Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

We took the kids out of school on Thursday and drove up to Windsor for a fun-filled, family adventure.  We started out at Legoland theme park, which I think was the family-friendliest place we've ever visited in Britain.  We had an excellent time... Can you spot the real baby? Although she was too small to ride any of the rides, Lili enjoyed herself plenty.  She reminds me so much of Emma as a baby in that she requires half the amount of sleep that other "normal" babies seem to need and she enjoys activity, changes of scenery and constant stimulation.  Legoland pushed all of her buttons, and she was a very happy camper there.  (Today we are back at our boring old house, and she is not impressed.) As lovely as Windsor was, I am ever so glad that we only stayed over for one night.  Sleep-fighting Lili kept me up most of the night with her antics.  I'm sure that since we were in a different place, she was all out ...

If only the other kids were this enthusuastic about bath time... This explains why I get a shower every time Lili has a bath.

Emma got all dressed up and went to a birthday party today, and the rest of us enjoyed some afternoon sunshine at St. Fagans.  Sophie enjoyed being the only kid with an understandable vocabulary on our outing.  Sometimes a girl can't get a word in edgewise when her chatty big sister is always around.  We also hit the St. Fagans gift shop for some Welsh souvenirs to take back across the pond with us.  Happy Sunday.

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel... ...I'm Feeling Good!!

This morning in the intervals between punching the snooze button on my alarm clock, I dreamed.  I dreamed that I had taken Sophie to school, and was at the doctor's office with Emma but realized that I had left Lili at home alone in bed sleeping.  My dream self was all, "OH JUNK!"  My dream self was racing home, certain that she had woken up and crawled off of the bed and broken her arm or something.  My dream self never could manage to get home because of that doggone alarm which insisted on beeping every nine minutes. This was most certainly a dream scenario.  I have never actually forgotten one of my children, but there is an art to managing all of them, particularly when someone is unwell.  I'm not sure I have mastered this art yet.  When I was talking to my mom last night, I heard myself say (something like), "The difference between two and three children is the difference between busy and hectic."  I'm pretty sure that's not...

A couple of weeks ago I asked my friends if anyone knew anything about amber teething necklaces for babies.  No one responded, so I just assumed that nobody knew what the heck I was on about.  I came across these on the Interwebs when I was searching for a teeth-able pendant that I could wear and that Lili could chew on.  I thought this might come in handy on flights, or at the grocery store, or any number of other places.  So... when I Googled: teething necklaces , these amber baby necklaces kept popping up in my searches. Supposedly the oils in the amber resin act as a natural analgesic when worn next to baby's warm skin.  This is apparently an old, tried and true European remedy for teething pains in babies.  My curiosity got the best of me, and the necklace, which is totally cute anyway, only cost me about ten pounds sterling, so I ordered one.  Lili has been wearing it for about five or six days.  She was a terrible...

My baby turned eight this weekend...EIGHT!!  We had a really nice time celebrating on Saturday with our adopted family, the Collinses.  Liam Collins turned eleven on Sunday, so we just made a joint birthday celebration and had a fantastic time.  Emma says it was her best birthday ever even though we didn't have a big party with loads of kids and fuss... in fact, perhaps that is why it was the best birthday ever.  We were able to focus on celebrating the kids whom we love without worrying about all of the other birthday party dramas and details. I love the person that Emma is becoming.  She has always been such a sweet and sensitive character, but growing up also means that there are some painful lessons to learn and some "mean girls" to be dealt with.  On several different occasions recently, Emma has been on the verge of tears after school.  Girls there have been doing some of the same mean and nasty things that they did when I was eight....

Lili worked out how to shift out of reverse and into first gear on the evening of Mother's Day.  She was motivated by a pair of tasty glasses which had been left on the floor to tempt her.  I know I should have immediately "blogged" this big news, but later that same night a cold virus kicked in and the girl has been a grizzly, snotty mess ever since.  (Translation: I have had about 20 minutes of sleep a night for the past three nights and have been toting around a miserable, snot-dripping babe during all of the daytime hours.  You know the drill.) It's my own fault for bragging to George on Sunday.  I said something foolish like, "I finally feel like I am getting stronger again and starting to get back to my old normal self."  As soon as I said those words, I tried to grab them and shove them back into my mouth, but it was too late.  My friend, Sensible Sonia, who always knows the proper thing to say, told me this morning:  "At least you were...

