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Heidi Chronicles

Life (In London), Medicated

Readjusting Expectations: The Weather

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Elena, Friends, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood — Heidi at 10:31 pm on Thursday, September 11, 2008

Today Jenn kept the kids so that I could run out and take my recycling to Tesco.  It was nice to get out by myself.  I also got a walk in with Elena again before I picked up Liam.  It was grey, but didn’t rain on us and I didn’t need a jacket, so in my new hierarchy of niceness, it was a nice day.  Here’s the breakdown:

  • Gorgeous - Clear blue sky as far as the eye can see and warm. (I think we probably had three of these this year.)
  • Lovely - Mostly sunny, no rain, warm
  • Nice - grey, but no rain, and warmish or sunny, but cool
  • Ok - grey, but no rain
  • Not so nice - rain
  • Crappy - rain, cold

Oh, and we found out that there’s been a fire in the Chunnel, so we might not be able to go to Paris next week.  I’m feeling sadness and pleasure both at the thought.  It would be nice to go…but not with the kids!  We’ll see what happens.

Update:  I completely forgot it was September 11th.  I guess that’s what living in another country and not leaving the house will do for you.

Rat’s Nest and a Few Other Things

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Blah Blah Blah, By Myself, Elena, Family, Food, Friends, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood — Heidi at 10:26 pm on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Monday

  • Mom and Co went on a personal tour of the city today, so we had Daria over to play.  It was nice for him to have something to do because I’m exhausted.  Thank goodness school starts tomorrow.

Tuesday

  • Another rainy day.  We were lazy and spent the day messing around here.  Mom and Colleen brought bakery treats after walking around the neighborhood this morning and I could feel my brain trying to talk me into it.  I’m off of my schedule and it’s taunting me.
  • The kids and I walked with Avery to school this morning.  Liam did great at the drop off.  He just walked right in with Ave like he owns the place.
  • We had a relaxing evening as well.  A was gone at a lodge meeting, so it was just the three of us until we all decided it was time for bed.

Wednesday

  • Mom and Colleen left this morning.  It was a quick visit, but I’m glad they came.  Colleen is my aunt on my dad’s side and was like another mom to me growing up.  It was fun to watch her with my kids and to think about what it was like when I was a kid.
  • The girls came over for our usual Wednesday after Liam to L to school.  Today it was Jenn, Kat, and Cheryl.
  • Took a walk with Elena before I picked up Liam from school and dropped him off at Penny’s to play for the afternoon.  Elena took a nap, and I wished I could, but I didn’t want to waste the quiet.
  • Chatted with Aaron on Google.  It was like old times when I was at “work” and we’d talk for an hour or  two on AOL.  Made me smile.

And now your reward for reading all of that boring stuff…

She looks ok from the front, right?

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It’s a complete mess in back.
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That’s how she woke up from nap…only she was sweaty.  It was nasty.

Tea at the Berkeley

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Elena, Family, Food, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood, Murphy & Macey — Heidi at 10:19 pm on Sunday, September 7, 2008

Mom and Co came over around 10 and we left for tea around noon.  It was a quick trip, but I’m glad we had extra time since I always seem to get lost once we get off the tube.  Surprise, surprise.
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The Berkeley does a non traditional tea with desserts that are fashioned after the most recent runway designs.  I can’t describe them to you, but I can show you pictures.
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I wanted to eat those suckers SO badly!

But, I didn’t.  Yay for me!

The hotel was absolutely gorgeous.  I’m sure I can’t afford to stay there.

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My aunt was really interested in the city and took a few of these pictures.

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She was shocked that we have palm trees here.

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And of course, the epic London bus.

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When we got home, the kids and Grammys played outside.  Colleen is Macey’s best friend.  By the end of the day, her toys were in the neighbors’ yards.  She was so thrilled to play fetch.

It’s nice to have two other adults devoted to your kids while you do your normal stuff around the house.

