A Day at the Museum of Natural History

Today we decided to head down to London to the Museum of Natural History. The nice thing about a lot of the museums in London is that they are free admission. Of course this is possible from from the high amount of taxes that Brits pay, but it is nice that they support the arts and museums and make them available for everyone to see. Instead of taking the train down which is usually the easiest way to go, we drove to the most northern part of London which took us about 1 1/2 hours to the Underground station in High Barnet.

Addison is getting quite independent these days so she sat in her stroller for a approximate total of 10 minutes I think the whole day. So mom and dad took turns holding her as we made our way through the Underground, walking to and through the museum. Funny enough, pregnant mommy was the favored one so I got a big workout that day. The museum was very crowded but pretty cool. The dinosaur exhibit was the best and obviously the most popular because they make you stand in a queue (that's a line for you Yanks). The queue was set at about 45 minutes when we got to it...but it moved so fast that we actually got inside in about 15 minutes. We checked out the mammals section, the human body, reptiles, the Ecology hall, the Minerals hall, primates, the huge Sequoia cross section that was estimated to be planted in the 500's AD and cut down in 1842 AD. We also saw some of the precious stones collection...there was an amazing diamond on display that was traded in Africa for a large amount of goats, cattle and horses to an Englishman. We were pretty beat by the end of the day, but had a great day out!

Easter in England

"Hey Addie, Guess What, It's Snowing!" Again, that's right, 2 days in a row, snow in England. This is the first time I remember snow on Easter. Guess that's what you get when Easter comes in March. We weren't going to let a little snow get us down. We bundled up and headed out to build a snow bunny. We figured if it's going to snow on Easter, then it's only fitting to celebrate with a snow bunny. Later on our neighbors started to trickle outside to play in the snow and things turned into an all out snowball fight and after about two hours the snow bunny's head was sacrificed in the snow war.

The Easter bunny did find it's way all the way to our house in England and left Addison some really yummy goodies but her favorite thing was the mini-golf set she got. Daddy even showed her how to putt. That afternoon we loaded up some goodies and headed to some of our good friend's house - the Kieser's. They brought together a lot of our ISE "family" together for an Easter egg hunt for the kids and wonderful dinner and time of fellowship. In our prayers that night with Addison, we thanked God for all the wonderful blessings we had here and hoped that all of you back in the States were having a wonderful day as well.

We Went to See the Sea

What lay ahead of us was a four day weekend with some of the ickiest weather yet this winter/spring, so what else do you do when it's going to be really cold out??? Go to the North Sea of course!!! I spent the entire week looking up "attractions" for western Norfolk county and I found some interesting things that I thought we could check out in a day's time. We loaded up Addie Friday morning and headed out. We first headed towards King's Lynn to a 12th century castle called Castle Rising. It was home of Queen Isabella who arranged the gruesome murder of her husband King Edward II...interesting huh? It was pretty cold and windy and I couldn't but think about it being the same way back in the 12th century and there were actually people living in this cold fortress we were walking around.

Next we headed north to Hunstanton to see the sea. We walked along the prom (promonade) and felt like we were getting sandblasted from the beach...we had to put the rain cover on Addie's stroller to keep her protected from the wind. There were lots of fair rides that were actually running, but we decided to pass this time around. The water on the sea was rough and dirty looking, but it could have been because water was fairly shallow and the tide was low. We saw wind and kite surfers flying up and down the beach. These people had to be mad because it was freezing (literally it was 40 F with a wind chill of 25 F), but they must enjoy having the wind. We ate at a quaint little place called Cassie's and of course had the fish and chips special as we watched the crazy surfers.

We headed off to our next destination - Holkham Hall near Wells-Next-the-Sea (and no it's not Wells-Next-to-the-Sea). The trip from Hunstanton to Wells was only to be 15 miles but the SatNav said it would take 50 minutes...that usually isn't a good sign. We drove through lots of little villages on some pretty narrow roads that reminded us a lot of driving in Ireland. For the folks in the States, try picturing the one lane of traffic you drive on and now split it in half and put 6 inch banks of dirt on each side and some hedges, plus put some nasty curves in it as well with oncoming traffic...that's what we drove on. The hall wasn't open yet so we drove around the grounds and through the deer park which was loaded with hundreds of deer grazing about. It started to down pour on, so we couldn't get out to look around and it put a cabash on the rest of the day as far as getting out and about. We drove through Wells and decided not to check out Holkham beach this time because of the weather, but it will be a place we go in the future when it's warmer and drier.

