I Can't Believe....

I am going to be the mother of 4 boys. 4 BOYS! 4!

We got the ultrasound today to check and see that all is well with Baby Cinco and to find out what it is.

Here's how it happened....The sonographer was looking around and taking measurements. She just happened to land on a shot where we could see the legs straddled in a "v-position" and there was the penis sticking out for all the world to see. Since I've already had 3 boys, I knew what to look for. I looked over at Jon and said, "Oh my gosh--It's a boy!" She didn't even have to tell me. She confirmed my announcement by saying, "Aye-It's a lad alright. He made no mystery about it. That's for sure."

Many of you are wondering how I feel about that. Well, I am thrilled that as far as anyone is able to tell, the baby looks healthy. Sure, I am a little sad that I won't have a daughter and all the wonderful things that go with that.....pink clothes, wanting me at the birth, the mother of the bride etc. But, I also know that this little boy will fit right into our family and it will be impossible to imagine our lives without him. So, I'm truly happy and I know that this boy is a gift that has been given to us. We will love him forever.

It does give me pause to think about what a responsibility it is to raise 4 boys who will become men who (I pray) love and follow Jesus. I am already praying for the wives of my sons--that I will have a good relationship with them and be a great mother-in-law. I've learned a lot just by watching my own mother in law be such a great one! And maybe at least one will invite me to the birth ;).

Early on in the pregnancy when I was so worried about having another miscarriage the Lord gave a verse to Jon:

1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has ever conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

I wrote it on a big piece of paper and put it on the ceiling above my side of the bed. Every time I have worried about the baby, the birth, or have felt fear I have remembered that verse. This baby is being knit together by our heavenly Father who loves him and already has great things prepared for him, me, and our family. I know it doesn't mean that nothing could go wrong--but it is a word from the Lord and has been comforting for me. So far, each baby has had a whole Psalm to be prayed during the pregnancy but I wonder if this baby will just have this verse.

Having another boy does make some things a little simpler--I have lots of boy baby clothes in storage back in the US. We have the toys. I know what to expect (MORE WRESTLING---Lord help me!) What potty training a boy is like, their love for sticks and holes. (seriously--read that link--really funny post by one of my favorite bloggers)

Things that aren't so simple....

1. We have to confront the whole circumcision thing again. Not looking forward to that at all. It is not common in the UK and you have to pay out of pocket. There are not many places (if any) locally to go either. I heard about one option in our town--but it sounds a little sketchy.

2. We have to pick another boy name--+ 2 middle names. We've already used 9 names with the other 3 and now we gotta come up with 3 more that fit all our criteria??!! I really enjoy the whole process--I just don't think it will be EASY.

3. I am seriously outnumbered in my house! My strategy is to get a girl dog when we go back to the US. Her name will be Darcy. And I'm considering adding on a second girl dog just for some balance. Although I do like the idea of having a boy and girl dog whose names are Mr. and Mrs. Darcy....but that's another post. 5 men and 1 woman. 5 to 1. I guess I better learn to love the smell of boys dorm rooms--cuz I think my house will start smelling like that in about 10 years!

Spaghetti and Meatballs OR......

Yummy cupcakes?

I made these for our weekly potluck on Sunday. The theme was Italian so these seemed appropriate. Someone saw them from across the room and thought it really was some kind of spaghetti muffins with meatballs on top! I had always wondered what kind of event I would take some spaghetti and meatball cupcakes too--and now I know!

They are pretty easy to make--especially if you have a boxed cake mix (they don't really sell those here so I had to make from scratch). I got the recipe from the book Hello Cupcake!

I brought the book with me to England and I was considering taking it back to the States on our next trip because many of the cupcakes require US candy that is impossible or difficult to find in the UK. After making these on Sunday though, I may keep it here for a while. The book does offer some good ideas for inspiration.

When Little Boys Are Sick...

They fall asleep in the hallway while mommy is taking a shower. He snuggled with his favorite stuffed puppy and his favorite lego guy and crashed.