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh Thank you to all of my sweet girls for making me a mother! I have the best job in the world and am feeling very loved today. Mother's Day Au Naturale Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers and fairy godmothers!  Sending lots of love to you all!

Lili has mastered the art of crawling...in reverse.  As you can imagine, this is more than a little frustrating for her.  I rescue her, crying with her little bottom jammed into a corner, about a hundred times a day lately.  Perhaps I exaggerate a bit.  She really wants to "go to there," but inevitably winds up going away from there instead.  I suppose pushing is easier than pulling.  I know this will be a rather short-lived dilemma for her.  Soon I will be writing about how she is off like a bullet and pulling all of the books off of my shelves.  Aren't babies grand?

Take one look at Lili's ample thighs, and you will understand that she likes her food.  She has, however, become a bit more discerning recently, preferring fruit and yogurt to vegetable and other savoury purees.  Sometimes I try to be a sneaky chef and mix fruits and vegetables together in an attempt to fake her out, but the thing that seems to work best is just giving her a piece of soft, cooked veggie to chew on... Now that she is in control, carrots and green beans are her friends again.  She would also like to make friends with anything I happen to be eating. If she eats really well, she gets to have cake!!  Well... a rice cake. What the heck is this delicious thing? At the end of it all, I praise her and praise her for having such a good lunch.  Then I pull her out of the high chair and discover all of those carrots, beans, bits of cheese and biscuits collected in the corners and crevices of the seat.  Oh well, we are getti...

I only wish I had written this... Baby Feet by Edgar Guest Tell me, what is half so sweet As a baby's tiny feet, Pink and dainty as can be, Like a coral from the sea? Talk of jewels strung in rows, Gaze upon those little toes, Fairer than a diadem, With the mother kissing them! It is morning and she lies Uttering her happy cries, While her little hands reach out For the feet that fly about. Then I go to her and blow Laughter out of every toe; Hold her high and let her place Tiny footprints on my face. Little feet that do not know Where the winding roadways go, Little feet that never tire, Feel the stones or trudge the mire, Still too pink and still too small To do anything but crawl, Thinking all their wanderings fair, Filled with wonders everywhere. Little feet, so rich with charm, May you never come to harm. As I bend and proudly blow Laughter out of every toe, This pray, that God above Shall protect you with His love, And shall guide those little feet Safely down life...

We are a bit out of sorts here lately since our George is working so much.  Hopefully his big project will be completed soon, and we can get back to our usual family shenanigans.  Until then we girls are doing our best to enjoy girly time and girly days out when possible.  Lately I am starting to feel a melancholy tugging at my heart each time we have a particularly "British" day out.    Today was no exception when we decided to trot over to our local castle (Castell Coch) for lunch and a poke around.  We took just a few photos, but maybe not enough.  As we were driving home, I wondered if that would be our last visit.  I had a lovely chat with two of the Cadw workers on staff today, and one of them told me, "Don't worry, Lovely. Even if you go back to America, Wales isn't going anywhere.  We will still be here if you want to come back and visit."  True. True.  But I do find myself getting sentimental over funny thing...

"A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men."  - Roald Dahl Today we enjoyed the Radyr Festival again.  This year's theme was the characters of Roald Dahl, and my girls were thrilled to once again march in the parade in costumes made my the ever-so-clever, Jane Morris.  What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning... Sophie and Emma as Oompa Loompas extraordinaire with THE man, Willy Wonka, played brilliantly by our good friend Michael. The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) ready to be carried by Kevin Morris Mr. Twit, another brilliant Jane Morris creation Lili was so excited to meet Willy Wonka! And yes, of course, I'm having a spot of tea! All of the Oompa Loompas and Willy Wonka in the parade The girls were happy to get those green wigs off in the end. Lili was a happy bunny.  She loved all of the colors and music and activity. Hurray for festival day... our last one here!! "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole ...