Welcome to my pity party. Here are the things I'm feeling disgruntled about at the moment:

• Heavy fog.
• Heavy rain.
• Freezing rain.
• Snow.
• Flight changes.
• Flight delays.
• Flight connections missed.
• No husband home.
• No daddy home.
• Weekend plans possibly wrecked.

Thus ends my pity party.

And for some comic relief...

Today at the end of lunch my one year old let out a really loud belch. I looked over at him and he was laughing (how do they learn that?) and looking quite proud of himself.

I said, of course, did the mom thing and said, "what do you say?"

His response: "I forgive you."

Ellow Bug In Dere

This is a conversation I had with my 1 year old yesterday.

Him: “Ear hurts here.”

Me: “Your ear hurts?”

Him: “Uh-huh.” (his new favorite word)

Me: “Why does it hurt?”

Him: “A bug in dere (there).”

Me: “You have a bug in your ear?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: Wondering where this might be going…”is it a big bug or a little bug?”

Him: “Big bug.”

Me: “What color is it?”

Him: “Ellow.”

Me: “You have a yellow bug in your ear?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: Hmmm…now what?...”What should we do with it?”

Him: “Get it out.”

Me: “How should we get it out?”

Him: Blank stare.

Me: “You want it out?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: “Where will we put it.”

Him: “On the for-or (floor). Frow it on for-or.”

Me: “Okay.” I pretend to get it out. “There, I think I got it. Is it out now?”

Him: “NO. Get it out!”

I have no idea what is going on in his ear. In fact, he just finished a round of antibiotics yesterday for a sinus infection, so his ear shouldn’t be infected.

He even told grandma and grandpa last night that his ear hurts and that there is a “ellow bug in dere.”

If I have even one night of screaming I’m taking him in so the doctor can get the yellow bug out.

Oh Be Careful....

My mom used to sing this little song to me:

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

For the Father up above,

Is looking down in love.

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

She sang the other verses too:

Oh be careful little mouth what you say...

Oh be careful little ears what you hear...

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...

My son must have heard this song somewhere too. Today at breakfast he was singing this rendition to his brother:

Oh be careful little brother what you eat.
Oh be careful little brother what you eat.
So your body doesn't explode,
Because that would be so gross.
Oh be careful little brother what you eat.

My family is full of talent.

Thanksgiving Weekend Wrap-up

*I just ate the last piece of cherry pie (sniff, sniff). My mom makes it every year and it is always my Thanksgiving indulgence. Granted, it's "no sugar added" so my dad can eat it, but it definitely doesn't qualify as healthy.

*My son's stomach bug was a 24 hour thing, praise the Lord, and so far (I don't even want to say this out loud...) no one else has gotten anything. Even his 4 cousins that he played with for about 16 hours before it hit. Maybe he is really allergic to something?

*We actually put our Christmas tree up. We figured out a way to make the living room furniture fit and the boys had a great time. I'm glad I don't have to spend this week seeing everyone else's tree and listening to begging children.

*The basement is officially ready for carpet! There is still lots to do - light fixtures, switch covers, window trim...but the carpet could enter at any moment. Too bad it's not scheduled for another week.

*I got to spend Wednesday evening with my out-of-town girlfriends. It's rare moments that they all cruise through the area at relatively the same time. We did the typical stuff: ate a lot, talked a lot, laughed a lot, and talked about next time we'd see each other.

*I spent some time helping in my 5 year old's Sunday School Class and realized that he is like cling wrap. Then I spent some time in my 1 year old's nursery room and realized that he speaks 100 DECIBELS LOUDER AND WITH MORE WHINY EMPHASIS (you'll have to imagine the tone and volume) than any other child (ages 1-4) in there.

*I actually accomplished a few organizational things - cleaned out the cabinets in the bathroom and the utility room. How can one be storing so much trash without knowing it?

*Discovered that my 1 year old thinks Santa Claus is Goliath. That took some figuring out, but after the third time we finally realized what he was saying.

*We packed my husband up for a business trip. I have a feeling the kids are going to freak out when they see the airport tomorrow. England is a little too fresh in their memories.

*Watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition tonight and spent a little more time being very thankful for my family, our health, and the lack of drama that we have had to face compared to many families in America.

Tradition

We seem to have a new tradition at our house. Thanksgiving and stomach flu. Same thing happened in 2006. Same kid. Same day. Maybe he's allergic to turkey? I can only hope.

