Christmas in July???

For the past few months Addison has been obsessed with playing out front of our house in the cul de sac where she picks up rocks out of the driveways and drops them down the street drains. Kevin and I felt that we needed to find other means of entertainment for our little one, so we started researching some outdoor toys for the back garden. We knew she loved slides because that's all she wants to play on when we go to the little park here in Glinton. We checked out the local stores, but we weren't quite sure what she would like. I brought her to Toys R Us to see how she interacted with the toy houses because I thought that every little girl needs a little play house, but with a little boy on the way dad was a little skeptical of a "little house." We decided to compromise and find a jungle gym or "climbing frame" as they are called in the UK. We looked to eBay as we did with our double stroller and found that there were lots of choices. We grew pretty fond of the Little Tykes 8-in-1 and thought it would be great for both kids to grow with. We got to bidding on this one at the same time as we were bidding on our stroller so it was a pretty crazy couple of hours.
Tonight Kevin and I headed down to Milton Keynes to pick it up. We borrowed our friends', Andy and Holli, mini van to go pick it up. The sellers were a little skeptical that it would all fit but I guess we proved them wrong because we got 11 out of the 12 pieces in the back and strapped one piece on top. We set it up right away when we got home and then got Addie from Danny and Min's house so she could check out her new toy. At first she was trying to figure out what it was but then she jumped right in. It felt like Christmas. I got out the camera and the camcorder and she had a ball. It was bedtime though so we had to cut things a little short, but I'm sure if it doesn't rain tomorrow we'll be outside playing all day.

My New Love...Online Grocery Shopping

I have been threatening to start buying my groceries online for the past couple of months now because it is so hard to bring Addie shopping at this age and be as far along pregnant as I am. I have no stomach muscles to push around those four wheel drive trollies. Several people I know have taken advantage of the online shopping services so I've heard wonderful things. Grocery shopping is kind of fun for me (when Addie is behaving) and it has been one of the ways I get out of the house so maybe that's why I've been so resistant so far. I have grown much wiser now and I after my first time I am now hooked...I am going to become an online shopping addict. It was so easy though and amazingly convenient. I heard that Tesco did the best job of picking out produce, so that is why I tried them out first.  Also previous purchases I've made in store were recorded on my "Clubcard" so they already had a list of items that I buy regularly. I first had to make up my regular shopping list to know what I needed, then I hopped on the laptop and started picking out items. I picked out a 2 hour time slot that was convenient for me and clicked ORDER.
On Thursday around 1 PM the Tesco truck pulled up to my house and a very nice gentleman unloaded my groceries for me right into the kitchen. In attempts to stay "green" I opted that they not have to put my groceries in bags, so I just unloaded everything out of the crates onto my kitchen table. The delivery man knew it was my first online order, so he went through the bill with me and let me know if I had any questions or concerns to call the 800 number. I was just in awe as he left... All I paid extra for the online buy was a 4.75 GBP service charge for the specific time slot I selected (it changes depending on the time you want things delivered). What a steal...for someone else to walk through the store to pick out the groceries, check them out, pack them up, drive them to my house and bring them in my kitchen it is totally worth it!!! I love England!!!! Please someone in the States let me know if this is catching on over there because if I get too used to this and can't get it back there I don't know what I'll do.

Four Weeks and Counting...

Well I've finally made it to the 36 week mark, so it's all down hill from here. Just four or less weeks to go!!! I've been trying to get all prepared. I am the queen of list making so last week I wrote down all the things that I wanted to get done before the little guy got here and here are a few of the highlights:

