Something new happened at the gym, and not in a good way. I was on the alpine climber and I happened to notice this girl come out of her class and bend over outside the doorway. I peered over and saw she was talking to a friend who must have come out earlier and who seemed to be trying to catch her breath. Then I saw this friend go over and get a cool compress and the next thing I knew, the girl on the floor just keeled over. They got some of the gym staff to come over. An ambulance was eventually called and they took her out on a stretcher.
The stretcher was weird. It wasn’t a normal flat stretcher, but a chair and they had wrapped her up in a big blanket of sorts, which didn’t make sense since she was probably over-heated to begin with but I’m not a paramedic. The way she was strapped in reminded me of those movies where you see a person in a mental hospital who’s belted in to an upright chair—very strange. You could see people trying not to look but not helping themselves—kind of like rubber-neckers at a car wreck scene. Since she passed out in front the classroom where she had been taking a class, when the class was done, people were just stepping over her to leave. I think they had moved her over a bit so people weren’t literally stepping over her, but still.
I did walk down to pick up Makenna from nursery. It wasn’t as nice a day as yesterday but it was still nice enough out. We stopped at the park and every time I asked her if she wanted to leave to eat lunch she’d say, “No,” and then continued playing.
After we did make it home and had lunch, we had to run out to Enterprise to have them look at the car. Last Friday when I was taking Jake to Heathrow, a rock had hit the windshield and it cracked a bit. Every day I go out, it gets a bit longer. They needed to make a damage report and then they are supposed to have someone contact me about replacing the windshield.
Well, no new niece yet. My sister-in-law called me about an hour ago to say that they didn’t get her into the hospital until after 2pm so she was now starting the drugs. She wondered what time they could call me tomorrow to let me know how it all went. So hopefully tomorrow, I’ll be able to mention the new arrival.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
30Mar2009: Day 308: Not Pro-priate
Makenna woke up a few times in the night. Not sure why but according to her yelling the first time, which was sometime around 3am, her blanket was stuck. You could hear her through the baby monitor, “blanket stuck!” The third time I got up and told her that it was time to continue sleeping, made sure she had her blanket and told her to go back to sleep. That seemed to work.
We’re back into our normal schedule and after the gym we went grocery shopping. The thing that bugs me about taking her is her penchant to putting her mouth on the cart. It’s just disgusting. The more you tell her no and that it’s gross, the more she tries to do it. I realize that it really is gross, but also I think I’ve become more vigilant in germs since we’re always sick. After we wash her hands before eating, she starts touching things that make me think, “why did we bother washing your hands?” For instance, she tends to touch the garbage lid in the bathroom, or pull the plug of the sink out. So in my telling her no today about putting her mouth on the cart, she replied, “That’s not pro-priate.” “Right,” I said, “It’s not appropriate.”
After lunch, we took a walk up to the Post Office. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk and it was a really nice day. On our walk home we saw two kitty cats and Makenna was really excited. I wish I had taken her to the park but I hadn’t washed up from the gym knowing that we were going to take this walk. I guess it shouldn’t have mattered. I hope that if tomorrow is another nice day, that I’ll walk down to pick her up from nursery and then we can stop at the park on the way home.
My little helper today decided to help me take the groceries out of the bags. I did appreciate it but I was nervous about the stuff in glass bottles. She hands them to me and says, “thank you,” as if telling me I need to say thank you for her handing it to me. I think it’s just that I always say it to her when she hands me something so she’s used to me saying it. Then later, I had her help me put silverware into the dishwasher. I really find it exciting that she wants to help. She keeps asking me about vacuuming and then saying, “Don’t be scared.” I told her we’d most likely vacuum later in the week unless something necessitates us vacuuming sooner.
Well, one last wish to my sister-in-law Autumn as she’s being induced tomorrow. I hope all goes well and that I’ll be able to at least mention that the baby has arrived by the time I do my blog.
We’re back into our normal schedule and after the gym we went grocery shopping. The thing that bugs me about taking her is her penchant to putting her mouth on the cart. It’s just disgusting. The more you tell her no and that it’s gross, the more she tries to do it. I realize that it really is gross, but also I think I’ve become more vigilant in germs since we’re always sick. After we wash her hands before eating, she starts touching things that make me think, “why did we bother washing your hands?” For instance, she tends to touch the garbage lid in the bathroom, or pull the plug of the sink out. So in my telling her no today about putting her mouth on the cart, she replied, “That’s not pro-priate.” “Right,” I said, “It’s not appropriate.”
After lunch, we took a walk up to the Post Office. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk and it was a really nice day. On our walk home we saw two kitty cats and Makenna was really excited. I wish I had taken her to the park but I hadn’t washed up from the gym knowing that we were going to take this walk. I guess it shouldn’t have mattered. I hope that if tomorrow is another nice day, that I’ll walk down to pick her up from nursery and then we can stop at the park on the way home.
My little helper today decided to help me take the groceries out of the bags. I did appreciate it but I was nervous about the stuff in glass bottles. She hands them to me and says, “thank you,” as if telling me I need to say thank you for her handing it to me. I think it’s just that I always say it to her when she hands me something so she’s used to me saying it. Then later, I had her help me put silverware into the dishwasher. I really find it exciting that she wants to help. She keeps asking me about vacuuming and then saying, “Don’t be scared.” I told her we’d most likely vacuum later in the week unless something necessitates us vacuuming sooner.
Well, one last wish to my sister-in-law Autumn as she’s being induced tomorrow. I hope all goes well and that I’ll be able to at least mention that the baby has arrived by the time I do my blog.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
29Mar2009: Day 307: Don't Use Your Face to Stop
We finally “sprung ahead” and are now five hours different from the states again. Well, five hours from where we live in the states. Somehow we got really lucky and Makenna slept in so she should be right on schedule. The only problem I have had lately and will more so now is that it will start to get light out anywhere between 3am – 4am. So I have this herbal rice bag that I tend to put over my eyes to blacken the room again.
Speaking of the states, there was a new missionary today who when he spoke, I said to Chris, “it sounds like a NY accent.” After church, I went up and asked him and sure enough he’s from Lockport. He was also excited to hear a familiar voice of sorts. I told him that a lot of Chris’s family is actually from that area.
It was another typical Sunday with Makenna trying to escape and Hannah on my lap. As we were leaving, Makenna was trying to run away from us and unfortunately she tripped on the gravel pavement and got banged up. She still has a habit of lifting her hands up in the air instead of using them as way of stopping her from getting really hurt. Thus the phrase came out of Chris’s mouth of, “Don’t use your face to stop.” So as you can guess, her face got a bit scraped up. I felt so bad.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t her only spill for the day. Shortly after getting home, she was sitting in a bar chair eating yogurt and she pushed her feet against the table thus knocking her self down for quite a fall. I think she was more scared than hurt. Everything else she did for the night, jumping off a small rocking chair onto daddy, jumping up and down on her bed, all came with strong warnings of what could happen. Chris wants me to get her into gymnastics when we get back in the states. I might actually look into it to see if she’s interested.
At least she bounced back from those and was quite happy in the evening to sing different songs of, “Yankee Doodle,” “Baa Baa Blacksheep,” and “Twinkle Twinkle Star.”
Speaking of the states, there was a new missionary today who when he spoke, I said to Chris, “it sounds like a NY accent.” After church, I went up and asked him and sure enough he’s from Lockport. He was also excited to hear a familiar voice of sorts. I told him that a lot of Chris’s family is actually from that area.
It was another typical Sunday with Makenna trying to escape and Hannah on my lap. As we were leaving, Makenna was trying to run away from us and unfortunately she tripped on the gravel pavement and got banged up. She still has a habit of lifting her hands up in the air instead of using them as way of stopping her from getting really hurt. Thus the phrase came out of Chris’s mouth of, “Don’t use your face to stop.” So as you can guess, her face got a bit scraped up. I felt so bad.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t her only spill for the day. Shortly after getting home, she was sitting in a bar chair eating yogurt and she pushed her feet against the table thus knocking her self down for quite a fall. I think she was more scared than hurt. Everything else she did for the night, jumping off a small rocking chair onto daddy, jumping up and down on her bed, all came with strong warnings of what could happen. Chris wants me to get her into gymnastics when we get back in the states. I might actually look into it to see if she’s interested.
At least she bounced back from those and was quite happy in the evening to sing different songs of, “Yankee Doodle,” “Baa Baa Blacksheep,” and “Twinkle Twinkle Star.”
Saturday, March 28, 2009
28Mar2009: Day 306: Longleat
We went up to Longleat today which has a house and a Safari park, and a lot more that we didn’t see. We got a bit of a late start and it takes about 2.5 hours to get there. We actually drove right past Stonehenge. I took a quick video when we drove by it on the way home.
Longleat is a home that’s been in the Thynne (I think you pronounce it “thin”) family for over 450 years. The current owner is part of the 14th generation that have lived and owned the house for his family. The house is best known as an example of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was built in 1541 and was previously an Augustinian priory that was conv
erted in to a country house. I ask you, does this picture of the house look like a “country house?”
Although, the house that was first built was destroyed by a fire in 1567 and since then the house has gone under many different changes and renovations. Between 1914-1918 the house became a relief hospital in World War I. 1966 is when the Safari Park opened on the grounds.
Since we got there with little time to see all of what Longleat had to offer, we went to the Safari park first. In the first section, you are allowed to get out of your car and see the animals which were zebras, giraffes, camels, wallabies, and maybe some other things that we missed. Makenna enjoyed this area, especially the giraffes. Then we drove on and saw flamingos, a tapir, a glimpse of a warthog, and some white backed vultures, one of which was feasting on some raw meat.
We also saw ankole which looks like a cross between an ox and a cow. There were white rhino’s and different kinds of deer. In the deer section, you could buy the special feed and give it to the deer. Makenna was really, really excited seeing the deer come up so close to the car to eat. They wouldn’t eat out of the cup but I got quite a few around the car by throwing it at them and then closer to the car.
They also had pelicans which I guess is amazing because they’re the first bred and kept in captivity in England. Then it was off to the Tiger and Lion section. It was a bit frustrating as all these cars parked and just sat there to watch the tigers and we had to wait quite a bit to see them. After that, it wasn’t all that exciting to see. The Lions were pretty tame too. Unfortunately, the monkey area was closed, and when we drove past it, you couldn’t see even one.
We then raced to the house and it was huge! Overwhelmingly interesting and I couldn’t get enough. The ceilings were ornate and even the fireplaces were really interesting. Some of the furniture, especially this one cabinet was really neat. Unfortunately, no pictures could be taken in the house so you’ll have to look on-line at http://www.longleat.co.uk/ and look for the house link and then there’s like a mini-tour you can take and see some of the different rooms. Makenna became a handful in the house and Chris had to carry her quite a bit. When he tried putting her on his head, she’d either go rigid or just flop back off.
We finally got outside and went over to a petting zoo of sorts. We could see more animals, but the only animal that was really out for Makenna to touch was a spider. She started to really smack it so we had to walk away from that fairly quick. We quickly went through the area where the macaws were very loudly squawking and onto an area with small animals such as guinea pigs and what not. Makenna really enjoyed these small mice like creatures that were scratching at the cage. She thought they were hilarious to watch as they tried desperately to get out. When she saw the bunnies, she was more interested that within the bunny cage there was “Bob the Builder” trucks and even a mini “Bob the Builder.” I guess the bunny likes “Bob” too.
As the place closes at 4:30pm, we only had a quick few minutes to race over to the “teacup ride.” Or as Makenna calls it, “teapot” ride. She seemed to really enjoy it and I found that my constitution for rides has greatly waned since my childhood. I felt quite dizzy and nauseous after this kiddy ride. I think it was because I was trying to film Makenna while we were on it and then trying to show her where Chris was so I was getting dizzy. If you listen really closely in the video below, of her on this ride, you can hear a bit of her English accent when she says "it's really hawt."
The last stop was one of many gift shops they had. I found another cute hat that I bought for Makenna. Not as cute as the reindeer hat but it’s still cute and it’s for a bigger size. I’ll be surprised if she can still fit into the reindeer hat next winter so I figured I’d get this hat of a lion. It has long flaps that hang down the side so it will really keep her ears warm. She doesn’t seem to care for the hat – yet.
We were disappointed that we couldn’t do more but our tickets are good for another time – for the things we didn’t get to. The bad part is that we most likely won’t get a chance to go back.
Longleat is a home that’s been in the Thynne (I think you pronounce it “thin”) family for over 450 years. The current owner is part of the 14th generation that have lived and owned the house for his family. The house is best known as an example of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was built in 1541 and was previously an Augustinian priory that was conv
erted in to a country house. I ask you, does this picture of the house look like a “country house?”Although, the house that was first built was destroyed by a fire in 1567 and since then the house has gone under many different changes and renovations. Between 1914-1918 the house became a relief hospital in World War I. 1966 is when the Safari Park opened on the grounds.
Since we got there with little time to see all of what Longleat had to offer, we went to the Safari park first. In the first section, you are allowed to get out of your car and see the animals which were zebras, giraffes, camels, wallabies, and maybe some other things that we missed. Makenna enjoyed this area, especially the giraffes. Then we drove on and saw flamingos, a tapir, a glimpse of a warthog, and some white backed vultures, one of which was feasting on some raw meat.