Taking a Poll

Part of a phone conversation with my husband yesterday afternoon:

Me: I'm actually accomplishing something today. I finally got the bathrooms clean.

Him: OK.

Me: Have you not noticed how horrendous they were?

Him: Umm, no.

Me: Are you serious? I think they had already starting packing up in search of a new owner who might take better care of them. You really didn't notice?

Him: I'm a man.


I was shocked (not that he's a man...). My husband isn't necessarily a neat freak, but he likes things picked up, and he is definitely not a slob. Is this really a guy thing? I wasn't sure whether to be really disturbed or really thankful that he isn't harping about having the house perfect.

So I'm taking a poll. If you're reading this, and I know you are because you just read that line, let me know your opinion. Is this a guy thing at your house?

After much reflection, I guess I should be really thankful. At least he is not packing up in search of someone new to take care of him.

I Need To Be A Better Mom

Today after lunch my friend called and we were innocently chatting away about important issues like hair color, school choices, and going out for dinner with friends. I was watching my kids, I really was, but obviously not close enough.

What will two 5 year olds and a 3 year old in a sandbox do to my precious little boy if I'm not watching closely?

Turn him into a human sand toy.

I know water can damage the tubes in his ears, I wonder about sand.

I also wonder when he will quit spitting all over me and crying, "sand in there."

Reflecting on the Day

Today I went Christmas shopping from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. And four children - ages 5, 3, 1, and 1. I'll pause for a moment of silence to let you process the insanity of that. I knew that, for me, this wasn't going to be a day of great shopping accomplishment, but instead just time spent with family. I was right -- I think I bought a grand total of two presents.

Here was the most enlightening part of my day.

I'll call it "Tales from the Bathroom".

My 3 year old nephew decided he had to...umm...in his terminology, "go poop".

I got bathroom duty since I was the only one not buying any gifts. My 5 year old son came along for, I don't know, pooping company. We made it to the bathroom in time and got the three year old settled. The power of suggestion must have overwhelmed my 5 year old, because after about 43 seconds in the bathroom, he decided he needed to go too.

At this point I was wishing for a soft recliner and a good book because my son takes FOREVER to complete this task. He is a true man -- multiplied by 100. Of course they picked WalMart for nature to call. Couldn't have been Dillards, where the bathrooms are relatively usable. At least the conversation was lively.

3 year old: I got new underwear. Look at these. I got lots of new underwear.

5 year old: Here comes the first one. Yep, I just heard it plop in there.

3 year old: (Grunt, grunt).

5 year old: Here comes some more.

3 year old: Me too!

5 year old: I'm trying for more, but it's just not here yet.

3 year old: (More grunting.)

5 year old: Now I just have to wait to see if I'm done.

3 year old: Done. Come see this.

5 year old: I can't. I feel like more is coming and I try, but I just can't get it...

These boys obviously feel very comfortable with each other. I was thanking the Lord that the bathroom was empty and begging Him to not allow any people to walk through the door.

I'll spare you the last 10 minutes of this saga, because it sure didn't get any better. By the time we left the facility, my family had nearly called the missing children hotline.

That's okay. I was getting good at pretending they didn't belong to me.

12 days. Only 12 more. I am counting down each precious day until my kid-free shopping trip.

10

Three-and-a-half months ago, on August 1, I wrote this:

"We are embarking on another project - finishing what will be the family room in the basement. It's a "work when there is money to move on" project, so this may take awhile. I'm trying to stay positive about the process - which includes a lot of single parenting for me - and focus on the much needed end result."

Now, on November 16, I can officially say we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My husband has about 9 days left to finish this enormous project. He has continued working around his job, fire calls and training, and business trips, all while enduring a broken toe (running to the edge of the lake as our 4 year old plummeted off a huge boulder) and torn ligaments in his hand (fire training injury). So although this has felt like a 3 year project, I should be incredibly thankful that this has only been a three month project.

As carpet day approaches, he is frantically staining trim and doors and preparing for the last minute stuff that needs to be done. All this said, our thanksgiving break is going to revolve around finishing this project. I am going to try to be very positive during this time and focus on how wonderful it will be when everything is done.

But before I transition to "glass 1/2 full" mentality, I'll take one last look at 10 things that I typically do and/or wish I would be doing at Thanksgiving time that I will not get to do during our four days off.

