Misplaced Wildcats

a week of discoveries

2012-02-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

This week I discovered that the worst part about having a totally diaper-free house are the endless trips to the toilet that P uses to stall bedtime (he did this before he stopped wearing diapers to bed, but we are a little more afraid of accidents now). I also discovered when your child does have an accident after you refused the fourth trip to the bathroom, you feel like a real jerk.

This week I discovered that P had two imaginary friends stuck in the back of his semi-truck (toy of choice this week). Turns out it was KiKi and Cayman...Cayman is a friend from daycare which now leads me to believe that KiKi is actually Keegan, another friend from daycare. I'm trying not think about the implications of him keeping them captive in a toy...

This week I discovered we have a drain problem...or should I say a Parker-peeing-in-the-drain problem. P really likes to take showers ~~and I may have let him potty in the drain once 6 months ago out of necessity~~ and now he gets in the shower before I can stop him to potty before I turn on the water. I thought this was an only-at-home problem, but he did it at the pool on Monday...shoot.

This week I discovered the answer to the following equation...
spicy brownies (that P won't eat) + Brady out of town = empty brownie tray and tight pants

This week I discovered that calling your child stinky-pants results in the following wake-up call...
"Wake up Mommy! Get out of bed stinky-pants so we can play with my semi-truck!" (Yes, I realize that you are wondering why I called him stinky-pants in the first place, but some things just can't be explained...)

This week I discovered that when you are trying to scold your child for doing something wrong and they respond (with finger pointed), "I'm sorry Mommy, accidents happen," it is really hard to keep a straight face!

This week I discovered that when you tell P he can look at the animals while you look at books, this is what happens...for the record, I was right beside him...just clueless.

Oh, and this is what happens after you tell him to put them away...

So much more to discover this week!

I used to think it was weird...

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

"Are you al'right?"

Little did I know that this phrase is our equivalent of "how are you?" A one word answer will do...don't give them a list of your troubles. For two months, I just thought that everyone thought I was emotionally unstable (probably because I was), and was actually inquiring about how I was coping. I actually started crying one day in the church nursery when another mother asked me this...imagine my embarrassment a few weeks later when it hit me that she really just wanted me to say "yes, you?"

Be Mine

2012-02-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! My valentine is actually in Switzerland this week so I spent the day with my other love. We had a FANTASTIC day!

P Diddy asked to go to the gym today (ok, so he just wanted to play with the Buzz Lightyear toy they have). I never get to go to the gym two mornings in a row because of other activities, but this week is half-term so we had a clear schedule.

I got to run 6 miles yesterday and 4.5 today...not a lot, but definitely made the most of my 50 and 40 min workouts...plus, I think it helped finally convince myself to sign up for a half marathon here...I heart running.

P was a trooper for 2 hours of errands and I was finally able to get frames for our maps, his letter chart and my antique flash cards...WAHOO!

P told me the story of the three bears and the french fries (this is not your mama's Three Bears:) around twenty times today.

When I got to the checkout at The Range, I found three chocolate cows in my basket...apparently P is also a cow smuggler. I probably should have gotten mad and made him put them back, but I totally bought the cows.

I made two batches of brownies for dessert...:)

Finally, my friend Mandy offered to come over with her three kids and keep us company for dinner. Her husband had to work late (he actually made it here less than an hour after they did) and we all had a great time watching the kids play. I LOVE having good friends here!

Joy

2012-02-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

When someone becomes a parent, you always hear them say something about how much joy their new little bundle brings to their lives. Until I had Parker, I always thought it sounded a little cliche. Don't get me wrong, I have always known that I wanted to be a mom and I have always known that it would be one of the greatest experiences of my life, but I don't think I realized just how full it would make my heart. Just looking at P makes my heart swell and I honestly cannot remember what we did before he came. An even bigger surprise was how much I learn from him. It sounds crazy, but my little two-year old teaches me more about joy than anything I've ever known.

When the sky is cloudy (maybe I should just say everyday:), I will be complaining, but P will see the smallest hint of the sun and say..."the sun is peeking through, the sun is peeking through!" Or, he will remind me to be thankful on the rare blue-sky days, "Mommy, the sky is blue. It is kind of beautiful." Yes, part of my smile probably comes from hearing him say 'beautiful.'

Some days when I am just homesick, I will see P get so excited about his favorite clean shirt (or even pair of 'big-boy' underwear). I don't know why, but I can't help but beam when he says, "thank you for cleaning my jersey Mommy! I'm so excited to wear my jersey!" It is just a reminder that we are so blessed and not to take even the little things for granted.

I don't know what it is but he can tell when someone is sad. I am a sucker for sappy commercials. Sometimes I try to hide it, but he will come and give me a big hug and say, "you sad Mommy?" The other day he even tried to cheer me up by playing me a song..."I'm playing you a song Mommy! Are you happy Mommy?" I usually make it worse by tearing up a little when he says it.

I could have him out walking around in the cold all day long, feeling guilty about dragging him on errands, and he will light up at the sight of our house. "We're home! I see our new house! I'm so excited!" Seriously, I know it will not always be this easy to make him happy, but I will for sure take it now.

Finally, he will walk around singing lyrics to songs (hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from?) In general, this makes my day, but lately he's been singing, "its a beautiful night, I'm looking for something fun to do, hey baby, I think I want to marry you." It melts. my. heart. I can't help but say a little prayer every time that he will someday find someone to make him as happy as his daddy makes me.

Who knew I could learn so much from my little man.

Lincoln

2012-02-11T00:30:00.000-08:00

Brady had training up in Lincolnshire this week and, because he can't drive, P and I had to take him. Driving is not my strong suit (I apologize if you know this from first-hand experience), and driving in England is definitely not a strength. Needless to say, driving two and a half hours was an experience for all of us, but we made it. I am actually so glad that we went with him. Lincoln is a charming city (it has a cathedral therefore it is a city), and Parker and I found enough to keep us occupied. One of the best parts of our adventure north was that we were close enough to meet my dad's cousin and his wife and kids for dinner. With work schedules and everything else, it has been hard to find time to meet them, but this was a great excuse!

After pushing a stroller uphill for a mile, in the snow (ha, just kidding, but not really), P and I toured the Lincoln Castle. Much of the tour was actual a victorian-era jail, but it did have one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta which was pretty awesome (I am such a nerd...I know).

Here are a few pictures...not very good ones...we were cold!

Here's hoping that this is the only time I see P in a jail cell!

I know you are probably wondering what these pictures are...it is the jail chapel and they had dummies in the seats with masks over their heads...pretty creepy...I can't believe I took P. I also can't believe I actually tried to explain to him what he was seeing.

The Cathedral is beautiful here, but we were too cold to make it there. It's on our list for the next trip.

Yes, I am an idiot and took P up to walk along the walkway of the castle wall...while carrying the camera case and P's backpack...stupid, stupid, stupid.

P was pretty cold.

Even dumber...we walked up four flights of foot-wide spiral steps to get to the top of the observation tower. We were both so scared that this is the only picture I took. Don't even get me started on how we got back down...:)

I'm so happy we had to tag along, but I am even happier to finally be home for a few days!!

Pictures from Rome

2012-02-10T01:40:00.000-08:00

What can I say? I am in LOVE with Rome...even if the weather wasn't ideal, the architecture is spectacular and the history intriguing. You almost feel like you are a part of it when you are there and I cannot wait to go back!! I took a lot of pictures (350 to be exact...good thing the weather wasn't that great), but when I went back and looked through them, I realized that they look much clearer on the camera screen when you are shivering. I was going to try to edit them, but we've been out of town again and if I don't post them now, I don't know if I ever will. So, these are not great, but here are a few of my favorites!

If you go to the Coloseum...don't bring a stroller, especially when its snowing.
Brady carried it up a LOT of stairs.

When you have a two-year-old, always know where the toilets are!

This is the only picture we have of the three of us...seriously.
Everyone warned us so much about pickpockets that I was
too afraid to hand my camera over to anyone.

I don't know why, but this is my favorite picture.
Parker spent a lot of time in this position at the Vatican.

His poor little feet and legs were soaked...and frozen.

"A backhoe loader Mommy," Parker was more excited about this
than anything else!

We had an amazing time!

I used to think it was weird...

2012-02-08T02:12:00.000-08:00

Zed
Did you know that the last letter of the alphabet here is pronounced "zed" instead of just "z". It is really rather funny to hear people end the alphabet by saying "zed." If you say "z" they have no idea what you're talking about...seriously...I used to think it was weird too.

We took a 2 year old to Rome...and survived

2012-02-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but traveling for us is like a test of our marriage and humility. Brady and I often get stressed about different parts of the trip which sometimes drives the other one crazy...:). With Parker, we almost always have some embarrassing moments that make us stop and laugh. Rome was no different. Here are a few of the highlights...and lessons learned(I'll post pictures soon)! I apologize ahead of time for the randomness of my thoughts!

First things first...I got my first non-UK stamp on my passport...WAHOO!! Seriously, I was really excited!

Did you know that any bad weather in England means delays in every area of public transportation? It took us 12 hours to get to Rome because of train delays, flight delays, etc. We also learned that flying out of London Gatwick is not the best option if you live in Norwich...I love learning lessons:).

Did you know that Rome is usually blessed with mild temperatures so that if you want to travel in, say February, you should be fine? Did you also know that Rome had its first real snow in 26 years this weekend? Did you know that we were there this weekend? Ha, we have terrible timing.

Parker loves to travel (thank goodness), but was slightly disappointed when he couldn't find the "tv" on the airplane. I love to travel with him, partly because we get to look at his super cute passport photo, ha!

Rome has lots of stairs...lots. Even our hotel had a ridiculous amount of stairs and the elevator only held 1.5 people (lucky for mommy and Parker when daddy carried the stroller up).

Parker had his first overnight accident since wearing 'big boy' underwear to bed (I can't lie, I'm not that sad it happened when someone else had to do the laundry).

