Chia Obama....I'm serious!!!

I saw this advert on TV and thought it was a joke at first but they were really serious in saying that you could show your patriotism by buying the "Chia" Obama!!!!  Never have I seen such a thing in my lifetime and they started commercializing Obama like this even before he was president.  I checked out the website and you can order the "happy" or "determined" busts of the 44th President of the United States and on the side of it reads "Yes, we can."  Right now you can buy two Obama Chias for a bargain price of $19.99 + shipping and handling and celebrate the CHANGE in your own house they claim.  I tell you America....soon enough it's going to cost you a lot more than 20 bucks and you'll be able to "celebrate" CHANGE in your household courtesy of your President Obama and you won't get a nice little clay head that grows goofy sprouts on it.

Having Fun with Mama and Papa

A few pictures of my parents with their grand kids....

Time for a story

Addison gives Grandpa Jeff blue frosting kisses from those wonderful sugar cookies that are half cookie half frosting...

Bo and Harrison looking cute...

Helping Grandma load the dishwasher...

Addison found the life jackets that my dad got for the kids so they could ride in the boat.  She just wanted to wear it around the yard.  She was so excited to find a little frog friend in mom's garden.

Addie's First Dentist Visit

As I was getting to have my "6 month" check up with the dentist on this trip home (I got to go in at Christmas time so this was a treat), I had mom schedule an appointment for Addison as well.  I wasn't sure how soon you are really supposed to get them in but our health visitor in the UK recommended to do it soon so Addison would get used to going.

Since it was a bit scary for the first time, Addison got to sit on my lap as Dr. Demro looked at her teeth to see which ones had come in so far.  He said she has really good spacing in her teeth, a little tight in front, but should work out fine later on.
She sat at the little kid's table while I got my exam done waiting for Grandma to show up and hang out with her.  She wouldn't color at all though...she just stared at me in total wonder of what the hygienist was doing to me.

She was pretty excited afterwards though that she got a brand new toothbrush and a sticker that she could show off to Grandpa.

Catching Up with Amity and Cousins Rumble

Since this was a pretty short trip back to the States, the kids and I weren't planning to be back in Illinois which is kind of tough when we want to see all of our friends along with family in Iowa. But this morning I got the best of both worlds,  I picked up my sister and Bo and we all drove to Iowa City where I got to meet up with my dear friend Amity.  I unfortunately forgot my camera so I could take a pic of me and my buddy, but she did happen to capture a merry-go-round picture of me and Addison.  We got to visit for about 3 hours or so while we walked about the mall and had to cut things short since we had three tired and cranky kiddos.  It was so great to catch up with her even if it was for a short time.  It's great to have someone you can just pick right back up with even after not seeing each other for a long time.

The kids were pretty tired and when we got back to Crystal's this was the scene we had.  We let the sleeping beauties rest while Crystal packed a bag for Bo.  You see it was her and Heath's 2 year wedding anniversary and my gift to them was to babysit the little one while they got to go out.  Last year they didn't get to do anything for their one year anniversary because Bo was still in the hospital. 

That night at mom and dad's a huge thunderstorm came through and it was blowin', and rainin' like there was no tomorrow.  Right after Addie took this picture out on the back porch the wind REALLY picked up and the rain was coming down sideways.  In England, we get a lot of rain but in little amounts over a long period of time.  In Iowa, it seems that we get loads of rain in a short amount of time.  In this rain along I think we got about 1 1/2 inches in about an hour.

The weather wasn't the only thing that was rumbling in the house.  The counsins were having a ball again and at these ages you really can't get them to sit still.  They were much more interested in motoring around than sitting on Grandma and Grandpa's laps.

Play Date at Crystal Jo's

It was a nice hot July day in Iowa and we went to my sister's house for a little pool party play date. Crystal and Heath live in this amazing house in your typical American, mid-western suburb which gave me the itch to have that all back again. I think it was mostly the fact that I was getting to hang out with my mom and sister on a weekday and the cousins all got to play with each other and we got to just have fun together.

Addison loves to swim in any type of pool and I brought her little Fifi Flowertot arm bands all the way from the UK which of course you don't need in 5 inches of water but it got her so excited. She also got to float in Bo's little boat (again in only 5 inches of water) but it was great!

These two little boys are two peas in a pod and are so cute together. They seemed to do really well with each other today. I think Bo was feeling more confident being on his home turf.

Okay, I knew we were in America once I took a look in my sister's fridge and saw the quadruple sized Hershey's syrup bottle, the quadruple sized Miracle Whip container and the huge thing of lemon juice. I wish I could have shown you all the things in her pantry because they love to shop at Sam's!!!

Addison is in high heaven getting to play with new toys and explore a new house. I think her and Harrison are just beyond themselves with all the room they have and how open all the houses are that they keep getting to visit.