• Finish Addie's baby scrapbook (Yeah right - I'm not yet to her baptism at five weeks old and the book is already 2 inches thick...yikes! I've got a lot of work to do and not much free time to do it.)
• Order boy baby bedding and new crib mattress (The cribs are different sizes here so I had to import these from the States - a new American couple who is moving to our village agreed to pack some things in their sea shipment for me so it will be here at the end of August - Thanks Lana!!!)
• Create a new room for Addison  (We want to create a fun new room for Addie and transition her into it before we move the baby into her old room. We are going to build a toddler bed to fit her American crib mattress and keep using her current bedding and curtains.  We are going to repaint an older dresser that brought along to match the bed and get a mirror to hang over it.  We also want to get a few cute bits from IKEA to set off the rest of the room.  We're still working on this one.)
• Buy all the things the baby and I need for the hospital visit (For those of you who have had babies in the US, you know all those nice little things that they give you for your recovery that pretty much comes standard with your care....yeah, you have to bring all of that yourself - the pads, disposable undies, pain meds, diapers, wipes, baby bathing items (they don't give your baby a bath for you), snacks to eat, a proper night gown to wear during birth, towels for your shower, and more.  I have all my bits and bobs purchased, but I need to pack my bag yet.)
• Clean up and prepare all baby stuff (This was so fun.  I loved going through all the little boy clothes that my friend Stacey left for me (you are a saint girly!!!) and other clothes we got as gifts so far.  Also I went through all of Addie's little baby stuff to see what I could use and I loved going through her little things but was so sad on how much she has grown.  I washed all the clothes, the blankets, the burp rags, the car seat cover and anything else that looked like it needed some TLC.   I even bought a couple packs of newborn diapers...they are soooo tiny! It's all piled in Addie's new room since I don't know where else to put it for now.) 
• Buy a double pram (This is something I dreaded having to do because I already have two strollers - our big American Graco one that holds the car seat and my little compact McLaren which has been wonderful, but neither of them can hold two children under the age of two.  As we go out and about, I watch for people with double strollers and I can't image having a huge side-by-side or a tandem one since spaces are so small here and the boot (trunk) of my car is very small.  Well I discovered a pram made by Phil & Ted that is set up as a single, three wheeled stroller but has a "doubles kit" that allows two children to ride without adding any real size to it.  Also you usually get what they call a "cocoon" for the baby to lay in for the first 6 months before you put them in the second seat.  It's quite a nice set up and after I brought Kevin to Kiddicare on Saturday he was sold on the idea, but not quite the price.  We researched and found that you could get pretty nice used Phil & Ted's on eBay, so we got to bidding on a few and ended up in a heated battle Sunday night for one and won.  Needless to say, I picked up our new double stroller Tuesday afternoon, got it cleaned up a bit and Addison wanted to sit in it all the next morning - glad she likes it!!!)
• Line up baby's passport (For all of you wondering, our little guy will not be able to claim dual citizenship in the UK because they stopped that back in 1983.  We do need to set up an appointment soon after he is born down in London at the US Embassy to get his passport lined up and apply for social security cards and such.  I can't imagine trying to take a passport picture of a 3 week old when in the States I had a heck of a time getting them to take a proper picture of Addison at 5 months old.  Also I'll need to order several copies of his birth certificate because after we move back it won't be as easy as dropping in the local court house to get a copy. )

For now I keep working away at a little bit of my list each day.  I was nervous about having two little ones and when I get in a sticky situation with Addie I start to get worried again, but that quickly gets over shadowed by my excitement for our son to come out into the world to meet us all.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Addie really seems to be at the age where she loves to mimic mom and dad. The other night we had corn on the cob and Addison loves sweetcorn. I headed into the kitchen quick and she swiped up my corn and started eating it just like daddy.
On Sunday I went to a cream tea to benefit the British Heart Foundation and since Addie was pretty tired, I left her home with Dad to take a nap. When I arrived home the two of them were sitting side-by-side on the couch watching the British Open. Addie was drinking a Fruit Shoot juice and both of them were snacking on some Walkers Sweet Thai Chili Crisps (potato chips). What a pair! They were so cute that I had to take a picture of them both.

It's Really Not that Cold..Just for Fun

I have been cleaning up around the house a lot...it's the nesting thing with the pregnancy. But I cleaned out the closet and Addie's winter coat was still in there and of course she wanted to wear it all afternoon. She's really into dress up.











On another day we wanted to head out on a walk and it was a little breezy so we gave Addie her jumper (sweatshirt) to put on and in fine form she put it on backwards. Instead of turning it around, Kevin zipped it up and snapped a few shots. She is so funny!