The Metro system in Italy is actually super easy to navigate. We didn't intend to use it, but because of the snow, we couldn't take taxis.

Almost everyone in Rome speaks English...thank goodness. I tried to learn a few phrases before we went, but then got busy and didn't get very far.

It is worth it to get a hotel in a great location. If we would have been any farther away from the centre of Rome, we wouldn't have been able to see anything.

Not only is ancient Rome spectacular, but the people who live there are beautiful and their clothes are amazing.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was listening to Parker tell us the story of the Three Bears as we went to sleep.

For some reason, we had a group of about 10 women stop and squat around P and take his picture while we were in St Peter's Square (Parker posed of course). I didn't think to get out my phone until there was only one left...

Parker was AMAZING. We dragged him all through Rome in the snow and sleet and he was great. Seriously, I am still kind of amazed.

The hot chocolate in Rome is spectacular...seriously, thick enough to eat with a spoon, and we did. Oh, and yes, I may have used it to bribe P to get in his stroller a few times. The spaghetti was amazing too. Just ask P...:)

If you have a toddler, a "little baggie" full of small toys is essential (thank you for making a K-State baggie, Gram Gram). Especially, when you are in a city where dinner lasts at least 3 hours.

Sometimes, when you are in Rome, and it's snowing, do as the Romans do...take a nap. We had planned on letting P sleep in the stroller as we walked around, but it was just too cold and his feet were so wet that we all needed to thaw.

Because we went through around three pairs of socks a day, we ran out for P...these work too.

P makes friends everywhere we go...he actually asked if he could sit next to the girl below (instead of us) when we got on the train...

All-in-all, we had an amazing trip. We didn't get to see everything we wanted to, but we also knew before going that we would probably want to go back...now we just know we do!

I used to think it was weird...

2012-01-31T23:07:00.000-08:00

Here, the only electrical device that you are allowed to plug into an outlet in the bathroom is a 'shaver.' I tried to find out why this is, but I only really found some information about moisture zones regarding where you could put an outlet and not really why it had to be a shaver outlet. Oh, and I know you're wondering...I get ready in the hall about 8 feet away from the mirror. Not exactly ideal, but hey, I used to think it was weird too!

just a little bit of Parker

2012-01-31T08:14:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted make sure that I am trying to do everything necessary to give Parker as full a life as possible. It would be an understatement to say that, in light of recent events, I have become obsessed. I just can't get enough of his him, and I want to take advantage of every moment.

We have been so excited lately because, with a combination of longer days and shorter naps, we have been able to take walks before it gets dark. This particular walk included P's new friend Rex. Rex is the dinosaur that the women who work in the creche at the gym let him take home so that he will want to come back (we're experiencing some separation anxiety lately). Rex was a little like our first trial of what it might be like for P to take the class pet home someday. He went everywhere with us...the park, the grocery store, and even to bed. Luckily, the ladies let P take him home again yesterday...thank goodness.

P insisted on wearing Brady's hat.

Rex wanted to see the river.

Yep, we had to wear the wellies, too. Oh, and
just so you know, P is the one who insists that
he wears them over his jeans.

Lucky Rex got to go down the slide!

Love these moments with my favorite little man!

struggling

2012-01-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

I am struggling this morning with what to write. I am struggling to find words as my heart is breaking for the Pearson/Teschke family. My friend Lindsey somehow managed to write exactly what I am feeling today (you can read her blog here) and I'm not sure it is even worth trying to recreate. Just know that Paxten is sitting next to Jesus with a leukemia-free body. She is not struggling with breathing tubes and is no longer in pain. She and her family managed to glorify God and to bring so many people (many who didn't even know them) closer to Jesus. Please take time to pray for this family as they come to terms with their loss.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Success!!

2012-01-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

When we got home from well, home, Parker was having a lot of super wet diapers overnight so we sort of stopped offering the 'big boy underwear for your pluggy' deal...until last night. Last night P chose to give up his pluggy in order to wear the underwear, AND he went to sleep on his own WITHOUT singing every song he knows OR reciting all of the stories he can remember. Oh, and the best part was that I did not have to get up and change the sheets overnight, WAHOO!! I don't know how tonight will go, but I am counting last night as a SUCCESS!

Oh and yes, I sort of cried a little bit that he no longer needed his plug. I am that mom.

To die for...

2012-01-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

I am slightly addicted to pinterest...my mom always kept folders of decorating ideas and pinterest is the best version of this practice. My favorite things to pin are recipes and decorating ideas. I have a confession, until now I have never actually made (to the letter) anything that I have pinned. Usually, a recipe just gives me an idea and I experiment to make something similar without actually following the recipe...this kind of drives Brady crazy. However, these Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzels (find the recipe here) have changed my ways...seriously, they are to die for and easy...and if you know more about cooking than I do (which doesn't take a lot) than you will probably be able to make them without using the recipe.

I just had to show you a picture of the bag of chocolate chips...I had to buy 4 bags in order to equal one bag at home. Oh and I checked...this was the only size option...

This is the picture from Pinterest. I liked the jar idea so much that I went out and bought a couple so that I could give the pretzels as thank you gifts. Lets just say that the jar I kept for home is no longer full.

image via pinterest

Puddles

2012-01-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

Parker is a big fan of puddles. Today I kind of let him go crazy...mainly because I wanted to take pictures. What can I say, he is the perfect muse. Beware, I took over 160 pictures of him and puddles (seriously, the sports mode was made for toddlers), and I also figured out how to use my collage app 6 months after buying it (sort of)...go figure.

Yep, my son stuck his finger in the puddle and then in his mouth...
I managed to stop this one in time, but I didn't post the picture where he is
licking his fingers...yuck!

He was getting a "kick" out of the puddles! Haha, as Parker
would say, "that cracks me up!"

No, the wellies did not keep him dry...and this is why.

If I would have known how to make the lighting work in my favor (or favour here in the UK),
you would be able to see the snot bubble coming out of his nose. Lucky for you, I don't, but
it is the reason why we finally went inside!

library time

2012-01-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

P LOVES the library. Thank goodness. I love to read and have always tried to do everything I can to instill the same love of all things reading in him. Luckily, it seems to be working. It doesn't matter whether we're reading chapter books aloud or picture books, he is hooked. Thursdays are our library days and P looks forward to going every week! What can I say...maybe it is just him makes my week!!

I used to think it was weird...

2012-01-25T06:27:00.000-08:00

Living here is great, but sometimes strange. I constantly have people ask me about what is different here, so I decided I would start a weekly post about just that. If you like random factoids, you'll probably get a kick out of this. If you don't...well, you don't have to read it, ha. Plus, I figured it will probably help me remember little tidbits about our life here when Parker starts to ask questions.

When we first moved here, I thought this was so strange...two yellow lights. Yes, the yellow light comes on both before the the light turns red and also before the light turns green. This means that when you see the light below...people are already pushing the gas pedal. Yep, I used to think it was weird too!

I got a car!!

2012-01-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Ha, I suppose a more accurate description would be that Brady can't drive for six weeks so I now have his car. If you have ever tried to get a UK driver's license you know that they take your passport for 2 to 4 weeks...we didn't know that.
While we were home, Brady tried to renew his US driver's license because it expired on the 21st of January. We were told to keep it up to date, but Brady didn't have proof of address so they wouldn't let him. When we got back here, we found out that they take your passport for 2 to 4 weeks in order to verify your information. Unfortunately, we leave for Rome 9 days. So, it was either, cancel our trip or let Brady's license expire. He would have been without a license for a while anyway so it just seemed to make sense to wait an extra two weeks.
So, Brady is now taking a combination of a train and a bus to work...poor guy. I will drive him some days, but it is a 45 minute trip...one way. On the bright side, it has been especially cold and rainy this week so having a car to go to the gym and Gymboree was awesome. Thanks Honey!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2012-01-21T07:51:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Daddy!! You are the most amazing husband and father anyone could ask for and we love you so much!!

The Many Hats of Parker

2012-01-19T23:51:00.000-08:00

Parker loves hats. Maybe it is because I always put one on him when he was a baby...maybe it is because he has "crazy hair" when he removes them. Whatever the case, P is almost always wearing a hat. Here are the hats of choice this week.

His "warm" hat. Some days he doesn't take it off no matter how
great the weather is or how long we've been inside.

His "pirate" hat...yep, he wore it to dinner one night
this week...

The good old stand-bye Wildcat hat from Uncle Landon.

My personal favorite...his "dancing" hat. Oh, and yes,
he wears it with the tag hanging down. I tried to turn it
around without luck. Silly boy.

He refuses to do the "rolling pin" dance move unless he is wearing this hat.

Oh, and we can't forget the awesome Wildcat hat
from Uncle Cortney and Aunt Van...sure to be a classic!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2012-01-17T00:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it is January 17th, but considering that this is one of the first days that I have felt like an actual person since returning home, I am declaring this week the start of our new year! So many people did such a great job wrapping up 2011 and give goals and resolutions for 2012 that it really made me think.

2011 brought so many changes...here are just a few...

I learned to live without...
a dishwasher
a garbage disposal
a microwave
a toaster
a separate washer and dryer
a car
a gym that opens at 5AM
my puppy
a job (kind of silly, but I'm still working on this one)

I learned...
how much I need my family
how much I value routine
to say goodbye (sort of...I'm really not good at this)
how to drive on the left side of the road
how to make new friends (again, this is a work in progress)
how much I loved our church
how to pack efficiently
how to travel with Parker on my own
how awesome the rail system is
how much I love spending my days with my little man

My 2012 resolutions...
Be a positive force every day for my family regardless of my mood
Continue to grow in my relationship with God
Run outside more (working out inside feels like work, boo)
Find a running club in Norwich
Find a women's bible study in Norwich
Thank my husband every day
Find a volunteer opportunity at a charity

Happy New Year!

