The sickies...

That would be all of us. Since Christmas, I don't think we've had more than three days in a row without one, or usually two of us, being quite sick. In the last two weeks, I've actually had two separate colds, and at least one sinus infection. I got sick, got better, and then got caught with another one all in 7 days time - and I'm still fighting it over a week later... How is that possible?! Really, it was worse when I felt this bad on top of the pregnancy nausea back in January and February, but I'm getting tired of this cold/flu season now. I think I'd mainly just like to be able to breathe consistently out of my nose.

Brooks also came down with his first ear infection this month. Oh my goodness, the poor little munchkin! He was in such pain but was still really cute when he was so pitiful! Quieter, more calm, a bit teary, but really sweet. Remembering my last ear infection just over a year ago gave me a great deal of sympathy for him. And I'm glad his first painful ear issues came after he could tell me what was wrong. "Mama, my ear huh-uts. No, not that one, just dis one. Can you kiss it, Mama? Can we snuggle, Mama?"


About ten days ago, Eric was attacked by "viral tonsillitis" - a fancy name for a cold virus that hits your throat. I will admit that his throat looked GA-ROssss but given this was the first stretch of illness he'd had in a long time, I was tempted to call it a man-cold and tease him a bit. He stayed home from work a few days, but seems to be all better.

Last week, one of Brooks's playmates from my Tuesday morning Mom's Prayer Group came down with chicken pox and I was afraid on Friday that he had gotten it, too. With a fever of 102, a few little red dots on his face and neck, and a specific complaint of "itchy, Mama, my neck is itchy!", I had steeled myself for a weekend of nursing a sick one. But after a few good hours of naptime and a lot of extra cuddles, he was doing great. No more red dots, and nothing even vaguely resembling a scab... we must have dodged that bullet this time.

I am SO looking forward to sunshine and warmer weather melting away all these germs. Three cheers for the approaching spring!

Thanksgiving 2008

For those who talked to me in November, you'll know that one of the things that excited me most about this fall was getting the chance to sing again in St. Paul's Cathedral. I have always loved choral music, particularly while getting to sing with the excellent Auburn University Concert Choir in college. Thanksgiving 1997 when I lived in London before was my first chance to sing at the annual St. Paul's Americans in London Thanksgiving Service. Sponsored by the American Embassy and the American and International Churches in London, this service is by far St Paul's most well attended. I was thrilled to be singing in the choir again inside this beautiful building!

Thanksgiving dawned bright and clear and cool. It was such fun to get dressed up and head out early, as I'm never in the City before lunchtime. It was great to see all of London bustling about with the coffees and a paper under their arm. We sang a bit to warm-up in the room (wow! the acoustics!) and then the organ sounded it's first notes. It was *not* obvious that this instrument was in the process of restoration. It sounded amazing! Both anthems were accompanied by organ and we rehearsed several times before the congregation came pouring in. I was really pleased with the service order as we were singing some of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns again, too - Come Ye Thankful People Come, We Gather together, Now We Thank Thee All Our God, America the Beautiful.

When the service started, I still hadn't spotted Eric, but I did find him in the crowd of thousands as we stood during the first hymn... The performances themselves were near to perfect (she says, humbly) and I was so glad for all our hard work. I even took a few stealth photos during the final Organ Voluntary.

The ceiling above me (taken from my lap during the recessional!)


Christopher Wren's gorgeous central dome (up the other direction).


Light pours in from the Western doors at the end of the Nave, opened wide for the Dean and Chapter to escort the Ambassador and his wife outside to the grand staircase. (The big central doors are only opened on very special occasions!)


Here's a view from where the conductor stood to the high altar. The choir really had the best view of everything during the service.


This is the exquisite organ, the one of the most utilized in the world - it is regularly played for ten services a week.


Here's where I sat, in the beautiful quire stalls


After the service, we went to lunch with some new American friends Cade and Melissa. They have a young daughter born earlier in the year, but it was just us adults that afternoon, and we so enjoyed having a grown-up fun conversation as we got to know them better. They're from NYC, went to Redeemer Pres in Manhattan and just moved to the UK in 2008... It was great to share stories with them. Eric introduced us to a new restaurant that had just opened near his office - Chilango. This is the English version of Chipotle and we were in love - finally good Tex-Mex in London that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! I felt very thankful, munching on my burrito and chips and guac.

