It's that season

I am going to come clean; sometimes (like 5 % of the time), I can be a pain in the arse to be married to. Like for instance when it's the holiday season and I over schedule every hour of the weekend. Quick recap of the weekend's event (as I type -chris is laying on the couch watching/laughing as he watches a taped version of the ND/USC game; he keeps shouting out horrific statistics about ND's lack of offense and defense)

FRI

pick up CJ from school- drive directly to Casey's ballet- while at ballet change CJ into outfit for the school dance- leave ballet and drive CJ to the Christmas disco- arrive there and Casey decides she wants to stay (she was in a tutu after all)- the boys look awkward the girls are dancing with other girls (don't want to break their 5 old hearts but this dance scene will be repeated for the next 15 years of their lives). Casey ends up hanging out with some 2nd graders - I find her in the snack room; she could care less if I am around. On the other hand CJ wants me dancing pretty much within 5 inches of him at all times. Leave dance at 6:30- arrive home and start cleaning and heating up food for Chris 's work party (which was to start at 8pm). Chris arrives home a little horrified at where we are with getting ready. Feed kids and plop them into bed at 7:30 (I did the pathetic plea "STAY in you beds because Santa is making his good boy/girl list tonight; btw the kids stayed in their rooms the entire night!!!!) Spread the appetizers and drinks out just as the first guests come. Party went well - we errored on to much seafood (chris and I were the only ones that ate the sushi tray- and everyone drank white wine or beer no hard alcohol) So if anyone needs a gin and tonic or a whiskey on the rocks head to our casa:)


Sat-
Left Chris to shop and meet some friends for lunch. He took the kids to see Madagascar. Got home and we headed out with some Canadian friends for dinner and drinks.

Sun
Take CJ to swim class- rush home to catch the train to the city with Chris and Casey. It's pouring rain and we have prepaid tickets to ice skate at Somerset House. (every time we go to London it rains!!!) We get there and grab some lunch and miraculously the showers stop for our prepaid hour of skating. Ice skating with preschoolers is hard work because you basically our bending over the entire time to hold them on the ice. (Chris is a so so skater ; similar to roller skating I rock at ice skating as well). Chris and I are such dorks we made each of us pick Olympic skater's name (Me:Sasha Cohen, Casey: Kristy Yamaguchi, CJ: Russian Pair (He liked the title rather than an actual Russian pair name) Chris: Sergei)The kids had fun and sort of got the hang of it. Anyway after tube rides, bathroom stops, and train ride home we made it back at 5pm. Not much weekend left to relax.

Pilgrims and Turkeys

What am I doing right now- working on my Thanksgiving presentation with Casey. Casey and I get to present to 3 year olds all about the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow at school. We have pilgrim hats and Indian headdress to wear. I am trying to spin the story as not to offend our new friends. (e.g The pilgrims fled from an evil monarchy and left for a new land in order to have FREEDOM ) We will probably skim over the fact that the pilgrims were taught how to grow crops and hunt game by the Indians and then decided to take all their land as well. I am trying to get Casey to say what she is thankful for ( I was hoping for her to say something like God, family and her nursery school). She has been quite the little pistol that a little teacher flattery could never hurt. But of course I am stuck with her being thankful for "dresses and ballet". We then our going to read a Thanksgiving story and make turkey handprints.

And yes we will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Thurs- very low key. Most of my ex pat friends are back in the states. So it will be the 4 of us- Not to mention we are hosting Chris work friends for a cocktail party on Fri so I am sticking with the basics on Thurs (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing , and pumpkin pie). Chris is pushing for the nasty green bean casserole that makes me hurl to make (I have an aversion to cream of mushroom soup). We are thankful that no matter where we are we always have each other and STARBUCKS:)

Lastly- I am thankful for my luck in making new friends. After my Thanksgiving presentation I am getting my nails done by one of CJ classmates mom (who was bored and decided to become manicurist). Continuing on Friday- my New Zealand friend (who happens to be a makeup artist) is doing my makeup for the cocktail party. For not having any specific talent I seem to rub elbows with the talented. Now if only Gwynnie and Chris Martin lived in the burbs.