Parker-isms

2012-01-16T00:36:00.000-08:00

This is such a fun age (I know, I've said that a lot), and I want to keep track of some of the stuff little P comes up with, but sometimes time just gets away from me. Here are a few of my favorites from the last month or at least the ones that I can remember...

Christmas Eve service we are waiting our turn to take communion and an older woman passes Parker. She must have had strange eyebrows because P looks at her, gets a frightened look, covers his own eyebrows and says, "these aren't your eyebrows!" Needless to say, we were slightly mortified.

While riding in the car with my parents and Landon, P really, really had to use the bathroom...
"I have to go potty!" "Hurry G-Dawg, hurry, hurry, hurry!" Then, after hearing my mom (we think)..."Can you pull over G-Dawg?" Yep, we have taught him well.

Brady fell asleep with P the other night in his bed...when he woke up and tried to get out of bed, Parker woke up too saying, "Excuse me, scuse me, excuse me Daddy...I'm gonna go night night." Ok, Parker.

While driving around the feedlot looking at cows, Parker said, "those cows are kind of stinky...they need to take a shower."

While looking through a pile of clothes I was putting away, he found my bra...yes, this can't go well...
P, "I need a bra mom,"
me, "boys don't wear bras"
P, "I need a boy bra mom"
I believe that is called a bro...haha

When we were at home, Brady's mom always had to write one more check on her computer before she could leave the feedlot...the other day at the library, P got on the computer. When I told him it was time to go he looks at me and says, "I just have to write one more check, mom...just one more." While holding his finger up to me.

He has been fascinated lately with the fact that he came out of my belly. He always likes to say...
"and then the doctor took me out of your belly and I said Waaaaah, waaaaaah, waaaaaaah" so then I ask, "what did mommy and daddy say?" His response used to be, "You were so happy!" For some reason he decided to change it to..."You said 'lets call him Parker' baaaaahahahahahaha." I don't know why, but he thinks it is hilarious!

The other night, he broke out a new dance move where he randomly gets on the ground and rolls over in the middle of the song. When we jokingly asked him what that dance move was called, he responded, "it's called the rolling pin." Yep, I can see that...good name P.

Since P was around a year old (I think), one of our favorite tricks has been 'muscles.' It is when he flexes his arm muscles while clenching his face. Recently, Brady tried to teach him to say 'the gym is that way' and then flex when Brady asks..."Parker, where is the gym?" Well apparently, Brady was pointing to the wall when he was trying to teach him this because now is goes something like this...
B, "Parker, where is the gym?"
P, "The gym is on the wall! Grrrrr," while flexing. Oops.

He cracks us up daily and I wish I could remember all of them!! At least I will be able to look back on a few!

Africa Alive!

2012-01-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

Parker has been asking to go to the zoo for a long time...a really long time. It was getting so bad that he would say, "Mom, can you talk to me about the zoo?" He would then want me to talk about the animals he saw and what they did. This kid already has the "guilt trip" down to an art. We thought we would go while we were in Wichita, but we just ran out of time. So...we decided to take him to Africa Alive in Lowestoft which is about 40 minutes from Norwich. It is not the best time of year to go to the zoo here and a lot of the exhibits were closed, but it was better than nothing. Oh, and most importantly...Parker LOVED it!

"We're at the zoo!! I'm so excited!"

The chimp really liked watching Parker.

Parker trying to balance on the wobbly bridge.

Parker going down the slide...

...and then falling off of the bottom of the slide because
I was taking pictures and forgot to catch him...wow...

The lions were definitely the best part...there were 6 total.

These are P watching the lions during feeding time.

"I need to look in the telescope, mom!"

He is very serious when he runs.

So thankful for precious days together!

Gymboree

2012-01-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

Parker loves Gymboree and I have to admit, it is one of my favorite parts of the week. Parker learns a lot (and runs off lots of energy) and the mothers/fathers are super nice. I tried to take pictures, but I was a little embarrassed to have my camera out so I just took some quick ones. Here are a few pictures to tide over our families...:)

Just so you know that we haven't cut his hair yet.

Ha, he finally was brave enough to jump off of the
highest point on his own, but he jumped before I could
get settled enough to take a picture.

Normal

2012-01-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Libby Pearson painting her daughter's nails. In Libby's Caring Bridge post she talks about how much it meant to her to be able to do something "normal" with Paxten.

I don't know about you, but I often take "normal" for granted. I wake up to P yelling my name and have the luxury of cuddling with him before we tackle the day. I get to run around and chase him playing football or see the joy on his face when we're at the park.

After reading Libby's words and seeing this picture, I am making a promise to never take "normal" for granted again and to cherish every moment.

Oh, and always...Praying for Paxten.

What's in a name?

2012-01-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

I can remember waiting ~~anxiously~~ patiently for 10 months for Parker to say "Mama." He had already said at least 6 words by this time, and I honestly thought he was never going to say it. When he did, I felt like the luckiest because he looked right at me and I felt like he knew exactly what he was saying. It wasn't just a syllable or a noise, it was my name and he knew who I was. My heart swelled. Next came "Mommy." I loved that it sounded more like "Mommeeeeeee" when he was excited and "Mom-me" when he was sad. I loved, loved, loved that it was the first thing he said in the morning when he woke. It is amazing how much joy one little word can bring.

Yesterday, Parker started calling me "Mom." Really? Just "Mom?" Are you sure? Maybe we should add the m-y...do you think? I don't know why, but for some reason, this change has made me see him as so much older than I did just two days ago. I feel a mixture of joy, pride and sadness all at the same time (I'm pretty sure this feeling won't go away for...well ever). He is definitely growing up...so, so fast.

So, what is in a name? Well, if you're a mom...a lot.

Sometimes we forget

2012-01-09T23:52:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up exhausted and feeling sorry for myself because I was exhausted....then I checked my email. What I found was another update for Paxten Pearson. The 22 month-old daughter of high school friends who is fighting for her life. She had a bone marrow transplant about 25 days ago and is now struggling with pneumonia and other complications. She's just a baby.

Sometimes we forget that the world doesn't revolve around us. Sometimes we forget that there is something bigger out there that matters more. Sometimes thinking of this little girl keeps me up at night so I cannot imagine the emotional and physical exhaustion that Paxten's parents are feeling. The strength of faith they have shown is inspiring. They do not let set-backs stop their prayers and have therefore inspired everyone who has ever known or heard about them to pray also.

I am not really sure who or how many people will read this, but if you do, please take a moment to pray for this sweet baby girl.

You can learn more about her story here...http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/paxtenpearson/journal

Today...

2012-01-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

...or at least within the last 24 hours...

...we got even less sleep than the last 24 hours (seriously, I didn't think it was possible)

...I really wished that Brady was not in Paris (I'm sure he is sleeping though, ha)

...Parker pottied in his tent (yep)

...I learned that P was really paying attention to the bowl game when he suddenly went from playing football to lying on the ground saying, "somebody needs to work on me!" Apparently he has perfected the art of the injury.

...Parker woke up at 12:30 saying, "Mommy!! I'm just awake!" (he didn't sleep again until 4)

...when I woke him up at 9AM, he responded, "can you shut the door, I'm not awake."

...I had booked P in the creche at the gym so we were in a hurry to get out the door, but P would not wear pants. I was too tired to argue, so he left the house wearing this...

...turns out the lady I talked to at the gym didn't know that the creche doesn't reopen until Thursday (so basically, my fat behind is no longer my fault)

...instead we decided to take a walk, but I forgot that wearing workout clothes in public here is equivalent to wearing pajamas in public at home, so I got some super strange looks from people...oh well.

...we went to the park, but found this when we got there...

Apparently, the park is under construction. The worst part is that
they took out P's favorite train. Shoot.

...so we pretty much are batting zero today, or running on empty...or both...at least I got a mini photo shoot in at the park with my super grumpy toddler!

Yep, those are bags under my two-year old's eyes.

Parker's combination of bed head and hat hair...

Our little Christmas

2012-01-08T04:34:00.000-08:00

This year Santa came three times...I know, we are idiots. We have been trying to figure out how to make Christmas back in KS special while also trying to have our own special Christmas with just the three of us back in Norwich. I want to share with P a lot of the traditions that I remember as a kid, but I have come to realize that our version of Christmas is just going to be different. This year, because Parker kind of understood Santa, we wanted to share his first experience with the grandparents. Next year, I think we will tell P that Santa can only come to our house in Norwich and that we will have to wait until we come back. OH, and I will buy wrapping paper before we leave...believe me the options when we got back were slim. However, buying Brady a few unexpected gifts because the sales were so great when we got back was awesome! We are definitely learning as we go!

Here are some pictures of our Christmas morning at home. Santa brought Parker a drum...yes, you heard me right. I know, we are idiots (I mentioned that earlier), but it was either an actual drum or continuing to watch P turn over two aluminum buckets and then unscrew the top of his golf club and drum. Believe me, an actual drum is far less ear-splitting. Parker was ecstatic!! He has been telling us for a while that he needs a "drum with drumsticks." Plus, I really love old-fashioned wooden toys. I know, I am such a dork.

No, the "tree" label is not so Brady knew what it was, and
yes, I am that mom who labels everything in my house hoping
that my two-year-old will learn to read sooner.

It wouldn't be the same without the jersey...

...or the helmet...

I followed that "something they want (drum), something they need (nightlight),
something they can wear (he didn't get this because I had bought a
lot of clothes at home), and something he can read
(a hardcover, collectible, edition of Winnie the Pooh)."
This was the best night light I could find...not my first choice,
but P loves construction trucks and it is shatterproof...awesome.

He drummed all day long.

And this was what happened at the end of the day...darn.
Luckily there are two sides!

Goodbye pluggy?