One challenge we keep running into with two little boys wanting to eat at the same time is high chair space. For lunch today we attempted to get Harrison to sit in the Bumbo with a tray and that worked pretty good until some of Harry's lunch fell on the ground and when he would go lean for it he about tipped himself over. I remember when I would go pick Addie up from daycare and they would have her sitting it one of these...she was so cute! I always wanted to buy one but couldn't swallow the $40 price tag on them for such a short amount of time they use them when a Boppy works just as well.

Harrison seemed to like Bo's toys as well. He climbed right on top of this bad boy and started squealing. We had a total blast and Crystal's house.

Celebrations....of all sorts!

We celebrated lots of things while being back home in the States.  One thing Kevin and I always get excited about is good old Midwestern American BEEF!!!  I'm not a huge beef eater but when I do have it, it is great to have the corn-fed good stuff and that's what Grandma served up for the "day after the 4th" meal!!!  So of course I had to take a picture.

Like I've said before...food is a huge center piece for our Schafbuch family get togethers so I captured a picture of our "leftovers" from the 4th of July meal that we snacked on the day after as well.

We celebrated a lot the fact that we got to spend time with my nephew.  Harry and Bo, both having a little more rest, were really having fun playing with each other.  Harrison had this crazy obsession with pulling out Bo's pacifier all day which Bo didn't really like much and Harrison doesn't like pacifiers, but it was something new I guess.  There is about 2 1/2 months difference in age between the two of them but you can't quite tell by there size since Harry is quite a chunk. But little Bo is walking circles around his younger cousin.

Bo had just turned one a few weeks before we arrived so of course we wanted to celebrate this joyous day.  We brought back a few fun gifts like a pair of cute green snake wellies, a jungle puzzle and a little British Mini-Cooper car.  Addison of course helped him open his gifts and claimed it was her birthday party.

My sister's birthday was also a few weeks ago and I was so excited to give her the cookbooks.  She as you can tell was also very excited to receive them.  I had gone through the books and put little post-it notes next to all the recipes that I have tried before or thought would taste good as English and American taste buds are a bit different.  I also had to put together a conversion sheet to help her figure grams into cups and tablespoons since it's not common practice to have a food scale in an American kitchen.  Also I picked up a set of the same conversion magnets I bought when I first moved to the UK that converts the Celcius to Fahrenheit.

One of the biggest celebrations we were back for was my cousin Whitney's wedding and since we were all back for the 4th we had a little family bridal shower for her.  She has grown up so much and I really felt old because I remember when she was a baby.  I also brought Whitney the Delia Smith "How to Cook" book and conversion goodies because I thought it would be cool to give her a little taste of Britian to bring into her new marriage.  Nothing brings a smile to a new grooms face like a good meal in his tummy!!!

Fourth of July Fun

We made our way back to the grand old United States of America to celebrate her birthday this year.  Our flights home went really well and since their weren't any hitches at all along the way, we did a lot of waiting.  But the wait was all worth it when we finally got off the plane in Cedar Rapids to see my mom and dad waiting for us.  We made it back to Marengo as the 3rd of July parade started but with signs of rain coming and us being totally exhausted we headed home.

  

The next morning my sister and brother were both at the house to see us and Addie got all cuddled up with them and Grandpa Jeff.

My nephew, Bo, has grown up sooooo much and is walking all over the place.  Harry and Addison loved getting to play with Bo in person versus just seeing him on Skype.  I don't think he was quite ready for all the attention from my two youngsters, but he got warmed up to them later that day.  

We went over to my Grandma Lynn's house for a big cookout and family get together so it felt like Christmas in July without the presents and we had rain instead of snow.  We are usually lounging around in lawn chairs but this year the cousins hung out in Grandma's living room.

I brought a little bit of British to our US celebration by making my favorite Eton Mess with a red, white, and blue flair.  Funny thing was that our local grocery store didn't sell merangie nests so I had to make them from scratch and they got done with seconds to spare before dinner.  Now in England all desserts get set out and eaten after dinner and this is something I had gotten accustomed to, but I forgot I was back in America and especially in "Schafbuchland" at our family gathers that all foods sweet and savory got put out at the same time.

Harrison loved getting to play with his Uncle Casey and it is amazing on how much these too look like each other...we hope they turn out a lot like eat other personality wise as well.  What a bunch of sweet hearts!

Addison was really digging all the sweeties and goodies at Grandma's house.  Grandpa Jeff didn't mind at all having her get her grubbly little fingers all over him either.

Here are my two boys...so serious looking!  I think they could both use a nap.

Addison was full of smiles all day!

One family tradition on the 4th is playing the bean bag game.  Since it rained they moved the tournament inside.  Kevin set up brackets and had teams broke out in the matter of minutes...my dad was so impressed.  Addison and Aubrey were showing the boys some new techniques.

The competition drew quite a crowd of spectators' in Grandpa's shed and his old Farmall M was a great seat for the show.

Bo cuddled up with my mom a lot.  She and my dad help watch Bo on the weekends when my sister and brother-in-law both work weekend packages at the hospital.  They have such a great bond with him and I'm glad they get to spend so much time with him.  He is such a cutie-patutie!!!