Birthday Dinner with the Girls

Last night some of my close friends treated me to dinner at Prezzo's in Peterborough for my birthday. It's always nice to be with friends to celebrate and our regular girl's nights are always great to just get out and be girly...not just a mom or a wife, but a girl with your girlfriends. We talk about everything and time flies so fast that it's getting late before you know it. The girls went in together and got me gift vouchers for River Island - a really nice place for me to buy some new clothes after I loose some of that baby weight. Thank you so much ladies!!! These ladies (Jenny, Amy, Holli, and Min) along with some that aren't pictured...Becki, Tina, Tara, Emily and, of course Stacey (who's already back in the States), are some of the great "ISE wives" that have helped make my first year in England such a wonderful one. Also my great neighbor, Sarah, who is teaching how to be English and has been so wonderful.

Yes, we've almost been here a whole year...July 29, 2007 we arrived in the UK to start our adventure and almost a year later I can truly call this place "home". More to come on highlighting our year here.

Dressing For the Occasion

The weather in England is very unpredictable. We can check the forecast but it is often not right, even more so than in the States. Addison has found a way to combat the unpredictable weather - dressing in layers!!! Today it was very warm out - almost 25C so we wore shorts, but she desperately wanted to wear her wellies and she found her winter hat in the closet. She also wouldn't put down her blanket so I wrapped it around her like a cape. She had a great time running around the house like this for a while.

Burghley House Battle Proms

Saturday night we went to the Burghley House Battle Proms which is a huge picnic and outdoor concert with a Nepolianic calvary flare to it. We loaded up our cooler with lots of goodies and met up with a huge group of ISE's to enjoy the evening of food, music, canons, and fireworks. A Napoleonic cavalry and infantry re-enacted a duel and did drills on their horses. They also had a Spitfire airplane do a flying show over head during one of the songs.
Like true Americans we had KFC chicken brought in and everyone brought some great picnic goodies to share with each other. It was kind of funny to see our big layout for everyone and then look at all the "English" set ups which consisted of everyone literally having their own little table set up with white table clothes and bottles of wine, wine glasses and posh little treats to eat. They also had votive candles sitting on the tables and some had little lanterns that hung on decorative sticks that stuck in the ground.
One of the coolest things was when they played Beethoven's 1812 Overture they had real canons going off. By 10:30 is was starting to get dark enough that they started shooting off some of the fireworks as they orchestra played various battle songs.

Last Few Days in Ireland

Today the large group was heading out on coaches to see the Cliffs of Moher via the Burrens. We decided to take our rental car and do things at our own pace especially with having Addie along. Turned out that it was a pretty smart decision because on way back home one of the coaches got sideswiped by a car and got delayed 1 1/2 hours and the other coach waited for them so we would have been in a pretty sticky situation. We did have a wonderful day even though it was pretty rainy and windy. We drove through the Burrens which is a pretty rocky landscape but had some really neat things to be seen along the way.

The Cliffs of Moher are always beautiful even in cruddy weather. Kevin and I were so amazed on how things have changed at the Cliffs since we were there. They moved the car park to the other side of the road and hide all the shops and commercial stuff by building them into the side of hill. I guess they are trying to restore the natural beauty of the site. Also a lot more safety walls were built so someone couldn't out close to the edge like before...a pretty smart move.

That night we attended a farewell banquet with a 5 course meal. Needless to say it was hard to truly enjoy our last night with Kevin's family because they didn't get the dinner started until 8:45 PM and by then a 17 month old is not going to sit still even if you bribe her will all the funding for her college education (this is a tactic that Kevin repetitively tries and fails at every time with Addison). We took turns eating and I think I ate three of my courses in three different parts of the hotel in order to keep Addie at ease.

Monday morning Kevin's folks headed out with Mike's sisters who were at the reunion to find the "family farm" in Tipperary and we headed to Bunratty to check out the Blarney Woolen Mills and to eat lunch at Durty Nelly's like we had years before. I keep saying it but things have changed so much in just 6 years. Ireland as a country is much more modern...the roads and the houses and the businesses have all been upgraded and the quaint, old country that I fell in love with is now modern and I feel that England is actually older feeling now. What really topped it off was that there was a little store next to Durty Nelly's called Avoca that Kevin and I took our picture in front of because there was a town close to where he grew up in Iowa called Avoca. That building is now half burnt down...so sad.