2012-01-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Not quite, but soooo close. Before I tell you what happened, you must know that after we get home from traveling, we spend about a week getting up with Parker around midnight for a few hours. Sometimes we try to get him to go back to sleep in his bed which is usually a combination of stories, songs, and many trips to the bathroom. Other times we give up and go upstairs and play off some energy. No matter what, we are tired.

Along with this, Parker has been trying harder and harder to get us to let him wear "big boy" underwear to bed. I tried this once a month and a half ago and let's just say that it was definitely too soon, but he has been so good and we almost always have a dry diaper in the morning so we know we should probably let him try again. A few days ago we decided to try to rid two problems at once, so we started telling Parker that he could only wear "big boy" underwear to bed if he gave his pluggies to the babies (we told him that there are a lot of babies who aren't lucky enough to have pluggies). Until last night, he always chose the pluggy. Last night, at midnight, he chose the "big boy" underwear. Let me just say...jet lag + first night without pluggy + chatty toddler = long night. By 4 AM I was begging him to put the diaper on so he could have his pluggy. It worked...I am terrible...and desperate. Maybe we'll try this again when he is sleeping through the night.

New Camera!

2012-01-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

Brady and I got a new camera for each other for Christmas (and birthday and anniversary...for the next three years). I don't know how to use it yet, but it is fantastic. I cannot wait to learn, but until I do, here are a ton of pictures from the rest of our trip home. We had an amazing time. We did learn that we need more time next year because we didn't have any time to see friends (with the exception of a couple), but now we know and hopefully can make some changes for next year. Here is the rest of our trip in pictures!

Apparently this is how Parker "thinks". He was doing this
and saying, "hmmm, let me think."

Parker was trying to tell my cousin, Kristy, that she couldn't
have a marshmallow.

My friends Jamie and Drew and Heather and Tim were nice
enough to come by my parent's house so that I could see them!

Yep, I like this picture better.

My cousin's son, Adrian.

Did I mention that I LOVE my mom's house at Christmas?

The jersey got washed...a lot.

P wanted to go to the Park, but it was dark and cold and I
wouldn't let him take off his sweater. He was not happy.

Really not happy.

We were trying not to laugh.

We had cheesecake for Brady's pretend birthday party, but
all P liked was the chocolate fudge on top...like mother like son.

And this is when Lando almost broke my camera...

...does it help his case any if I tell you that this is only the
second of around 20 pictures I took...?

My Grandmother and Bill

We saw more cows.

Grandma Doris and Grandpa Newell

The view from Brady's grandparent's house.

I see Willie!

The people in front of us did not think the "claw" was a great idea.

He was so excited to see Willie, but then clammed up when it was our turn.

And then made his way back down to watch...

...Willie didn't see him...:(

Papa Wes

Yeah so maybe I'm hoping to recreate this picture in like 20
years with P wearing a cap and gown...parents can hope:)

"I see my shadow!"

Shiny!

boom...this was the end of our campus photo shoot.

One last Toy Story viewing.

Parker would only take a bath with his hat.

We almost made it...

Heading to the airport!

He looks so big!

Stuck behind the chairs...shoot.

Yep, that is a whoopie cushion...and yes, we let him get it out
at the airport.

Oh and don't worry, the football helmet made an appearance more
than once.

Christmas at Grandmas!

2011-12-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

My mom has 6 brother's and sisters...yep, you heard me...it isn't very often that everyone is able to come for Christmas, but it is always nice to see as many family members as possible. My grandma has a great big heart and always plays the gracious hostess to whoever wants to come over.

GG and P...love this picture.

My grandma made us aprons...mine is made from the same
materials that all of P's pillows and quilts that she made.

Add caption

Christmas Day!

2011-12-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

We decided a couple of years ago that we would always spend Christmas Eve with Brady's family and drive first thing Christmas morning to spend Christmas Day with my family. I love Christmas Day...the food, the family, and the absolute relaxation. I hate missing Christmas Eve with my dad's mom's side of the family, but this is the easiest way to split it so that we can at least please the most people possible.

This year, we drove straight to church to meet my parents and Landon. Parker was quiet for exactly 10 minutes before he practically burst to tell my mom all about his football helmet. It was actually hilarious...suddenly he just turned around and looked at mom and says, "Gram Gram, I got a football helmet and I wear it on my head. I love my football helmet." Needless to say, Mom took him out of the sanctuary.

Present number two...the brown football...

...and he didn't want it...

...apparently because my mom already had a brown football,
Parker only wanted hers. "Gram Gram has a brown football
for Parker." We even tried to hide hers...didn't work.

This is the only present we could get him to help open.

Yep, he took apart the train track while we opened presents.

Big-boy backpack!! The only other present he got
excited about!

He looks so big!

Still wearing the helmet...

Yep, clothes off, Toy Story and helmet on...

Toy Story again with Uncle Jeff about 4 hours later.

We were pretty darn tired.

A tunnel from Grandma and Big Dawg (yep, that is what
we have decided to call my grandpa. It is only fitting
that G-Dawg's dad is Big Dawg...no?

Grandma and Big Dawg.

I'm just so tired Uncle Landon...

What a wonderful day!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas Eve!! It is a wonderful night full of family, church, soup and presents. We had a great time and Parker almost made it to 9:00 before he said, "I don't want to go to sleep...I'm not sleeeeeeepy," and then he was out. Here are some pictures of the night.

Don't worry, this was before the service began.

"You can't have my helmet." Oh Parker...we're in trouble.

Trying to get three boys at once is kind of hard...

so close...

oh shoot, look at me...

and SMILE!

Don't move!

oh shoot where did Parker go?

Parker didn't open any presents buy himself because
he was still too excited about the helmet.

It's ok to take the helmet off for a while.

Where's Parker?

Yep, taking off his clothes...they lasted for longer than I expected!

The Football Helmet

2011-12-25T03:22:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, Santa visited Deb and Marvin's house while we were at church. I know this sounds weird, but we wanted to share the moment with Brady's family (he had another gift waiting from Santa at my parent's house). I know that we will not be able to get Parker everything he wants for Christmas every year, but this year all he asked for was a football helmet and a brown football. The look on his face when he saw the football helmet was priceless. Brady and I were truly grateful for the moment and will always remember this Christmas. Plus, who can deny the fact that all P really wanted was his grandparents, uncles and aunts, so we pretty much hit a home-run!

First few days...

2011-12-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

These posts are probably not going to be very interesting, but because I do this as a record-keeping of sorts, I'm going to post them anyway. a Here are some pictures leading up to Christmas. We spent a lot of time driving back and forth between Wichita, Mankato and Manhattan, but we had a wonderful time!

Grandmother Millie!! She is 104 and Parker knows exactly where to find
the M&Ms when we get there.

Oh yeah...it was my birthday...I can't believe
I'm 29!

We had a lot of jersey/big boy underwear/ socks.
What can I say...I felt like our families needed to
see it in person:)

I just really loved this picture of Heather! She makes my day.

The farm!! Parker loves to go to the farm with Papa Marvin.
Parker got a new hat on the way this time because
we dropped the other one in the toilet at Target...oops.

So...the cows were at the fence until P got there.
He was so disappointed...every time he talks
to Marvin on the phone the first thing he asks is,
"Are you feeding the cows?"
So he was so excited to feed them himself, "I'll be very quiet."

"Let me feed them haybales."

Farmer Parker.

Yep, P is going to kill me for posting this one day.
Let me just clarify that those are Brady's socks...he's
trying to be more British:).

Tractor from Grandma Doris.

Uncle Cortney!

Aunt Janae!

Yeah...we were about to lose him for the night here.

Parker's cousin, Kamden...he is a doll.

Parker and Grammy.

Grammy and GiGi.

Getting Home

2011-12-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

Going home is so, so nice and was so, so needed. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to actually be in the same room with friends and family. Skype is nice and telephones are great, but nothing compares to hugs. Anyway, this is the first of several posts in my attempt to make up for lost time...what can I say...being with family for the first time in a while didn't exactly compel me to get online.

In case you were wondering...it takes us around 18 hours to get home if you count train rides, layover time and time at the airport before flights. We have a two hour train ride from Norwich, and I am grateful that Brady was thinking ahead and booked us tickets the night before along with a hotel right next to the airport. It definitely made the morning we flew out far less stressful. I think we must have picked a good date to fly out because the airport wasn't nearly as crazy as we had anticipated and getting through security was the smoothest we have ever experienced.

Flying home is always hard because our long flight is during the day and it is a coin toss on whether or not Parker will sleep. We lost the toss this time. P slept for exactly 30 minutes of our 10 hour flight. However, I cannot complain because he was perfectly behaved and watched a combination of Cars, Horton Hears a Hoo and Word Friends. Brady and I couldn't help laughing every time the PA system came on because P would get soooo mad that his movie stopped.

Long story not so short, we made it home safely and P actually slept through the night every night we were there so apparently 20 hours without sleep helps a toddler with jet lag.

Here are some pictures from our trip there.

And now you know why the flight attendants get
such a kick out of him when we get on the plane.
Earphones in, pluggy in (yeah, yeah, I know), and
pillow and blankie ready.

Some guy at the Houston airport gave him a "Houston Airport"
Santa hat.

Yep, this is the terminal where all of the Wichita
flights fly in and out of...nice and empty...
perfect for P to play some football with KiKi
before our second flight!

I wish I could have gotten my camera in time to get P
going up to the man in this picture and saying...
"Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas! Nice to meet you."
While holding his hand out to shake it.

My Mom and Grandmother weren't excited at all to see us...:)

So happy!

So excited!!

2011-12-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

We are getting so excited to go home for Christmas!! So excited, in fact, that all of us have been fighting colds and fevers for the last two weeks. Apparently we our bodies can not handle all of the excitement, ha. Anyway, I am one of those crazy people who feels the need to deep clean my house before we go anywhere (I get this from my mom), so I have been trying to frantically clean faster than "Hurricane Parker" can destroy. I did, however, want to make sure that I posted a few pictures of our first Christmas tree in England and Parker's visit with Father Christmas (that is what they call him here even though you still go to "Santa's Grotto" to see him). So, here are a few pictures.

