light as well as warm, and I have always survived. (The key is that you must pass out on the couch around nine.  Otherwise, the sleep deprivation really kicks in and you become very c-r-o-s-s, as Tommy would say (but that's another post).)

On top of that, we have to pack because we are going to Florida for Andy and Katherine's wedding (yay!) on Thursday and I am very busy at work and cannot be sure that I will be home enough to pack us up this week.  You guys.  Packing for a trip with kids is just so completely different to packing for a trip with just yourself.  It takes so much longer than I ever give myself time for.

So yeah, when my co-workers ask me about my weekend tomorrow, I'll probably say something like, "well, you know, it was alright.  We couldn't go anywhere because we had to pack and our kids woke up so early we felt like zombies all day, but I guess it was nice to have the sunshine."

Our house, lately

I know she'll need therapy because of this post.  But seriously, how can we resist taking photos?  (Her nursery school teachers believe her to be ready to potty train.  And she is.)

Oh, you know...

 An attractive one of me, don't you think?  We're looking at planes and gorging ourselves on a Le Pain picnic.

 Oh, you know, just sitting on top of the book case...

Friends, you will see that Eli has spent some time with my blog this weekend.  We chose a new layout that I am not sure I am in love with yet.  He made a banner that currently only shows up when you check it on the iPhone.  So do it, because the banner is very cute and stars our very own Lulu.  (Tommy will be the star when we change in out in two years -- no sooner as this blog has been in existence longer than two years without a banner.  In fact, technically it still is in existence without a banner.) 

You want to know what we did this weekend? We attended birthday parties.  Fun for Tommy and somewhat fun for me as here parents are almost always served alcohol at birthday parties.  I thought it quite classy to stand out on the football pitch with a glass of champagne and I made certain the hostess knew that I was impressed.   

It is warming up this week -- finally! -- but the weekend was chilly so we also went for a swim during which the little girl playing mermaid had chattering teeth and a bluish tinge to her skin but firmly and fiercthfully (as she would pronounce it)* refused to get out of the water.  Tommy is a bit more active in the water (an understatement, that) and so he was perfectly warm and wailed along with Lulu when it was time to get out.  (Sometimes when you're reading this I know you wonder why you spend the time and I want to say that I appreciate that you stick with it.) 

When we were all putting on our shoes to go to swimming I was scolding Tommy for hitting Lulu with his sword, and I explained that not hurting each other is really the most important rule in our family, and my husband said, "well, Tommy, that and you have to remember never to mix up Lego and playmobil."  And I said, "Exactly right!"  It was a moment during which I felt so understood.

On Saturday night, Chelsea won a football match.  It was a big game (they are champions of something now) and I understand that the win was an impressive one.  Chelsea's stadium is about half a mile from our house.  So on Sunday the neighborhood shut down for a parade.  We did not actually see the players as I wanted to go home rather than wait with a huge crowd of drunk people with accents I couldn't understand, but the crowd was something else.  Maybe I'll download those photos and show them to you...

The one other thing on my mind today is that in London whenever I run errands, I am called either "madam" (by the women) or "love" (by the un-posh men). I had to get Eli's shoes re-soled because there was a hole that was allowing all the rain to seep in and get his feet wet (ew), and I loved the cobbler because in addition to finishing the shoes within 24 hours and doing a really nice job, he called me "love."  This is not to say that it is something I always appreciate, but sometimes it's sort of nice. 

  

* Yes, Lulu does know and use the word "fierce."  She learned it in this book.   And I can never decide if it's cuter when she says the lion was too "fiercth" or the camel to "crum-my" (grumpy).   When mad, this is how she looks:

Dora...Or Diego

I'm not sure what is wrong with me, but today I've pestered two perfectly nice people about their baby names (just call me nosy parker), made one friend cry (or at least not really helped her stop) and I must confess to all of you that I'm on my second night this week wherein Eli is otherwise engaged and I have to make my own dinner (egg sandwich) and I can't figure out how we dispense pepper in this house.  And I don't need salt for the egg sandwich.  I need pepper.  (Perhaps if Eli reads this while we're at home together I can have a kitchen tour.)

I forgot to tell you all a very funny story and I'm sure telling it will both cheer me up and amuse you for the twenty seconds it takes to read it.

The Saturday before I went to Dubai, the whole family went to my office so that my big strong husband could help me get all the things I needed for the trip.  (I should've just gone myself and taken a cab, but the story of us struggling in the Tube with my seven binders, our two children and the stroller is a story for another day, and is in large part the result of my refusal to let my 23-lb two year old go without a car seat in a cab.)