Poor guy slept on the floor for about half an hour and then got up and fell asleep in my arms. He uses that puppy as a pillow in his bed and it gets carted around the house--so of course it makes sense that he would use it to sleep on for his makeshift bed late in the morning.

Top 10 Boy and Girl Baby Names in the UK for 2010

Okay...I think this is an interesting list. Mainly because of the boy names.

Boy

1. Jack

2. Harry

3. Alfie

4. Thomas

5. Oliver

6. Daniel

7. Joshua

8. Charlie

9. Mohammed

10. George

3 of the names are the names of former Kings (Harry, George, Charlie). I hear Harry being called out ALL the time by parents to their children. I'm surprised it isn't #1. Charlie and Edward are other common boy names I hear being called even though Edward isn't on the list. Oliver is often shortened to Ollie which I think is cute. But Alfie? Really?

Girl

1. Olivia

2. Ruby

3. Emily

4. Grace

5. Lily

6. Jessica

7. Amelia

8. Chloe

9. Isabella

10. Emma

I don't think the UK girl names are very different from US top 10 names for 2010 kids--except maybe Ruby.

Mind the Queue (a cultural note from Jon)

So, let's start with the basics.  In Britain, it's not a 'line" it's a queue.  Etymology? Apparently French, meaning "tail."  That makes sense enough.

More importantly, queues are a major cultural live-wire.  In Britain, you don't "jump the queue," if you you do, they may jump you.  Not really, but you may feel actual physical pains from the amount of nasty, dagger-eyes slabbing you from behind, and it's entirely possible that you will be publicly shamed.

This is all in theory, of course.  I've never seen it happen.  That's because people are so trained (or scared) not to jump the queue that they don't.  Ever.  Seriously, I've never seen someone jump the queue.  One clearly immigrant guy at the grocery store lost his head a few weeks ago and walked right in front of me to take his place at the self-serve checkout machine.  But he only lasted a nano-second before he popped right around and excused himself profusely to me for forgetting there was a queue.  Not that I had said anything.

O wait, Amelia has just read this over my shoulder and reminded me we did see ONE person ONCE jump the queue.  And it was raining at a outdoor light festival at the Cathedral and some folks walked right into the Cathedral rather than stand patiently for 30 minutes in the rain to get in.  Someone yelled sharply at the them, "MIND THE QUEUE!!!"  We were coming out and had, of course, not waited in the rain. (We don't really have British patience for queues.)  We used good ol' American ingenuity and went around to the back entrance where there was no line! Ha-ha!

This is all a lead-in to yesterday.  We were standing in a queue, and my impatience began to kick in.  "Why am I feeling culturally annoyed?" I asked myself.  We had traveled to York by car and parked at the Park and Ride to take the bus into town to see the Jorvik Viking Festival.  Here's the scene:

A small canopy with some benches for what would be a normal amount of commuters to the city centre.  One bus pulled up to the curb (double-length) with two more behind it.  A queue of would-be Jorvik celebrators and York-shoppers standing some 200 long all streaming from the one bus in front of the one canopy.  Each buying their tickets from the bus driver for the first bus.  The other two buses are just waiting.  No movement from their drivers.  No movement from the queue.

I realized then that it was entirely possible (if not likely) that in the States people would not wait patiently in the queue for the first bus but would break their line in half and begin trying to get onto the second or even the third bus.  In a very logical way, everyone would get to their destination sooner if they all split up and got on three different buses with three different drivers giving out three different sets of tickets.  But not in Britain.  In Britain, you "Mind the Queue."

That meant that everyone waited until the first bus was loaded, then the second one drove up and it too was patiently loaded, then the third, and so on.  Quietly. Orderly.  With no one but my inner American having showing the slightest sense of annoyance at this way of doing things.

Oh well.  It could be worse.  I could be in a hurry all the time instead of trying to slow down and let things take their time like the Brits do.  (I wonder if they would ever have road rage here... I doubt it.)  And after all, it could be worse.  I could be in Russia.  There (correct me if I'm wrong Karen), if you see a queue you get in it and you wait.  You may have no idea what it's for, but if there's a queue, it's probably worth having, and Russians can wait a LONG time in their lines.  5 hours I once spent in a queue in Russia!  (Long winters have trained them well for patience, I guess.)