We also saw ankole which looks like a cross between an ox and a cow. There were white rhino’s and different kinds of deer. In the deer section, you could buy the special feed and give it to the deer. Makenna was really, really excited seeing the deer come up so close to the car to eat. They wouldn’t eat out of the cup but I got quite a few around the car by throwing it at them and then closer to the car.
They also had pelicans which I guess is amazing because they’re the first bred and kept in captivity in England. Then it was off to the Tiger and Lion section. It was a bit frustrating as all these cars parked and just sat there to watch the tigers and we had to wait quite a bit to see them. After that, it wasn’t all that exciting to see. The Lions were pretty tame too. Unfortunately, the monkey area was closed, and when we drove past it, you couldn’t see even one.
We then raced to the house and it was huge! Overwhelmingly interesting and I couldn’t get enough. The ceilings were ornate and even the fireplaces were really interesting. Some of the furniture, especially this one cabinet was really neat. Unfortunately, no pictures could be taken in the house so you’ll have to look on-line at http://www.longleat.co.uk/ and look for the house link and then there’s like a mini-tour you can take and see some of the different rooms. Makenna became a handful in the house and Chris had to carry her quite a bit. When he tried putting her on his head, she’d either go rigid or just flop back off.
We finally got outside and went over to a petting zoo of sorts. We could see more animals, but the only animal that was really out for Makenna to touch was a spider. She started to really smack it so we had to walk away from that fairly quick. We quickly went through the area where the macaws were very loudly squawking and onto an area with small animals such as guinea pigs and what not. Makenna really enjoyed these small mice like creatures that were scratching at the cage. She thought they were hilarious to watch as they tried desperately to get out. When she saw the bunnies, she was more interested that within the bunny cage there was “Bob the Builder” trucks and even a mini “Bob the Builder.” I guess the bunny likes “Bob” too.
As the place closes at 4:30pm, we only had a quick few minutes to race over to the “teacup ride.” Or as Makenna calls it, “teapot” ride. She seemed to really enjoy it and I found that my constitution for rides has greatly waned since my childhood. I felt quite dizzy and nauseous after this kiddy ride. I think it was because I was trying to film Makenna while we were on it and then trying to show her where Chris was so I was getting dizzy. If you listen really closely in the video below, of her on this ride, you can hear a bit of her English accent when she says "it's really hawt."
The last stop was one of many gift shops they had. I found another cute hat that I bought for Makenna. Not as cute as the reindeer hat but it’s still cute and it’s for a bigger size. I’ll be surprised if she can still fit into the reindeer hat next winter so I figured I’d get this hat of a lion. It has long flaps that hang down the side so it will really keep her ears warm. She doesn’t seem to care for the hat – yet.
We were disappointed that we couldn’t do more but our tickets are good for another time – for the things we didn’t get to. The bad part is that we most likely won’t get a chance to go back.
Friday, March 27, 2009
27Mar2009: Day 305: Gillingham Park
Left somewhat early to make sure we got Jake to the airport on time. Traffic can be really bad, but there was hardly any so I was able to get him there in just a little over an hour and get myself back home in just over an hour.I took Makenna to the park in the afternoon even though I wasn’t really up for it. It was a nice sunny day but a bit cool and windy. We really needed to get out of the house and I was glad I took her. I filmed some videos of her on the different things at the park so that I can have a memory of her here. I also added a picture of the house we live at. It's not this big as in the first picture on the left. this is actually two homes side by side. Ours
is just this one pictured lower, on the right.After the park, we went home and Makenna helped me to make brownies. She was really happy and excited by the fact that she could help me but more so that she could eat them later. We made them to take over to Hannah’s later as we were invited for a house warming party (they moved a few weeks ago). Makenna kept saying, “hap to share with Hannah, hap to share with Bethie.” This didn’t stop her from wanting the brownies NO
W!Actually Makenna has been trying to help me do a lot of things. Today, she helped me put away dishes from the dishwasher. The other day, she had a juice (sippy) cup and then it was gone. I was looking for it and repeatedly asked her what she did with it. I feared rancid juice in a week from now when I could finally locate it. I asked again and she finally said, “It’s in basket.” I had laundry all over the floor and the baskets right there. I looked in them and no juice cup. I looked around some more and then it dawned on me that she meant the laundry hamper. I looked inside and there it was. I guess she was just trying to help by putting it in there. I should’ve remembered that she puts a lot of random things in the hamper. She also is now using the washer/dryer as a place to put things. Once in a while, she actually gets clothes, whether clean or dirty. Usually though I find silverware, books, or toys. I always have to check before I do a load of laundry so I'm not washing some random item that shouldn't be washed.
We did go over to John & Madonna’s (Hannah & Bethany’s parents,) and there was another couple from church, Sophie and Alistair. We played some karaoke game and it was actually quite fun. You had to sing along to the song and it was more important that you hit the notes than the words. Sometimes you had to sing against each other and other times it’s was a solo. Then other times your team had to pass the mike around.
Makenna enjoyed the brownies that we brought, and also a doll of Hannah’s that she could dress up and pretend to feed. Hannah, enjoyed lots of food (no surprise there,) and she actually had a microphone and was trying to sing along too. I wanted to get her on video but missed it.
When we finally got home and put Makenna to bed, I did our usual nighttime routine and gave her kisses. I usually try to kiss her ribs and belly to make her laugh and tonight she told me, “Silly kisses” when I finished. There’s nothing better than to hear your child laugh at least once a day.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
26Mar2009: Day 304: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Store
I really need to take the digital voice recorder I gave to Chris for Christmas as I don’t believe he’s really using it and days like today I really wanted it. Coming home from swim she started singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Store.” This is her English accent coming through. Our American NY accent of “water” comes out woter (same intonation as store). I really want to catch a lot of what she’s saying with her English accent before we come home and she loses it.
It was another day of rest, of sorts, for us here at home. I took Jake to the train station so that he could enjoy another day in London. He went to the Natural Science Museum and up to the Royal Observatory. Makenna and I hung out at home. I still have a stuffed up head and now my eyes are caked over in the morning. I did take her to swim in the afternoon though.
She was very anxious to play with the watering can and I had to threaten to take her home a few times as she was just being downright obstinate. She wanted to just sit on the steps and play. She would light up and get excited when the teacher took her and had her swim to me. She did really well too. She would go under a bit as she finished coming to me and she was always happy and ready to do it again.
I did get another eye roll from her today too. The teacher really emphasizes that her toes be at the edge of the pool and that she has to wait for me to count to three before she jumps in. Makenna, just wants to jump in right away and I had to keep insisting that she wait until I was ready and for her to come closer to the edge. She finally got fed up with me saying it and rolled her eyes and sighed. Look Missy, you’re only 2.5 (not even, yet,) so there’s no way that you should be allowed to start being fed up with me and my directions…yet.
It was another day of rest, of sorts, for us here at home. I took Jake to the train station so that he could enjoy another day in London. He went to the Natural Science Museum and up to the Royal Observatory. Makenna and I hung out at home. I still have a stuffed up head and now my eyes are caked over in the morning. I did take her to swim in the afternoon though.
She was very anxious to play with the watering can and I had to threaten to take her home a few times as she was just being downright obstinate. She wanted to just sit on the steps and play. She would light up and get excited when the teacher took her and had her swim to me. She did really well too. She would go under a bit as she finished coming to me and she was always happy and ready to do it again.
I did get another eye roll from her today too. The teacher really emphasizes that her toes be at the edge of the pool and that she has to wait for me to count to three before she jumps in. Makenna, just wants to jump in right away and I had to keep insisting that she wait until I was ready and for her to come closer to the edge. She finally got fed up with me saying it and rolled her eyes and sighed. Look Missy, you’re only 2.5 (not even, yet,) so there’s no way that you should be allowed to start being fed up with me and my directions…yet.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
25Mar2009: Day 303: How To Merge
Jake initially wanted to go to Stonehenge but Chris convinced him last night that seeing a bunch of rocks over two hours away was not worth the trip. Jake agreed and decided that he would like to go to Dover Castle and also see the white cliffs, and then to Canterbury Cathedral.
So off we went and I was kind of glad that we were going here as it’s less than an hour away and I didn’t sleep well last night due to still having a cold. Just a side note…when am I not complaining about being sick? It seems like I get a week reprieve a month of not being sick and then the rest of the time I’m just complaining and whining. Okay now that’s off my congested chest and stuffed-up head.
I enjoyed this second trip to Dover Castle because I was able to see some parts that I was not able to see before. Namely, St. Mary’s Church and some of the battlement walks. We also went under the war time tunnels again. Makenna was really well behaved here compared
to last time so I was able to hear much more of the explanation. She also found all the stairs around the castle grounds to her enjoyment. Unfortunately, the main keep of the castle was closed but we could still go on the grounds. The shop on the keep grounds had samples of different jellies and Jake and I sampled them. Some were pretty good and others were more like furniture polish.
This castle is up on a hill, as most of them are, and there are hills all over the grounds to get to different parts. Makenna found this one “ramp” of stone path especially fun as it put her into a tunnel and out of mommy and Jake’s view. Then when we went after her she loved running down it into our arms. You could hear her say, “ready, steady, go,” and then she’d run down.
We made it back to the car just before a major rainstorm poured down upon us and headed towards Canterbury. We got to the cathedral and Makenna again was off on her step-quest. I was surprised that she had any energy as she barely had a nap between the two places. Although, she was less inclined to listen to me so I had to put her in the pushcart at one point. We only spent about an hour here and it was a good thing as we were headed back to the car, the skies opened up again and started raining.
We headed home and it took a lot longer than it should have. Part of it was that we left during rush hour to get home but the biggest problem was that people just don’t know how to merge here. It was a long twenty minute crawl as two lanes had to go down to one just before a round-about. I just could not understand why people could not just merge and get on with it. In fact, one truck in the right lane was just moving very slowly and had no cars in front of it whatsoever. I was in the left lane (the lane that needed to be merged into,) and I could not figure out why this truck was moving so darn slow. He had a line of cars behind him who didn’t know they had to merge and he was holding everything up. It’s as if these people need lessons on proper merging. All these driving schools here need to not only focus on proper driving on the streets but take them and have them merge.
So off we went and I was kind of glad that we were going here as it’s less than an hour away and I didn’t sleep well last night due to still having a cold. Just a side note…when am I not complaining about being sick? It seems like I get a week reprieve a month of not being sick and then the rest of the time I’m just complaining and whining. Okay now that’s off my congested chest and stuffed-up head.
I enjoyed this second trip to Dover Castle because I was able to see some parts that I was not able to see before. Namely, St. Mary’s Church and some of the battlement walks. We also went under the war time tunnels again. Makenna was really well behaved here compared
to last time so I was able to hear much more of the explanation. She also found all the stairs around the castle grounds to her enjoyment. Unfortunately, the main keep of the castle was closed but we could still go on the grounds. The shop on the keep grounds had samples of different jellies and Jake and I sampled them. Some were pretty good and others were more like furniture polish.This castle is up on a hill, as most of them are, and there are hills all over the grounds to get to different parts. Makenna found this one “ramp” of stone path especially fun as it put her into a tunnel and out of mommy and Jake’s view. Then when we went after her she loved running down it into our arms. You could hear her say, “ready, steady, go,” and then she’d run down.
We made it back to the car just before a major rainstorm poured down upon us and headed towards Canterbury. We got to the cathedral and Makenna again was off on her step-quest. I was surprised that she had any energy as she barely had a nap between the two places. Although, she was less inclined to listen to me so I had to put her in the pushcart at one point. We only spent about an hour here and it was a good thing as we were headed back to the car, the skies opened up again and started raining.
We headed home and it took a lot longer than it should have. Part of it was that we left during rush hour to get home but the biggest problem was that people just don’t know how to merge here. It was a long twenty minute crawl as two lanes had to go down to one just before a round-about. I just could not understand why people could not just merge and get on with it. In fact, one truck in the right lane was just moving very slowly and had no cars in front of it whatsoever. I was in the left lane (the lane that needed to be merged into,) and I could not figure out why this truck was moving so darn slow. He had a line of cars behind him who didn’t know they had to merge and he was holding everything up. It’s as if these people need lessons on proper merging. All these driving schools here need to not only focus on proper driving on the streets but take them and have them merge.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
24Mar2009: Day 302: What's That Noise?
At the end of last week and into this week, Makenna’s phrase is “What’s that noise?” She hears something, purses her lips into an “o” with eyes open wide in curiosity, and says, “What’s that noise?” I then explain what the noise is and where it’s coming from. Sometimes she’ll ask about the noise and then tell me what it is.
She’s also still wants to help me and today’s “help” was with laundry. It was actually a good thing because a couple of times I was able to divert her from being upset by asking her to help me pour in the fabric softener into the washing machine.