Since Eric had to work a full day, we decided to postpone our family Thanksgiving feast until Saturday. The day started with quite a bit of drama, as I had wrongly assumed after last year that we could find a turkey or at least a turkey breast in our neighborhood, no problem! Um, wrong! Eric actually went to more than a half dozen grocery stores that day, tracking down the allusive bird and various other last minute things (I really *hate* not having a pantry area in which to keep "back-ups" of all my essentials!) He rode up on his bike with a 10 pound turkey hung from the handlebars at just before 1pm and we had it in the oven and roasting 10 minutes later. I was really proud of his helpful attitude and the teamwork made for a wonderful feast!

We had invited the leadership team of our HTB pastorate to join us, so we were the three Wheelers, Becky (American), Hannah (Welsh), and Michael & Sarah (New Zealanders).


Eric and I prepped the main meal and Hannah made a yummy apple pie!



Brooks had a great time playing with all these fun friends that he knows well, and did a great job patiently sitting through the meal. I was so proud.


We finished the night with an unusual card game that had something to do with planting and harvesting bean fields. It was quirky, but still really fun - mostly because after Brooks was in bed, this night felt very much like our former pre-parent lives! Yummy food and game night with a group of friends.


All in all, this was a great Thanksgiving, and we had much to celebrate. I'm looking forward to enjoying next Thanksgiving with one of our families in the States, but looking back I'm glad we got to be thankful right here in our little London home!

Brooks at 27 months

The last few weeks of Brooks's life have been hysterical. He is fully into real conversations now... complete and complex sentences, abstract thought, really funny insights. People actually stop me on the bus or tube to ask me how old he is, and most comment on how much he's talking. The most consistent Brooks-initiated conversation pattern goes something like this:

Brooks - Momma, shall we talk? (yes, he says "Shall"...)
Me - Okay, Brooks, what do you want to talk about?
Brooks - Wanna talk about friends.
Me - Which friends do you want to talk about?
Brooks - different friends...
Me - Like...?

And Brooks will then answer some combination of Miss Becky, Miss Hannah, Mr Ben, Abby, Abby's Momma (only occasionally does he refer to her as Ms Heather), Mr Ross, Mr Rachel (we're still working on who gets a Mr and who gets a Ms), Shireen and YangPing (he knows they go together but he's still working on which is which), Thea, Abbey...

Depending on the day, he'll bring up his new favorite babysitter (Melinda) or start listing out family members that we've seen in photos or talked to recently on skype. Sometimes if he's thinking of home he'll name various Chicago friends. I can't believe how tuned in he is to social things and the importance of friendships.

Some other little funny bits of language are his (very few) mispronunciations...

Dada's Strawberry... for Dada's blackberry.
Brella... for umbrella.
Dina-hores... for dinosaurs.
Gampa Shar-lie... for Grampa Charlie.

Is it wrong that I really don't want to correct these?! It's just too fun to have him still hovering around "baby talk" for a little while longer. Water is no longer wa-wa, it's clearly wah-der. I think I'll miss these phrases soon enough. Also quite fun are his use of the words "actually" and "because"... He's figured out "right now" is an important phrase, and "just a minute". Sometimes he'll leave me folding laundry or washing dishes and announce that he'll "be right back, going to get a book, wait here just a minute" all in one complete thought. It cracks me up. He's started saying "Momma, look!" or "watch me, Momma" or this morning it was "Momma, would you look at me?" ... anything to engage with us.