1. Set up the Christmas Tree - We are waiting for the basement to be finished to move down some furniature (or at least the TV) so we have more room upstairs.

2. Lay around and watch football or movies all day long at least one day of the holiday break.

3. Put up Christmas lights and decorate the house.

4. Go Christmas shopping - one of my very favorite things to do!

5. Clean the house from top to bottom - why bother with all the dust and junk we are tracking in and out from finishing the basement.

6. Have friends over for dinner.

7. Wrap whatever Christmas presents we have already purchased - oh wait, we can't go shopping yet, and there will be no tree yet to put them under anyway!

8. Have "me" time - meet friends for coffee (yes, I know I don't drink coffee, but that sounds better than 'meet friends for a diet coke'), read, scrapbook, exercise, sleep, I could go on and on...

9. Take our kids out for a family date night.

10. Better yet, drop the kids off at grandma's and go out by ourselves.

Since they won't happen at Thanksgiving, let's just hope most of these thing occur before December 25.

Passing the Time

Here's a quick week-in-review for our family.

Monday Night: Fire Auxiliary Meeting
Tuesday Night: Fire Training for Firefighters completing their first year
Thursday Night: Fire Training for the entire department
Friday Night: Clean the Fire Station to get ready for Christmas Open House
Saturday: Spend most the day at the Fire Station for Christmas Open House

See a theme here? We're even sporting the gear at our house.




So, what do we do to pass the time while daddy is increasing his knowledge about fighting fires?

Can you guess?

Really think about it...


WE DYE EGGS!
That's right. Last night my oldest found the Easter Egg stuff in the pantry and asked to dye eggs. "Why not?" I thought. We seem to have some time on our hands this week.




Never mind the stacks of laundry from the trip, or the messy house. Those will still be there tomorrow.

The egg stuff would technically still be there tomorrow too, but I may not be feeling so agreeable about it another day!

We had a great time. I don't think the little guy remembered doing this at Easter. He kept trying to eat the eggs without taking the shell off first.

Maybe next week we'll decorate Valentine cookies.

Fall Fun

I love the changing seasons. I'm not always great at setting my own agendas aside and taking time to play with my kids. Being thousands of miles away from them for 8 days did help this matter some, but the changing of seasons is what really lured us outside for some fun moments together.

So, my oldest actually liked raking the leaves into huge piles more than jumping in, and my youngest preferred playing with all the sticks, but we have pictures to prove that we attempted creating great family memories!

A Few More Pictures

I've had people asking for pictures, so here are a few more of my favorites.

Although I'm still awestruck by my trip, I'm feeling a bit disgruntled this morning about England (the post says Monday, but it's really Tuesday morning). My mind has to be working in full functioning parenting mode here in Kansas, but my body still thinks I'm six hours away. Wide awake at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. every morning - what a joy.

10 and 10 on Friday

Ten Things I've Learned in England:

1. One word: Adapters. Someone told us this back in August when we knew we were coming. However, we forget. Nothing from the U.S. plugs in here. My hair has been looking pretty scary.
2. The countryside is absolutely beautiful.
3. It's expensive!! Seriously expensive.
4. Kids go to school when they are 4 and are done when they are 16. However, this week the queen announced that the age would be rising to 18.
5. The British know how to do desserts. Yummo! Ice cream and chocolate are much better here than at home.
6. They drive fast here -- in little, tiny cars. Fuel is over $8.00/gallon, so they all have to have little, tiny cars. I've seen one pick-up on the highway.
7. In America, a Christian, church-attending nation (at least where we live), the teachers and students cannot pray or talk about God at all. In England, where most families don't attend church (at least where we are), they say a prayer at the end of every assembly and school day.
8. They eat baked beans for breakfast. Ick.
9. The drinks are not cold. Okay, so I was warned about that one too ahead of time. That has not been so bad. What is harder to get used to is that the glasses are small and they don't do free refills!
10. The language might be English, but you still feel like a foreigner! A queue is a line, a lift is an elevator, a jacket is a baked potato, and a boot is the car trunk. A wind screen is the windshield, a car park is the parking lot, and chips are fries. When someone says they will "collect you" that means they will pick you up. They use the words "nice", "smart", "lovely", and "beautiful" when we would say "good" or "great". There were so many other words we heard, but I can't tell you exactly what they mean!!

Here's my husband's 10 list for this week. You have to remember, this hasn't been much of a vacation for him this week! He's been working!