Jake went into London on his own and saw the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Tower Bridge. Chris had told him that he’d get a lot more done without Makenna tagging along and since he and I went into London on Saturday, he felt he could get around on his own when I dropped him off at the train station. Plus, I’ve seen all those things except Tower Bridge. Although I’d definitely love the chance to see them again before we leave, but not sure if that will happen. That meant that I was able to take Makenna to nursery and since I’m still stuffed up, I passed on the gym and ran to the library so I could pick up some new books to read to Makenna
I thought I’d add a couple of pictures from the flowers that have popped up in our yard. I took these last week
and since then, more have come up in other colors. Plus the trees around town are starting to have white buds on them. I hope, at some point, to start posting pictures from around the house that we live in here so that we have a record of our living arrangements here. I meant to do take the pictures last week after I cleaned the house but I forgot and now the house needs to be cleaned again.
Here’s where I need some help. I have a little girl who has found her nose with her fingers and hard as I try, I can’t seem to get her to keep them out of there. I realize it’s a thing kids do, but
I try to somewhat ignore it when we’re home alone, but also remind her that she needs to use a tissue. When we’re in public I kind of do the same but insist more on the tissue. Today, as we were sitting on the couch, I again reminded her about using a tissue and she looked at me, said “bye” as she waved (like leave me alone,) then got up and went over to the bean bag sat down and sighed. I felt like the “un-cool” mom who needs to leave her teenager alone. So who out there can give me ideas on how to translate to a 2.5 year old that sticking her finger up her nose is not the “in-thing” to do?
She’s also still wants to help me and today’s “help” was with laundry. It was actually a good thing because a couple of times I was able to divert her from being upset by asking her to help me pour in the fabric softener into the washing machine.
Jake went into London on his own and saw the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Tower Bridge. Chris had told him that he’d get a lot more done without Makenna tagging along and since he and I went into London on Saturday, he felt he could get around on his own when I dropped him off at the train station. Plus, I’ve seen all those things except Tower Bridge. Although I’d definitely love the chance to see them again before we leave, but not sure if that will happen. That meant that I was able to take Makenna to nursery and since I’m still stuffed up, I passed on the gym and ran to the library so I could pick up some new books to read to Makenna
I thought I’d add a couple of pictures from the flowers that have popped up in our yard. I took these last week
and since then, more have come up in other colors. Plus the trees around town are starting to have white buds on them. I hope, at some point, to start posting pictures from around the house that we live in here so that we have a record of our living arrangements here. I meant to do take the pictures last week after I cleaned the house but I forgot and now the house needs to be cleaned again.Here’s where I need some help. I have a little girl who has found her nose with her fingers and hard as I try, I can’t seem to get her to keep them out of there. I realize it’s a thing kids do, but
I try to somewhat ignore it when we’re home alone, but also remind her that she needs to use a tissue. When we’re in public I kind of do the same but insist more on the tissue. Today, as we were sitting on the couch, I again reminded her about using a tissue and she looked at me, said “bye” as she waved (like leave me alone,) then got up and went over to the bean bag sat down and sighed. I felt like the “un-cool” mom who needs to leave her teenager alone. So who out there can give me ideas on how to translate to a 2.5 year old that sticking her finger up her nose is not the “in-thing” to do?
Monday, March 23, 2009
23Mar2009: Day 301: Royal Airforce Museum (RAF)
We actually started out at Leeds Castle. This was my third time going and second time in the castle itself. I enjoy going as it’s a nice walk through lovely grounds and I brought crackers for Makenna to feed all the various birds with. The peacocks were actually getting quite forceful and coming right up to Makenna to get the crackers.I was also able to take pictures inside the castle this time. I’m not sure why I wasn’t before, but all I could think of was that maybe they don’t allow it on weekends. Or maybe because they had a tour bus of kids from I think either France or Germany (it sounded more German when I heard them speak,) that they allowed it. I didn’t take too many pictures inside because at the time, I couldn’t remember if I had pictures from before or not.
Makenna was fairly well behaved but she wanted to constantly feed the birds, or go up steps to wherever. She did get asked to get off a couch that she shouldn’t have been on. That was my fault as I was reading about the room and had my back to her. Then I heard an attendant asking her to get off the couch. He was nice about it and said he understood how little children don’t know any better.
We went back to the car and ate a quick lunch and off we went to RAF. It was opened in 1972 and has over 100 aircraft from around the world including some very early aircraft designs. They had this wall of year by year starting with the year of Kittyhawk up to 2002. Each year had a little tid-bit about something major regarding flight for that year along with some other interesting things that happened that year. There were lots of steps here so Makenna had a grand ‘ole time.
Not only did Jake get to see how Makenna loves steps, but also saw her love for water. While at RAF, there was this display that was set up as if a French machine shop had been bombed and had broken a water pipe. Makenna walked by it and said, “Beautiful water.” It was as if she was seeing a sunset with the way it came out.
What was nice about this place was that there were hands on things for kids to do. Plus, she could sit in the mini-plane or helicopter. I had a hard time getting her out of it. I had to tell her that there was another ride that she could go on to get her to move on. There were also other types of things for her to do and she liked the exhibit where she could push a button and a little thing would raise up to take a “cargo” load to the plane above. When it was finally time to
go, we had to pick her up and drag her out.We headed home but it was during rush-hour traffic and the RAF is right outside of London, so it took us a bit longer to get home. When we did finally make it back into town, I took Jake to the grocery store so he could experience the shopping carts that I complain about. He thought it was pretty neat at first until he realized that it was hard to just push them straight on. Plus, as you add more things to the cart, the harder they get to maneuver. Kind of like a two year old.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
22Mar2009: Day 300: Uncle Jake, Uncle Jake
Day 300! Only 65 more to go, it's hard to believe. There's so much to cram into those last 65 days that we need to do!
So....we all slept in, well, almost all of us. Makenna did wake up at her usual 7ish am. This just indicates to me that she’s feeling better. I on the other hand, barely have a voice. Which I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t complain about.
We went to church and Jake was really able to hear a lot of Makenna’s English accent. He also got to spend a lot of time with her as she sat on his lap where he placed his spell over her and she promptly fell asleep in his arms. Chris and I on the other hand got the mess we call Hannah. She was eating her lunch on my lap, as usual, and promptly spit out her half-chewed piece of pizza onto my lap. Yuch!~ She also had a runny nose which got over my clothes and Chris’s clothes, along with bits of chocolate from a “mother’s day” gift that the church gave the women which was boxes of chocolate. It was more of a present for the kids. We just got the mess part of it. I don’t know what it is but I don’t like runny snotty noses on Makenna but I really don’t like them from other kids. At least Makenna’s fluids are from family. I was constantly wiping Hannah’s fingers, nose, and mouth. So much so that I was almost out of wipes.
After church, I took Jake to a nearby castle and cathedral in Rochester. It was nice to go back and see th
ese things which are a couple of sights that Chris, Makenna, and I saw the first week we were here back in May 2008. I felt like an expert as I was showing and telling Jake a few things. I didn’t take many pictures yesterday or today since I already have way too many from the first visits to these places. What I did notice in Rochester Cathedral was these carvings that were in the ceiling before the organ. I thought they were “interesting” in that they look devilish and to find them in a cathedral seemed a bit odd.
We then took a walk down the main street in Rochester and I showed Jake some of the old-time architecture of some houses and also showed him the summer house of Charles Dickens.
We got home and got dinner going. I had Jake get Makenna up from her nap and he came down and said that when he went into her room to wake her, she looked at him and said, “I’m napping.” She is always asking for him when he’s not in her sight..."Where'd uncle Jake go?" Then tonight we did a Skype session with my Aunt Lori & Uncle Richard, and Makenna combined it and started asking for Uncle Lori.
I had to add these last couple of pictures as they are just adorable. I bought her this dress from Costco back on Tuesday and I was shocked to find that even though it’s a size 3-4, that it’s just long enoug
h for her and it was almost too tight on the top! This girl is just g
rowing way too quick!
We went to church and Jake was really able to hear a lot of Makenna’s English accent. He also got to spend a lot of time with her as she sat on his lap where he placed his spell over her and she promptly fell asleep in his arms. Chris and I on the other hand got the mess we call Hannah. She was eating her lunch on my lap, as usual, and promptly spit out her half-chewed piece of pizza onto my lap. Yuch!~ She also had a runny nose which got over my clothes and Chris’s clothes, along with bits of chocolate from a “mother’s day” gift that the church gave the women which was boxes of chocolate. It was more of a present for the kids. We just got the mess part of it. I don’t know what it is but I don’t like runny snotty noses on Makenna but I really don’t like them from other kids. At least Makenna’s fluids are from family. I was constantly wiping Hannah’s fingers, nose, and mouth. So much so that I was almost out of wipes.
After church, I took Jake to a nearby castle and cathedral in Rochester. It was nice to go back and see th
ese things which are a couple of sights that Chris, Makenna, and I saw the first week we were here back in May 2008. I felt like an expert as I was showing and telling Jake a few things. I didn’t take many pictures yesterday or today since I already have way too many from the first visits to these places. What I did notice in Rochester Cathedral was these carvings that were in the ceiling before the organ. I thought they were “interesting” in that they look devilish and to find them in a cathedral seemed a bit odd.
We then took a walk down the main street in Rochester and I showed Jake some of the old-time architecture of some houses and also showed him the summer house of Charles Dickens.
We got home and got dinner going. I had Jake get Makenna up from her nap and he came down and said that when he went into her room to wake her, she looked at him and said, “I’m napping.” She is always asking for him when he’s not in her sight..."Where'd uncle Jake go?" Then tonight we did a Skype session with my Aunt Lori & Uncle Richard, and Makenna combined it and started asking for Uncle Lori.
I had to add these last couple of pictures as they are just adorable. I bought her this dress from Costco back on Tuesday and I was shocked to find that even though it’s a size 3-4, that it’s just long enoug
h for her and it was almost too tight on the top! This girl is just g
rowing way too quick!21Mar2009: Day 299: Repeat
Did our usual Saturday morning routine which is make pancakes and make lunches for our trip for the day. Then Chris decided that since tomorrow is Mother’s Day here, that he would give me a present of going to London with Jake and he would stay at home with Makenna. It was definitely a thoughtful gift as it meant that we could hopefully get to see more.
Hope was the word but not so much the action. Chris dropped Jake and I off at the train station and we found out that the train was not running from this station as they were doing maintenance work. They had us take a bus to a different station where we then took the train into Victoria station in London. From there we needed to take the Underground to the British Museum. Of course, with our luck so far, the underground subway we needed was closed. We had to take another route to get there. We finally got to the museum at 1pm!
We looked around for a couple of hours and it was nice that I didn’t have to rush through the exhibits chasing after Makenna. I was here before back in October but to be able to re
ad some of the displays and take the time to look at the artifacts was a nice change. The couple of pictures were from the Mayan area of the museum. The one has turquoise over a skull. From there we took the subway, once we found it, to Trafalgar square. We finally found some place to eat as we walked to Parliament and Big Ben. We then walked back to the train station and headed home.
We again had to go into a train station to be bussed back to the one in our city. We were able to sit up on the top deck in the front seats and it was quite nerve wracking. It looked as though at every turn the bus was going to hit something. These guys know how to maneuver these things!
We got home and ordered some Indian food. The place too forever to deliver! I think it’s the last time we order from this place. They always take a long time to deliver. Makenna was grateful to finally get food and she ate down rice like there was no tomorrow. She picked out the peas and ate them too. I just can’t figure this girl out. I tried buying rice with peas and she wouldn’t touch it. I guess I have to buy this yellow-looking rice.
I went off to bed early. I was wiped out. Today was a repeat of sights for me but it was nice to see I could get myself around. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m having a repeat (a tenth time repeat) of being sick. I just got off of antibiotics last week and bam I’m hit again. It’s not a sinus infection but just a cold but it was wiping me out. I only hope that I can get over it quick to enjoy the rest of the week with Jake. We are all sick. Jake came with a cold and Chris is also fighting a cold and we already know Makenna is sick so it’s a real fun household.
I guess Chris and Makenna enjoyed the day by going to the park and playing in the backyard. I was glad they could get some alone time as he doesn’t get to spend that kind of time with her very often. She seems to have really enjoyed it too. Let’s hope that they can have more repeat days of today.
Hope was the word but not so much the action. Chris dropped Jake and I off at the train station and we found out that the train was not running from this station as they were doing maintenance work. They had us take a bus to a different station where we then took the train into Victoria station in London. From there we needed to take the Underground to the British Museum. Of course, with our luck so far, the underground subway we needed was closed. We had to take another route to get there. We finally got to the museum at 1pm!
We looked around for a couple of hours and it was nice that I didn’t have to rush through the exhibits chasing after Makenna. I was here before back in October but to be able to re
ad some of the displays and take the time to look at the artifacts was a nice change. The couple of pictures were from the Mayan area of the museum. The one has turquoise over a skull. From there we took the subway, once we found it, to Trafalgar square. We finally found some place to eat as we walked to Parliament and Big Ben. We then walked back to the train station and headed home.We again had to go into a train station to be bussed back to the one in our city. We were able to sit up on the top deck in the front seats and it was quite nerve wracking. It looked as though at every turn the bus was going to hit something. These guys know how to maneuver these things!
