Helen Mirren

So last night, Eli and I went to dinner with our friends Simon and Vivian (friends from our last London stint), and guess who dined at the next table? That's right, Helen Mirren. Once Eli spotted her, I kept smiling randomly and looking like an idiot. But it's okay because Helen couldn't see me. Ever since I read this profile of her in the New Yorker, I feel especially close to her.

Yesterday we woke up and went to Hamley's to try to find tools as rewards for using the potty. Of course, after two perfect days, he's pooped his pants three times, so it taught us an important parenting lesson: have the reward at the moment of the good behavior. Because we were in a situation of rewarding two-day-old behavior, or, if not old behavior, than bad behavior. But Hamley's didn't have any tools, so Tommy chose a toy he already has. (And one that I hate because it requires more involvement from me than I like.)

Anyway, we went to Hamley's, then to the park and had a picnic. It's gorgeous in London this weekend. Then, I worked during and after naps. When Tommy woke up, everybody went to the garden to play! Yay! We're out of quarantine. Tommy had a lovely time and only a couple of fits about Angus's red scoop. Tommy has a green one exactly like it, but he loves red. I'm so tired of these fits that I'm going to buy Tommy a red one.

A nice thing about the garden yesterday is that Eli got to meet all of my mom friends and their husbands. Have I complained yet about how my favorite mom is just here for a few weeks? She lives in LA and has really nice kids and she's funny. Her husband is British and seems really nice as well though he works in Germany during the week so we don't see him as much. Tommy and her son Luc like to go back to the compost bin and dig (last night Tommy looked as though he'd had dirt for dinner because his face and mouth were so dirty).

That's it. Sorry the posting hasn't been very regular. But I wanted to remember to tell you about my friend Helen.