We made one last stop at Bircham Windmill which was supposed to be our break for Addie to run in their play area and pet the farm animals they have on site, but the wind and rain kept us to looking around the bakery, tea room and gift shop. We did get to see a mini pony and funny looking goat, and we took a quick picture out front.

There are lots of little places that claim some fame all around us where ever in the world we are, and I have never taken advantage of them in all the places I've lived before, so I decided we are going to exploit as many of them as we can while we are here in England. Anything is better than sitting around the house all weekend...even if you get rained on and blown away.

St. Paddy's Dea (Day)

Well in full Kevin and Corrina Dea family tradition we were to have corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day. One would think that being so close to Ireland you wouldn't have an problem finding such things, but I searched three grocery stores for a roast of corned beef. I finally found corned beef but it was in the lunch meat section and it didn't look like what I've purchased in the past so I settled on something called "salt beef." The packets were small so I bought four of them at 2.48 GBP each...which translates into $5US each...yes...I spent $20 on something that looked like little packets of corned beef. I boiled some baby new potatoes, carrots and cabbage to accompany the "salt beef" and I made green deviled eggs. For dessert I made chocolate cupcakes with green frosting (Kev and I had been craving chocolate cake for some reason). Other than our special meal, it didn't feel much like St. Paddy's Day...no advertisements on TV, no specials at the pubs, no decorations in the store. I guess the English don't like the Irish much. Or I guess I've discovered that Americans will find any excuse to have a party!!!!

The Power of Books

For all my life I have not been a huge book reader. Whether I haven't made the time or that I find they make me sleepy or maybe I feel like I have to go back and read something over and over again because I don't really read into what the words mean. During my training days at GROWMARK, I read lots of great books about improving customer service skills, sales skills, supervising skills and I could relate them to helping others and I would put my heart and soul into developing a great training program for my "customers." Throughout my schooling from elementary through college, teachers seemed to make us read a lot of crazy books like Tale of Two Cities, The Piano, The Scarlet Letter, Bridge to Terabithia and amazingly these are the books that I ended up loving and have copies in my "library" still today. Addison has really started to like pop up books...well at least the ones that you lift up a tab or pull out something to reveal a hidden animal. Needless to say no matter how deep I bury them in the stack, she pulls out the same ones every time and she carries them to Kevin or myself and we can't help but read them to her 3 times each.

Well I want to tell you about a few books that I have read or am starting to read. It seems that I have lots of time on my hands while being a full time mom and wife and I've been searching on how to be the best I can be as both. I was invited to be part of a Christian book club with some of the greatest women I have ever met and they have introduced me to some great books. The first book is called Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow. This book focused on becoming the woman, wife and mother you've longed to be and focuses on showing women on how to become more like the wise woman portrayed in Proverbs 31. She is the ultimate woman that God wants us to strive to become over our lifetime. I think the greatest gift this book gave me was the chance to really focus on different thoughts and doubts I've had about myself and get me reconnected with God, my husband, and my child. I felt I used to be so very strong in my faith when I accepted Christ as a fifth grader back at East Iowa Bible Camp. I was on fire!!! The over the years as my life got busier, God was there but I wasn't talking with Him as much as I used to. I'm on a quest to become a better follower which I know wil fill my life with the answers I need to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend and more. I want to start sharing with you through this amazing blog tool all the amazing things I learn so that I may be able to touch you all with the knowledge of some of God's great gifts as well.

Our next book for book club is called "Lies Women Believe and the Truths That Sets Them Free." We start discussing this book in April and continue through July so every two weeks I should have updates on what I've learned. If any of you out there want to start reading the book too and discuss thoughts via email I would love to do that. It has a companion guide that we will be filling out.

We Went to the Ball

Saturday night Kevin and I went with our good friends, Danny and Min and Simon and Sarah to the Diamond Ball. It was a fundraiser to support the Glinton/Peakirk primary school. Since it was a black tie event all the guys had to dress up in tuxes and the ladies wore evening gowns. It was an amazing event and like nothing I've ever been to. We were presented glasses of wine (I got orange juice of course) and the ladies got roses when we walked in. We had a three course meal and participated in various fundraising activities all throughout the night. A highlight for me was getting to see my first celebrity, Mr. Warwick Davis!!! He's starred in movies like Willow, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the new Chronicles of Narnia. Granted I've seen many politicians (George W and Al Gore during the elections when they were both on ISU campus), but I've never met a movie star. I was definitely star struck all evening and finally gained up a enough nerve to ask him to pose in a picture with me.