We got home and ordered some Indian food. The place too forever to deliver! I think it’s the last time we order from this place. They always take a long time to deliver. Makenna was grateful to finally get food and she ate down rice like there was no tomorrow. She picked out the peas and ate them too. I just can’t figure this girl out. I tried buying rice with peas and she wouldn’t touch it. I guess I have to buy this yellow-looking rice.
I went off to bed early. I was wiped out. Today was a repeat of sights for me but it was nice to see I could get myself around. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m having a repeat (a tenth time repeat) of being sick. I just got off of antibiotics last week and bam I’m hit again. It’s not a sinus infection but just a cold but it was wiping me out. I only hope that I can get over it quick to enjoy the rest of the week with Jake. We are all sick. Jake came with a cold and Chris is also fighting a cold and we already know Makenna is sick so it’s a real fun household.
I guess Chris and Makenna enjoyed the day by going to the park and playing in the backyard. I was glad they could get some alone time as he doesn’t get to spend that kind of time with her very often. She seems to have really enjoyed it too. Let’s hope that they can have more repeat days of today.
Friday, March 20, 2009
20Mar2009: Day 298: Um, Well
I woke up frantic as it was 8am and I was supposed to be leaving about this time to pick up my brother Jake from Heathrow. His plane was supposed to be getting in around 9:30am and it takes around 1.5 hrs with no traffic back-ups which would not be the case I’m sure. There were no messages from him and I hopped in the shower while Makenna was still asleep. I got ready, got Makenna up and was trying to shoot for getting out of the house by 9am. I figured by the time he actually landed, got to his luggage, and got through customs we probably would be timing it just right. I then looked on-line to see what gate his flight was to be coming in at and found that the plane was supposed to be arriving at 8:30am or so. Great, now I was going to be really late!
Well, as luck would have it for me, Jake had sent me a text to let me know that he missed his connecting flight in NYC and wouldn’t be in now until 9:15pm! I then had to decide whether or not to let Makenna go to nursery. I did take her as she didn’t have a fever and having her stuck inside for a third day just didn’t seem productive. She was a bit clingy when I tried to leave but I was able to come home and relax. I felt guilty about not going to the gym but I had already taken a shower and didn’t feel up to doing it again. I figured I’ll be doing a lot of walking this next week with going places with Jake.
When I did pick up Makenna, she was in this “um, well” mood. She kept answering me and Madonna (Hannah’s mom,) by saying, “um, well” and then going on with whatever she needed to say. I found it quite cute. I would’ve never thought to find language and mannerisms so interesting.
We had a harder evening after she woke from nap. I think her head is so stuffed up that she’s just miserable. It doesn’t help that she’s missing daddy who she hasn’t seen since last Monday. When he finally got home today, she was excited and happy and calmer. She did her “um, well” to him a couple of times.
After Chris returned, we had to leave shortly after to go up to Heathrow and pick up Jake. Timing wise we got there pretty well in that he didn’t have to sit outside too long. He told us of his horrible time in getting here and the whole missed flight ordeal. His body clock must really be off as he left around noon yesterday and after spending a night in JFK he’s now here at our humble abode at 11pm. Makenna was really excited to have him in the car and chatted away for the first 15-20 minutes after he got in the car. Then the sickness and tiredness hit her and she was whining and having a hard time. We made it home and hopefully decided on plans for tomorrow and got our chatty Makenna off to bed.
Well, as luck would have it for me, Jake had sent me a text to let me know that he missed his connecting flight in NYC and wouldn’t be in now until 9:15pm! I then had to decide whether or not to let Makenna go to nursery. I did take her as she didn’t have a fever and having her stuck inside for a third day just didn’t seem productive. She was a bit clingy when I tried to leave but I was able to come home and relax. I felt guilty about not going to the gym but I had already taken a shower and didn’t feel up to doing it again. I figured I’ll be doing a lot of walking this next week with going places with Jake.
When I did pick up Makenna, she was in this “um, well” mood. She kept answering me and Madonna (Hannah’s mom,) by saying, “um, well” and then going on with whatever she needed to say. I found it quite cute. I would’ve never thought to find language and mannerisms so interesting.
We had a harder evening after she woke from nap. I think her head is so stuffed up that she’s just miserable. It doesn’t help that she’s missing daddy who she hasn’t seen since last Monday. When he finally got home today, she was excited and happy and calmer. She did her “um, well” to him a couple of times.
After Chris returned, we had to leave shortly after to go up to Heathrow and pick up Jake. Timing wise we got there pretty well in that he didn’t have to sit outside too long. He told us of his horrible time in getting here and the whole missed flight ordeal. His body clock must really be off as he left around noon yesterday and after spending a night in JFK he’s now here at our humble abode at 11pm. Makenna was really excited to have him in the car and chatted away for the first 15-20 minutes after he got in the car. Then the sickness and tiredness hit her and she was whining and having a hard time. We made it home and hopefully decided on plans for tomorrow and got our chatty Makenna off to bed.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
19Mar2009: Day 297: American Idol vs. X-Factor
Another day of being inside – mostly. She did sleep in again until 8:15 and she woke up on her own. I don’t know whether to be happy or nervous about this. I did take Makenna out to get the prescription filled. Thank goodness she actually willingly takes the medicine now. I did decide to take her to her new swim class on Thursday afternoons. I debated on and off all day whether to or not and in the end, I figured we might not go next Thursday so I’d hate to have her miss two weeks in a row and she seemed in good enough spirits to go.
It was kind of nice because there’s only two in the class so the instructor could really focus on Makenna and the other little boy. She had them doing a bit of everything she’s done the past three weeks but also had them swim a bit on her own towards me allowing her to go under a bit as she did. I was just glad that she was in a decent enough mood as I’m sure she was tired from being sick and past her nap time.
I had forgotten to mention something that happened a couple of weeks ago. It was one of the times I had left her in the car to “drive” and all of a sudden I heard the music blaring out of the car. She had turned it on and turned it all the way up. Nothing like killing your ear drums when you’re young. I immediately ran out and turned it down. I could see that she was a bit shocked but she thought it was funnier to see my expression and comments to her than what she had done. The reason I remembered this was because today in the locker room as I was getting ready, she accidentally turned on the hairdryer and she was frightened. She ran over to me with this scared look and I told her it was alright. I just went back over and turned it off. Also, as I was getting her dressed, she recited the whole alphabet song. All the letters weren’t discernable and the “now we’ve sung ….” wasn’t too clear, but I was really impressed that she did it all on her own.
What you see on Tuesday & Wednesday for American Idol, we get to see on Thursday and Friday. What’s interesting is how they’ve now “added” a few things. It’s getting really similar to the X-Factor (used to be Pop Idol) over here. American Idol judges now walk out on the stage – they do that in X-Factor. The “new” voting by the judges after a sing-off – just like X-Factor. Having four judges – just like X-Factor.
The difference with X-Factor is that any age over, I believe, 15 can try out. Then after they whittle the contestants down, they break them into groups. So for X-Factor the groups were “boys,” “girls,” “groups,” and “over 35s.” Then one group was under one judge. So it was as if the judges were also being voted on due to their singers. The two singers with the lowest votes have a sing-off and the judges actually choose then who they want to send home. If it happens to be a tie, then the one that got the actual lowest votes from the public goes off. The other thing the X-Factor does is choreograph a whole routine for the song, so the singer has to sing and dance, usually with other people dancing around them. Thus they then have the “X-Factor.”
I guess why I find this all interesting is that it seems Simon Cowell really has some pull in trying to get his way with American Idol to be more like X-Factor. Plus, like Ryan Seacrest said last week, when the judges walked out, how it was Simon’s idea so that they, the judges, can get more accolades. As we know, it’s all about Simon. That’s probably why we also get to see the show here so soon after it shows in the U.S. – Simon.
It was kind of nice because there’s only two in the class so the instructor could really focus on Makenna and the other little boy. She had them doing a bit of everything she’s done the past three weeks but also had them swim a bit on her own towards me allowing her to go under a bit as she did. I was just glad that she was in a decent enough mood as I’m sure she was tired from being sick and past her nap time.
I had forgotten to mention something that happened a couple of weeks ago. It was one of the times I had left her in the car to “drive” and all of a sudden I heard the music blaring out of the car. She had turned it on and turned it all the way up. Nothing like killing your ear drums when you’re young. I immediately ran out and turned it down. I could see that she was a bit shocked but she thought it was funnier to see my expression and comments to her than what she had done. The reason I remembered this was because today in the locker room as I was getting ready, she accidentally turned on the hairdryer and she was frightened. She ran over to me with this scared look and I told her it was alright. I just went back over and turned it off. Also, as I was getting her dressed, she recited the whole alphabet song. All the letters weren’t discernable and the “now we’ve sung ….” wasn’t too clear, but I was really impressed that she did it all on her own.
What you see on Tuesday & Wednesday for American Idol, we get to see on Thursday and Friday. What’s interesting is how they’ve now “added” a few things. It’s getting really similar to the X-Factor (used to be Pop Idol) over here. American Idol judges now walk out on the stage – they do that in X-Factor. The “new” voting by the judges after a sing-off – just like X-Factor. Having four judges – just like X-Factor.
The difference with X-Factor is that any age over, I believe, 15 can try out. Then after they whittle the contestants down, they break them into groups. So for X-Factor the groups were “boys,” “girls,” “groups,” and “over 35s.” Then one group was under one judge. So it was as if the judges were also being voted on due to their singers. The two singers with the lowest votes have a sing-off and the judges actually choose then who they want to send home. If it happens to be a tie, then the one that got the actual lowest votes from the public goes off. The other thing the X-Factor does is choreograph a whole routine for the song, so the singer has to sing and dance, usually with other people dancing around them. Thus they then have the “X-Factor.”
I guess why I find this all interesting is that it seems Simon Cowell really has some pull in trying to get his way with American Idol to be more like X-Factor. Plus, like Ryan Seacrest said last week, when the judges walked out, how it was Simon’s idea so that they, the judges, can get more accolades. As we know, it’s all about Simon. That’s probably why we also get to see the show here so soon after it shows in the U.S. – Simon.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
18Mar2009: Day 296: It's Not A Joke
Oh where to start. I actually had to wake Makenna up at 8:15am. That’s twice this week she’s slept past 8am. Usually if I put her to bed past 9:30 she ends up waking up even earlier so today was a shock. It was most likely due to her being sick. She sounded absolutely horrible. I had a feeling this was going to be the case so I called the gym and cancelled the nursery and called the doctor and made an appointment.
He did his usual five minute exam of checking her chest, checking her ears and temperature (and finding she had a slight one). Then writing a prescription for antibiotics and said his usual, “don’t fill it.” So why the heck give it to me? It makes no sense! I guess it’s “don’t fill it until you absolutely can’t stand the suffering your child is going through anymore.” Because he was running behind in his appointments I didn’t actually have time to fill the prescription. I was expecting the plumbers to come fix the sink so I had to hurry home.
They of course didn’t show up until an hour and a half after they were scheduled. This meant we missed afternoon playgroup which I was planning on skipping anyways since she was sick. All morning and afternoon as I was trying to clean, all I heard was “play with kids!” I felt bad as it was a really nice day and to have her stuck inside most of the day had to be really hard – it was really hard. As I was cleaning with the vacuum, she kept saying, “don’t be scared.” It was cute as she was mimicking me telling her that in the past. She kept following me around the house trying to help me clean in her own way or every time I stopped the vacuum I heard, “don’t be scared.”
Tonight I did have to take her out with me to do visiting teaching, where we visit a few women of the church. Makenna was absolutely grateful to get out of the house and was pretty well behaved. She was a bit nosy at the houses, trying to have a look around, but when she was ready to go, she let us know. She was a good time keeper. The first house she started trying to open the door and kept saying, “outside.” The second house she started saying, “bye, bye.” The last house, as it was getting late, she started to lie down on the floor.
She was very cordial and did say “bye bye” to everyone and waved. The lady I went visiting with thought Makenna was a parrot. She kept mimicking everything that was said. One thing that Makenna did to frustrate me but make me laugh at the same time was at one house when we left, she started to run down the sidewalk. I was yelling “stop, Makenna stop.” She then replied, “This is not a joke.” Again, something I typically say to her after grabbing her from running into the road. I had to stop myself from laughing. She said it quite a few times and once I composed myself, I said, “Right it’s not a joke.”
He did his usual five minute exam of checking her chest, checking her ears and temperature (and finding she had a slight one). Then writing a prescription for antibiotics and said his usual, “don’t fill it.” So why the heck give it to me? It makes no sense! I guess it’s “don’t fill it until you absolutely can’t stand the suffering your child is going through anymore.” Because he was running behind in his appointments I didn’t actually have time to fill the prescription. I was expecting the plumbers to come fix the sink so I had to hurry home.
They of course didn’t show up until an hour and a half after they were scheduled. This meant we missed afternoon playgroup which I was planning on skipping anyways since she was sick. All morning and afternoon as I was trying to clean, all I heard was “play with kids!” I felt bad as it was a really nice day and to have her stuck inside most of the day had to be really hard – it was really hard. As I was cleaning with the vacuum, she kept saying, “don’t be scared.” It was cute as she was mimicking me telling her that in the past. She kept following me around the house trying to help me clean in her own way or every time I stopped the vacuum I heard, “don’t be scared.”