He loves to jump. Jumping is the funnest activity ever. We got him a pair of Wellies this week, so that he can thoroughly enjoy the garden before the mud dries out. Aside from riding a bike with Dada (they're doing that right now on this quiet Saturday morning), he wants to "run fast and fall down" (to be a "football player") or "be a man" (which means to march, just like the ceremonial guards at Windsor Castle do). Just in the last few days we've started doing car and truck races on our glass top coffee table - one on one playtime with Momma or Dada is the best! He loves to cook - both in his own little red kitchen and standing on a chair next to us in the grown-up kitchen. Today he enjoyed watching the egg whites foam up as he helped Dada make buttermilk pancakes. Dancing and singing and playing his piano are all still big fun. Jesus Loves Me and the ABC song are constantly ringing through the house. The next toy purchase will have to be a child-size guitar, because he's constantly playing air guitar ("ga-star") on all his hard-cover books, complete with toe tapping and hip wiggling. And we spend literally hours every day reading or flipping the pages through his library of books. Right now, Dr. Seuss is a lot of fun. Alternatingly, the favorite title is Doe, Gog, Doe and Go, Dog, Go...

Now that my energy is picking up again as I enter the second trimester, and we seem to be over the winter yuckies, we're scheduling more fun things during the week. Monday we spent the morning with Abby and got to visit with her mom, Heather. There were several times we had to stop chatting to laugh with our kids, who were giving themselves hiccups from belly-laughing so hard. Tuesday was mom's prayer & pastorate - both great times of fellowship, and Wednesday we got to have brunch with our friend Kim, in town from Chicago. Thursday we went to Tots and Toddlers (always a winner) and did some High Street shopping afterward. That night we had a birthday party to go to, and as the only kiddo in the restaurant, Brooks had fun with lots of grown-up friends, despite the late hour. Yesterday we went to a gathering of the Credit Munch - a group of professionals from our church's Pastorate, all recently unemployed due to the recent economic "crunch". We were at Ross's house, and Brooks and Abby were invited to join, given their permanent jobless state. While we dined on Ivan's amazing french toast & pancetta with maple syrup, Brooks and Abby played in the curtains and ended up rolling around laughing hysterically. I love that they're such good friends.



Dada and Brooks just rode up on the bike and Brooks just announced to me through the front window "I'm having fun riding Dada's bike".

I think I need to go squeeze a toddler! :)

Pickles and Ice Cream

What is it about pickles and pregnancy?! As I type, I have a salad fork propped up in a jar of "cornichons in sweet vinegar" - the closest thing I could find in the UK to my Great Aunt Na's sweet pickles - stabbing at another one like a starving woman, even though I've already had dinner and then a dessert of fresh fruit. What is it about pickles that makes me HAVE TO HAVE THEM!!! Or ice cream, for that's another common weakness in my condition? I mean, I love chocolate in any form pretty much all the time, but vanilla ice cream has the most appealing ring to it right about now.

When I was pregnant with Brooks, I had several cravings. Early on it was berries (blue, straw, black and rasp in great abundance) but I chalked that up to berry season hitting around the time that raw meat just looked disgusting. I spent a lot of time in the produce department. I also really needed watermelon. I remember lugging a least a dozen full-sized watermelons up to the 3rd floor condo in my second trimester, thinking that my belly was soon going to be growing to the size of this fruit. I ate them all myself.

But the worst craving was definitely postpartum. The week before Brooks arrived, we enjoyed a delicious supper at our friends' Tim and Melissa's place, and Melissa served a simple yummy dessert of rice pudding with a dash of ground cinnamon on top. Well, that was the end of that. I had to have it, all the time. In the hospital after Brooks was born, Eric brought me two containers that I scarfed down in less than a day. And once we were home again, for the next... I don't know, maybe three months? the Wheeler family bought our Jewel out of their store brand rice pudding (so glad that I liked the cheap version) each and every week. Eric would come back from a late night grocery run while I was nursing Brooks and *apologize* because he knew that buying them out of their last four tubs would only last me about 48 hours. In the end, he had to make me a cauldron of rice pudding from scratch using a huge bulk bag of white rice because none of our three local grocery stores could keep up with my demand. What a darling husband I have. He only teases me about this a little bit.

This time, I had some pretty intense early taco cravings. Conveniently those struck while we were home for Christmas (the English have expensive bad Mexican restaurants), but Eric thought it was crazy that I didn't care where they were from - Satco, Chipotle, Taco Bell - soft chicken tacos are yummy anywhere! I haven't missed a morning yet of Special K and skim milk. Yum! I've wanted lots of ginger ale and grapefruit juice lately and I've eaten dozens of citrus fruits in season. Who can explain this whole cravings thing to me...? Thankfully they've been mostly healthy... so far.