O'Dea Reunion and Dysert O'Dea Castle

Over 150 people gathered together from all over the world to celebrate being descendants of the O'Dea clan most being from the States and Australia. The first day we got an official welcome from the City of Ennis and a nice dinner where the family archeologist shared a story about the history of women in Ireland.
On Saturday we took a trip out to the O'Dea Castle. The castle was actually discovered by John O'Day from Wisconsin by accident as they were on their way to the Shannon airport. His family bought the castle back in the 1970's and restored it. They did a great job and even over the past 6 years since Kevin and I were there they have invested a lot more money in making it more accessible and lots more visible with signage. It was really neat getting to see huge group of people who all gathered at a place that their ancestors once lived and thrived so many years ago. Made me pretty curious if there are any Schafbuch or Roux relics in Germany or France respectively for my side of the family. It will be great to share these pictures with our children when they are older and be able to tell them about their family history and maybe even use some of the pictures we've taken in a school report....we all had to do them so I'm hoping to give them a leg up on this one!!!

Adventures in Ireland

We had a pretty aggressive itinerary for Ireland because we had a lot we wanted to see and to find. The big part of this trip was really to search for the Dea family roots. On Monday we headed to a very small village called Graiguenamanough which I affectionally call "Grandma Town" because I don't know how to pronounce the name and it is the supposed birth place of Kevin's great, great, great grandmother Mary Barron. We did some checking into records at the local church, the cemeteries, the local historical center and even a store that bared the Barron name. Not much luck on finding too much more than we already knew but it was pretty neat to try.
Next we headed down to Waterford and did the factory tour. It was as cool as I remembered it to be. Kevin and I found this amazing water pitcher and water goblets that we wanted and I felt it was destiny for us to have them since we both came to each other at the same time and said, hey look at that. We didn't end up getting them because we were already at our weight limit on luggage and we didn't want to tote them around...we are both kicking ourselves though because they were 20% off for the 4th of July weekend!!!
Wednesday morning we woke up to rain and had planned to visit Blarney castle. So we decided to work with the weather instead of letting it get us down. We headed back to Midleton and did the tour of the Jameson Distillary. The boys really liked this place. Mike even took part in the whiskey comparison tasting at the end and found out why the triple distillation of Irish Whiskey makes it the best. The weather did clear up by the afternoon so we headed back to Blarney to give the castle another try. I had already gotten my gift to gab 6 years ago when I kissed the stone so I let Kevin take his mom and dad to the top of the castle. Sally is terrified of heights but at one point I heard a high squeel and then I looked up and thought I saw her kissing the stone...five stories up. Way to go Sally!

Thursday we woke up to a beautiful view of Lough Leane Lake in Killarney National Park. The boys would have liked to have gone fishing all day but we headed out to explore the Gap of Dunloe which we happened upon purely out of luck because it was mentioned on our directions to the B&B. It's mentioned briefly in the tour books as a route for horse riding and hiking. It turns out to be a single lane of paved road with the most beautiful views that connects Killarney to Kenmare. It happened to rain the whole night before so the lakes and streams were being filled by the waterfalls and springs coming out of the mountains. We continued the day by driving around the Ring of Kerry. Kevin and I did this route in the opposite direction before with rain misting down the whole time so it was nice to actually see stuff this time. We stopped at Ballycarbery Castle in Caherciveen to check out this ivy covered castle ruins. It was a good excuse to stop and stretch our legs and Addie had a blast checking out things with Daddy and Grandpa.

Thursday we headed to Tipperary in search of the birthplace of Kevin's great, great, great grandfather John Dea. He is the one who brought Kevin's branch of the Dea family to western Iowa. We tried checking into the B&B a little early because we were going to use their "laundry facilities." Turns out that all they had was a washing machine and when the guys walked in to check out the place all they saw were empty whiskey bottles on the table the the guy was a mess and seemed annoyed that we were here. Needless to say we headed straight to the tourist office in order to find a different place to stay. We did find an awesome place that actually ended up being my favorite place that we stayed all week. When Kevin called to let the other B&B know we weren't coming, the lady thanked Kevin for calling and told him that they planned on us not showing back up. That afternoon consisted of us searching the countryside for the family farm - we didn't know exactly where it was. Mike had a map with three big circles on it and some pieced together directions that didn't match up with the roads we had to follow and even if we found the site weren't sure it what were going to see was really much at all. Needless to say the curvy and bumpy roads along with the constant turning around caused this preggie woman to loose her lunch by that evening. I don't blame Kevin now, but I sure did while we were in the heat of the pursuit. We did end up taking some pictures of the land around the area that we thought could have been the farm. (The day after we left Ireland Mike and Sally went back to Tipperary and found the farm with some other relatatives....so it really does exist!!!) 