I so remember when Aubrey was Addie's age.  She was the youngest cousin and still is in my generation, but now we've got three little ones that seem to grab everyone's attention.  Addison loved following Aubrey around and I think Aubrey liked being the older one for once.  Bubbles have been a big entertainer for Addison and the two of them had a blast playing together.

First I want to thank my dad for letting me take this picture to illustrate to my British friends the meaning of "Farmer tan".  My dad is outside a lot and as you can see he wears ankle socks and developed a very distinctive tan line.  What is even funnier that is that he as another line from wearing these shoes and the base of his feet are even whiter than his ankles.  Love ya dad!!!

I love this picture of Addison with my Grandma Lynn.  I am blessed to part of such an amazing family and have my own family to pass on traditions, stories, and songs.

With us still being a bit jet lagged, my mom and I brought the kids back to the house before the fireworks show and we sat out on their deck to watch since they live just across the ravine from grandma.  My Uncle Kris lives in Wisconsin where fireworks are legal to buy and he brings them to Iowa where you can't buy them.  A few years ago they got a permit from the county so that we could shoot them off at Grandma's house and his been doing it ever since.  He and my dad have even built a rocket shooting platform for them.  I unfortunately kept dosing off during the spectacular light show so I had to  head off to bed.

Shopping in City Centre Peterborough

****Backdated blog entry from 1 July 2009****

This is a late post since I've been so busy lately but wanted you all to enjoy.

Today Min and I headed up to city centre to do some shopping ... completely unheard of for me but with a little companionship through it all I can manage it. My main goal was to head to Marks & Spencers to see if the pitcher that Sarah gave me for Christmas had any matching plates or bowls because I would like to build up a special dessert serving set. Marks and Spencer's (M&S) is a really nice place to shop...you get quality along with decent prices...kind of like Target in the State's. The funny thing about M&S in Peterborough is that they have their store broken up that all the men's and women's clothing is located in a building down in the pedestrian area with other shops and all the food, kids clothes, and home stuff in the Queensgate mall store.

I found the display with all the cute little bits that go along with my new pitcher but no plates or bowls. Guess we'll have to find something else...darn.

Wanted to take a few more pictures of what the food part of M&S was like. Strawberries are in prime season right now and everyone is on their strawberries and cream kick right now. Here is a whole case of strawberries and single cream (like our half and half in the States) all lined up pretty. Most grocery stores have a promotion right now that if you buy two strawberry packs you get the cream for free.

One other food that I have really come to like since moving here are quiches. I haven't attempted to make my own from scratch because the ones they sell in the stores are soooooo good that it hard to pass up buying 3 for 5GBP. I particularly like Quiche Lorraine and the Bacon and Cheese ones, but they also offer Garden Vegetable, Broccoli and Tomato, Cheese & Onion, and Bacon/Leek/Mushroom ones as well. I think most of the Brits eat them for lunch or supper but I feel like they are a breakfast food so that's when I make them.

M&S grocery is loaded up with tons of little speciality types of foods from all over the place. They are really well known for their pre-made meals, not the frozen kind that come from a factory, but made up fresh to look and sound very posh. You can get something like 2 plump roast breasts of chicken with sumptuous sausage and herb stuffing with buttered new potatoes and veg and a moltoness flowing chocolate filled cake with a bottle of wine for two for only 10GBP. Do you think their advertising works??? Ahh...Yeah!

The other shop that I love to go to which we stopped by today is Lakeland. It is a fun little kitchen shop with everything I think my kitchen needs.

I was looking for some plates and bowls to match my pitcher which I did find a few polka dot dishes, but what really caught my eye was this strawberries and cream dish...I thought "only in England." That wasn't my quest for the day so I passed but I must go back and get it some day.

I've also wanted to snap a picture of the view out of the car park at Queensgate mall. This road leads into one of the busiest round abouts in town and the entrance to the train station is just to the right of the car park across the street. What is so cool about most European cities is that the city centre is really the heart of the city where the majority of shops and activities are. What's great about Peterborough is that you can hop off the train and you have everything you need at your disposal.

This is just a random picture of my car parked in a parent/child spot but what is unique is that I actually backed into this spot. There is a crazy obsession over here to back into a parking space. I know the cars are small but the spaces are too. It is also much easier to get out of space if you are facing forward but backing into a spot versus just backing out into the lane seems to be much more logical. Don't know what to say though because I was really taught to pull through a parking space to be facing out forward.

Here is a picture looking into the car park. One thing to take note of us the very large pylons you see about every three cars. Okay...the prime parking spot is the middle one of the three because with the other two you essentially have to park your cars 6 inches away from these massage concrete structures to make sure you fit in the space. The thing is that if you need to let any passengers you have in the car out before you actually park because their is no way of opening up your door. Luckily they do have some parent/child parking spots that allow you space to get your kiddos out.