12Nov2008: Day 170: Cook!

This morning, Makenna was insisting that she had to have pancakes for breakfast. So I relented and I sat her up on the counter next to where I cook. I sometimes do this as long as it's something simple and I can keep an eye on her. As I was cooking, I had put on the Ipod to listen to music. I was dancing around getting Makenna to dance a bit, but then she pointed to the pancakes and said "Cook!" It came out like, stop this silly dancing mom, and cook me my pancakes!

She at least enjoyed the pancakes. I figured she would since she didn't have dinner last night. She seems to be in a stage of eating a big breakfast and a pretty decent size lunch and then very little if anything for dinner.

We went and got Hannah and family to go to playgroup. Makenna was less clingy and I think that was because Hannah was there to play with. I was going to run an errand and have Madonna look after Makenna but since there was only one other mom, I figured I'd stay and run my errand another time. I was glad I stayed. The other mom is from another ward at church and we started talking about how we can combine for activities. So hopefully next week, we'll hammer out some ideas.

We quickly ran home, and got lunch and off to the next playgroup. After that playgroup, went home and as I was getting Makenna ready for a nap, she slipped on a rug in the bathroom and went down and hit her head pretty hard on the toilet. I think it was a combination of being tired and getting her feet tangled up in the rug. Well, I kept her up for another hour to make sure she was okay and keep an eye on the goose egg growing on her head. I took her downstairs and she wanted to watch "Nina and the Neurons." After the fourth show of it, I could tell she was fine and put her up for a nap.

One other thing she's been doing this week is singing bits of songs. So all of a sudden, I'll hear "twinkle, twinkle, sky, up high, how I wonder, twinkle, twinkle star." She also today sang row, row your boat but they add a few verses here I've never heard of. The version she was singing was about an crocodile where you scream. I hear her singing, "row, row, ??????, aaahhhhhh." I can't quite make out what most of the song is but I could tell when she gets to the part where you scream.

She also blessed our food tonight. I didn't realize that was what she was doing at first but then all of a sudden I heard, "Amen." We were walking into the dining room with dinner and I heard her babbling and then the "amen." So I figured that her blessing was sufficient.

11Nov2008: Day 169: Holy Moly

Just when you don't think their will be anything to write about...Makenna comes up with some things to make life interesting.

Her new words today were "Holy Moly" (but said with out the "L"s) and "my goodness." These came about as I was changing a massively disgusting, stinky diaper. As I was saying these words, she would copy me and laugh. Then we would both say "stinky." I was able to get this video of some of our highly educated conversation.


Then, as I was getting her ready for a nap, I was in my bedroom and she came in and got the phone. This was nothing new, as she loves getting the phone and playing with it. But this time, she actually dialed someone...unfortunately...it was emergency services! In the states it's 911, but here, it's 999. When I heard a voice coming out of the other end of the phone, I grabbed it and saw on the display that it actually said 9999 (maybe for a super-emergency?). I heard the voice then ask if there was an emergency, and I apologized profusely and told them that my daughter had accidentally dialed the phone. I'm not sure if when she dialed the number it automatically turns on and dials, as it's the emergency number, or if she had turned on the phone first and then dialed or dialed and then turned on the phone. Hard to say, but either way, it made for an interesting moment.

In the evening, we again spent time with Makenna, playing with different toys. Chris even did that whole "got your nose" thing but Makenna just walked away like, "so what?" She did go back once and put her nose against his fingers to get her nose back.
Tonight, while I was finishing putting her to bed, I was going through our normal bedtime routine, and adding our earlier conversation of Holy Moly and My Goodness - I'm a sucker for cute baby laughs. Well, as I gave her one of her many goodnight kisses and said "I'll see you tomorrow," she replied, "See you Latah" (that's the English accent that comes through). I just thought it was so cute.

10Nov2008: Day 168: Cold, Wet, Rainy, Windy

That about sums up the day. It was too cold, wet, windy, rainy to go anywhere besides the gym. Makenna, of course, wanted to stomp in every puddle she saw from the car to the gym, and back again. I swear there's some magnetic force that happens between her feet and a puddle.