So, we walked into the office and two of my colleagues were there.  And when I introduced the kids to my boss, H, Lulu looked at him hard for a minute and then said something about rescuing animals.

I was confused.  But I was also willing to chalk it up to one of those random things that kids say.

Until -- in the middle of my conversation with Eli and H -- I realized that Lulu thought H was either Dora or Diego.  He has the same color skin, same color hair, and he has longish hair (like many English men do).  He does not have nor could I ever picture him having a backpack, or pink pants (trousers!), or anything on other than a suit (though my old colleague assures me that H does own a pair of jeans which he wears only with a white button down shirt and a navy blazer).

Instead of immediately telling H, I bit my lip and tried to shame myself for having a child who is only used to white people.

I'm pleased to tell you that this strategy worked and unless H knows about my blog (which he doesn't, as he "doesn't know how the internet works" and can "only do BBC"), he does not know that my daughter thinks he is a hispanic preschooler.

(I edited this because the paranoid part of me was freaked out putting my boss's name on my blog.  So there you go.)

Paintball and cholesterol

It's Monday evening and my husband is 'down the pub' after playing paint ball.

I never thought I would type those words (the paint ball part, of course), but here we are.  It was apparently SO much fun (emphasis Eli's).

In contrast, I am home having arrived earlier than normal to relieve Mandy.  I have already eaten a huge amount of spinach (perhaps addressing some deficiency or another?) and am preparing to continue reading 'Anne of Avonlea.'  I have been thinking for quite some time about rereading the Anne of Green Gables books because I love them so bad, and the trip to Dubai helped me remember to load them onto my Kindle.  (Kindles are dorky but I really do love mine.)  I was worried that rereading them would disappoint but it has not and I am planning a trip to Prince Edward Island sometime in my future.  I fear I will be blogging less than normal until Anne and Gilbert get together at the end of 'Anne of the Island' which might take me into next week given the lack of reading time (apart from children's books) I currently have.  (But we all know that I find television time, so don't feel too sorry for me.)

Eli and I just had this conversation by text, which is actually why I logged into blogger in the first place:

Eli:  'What is the procedure called where they go inside your arteries with a needle to clean out the cholesterol?'

Me:  'With the balloon thing? Angioplasty.  You guys should talk about fun things instead.'

Eli:  'None of them have heard of it and they're all ordering this horrible burger with butter, bacon and an egg.'

And I'll leave you with that to start your week.

Dubai

Hi everyone.  I'm back in London.  I landed Thursday morning around seven am.  My flight left Dubai at three am.  It was surreal and not very fun to be wandering around the Dubai airport in the middle of the night shopping for presents for my family with hoards of tourists all plunking down cash for designer sunglasses and perfume.  Oh, and alcohol.  

Forget about the work, I know what you're interested in:  how was the Middle East, Laura? As a western woman who was uncovered? It was no problem at all, at least in the places I went...I saw women who are normally fully covered eating in the hotel restaurant at breakfast and they just pushed the face veils up onto their heads.  The woman I noticed first was drop dead gorgeous and I thought to myself that if I were the type of person who thought women ought to be considered property and I were her husband, I would want to hide her face from other dudes, too.  Of course, Dubai is very liberal and I really never felt uncomfortable even walking around in a sleeveless dress.  Which is good because it is like walking into an oven to walk outdoors there.  I spent  three minutes trying to get a taxi and almost died from heat stroke.

Having dinner in the tallest building in the world was the, you guessed it, high point.  It's called the Burg Khalifa and the restaurant is on the 123rd (or possibly 124th floor).  My very nice boss got the reservation and took me there I think because he wanted me to do something fun while in Dubai, and it was actually fun!  I wish my photos had turned out but they did not.  The building is interesting to look at, which is sort of a nice bonus.  While I was up there, I wouldn't lean on the windows but then we had dinner the following evening with some construction experts in the Middle East and one explained to me that because of the height, the wind was so strong that the old fastening system for the windows wasn't good enough. So, they invented a new one for the Burg and it's tip-top.  He would not be nervous to lean on the windows.