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Liam was tired this evening and he threw a fit in the bathroom, subsequently pulling part of the towel rack out of the wall.  I took Milo and he traded me picking up the playroom, Elena’s room, and his room, and giving me all of his new Grammy toys to get Milo back.  He was not pleased.

The Days of Our Lives

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Blah Blah Blah, Elena, Family, Friends, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood, Murphy & Macey, Wifedom — Heidi at 10:15 pm on Saturday, September 6, 2008

Wednesday

  • Had the girls over for our weekly play date
  • Liam went to Daria’s to play this afternoon.  I almost forgot and had to leave Elena with Grace so I could be fast.
  • Went out to dinner with AJ while Cheryl kept the kids. (I love my friends!)
  • Got irritated with some people that none of you know who can’t be mentioned here for not following directions.  Grrr.

Thursday

  • My freezer arrived and I have been jumping for joy all morning.
  • Made the kids a house out of the freezer box.
  • Went to Jenn’s to play.  Kat and Jamie were there too.
  • Got the house cleaned up enough yesterday that I had time to play with the kids.  We had a tea party, with hugs from Elena every few minutes.  She’s full of ‘em.
  • Spent the afternoon making appointments for our US visit in October and taking care of the crap here as well.  Boring.
  • Kept Jenn’s kids so she and Noah could go out to dinner.  (Yay, friends!)

Friday

  • The guy came to fix our drain outside which was plugged full of leaves. Fortunately not my fault.
  • My new huge map of London arrived and is hanging on the wall next to the world map.  I feel like I finally understand the lay o the land here.
  • My mom and Aunt Colleen arrived - sans bags of course, because that’s what happens when you fly through Chicago.  Bags finally arrived at 9.15 p.
  • Liam and Elena had a ball playing with Grammy and Grammy Aunt Colleen.
  • Elena has a cold.

Saturday

  • Aaron and I were supposed to spend the day together since Mom and Co had the kids, but I had a lunch I wanted to attend with my sugar (free) people so he obliged and went and read a book while we dined at Leon’s, one of my most favorite places to eat in London.
  • Lunch was wonderful.  I talk to these people every day through the Radiant Recovery community (Potatoes, Not Prozac) and it’s nice to see them in person.  I was particularly interested in going since I’m attending a convention at the beginning of October.  More on that later.
  • A and I ended up walking a bit in the rain and headed over to Brick Lane since it was nearby.  We contemplated stopping at a hooka lounge, but declined and opted for coffee instead.
  • We ended up walking quite a long way to find coffee, but I wasn’t pushing a stroller, so it was fun.  Just thought this building was cool.IMG_0225 by you.
  • We walked all the way to central London and never did find a place to grab coffee.  Everything was closed for the weekend.  So we headed home and hid out upstairs and watched TV.
  • The kids got up and played with the roll that the map came in.

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See, it’s a “J.”
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Everyone else just relaxed.

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and Macey begged to get up.

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We did NOT stay up late this evening discussing politics - we have tea tomorrow…we need our beauty sleep.

Just for the record, Elena slept with mama cow, baby cow, ming-ming, mama kangaroo, baby kangaroo, pat-pat rocket, baby rocket, annie, leo, and quincy in her bed.  (June is MIA.)

A taste of what it used to be like.

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood — Heidi at 10:11 pm on Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Yesterday morning we totally bailed on our planned trip to the zoo and took it easy.  In the afternoon I cleaned up the house.  We skyped with some peeps and everyone went to bed early.  It was a relaxing day.  (Liam did mention at bedtime that he was concerned about getting screws in his mouth if he had cavities because he wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Perhaps I’ve been a little too visual with the dentistry threats?)

Today wasn’t much more exciting for me as I did more cleaning, but this evening, Aaron got all dolled up to go see the Sex Pistols.

And he took The Economist to read on the tube.

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Clearly he’s a punk maniac.

He was a little concerned that the show might not be all that great, and his suspicions were correct.  I got a text around 10 or so:

“I’m bored.  I’m coming home.”

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