So, remember, when in Britain, mind the queue!

Differences in Maternity Care UK vs. US

I thought that some of you might be interested in what maternity care and birth is like here in the UK. So far there are a lot of differences that I've noticed and I'm only in my 16th week of pregnancy. Some of my knowledge comes from friends who are also currently pregnant or have recently had a baby.

1. Everyone here sees a midwife, unless you are a high risk pregnancy. If, during your pregnancy, you have an issue arise that might require an OB's help, you have a consultation appointment with an OB. But, you keep seeing the midwife for all your prenatal appointments.

2. You can choose to have a homebirth or hospital birth where a midwife will attend your birth.

3. Even though there might be 6 or 7 midwives in the hospital group you are assigned to, you will typically see the same midwife each visit. This is because you are assigned a particular doctor's office and the midwives don't rotate their stations--they work at the office they are also assigned to. (Usually in the US if there is a group of midwives you rotate through all of them to get to know them and vice versa.) You don't know who will be on call when you go into labor.

4. They don't monitor your weight here. They get an inital weight at your first appointment and then they don't weigh you after that.

5. Some tests, like the glucose intolerance test, are not routinely administered unless there are certain risk factors to indicate a need for the test.

6. You only see the midwife for appointments at 8, 16, 28, 34, 36, 38, and 40 weeks. They routinely do 2 ultrasounds-one around 12 weeks to check for dates and one at 20 weeks to check for abnormalities.

7. You carry your health records with you to every appointment. They fill in information but they don't keep the file--you are responsible for it.

8. You have to bring EVERYTHING with you to the hospital if you have a hospital birth. Pads, diapers, hat for baby--normal things the hospital would provide in the US you are responsible for bringing.

9. It's FREE!

10. There seems to be a general assumption that your birth will be normal.

11. Epidurals are not as common here--somewhere between 30-50% of births, I think. In the US it is about 95%. They do use something here called "gas and air" which is laughing gas, I think. That is very common for women to use during the most intense parts of labor.

12. You get free dental, eye care, and prescriptions while you are pregnant and for 1 year after the birth of the baby. (The prescriptions may not be free for one year after--I can't remember)

13. You also get to bring in your "wee" (pee) at every visit. They provide you with a container that you wash and bring with you for each visit.

Overall there are a lot of good things that come with the NHS and the care you receive here while pregnant. I do wish that I was going to meet with more than one midwife during the pregnancy and also that I went a little more frequently. I know there isn't a lot that is done during appointments early on--checking for the heartbeat and feeling the top of the fundus to make sure everything seems like it is growing like it should, checking blood pressure and urine--but it would have been nice to hear the heartbeat a little sooner. Because of the fewer visits I feel a more disconnected from the practice and shy about calling for problems that concern with the pregnancy. Thankfully, I haven't had any issues come up but I don't feel the same kind of closeness that I experienced at the birth center in Pittsburgh. The system still feels like a system rather than the "mother centered care" value I had grown to love from the midwives in Pittsburgh.

There are independent midwives that are not part of the NHS and do homebirths but they are uber-expensive--I wan't to say around 6000-7000 US dollars. I think I would enjoy working with an independent midwife more but we don't have that kind of money to spend on a homebirth and I think the care I get is adequate.

Once I'm further along into the pregnancy I'll probably have a part II to this. I have my 16 week appointment on Thursday and I am looking forward to it. I haven't heard the baby's heartbeat yet and I'm still wearing my normal clothes. I'm tempted to be thankful that I haven't gained much weight or worried that the baby isn't growing like it should. This is the FIRST pregnancy that I've still been wearing my normal clothes for this long. With the boys I was growing out of my clothes somewhere between 12 and 14 weeks. I think I have another few weeks left in my trousers and I want some reassurance that everything is progressing normally. It works out well since my maternity clothes are still in the US!

Once I'm further along in the pregnancy, I'm sure I'll have a part II for you.