Pickles and Ice Cream is also the name of a precious maternity store in Cool Springs, near my hometown of Brentwood, TN. I got several cute outfits from there when I was pregnant with Brooks, and I'm already digging out my maternity clothes for this go around. Just 15 weeks into this gestational period, I already look like I'm 7 months along. This doesn't bode well for my third trimester, as I can imagine myself hot and huge in the South in August eating watermelon and ice cream until I can roll down the stairs... Lord, help me! :)

Excel Spreadsheets

One of the many hundreds of things I just adore about my husband is his incredible proficiency at spreadsheets. Eric is amazing with Excel. Just one of the benefits of marrying an actuary, right?! This skill plays itself out in some unique ways within our marriage...

One (not exactly surprising) way this helps our marriage is money management. In our first year of marriage, Eric built this incredible document that tracked our spending month to month that tied to my preferred book-keeping method (MS Money), so that I could enter our spending in a user-friendly format and he could import that data and manage our total cash flow. A brilliant solution to get a theater major and a math / economics major to work together on budgets - and we still use it to this day.

Another recent excel spreadsheet victory is our family packing list. We have a lengthy detailed travel list coded for me, and Eric, and Brooks, plus gear and specialty items (ie, bathing suits and hiking boots don't get included each and every time we travel). I use it every single time we pull out our luggage - I'd be lost without it. It's so nice to not have to rack my brain to remember if I've forgotten anything critical before we walk out the door - especially since we're generally packing in the middle of the night, or ten minutes after we were supposed to leave for the airport.

When we were planning our move to the UK, Eric put together a ridiculously long "London To Do List" in excel with categories (health/medical, legal, packing, housing, etc.), along with a needed action date, and the person responsible for driving us towards that due date. One of the many challenges we faced was that most of what had to be done required input from both us but we needed a way to divide and conquer and to know who was going to spearhead what. This document was my brain during our last six weeks in the US in the summer of 2007, especially as we wanted to take time out to see friends and family and enjoy lots of "lasts"... If we had not had all this stuff down on paper, I would have been a nervous wreck. Plus, it was a great confidence boost to look back periodically and see all that we had checked off the list!

When we learned that we were expecting our next baby to arrive on the scene approx 10 days before Eric's contract in the UK was to expire, we both felt a bit overwhelmed with our choices and decisions. Do we stay in the UK and await the babe's arrival in our (very expensive) flat, possibly even after Eric's stopped working, knowing that we'd then have to pack and fly home with a toddler and a newborn, finding a house in Chicago and being somewhat nomadic without the support of family close-by? Do we try to rush home early to get settled into our new home in Chicago before the baby arrives, knowing that I won't be able to nest or even set up the nursery, since our baby furniture and essential home items would still be on a boat from the UK? Or do we look for another option? And does Eric need to work until the last moment so we can get paternity leave from his firm? Or we do choose his last day based on what's most convenient for us and ask for an unpaid leave of absence? After hours of conversation and laying awake several nights trying to sort it all out, Eric decided to put down all the pros and cons in writing. He crafted a brilliant spreadsheet with all the factors (including my pregnancy travel limits, estimated start and end dates of both work and housing, and approx financial impact of each decision) laying out the best four or five options he could come up with. It was brilliant! I love the way his mind works.

For a normally emotional, go-with-my-gut woman who's currently extra hormonal and pregnant, this effort was such a gift! Eric creating such a fabulous spreadsheet felt like him slaying the mental dragons that had been plaguing both of us. It allowed me the opportunity to weigh everything carefully, to see it all clearly, rather than trying to feel my way towards the right decision. Thank you, darling husband, for using this skill to make our home life so much better!

For those wondering about the rest of the story... We spent a week or two thinking, praying, and talking over our options and then made our final decision after speaking to Eric's Global Mobility Consultant. Turns out, Eric's US firm WILL provide paternity leave, no matter what country we're in, or whether he's currently working in the US or not. And it's somewhat expected/normal for folks to take an extended leave of absence following an international secondment. Two months seems relatively short by comparison, given what other co-workers have done and the fact that we'll be welcoming a new baby to the family.