Kevin and I had such a wonderful time with our friends. Several times throughout the evening we looked at each other and said in amazement that we couldn't believe that we were here dancing to club music at a ball in England!!! We had so much fun, but of course had a sticker shock at the end of the evening after we figured how much money we spent (converting to US dollars still sucks), but it was all worth the experience and to help out the school that Addie may get to go to if we are here long enough was great. The school did raise over 3000 GBP to purchase the sound system they wanted for their weekly school assemblies so that was awesome.

My Chica, Norma, Visits

I got one of the most wonderful surprises this week...one of my closest friends, Norma Aldinger was coming to the UK on business. You see Norma and I go way back to our college days when we interned together at Becker-Underwood and then she talked me into joining NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association). She even tried setting me up on an interview with CAT, but I foolish and didn't do it because I had already accepted my dream job as a chemical rep with Dow Agro...I often wonder what life would have been like if I would have head down that path instead. But life has turned out great they way things transpired and through it all Norma and I have been great friends. Our phone conversations always start with "Hey, Chica!" (Norma did a semester in Spain while at IA State). Norma has done lots of moving and traveling with CAT but over they years we've stayed in touch and gotten to hook up when she would come back to Peoria, but it was sooooo cool that she was going to be in the UK of all things and even though it was for a day, we made the most of it.

Addison and I packed up after the ISE tea on Tuesday and drove the 1 1/2 hours to Leischester (pron - Lester) to meet up with Norma at her hotel. Now the drive to Leischester is beautiful but as for the actual city itself I wasn't too impressed so for any of you coming on a visit you can pass around this place. Anyway I got to spend 2 1/2 hours visiting with Norma and we caught up on stories about our hubbies, our children (we each have little girls), and how we were both adapting to our new homes...she recently moved from Nashville to North Carolina. We could have talked forever but we had a haul of a drive to get home through evening rush hour and some icky snow/sleet weather. A colleague of hers is trying to get her to come back over for a meeting in April so I'm hoping we get to hook up again.

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff Come to England

This past week we thoroughly enjoyed a visit from my mom and dad. Since neither of them have ventured too far away from the Mid-West most of their lives they had a wonderful and eventful international experience. It was such a great moment to see them come through the doors at the airport...they were really here. For the next week it was such a joy to re-live the excitement of being in a new place through them. Of course the first night they were wiped out and I felt so bad waking them up to eat dinner (their lunch). On Sunday we went to Cambridge and ate a lovely Sunday roast meal at The Anchor (famous pub claiming to be the starting point of the group Pink Floyd). Following lunch we went punting on the Cam (River). We got a great deal on a chauffeured ride that I would recommend to everyone to do. The trip brought us through all of the colleges at Cambridge University and our guide told us great stories about the history of the city, the colleges and the extra "goodies."

Monday we stayed close to home and did a walking tour to Glinton and spent some time out on the public footpaths that wind all throughout the English country side. It was fun watching mom take pictures of houses and hedges and cars...everything that has been so ordinary to me is so new to them.

On Tuesday we did a whirlwind tour of Peterborough. I brought them to village south of Peterborough call Fotheringhey which is home of the famous church where Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded (she was one of Henry VIII's wives). We then headed into Peterborough city centre where we had a lovely lunch at the new Pizza Express (one of my favorite places to eat). I wanted to expand mom and dad's horizons on different types of pizza toppings. Mom got a pizza with artichokes and asparagus on it and dad got one with lots of spice and red peppers and I got my favorite Pollo Con Astra (pulled chicken with sweet onions and peppers). Then we headed to the Peterborough City Market where mom and dad had an eye opening experience with lots of different people and lots of things. We then visited the Peterborough Cathedral...another must see!!! Admission is free but you can pay 2 pounds for a "photography permit" so you can take pictures inside. Mom and I learned about Catherine of Aragon who is buried at the cathedral (another late wife of Henry VIII) and dad was fascinated about how they constructed the building. I cut our tour a bit short because I only paid for 4 hours of parking and we had to high tail it back so I didn't get a ticket. Good thing we left when we did because as we got close to the car park I saw the parking office walking down our row and then move to the rear of my car to get my registration. I took off running proclaiming that I was back and going to be leaving...not the kind of exercise I wanted that day.