 My dessert:

 Hamish's dessert:

 I arrived home to Aunt Jan and Uncle Vyn who are taking a break from their own little Tour de France and are here for a long weekend.  Tommy is over the moon as (1) they have promised ice cream, (2) they have promised to buy him a new toy and (3) Uncle Vyn is willing to have back-to-back sword fights which Tommy is always permitted to win.  PRETTY NICE.  They also helped me sherpa my crap back to my office yesterday which was so nice.  They've seen the Cabinet War Rooms and the 'best of' tour of the British Museum.  They also went to St. Paul's yesterday.

I don't really have anything else for you - so have a GREAT weekend.  These are from last week:

Thank you...

I received so many nice emails today!  And, Lulu has been singing nonstop.

I had a chocolate cake with whipped cream and smarties (as dreamed up by Tommy) and the kids only ate the smarties and whipped cream, even though Eli rocked the cake.  So delicious.

And, there were even proper sunny patches today.

Now I have to go to Dubai -- my flight leaves tonight and I'm excited to fly business class but also anxious about the work I need to do while I'm there.

Back next week.

Another post without photos: you were warned

An American guy came to my office yesterday to present a seminar on WRITING TO WIN.  He was a little guy but had a big voice, striped socks, and a lot of confidence even though he didn't have too terribly much to say.  Interestingly, as I type I am breaking all of his rules but I don't think I'm worried about it.  He says you really use his rules in the editing process anyway and that doesn't count here because in case you had not already noticed I do not edit this here blog.  I barely write anything in the first place and editing takes me longer than the original writing as I am a very fast typist and an even faster thinker.  If I edited, I would have to cut back on television and I barely get enough of that as it is.  Anyway, this guy's first rule (which must be the most important if you adhere to his other rules, one of which is make your best point your first point and don't expect your reader to absorb any more than the first point, especially if your reader is American) is to skip commas and instead use dashes.

And this made the English solicitors go cross-eyed.

I love it when a big group of adults talk about the rules of grammar.  I mean, I understand that one ought to know them and I am painfully aware that I likely do not follow them as well as I ought to BUT there is a point at which it all becomes a tiny bit silly and my friends, I had about two hours of silly yesterday.

But the best part is when he discussed how one must present to American audiences.  He suggested two things that struck me as absurd:  one, that because Americans are used to listening to preachers that you make it sort of sermon-like, and two, that you always always always end with a positive message.

And I should've raised my hand, I should have, but this was after he said that speaking to a group of Americans is roughly equivalent to speaking to a group of fifteen-year-old boys and so I was already sort of confused.

Because while I can understand the usefulness of stereotypes at some times, I don't think that making sweeping statements about an entire country is useful for a group of people who obviously have corporate clients.  Who might not be interested in religion and sunshine when they have a problem and want your view on it?

My lord.  I would so so so love to know how much that guy was paid.

Random

Hi there.  It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon here in London.  We had a nice day yesterday but now my iPhone weather forecast is back to only rain.  Which sort of makes me hate it a little bit.  As though the phone is responsible for the weather?  I think I won't get a new phone until it gets sunny here just to make sure that I need one. 

Eli and I went to a fun dinner on Saturday night.  I work with another American and it was her birthday, and she does really neat London things because she is only here for a year.  It was put on by a chef who cooks with local ingredients in random places.  Ours was in an old car garage.  They had picnic tables and put up paper lanterns and announced that we shouldn't touch anything in the garage apart from the food because they didn't know what might be there.   (The announcement was just in time as I had not yet lay down on the floor for a nap.) 

We sat near my barrister friend (who took me to lunch in that neat old building, remember that post?) and he told us about how he lost on a college quiz show because he had two difficult questions at the beginning -- and guess who knew the answers to the questions?  MY SMART HUSBAND.  Anyway, so when Eli and I were walking to the Tube afterward, he said, "there are just some people in this world who are obviously really smart and smarter that you, you know?" (He meant that Dan was smarted than himself, not me, though it would have probably been an appropriate comment if he had meant me.)  And I said, "YES, and that's how I feel about him too!"   

This guy got a job at one of the best chambers in London.  He was one of 700 interviewees.  He's just really smart.  And also really nice and very fun.  It's quite fun to have smart friends because they know so much.   

Eli and I have been watching the show "Girls" and now I have a new favorite song.  You should listen.  And that chick who writes and stars in that show? IMPRESSIVE.  Why to do it, Lena Dunham.  (While this blog began as a way to keep my children's grandparents updated  on their status in London, I am not actually recommending "Girls" to my own parents or my in-laws.  I think I'm about the oldest person who can watch that show and find it so touching.  It just kills me.  But I might be wrong?)