Can you even believe how good God is to us!? Not to even mention how THRILLED we are to be going to Nashville for the summer, enjoying the neighborhood pool and sunshiney weather, letting Brooks play in the garden and with my friends' children - and knowing that when it's time to head to the hospital, Brooks will be happily tucked in bed at "home" and getting loved on by his grandparents while we go meet his new "baby brudder" or "baby sister". :)

We are so blessed.

I'm back!

I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted... I haven't given up my blogging forever, believe me. It's just been a time warp somehow! We left for Christmas the day after my last post of 2008, spent 3 wonderful weeks in the States visiting friends and family, and have been back in the UK for almost 6 weeks now.

The big news during all this fun craziness is that (drumroll, please!) we're pregnant! Hurray!! Our second baby and Brooks's sibling is due to make an appearance around mid-August, and of course that arrival date is definitely having impact on our repatriation plans. Much of our free time in January was spent hashing out our hopes and dreams, limitations and challenges regarding our move home and all that would entail, and it seems we covered every aspect at least 14 times. But we are most excited about our current plans - leaving London in late June/early July, spending several weeks in Tennessee with my parents in July and August, while we await the arrival of the baby, and then moving back up to Chicago in September in order for Eric to start back to work before October. It will be wonderful to have over two whole months with Eric on a leave of absence from work (something that we both absolutely LOVED when he moved from Towers Perrin to his current job in summer 2004) and I am thrilled to be able to spend some great quality time with my family and Nashville area friends. Lucky us!

January and February in London have not been without adventures though - we have lots of stories to tell and pictures to show. Unfortunately, my Mac is completely crammed full of photos from the last several years' activities and needs a complete overhaul before I can download the photos we've taken since before CHRISTMAS! I wish I had a techie friend close-by that I could pay with home cooked meals and baked goods to work miracles and free up some memory on my precious Mac. Until we have a solution, I'll just let you know that we're alive and happy and enjoying our "home stretch" in London.... Knowing that we have just over four months encourages us to make every moment here count!

More soon!

Birthday Candle

This was from Brooks's birthday evening. I'm whispering because of some nasty laryngitis. I love it that Brooks "want Mama to blow" the candle out... too funny! Doesn't he look traumatized when the flame goes out!?

Happy Birthday, Little! I love you!!

Brooks is 2!!

We had a great time celebrating Brooks's second birthday on November 20th. He is just such a delightful little guy! We feel very lucky to be his parents. We decided to mark his birthday by hanging out together as a family so Eric stayed home from work and we did all sorts of fun playing.

That morning after breakfast, Brooks got to open a big pile of presents. Books and puzzles from us and a few from his grandparents, made for a lot of really exciting gift unwrapping.



He spent a few minutes playing with each puzzle before moving on to the rest of the pile. This is how our coffee table looks pretty much all the time now with all 26 letters spread out constantly!


Mom, it's stuck! I can't get the paper off!! I LOVE Brooks's "trying really hard" face!


The latches board was a big hit! Brooks works on open and closing different kinds of locks, and underneath the doors there are animals and shapes and letters and colors to learn. What a fantastic toy!


That afternoon, a delivery man came and brought a really big box... Inside were a thousand little pieces and lots of things that were colored red! What is it? Dada knows! Brooks was a good helper as Dada got his tools out and started putting it together.


There were lots of instructions and lots of parts. Does the red apron give it away? Brooks got his very own kitchen from Mama and Dada... now he can cook in his very own stove and microwave when his parents are cooking in theirs!


The highlight of the day had to be the birthday cupcakes. Mom made cupcakes while Brooks was napping and we shared some that evening with a song. After celebrating Aunt Sissy's birthday two weeks before, Brooks was very happy when it was HIS birthday and we sang to him!


The first finger-ful...


Yep, this tastes great!


The sugar high begins to kick in...


Beautiful child, you are such a joy to be around. You're enthusiastic and loving and patient (yes, even as a 2 year old) and silly and happy and compassionate. I'm so proud to be your momma. Watching you grow has been such a delight this past year, and I can't wait to see the big boy you will too soon become.

"You're my favorite Little in the whole wide world!"