Wednesday we headed down to London on the train which was a big thrill for mom and dad. Once we got to London, we hit the Underground they got another taste of awesome public transportation options we have in England. Afterwards I found out that my dad was a little leery of the Underground at first because I kept bringing him down deeper underground and he was worried about the electricity going off or something. We got off the Piccadilly line at Piccadilly Circus (London's "Time Square" per say) and then head straight towards St. James' Park to get us to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. We got there just after the band started heading down the road so we sent my mom running after them to take pictures. Dad watched her like a hawk and I just giggled watching her trying to fight through the crowd. We then went to get our pictures taken with the guards that stand outside St. James Palace (where Price Charles lives). We made our way to Parliament Square to take pictures of Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey the quickly rushed off over the bridge on our way to ride the London Eye. We did a quick lunch at McD's where dad just handed me some cash and said, "Uh, can you just order and pay for it." I thought it was pretty funny because he seemed afraid to spend money because he was afraid they were going to give him the right change back. They both were pretty fascinated by the coins and the notes we use here and tried really hard to learn all the coin pieces. Addie let loose in the Eye and ran laps around everyone in our pod. We then checked out all the street entertainers and got our pictures taken with all of them. Finally we made our way to Tower Bridge before we rushed back to King's Cross Station to catch our train home.

Thursday Addie and I needed to catch up on some sleep, so while we slumbered Mom and Dad went on a walk back through Glinton and checked out the butcher shop. They wanted to pick something up for us to try and they settled on sausages, they didn't know what kind they were getting but they weren't the little ones. That afternoon we headed back to Peterborough's city centre for a farmer's market where I bought some lovely crumble pies and mom and dad bought "Millionaire's Shortbread" - they have a thing for shortbread.

Friday Kevin took the day off and we all headed to Stamford for the weekly market. Mom and Dad really found the markets to be the funnest things to do. Dad got into an in depth conversation with farmer who raised red deer...my dad is an avid outdoorsman and has been fascinated with the fact that bow hunting is outlawed in all of England. Friday night we all went over to Danny and Min's house for some "real" Chinese food and it was absolutely amazing. My dad said this was one of the most wonderful parts of their trip. Mom and Dad both thought Danny and Min's hospitality was so gracious and they loved learning about English culture from Sarah (our lovely English neighbor). I think it was great for them both to get exposed to other cultures in a more intimate setting and I think the evening left a real impression on them both.

Saturday we ventured off to Lincoln - Kevin and I have found this to one of our favorite places to go shopping. We checked out some fun little shops and ate at a cute little place where we taught mom and dad how to eat fish and chips the "English way" - fork in left and knife in right. Since it was pretty chilly and windy I thought it would be fun to put Addie in the camo snow suit that Mom and Dad gave her for Christmas. She was sooo cute. That night we went to the Coucko for dinner so Mom and Dad could enjoy one last "English" meal. Dad ordered Addison a big bowl of ice cream for dinner...I guess grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren.

Sunday was a tough day, since we had to drive Mom and Dad to the airport.

The Great Quake of '08

Yes, folks if you haven't already heard on the telly, we experienced our first earthquake. At 12:55 AM today I awoke to feel the house rumbling. Kevin and I both jumped up wondering what the heck was going on. We went to check on Addie and my folks who were visiting from the States and all seemed fine. Then we started checking out our windows to see what we could see. Gradually we saw lights turning on in people's windows so we figured we weren't the only ones to think something was going on. It was hard to know what it could be that would rock your house like that...a large lorrey truck driving by (but we live on a dead end), a bomb going off (but I didn't hear a boom), then I thought earthquake (but really could it be). We went back to bed but curiousity kept me awake for the longest time, I couldn't wait to turn on the TV the next morning to see what had happened.

Sure enough the first story I see on the local news was a 5.2 magnitude quake struck in a small town in the Lincolnshire which is the county north of us - so the epicenter was about an hour and half drive north of us. The whole event lasted about 10 seconds they say, but strong shaking could be felt all the way in London and Wales and into Scotland and weak tremors into Belgium and the Netherlands. Not much damage done (mostly old chimneys fallen down off houses) or injuries to people but this was the first quake in 25 years to hit the UK at this magnitude. What I really found funny about the whole thing was that when they talked to people calling into the radio stations and reading emails from people...a lot of them were awake that late and watching TV or out on the town...on a Monday night/Tuesday AM.