On the bright side, Chris came home fairly early (just before 5pm) as they lost power at his plant. He's not sure why, and his side of the building actually had a generator, but they still couldn't connect to the network. So I guess they told everyone to go home. It made my life easier so that I could cook dinner without a child clinging to my leg begging to be picked up.

One other nice thing that we did tonight is to shut off the t.v. and computer (albeit for 15 minutes), before Makenna's bedtime to spend time with the three of us doing something. We tried to play with toys but Makenna didn't really want to do that. So we sat and sang different songs where you had to move body parts. I think this is something we should try and incorporate into our nights more often.

9Nov2008: Day 167: Day of Remembrance

Today is what's called "A Day of Remembrance" here in England. It's like our Veteran's Day. Today in church, they had a two minute silence as we stood, to commemorate this day and of course, our little Makenna, could not quite handle the whole concept of being quiet. Not that I really expected her to but it's what she says that kills me.

Imagine if you will, all is quiet, and then you hear "poopy" "poopy" (then a sniff), "no poopy". Not sure what brought that on but I guess she was letting everyone know that she, Makenna, was not poopy. Maybe she smelled something and wanted to make it known that it wasn't her who created the bad smell. I do have to say, that overall, for the two minutes, she was fairly quiet, other than that little commentary above.

She is also now getting more into "sauce". She wants to have sauce with every meal. She's actually having mustard on occasion, when she sees daddy eating it with his meal. She also wants A1. I've probably mentioned this in the past, but A1 is like gold over here to us. Chris's parents brought us some more and so we use it sparingly. Makenna insisted that she have it with her meal tonight. I tried to give her the cheap UK version of "HP" sauce but she actually told me "No" and made me get out the A1. Much to Chris's chagrin.

One neat thing from yesterday was that Makenna actually ate a sandwich. When we were at the Roman Palace, we got something from their cafe and I bought a chicken salad sandwich for myself and we had a kids meal for her. Which consisted of a ham sandwich, chips, a cookie and an apple. Well of course she wanted my sandwich, but we eventually got her to eat her ham sandwich. We wouldn't let her eat a chip until she ate a bite of sandwich. Chris put it best because just when we think we're going to lose the battle, she actually gives in and she found that she liked it. Even tonight, we put corn on her plate and at first she was dead-set against it but by the end of the meal, she was actually eating it.

She also has a knack for messing up our computers. Today she made my screen turn 90 degrees so that I had to tilt my head to see anything. She had done this once before and I have no idea how she does it! I think there must be a hot-key combination that she happens to push. Last time it took me close to 2 hours to figure out how to turn the screen back the right way. This time I remembered how to fix it. Then later, she made it so all my icons went big, but again, I'm not sure how. I couldn't fix it the way I normally would. I had to do it a different way. She also does things to Chris's electronics and shut off the volume to his computer tonight.

Tonight, as we were finishing our Skype conversation with her grandma and grandpa Jones, Makenna went up and gave the computer screen a kiss to kiss them goodbye. She also all of a sudden, felt the need to go on the training potty. So we got her stockings off and diaper off so that she could sit on the potty. But alas, that lasted all of 5 seconds and she was up and running around naked. We quickly clothed her so that we didn't have any accidents. Not to mention that we were still on Skype at the time so all of her antics were going across the internet.

She is getting good at mimicking us. Right now, Chris is telling her to "stop it" as she's trying to get at the video camera. So she looked at Chris and said, "stop it!" She tells me to "let go" when she has a hold of things that I don't want her to have and I'm trying to get it out of her little paws. She's definitely in her two's - no doubt about it.

I just had to add to this as Makenna did something else that had me laughing (silently as I could). She took off her diaper and than ran around naked (from the waist down). Chris was yelling at her to stop taking off her diaper - but that didn't stop her. Then she was climbing on an small table that we had and Chris was frantically trying to get her to come to him so he could put her diaper back on. It was quite a sight to see. I had to duck my head behind my laptop screen so she couldn't see my laughing and be encouraged to continue such outlandish behavior :>)

8Nov2008: Day 166: Roman Palace and Chichester Cathedral

Today we went to two places in Chichester: a ruin of a Roman Palace and the Cathedral that was there. The Roman Palace was built around 75AD and it was destroyed by fire sometime after 350AD. The ruin was found after a ditch was being dug to lay a water main and some mosaic stones were unearthed in 1960. After carefully removing the centuries of earth they found the ruins of this amazing palace. The main surviving artifacts being the mosaic floors. The mosaics are some of the earliest ever found in England and are amazingly detailed even after so long being covered by dirt. Evidence of plow marks from later centuries are some of the things that have damaged the area, but even features from buildings that were there before the palace have also cause settling in the floors that the mosaics were lain on. There were spots where the mosaics had sunk in due to old wooden post holes for previous buildings that had been filled in. Also, the palace was built over an old drainage ditch which cause some of the floors to settle too. There was even a skeleton found where someone was buried in later centuries right into one of the floors.

The most famous mosaic is the one of Cupid riding a dolphin. They lifted this mosaic and others and found even earlier mosaics underneath that have been over paved. These are the ones that are the oldest in England. It is so interesting to think how such beautiful artwork was done so long ago and that evidence of it can survive this long buried. Another feature of the palace was that it had heated floors added at one point in its history...called a Hypocaust. It had a furnace room and hot gases would rise from the room into passages built under the floor and heat the floor.

After we convinced Makenna to stop running away from us so that she could climb up and down stairs, we left to go to the Chichester Cathedral. This is probably one of the more plain Cathedrals we have visited from a stone work and quantity of stone carvings, however, it has the most amazing walls of paintings of old bishops and kings that I have seen so far and its stained glass is extremely nice. The picture of the stain glass below is the entire story of the bible from Adam and Eve to Christ's Resurrection...sort of a story board of the Bible. The Cathedral is having its 900 year anniversary this year. It was one of the first Cathedrals built after the Norman invasion.


One other thing happened today that might be interesting. I was called something by my wife that I never thought I would here someone say to me: "You are most pathetic looking man ever!". I was not upset, but it certainly sounded like something a wife shouldn't say to her husband to the people walking by. I gave her a smug smile and she said "Well, you know what I mean!". I did, in fact, know what she meant, but that didn't stop me from playing with her a bit. It started a few minutes earlier with me asking her for the camera. She handed me the backpack and after a few moments of me sifting through the various pockets, I said to her that I could not find it. She immediately started thinking she left it at the Roman Palace on a chair and both of us were starting to have a bit of a panic attack. She started sifting through the bag herself and after about 1/2 second she pulls out the camera and yells: "You are the most pathetic looking man ever!"...so, I guess I am the most pathetic AT looking...at least I hope that is what she really meant...

7Nov2008: Day 165: Olmsted Manor & Colchester Castle/Museum

We found it! I can't explain how incredibly lucky we were to find it and how excited I was to actually see something that belonged in my family history back in 1242! It fell out of the Olmstead hands (although it was owned by someone by the name of Olmestede), but eventually bought back by a John Holmested or Olmested in 1526. I'm not sure how these two are related, yet, but a James Olmsted emigrated to New England in 1632. I don't think, as far as I know, that James Olmsted ever lived at Olmsted Manor.

There's a book called "Olmsted Family in America" and that's where I got the information above. I have to say I wouldn't have known any of this unless it was for this relative I contacted through our new family history website.

We set off and I drove to the town of Helion-Bumpsted. That's where the book above said that the manor was located. I figured it would be a long shot but I took a picture of the manor from the book that I had printed out (it was just a sketch) and when we got to the small town, I stopped at a pub. I went in and asked if they happened to ever hear of it. The bartender, a woman, said yes that she had and she knew right where it was. I couldn't believe my luck! She was trying to explain to me where it was and there was a patron at the bar who said he was going to drive past the area that it was located after he had another pint. I figured it was best to just try and get directions so I had Chris bring Makenna in along with our GPS. The guy sketched out directions and we were able to see it on the GPS. In the meantime, the bartender called the owner of the house (manor) and got the post code. (Post codes are like our zip codes but it's pretty much encompasses about a street of houses instead of a big area like it does where we live).