Tonight I did have to take her out with me to do visiting teaching, where we visit a few women of the church. Makenna was absolutely grateful to get out of the house and was pretty well behaved. She was a bit nosy at the houses, trying to have a look around, but when she was ready to go, she let us know. She was a good time keeper. The first house she started trying to open the door and kept saying, “outside.” The second house she started saying, “bye, bye.” The last house, as it was getting late, she started to lie down on the floor.
She was very cordial and did say “bye bye” to everyone and waved. The lady I went visiting with thought Makenna was a parrot. She kept mimicking everything that was said. One thing that Makenna did to frustrate me but make me laugh at the same time was at one house when we left, she started to run down the sidewalk. I was yelling “stop, Makenna stop.” She then replied, “This is not a joke.” Again, something I typically say to her after grabbing her from running into the road. I had to stop myself from laughing. She said it quite a few times and once I composed myself, I said, “Right it’s not a joke.”
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
17Mar2009: Day 295: Ele-Date-Or
It started out as a nice day but in the afternoon turned cold quite quickly. It also got very foggy. When we were coming over the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, you couldn’t see the top of the bridge as it was lost in the fog and that was only at 5pm.
Makenna had a hard day. She whined and cried for daddy in the morning who wasn’t home. Then during lunch she quit eating half-way through and said “sleepy bunny” which is her way of telling me she wants to lie down and take a nap. I cleaned up and then brought her into the living room and she pretty much passed out. I was hoping to leave the house about 2ish to go pick up a cake I ordered at Costco’s and it takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour to get there depending on traffic. We left about 3pm as that’s when I could coax her off my lap enough to get her coat on and go. She promptly fell back asleep on the trip down. When we got to Costco’s she was excited to pick up a cake. She kept saying, “cake, flowers, cake.” The cake had flowers on it. I put it on the floor in the back and she could see it all the way home, so the whole cake, flowers conversation continued.
While in Costco’s I took the opportunity to look around a bit. I looked at the book isle and saw this cute Dora the Explorer book that had a mini-piano like thing to it. I showed Makenna and she promptly took it and said, “Put it in the back,” as she tried putting it in the back of the cart. I was like, “No, no, we’re not getting the book,” although I was tempted. I then saw these cute dresses for her and showed her and again she took it, said, “Put it in the back,” as she tried putting it in the cart. I did decide to agree with her on this. I just couldn’t decide on the purple or green dress. I opted for purple as the green one seemed to wash her out color wise I thought.
I also decided to stop at TK Maxx (like our TJ Maxx) and also ASDA’s clothing store which is called “George” – have no idea why. Anyways, I was again hoping to find a bathing suit – no luck. This body is not made for tankini’s or bikinis and that’s what most of them seem to offer. I was so disappointed. Makenna enjoyed the escalator in ASDA’s and really liked the “Ele-date-or” (elevator) in TK Maxx. She kept asking to go on the Ele-date-or. I was able to buy her some stockings and me some reasonably priced sunglasses – over 12 pounds but better than the 60 plus pounds that the other sunglasses were.
Tonight we had the Birthday party for the Relief Society (thus the cake,) at the church for the women. It went rather well. We actually had a good turnout compared to most Enrichment Nights. What was even more surprising is that I handed out assignments a couple of weeks ago to five people. Two of which I didn’t really expect to fulfill them. One more than the other though. The one, who happens to be the Young Woman’s President at church, has voiced her dislike of Relief Society and things associated with it. This is quite disheartening as she’s in a position that can influence the young women under her and to have her be against this great “club” in a sense, is not a good thing. We decided to give her one of the assignments. I was absolutely shocked to see her come in and do a great presentation. She had really put in a lot of work and thought and it was very moving and touching. It just showed me that you can’t always listen to the hype that some people say, and also, if you give people assignments, that they may feel a sense of purpose and obligation and it’s a way to get them involved. Maybe she just wanted someone to reach out and notice her – who knows, but I know I felt this night went great. So much so, that we didn’t even get through all we had planned.
As for Makenna, who I had to take with me, she was well behaved and really wanted that cake. She finally got a piece, and she had the tiniest amount. I wish I had her reserve, instead of her piece along with mine. Oh, we also had the shloer (pronounced sh-lur) which is basically sparkling juice. There were different flavors and it wasn’t bad. I kind of like it better than the sparkling grape juice I’ve tried in the states as it wasn’t as carbonated. And as you can see, I got the correct spelling for it too.
Makenna had a hard day. She whined and cried for daddy in the morning who wasn’t home. Then during lunch she quit eating half-way through and said “sleepy bunny” which is her way of telling me she wants to lie down and take a nap. I cleaned up and then brought her into the living room and she pretty much passed out. I was hoping to leave the house about 2ish to go pick up a cake I ordered at Costco’s and it takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour to get there depending on traffic. We left about 3pm as that’s when I could coax her off my lap enough to get her coat on and go. She promptly fell back asleep on the trip down. When we got to Costco’s she was excited to pick up a cake. She kept saying, “cake, flowers, cake.” The cake had flowers on it. I put it on the floor in the back and she could see it all the way home, so the whole cake, flowers conversation continued.
While in Costco’s I took the opportunity to look around a bit. I looked at the book isle and saw this cute Dora the Explorer book that had a mini-piano like thing to it. I showed Makenna and she promptly took it and said, “Put it in the back,” as she tried putting it in the back of the cart. I was like, “No, no, we’re not getting the book,” although I was tempted. I then saw these cute dresses for her and showed her and again she took it, said, “Put it in the back,” as she tried putting it in the cart. I did decide to agree with her on this. I just couldn’t decide on the purple or green dress. I opted for purple as the green one seemed to wash her out color wise I thought.
I also decided to stop at TK Maxx (like our TJ Maxx) and also ASDA’s clothing store which is called “George” – have no idea why. Anyways, I was again hoping to find a bathing suit – no luck. This body is not made for tankini’s or bikinis and that’s what most of them seem to offer. I was so disappointed. Makenna enjoyed the escalator in ASDA’s and really liked the “Ele-date-or” (elevator) in TK Maxx. She kept asking to go on the Ele-date-or. I was able to buy her some stockings and me some reasonably priced sunglasses – over 12 pounds but better than the 60 plus pounds that the other sunglasses were.
Tonight we had the Birthday party for the Relief Society (thus the cake,) at the church for the women. It went rather well. We actually had a good turnout compared to most Enrichment Nights. What was even more surprising is that I handed out assignments a couple of weeks ago to five people. Two of which I didn’t really expect to fulfill them. One more than the other though. The one, who happens to be the Young Woman’s President at church, has voiced her dislike of Relief Society and things associated with it. This is quite disheartening as she’s in a position that can influence the young women under her and to have her be against this great “club” in a sense, is not a good thing. We decided to give her one of the assignments. I was absolutely shocked to see her come in and do a great presentation. She had really put in a lot of work and thought and it was very moving and touching. It just showed me that you can’t always listen to the hype that some people say, and also, if you give people assignments, that they may feel a sense of purpose and obligation and it’s a way to get them involved. Maybe she just wanted someone to reach out and notice her – who knows, but I know I felt this night went great. So much so, that we didn’t even get through all we had planned.
As for Makenna, who I had to take with me, she was well behaved and really wanted that cake. She finally got a piece, and she had the tiniest amount. I wish I had her reserve, instead of her piece along with mine. Oh, we also had the shloer (pronounced sh-lur) which is basically sparkling juice. There were different flavors and it wasn’t bad. I kind of like it better than the sparkling grape juice I’ve tried in the states as it wasn’t as carbonated. And as you can see, I got the correct spelling for it too.
Monday, March 16, 2009
16Mar2009: Day 294: Moonpig Dot Com
It was another nice day today. I was able to hang out a load of laundry and Makenna was able to play out a bit while I was doing this. I would’ve kept her out longer but she’s got this horrible cough again. Last week it was a bad yucky nose, and now it’s the congested cough with a bit of a runny nose. At least she’s willing to take the Children’s Tylenol we brought with us from the states. That helped to perk her up right away.
At the nursery at the gym, they tried giving her a small cherry tomato for snack but I wasn’t too surprised that she didn’t eat it. It’s not something I eat unless it’s processed into sauce or salsa.
While we were doing our weekly grocery shopping today, I heard Makenna say “Moonpig dot com.” This caused a big smile on my face. Moonpig.com is a website that is advertised on TV for selling greeting cards that you can customize. It does go to show you, you have to be careful what you watch as they pick up on everything.
I also decided to by the Maltesers candy which is like our Whoppers. I was going to buy the M&Ms but remembered that she likes these and that way I won’t be tempted to eat them. When I told her in the store why we were buying them, that’s all she could say every time she saw the bag. We got home and she was pretty willing to go on the potty. She got a piece of candy and a sticker for sitting on the potty. I might have to re-think this again as I really need to be rewarding her more for going and we haven’t had success with that in a couple of weeks. Although tonight, she didn’t want her candy after sitting on the potty. It was a good thing too because I just left them in the bathroom which seems to get very hot at times and they had melted. So I brought them downstairs and stuck them in the refrigerator. I might just move the whole potty training downstairs for now too as our sink up stairs is now clogged.
Just when we got the toilet fixed finally, the sink started to back up. I knew most of it was probably due to my hair as I comb it over the sink but then I try and make sure I get most of it out. On Friday Chris tried unplugging it and besides a bunch of hair, there was also what looks to be sand. I have no idea where the sand came from. Makes you wonder if the guy who fixed the toilet did something? So I called the rental company today and told them thank you for getting someone to fix the toilet but now they need to send someone to fix the sink. Hopefully that will be this week and not the five months it took to get someone to fix the toilet.
At the nursery at the gym, they tried giving her a small cherry tomato for snack but I wasn’t too surprised that she didn’t eat it. It’s not something I eat unless it’s processed into sauce or salsa.
While we were doing our weekly grocery shopping today, I heard Makenna say “Moonpig dot com.” This caused a big smile on my face. Moonpig.com is a website that is advertised on TV for selling greeting cards that you can customize. It does go to show you, you have to be careful what you watch as they pick up on everything.
I also decided to by the Maltesers candy which is like our Whoppers. I was going to buy the M&Ms but remembered that she likes these and that way I won’t be tempted to eat them. When I told her in the store why we were buying them, that’s all she could say every time she saw the bag. We got home and she was pretty willing to go on the potty. She got a piece of candy and a sticker for sitting on the potty. I might have to re-think this again as I really need to be rewarding her more for going and we haven’t had success with that in a couple of weeks. Although tonight, she didn’t want her candy after sitting on the potty. It was a good thing too because I just left them in the bathroom which seems to get very hot at times and they had melted. So I brought them downstairs and stuck them in the refrigerator. I might just move the whole potty training downstairs for now too as our sink up stairs is now clogged.
Just when we got the toilet fixed finally, the sink started to back up. I knew most of it was probably due to my hair as I comb it over the sink but then I try and make sure I get most of it out. On Friday Chris tried unplugging it and besides a bunch of hair, there was also what looks to be sand. I have no idea where the sand came from. Makes you wonder if the guy who fixed the toilet did something? So I called the rental company today and told them thank you for getting someone to fix the toilet but now they need to send someone to fix the sink. Hopefully that will be this week and not the five months it took to get someone to fix the toilet.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
15Mar2009: Day 293: Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle
Makenna still has a habit of calling me Chris. I keep correcting her and telling her to call me mommy. This morning, she came into the kitchen saying, “mommy Chris, mommy Chris.” Well, I guess that’s progress. Then this afternoon, she went back to calling me Chris. I again tried to emphasize that she is to call me mommy. She then said, “Call me mommy.” I said, “No, I mean my name is not Chris, it’s mommy.” I went on to say, “Just like I don’t call you Chris because your name is Makenna, so call me mommy.” She said, “Call me mommy.” Progress just went out the window.
She also wanted to get out of the last part of church today so she kept saying she had to go potty. Chris and I both knew this was just her way of escaping. Chris did take her once but she didn’t go. I can’t blame her for wanting to get out – it was a really nice warm day. Probably in the fifties or even maybe low sixties. When we got home, she played out in the back yard with daddy for a bit. Then when she woke up from her nap, her and daddy went back out and watered plants and played with her ball. She was quite upset to have to come in.
Yesterday, at Stowe House, when we got there we stopped at the café for lunch. We brought our lunch and brought a sandwich for Makenna. She knows our rule of taking a bite of sandwich to get a few chips. We start out by giving her a couple of chips to get her going. She knows it so well that she was saying to us, “bite of sandwich, bite of chips.” Not that, that made her comply easily. In fact, she’s such a smarty that she eats the tortilla wrap like a corn on the cob so that she gets more wrap than ham that’s inside.
During the tour one of the rooms was like a lounge/library where they had books. Makenna immediately went towards the shelves and started taking books off the shelves and handing them to Chris. By the time we had to leave that room, she was insistent that she had to take a magazine with her. We just took it with us and put it back later.