The whole incident was actually pretty cool to experience and it definitely something going in Addie's baby book.

Conjucta-What???

Well today I brought dear Addison to the GP because for the past few days she's had this awful icky goop coming out of her eyes. The doctor said she has conjuctavitis which is an infection in the eye. I had never heard of such a thing but I guess it's pretty common and contagious in children. We picked up some eye drops at the chemist (which didn't cost a dime because prescriptions for children are free). I guess I can tell you that a one year old who doesn't want something dropped in her eyes can develop the strength of 10 men in about 2.2 seconds. It's the most horrifying thing to have to wrestle your child and pin their arms down and hold their head while trying to pry open their eyes....and I have to do this 4 times a day for a week...yikes.

Day in Lincoln

This weekend we decided to venture off to Lincoln. Lincoln is pretty well known for the amazing Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Castle and shopping on Steep Hill Street. It's about an hour and 15 minute drive to Lincoln and the views are beautiful mainly because you can actually see out beyond the road most of the time since the hedges aren't in the way. Along the way we pass one of the RAF (Royal Airforce) bases which is home to lots of the jets and planes we hear fly overhead on most days.

We mosied in many different shops some quaint and small speciality shops and we checked out some of the modern stores like Dorothy Perkins, M&S, and Bhs. There is a beautiful canal that runs through the city centre and I love the sculpture that towers above because it looks like two angels. After picking up some new work shirts for Kevin we indulged at one of our favorite restaraunts - Pizza Express - an amazing brick oven pizzaria.

We ended up our day by touring the Lincoln Cathedral. We caught one of tour guides, but it was hard to catch most of what she was saying because the organ was playing in the background and Kevin and I had to take turns chasing after Addison since we let her out of the stroller (she'd been couped up in it for hours). Of what I did catch, the cathedral took over 90 years to build what it is today. I thought hard about that fact and was in awe how not one person was probably able to see this project from start to finish in their lifetime. It took generations of artisans and workers to put together such an amazing building that has withstood the test of time. Also because so many people had worked on it, there are a lot of mistakes that were made. The ceiling peaks don't match up in each of the different stages that were built. Also the columns on the right had side as you walk in are longer because they built the bases on the pillars shorter than the ones on the left. You'll have to catch the whole tour to learn more.

One other neat fact we learned was that the DaVinci Code was filmed in Lincoln Cathedral. The gal explained to us that sets were built up inside Lincoln to make it look like Westminster Abbey. No filming can ever be done in Westminster because they always have to have it available in case the Queen or other royal family members die and a funeral needs to be held. Pretty interesting, huh?

Valentine's Day

For as long as I can remember, my mother has made Valentine's Day very special. She used to make heart shaped meatloaf, pink mashed potatoes, heartshaped chocolate cake, and have loads of V-Day candy and presents waiting for us when we got home from school. Well, this is a tradition I have been trying to carryon ever since Kevin and I have been together and this year was no different. Kevin and I actually went out to eat on our first date by ourselves the night before Valentine's Day and a wonderful restaraunt called Loch Fyne. It is well known for the seafood that is flown in from Scotland that is caught the day before. We had a very nice evening and we caught a glimpse again of what it was like BA (before Addison).

On Valentine's Day, Addison and I made Kevin cheesecake (his favorite) and spegetti (Italitan food of love - you've all seen Lady and the Tramp when they share the plate of pasta). I had also smuggled in 4 different bags of V-Day candy that I purchased from the States when we were home for Christmas (I guess that's an advantage of commercializing holidays - to have products out 3 months before the actual holiday). Addison made Kevin a very cute card and Kevin suprised us with a beautiful bright pink mum flower for us to plant out in our garden when it gets warmer.

What really hit us is that this was now Addison's second Valentine's Day...wow...where has the time gone. Last year she was only a couple of weeks old on V-Day.

First Prenatal Visits

Well I've gotten through the first round of prenatal visits. On Thursday I went to visit with Ann my community midwife, now, she won't actually be the one delivering our little one but she'll be my main contact for care. We took about 45 minutes to go through about 20 pages of paperwork. One of the big differences over here is that you personally keep your preganancy "notes" (or files) which I think is pretty scary since during pregnancy your mind goes a little crazy, I'm totally afraid that I'll misplace them. Ann is pretty cool and she also worked with Stacey and Marti (the two other ISEs who recently had babies over here).

On Tuesday, Kevin went with me to the Peterborough hospital to get my 12 week scan (ultrasound). The first thing that alarmed me was that you had to pay to park - 2 GBP for the first hour - 10 pounds for 24 hours (that was the maximum time on the meter) and the car park was very small. When my friend Stacey went into labour it took her husband almost an hour to finally find a place to park...I could see why. As Kevin and I walked in to the maternity ward there was a woman walking out in her bathrobe and slippers followed by her husband and a brand spanking new baby....probably only a few hours old on their way home.

As we waited in the holding area it hit me on how worldly of a place I was actually in. There were all sorts of people there waiting to see a little glimpse of their new little life. Some of them needed translators, some of them were like us and didn't understand all the "English" terms and had to ask the receptionist for help. We finally got called back into our room where a technicial did the ultrasound and showed us up on the TV screen our fully formed little baby. After doing some measurements she determined that I was actually a little further along so she bumped up my due date to August 22nd. In the States, when I had ultrasounds with Addison they printed off about 6 pictures each time and sent me on my way. Here they print out your pictures, but you are to pay for them. You get your scan pictures and then before you check out you put 4 GBP in a vending machine to get a stamp to show as a reciept that you paid for them. Our technician didn't charge us for ours because she said the baby wasn't in a very good position...we were gracious but thought the pictures looked wonderful.

We're Having Another Baby!!!!

Yes, Baby Dea #2 is on its way...wow, I'm so glad we can start telling people. While we were hoping to start trying for our second little one this summer, we are very happy about our little surprise. Honestly I had no idea that anything was out of the ordinary until we got back to the States for Christmas break. I thought it was a bit weird that after a week I wasn't getting over the jet lag and I was soooo tired and zonking out at 7PM every night. Just before New Year's I starting feeling kind of icky at night but I figured it was the traveling, but on New Year's Eve I had no appetite for all the wonderful goodies and I had a strong feeling it wasn't the flu. The thought of being pregnant again was not something I thought I would have to be worrying about yet. On New Year's Day, I made Kevin stop so we could buy a pregnancy test. I never got to use one with Addie so I was kind of naive on which one to buy. Well I tried using one that afternoon and I didn't work, so I had to wait until the next day. The next morning I hopped out of bed, did my thing, and came back to tell my hubby that we were going to have another baby. We just laid their gleaming but both of us were filled with fears of the uncertainty of having a baby abroad. Since we were in the States and on our way back to Peoria, I got to visit my OB/GYN office and get a sonogram to find out how far along we were...6 weeks and 4 days...so we are due August 28th !!! I have to aplogize to our all of our friends back in the States who we got to see and couldn't say anything. Needless to say this pregancy has been much different than Addie's so far. I was sick (not just poorly), but throwing up several times a day for about 4 weeks straight. Either I'm having a boy or this is the most awnry little girl to make me feel so icky. It was really tough heading back to the UK knowing we probably weren't going back to the States for a whole year and that I wouldn't be able to go back when my sister has her baby at the beginning of August. When we got back life was miserable for about 2 weeks since I was so sick and couldn't find the "home remedies" that I used back in the States the first time around. I felt so bad for Kevin and Addie, but we got through it and mommy is starting to feel better. I went to see my general practitioner and he sent through the referral to the Peterborough Maternity Ward to start "the process." He said it would most likely be a "forte night" before I heard from the hospital and the midwife community. I found out later that a "forte night" is two weeks and I wouldn't be getting a phone call, oh no, just a letter in the post (mail). The nerves really starting kicking in because I just felt lost. But now that we've been able to start telling others, I've been getting some reassuring news from the two gals who just had babies here that everything will be okay. I'll be keeping you updated as I have my first midwife visit on Thursday and 12 week scan on Tuesday the 12th.

Addison's 1st Birthday

Well the day finally got her that my little baby turned 1 year old. Some may ask, "Does it make you sad that your little baby is a whole year old?" Really I don't know if I've had time to feel sad. We've been having a blast with all the new things going on with her. She started walking about three weeks ago and I thought it would be great to have her be able to get around more on her own, but she's more work than before. I spend half of my day picking up after her "explorations."

Well her birthday was lovely. We had 11 of her friends over on Thursday for a party and it was a blast having the house full of kiddies. I made homemade white cupcakes (you can't buy anything other than chocolate cake mix here) and got them all decorated up. Funny thing was that I got to use the No. 1 candle that I got for my one year anniversary at GROWMARK (someone be sure to thank Ann Hastings for me)!!! Addison got lots of great new toys, books, and outfits. Funny thing about toys...when we first moved here Addison had nothing for toys and now our house looks like a mini Toys R Us.