So off we went down these really windy roads that only is one car width. We found this sign and knew we were on the right track. We kept going and at the end of this bumpy, muddy road, we found it. It looks different from the sketch, but not by too much. I knocked on the door and asked the owner if we had the right place, which he said we did. I asked if he minded if we walked around and took some pictures, and he was very kind and said that was fine. I asked him if he happened to be related to the Olmstead line at all and he said no. He said that is family acquired the hall in 1919 and he bought it in 1987 from his grandfather. I would've liked to have gone inside but I didn't ask, and he didn't offer. I considered myself fortunate to find the place and left it at that.

So we walked around it about three times or so taking pictures and video, and comparing it to the sketch from the book. We saw the moat which still runs around the back-side of the house. According to the book, parts of it were filled in to create the roads leading to it. Makenna enjoyed it because we had brought her wellies and she was able to stomp freely in the puddles.

After, we took off to find Colchester Castle. We were going to scrap that idea and go to another castle in the area but it was closed (as most are at this time of year). So we decided to continue on to Colchester Castle as I knew that was open as it was turned into a museum. We got there in the very busy city of Colchester and got to the museum. We only had about an hour before they closed, but we figured that would be enough time and about the length of time Makenna would be agreeable to walking around. It was only took us about an hour anyways, so it worked out well.

Colchester castle itself was a Norman castle ordered to be built by William the Conqueror. It was built on the foundations of a Roman temple. In 1215 the castle was overtaken by King John and ceased to be a royal castle after the Magna Carta. It then became a prison most noted to imprison suspected witches. It eventually became the museum it is now. They did have some history of Colchester along with things they found in different archaeological digs in different areas around Colchester and other areas of England. They talked a lot about the Roman way of life as many of the materials used to build the castle were from Roman times. They also had a lot of Roman mosaics.

It wasn't anything spectacular but I was glad to fit it in to our day. We then left and went to Costco's on the way home and got home in time to see neighbors setting off fireworks which Makenna thoroughly enjoyed. We hope to get out to another place tomorrow along with possibly going somewhere to see fireworks as tomorrow is a big night to see them in different parts of the country.

6Nov2008: Day 164: Jane Austen

Today didn't go quite as planned. We had planned to go to a activity center with Hannah and family. I guess it's an indoors play area with balls to swim in and other play things. But, Hannah's dad forgot to leave the car seat for her so we just ended up going over to their house to play. They still seemed to have fun and Makenna gave Hannah a kiss goodbye when we left.

Went to the gym and I asked the nursery where she goes, how she gets along with the other kids their. They said she'll play along side them, which is typical for this age. She's interested in what the other kids are doing, and she's become a lot more talkative then when she first started to go. So that was good to hear.

I recorded a "Meerkat Manor" show today and we watched it, although it was an old one that I had seen back in the states, just with a different voice narrating. Makenna liked it and kept saying "Meerkat". Which is better than the warn out Fi-Dough. After her nap we watched some more of it and she had a good laugh when she said that the "Meerkat Stinky."

When we first moved here, and had no tv, I found a book of Jane Austen's stories. I started reading it and actually got into it. It has all six of her books in this one big one. I really enjoyed the first one, "Sense and Sensibility." I figured I'd have something to talk to my two sister-in-laws about as they are into Jane Austen. But I do have to say by the last book, "Persuasion," I had it. They stories seemed to all be along the same lines more or less of a person in love and in the end gets the person she wanted. I was hoping to finish this massive book but I just couldn't. I gave up a couple of weeks ago. I'm hoping to maybe get back into it and finish this last book. The problem with her stories, in my opinion, is way too many characters. I had to start printing out a list of characters from the web just to follow. I'd get confused as I was reading, about who was who and why they were doing what they were doing.

I'm excited for tomorrow as Chris has off work (for working last Sat,) and we hope to try and go up and see the area where this farmhouse from my family line is. I doubt we'll actually find the house itself but it would be neat if we could.