"Look Dad. It's Christmas! Woo Hoo"

"yay!"

"See the snow?"

"It's a goal!" This one took me a while to figure out. It
sounded like goal, but I am an idiot.

The fake snow was really popular and really messy.

...and throw it back.

The elf took this picture herself.

Santa was really nice, but didn't pay much attention to P. He
was more interested in talking about how we were from the US
and how much he liked California. After P told him he wanted
a brown football and football helmet, the big guy just goes...
"that's nice. I should have been a California beach bum, ha."
Seriously, Santa? Oh, and did I mention that he called P a "she"
the entire time? Oh goodness.

The tree is in Parker's play corner hence my
paintings in the corner.

Our family ornaments.

Elf on the Shelf. Parker named him "Jack and the Flum Flum Tree."
We tried to shorten it to Jack, but P wouldn't have it.

I swear his eyes follow you...ha.

cookie fun!

2011-12-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

My grandma makes the absolute BEST sugar cookies. I have tried to recreate them many times without success...until this year...wahoo! My friend, Mandy, and I wanted to help our kids get in the holiday spirit so we planned an evening of cookie and ornament decorating. The evening was complete with Christmas music, apple cider (minus the hot damn...darn) and mulled wine. The guys even picked up pizza for us. It honestly was a lot of fun and really helped us get into the mood for Christmas. If only my grandma could have seen theses cookies...shoot, if only someone from home could see these cookies...I forgot to take pictures once the girls got here. Anyway, here are a few of P helping me before they came.

Parker rolling the dough...the girls weren't here yet so I let him rock
the big-boy underwear AND the jersey...lucky boy.

Such a good helper!

Ok, so I forgot how to rotate...anyway, I did
not realize P could reach the frosting bowl...
I learned pretty quickly when I turned and
saw this.

Caught with frosting on his face.

Decorating, or rather eating his cookies. I
admit it...I gave him the burnt ones.

Thankful...

2011-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

I love my husband. Sometimes, I feel like I don't write enough (or for that matter tell him enough) how amazing he is, both as a father and a husband. I knew from the moment I met him that I was meant to be with him, but it took me a year and a half to admit it to myself. He is everything I ever thought I wanted and everything I didn't realize I needed. I even had a list, and yes, he met every requirement. I knew that we could handle any obstacle that came our way and would turn to each other when we were troubled. What I didn't realize was that moving here would challenge who I thought I was, and in turn make me make him crazy, just kidding, kind of...:). I am just so thankful for him.

Moving here has made me question who I am, what I contribute and even what I deserve. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE staying home with Parker and positively cherish the time I get to spend with him. However, I didn't realize that staying home would make me question every dollar I spend, and wonder whether I can actually buy anything for myself. I am ridiculously cheap...to a fault. This combined with the fact that I am no longer actually bringing in money has made me question even the smallest purchases. Last week I found myself putting a shirt back for Parker so that I could show Brady first. I didn't realize how much my independence had suffered. Brady has been my biggest supporter and constantly reminds me that I am contributing in a huge way. I am still struggling, but I would be even crazier if he wasn't so supportive.

I also didn't realize that I would feel both jealous and guilty watching him go to work every morning. Sometimes I long for the companionship of co-workers, even though I know I would be thinking of Parker every minute I was gone. Other times I feel so guilty that he has to go to work and I get to stay home with P. I also didn't realize that I would feel guilty if I didn't get enough done around the house in a day, but equally as guilty if I got everything done but felt like I let P watch too much tv or play on his own too much. I am so grateful for the chance to stay home with our son. I know that I can never get this time back and while I am struggling to find a balance between being a good wife, mother and well, woman, at least I know Brady is by my side. He is my rock and I am so blessed to have him.

I love London at Christmas!!

2011-12-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

I love London all the time, but I really love it at Christmas! Everyone is just bustling around and you can hear Christmas music at every corner and in every store. We knew we wanted to visit before Christmas, but when my friend Jaime told me that she and her husband would be in town, it was a no-brainer. We were so excited to see familiar faces and had a wonderful weekend! I wish I would have taken more/better pictures, but honestly, it was so busy that I had trouble taking out my camera and had to use my phone (yes, the camera miraculously started working again).

Word Friends + iPad = easy train ride.

The area next to the London Eye. Crazy busy!!

It was COLD!!! Hmmm, I'm not really sure how P got a
pluggy in this picture...

These are fuzzy, but around Trafalgar Square, hundreds of people
dressed like Santa were gathering...it was kind of weird...
especially the ones only dressed in read speedos and hats.

More Santas heading toward the tree.

AHHH, they're heading right for me!

Parker asking Jaime to dance inside of Harrods.

Giant bear in Harrods.

I'll just follow her, mom...

The outside of Harrods. I wish this picture did it justice...it
was beautiful!

The London Eye and Aquarium.

Oxford Street Shopping.

Somehow P got in on a photo shoot at River Island. We
walked in and they asked if he could come up and take
a few pictures. P did not disappoint and showed them some
excellent dance moves to make their day.

M&S mini-parade.

Parker picking up hay at the mulled wine stop at
Winter Wonderland.

Daddy telling P not to pick up the hay.

Crowds at Winter Wonderland.

Right after church at Westminster Abbey.

Jaime and Brian. We are soooo thankful
we got to see them!!!

A Starbucks man gave us a chocolate...this is what happened
when I gave P a piece the size of a dime.

That darn monkey

2011-12-09T01:16:00.001-08:00

I just spent the last 10 minutes watching and listening to an argument between Parker and "Monkey" over a gummy bear. Apparently, Monkey was trying to take it from P (or at least that is what I inferred from the half I could hear). No worries, it ended with P putting Monkey in time out and warning me not to let him get up yet. Oh gosh...here are few pictures of P running back and forth to argue with the culprit.

The "gummy" in question.

"I said to stay in time out Monkey."

From what I could tell, Monkey was sitting right next to the wardrobe.

What a turkey.

Wildcat Prayers

2011-12-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

Last night we had just finished our prayers...apparently P wasn't quite done...
P, "I'm praying for the game."
Me, "You're praying for the game?"
P, "Yes, they need to show Willie...I need to make sure he's ok."
ha, Amen little man!

School number two...

2011-12-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

We visited a second school. Town Close Hall is in the middle of Norwich, and according to everyone we ask, the best private school in Norwich. I was prepared to be critical and to try not to like it as well as Taverham (what can I say...I go for the underdogs), but I loved it. We had a hurried tour because I apparently wrote the date down wrong and they didn't expect us yesterday, but they were still very friendly and the facilities were beautiful. The only problem is that P would not be able to start school here until 2013. His birthday falls one month after the cut-off so he would start one month before his fourth birthday and have to go everyday, all day. I just really want him to have a transition period. I think we might send him to Taverham for a year and then hopefully, he will get a spot at Town Close. Decisions, decisions...:)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the school.

2011-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures of P to get the grandparents and family through to CHRISTMAS!! The camera on my iPhone has finally given up 3 months after I dropped it in water so I haven't been taking as many pictures (lets face it, the convenience factor is huge). We have also all been sick and P is just now getting over his cold. Here are just a few.

Don't worry, he had just woken up after sleeping (hence the plug).
As you can see, it is about time for a haircut.

Mom, stop!

And this is how we walked home from Gymboree today.
I have to love that Hug-a-Monkey I used when he was
only 11 lbs and now again at 35! I'm not going to
lie...my shoulder felt like it was going to fall off by the time we got home!

So I got pulled over...

2011-12-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

...and had to take a breathalyzer. Did I mention that it was 10:00 AM and I was on my way to the gym? Did I also mention that the reason I got pulled over was because I took the bus route (that I had seen other people take) to get there? Ok, so I can't lie...it is faster and I was wondering why more people didn't take it. Anyway, the police officer pulled me over, in the gym parking lot, made me sit in her car (yeah, that was embarrassing), took my information, made sure my car wasn't stolen, told me she wasn't going to give me a ticket, and then gave me the breathalyzer. I guess they are really cracking down on drunk driving (which, for the record, I am all for), however, I was surprised she would give it to me without just cause (especially in the morning while I was wearing gym clothes). Just thought you would like to know. At least I didn't get pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the road!

Darn it...

2011-12-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

...I was rude to someone last night. I feel really badly about the situation and wish I could take it back. Not only that, but I feel like I am probably going to give her a bad impression of Americans in general...darn. Here's what happened...

Last night was late Thursday. In Norwich-speak, that means that all of your favorite stores are open until 7PM, YAY!!! Brady and I still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do so we trekked out right after dinner and went to Jarrolds (an independent department store in the UK). As soon as we walked in, Parker said he had to go to the bathroom so I took him downstairs. Once we got there, we saw a sign that said she was cleaning and to use the bathroom two floors upstairs. Parker and I high-tail it to the lift, but while waiting, P starts dancing in my arms and kind of whimpering about how badly he has to go...then I notice that he is starting to dribble a bit in his trousers. Oh shoot. We run back to the bathrooms that are being cleaned and I ask if my toddler can please use the restroom because we are not going to make it upstairs. She says no, that she's cleaning and we can't use it. I say, "please, please, please" mainly because my side is starting to feel a little bit warmer. Finally, she lets us use it (luckily P saved most of it for the toilet). Once we were inside, she finished cleaning, literally, within 30 seconds and began removing all of her signs. I was mad. Really, really mad. Mainly because I could have avoided an embarrassed little man if she would have just let me use it instead of being short. Well, when we left, I meant to say, "sorry for the inconvenience," but instead "thank you for the inconvenience," came out. Shoot. My intentions were to be as polite as possible even though she hadn't been too much so to us, but I did not succeed. Shoot.