Friday morning we got up and went to St. Patrick's Rock of Cashel which was a new site for all of us. The three monistic structures were really neat to see. Also the it is surrounded by an active cemetery. There are two more people who are still eligible to be buried there who haven't died yet. Addie and I are standing next to a huge chunk of one of the towers that fell off the building. That afternoon we headed up to Ennis to get registered for the 7th International O'Dea Clan Reunion.

A Six Year Craving and Birthday Surprises

Dublin was pretty amazing and just as I remembered it. We got to city centre about lunch time and as we hopped off the bus, it was almost like a higher power started leading us straight to Temple Bar and right in front of a pub called Farrington's. Six years ago Kevin and I ate at this place twice during our two day stay in Dublin and it serves the greatest Guinness Beef Stew that I have ever had and I have been craving it for the past 6 years.  It was certainly amazing to be there now with my in-laws, my husband, my daughter and being pregnant with my second child. Of course I had the beef stew again and sat quietly as I savored every bite. 

We did some more walking around towards the Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and finally through St. Stephen's Green. I had seen most of these sights before but I would say each one had a new take on it. For instance, in St. Stephan's Green we noticed what I would assume to be two very intoxicated chaps wading in the fountains picking up all the coins people had thrown in. I was pretty ticked off that they were stealing people's wishes, but Kevin and his dad found it quite humorous. Even more so when two police officers  showed up and cuffed them both right after they made them empty out their pockets back into the fountains.
On Sunday morning, I got a wonderful surprise at breakfast. It was my 30th birthday and my wonderful mother-in-law and husband surprised me with a decorated table and loads of cards from friends and family sending me birthday wishes. It was the greatest birthday surprise ever. They all sat and ate breakfast while I shed tears after reading such sweet notes from everyone. For the first time in a while I had really started to miss "home" (the States) and our friends and family there that we haven't seen for a long time. Thank you to everyone who sent along cards...you all made it such a special day for me and to Sally, thank you for everything...I am so lucky to have you as a mother-in-law. And Kevin, even though you don't think you got me a proper birthday present, this was the greatest thing you could get me that money can't buy. By the way, 30 isn't all that bad...actually it's pretty great!  For the rest of our day we did the City Bus Tour of Dublin and got to see loads of sites.  For lunch we ate at O'Neill's pub because it was a must-do hot spot that Mike had seen on one of the PBS specials on Ireland.

"Excuse Me Sir You are Too Young to Drive This Car"

We started out our 10 day adventure in Ireland in the capital city of Dublin. In fine tradition of traveling you can't everything start out perfectly so we felt that dealing with the rental was the best place to have our first run in. Everything was running smoothly at first to get our Ford Galaxy people carrier (mini van). Then the chap behind the desk asked Kevin how old he was...28 years old..."sorry mate you can't drive this car." Kevin asks why and he says that Kevin is too young, you have to be 30 years old to rent a van with that size of engine....WHAT!!!! Supposedly it is written in their terms and conditions...who really reads over the entire document when booking these things online. I technically was turning 30 the next day but I was not going to drive a stick shift all week long so we had to work out a deal. They dropped us down to the next sized van, a Vauxhall Zafira, but they didn't have any on the lot so they set us up with the Toyota version which looked like a tall car. The kicker was that he said they would have to charge us the same rate as the bigger van...I piped right up because I knew that the Galaxy was 300 Euro more expensive (that's almost $500US) and if I was squeezing into a small vehicle I was not having us pay the same price. I was a pregnant woman on a serious "do not mess with me" moment. The van ended up being really nice...plenty of room for the car seat we rented for Addie (we had to rub it down good...kind of creepy looking) and for me and Sally to sit in the back with all of our luggage in the 3rd row. One nice thing we did get to take advantage of was "Jane" our trusty SatNav. Last time Kevin and I were in Ireland we relied on maps we found in our travel books and our ability to read road signs...yikes! "Jane" certainly makes a driving trip much more relaxing except when my father-in-law wants to challenge most of her navigation decisions. Mike watched her like a hawk along with following his own roadmap to help Kevin get us where we needed to go.

Heading to Ireland

Hello everyone! Kevin's parents, Mike and Sally, have been visiting us for the past week here in the UK. We've been having such a wonderful time with them. I have some interesting stories to share about the mess we went through to get to Heathrow to pick them up and then the drama of getting home on a broken train system after spending the day in London on Sunday. We also toured the Peterborough Cathedral on Monday, Tuesday went to Sherwood Forest and Lincoln, and Thursday went to Burghley House. Tomorrow we are heading to Ireland for 10 days!!!! Spending a week touring around the south side of the country and then heading to the International O'Dea Family Reunion in Ennis. I'll be blogging a ton when we get back, but until then...the Luck of the Irish to you all !!!!

Touring Burghley House

I've been to the Burghley House grounds several time but now I was actually going in. The house is amazing, but you can't take take any picture in it so I can't show you any. We followed a group of school children through the house and Mike made a comment that he couldn't believe they let little kids be exposed to so much nudity. There are paintings of naked people all over the place because one of the previous owners of Burghley was obsessed with Italian art and had a ton of the rooms stripped out and painted with amazing murals. I was amazed to find out that the current owners of Burghley house had to sell 80% of the assets in order to pay the taxes for the place (that's a lot of amazing artwork split away from its original collection). They opened up the house to public to help cover the costs to upkeep the house, which seems to be the trend for a lot of stately homes. Burghley was once visited by Queen Elizabeth and they had a special bedroom done up just for her few day visit. Burghley House is also home to the filming of Pride and Prejudice and the DiVinci Code...looks like I'll have to watch the movies so I can check it out.

Birthday BBQ

Tonight we had a BBQ at our house so that Mike and Sally could meet our friends in the neighborhood and somehow it turned into my early birthday party. Sally and I had a blast working together all day to get the goodies put together for the party and Addison had a great time playing with Grandpa Mike and eating chocolate covered spoons from the cake Sally made. Simon and Sarah along with Danny and Min had a birthday cake made for me that had my face plastered all over it and the kids poked the candles in my cheeks and chin...it looked pretty funny when we took them out afterwards to cut it up. It was such a great time having such special people in our lives and for our family get to meet them.

My big present back to everyone was that we introduced them all to S'mores  (a staple food for any American summer get-together).  I got the marshmallows and Hershey bars from the Airforce base through one of Sarah's friends and my grandma brought over the graham crackers. Kevin got out the fire pit and got a good fire roaring and when it died down we dug right into making the greatest treats ever. Everyone loved them!!! Our baby sitter Emily had totally been anticipating this day because I had really been talking them up to her.  It was a great night...the only issue we had was that the bit of grass we had the fire pit on got burnt so now we have a 1 foot diameter dead patch of grass in the back garden...ahh the prices we pay for a good party!

Seeking Out Adventure at Sherwood Forest

Today we ventured off to Sherwood Forest to seek out the Major Oak and have a nice picnic in the land of the notorious Robin Hood.  One thing I would like to do before we leave England is to get a picture of the Major Oak during each season and maybe make a collage out of the pictures or something, so this was my opportunity to get my summer picture.   I have a spring picture (or really it could be winter) when Kevin and I came over on our BK (before kids) trip.  It is pretty amazing to see the skeleton of this massive 800 year old oak tree.  It has so much mass to it that they use steel beams and cables to hold up the branches.  It is thought that it is really 4 trees that fused together somehow.  Never the less it is quite a sight to see.  There is a corny kind of Robin Hood display at the sight but the trails are very nice and during the summer the forrest is much prettier than in the spring when it looks like a bunch of deformed, old trees.  After our hike we settled down and had a really nice picnic at the park there. On our way home we stopped in Lincoln so Mike and Sally could marvel at the famous cathedral.  Really I used it as an excuse to stop and get some ice cream.  It's not a proper day out for me in England without an ice cream break.

Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mike Come to England

This week Kevin's folks, Mike and Sally, came to visit us. It was quite an adventure to start their week with us. Saturday morning we headed out a little early to pick them up at the airport so we could catch a bit to eat along the way but ended up in two horrible traffic jams that got us to Heathrow about 1 hour later than we planned. Good thing was that their plane was a little late getting in and it took a while to get through customs so as we finally rushed into Terminal 5 they were walking out into the lobby area. We stopped for KFC on the way home because Addie and I were starving...so Mike and Sally's first meal in England was Kentucky Fried Chicken...I guess my parents was Little Chef it was pretty comparable.

On Sunday we took the train down to London and did the Hop-Off-and-On Bus tour which was a great way to see a lot of the city without having to do a lot of walking or riding the tube. I actually found out where Sean Connery's house was and saw where US Embassy was, so we know where to go to get our little guy's passport when he gets here. We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and then bought sandwiches for a picnic in St. James Park. The other cool thing that we did was took the River Thames boat tour that came along with our bus tour. It was so cool. The weather was beautiful and they pointed out a lot of different places I never knew existed in the city. Our trip home was pretty crazy though. The train took off on time but they made an announcement that we would be stopping in Welwyen Garden stop and be shuttled to the Stevenege stop by coach to continue on to Peterborough. When we got to the stop we were herded through a mall to a queue that was at least 300+ people long waiting for coaches to take us to the next train station. They told us that two of their three coaches were broke down and we had now idea how long we would have to wait for the bus.  On top of that we didn't even know if there would actually be a train for us to get on to get to Peterborough. We ended up waiting for about 30 minutes for a bus and then only about 10 minutes at the next train station to get home. To top it off when we got home I somehow misplaced the parking ticket for us to get out of the car park. Kevin made me believe that he had to pay 20 GBP extra because I lost the ticket and we couldn't prove how long we had been there...not a very funny joke to play on me after the ordeal we had coming home.  Overall it was a great day!!!

Pictures of My Nephew

Here is my little nephew, Bo Preston Brandt, with his mommy and daddy just 24 hours after he came into the world. How cute...his ten little fingers and ten little toes!!!

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Just days after my sister returned to the States she developed severe pre-eclampsia and was admitted to the hospital on Father's Day.  She tells me that the doctors say it had nothing to do with the fact that she had just traveled to the UK and there wasn't anything she could have done to prevent it.  I was so worried because she wasn't feeling the best when she got here, but was looking great and her blood pressure came down by the time she left.  But she did get back into the swing of things when she got home and life as a nurse is pretty tough on a pregnant woman. Funny thing was that she was on duty at the University of Iowa Hospital when her pain started and one of the volunteers on her floor happened to be a retired OB nurse practitioner. She told my sister to get down to the OB ward immediately.  They diagnosed the preeclampsia and admitted her right away.  

I had just called my folks that day to wish Dad a Happy Father's Day and my mom said she was getting ready to call me (and they would only call us on the phone if it were an emergency).  She told me about my sister and they said that she would most likely have to deliver in the next 48 hours.  This was so weird because I had a dream before my sister even came to the UK that she delivered 6 weeks early, but in my dream I was there with her.  I absolutely couldn't imagine if this had happened while she was here...she had only gotten back home 5 days earlier.  I feel that God truly gave both of us an amazing gift to be able to be pregnant at the same time and for my sister to be able to come see me in England and to get her safely home before this all happened.

After a few days of waiting and trying to get the baby to deliver naturally, little Bo Preston Brandt was born at 3:48AM (US Central time) on June 18th.  My sister said he was beautiful with lots of blonde hair.  Weighing in at 3 pounds 12 ounces and 17 1/4" long, this little guy is definitely a little fighter.  Bo will have to spend a few weeks in the NICU until he gets big enough to go home.  I really feel for my sister though.  She was put on magnesium to prevent her from strokes or seizures due to the pre-eclampsia, so this kept her on bed rest for the 24 hours after she delivered and she wasn't able to be with Bo for the next 24 hours as well.  For all you mommies out there, you know how gut wrenching it is to be away from that new baby for a second, so please keep them all in your prayers.

I don't have pictures yet, but hope to soon.  I am so excited to be an aunt and can't wait to spoil my little nephew.  More to come....