On Sunday we had our friends/neighbors over for dinner and cake and ice cream. It's always a joy to have our British lessons from Sarah. Some of you thought I used some funny terms when I came home for Christmas but she is transforming me and toning down my American language. It's all fun!!! I made Addison a chocolate cake for this day and watching her eat it was the funniest and cutest thing ever.

Meeting Santa

How funny is this that we had to travel all the way from England to Marengo, Iowa for Addison to get to meet Santa Claus. He is a mysterious fellow and he was running around some of the malls in Peterborough and even came to the Glinton Village Hall but we waited until Grandma Sue could come with and take pictures. Addison enjoyed her visit quite well and she told Santa and Mrs. Claus her deepest Christmas wishes in her special "baby" language which only Santa could understand.

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Holi"deas"!!!

Instead of sending out Christmas cards this year we thought we would get a little creative since we've been on this technology kick to communicate with everyone. Since most of you have been staying up to date with us on our blog we'll just recap some of the amazing things that have happened in 2007. Also for fun, click on the video to see a pictoral of our year in review after you read this entry.

Obviously the greatest thing that happened to us was the birth of our little girl Addison Marie. Everyone told us that our lives would change when we became parents. They were right and it's all been great. Every day she amazes us with her funny and tender looks, new things she gets into, and her unconditional love for us with those death-grip hugs.

About two weeks after Addison was born and things were becoming right with the world, everything got turned upside down when we got offered an overseas assignment through CAT in Peterborough, England. Obviously our families weren't too keen on us moving Addison away so soon, but it was an opportunity of a lifetime that we couldn't turn down. I "retired" from GROWMARK and took on the profession as child careprovider, domestic engineer, cook, travel agent and communications specialist. It was definitely tough to leave my "family" at GROWMARK, but I've enjoyed every minute of being at home with Addison. Who ever coined the phrase "stay-at-home-mom" hasn't met the modern day women because Addie and I stay so busy that I need a special calendar to keep track of things. We've met some amazing people who have made our time in the UK unbelieveable.

Kevin is staying very busy with his new job in the Perkins organization. After a few twists and turns, he's settled into a new position, taking on a team leader role which should be some great experience for him. His hours are pretty interesting...he doesn't have to be to work until 8:30 AM, but he doesn't get home until about 6:30PM. Even though he still works 50+ hours a week, I think the more laid back culture of the UK has done us both some good. I do think that having Addison to come home to has been the best cure for Kevin on those stressful days.

Lots of traveling...we've done a weekend in London, a week in the Canary Islands and several day trips to Belvoir Castle, Warwick Castle, Nottingham, and Lincoln. I even got to do a girls weekend in London to shop and watch "Hairspray." We look forward to doing more traveling next year. Other cool things that happened were that my brother Casey graduated from Iowa State, my sister and Heath got married, and Brad and Jaye Geater came to visit us in the UK and suprised us with their wedding abroad.

Keep posted with our future 2008 adventures by checking out our blog. Also you are all welcome to come visit the Dea B&B free of charge anytime you want...let us know when you want to come over.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

"Home" for the Holidays!!!

Well our adventure started at 4:30 AM UK time (so about 10:30PM on Friday Central time). Obviously I couldn't sleep the night before but the "Velvet Hammers" that our neighbors served us for our Christmas dinner the night before helped a little bit. Anyway our driver, Karen, picked us up at the house around 5:45 AM and we made our way down to Heathrow.