Parker-isms

2011-12-02T02:35:00.000-08:00

Again, these are just random things Parker told me this week...don't worry, I know that all kids say funny things, but I post these to make the grandparents feel closer!

Parker has not been sleeping very well lately. I feel like I am getting paybacks for bragging about what an amazing sleeper he was as a baby. I really just want to sleep for a whole night again. Lately, he hasn't only been waking in the middle of the night, but has also had trouble even falling asleep. Here are my favorite sleepy P-isms from the last few days.

Me, "Goodnight Parker, I love you." (this was like the fourth time putting him to sleep including three trips to the potty in an attempt to stay awake)
P, "Can you lay with me?"
Me, "Just for a little bit."
P, "Let me tell you a story...once upon a time...hmmm...duck and friends went to the park to play," he then tried to recite Hit the Ball Duck (his favorite book of the week).

This morning he woke to find me in his bed after I moved there around 4AM in an attempt to get him to sleep...
P, "Hi mommy! Did you have trouble sleeping in your own bed?" Yes Parker, that is exactly why I'm in your bed, ha.

Yesterday, Parker was playing with the tree and accidentally dropped and broke an ornament.
P, "I'm so sorry I broke it Mama"
Me, "It's ok, accidents happen, but we can't play with the ornaments."
Parker then went to the room I am keeping the extra Christmas stuff in and brought me back a new ornament. "Here you go Mama."
I hope that he always stays such a sweet boy. I can't lie, he made me tear up a little bit when he did that, but he noticed that too...
P, "are you sad mama?"
Me, "no Parker I'm so, so happy."
P, "come here mama, come here," in his best mama bear voice while stretching his arms out to me.

Then...about two hours later, he came over to me...
P, "come here mama, come here," in his stern mama voice.
Me, "what is the matter?"
P, "you need to sit in time out. You broke the Christmas tree."
Me, "oh, ok"
Oh well...

This week, I've been trying to teach P to say "trousers" instead of "pants" because here, "pants" mean underwear. This was the other day when Brady had just changed into jeans...
P, "I really like your trousers, Daddy." So proud, ha.

And for the bad parenting moment of the century...a while ago I sent P on an errand with Brady. When they came back Parker walked in saying, "I sesy and I know it, mommy."
Yes, you guessed it, he was trying to say, "I'm sexy and I know it." They play the new LMFAO song here all the time. Well, then Brady decided to download the song and the front of the album cover is three people and only shows their mid-sections. One of them is a women and her belly is showing. Now anytime P hears the song he says,
"I want to see her belly. Can I see her belly?" Seriously, we are in so much trouble!

Choosing a School

2011-12-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm back! I have been spending all of my free time working on Brady's family's calendar and our photo books so that I could take advantage of the discount I could get if I finished them by yesterday. Yes, I am extremely cheap so they were definitely sent in on time! I usually always make time to blog about something (yeah...sorry about that) mainly because I know that it makes our families feel closer. I apologize for not keeping you up to date!

School here is a little bit different. At home, Parker would have started preschool at 3 or 4 and kindergarten around 5. Here, he has to start going all day at 4 (or the month before he turns 4). So, we want him to get used to going at least a few half-days a week in September, at the latest. Plus, he asks to go to school daily so we think it will be good for him. Choosing a school will be hard. Almost all of the private schools have a waiting list and most of them try to make sure there is an equal girl/boy ratio. Unfortunately, there are a lot more boys than girls and that means that you might be waiting for a while if you are a boy. Anyway, here are some pictures of the first school we visited. It is Taverham Hall Preparatory School. They are a forest school which means that they do a lot of extra outdoor studies (P would love that!) We actually loved this school and we can't wait to visit the next one on Tuesday!

The land around the school.

The main hall.

Random Thursday

2011-11-29T00:37:00.000-08:00

We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, but Parker did make my day. Here is our day in pictures.

After the sing-a-long in the library, I was looking for a book
and turned around and P had run away. I was starting to panic
until I found him trying to check out the giant, story-time, Gruffalo book.
Yeah...sorry P...that doesn't work.

"Maybe this way mom." Sorry, still doesn't fit.

Mom, I am not tired. My eyes just won't open
all the way because it is bright.

Such a big guy.

Me, "P where are you driving?"
Parker, "I'm driving to Kansas...in the middle."

Notice the location of the steering wheel. Probably looks
normal to you until you remember that this is England.
I just think it is so funny that they have a toy truck with
the steering wheel on the "wrong" side.

Me, "Parker, you can't have a pluggy until naptime."
Parker, "I'm just a tired boy." (while simultaneously lying on the floor)

After he got in trouble for going up the stairs without me.
I think he figured if he pretended to be asleep he wouldn't
get into trouble.

Thanksgiving in England

2011-11-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

I was a little afraid of Thanksgiving this year. Maybe it was because we wouldn't spend it with our families or maybe it was because this would be the first year that I wouldn't join the crazies at 5AM (ok so it was midnight last year) with my mom on Black Friday. Whatever the reason, I was dreading its arrival. However, once it was finally upon us, I wasn't as upset as I thought. I honestly think it would have been harder if we lived in a place like New York. Because we live here and nobody else celebrates, it just felt like another day. Brady had to go to work, Parker and I went to our usual Thursday activities and the only reminder was talking to our families on Skype (thank you guys).

We did celebrate...on Saturday. My friend Mandy and I cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious! We spent the whole day watching the kids play, talking and playing cards. It was as close to home as I could have hoped. I can't tell you how grateful I am for their friendship. They have truly made this transition easier.

I was going to post pictures of our feast, but I forgot to take any. Below are a few I took of just family. I just wanted to let our families know that we missed them so much, but that we were also with good friends so not to worry.

Parker and Gracie having a tea party.

So Thankful...

2011-11-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

I am thankful...so thankful. We are so blessed. Blessed to have a family who loves us enough to skype during Thanksgiving dinner (hint, hint:); blessed to have American friends to celebrate Thanksgiving (Saturday); blessed to have new friends; blessed to have old friends who are there when we need to talk.

More than anything we are blessed to have each other. I am blessed to have a husband who completes me and understands when I am crazy, or emotional...or both. Together, we are so blessed to have Parker...the best little man we could have ever imagined.

Here a few pictures to help the grandparents feel grateful too:)!

Swinging with Daddy.

Awww, I'm not ready for him to use the big swing!

P's attempt to put on his own hat!

"I need a suit"

2011-11-23T06:08:00.001-08:00

Parker: "I want to go dancing Mommy."
Me: "Ok, dancing sounds like fun."
Parker: "I need to wear a suit."
Me: "You need to wear a suit?"
Parker: "Yes, I need to wear a suit. You want to wear a dress Mommy?"
Me: "That sounds lovely Parker."

Oh Goodness!

2011-11-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

We had a great trip of Falmouth, but it wasn't without the usual embarrassing occurrences and funny happenings. I realized today that I didn't post these, but wanted to remember them (yes, they are kind of boring, but mostly for me). Here are a few of my favorites...

1. "Daddy!! Stop making that noise!" Brady didn't feel very well when we arrived. He had caught Parker's cold and was super congested. That being said, the first night we were there was noisy (oh man, B is going to kill me for posting this). B was snoring...really, really snoring. I don't think I slept more than an hour or so all night, but it was almost worth it to hear Parker wake up and say..."Daddy!! What is dat noise? Daddy!! Stop it! Stop making dat noise!" hahahahahaha

2. "He's POOOOOOPPPPPING!" I don't know if I've told you, but we have a couple of other invisible friends now. One is Monkey. Usually monkey just plays hide and seek with Parker and we have to hide under the covers when "he's coming." Well, at breakfast (where B's coworkers were also eating), Parker tells me that Monkey is with us. I ask him what he is doing and he tells me that "Monkey is pooping." Now, of course the only logical response is to tell P to tell him to stop and tell him that he needs to go to the bathroom. Well, for some reason that pushes P to YELL at the top of his lungs..."Mom, he's POOOPPING!!!" I was sooooo embarrassed!!

3. Pluggy Problems. When P turned one, we started only letting him have the plug at bed time so I have been telling myself that our problem is not that big...wrong. Right before bed on the second night we were there, I could not find Parker's pluggy. I told him he had to sleep without it and he said ok, however, he was awake for TWO hours singing every verse of Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Baa Baa Black Sheep with a little Amazing Grace here and there. Every couple of verses he would stop and cry out at the top of his lungs..."I want my pluggy!!!" It didn't end there...after finally getting him to sleep, he woke up at least every two hours wanting the plug. I really had no idea how big of a problem this actually is. We are in for a battle.

4. Dog Fight. Parker has been talking a lot about Piper lately. Every time he sees a dog he says, "that's a puppy...like Piper (sniffle)...I miss Piper." It is seriously heartbreaking. During our trip he found a way to cope...he brought Piper with us. Every once in a while he would pretend he was carrying something and say, "I have Piper." Once he was "carrying" something in both arms and told me that he had Millie (my mom's dog) and Piper. Apparently, when they are pretend, they actually get along, ha.

Christmas in Norwich

2011-11-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE Christmas. I love the lights, the music, the messages at church and all of the traditions that come with this time of year. I know that this year is going to be hard. Yes, we will be home for Christmas, but we won't be home for a lot of the pre-Christmas traditions that get us in the spirit. That is why we are completely embracing any and all events and traditions that Norwich has this time of year. The first major event was the Christmas light switch-on (I got the date right this time). Luckily, we got home from Falmouth just in time to make it downtown. Here are some pictures of the evening.

The Norwich Canary. I don't think either of them
knew what to think of the other, ha.

City Hall before. They had music and entertainment as well.
Next year we will know to get there early because this was
our view.

The lights came on with fireworks, wahoo!

They also had fireworks across the square from the
top of Jarold's Department Store.

P was not too thrilled with the fireworks.

Jarold's Department Store.

This definitely helps make the 4PM sunset more bearable!

Hello Falmouth!

2011-11-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

We made it!! 7.5 hours, 2 stops and ZERO accidents later, we arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall. Falmouth is a gorgeous, popular holiday town, however, it is not so popular in November. Brady had to come for work and we decided to tag along. They have a great maritime museum, castle and a beautiful coast. I figured we might as well ride along with Brady and see if it is somewhere we might want to visit again when the weather is nicer (and see if P could handle the car ride).

Here is an arial view of Falmouth.

Falmouth is located where the red star is...you can't
even see Norwich in this map.

Now that you know where it is...here are a few quick facts...

1. Located on the River Fal on the southeast coast of Cornwall, England.

2. Home of the third deepest harbor in the world.

3. Florence Nightingale stayed at our hotel (Greenbank Hotel).

4. Famous for being the start or finish point for various round-the-world races.

5. Pendennis Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1540 to defend Carrick Roads.

We had a great time, but unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were there...here is our trip in pictures.

Eating at Rick Stein's...such a big boy!

I can not wait to get a new camera...

It was sooooo windy and super cold. P was so excited to go see the water,
but then wanted to go right back to the car.

Yet another reason why I need a haircut.

Looking at all of the model boats at the Maritime Museum.

Trying to play scrabble in the "lighthouse."

Inside the life raft.

Loving the Coast Guard exhibit because he could play.

Parker and his sad face after walking a half mile in the
rain only to find out it is only open on Saturdays
and Sundays. Good thing for the walk though...P had to
"go" on the way back to the car.

Another view..

You can see the doors at the end. Much of the castle is covered with ground.

So...we went back to the museum. P playing with the boats.

A view from the lookout point.

We had a wonderful time, but I do hope that we can go back again when the weather is nice (for England anyway).

How quickly things change...

2011-11-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Friday...
P "Mommy, you're my best friend" (yeah, no idea where the term 'best friend' came from)
I can't lie, my heart melted.

Today...
P "Mommy, I'm your best friend"
Me "You are my best friend. Am I your best friend?"
P "No, Ki Ki is my best friend."

Haha, I've been replaced by an imaginary friend. Sadly, I think he was more right than he realizes.

I'm sorry, I don't speak English

2011-11-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed to have been placed in a country where they speak the same language. However, sometimes I just plain feel like an idiot when I seriously cannot understand a word someone just said. I realize that a lot of this has to do with the fact that I can't hear worth anything (Brady is constantly frustrated by the volume level on the tv), and the rest is vocabulary confusion. Here are some examples of what an idiot I am...

This morning the receptionist at the gym told me she found a store where they sold pumpkin puree (that much I heard after asking twice). She then went on to tell me details for at least the next three minutes, but I have no idea what she said. Needless to say, I smiled, said thank you, and will not be having pumpkin rolls for Thanksgiving.

About a week ago I went into a local charity thrift store. I asked the man if they took all kinds of donations, he said they took everything except "etro*&orus." Yes, I know that is not a word, but that is how it sounded. For a few minutes we went back and forth with me looking confused and he trying to say the word more clearly. Finally, he decided to give me examples...robots, tv, toaster. He was trying to say electronics, ha (oh and yes, his first example really was robot).

I would write more specific examples, but I honestly have to say "oh, right" or "uh huh" or "really" at least 5 times a day because I honestly have no idea what someone has just said. I know I shouldn't be that shocked that I am embarrassing myself daily, but this is getting kind of ridiculous!

Oh my...

2011-11-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

Parker is pretty easy. He slept well from birth, is easygoing and usually listens so yes, I realize that we have been very blessed. We do, however, have a couple of issues that have recently come to our attention and I'm not really sure how to handle them....

1. Word World...this is both a blessing and a curse. I thought Parker like Mickey Mouse, but Mickey does not hold a candle to the characters of Word World. He wakes up wanting to watch it and goes to sleep talking about it. Sometimes (like when I'm cooking) this is awesome, but lately he has become slightly obsessed. You'll see what I mean in the pictures.

Sitting in the kitchen (the blanket is for the chair's protection, ha) with
socks up, shoes on, and pretty much nothing else.

We were on our way to church and he managed to reach it on the
cabinet where it was charging.

I had gone downstairs to get my phone and came up to find this...I'm
honestly not even sure where the iPad was when he found it.

Again, I had taken it away and turned around and he had climbed
up to the desk and started it again. Here he was even willing to
go to timeout in order to get a little extra time in with his show.

2. Socks up. This obsession (coupled with "pants up") is a daily battle and is completely exhausting.

I tried to take a picture to show him that his socks
were high enough, but he didn't buy it.

3. Out of the bed...for four months now, P has remained in his bed without getting up out of bed...ever. Considering that was one of my biggest fears about moving to a house with so many stairs while simultaneously moving him to a big boy bed, it was awesome. If he needed something, he always just yelled. Today, however, he apparently gained the courage to come out of his room on his own...and down the stairs. Shoot.

He even brought his blanket and pillow down with him.

Yes, we also still have the plug, but that is an entirely
new post. Lets just put it this way...try moving
to a new country and then traveling back and forth
twice in a month (while potty-training) before you judge.
Don't worry, we're working on it.

Happy Birthday Grammy!!

2011-11-11T23:30:00.000-08:00

I have an amazing mother-in-law. Seriously, I am so blessed. She is one of the hardest working people I know and the reason that Brady (and now Parker) is such a big K-State fan. We love you so much Grammy and hope you have an amazing day!!!

To the moon and back...

2011-11-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

"I love you Mommy."
"I love you Parker."
"I love you to the moon and back Mommy."

How can anyone still have any worries after hearing that come out of your child's mouth. I just love him.

Today

2011-11-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for Brady. He is hands-down the kindest, most loving person I know and an amazing husband and father. I am a lucky, lucky girl.
Today they delivered an oversized chair for the dining room/kitchen I ordered...3 months ago...I'm not going to lie, I had almost forgotten what it looked like.
Today (yesterday) I found mold in P's bedroom. Scary. Apparently, single-pane windows plus our old heater plus really cold, humid outside temperatures equals lots of condensation.
Today (yesterday) I spent all two hours of P's naptime scrubbing windows with bleach.
Today (yesterday) I took P to the Dr. because I thought his cold could be from the mold. I think I was overreacting.
Today the landlord told me I just need to open all of my windows for a couple of hours every day to keep moisture from building. It is cold...and rainy...almost every day.
Today Parker had fun at Gymboree despite wanting to stay home so that he didn't have to wear pants.
Today I need a nap. A nice, long good nap.

The Burning of the Guy

2011-11-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend we attended Sparks in the Park. It is Norfolk's yearly event to commemorate the failed attempt to burn down the House of Lords. The people of England have been celebrating in some way or another (usually with fireworks) since November 5, 1605 when he was caught guarding explosives (he was later hung after being tortured to confess). Sorry, I know this is kind of a weird topic, but it is nothing compared to what we experienced at the park this weekend. You'll see what I mean as you go through the pictures...

"I so cited to watch fireworks!"

Brady loves my hat...ha.

My boys:)

Watching the fireworks.

Still just normal fireworks...

And the weirdness begins. Those are paper skeletons and something
resembling a taradactile. In front of them is a group of people carrying
torches and marching to some type of trumpet music.

This is hard to see, but it is a giant guy and the skeletons are now circling
around him. The "Guy" is holding the scales of justice.

You can't tell, but this is when they light him on fire. Ha, I am not kidding.
It was a huge bonfire, and I guess they've been doing this for a while.

Parker getting a little bored...

...finally, a ride!! I wish I could have gotten the expression on his face.
He LOVED this!

The lighting on the trees looked amazing, but I am pretty sure this is not
the prettiest park during the day.

So ready to go home!!

Thursday (and Friday) in Norwich

2011-11-05T01:06:00.000-07:00

Mommy's tired....really tired (let's face it, she would have to be to let me write this post). I didn't sleep very well Wednesday or Thursday night which means that we both are really, really tired. Oh and crazy, mommy is very very crazy (don't tell her I know). I figured that I would give you a run down of our days to finish off the work week.

We had to take Daddy to the train station on Thursday morning so he could go to London. He was wearing new clothes and was pretty excited about his new English outfit, but you didn't hear that from me (better coming from me than mommy...right?) He had a black tie dinner and had to wear a tux...he took this picture so we could see how handsome he looked!

Again, Mommy can't get into trouble for posting this
because it was technically me...right?

Because Daddy was gone, Mommy got to drive the car...this is never good for anyone. I guess we had to get to breakfast fast so we had to drive and park in the mall car park during rush hour. Also, not good for anyone. Daddy says Mommy doesn't use her blinker correctly in the round-a-bouts (I think he's right). Sometimes I hear people honk, but Mommy pretends not to notice. We finally made it to the mall and parked and then met Mandy and Ellie for breakfast at Carluccios.

Carluccio's...this is a bad picture, but Mommy forgot to take one in the morning and
we were getting pushed out the door while we tried to take this.

Here is a picture of our car...Gram Gram was curious.

I was pretty good (for a while), if I must say so myself, but let's face it, I'm two and my attention span is about as long as I am old. Mommy kept saying things like, "Parker sit still, you have to be a good example for Ellie." Who is she kidding? Ellie would have tried to get out of her seat too if she wasn't strapped in!

After breakfast, I let Mommy go to John Lewis to get some curtains for my room...they have busses and cars on them so it was ok. We took them home (survived a car ride) and then ate lunch, played and I took a nap. I have no idea what Mommy does while I'm asleep, but she is always so excited when I wake up!

According to Mommy, everything in this store is a "breakable."

After my nap, we got dressed, ate dinner and then went out to see Christmas lights. Apparently, the flyer Mommy had was wrong because they only turned them on at the mall. Oh, and it was crazy! I guess the mall stayed open until 9 for the occasion (not 5) and people were really excited! It was a bit too busy for us, but we did get to see a fun band on the way home!