All or Nothing

Chris and I split parenting duties this weekend in an all or nothing approach. He was off duty Sat and headed to England vs S Africa Rugby match with work folks. I had sunday off- Chris got the kids up and took them to swim class- I listened from the bedroom as he was gathering the suits and towels and googles (if I was nicer I would have gotten out of bed to help but I just rolled over for more zzzzs). I then had an empty house which was so NICE. Leisurely, took the train to the city where I met my college friend for brunch. Both he and I get so annoyed how London restaurants inform you as you are seated that your table is reserved for 1.5 hours and then you must leave. The English don't do brunch like the Americans (there was like 4 breakfast choices) but after 2 cappuccinos and then another stop at starbucks for another grande dose of caffeine we hit the Tate Modern Art Museum. Pat and I do museums in the same fashion warp sppeed Fast and Talk about non art related topics throughout the whole exhibit. (My mom would have been appalled how fast we blew through the Tate). We then wandered around the city- went to a shopping area where I coerced Pat into buying a British flag skull hat ( I bought one for Chris as well) and I bought some knockoff burberry scarfs. We then grabbed a snack and a drink and just reminisced about college and chicago days.(to any 20 year olds out there ENJOY those relatively carefree college days) Hit the train back to find CJ and Casey- who dad took to see santa telling me about their whole day (CJ's such a tattletale- he whispered to me "Dad let us watch 2 shows and just gave us chicken nuggets no carrot sticks or fruit for lunch)."

What happens before 9am

*****Note I know I just wrote the last blog titled good things so don't read this unless you are bored at work or nursing a baby as this is strictly another woke up on the wrong side of the bed (or ocean) entry

Chris had his alarm set for the ungodly hour of 5:45am -which is ridiculous as he has been getting slammed at work so he has been coming home pretty late and getting up super early. I got up shortly after him and started putting clutter away so the cleaning lady could actually clean the floors and not suck up Polly Pocket pieces and Planet Hero junk. Daily Ritual #1 - I check my iphone for email (always nice to think you get email as you sleep). Anyway the one email I was waiting for just had the header Baby Announcement( if you have a baby the proper header is It's a Boy or It's a Girl) but it wouldn't load the rest of the email. So I am cursing at the iphone to load to find out if Griff had a boy or a girl. Chris tells me to boot up the computer but I insist on watching the iphone not load the email for a good 15 min. Finally I caved and checked the email (GIRL) and of course like Murphy's law the iphone email appears pretty much as I am opening the email on the computer.

Actually had time to give the kids a breakfast which didn't consist of a breakfast bar and drink to go. Weather was looking good- get to school and CJ runs of to play tag with some friends. Casey and I are hanging by the benches with some of the other kids from CJs class. The kids were really cute telling me about which part they were in the play and what everyone wanted for Christmas. Long story short, I am over there chit chatting with the 5 year olds and let them stand on the benches as they tell me their stories (the benches are like 2 ft high). Next thing we know a loud bell is rung and a teacher comes running over to us and screams at us for being on the benches. (I was scared). CJ comes running over to me and says "Naughty mummy". I seriously felt like I was in grammar school again. Get CJ lined up and I didn't screw his water bottle top on properly and he takes a sip and the whole bottle of water soaks his blazer. I tell him to roll with it. Casey and I head to the hike down the hill to the parking lot. At the bottom of the hill- she wipes out and falls into the mud.(repeat performance) Screaming ensues - I try to help her and then she screams "Don't touch me mommy or you'll get ucky." (empathy point for Casey Jane)-
So- I strip her dress and tights off in the parking lot and put her in the car seat with her underwear on. I know all the parents were like that CRAZY AMERICAN .

Start to call Chris's work number which btw we have a system in place. If it is a true emergency- I need to ring once (not leave VM) and then immediately call back. If it me wanting to leave a disgruntled vm- i do it on the first one. Which btw these vms would be a much funnier blog them my writing as I use more adult language and come up with CRAZY ideas I share with him. (I swear Chris listens to the first 10words and then deletes them as my tone is a give away in the first sentence on where this going). Anyways- I make the wifely effort to not leave a vm as I feel bad how much work he has on his plate.

Ending on a good note- I get to the gym and the morning run of bad luck ( I still have the image of the teacher yelling at us) makes me run pretty hard on the treadmill. We have a sitter tomorrow night and instead of pushing my agenda (which I normally do) which btw is Thai Food, and the movie "The Changeling" with Angelina- I am taking Chris to see the Bond movie and we will get the nasty nachos with day glo orange cheese instead of popcorn:)

Good Things

1- Starbucks Red Holiday Cup (Love it- especially since they make you work to get your peppermint mocha over here)

2-Nursery Nativity Play- Casey Jane got chosen to play an "angel" (some of the kids have to play donkeys and camels just imagine me trying to get her into the camel costume- I praised God and her teachers for giving me the part of least resistance.