Ten things his body misses after a week in England:

1. His stomach misses American food.
2. His fingers miss American computer keyboards.
3. His butt misses American toilet paper!
4. His mouth misses ice in drinks.
5. His ego misses feeling like he understands things and "belongs" in the culture.
6. His body misses our showerhead.
7. His skin misses our water softener.
8. His ears miss American "accents."
9. His mental stability misses the American dollar.
10. His eyes miss seeing our boys!

You may not be able to tell by his list, but we really did have a great time. He just started rattling these off while I was doing my ten list and I thought they were funny.

Tomorrow we get on the plane and head home!

More From England

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to spend the day in a British school. Yep, I came to England for the week and landed in school. My husband has a collegue who's wife teaches in a local primary school here, and when she found out I was a teacher, she invited me to spend the day with her so I could see what education is like here in England.

It was great. First of all, it was the day we were switching hotels, so I had to go somewhere for the entire day anway. Second, if I could make a career of visiting schools and observing teachers and students, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I was actually surprised at the similarities between the two systems. I guess I was expecting some drastic difference, but there wasn't, at least at the school I was at for the day. The teachers were excellent, and I would say the students were a step ahead of American students in the area of respect.

I could go on and on with the differences/similarities, but I won't bore you with all that. The funniest part of the day was when the students found out I was from America. The 11 year olds said, "Woowwww," and that was about it. A group of five year olds immediately bombarded me with questions, "Have you seen Mickey Mouse?" "What language do you speak?" "Have you seen the princesses?" "Did you have jet lag?" (from a 5 year old!) "Have you seen Disney on Ice?" They were so cute. The 7 year olds just started laughing when they heard me talk. I never knew American accents were so hilarious.

It was a great day. I learned many things for my 10 on Friday list!

Greetings from England!

We’re here! The flights were fine (now that I’m OFF the plane), just LLLOOONNNGGG! Our hopes of sleeping on the plane did not happen, even with dramamine that may cause “marked drowsiness”. (“May” was obviously the key word there -- I guess I need something stronger.) We arrived yesterday morning, and while driving the 2 hours to our hotel, we decided that if we were going to see London, that it had to be that day.

So, we showered in a hurry, and jumped back in the car for the 3 hour drive to London. We saw more than I ever thought possible in 4 hours time, and walked more miles than I ever thought possible after missing an entire night of sleep. We were so thankful for my husband’s UK collegue and his wife who took us to every sight possible in our short time frame. There is no way we would have found our way to London on our own, let alone found anything inside the city. And just as a side note, I have lost count how many times I thought a car was coming straight at me simply because everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!!

Here are a few of the gazillion pictures we took yesterday.

Flying into England:

The London Eye:

St. Paul's Cathedral:

Buckingham Palace:
I’ve learned something new about myself in the two days that I’ve been here. Just last week I was talking to some friends about embarrassment. One friend said she hated being embarrassed and looking stupid in situations. I saying that it didn’t bother me if I was around people that I would never see again. I was WRONG. Being in another culture has opened my eyes to that. I don’t know many things about this country – from England slang, to dining etiquette, to street signs…and much more. And guess what?? It’s embarrassing! In London, it was no big deal, there was a melting pot of people and more cameras than I’ve seen in one place in my entire life. But, here in the Midlands, I haven’t heard another American accent yet (yes, I am smart enough to realize that I’M the one with accent here).

Last night we finally got some sleep and I sent my husband off to work this morning. It was rainy and chilly this morning, so I started reading a book. I know, you're thinking, "she's in England and she is wasting time reading a book?" Yep, that is exactly what I did. It has been ages since I could selfishly take the the time to read and read and read. Plus, it was raining and I didn't have a car! Tomorrow I'm heading out to do some shopping. This may be my one and only internet time while I'm here - we are paying $16.00 for one hour of connection. Ouch. Maybe our next hotel will be different.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Friday's Ten

10 Things I'm Excited To See In The Next Seven Days:

1. England from the Airplane. Land will be great after several hours of ocean traveling!

2. Our hotel!

3. Beautiful Countryside.

4. Our other hotel.

5. Buckingham Palace.

6. Historic Castles.

7. Changing of the guards.

8. England's finest museums (although I'm not a museum fanatic, it would seem wrong not take in at least one!).



9. Big Ben.

10. And finally...when I'm all done...Kansas land! Home, Sweet, Home!