Kevin and I were wondering how things would go on our trip home but we found that traveling with an infant definitely has it's advantages and disadvantages...we hit a lot of advantages. We got fast tracked through security at Heathrow and they bumped us up the the bulkhead seats on the plane - awesome. The stewardesses were very friendly, but sometimes they tried getting Addie's attention when we were trying to get her to sleep. Addie was pretty well behaved on the plane except she's at the stage that she wants to crawl around instead of sit for 9 hours. We got into Chicago okay, but we had only 1 hour to catch our flight to Cedar Rapids. We finally had someone fast track us through dropping off our luggage after US Customs because we had a baby - another YES!!!. After rushing to the train we headed to security, but along the way we saw what we feared...our flight was cancelled!!!! I instantly started crying...and was sobbing to the ticket agent who let us cut ahead in line (again because we had a baby). We found out that there were no seats for us on any flights later that night, so we were forced to stay over night in Chicago. Funny thing is that we ended up by accident at the same hotel Kevin and I stayed at when our flight to England was cancelled in June. As we waited for our shuttle, we got a Vienna hot dog from a vendor and it was the best hot dog we've had ever!!! Our luggage got sent on to Iowa on the 9:30PM flight so we only had the bags on our backs and the clothes on our bodies. Fortunately I packed a pair of Addie's PJs in my back pack and the airline did give us baby food, diapers, and formula so that was a help. Another blessing was that CAT hadn't turned off Kevin's work cell phone so we could communicate with family. We crashed in the hotel around 6:30 PM (12:30 AM our body clock time). We woke up at 2:30 AM ready for our day's adventure because we were still adjusting to the time change. We played with Addie and watched TV until we had to head to the airport again. We finally got to Cedar Rapids and had my family awaiting us which was so amazing to see them. We were very fortunate that we could get a hotel room and could get home the next morning, because lots of flights from Chicago were cancelled and people were stuck at the airport.

We finally got to mom and dad's to be amazed by white snow and beautiful Christmas decorations. Dad started up a fire and I sat in front of the fireplace and admired being in their warm log cabin for the holidays.

You Know...It's the Little Things

For fun, I took a half hour today while Addison was sleeping and I just flipped through the channels to see what was on the old tube and came across ER. Suprisingly it was an episode from just last year (most episodes of US shows seem to be several years old) so I caught up on a show I missed. An amazing thing that occured to me as I watched for a 1/2 hour was that I forgot for a moment that I was in England. I felt like I was back home on a Thursday night hanging out and I was truly at peace. It's not at all that I am unhappy here, I love it, but there are certain "little things" that calm the heart and make you feel normal or at least make where you are start to feel normal. Later today we went to the grocery store and every trip still can be a struggle when you are trying to find what you are used to and you just want to find what you want instead of trying to figure out what is a good alternative. The little thing that brought me to peace again was finding cans of Campbell's brand Cream of Mushroom Soup. Later on yet during Addison's nap I sat in the conservatory and looked out on my super green grass and noticed that it needs mowing very badly. Then it occured to me that it is the 6th of December and I was depressed and longed for snow. I put in a tape of Christmas shows I recorded last year...the Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...as every commercial came on or weather update by the local Peoria news people...for those few moments I was back in my house in Washington. We leave for America in nine days and I am overly excited to head back "home" to where I dream it will be "normal", but I am sure things will be great, but most definitely different. I'm sure when we are home that I will have to check the internet to see who wins X Factor (UK's American Idol), I'll have to email my friends from the UK to check in to see how things are going, I'll feel odd not having to drive on the left side of the road and zip around round abouts. Anyway, its always the little things that count and make life interesting...and we should cherish them all.

A Night Out with the Mums

Tonight I went out with a few of the gals I had met at the Glinton Mum and Toddler group. We went to see the "Vagina Monologues" at the local theater in Peterborough. Since this is a "family friendly" blog, I won't get into the details of what the show is about. Althought I will say that I learned a lot more about my womenhood and they brought up things that I am too shy to even talk about with my husband. I would have to say it was the funniest and most brutally honest show I have ever seen. There were some serious parts, but I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. The interesting bits were the conversations we had afterwards on the way to the car. Most of us agreed that it would have been a difficult show to watch with our husbands, but I think Kevin may have gotten a kick out of parts of it. Also we noticed that a the few groups of older women and husband/wife couples didn't return to there seats behind us for the second half of the show - a bit to raunchy for them I guess. As an American, I guess I wasn't shocked by the crudeness of the show or the boisterousness of the actresses, but I have heard that most British are very conservative and it may have been a stretch to feel comfortable during the show. It was very empowering though to be in a theatre surrounded by other women who were laughing, giggling and enjoying the poking of fun about ourselves on a topic we probably would have never thought much about. Afterwards I joined the "mums" at the pub to unwind. I was a good girl and only had a still water with 2 ice cubes. It was great being with them and just listening to their stories. I was so tired from being up with Addison at 5AM, that at 11:30PM it was difficult at times to understand what they were saying because their accents were really throwing me for a loop. For a moment I sat in awe and felt blessed that I got to experience where I was and who I was with...it was all a bit surreal. I am truly looking forward to future nights out with the "mums" and making wonderful friendships with them.