"I just want to see Christmas."
Oh, and mommy has a lot of gray hairs...don't tell her I said so.

There was a LOT of people.

Mommy let me have hot chocolate...mmmmm.

I hate wearing my backpack, but Mommy said I had
to ride in the stroller if I didn't wear it soo...

This was the band, they were good.

FRIDAY
We do the same thing every Friday. Eat breakfast, run to the gym and go swimming. Today we had the car (thank goodness because it was raining). I had another accident in the creche. What can I say, I just wanted to see how fast they could clean me up! We went swimming again and then picked up Daddy. Daddy was really tired from traveling and after lunch, he took a nap with me (I'm pretty sure Mommy took a nap too). When we woke up, we just played, ate dinner, took a bath and read before bed. My favorite book to read right now is "Everyone Poops." I just like to say the name because it makes Mommy laugh. Anyway, that's all!! Goodnight!

Wednesday in Norwich

2011-11-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Are you bored yet? I am, maybe I'm just tired. Anyway, Wednesdays we go to Toddler time at church. It starts at 10:30 and that is usually our first stop of the day after some play time here at home. However, because I promised P we would go to the park today and because he wok up saying, "MOMMMMMYYYYYYYY, I awake! Can we go to park?" I decided to take him before church just in case it was too dark after his nap. He was so, so excited. We left the house around 9 to get to the park. He is our walk in photos (notice his pants are down; apparently he was so excited he forgot to care)...

This is on the other side of the river compared to the other pictures.

"Ok, mom...I won't throw the football."

"Nope, I'm not." When I asked him if he was cold...yeah, right.

Getting ready to walk through part of the Norwich University of the Arts campus.

Back of the University building.

Getting ready to go over the bridge (I know, I am a terrible photographer).

The park!!!

This is P's favorite part of this park...the big truck!!

"Quick, surprise face!"

Walking back through town to get to the church.

The bridge above leads to the castle.

View from the Castle Mall.

Ha, the back of the church...we have to go in this way for Toddler Time.

Toddler Time ends at 12:00 and we were both exhausted. I felt like I spent 1.5 hours going, "Parker, no" or "Parker, give that back" or "Parker share." Usually he is really good about sharing, but for some reason today, he did not want to...at all. By the time we got home, we had a little time to skype with Gram Gram and G-Dawg (his bad mood continued though and told Gram Gram that he wanted to watch Mickey instead...oh gosh). Luckily it was then time for a nap. Mommy cleaned and worked on the blog while he napped. Daddy called while he was sleeping and wanted us to go buy him some new pants, so we headed back into town right after nap time.

We stopped here to get Brady's pants...he loves this store!

Then went to the market to get fruit...I seriously love this market.
Too bad I was using my iPhone camera, the pictures aren't great.

The Market from another angle. When you are coming down
upon the market you can see all of the brightly colored tents.

Then off to the library. You have to walk through at least one old church cemetery
to get almost everywhere in town.

There are over 52 old church buildings
in Norwich, but not all of them are used for services anymore.

The Forum where the library is located.

I would have taken pictures inside, but well, I just forgot. Sorry!

After a crazy, busy, great day. We went home to make dinner. P was so tired that he laid down on a blanket in the kitchen the entire time I cooked (broccoli, potato, cauliflower soup with feta on top, mmm). After bath time, story time and prayers, we put Parker down a little early (I have a feeling he is coming down with something). I then went to the gym while Brady did P90X at home. I don't think he even realizes how nice it is to just be able to go to the gym by myself every once in a while! I'm so blessed!

Tuesday in Norwich

2011-11-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm going to do an entire week of tours through Norwich...sorry in advance for the snooze-fest, but I figured this might help satisfy some curiosities about life here.

Tuesday started at 6 AM and a realization that we were out of milk. Usually, if it is before 9 here, you are out of luck. However, a couple of months ago, this little place opened on the corner...it opens at 7AM...thank goodness P was willing to wait until then for his milk. Oh how I miss 24 hour Walgreens and Dillons!

The sign under our street sign says that the street was named Quayside because of the many dunkings that took place there...mainly women.

After breakfast, cleaning up and one episode of Mickey Mouse...Parker and I had playtime and worked on letters. Today was C for Cow, but he wasn't really interested. After a serious game of football, we got ready to go to Gymboree. We left the house at 11:00 AM. I didn't take any pictures on our walk there because it is in the same building as the gym from yesterday.

Gymboree lasts until 12:30 (luckily P didn't "tackle" any of the kids today, but he did spend most of the time watching himself run in the mirror). We got home around 1 PM and had lunch (pasta, P's favorite) and then I put him down for a nap. Thank goodness he went right to sleep. From 2 to 4, Mommy talked to Wendy (thanks for calling:), did laundry, and Plyometrics and took a quick shower (seriously, like 2 minutes). After P woke up, we had to hurry to get out of the house to pick up Daddy's tux before everything closed at 5. Because I didn't have time for an argument, here is what I let P wear out of the house.

Oh yes, those are socks on his hands and orange socks pulled clear up to his knees. Oh my Parker.

We left the house at 4:35...here is an idea of how quickly our days are fading!

One of the entrances to the Cathedral.

Our favorite toy store...too bad we pass it every time we go into town. I have to say no...a lot!

Getting into the heart of the center.

The original "indoor "mall. It is really beautiful inside.

Moss Brothers to pick up Daddy's tux at 4:53...we made it!! Only to find out they actually stay open until 6, ha.

Quick stop in the grocery store for fish. This is actually part of a department store, but they have the best meat selection.

On our way home at 5:35. Just to give you an idea of how quickly everything closes down here.

Finally home by 6, and Brady was home early again today by 6:30. Dinner at 6:45 (shrimp stir fry) and P is in bed by 8:00. Such a good day!!

Monday in Norwich

2011-11-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

So I have had people ask me for more pictures of Norwich and my house (ok, ok, so it was just my mom:). Well, I'm not quite ready to show many pictures of the house because it is still not where I would like it to be (I should really adjust my attitude because if I wait, I may never post pictures:). However, I did decide to give you a week in pictures of our life. I know this might be boring, but at least everyone (my mom) can see our daily routines and where we live...oh, and I will have something to show Parker when he can't remember living here!

So...here is Monday!

6:00 AM Parker wakes up, snuggle in his bed for around 30 minutes before going downstairs.

6:30 I start breakfast, Parker watches Mickey

6:45 Parker and I eat breakfast (oatmeal and fruit), mommy posts pictures on the blog

7:25 Daddy leaves for work...hugs all around.

7:30 Mommy washes dishes, cleans up, folds laundry while Parker plays with Kiki (because of this mommy tries to kick the soccer ball around with Parker while washing dishes)

8:15 Mommy and Parker go upstairs to get ready. Parker helps mommy make beds, etc. We brush teeth, battle on the benefits of pants and finally are dressed!

9:30 Mommy and Parker leave the house to run to the gym...here is a tour of our run.

What we see when we immediately come out of our door.

Our street. The river is on the other side of the wall.

I have not figured out whether this church still serves a purpose or not.

Adam and Eve Pub

Going to the river walk. The fence is up because they are finishing the walk between here and our house. I can't wait!

Cow Tower

Heading over the bridge...apparently one of the oldest in Norwich.

Past the train station.

And the riverside district

Under the bridge (although sometimes P wants to go over...so we do...hey, it adds .30 miles to our run!)

Riverside Leisure Center!! Arrive around 9:48...1.65 miles from home (yes, I am a really slow jogging stroller runner...)

9:50 Take P to the potty then to the creche (nursery)
10:00 Mommy warms up for spin class (gets her bottom kicked...seriously)
11:00 Pick up P...Parker had an accident today and was super sad when I got there...the worker told me she thought he was embarrassed to ask because they were helping a little boy who hurt his chin. He was really embarrassed after that.
11:05 Mommy and Parker change to go swimming.
11:15 Get in the pool!! P is afraid of water suddenly so he would let me let him go.
11:50 Get out and change.
12:15 Walk to NEXT to get Parker some new trousers (it was next door) and then go to Costa to get P a sandwich and Mommy a coffee (I forgot to take pictures).
12:45 Arrive at the grocery store

The grocery store

1:30 Leave the grocery store...

All of our stuff...Oh and notice the bag of groceries I stuffed in the bottom of the stroller...I didn't realize until later that my bread was in that bag....shoot.

HOME!!! Oh, and a chance of sun...woo hoo!! (too bad it is only light for 2.5 more hours)

2:00 Arrive at home...P is asleep. Mommy tries to take him upstairs without waking up...doesn't work...Mommy puts him in a diaper (he didn't go potty before he laid down and was almost asleep) and goes downstairs to unload groceries.

2:05 Parker yells..."mommy! I have to go potty!!!" Taken care of, now in big boy underwear and back in bed.
2:15 Mommy scrubs kitchen tiles for 20 minutes
2:35 Checks on Parker...still awake (this never happens)...read some books and puts P back down.
3:20 Mommy starts some laundry
3:45 Checks on P...still awake...obviously a nap is not going to happen today so we go upstairs and play (soccer, farm, football)
4:45 Mommy vacuums
5:15 Mommy starts dinner because Daddy will be home early while P watches Mickey Mouse and plays soccer in the kitchen.
6:00 Daddy is home!!! He and P play upstairs while mommy finishes dinner
6:30 Dinner is ready!! Cheesy Leek and Mustard Soup...delicious! Find the recipe here.
7:15 Daddy helps Mommy clean up (P helps too)
7:45 Call Papa Wes to tell him Happy Birthday!
8:00 P takes a bath (we're running a little behind)
8:15 Mommy reads Fox in Socks (Daddy then had to read it) and Everyone Poops.
8:45 Say our prayers then lights out.
8:46 P has to go potty (this is the new way to procrastinate bed time...)
9:00 Mommy and Daddy do P90X
10:30 Bedtime!!!