On British Customer Service

We unsuccessfully ventured out to get the boys hair cut this afternoon. We left the house at 4:15 hoping that we could find some kind of barber shop/cheap salon open to cut their hair. Everything here closes early--even on a Saturday. We are so used to getting whatever service we want in America that we don't really think about planning very far ahead in the day. After driving by several places that were already closed before 5 on a Saturday afternoon we thought that Supercuts was our best chance since they are a chain and more likely to have later hours.

We arrived at Supercuts at 4:40. They didn't close until 5:30! Great!

Me: "Can we get the boys' hair cut?"

Supercuts: "No, we are finishing up here."

Me: "But, I saw you are open until 5:30."

Supercuts: "Oh, we have to cut this lady's hair first."

There were 2 stylists available. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the US we would have been welcomed since we got there well before closing time.

It is common here in the UK for restaurants, shops and other service shops to not let you in well before it closes because they don't want to serve you. If a restaurant closes at 6pm and you come in at 5:45 they are likely to tell you to leave or not let you order anything from the kitchen. In the US stores don't start closing until the last customer is served.

It makes life easier for the shop workers because closing time is closing time. The customer isn't the number one priority. Anyone who works in retail would appreciate the cultural difference. I was talking with a friend of mine who is from Canada. She is Muslim and we were talking about cultural differences in customer service. She lived in Egypt for several months and said that if she was looking for something the store owner would say, "Oh yes, we have what you are looking for (even if she didn't tell him what she wanted)." If the store owner did not have it he would find a way to get it. In Canada (and US) if you are looking for a service most places are willing to find a way to help you or even make some kind of special circumstance for you. It just isn't like that here in England. It's not right or wrong, it's just different!

(I started this post over a week ago and we did get the boys hair cut on Saturday. We went in the morning this time.)

Homesick?

For the past two days I've been feeling in a funk. Sort of like a gray cloud is hovering nearby. Kind of sad. I don't have any real reason to feel sad. I think maybe I'm just missing home and all the familiarities and comforts. I miss our family, the ease of talking to my friends, the familiarity of how things work, the ease of getting around without having to plan in advance, the sun. In regards to the sun I still have to get through February and March. Thankfully we'll get a good dose of it when we are in Texas in April! I'm soooo looking forward to warmer weather and sunny days! And Chuys, and Whataburger and, and, and...

That isn't to say that I don't enjoy living in England--I do very much. Life is simpler here in so many ways than it is in the US. I love our community here, the slower pace of life, the adventure, walking everywhere, making a smaller carbon footprint, hardly driving anywhere, spending less money on "extras". We don't spend as frivously here because it is such a chore to go shopping and we have very limited storage space to pack things in. Parking is difficult so we tend to stick to Durham, which is small, so we don't face the same temptations as we would if we "just ran into Target". No Targets here! We tend not to go anywhere. There are fewer fast food options so we don't do fast food very often. Simpler lifestyle=less spending on "extras".

I don't know what it is about loving the familiar but I miss it. I'm wondering when living here will be like second nature. When will doing something like DRIVING to Newcastle not seem so daunting and intimidating? (That reminds me of a story I should post about....) Maybe in another six months? Who knows. I do look forward to that and having a better understanding of the culture here and what to expect.

A Boy, His Elephant, an Unexpected Nap, and His Wellies (post from Jon)

This is Graham's friend, "El-phant." El-phant sleeps in his bed, but sometimes they like to go for walks together.








One day, Mommy was tired (the new baby "shot her with a tranq") so she let Isaac play Wii and let Graham watch while she curled up on the couch to nap. When she got up, she went looking for Graham. This is where she found him...


On our bed!

It's been snowy and rainy so much lately that there has been a lot of "Wellies"-wearing going on. Graham felt particularly drawn to wear his around the flat one afternoon. Too cute.

I wouldn't be surprised if all these were taken on the same day. Day in and day out, that kid keeps us smiling!

I'm Such An American!

Last week when Isaac and I were walking to the hospital to get my sonogram, a line of cars was waiting to get into the parking lot. A car pulled up next to us (on our right--remember, we are in England) and a woman got out of the left side of her car and walked past us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her car rolling. I started yelling at her, "Your car is rolling! Your car is rolling down the hill!!!"