Part way through the tour, she had a dirty diaper and I had to take her and try and find a place to change her. I had no idea where to go. I walked around aimlessly and should’ve asked way before I decided to. I saw a bunch of people going down these steps and there was a sign that said “cloakroom.” I thought, well, if there’s a place to put coats, maybe there’s a bathroom down there. I asked someone going down if there’s a restroom down the steps and she pointed to the “cloakroom” sign and said, “Yes.” Oh, that’s what that means. All my wandering for five minutes and it was right there the whole time and it’s not a place to put your coats but to put your butt. Now I know.
At the end of the tour, I was holding on to Makenna listening to what the tour guide had to say, and Makenna reaches out, grabs my nose, and says, “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.” I started laughing as did Chris. I mouthed to Chris, “I’ve never done that to her, have you?” He said “No.” The only thing he’s done is to play that “got your nose” game. Where she came up with “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” is beyond me.
She also wanted to get out of the last part of church today so she kept saying she had to go potty. Chris and I both knew this was just her way of escaping. Chris did take her once but she didn’t go. I can’t blame her for wanting to get out – it was a really nice warm day. Probably in the fifties or even maybe low sixties. When we got home, she played out in the back yard with daddy for a bit. Then when she woke up from her nap, her and daddy went back out and watered plants and played with her ball. She was quite upset to have to come in.
Yesterday, at Stowe House, when we got there we stopped at the café for lunch. We brought our lunch and brought a sandwich for Makenna. She knows our rule of taking a bite of sandwich to get a few chips. We start out by giving her a couple of chips to get her going. She knows it so well that she was saying to us, “bite of sandwich, bite of chips.” Not that, that made her comply easily. In fact, she’s such a smarty that she eats the tortilla wrap like a corn on the cob so that she gets more wrap than ham that’s inside.
During the tour one of the rooms was like a lounge/library where they had books. Makenna immediately went towards the shelves and started taking books off the shelves and handing them to Chris. By the time we had to leave that room, she was insistent that she had to take a magazine with her. We just took it with us and put it back later.
Part way through the tour, she had a dirty diaper and I had to take her and try and find a place to change her. I had no idea where to go. I walked around aimlessly and should’ve asked way before I decided to. I saw a bunch of people going down these steps and there was a sign that said “cloakroom.” I thought, well, if there’s a place to put coats, maybe there’s a bathroom down there. I asked someone going down if there’s a restroom down the steps and she pointed to the “cloakroom” sign and said, “Yes.” Oh, that’s what that means. All my wandering for five minutes and it was right there the whole time and it’s not a place to put your coats but to put your butt. Now I know.
At the end of the tour, I was holding on to Makenna listening to what the tour guide had to say, and Makenna reaches out, grabs my nose, and says, “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.” I started laughing as did Chris. I mouthed to Chris, “I’ve never done that to her, have you?” He said “No.” The only thing he’s done is to play that “got your nose” game. Where she came up with “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” is beyond me.
I thought I'd add a couple of more pictures from yesterday. This first one is of a bridge that we crossed called the Palladian Bridge
. The next one is from inside the house and is of one of the rooms that's now an area where the kids sit to eat. I only took the picture of the 
ceiling as that's the only interesting part. The last picture is of Makenna who was a bit tired from all the walking and running around that she was able to do. At one point, she had her head facing forward but buried in Chris's head so it looked like chris was wearing the hat on top of his head. I unfortunately missed that picture but got this one which 
is still cute. Then this one of Makenna with me.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
14Mar2009: Day 292: Stowe House
Today was about a 2.5 hour trip to Stowe House and Gardens. The pictures on the internet made it seem very enticing and grand. We got there about noon and the house itself wasn’t open until 3pm for a tour. That meant we had to walk around the grounds for about three hours. That ended up not being enough time. We stopped for lunch at the café, where we ate the lunch we brought. Chris did actually buy some spicy parsnip soup which I bravely tried, and it was pretty good!
We then started to walk the vast grounds. There were many various buildings along the grounds as you walked. Not any you could get into. They all seemed a bit Romanesque in my opinion. There were also various statues. One of the two most interesting buildings along our walk that we were able to see was a Gothic church, which is
the first picture on the right. It looks as though someone may live in it, it would’ve been nice to be able to go in and see it.The other was more interesting because of the plaque outside describing what the building used to be “The Temple of Friendship.” It was not accessible as it’s more of a ruin now. It had caught fire at some point and never fixed up. What was funny was that it used to have statues of “friends” of the owner at the time, and if someone fell out of favor, their statue was taken down. As if to say, “you’re not my friend anymore.”
The house itself was a bit of a disappointment. It’s now a boarding school so there were many, many, many students on the grounds playing various sports. There were lacrosse games, rugby games, and I think I saw field hockey. The house was inherited by Viscount Cobham who was a Whig politician, from his father. It was originally built in the 1600’s I believe. It was passed down the family line and when Richard Grenville inherited it, he then became known as Earl Tmeple and was described as the wealthiest commoner in England. The problem was that he spent most of his fortune on rebuilding the house. Then more relatives after him spent even more money on adding to the house. By 1848 the contents of the house were sold to reduce some of the debts and the house wasn’t occupied for over a decade. By 1922 it was then turned into a school which now has 580 pupils ages 13-18.
The tour guide was a previous pupil and I’m not sure but may have even been a teacher at the school (if not this school, some other school). It was hard to hear him as the “school takes precedence,” so the kids were finishing up their sports activities for the day and walking all around making noise. Plus the tour guide was very slow. It took about an hour and a half to look at seven rooms.
What was really sad was that he had a sketch book showing us what the rooms used to look like. Most of them are very altered due to it now being a school. The one room that sounded like it was really grand is now a cafeteria. He described how it used to have a huge bed and all these other grand things. The picture was amazing and to see the extreme difference now was disheartening.
The only room that was still really amazing was more of an entry way called the Marble Saloon. The only marble in it was the floor. There were columns made to look the marble but are really plaster and some kind of work done to make it look as though they’re made of marble. The ceiling dome and frieze around it was really amazing. The ceiling has all these stone flowers and no one is the same. Although to take a quick glance at it you wouldn’t know. Then the frieze was again Roman like of all these soldiers in “high relief” whatever that means. I put a video at the bottom so you could see this marvelous room.
It was at least nice that we could take pictures in the house. It was also nice that Makenna was in a pretty good mood. Listening wasn’t always something she wanted to do but she did fairly well. I think it was mostly because she could run around outside and go up steps to the different structures. She was upset when we were in the house and she couldn’t go up the steps – I think those led to dorm rooms or classrooms – I’m not sure. She was glad to get back outside again after the tour. I’ll give you some more Makenna-isms that happened today in tomorrow’s blog.
The house itself was a bit of a disappointment. It’s now a boarding school so there were many, many, many students on the grounds playing various sports. There were lacrosse games, rugby games, and I think I saw field hockey. The house was inherited by Viscount Cobham who was a Whig politician, from his father. It was originally built in the 1600’s I believe. It was passed down the family line and when Richard Grenville inherited it, he then became known as Earl Tmeple and was described as the wealthiest commoner in England. The problem was that he spent most of his fortune on rebuilding the house. Then more relatives after him spent even more money on adding to the house. By 1848 the contents of the house were sold to reduce some of the debts and the house wasn’t occupied for over a decade. By 1922 it was then turned into a school which now has 580 pupils ages 13-18.
The tour guide was a previous pupil and I’m not sure but may have even been a teacher at the school (if not this school, some other school). It was hard to hear him as the “school takes precedence,” so the kids were finishing up their sports activities for the day and walking all around making noise. Plus the tour guide was very slow. It took about an hour and a half to look at seven rooms.
What was really sad was that he had a sketch book showing us what the rooms used to look like. Most of them are very altered due to it now being a school. The one room that sounded like it was really grand is now a cafeteria. He described how it used to have a huge bed and all these other grand things. The picture was amazing and to see the extreme difference now was disheartening.
The only room that was still really amazing was more of an entry way called the Marble Saloon. The only marble in it was the floor. There were columns made to look the marble but are really plaster and some kind of work done to make it look as though they’re made of marble. The ceiling dome and frieze around it was really amazing. The ceiling has all these stone flowers and no one is the same. Although to take a quick glance at it you wouldn’t know. Then the frieze was again Roman like of all these soldiers in “high relief” whatever that means. I put a video at the bottom so you could see this marvelous room.
It was at least nice that we could take pictures in the house. It was also nice that Makenna was in a pretty good mood. Listening wasn’t always something she wanted to do but she did fairly well. I think it was mostly because she could run around outside and go up steps to the different structures. She was upset when we were in the house and she couldn’t go up the steps – I think those led to dorm rooms or classrooms – I’m not sure. She was glad to get back outside again after the tour. I’ll give you some more Makenna-isms that happened today in tomorrow’s blog.
Friday, March 13, 2009
13Mar2009: Day 291: Ma-Kenna
Today Makenna decided to pronounce her name correctly “Ma-Kenna” she proudly said. She said it with a pause between the first syllables. Usually she says “Kenna.” I then moved on and had her say her full name. I’ve since asked her to say her name and she doesn’t associate what I’m asking with her name.
We took Hannah & Bethany and her mom to nursery this morning. Hannah is going to start going the same days as Makenna (Tues & Fri). The two of them together should be quite a pair. I’m sure that they won’t always be spending every moment together but at least they’ll be comforted to have each other. I know Makenna was grateful that Hannah’s mom was there today as it’s “Red Nose Day” (aka Comic Relief Day) here and the kids and workers were dressed up. Her key worker was dressed in a funny costume with a red ball nose and Makenna was quite freaked out by it. She just clung to Madonna.
They’ve been gearing up for this Red Nose thing around here for about a month. I guess it’s a way of fundraising for any cause. More so for poverty but they get a bunch of stars doing silly things. Kind of like our Comic Relief was I guess back with Whoppi Goldberg, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal. Anyways, as we were leaving nursery, they were handing out cupcakes and I took one for Makenna to eat after lunch. Hannah took hers right away and started eating it so Makenna had a massive break down. She was screaming and screaming in the car “cake!” I felt bad and I could understand why she’d be upset but I stuck to my guns. I wasn’t going to reward her for screaming and I wanted her to eat lunch first. I won out.
The good news for the day is we finally have our upstairs toilet fixed. It’s been since, oh, September of last year. We had someone come in October but he just poured stuff down the toilet and that was it. When Chris called the rental company back they would just call some plumber and if that plumber couldn’t get a hold of me, he would quit. Now that we’re potty training it’s getting a bit more use. It was close to overflowing quite a bit. I called the rental company again yesterday and someone came over today. This guy really tried to find the problem and he was successful. It’s just as I thought it was – one of Makenna’s toys. He took it with him and first I thought about protesting then I thought, “Do I really want a toy that’s seen it’s share of potty time?” No.
We took Hannah & Bethany and her mom to nursery this morning. Hannah is going to start going the same days as Makenna (Tues & Fri). The two of them together should be quite a pair. I’m sure that they won’t always be spending every moment together but at least they’ll be comforted to have each other. I know Makenna was grateful that Hannah’s mom was there today as it’s “Red Nose Day” (aka Comic Relief Day) here and the kids and workers were dressed up. Her key worker was dressed in a funny costume with a red ball nose and Makenna was quite freaked out by it. She just clung to Madonna.
They’ve been gearing up for this Red Nose thing around here for about a month. I guess it’s a way of fundraising for any cause. More so for poverty but they get a bunch of stars doing silly things. Kind of like our Comic Relief was I guess back with Whoppi Goldberg, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal. Anyways, as we were leaving nursery, they were handing out cupcakes and I took one for Makenna to eat after lunch. Hannah took hers right away and started eating it so Makenna had a massive break down. She was screaming and screaming in the car “cake!” I felt bad and I could understand why she’d be upset but I stuck to my guns. I wasn’t going to reward her for screaming and I wanted her to eat lunch first. I won out.
The good news for the day is we finally have our upstairs toilet fixed. It’s been since, oh, September of last year. We had someone come in October but he just poured stuff down the toilet and that was it. When Chris called the rental company back they would just call some plumber and if that plumber couldn’t get a hold of me, he would quit. Now that we’re potty training it’s getting a bit more use. It was close to overflowing quite a bit. I called the rental company again yesterday and someone came over today. This guy really tried to find the problem and he was successful. It’s just as I thought it was – one of Makenna’s toys. He took it with him and first I thought about protesting then I thought, “Do I really want a toy that’s seen it’s share of potty time?” No.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
12Mar2009: Day 290: Moine
Getting to that stage of “mine.” Although, when she says it, it sounds like moine (rhymes with coin). It’s either “moine” or “hap to share.” When we got home from playgroup yesterday she wanted the car keys and I told her that she could have them after I locked the car. She looked at me straight on and said, “You hap to share.” I laughed. I said, “Oh do I now?” I then told her again that I would give them to her after I locked the car.
I also have been repeating myself (a bad habit with a two year old,) and I finally have started saying, “Makenna, what did mommy just tell you?” So of course, today she said, “What I tell you?” I’m trying to get her to think about what I am telling her. Yes, I know she’s two but you have to start somewhere.
I’m also thinking about switching to M&Ms for the potty training. A girlfriend from college e-mailed me to say how it’s creating success for her and her twins, and Madonna told me today that’s what helped her with Hannah. Makenna is fighting me more and more about getting on the potty. I think a huge part of it is the seat. I just think she’s really uncomfortable. She almost put her feet into the toilet today through the seat as she didn’t want to go on and kept her legs stiff and straight. I’ve looked on-line a bit but I hate to spend in effect $45 dollars and then not have her use it.
We did go to the sing/dance today with Hannah and Bethany (and mom of course). A couple of weeks ago when Makenna and I went, there was a photographer taking random pictures. I picked up the proofs today and although I think they’re cute, I wish they were a bit better. I’m not sure if I’m going to order any or not. I’d like to order at least one. The problem is that I have to turn in the order back at the playgroup next Thursday and I wasn’t planning on attending as I need to get the house ready for a visitor! I guess I’ll have to see.
I also have been repeating myself (a bad habit with a two year old,) and I finally have started saying, “Makenna, what did mommy just tell you?” So of course, today she said, “What I tell you?” I’m trying to get her to think about what I am telling her. Yes, I know she’s two but you have to start somewhere.
I’m also thinking about switching to M&Ms for the potty training. A girlfriend from college e-mailed me to say how it’s creating success for her and her twins, and Madonna told me today that’s what helped her with Hannah. Makenna is fighting me more and more about getting on the potty. I think a huge part of it is the seat. I just think she’s really uncomfortable. She almost put her feet into the toilet today through the seat as she didn’t want to go on and kept her legs stiff and straight. I’ve looked on-line a bit but I hate to spend in effect $45 dollars and then not have her use it.
We did go to the sing/dance today with Hannah and Bethany (and mom of course). A couple of weeks ago when Makenna and I went, there was a photographer taking random pictures. I picked up the proofs today and although I think they’re cute, I wish they were a bit better. I’m not sure if I’m going to order any or not. I’d like to order at least one. The problem is that I have to turn in the order back at the playgroup next Thursday and I wasn’t planning on attending as I need to get the house ready for a visitor! I guess I’ll have to see.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
11Mar2009: Day 289: Student Drivers
Over here I’m guessing it’s mandatory that you have to take driving lessons from a service. I’m not sure how many hours one has to train with these people and/or if these people then give you the road test and a piece of paper stating that you can now officially drive. I’m not really sure if it’s absolutely required to take lessons from these people. The only reason I think it is, is because there are so many different companies that you see teaching people how to drive. They all have signs on the cars and/or on top of the car so you can clearly spot these people and be forewarned. They are everywhere, especially in our area it seems.
Sometimes, there’s not forewarning about how ridiculous the actions of these people learning how to drive are going to be. Once, about a month or so ago, I was at a light behind one of these cars and as the light turned green, the kid put the car and reverse and just stopped short of backing into me. I was in my car screaming, “What are you doing?” and then profusely honking. He obviously didn’t have the car in gear when he first started and then stuck it in reverse instead of drive or first.
So today came as no surprise, just frustration. As I’ve stated in the blog before, the roads here are very narrow. When people park on both sides of the street, you typically only have room for one car to go down so it’s like a game of chicken as you go head to head and the first person to find an open spot pulls over so to let another person continue by. Today, there was a student driver in the middle of the road with his reverse lights on. Cars behind him are stopping and lining up, waiting for him to move the car. Cars in front of him are now starting to line up. This kid is just sitting in the middle of the road not doing anything. He had plenty and I mean plenty of room to back up and park in a spot. It’s like he was learning how to parallel park but not between two cars. He only had to back up past one car and all the room behind him along the curb was clear. It’s like you want to get out of your car, knock on his window and say, “um, excuse me, do you happen to see the chaos you’re causing by just sitting in the middle of the road?” “Would you like me to drive the car out of the way or are you trying to really make all those behind you and in front of you totally infuriated?” He finally did finally back up and park but it took what seemed like forever. Once that happened, then the game of chicken began for the rest of us who were waiting to get by.
The last day of this swim semester was today and Makenna did okay. She wasn’t into kicking her feet too much today but we were successful. I also had her go under a bit and she even jumped in between the two noodles the teacher set out and went under when she jumped in. She had another kid who was a bit over zealous jump in right away after and he got quite an earful from his mom. Makenna was really okay and this kid was bawling for getting in trouble. Inside the locker room, another little boy was overjoyed being able to run around naked and promptly peed all over the floor. His mother had to use one of their towels to clean it up.
Today at play group I tried getting Hannah to say Makenna’s name correctly. I said, “Hanna, say “ma”.” She said “ma.” I said, “kenna.” She said, “wakka.” Then she said, “Mawakka.” Wonderful I thought. Close enough. When we were leaving play group I told Makenna to give Hannah cuddles (hugs) and she went and laid her head on Hannah’s shoulder (as Makenna doesn’t put her arms around people.) Hannah put her arms around Makenna and they went toppling over onto the floor, on top of Hannah’s sister Bethany who promptly started to cry. Then Hannah rolled off of her onto the floor with Makenna on top so Hannah started to cry. Makenna who landed on top of the whole mess was just looking like, “um, why are they crying?” I told her it was an accident not to worry.
The word for today was “stunk” for skunk. She found another cute cartoon called “Little Bear” that she really likes and there’s a few bits that show a skunk but Makenna keeps asking for the “stunk.” I keep trying to correct her but she still says stunk.
Sometimes, there’s not forewarning about how ridiculous the actions of these people learning how to drive are going to be. Once, about a month or so ago, I was at a light behind one of these cars and as the light turned green, the kid put the car and reverse and just stopped short of backing into me. I was in my car screaming, “What are you doing?” and then profusely honking. He obviously didn’t have the car in gear when he first started and then stuck it in reverse instead of drive or first.
So today came as no surprise, just frustration. As I’ve stated in the blog before, the roads here are very narrow. When people park on both sides of the street, you typically only have room for one car to go down so it’s like a game of chicken as you go head to head and the first person to find an open spot pulls over so to let another person continue by. Today, there was a student driver in the middle of the road with his reverse lights on. Cars behind him are stopping and lining up, waiting for him to move the car. Cars in front of him are now starting to line up. This kid is just sitting in the middle of the road not doing anything. He had plenty and I mean plenty of room to back up and park in a spot. It’s like he was learning how to parallel park but not between two cars. He only had to back up past one car and all the room behind him along the curb was clear. It’s like you want to get out of your car, knock on his window and say, “um, excuse me, do you happen to see the chaos you’re causing by just sitting in the middle of the road?” “Would you like me to drive the car out of the way or are you trying to really make all those behind you and in front of you totally infuriated?” He finally did finally back up and park but it took what seemed like forever. Once that happened, then the game of chicken began for the rest of us who were waiting to get by.
The last day of this swim semester was today and Makenna did okay. She wasn’t into kicking her feet too much today but we were successful. I also had her go under a bit and she even jumped in between the two noodles the teacher set out and went under when she jumped in. She had another kid who was a bit over zealous jump in right away after and he got quite an earful from his mom. Makenna was really okay and this kid was bawling for getting in trouble. Inside the locker room, another little boy was overjoyed being able to run around naked and promptly peed all over the floor. His mother had to use one of their towels to clean it up.
Today at play group I tried getting Hannah to say Makenna’s name correctly. I said, “Hanna, say “ma”.” She said “ma.” I said, “kenna.” She said, “wakka.” Then she said, “Mawakka.” Wonderful I thought. Close enough. When we were leaving play group I told Makenna to give Hannah cuddles (hugs) and she went and laid her head on Hannah’s shoulder (as Makenna doesn’t put her arms around people.) Hannah put her arms around Makenna and they went toppling over onto the floor, on top of Hannah’s sister Bethany who promptly started to cry. Then Hannah rolled off of her onto the floor with Makenna on top so Hannah started to cry. Makenna who landed on top of the whole mess was just looking like, “um, why are they crying?” I told her it was an accident not to worry.
The word for today was “stunk” for skunk. She found another cute cartoon called “Little Bear” that she really likes and there’s a few bits that show a skunk but Makenna keeps asking for the “stunk.” I keep trying to correct her but she still says stunk.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
10Mar2009: Day 288: It's Not Broke
More like a broken record. When daddy got home tonight, she wanted to watch a movie with him (all of 15 minutes as he got home late). She kept saying, “It’s not broke, it’s not broke.” We finally had to tell her “enough!” I think part of the reason she was saying this was because earlier, she had found one of the tapes from the video camera and broke into it literally. I was washing dishes up from dinner and when I came into the living room, she handed me this mini tape with the front piece broken off and a small piece of the tape itself ripped out. I very sternly told her that this was naughty and when daddy got home, he told her, “now it’s broke.” So I think that she was trying to rectify it by saying the movie player wasn’t broke. Thus we heard her tell us again and again that it wasn’t broke.
Another thing that she repeatedly said today during lunch was, “are you alright?” I don’t know what brought this about but all during lunch she kept saying this. She would stop saying it for about a minute as long as I asked it to her. One time I tried saying, “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” without asking her “are you alright” back. This only made her say it to me again, but in a higher pitched, and louder tone. After I would ask her if she was alright, she’d say, “I’m fine.” Then the whole thing would start again.
Speaking of feeling fine, I woke up and found white streaks to the back of my throat. I wasn’t too surprised. I have a penchant for getting sinus infections. I decided to call the doctors office to see if I could get in. Unfortunately, he just got back from “holiday” (vacation) and was all booked up. They asked me to call back at 11:30am to speak to him directly. I decided to forgo the gym (even though I felt guilty,) but as I didn’t take any Ibuprofen so as to not mess up any diagnosis he may give me, I wasn’t up for a workout. I called at 11:30am and he asked me my symptoms and a few other questions and said, “Okay, I’ll write you a prescription.” Wow! No visit no nothing, just at my word I get a prescription. I was amazed but also somewhat relieved that I didn’t have to make a trip in, especially a trip in with Makenna.
The problem was that I wouldn’t be able to pick up the prescription up until after 3pm. This is during Makenna’s nap so I knew that I most likely wouldn’t be picking it up today. I figured by the time she woke up and I got the prescription, I wouldn’t be able to fill it today as the “chemist” (pharmacy) only stays open until 5:30pm. I hope to try and go before Makenna’s swim class tomorrow. As soon as I got off the phone, I went straight for the Ibuprofen. Ahhh, relief!
One last thing about Makenna was that today she ate about seven or eight carrots. She saw daddy adding them to his lunch this morning and had about three. Then at lunch she ate about three more. Then for dinner she ate one to two more. If you give her three at a time, she seems to take bites out of all of them and goes back and forth. So they may not all get eaten fully but a bite here and there. I’m just happy that we’re moving on into some vegetables by her own free will, instead of me hiding it in her foods.
Another thing that she repeatedly said today during lunch was, “are you alright?” I don’t know what brought this about but all during lunch she kept saying this. She would stop saying it for about a minute as long as I asked it to her. One time I tried saying, “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” without asking her “are you alright” back. This only made her say it to me again, but in a higher pitched, and louder tone. After I would ask her if she was alright, she’d say, “I’m fine.” Then the whole thing would start again.
Speaking of feeling fine, I woke up and found white streaks to the back of my throat. I wasn’t too surprised. I have a penchant for getting sinus infections. I decided to call the doctors office to see if I could get in. Unfortunately, he just got back from “holiday” (vacation) and was all booked up. They asked me to call back at 11:30am to speak to him directly. I decided to forgo the gym (even though I felt guilty,) but as I didn’t take any Ibuprofen so as to not mess up any diagnosis he may give me, I wasn’t up for a workout. I called at 11:30am and he asked me my symptoms and a few other questions and said, “Okay, I’ll write you a prescription.” Wow! No visit no nothing, just at my word I get a prescription. I was amazed but also somewhat relieved that I didn’t have to make a trip in, especially a trip in with Makenna.
The problem was that I wouldn’t be able to pick up the prescription up until after 3pm. This is during Makenna’s nap so I knew that I most likely wouldn’t be picking it up today. I figured by the time she woke up and I got the prescription, I wouldn’t be able to fill it today as the “chemist” (pharmacy) only stays open until 5:30pm. I hope to try and go before Makenna’s swim class tomorrow. As soon as I got off the phone, I went straight for the Ibuprofen. Ahhh, relief!
One last thing about Makenna was that today she ate about seven or eight carrots. She saw daddy adding them to his lunch this morning and had about three. Then at lunch she ate about three more. Then for dinner she ate one to two more. If you give her three at a time, she seems to take bites out of all of them and goes back and forth. So they may not all get eaten fully but a bite here and there. I’m just happy that we’re moving on into some vegetables by her own free will, instead of me hiding it in her foods.
Monday, March 9, 2009
9Mar2009: Day 287: The Eyes Say It All
Tonight, Makenna got into a bit of trouble as daddy was taking a “cat nap” (as usual I might add,) and she tried to get his attention in the wrong way. She threw a toy at him and hit him the head. He woke up shocked and a bit hurt and gave her a stern warning about what she had done. She looked so heart-broken. Her eyes were downcast, her lip was in an upside down “U”and then she broke down crying. Then in a little bit after we got over that episode, she was complaining about wanting to see something and Chris started saying “Wallace & Gromitt” as Makenna had been yelling that at him earlier. Her facial expression was priceless. Her eyes were rolling about and looking side to side as if to say, “What is wrong with this guy?” Plus she added a scowl to emphasize her displeasure with him. I see this as a start of many more years of rolling her eyes at us. I again was wishing I had the camera to film it. It was absolutely hilarious. Chris and I were laughing and laughing.
Other than me trying to get over another stupid sinus infection yet again, my weekly Monday grocery shopping trip was a bit of a downer. First, I’ve written about these carts over here and how they’re very unwieldy. Now, put that with a bum wheel like you get in the states on the carts and you come out with a strong right bicep. I had to literally keep the cart at an angle off my body as to move it forward in the store. I looked as if I was about to go down any isle at any moment.
Then the store had the gall to move things around and/or no longer carry certain things that I came to be familiar with. It’s bad enough that a lot of things I’m used to from the states aren’t here to begin with but then to become comfortable with certain things and have them no longer available, or at least on this shopping trip (I hope they return,) was short of devastating. I know that’s a strong word but sometimes it’s the little things that can keep you sane in an unfamiliar country. Now you’re going to laugh even more when I tell you what three things I’m speaking of.
The first, and mind you, the last three or four trips, I haven’t seen these certain “biscuits” (cookies) that I like. They have a dark chocolate top and base of oats and other stuff to it. They have the regular milk chocolate ones and there are other brands that have the dark chocolate which I’ve resorted to buy. So not all is lost but it’s like changing from Oreos to Hydrox. You’ll live with Hydrox but are always looking for Oreos.
The next thing is seasoned Rice vinegar. My aunt Lori turned me onto this type of vinegar to make a good oil and vinegar salad dressing. When I went down the isle today, all the vinegars were gone! I had to search back and forth and found that they moved the vinegars next to the oil but besides cider vinegar, all they had was balsamic. I was tempted to pay for over-priced balsamic but I didn’t think I’d be as happy. So I resigned myself to the regular salad dressings.
That’s where my third disappointment came in. I have come to find that the salad dressings here are just, well, awful! Even one’s that you are familiar with like Thousand Island, or Ranch, or Italian. I guess because they tastes over here are different they make them different? I’ve heard of McDonalds changing their recipes in different countries so all I can think is that the same is here with the salad dressings. I did find one that I actually like and guess what? Yup, as Makenna would say, it’s no longer there. I don’t think they were out of stock as the company makes different flavors and there were no dressings from this company whatsoever.
If I had my way, I’d go up to the front counter of the store tell them my gripes of what they’ve now done to my otherwise “comfortable” lifestyle by moving and eliminating foods that I’ve come to expect. I would then let Makenna look at them with her rolling eyes and scowling face to prove my point.
Other than me trying to get over another stupid sinus infection yet again, my weekly Monday grocery shopping trip was a bit of a downer. First, I’ve written about these carts over here and how they’re very unwieldy. Now, put that with a bum wheel like you get in the states on the carts and you come out with a strong right bicep. I had to literally keep the cart at an angle off my body as to move it forward in the store. I looked as if I was about to go down any isle at any moment.
Then the store had the gall to move things around and/or no longer carry certain things that I came to be familiar with. It’s bad enough that a lot of things I’m used to from the states aren’t here to begin with but then to become comfortable with certain things and have them no longer available, or at least on this shopping trip (I hope they return,) was short of devastating. I know that’s a strong word but sometimes it’s the little things that can keep you sane in an unfamiliar country. Now you’re going to laugh even more when I tell you what three things I’m speaking of.
The first, and mind you, the last three or four trips, I haven’t seen these certain “biscuits” (cookies) that I like. They have a dark chocolate top and base of oats and other stuff to it. They have the regular milk chocolate ones and there are other brands that have the dark chocolate which I’ve resorted to buy. So not all is lost but it’s like changing from Oreos to Hydrox. You’ll live with Hydrox but are always looking for Oreos.
The next thing is seasoned Rice vinegar. My aunt Lori turned me onto this type of vinegar to make a good oil and vinegar salad dressing. When I went down the isle today, all the vinegars were gone! I had to search back and forth and found that they moved the vinegars next to the oil but besides cider vinegar, all they had was balsamic. I was tempted to pay for over-priced balsamic but I didn’t think I’d be as happy. So I resigned myself to the regular salad dressings.
That’s where my third disappointment came in. I have come to find that the salad dressings here are just, well, awful! Even one’s that you are familiar with like Thousand Island, or Ranch, or Italian. I guess because they tastes over here are different they make them different? I’ve heard of McDonalds changing their recipes in different countries so all I can think is that the same is here with the salad dressings. I did find one that I actually like and guess what? Yup, as Makenna would say, it’s no longer there. I don’t think they were out of stock as the company makes different flavors and there were no dressings from this company whatsoever.
If I had my way, I’d go up to the front counter of the store tell them my gripes of what they’ve now done to my otherwise “comfortable” lifestyle by moving and eliminating foods that I’ve come to expect. I would then let Makenna look at them with her rolling eyes and scowling face to prove my point.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
8Mar2009: Day 286: Makenna To The Rescue
I’ve written in the past how Makenna is a tactile child. She loves this Book of Mormon I have for kids that you can remove pieces from and she loves it when, mostly daddy, rubs it along the skin of her arms, but also enjoys it on her face, back, or legs. We usually bring it to church with us on Sundays as it keeps her calm most of the time. Today, Makenna decided to share that feeling with Hannah. She took a piece from the book and rubbed it along Hannah’s arm. Hannah was enamored. It was very cute. I then took over for Makenna and put Hannah in a trance of sorts.
Another saying that has come out quite a bit this past week is “I can’t do it.” Although sometimes it seems as if she’s saying “I can do it.” When we were at the park on Friday, she kept saying it as she was trying to get up the stairs and when she reached the top I made sure she was saying, “I can do it.”
One thing about yesterday that Chris did not know that happened was how Makenna saved me from quite an embarrassment. I took her to the bathrooms for a diaper change and we went into the handicapped bathrooms as that’s where they had the diaper changing table. I locked the door and proceeded to change her. When we were done, I couldn’t get the door to unlock! I turned it back and forth, back and forth, pushing and pushing and nothing was working. I kicked it even. I took out my cell phone and started to call Chris when Makenna went up to the door and did who knows what and opened it. I quickly hung up the phone. I thought Chris was going to have to get someone to break us out. Who knew all it was going to take was a child to free me from a red face moment.
I guess I’ll fill in a bit more about Scotney Castle. When we got there we could go through the house which is up on higher ground than the castle. The manor house, like Chris said, didn’t have much information to it. The castle which was a bit of a walk down a pathway was very intriguing. I found it surprising that they didn’t really have anything holding anyone back from going into the moat in some places. I guess the castle was also a fortified manor house built in the 12th century. It passed through different owners who made changes or added to it until it was in the hands of Edward Hussey. He was the last one to live in it and his son, also named Edward, built the newer house up on the hill. It was this last Edward’s grandson who, when he died in 1970, (not 1999 like Chris posted yesterday,) passed along the estate to the people of National Trust who run the property today.
I guess since the castle was more of a manor house, there really isn’t too much other history to it to be known. I thought it was very pretty and probably really pretty in the spring and summer when more flowers are out. It also had this boat house right on the moat, which I’ve never seen before. Makenna was of course taken by the water. She really wanted to be near it so we had to be very diligent and make sure she didn’t go running into it. That would’ve made it a real fun trip!
Another saying that has come out quite a bit this past week is “I can’t do it.” Although sometimes it seems as if she’s saying “I can do it.” When we were at the park on Friday, she kept saying it as she was trying to get up the stairs and when she reached the top I made sure she was saying, “I can do it.”
One thing about yesterday that Chris did not know that happened was how Makenna saved me from quite an embarrassment. I took her to the bathrooms for a diaper change and we went into the handicapped bathrooms as that’s where they had the diaper changing table. I locked the door and proceeded to change her. When we were done, I couldn’t get the door to unlock! I turned it back and forth, back and forth, pushing and pushing and nothing was working. I kicked it even. I took out my cell phone and started to call Chris when Makenna went up to the door and did who knows what and opened it. I quickly hung up the phone. I thought Chris was going to have to get someone to break us out. Who knew all it was going to take was a child to free me from a red face moment.
I guess I’ll fill in a bit more about Scotney Castle. When we got there we could go through the house which is up on higher ground than the castle. The manor house, like Chris said, didn’t have much information to it. The castle which was a bit of a walk down a pathway was very intriguing. I found it surprising that they didn’t really have anything holding anyone back from going into the moat in some places. I guess the castle was also a fortified manor house built in the 12th century. It passed through different owners who made changes or added to it until it was in the hands of Edward Hussey. He was the last one to live in it and his son, also named Edward, built the newer house up on the hill. It was this last Edward’s grandson who, when he died in 1970, (not 1999 like Chris posted yesterday,) passed along the estate to the people of National Trust who run the property today.
I guess since the castle was more of a manor house, there really isn’t too much other history to it to be known. I thought it was very pretty and probably really pretty in the spring and summer when more flowers are out. It also had this boat house right on the moat, which I’ve never seen before. Makenna was of course taken by the water. She really wanted to be near it so we had to be very diligent and make sure she didn’t go running into it. That would’ve made it a real fun trip!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
7Mar2009: Day 285: Charles Darwin's House and Scotney Castle
Today we went to Darwin's house, or Downs House. It is well off the beaten path, but we found it after at first thinking the GPS took us somewhere wrong. It was interesting to see the home of the man who single handedly changed the thinking of the masses to think that creationism is not true. Now I'm not completely sure there isn't something with what Darwin's theories point out, but i certainly think that if it does work that way it clearly shows intelligent design and certainly within the realm of what God could have created with or without what He reveals in the Bible. I don't profess to know what the Garden of Eden really was or how long a day was without the Sun in the sky while God took 4"days" to get around to making it. But, God used a man, Moses, to give us these words in the Bible to help us understand that He did create us, whether we want to believe that or not, or even if we want to believe that He created us in a single moment or there was some process by which He created us, He still created us. So, in the end, I guess we will meet Adam and Eve in heaven, and perhaps we will have to tip our halo's to good ol' Charlie if it turns out that they are actually monkey-people or lung fish.Anyway, we walked around the upstairs where we found out about Darwin's parents and his privileged lifestyle funded by his father's wealth. Darwin took a five year trip around the world studying life in its various forms all across the globe. When he returned he marrie
d his first cousin and settled down in Downs House, which his father bought for him. He was never any good at school, initially he was going to be a Doctor like his father, but when he failed at that, he started to study to be a Clergymen in the Church of England. He left the thought of that profession behind as well sometime during his trip around the world. He just wanted to study the natural world and his father's wealth allowed him to do it.His main focus for 8 years of his life was barnacles and he set out to classify the barnacle species in full. Then he studied pigeons with the intent to prove his theory that every pigeon had a common ancestor, the stone pigeon. During this study he saw that different pigeons had different beaks for the food that they eat and the environment they lived in. Through this discovery he eventually develops his theory of a common ancestor for all life and eventually came to write it into the his world changing book: the Origins of the Species. Actually, it only took him one year for him to write his book because he found out that another person was doing the same research in Asia when he receive a letter asking to collaborate from the other person. He immediately began work on the book and published it, the initial release selling out of all copies in one day. The other scientist was actually quite cordial with Darwin even after he beat him to the publishers and they became life long correspondents.
Makenna was a pest all day. Ignoring our requests to stay with us when we did let her walk. She fell at one point and gave herself a good scrape by her eye and on her back. She just likes running and no attempts to tell her not to works. She'll learn eventually, hopefully before she gives me a heart attack. I ended up having her on my shoulders most of the day and there is not much she can do to get down from there other than slap me, mess up my hair, stick her wet finger in my ear, or lean way over the side of my face and look me right in the eye and say "Stuck! Stuck!". That's right yer stuck, you little pest!
So we left there and w
ent to Scotney Castle. This is actually a Sandstone Manor house owned by the 
ures dating to the mid-1950's, and furniture a far cry older than that. There wasn't really any good descriptions of the rooms or the items in them, you just really wandered. I suppose you could have asked questions of the stewards that were there, but I didn't really think there was all that much history in the place. It was built in the 1820's so it really wasn't that old. It was always in the one family. There is a Castle ruin on site with a very picturesque moat and garden around and within it. It has one tower and a small building that still survives, but we were not allowed within it, which was disappointing. Also, there was no history of the castle anywhere that I could find while we were there. I probably could find stuff online, but perhaps Teri will fill in some of that for you. 
We went up to Costco after Scotney Castle and bought some meats and various cleaning products. Makenna was all fired up to get pizza and a drink with a straw in it and when we got here that, she didn't want it really. So we packed it all up and went home.
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