3-CJ's Nativity Play- He get the part of the innkeeper (he wanted to be baby Jesus but a 5 year old in a diaper is a bit scary- he then offered to play grownup Jesus)- He has 5 lines as the innkeeper and his wife in the play is the girl he says has "the most beautiful blonde curls".

4-British girl bands- I am loving Girls Aloud, Sugarbabes, Saturdays (think Spice Girls for the next generation)

5 No PCness in England it's a Christmas party at the school and not a "winter festival celebration".

6-First Christmases ( I am thinking about all these new babies- Danny, Callan, Addison, Mary Clare, Jimmy, Cameron, Ben- all having their first baby Christmas:)

7-CJ's British accent- seriously it is a force to be reckoned with.

8-Casey has had laid out a blue smocked nutcracker dress for a bday party for over 3 weeks. I am not going to lie I love that!!!

9-The princess tore up the soccer field yesterday- seriously she was stealing the ball from 5 year old boys.

10-Chris and I are back to drinking tea at night and watching old OC reruns. We seriously are drinking herbal mango tea and still watching teenage dramas.

11- 1 month until I am home stateside.

12-online shopping - my poor dad gets a package daily delivered from my online habit

13-Sunday is mommy free day- Chris has the kids and I am headed to the city to do kid free activities! ( Can you tell I am excited)

Nix the Wordless Wed

Just got home from parent and teacher conf so had to report back.
As I have blogged I like CJ's teacher although she seems too strict with a hint of an anti-american vibe. Well here are some highlights from the conf-

1) CJ is overenthusiastic. (so let me get this straight he likes school too much:)

2) We were surprised to find he was right with the class in reading words, vocabulary, etc (last time I checked NASA, Microsoft, and Mayo Clinic were located in the US; americans can be pretty smart)

3 Table manners- CJ chooses to use his spoon rather than his fork at lunch- when we let him know he should use his fork he sometimes (gasp) uses a spoon and says "Forks are for dinner -not lunch" (I'll take the blame for us - 9/10 times we eat sandwiches , cheese/crackers, yogurt,or chicken nuggets for lunch)

4-He likes to hug both children and adults (a written observation by the teacher). I know she found this strange but hey got to love the christian preschools he has been through that CJ is hanging tough with the hugs (Don't hugs make the world go round?)

5-She then showed me his writing journal- Q Where is your favorite place?
CJ's answer "wth mom in teksis, nana house, or inglend" (With my mom in texas, nana's house (MI), or England) Came home and gave my little guy a great big HUG!

Wordless Wednesday

The many moods of an almost 3 year old (pictures taken within 3 minutes)

Fireworks

Last night- we had the schools fall fireworks. All across England from Halloween until Nov - firework/bonfire displays are on to commemorate Guy Fawkes (a member of a group of English Roman Catholic revolutionaries who planned to blow up parliament). So we headed to the event at the school- (sky did not look good). Get there and like any other school they start selling junk -whistles, light up stars, flashlights (etc). So you have kids running around blowing whistles and shaking fluorescent flashlights everywhere (isn't fun to be a parent).They at least have beer and mulled wine for the adults. Anyway- the whole school is there so you have nursery schoolers thru high schoolers. It starts to rain- which we brought umbrellas unlike some people that have lived in England their entire life who forgot theirs. I So we head to stand by the bonfire to warm up- got to love it a huge fire for which they have no visible barriers and small children running around it. It is 5pm and we have 1 hour to kill until the 6pm fireworks. It continues to Rain (HARD) and now we have a shifting bonfire wind blowing live embers on us. Casey starts crying- so I say let's watch them from the car. CJ then starts crying that he wants to see them and he and another classmate were playing ben 10 so he was fine being pelted by the the torrential downpour. Chris and I try to reminisce about our high school bonfires days-while watching the 16 year olds (who btw appeared not to have snuck booze into the event and were actually drinking tea; sad that is so cold/wet they need to drink tea instead of beer:( The hour ticks by and the fireworks finally happen- pretty professional ones at that (not Beijing but good enough that you wonder if this is what your tuition $$$ are being used for) We come home soaking wet -two crying/tired kids who we place in a bath and who continue to blow the awful whistles (the whistles have unfortunately been LOST! today) until the bitter end. The box has been checked we celebrated Guy Fawkes day and will stay home next year!

Rollergirl

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day. CJ started to get bored so I decided to take him rollerskating at the local rink. Not sure if it the midwest but I grew up going to school roller skating parties (remeber the slow skate /shoot the duck) and bday parties at roller rinks. Not to brag- but I pretty much rock at roller skating. So I was pretty excited to teach my son how to shoot the duck and land on the star to win the icy coke. Get there -strobe lights on (check)- pre teen crowd (check)- smelly rental skates (check)- pop tunes (check) -no Thriller but Rhianna and Boyzone and Chris Brown-icy coke machine/video games (check). CJ did pretty well -fell a few times but had fun and was even able to let go at the end. I left him holding the wall a few times so I could skate (yes I did backwards, crossovers, spins, and even showed those Brit tweens how to shoot the duck). Those Brits can't skate at all. (seriously no Michelle Kwan's at that rink) Did like the fact no liabilty forms needed to be signed to skate and we did get an icy coke. CJ did say (okay I'm bragging)- "Mom your the best skater I have ever seen." Now I need to find by sasoon jeans, benetton rugby, perm, retainer, and I will be set to claim my tween rollergirl title.

Laundry

Last night started off fine- Chris had to work late but I was set on the couch after putting the cherubs to bed with a glass of wine and popcorn watching the cheesy Dirty Dancing reality show (British show about picking the next baby and johnny- highly addictive)-Went to bed late after watching cnn and hearing post election news. CJ wakes up at 2- we send him back to his room- he creeps in again saying his nose hurts- walk him back to room to find he has a bloody nose all over sheets /comforter (etc)(LAUNDRY). Strip the bed clean his nose and pop him into our bed. Casey joins the night call with my pull up is wet and I need a new one. Deal with it- and then head to the laundry room to try to shove the sheets in our not so big washer. Chris leaves for work and forgets to set alarm for us. Wake up at 7:50- shove CJ in uniform and grab cereal bars and sippy cups of milk for car.(Most friends know -I normally let my kids sleep and they are use to eating breakfast in the car) Didn't tighten the lid on CJ's cup and he manages to spill it all over car seat and coat (More Laundry). Get to school late and are rushed- CJ jumps out of the car and climbs the hill to school- Casey follows and falls and is covered in mud. I attempt to help her and fall as well and now have more mud all over me. Pass CJ to another mom for school line up- head home for the 5th load (LAUNDRY) in 10 hours. It can only go up from here.

random questions from babes

1- How do we know God is a boy? (posed by casey) CJ's attempt to answer "he looks like a boy in my little golden bible book." Casey continues-" I think God's a girl"

2-"Mom- can you hear me breathing different?" (posed by CJ)- Oh CJ - it's just a cold. "No. Mom, I am breathing British. (he is fascinated with talking British and now breathing British)

3-"Mom- my new stuffed animal Kaa (snake from Eurodisney) looks nice but will he become a viper at night?" (by CJ)

4-"Can we go to the North Pole on our next trip ?" (both kids)

5- "Mom- when I turn 3 will I still be a baby?" (Casey) Nope- you will be a big girl!(mom) I want to be a baby princess (can't win with this little lady)

Weekend Update

What are we doing right now in England- checking out US election coverage. Chris and I are election junkies we love the electoral map and constant news feeds- we were hoping for a nailbiter on Tues but I suspect this one to be called sooner than 04. We recovered from the Halloween party- house was in shambles but kids had fun and we have bags full of cadbury chocolates now in our pantry. Casey pulled her usual night- time antics insisting on sleeping in a skirt - Chris forced her into pajamas since its freezing and we found her at 2 am asleep on her princess rug no shirt and a skirt on. (miss trouble undressed herself and found a skirt) . I am trying a new approach with her I am going to cut out disney princesses and make a ghetto storybook for her with cutout princesses in various tracksuits and pants. Let you know if it works!

Other news - we headed to the American club gourmet night where I got stuck with an awful Moroccan recipe for which I couldn't find one of the main ingredients. (beef suet)- we ran late because MSU was playing and won in the final seconds. Ended up being a fun night besides someone comparing Obama to Jesus (he is a charismatic, bright man and I know Oprah loves him but get real) Then the conversation turned to private vs public schools for kids. (did I mention I am so sick of talking about the education of little people)- People here take this stuff way too seriously.

Don't worry will turn off CNN to watch the Hills and Fringe tonight:)