She looked at me funny. It was then I realized that she was the...

passenger--not the driver.

I had an "I'm so American" moment because when I saw someone get out of what I'm used to as the drivers side and saw the car rolling backwards I freaked out that she forgot to put her car in gear and set the brake.

As soon as I realized my mistake I quickly apologized and hastily made it the last 20 yards to the hospital entrance. Apparently I still think like an American driver when I fear there is car chaos happening around me. I forgot all about it until tonight when I told Jon what happened and we had a nice big laugh about it. Good times, good times.

***Tonight we celebrated Jon finishing his first term. He has worked non-stop at writing papers and they were due today. These papers, known as Formatives, are very important for his admittance into the PhD program. We went out to a restaurant called Slug and Lettuce for dinner celebration. (It was our first time eating there on the recommendation of some friends.) When we first moved here I saw the restaurant and thought it must serve gross food--I mean SLUGS? Blech. Actually as far as restaurants go in England, I'd give it an A+! Mondays are 50% off EVERY meal night. Our whole family ate for 20Pounds and Jon even ordered a beer and I had dessert. Had we not ordered the beer and dessert it would have cost the same as our whole family going to McDonalds! So, we got healthy, TASTY food for an awesome price. We will definitely be going back there. I can't tell you how nice it is to find a GOOD food restaurant. It was a good night--especially after the past few weeks --which I'll write about soon.

VVBvbvbnzbnasbaxsb

About the blog.....

So, I realized that in the last several months I have lost a purpose/focus about my blog. At one point I wanted to write about birthy things but I feel like so many other bloggers do that better than me. I've thought about writing about parenting but I did that for The Mom Crowd and didn't want to add it to my own blog. I used to tell a lot more funny stories about the kids--but either they stopped being funny, I lost my sense of humor, or I just couldn't muster up the energy to write anything. I think I feel a little more self conscious about what I write now--plus I find that Facebook is a pleasant distraction and way to connect with people.

Because we are living overseas now the blog is a good place to update family and friends with photos but honestly, that feels boring to me. My blog has lost its spice. I've thought about closing it down several times because I'm not sure who even checks in on it anymore and if it is worth it. I've been asking myself WHY do I have a blog in the first place? It feels like my reasons are different now than when I first started blogging.

There are many things I enjoy writing about--cooking, knitting, parenting, birth junkie topics-but so many are much more experienced than I am, better writers, and more interesting.

Grandma--I know you are checking in and I promise I will keep posting pictures of your great-grandbabies so you can see them! I'm just trying to figure out what else I want my blog to be about :)

Out of Graham's Mouth

Jon and I were in the kitchen cooking dinner and rearranging foodstuffs for the icemaker we are buying from somone in our building. In comes Graham.

He says, "Grahammy poo-poo!" and points to his behind.

Mommy says, "Oh thanks for telling us Graham! That is a very big boy thing to do!" and gives him a kiss.

Graham says, "Daddy poo-poo? Daddy change poo-poo?" and runs off.

My heart melts because he asked Daddy (and not me-heh heh) to change his poop. I can tell that Jon doesn't think this is as cute as I do even though it is the first time he's told us he pooped and asked for a change. As Jon was working to get to a stopping place Graham runs back in the kitchen.

He says, "Come on daddy. Change poo-poo." And then went to lay down in the hall to wait for him.

Come on, that is cute!

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall is a wall that was built by Romans almost 2000 years ago when the Roman spread. It is very close to the border between England and Scotland. It is over 70 miles long and there are several stops along the wall that you can visit. Due to the weather (as you can tell from the pictures) we only made one stop and we made it at the perfect part of the day. It was pretty cold when we arrived but when we left a front blew in along with some very cold wind. We stopped at the fort of Housesteads that at one point housed many soldiers. Of course it was mostly covered in snow but we got to climb around on the fort and look at all the views. (England lets you climb on everything--so fun!)

Here our group (our family + Jon's parents) is going up hill toward the wall and fort. The pathway was very slippery.

Papa and Isaac standing on top of the wall. You can't tell because of the snow but there is a drop off into a valley in front of them. I think it must be beautiful in the summer.

Graham had to be carried on someone's shoulders or carried to get around. He wasn't too keen on walking on the slippery pathways. Plus, he was turning in to an icicle.

Ewan, doing his favorite thing: running around in the snow and making snowballs to throw at his favorite people.

Nice shot of Isaac and I.

Jon explaining the fort and wall to the boys.

I think I'd like to go back in the summer because the view was outstanding even with seeing hills and fields covered with snow. The boys will enjoy climbing on the fort and coming up with some sort of game to play.

For My Grandma (short post from our Scotland trip)

Graham trying to catch fish on the floor.

Funny mirror self portrait.

Ewan and Isaac by one of the many cannons at Edinburgh Castle.

Jon, Isaac, and Ewan in front of the Edinburgh Castle.

My Little Lego Guy

I know the lego boxes say that legos are not meant for kids under 3 BUT when you have 2 older brothers who like playing with legos.....

Age doesn't matter. Graham loves playing with legos and building "ships" and making different "guys". He is very proud of his work and spends many minutes of his day playing with legos.

The little guy in his hand is part of a Power Miners Lego set and Graham calls him "Mars". If he has misplaced "Mars" he walks around saying, "Where Mawrs, where mawrs??" That little lego guy's real name is Glaciator--I'm not sure where Graham got Mars from but it sure is cute!~

Everyday

Wrestling

Every. Single. Day.

It's always fun until someone gets hurt.

Every. Single. Day.

Gotta be primordial instinct because it happens

Every. Single. Day.

Driving in the UK

I bit the bullet and drove the car. I've been dealing with some sensitive tummy issues and thought that walking to pick Ewan up from school might put me in an, uhum, compromising situation, so I thought I'd better buck up and drive.

I invited a friend from our building to come with me. She is British and has driven both in the US and in the UK. I thought I might feel better about driving if another adult was with me--and also less nervous if Jon weren't the other adult. He couldn't be there anyway since he was at school. Driving to the school is the route I know how to get there and back best. I know how to drive to our church and back home but ask me to get anywhere else and I'm pretty sure I'd get lost. Those roundabouts are tricky I tell you.

The funniest thing that happened was after I got Graham and Isaac in the car and got to my own seat. I had never even sat in the drivers seat before and it definitely felt different. I reached over my left shoulder to pull down the seatbelt (you know cuz I was DRIVING) and go figure, the seatbelt wasn't there. It was on my RIGHT side. You don't realize how habitualized you become at driving until all the parts are in the wrong place. I chuckled to myself that I didn't realize ahead of time to reach to my right to pull the seatbelt down. Next, the car was started and I went to put it in reverse. Our car is a manual shifter. Another little difficulty in learning how to drive on the other side of the road. Not only do you have to remember to stay on the LEFT side of the road you also have to change gears while driving.

I'm used to a stick shift. I've been driving one (different cars along the way) since I started driving 18 years ago. Driving a stick is automatic--I barely think about it. That is until I have to shift with my left hand.

As I was saying, I went to put the car in reverse and knew that it was still in first gear. (Reverse is to the left of 1st gear instead of to the right of 5th) I had a very vague memory that you had to do something to move the shifter into reverse--push something down, pull something up...but I tried everything that seemed obvious and could not figure it out. I texted Jon and asked, "how do you put the car in reverse?" His response, "up and to the left". I knew that part already but WHAT do you do to put the car in reverse? My friend who was with me was just as perplexed as I was. She finally flagged down a friend of hers in the parking lot to see if he could figure it out. Let me tell you, I felt like such a "woman". Turns out you have to pull up on a spring loaded sheath (on the gear shift) and then magically you can move the shifter all the way to the left.

After laughing at ourselves, I pulled out into our car park (parking lot) and started the journey.

Thoughts going through my head:

" Stay left, left, left, left"

"Don't bump the left curb" (Americans tend to hug the left side of the lane because we aren't used to the spacial differences from the drivers seat)

"Go slow if you have to"

"Lord, please let me get there and home safely"

"How do I use my blinkers on the roundabout again?"

My friend, whose name is Kate by the way, offered some helpful instruction about when to turn on my blinker on the roundabout and when to switch lanes--and when to signal my blinker while switching lanes. When you are on the inside lane of the roundabout you signal with your right blinker. And you use the inside lane when you are going more than 2 exits away from yours on the roundabout. When you are on the outside lane you signal to the left. That means you are taking the 1st or second exit off the roundabout. When entering a roundabout you watch what the cars to the right of you are doing. Are they exiting? Are they entering the roundabout? Do you have room to enter? You don't really pay attention to the cars to your left (the cars waiting in the entrance to the left of you) because they have to give you the right of way. I'm sure you are getting the picture that there is quite a lot to think about when at a roundabout.

To get to Ewan's school I have to go through 5 roundabouts--some more complicated than others. Kate was very calm and as I was driving I had a huge grin on my face. I was driving in England! It wasn't so bad. A little nerve wracking sure, but not quite as terrifying as I thought. I think I was ready to tackle another challenge.

Remember when I mentioned that driving a stick shift is like second nature? Well, my left hand isn't so used to it. I kept trying to shift with my right hand and don't you know my right hand kept hitting the drivers door! Mental note: Gear shift is on the LEFT! Using my left hand, I was timing the clutch, gas and shifter all fine. But when I went to put the car in 3rd gear I'd end up back in first. Or when I'd go to put it in second gear I'd end up in 4th. Oh bother! So much for second nature!

We made it to the school and I parked a block away because the parking lot at Ewan's school is typically very British and small and crowded with loads of cars parked on the sidewalk and every crevice. I didn't want any fender benders my first day out in the car. Better safe than sorry.

As I collected Ewan from his wing of the building he quickly noticed that Isaac and Graham weren't with me. "Mom where are Isaac and Graham?" "In the car with Kate," I respond. "I thought you didn't know how to drive in England." He was skeptical. I was still a little skeptical myself because I knew we still had to get home --but I wasn't going to tell him that!

We get to the car and Ewan gets buckled in. First question, "mom, do you know where you're going?" "Uh-huh--sure do" The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful I'm happy to say. Once we pulled into our spot in the parking lot Graham said, "We made it!" just as I was saying the very same thing in my head.

Conversations

Isaac:

"Mom, how does God hear us when we pray? He is all the way up there and we are all the way down here? God and Jesus must have really big ears to hear us. And how does God hear everyone praying at the same time?"

Mom: Those are great questions, Isaac. God can hear us from anywhere. I don't think He has really big ears but he is able to listen to everyone at the same time. Pretty amazing huh?

The next day: (Isaac again)

"Dad, how do birds fly?"

Jon: They use their wings.

"I know they use their wings but how do they fly WITH their wings? How does it work?"

Jon: What a great question, Isaac. (and then Jon gives an explanation about aerodynamics and wind)

Graham:

"We made it!"

This was after we got home from picking Ewan up from school and I was driving (another post to come). How could a 2 year old know that I was thinking the same thing??!!

Jon has another conversation that he should write about. I was in the same room but somehow missed what happened. Ewan had a world perspective shattered when he discovered that his friend from school who also lives in our building doesn't know Jesus. His brain was in overdrive as he tried to grasp the idea that his friend doesn't believe in Jesus.

Homemade Pizza

A lovely friend of mine (Hi Kelly!) gave me her recipe for making pizza dough. I finally tried it on Friday night and it turned out GREAT! Tasted good and looked delicious! Since it was my first time to make pizza dough/pizza from scratch I was a little nervous that the dough wouldn't rise or that I would mess something up along the way. One pizza had thinner crust than the other one and we all liked the thinner crust better. All things considered, it was not difficult to make--it just took a little time. I made a sausage and red pepper pizza (silver pan) and a bacon and pineapple pizza (black pan). Making pizza is so much cheaper than buying it!

Here are the pics: