Londinium: Day 3 “Off to the Tower Day”

Thursday, 9/5/13

Skipped a day already, haven’t I? Well, we lost a good half day just due to flying over the Atlantic. Our 5am is noonish over here.

We took the Tube from the airport to our hotel; well, the vicinity of our hotel. After a little fumble near South Kensington, we made it to Bayswater, and the walk from the station to the hotel wasn’t as long as I was expecting.

Our hotel is nice indeed, though small. They do run small in Europe. Our room, including the bathroom, is maybe the size of Lydia’s room.

We dropped off our stuff and went walking for somewhere to eat, which we soon found in the form of Gourmet Burger. I had a fantastic chicken sandwich with avocado and bacon. The guys got burgers and milkshakes.

Afterwards, we walked down to Hyde Park. It was a very nice day — sunny, temperature about 80F — so all of London was relaxing in the park.

As we walked down the path that backs up to Kensington Palace, a helicopter flew close. Didn’t think much of it until it came closer and closer, them we watched as it landed right on the palace grounds.

“Well, this might be somebody,” I thought. Police were posted along the fence line, and I just noticed they had massive guns.

The helicopter had royal insignia on it, then Prince Charles popped out, happy as you please!

We walked around the park some more and rested in the Italian Gardens.

After a bit, we hopped back on the Tube over to St. Paul’s.

Since it was rush hour, the Tube was nuts. We walked around St. Paul’s then we crossed the Thames via the Millenium Bridge toward Tate Modern, which was already closed.

We got back to the north side of the river via Southwark Bridge, then back to Bayswater via the Tube, which was still crowded and hot.

Grabbed a sandwich to take back to the hotel then passed out around 8 pm.

Now I’m finally to today, and it’s already 10:00. I’m on the Tube again, and we’re on our way to the Tower of London. Off at the next stop. Temperature on the Tube is directly related to the amount of people on it.

_________

Ten hours later . . .

I think that was the most I’ve walked in one day in my life. We covered just shy of 15 miles. Only got one blister!

We ended up at the Tower of London for about four hours. It was totally wicked. So so fantastic to walk around and touch the buildings that are near 1,000 years old, thinking of all the many people that were there over the past centuries. Surrounded by history.


We snagged a quick sandwich afterwards and walked across London Tower Bridge, then down the South Bank, ever so slowly heading toward the London Eye. We ended up on a market at some point where I had to try a tiramisu cheesecake.

We got to the Eye around 4, and took our turn around 5ish. It was quite a sight; many pictures taken.

We crossed the Thames to the Embankment via the Golden Jubilee Bridge. We milled around from there to the Houses of Parliament to Westminster Abbey to St. James Park then back to the Embankment.

Dinner at a pizza place, quick pictures of the Eye and various London at night, then back on the Tube to Bayswater, which took a while due to ‘signal failures.’

Shouldn’t be doing as much walking tomorrow. It’s supposed to be rainy and cooler (horray for cooler).

Ohhh, my feet.

Londinium: Day 1 “Travel Day”

Like last time, I kept up a journal during our trip to London, only this time I wrote it on my phone. Makes for easy copy and pasting!

I’m going to dole it out in increments, so it won’t be to overwhelming. So we begin with . . .

Day 1: Travel Day <9/3/13>

Despite I-20’s attempts to thwart us, we made it to the Birmingham airport with time to spare. So now we sit. I’m waiting until an hour before takeoff to take my I-don’t-care pill. Ready to get drugged.

We’ll pop over from BHAM over to Atlanta, then when it’s about bedtime, we’ll begin the long flight to London. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep. I didn’t sleep a wink last time. Apparently I’m able to sleep anywhere at all, except on a plane.

Last time (in 1999) we were in London for about two days. This time we’ll be there for seven. Looking forward to seeing what all we get to do. We skipped some obvious things last time, such as the Tower of London, ALL of the museums, and the London Wall. Some things weren’t there in 1999, like the London Eye and Tate Modern.

I asked Cathy what she wanted me to get her from the trip and she said, “Prince William.” I asked Lydia the same thing and she said,” A castle.” Two of a kind, they are.

Seven more minutes until my pill.

Seven long minutes.

___________

Survived BHM to ATL. Think two pills would’ve worked better. Had a lovely fish taco dinner at the ATL airport, though there were supposedly pumpkin seeds on them. I picked them off, just to be safe. Will not have a repeat of Italy before I’ve even left the States.

Waiting to board for London. Going to be a full flight. Really hope I can sleep — another pill at the ready.

Supposed to begin boarding in eight minutes.

In home news, Sam pooped in the potty at daycare today! Yay!

Seven minutes. Almost pill time. I now pronounce us ready to sleep.

ask not for whom the school bell tolls, it tolls for thee

August is entering its hot, sweltering end and I am so looking forward to October. Only 38 more days! The kids are winding down out of summer mode, though the weather is still fine for swimming. Other than all that, there’s not much going on around here. Same ol’, same ol’.

Oh yeah, Lydia also started kindergarten last week. No biggie, right?

Kinda.

About two years ago, Steven and I made a huge, life-altering decision. We concluded that when kindergarten reared its head, we would begin to homeschool. Two years ago, 2013 seemed a long way off, but surprise! Here we are. Good thing I had all that time to plan.

We jumped down the rabbithole this past Monday, and mainly Lydia and I have been trying to transition. It’s a pretty big change to go from a full-time job; or in Lydia’s case, an all-day preschool, to the monotony of the house. I have quickly discovered that we need at least one planned outing a day to stay sane.

As far as school itself goes, we’re doing okay so far. Lydia seems much more comfortable with math than reading and phonics. I’m having to re-learn the phonics stuff as well — I didn’t learn to read that way.

When we’re not doing schoolwork, we’re scouring Birmingham for interesting things to do. We’ve gone to the zoo, a big jumpy trampoline place, the library, the grocery store, and other various shopping errands. By the end of the year, we’re going to know every hole-in-the-wall amusing place in the city.

So one week down and 31 left to go. I’m definitely looking forward to October. That way the zoo won’t be so damn hot.

2013-08-23 11.31.28-2

scenes from the mundane: batteries

EXT. MOMMY’S CAR, A.K.A. ELLIOTT — EARLY EVENING

The Williams family heads home after a day of swimming. MOMMY and DADDY are listening to music. LYDIA is staring out of the window, daydreaming. SAM is playing with a singing alphabet toy, commonly known as ‘W.’

SAM
It need a batteries in it.
Mommy? It need a batteries in it.

MOMMY
We dont’ have any batteries in the car, sweetie.
We’ll get some when we get home.

SAM
It need a batteries in it.

MOMMY
When we get home, baby.

SAM
It need a batteries in it.
It need a batteries in it.

DADDY
Sam, we don’t have any batteries. You’ll have to wait
until we get home, then we’ll get some batteries. Okay?

SAM
It need a batteries in it.

MOMMY
You need to wait, Sam.

SAM
It need a batteries in it.
It need a batteries in it.
(more frustrated)
It need a batteries in it!
It need a batteries in it!
It need a batteries in it!

LYDIA
SAM! We’ll get some when we get home!

Everybody in the car is silent for a minute.
LYDIA sighs. SAM looks up.

SAM
It need a batteries in it.

LYDIA, MOMMY, and DADDY groan.

FADE TO BLACK.

the wiz

I have heard it said the first year with a child is the hardest. All of the midnight feedings, mass of diapers and complete helplessness can really do a number on you. Well, I am here today to tell you that this is not true. All of that mess is a multitude of times easier than POTTY TRAINING.

Potty training Lydia took a little over a year of my life that I’ll never get back. Excepting her desire to wear Elmo Panties, Lydia was so damn stubborn with all the rest of it. Soaking wet and covered in poop? She didn’t care, just pass the LEGOs. Want some M&M’s? Marshmallows? CAKE?! Not if she had to use the potty for it.

It took an adamant teacher and Spiderman bubbles to get Lydia over the hump.

And no sooner had Lydia established her new relationship with the potty when the questions began: “Are you potty training Sam yet?” Hell no! He can wear diapers until he’s 16, thanks. We needed time to recuperate.

As Sam got closer to three, we knew the ordeal must begin again. I was scared to death. Sam seemed more averse to the potty than Lydia ever was, and that’s saying something. Just the suggestion of sitting on the potty would get Sam screaming. Ok, ok, no potty. I’m cool with that.

A few weeks ago, Sam’s teacher at school found a new project in Sam: she was going to potty train that child. She boasted she had trained some of his classmates in a week — Sam should be similar. You go ahead; have fun with that.

Two days later, we had a little boy who was consistently going to the potty.

surprised patrick

And that was it. Done. Fin. Die ende.

And now, just a mere three weeks later, he is even pooping in the potty of his own accord as well as staying dry through the night. The mind boggles.

I owe Sam’s teacher whatever amount of money I would have spent at a therapist had things progressed like before.

five year old taco

I woke up yesterday morning with one thought continually running through my head: “Oh my God, she’s five. Five! Why is she five?!” Five seems such a big number. Five is bicycles and reading. It is glue sticks, scissors, and paint. Will Lydia be able to handle all that?

Of course she can.

Lydia has had a fun and fairly eventful fifth year. One of the biggest changes was her own appearance with the loss of her two front teeth over the winter. It took me a while to get used to it, but now when I look back at earlier pictures of her, I see those teeth and think she looks odd with them. When her front permanent teeth finally come in, it is going to blow my mind.

She has also matured significantly over the past year. Gone is the constant whiny-ness and complaints for help. Now there is a freckle-faced kid looking back at me, asking questions about her world and the people in it. Some questions . . .

“Where is the tinkle at before it comes out of my body?”

are harder . . .

“When I die, will you miss me?”

than others.

“Someday, will you come to my wedding?”

Lydia experienced loss for the first time when Renton passed away this Spring. They have gotten along quite famously since Lydia graduated from the put-everything-in-my-mouth mode. Renton would snuggle by her on the couch, would help me to wake her up each morning, and was always there during bath time. Though we have made it through the worst parts some time ago, she will ask about him occasionally, and say that she misses him. I believe she will remember him, and I’m glad for that.

Lydia has developed a more refined taste in media. Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba bore her now. She prefers books about various comic book heroes, dinosaurs, and princesses over the more simple Eric Carle fare. When Sam is indulging in some Gabba, you will find Lydia in another room watching Batman: The Brave and the Bold on an iPad. She knows more about comic book characters than I do now (not that that’s saying much).

Spring in particular was very hectic. The zoo installed a dinosaur exhibit which Lydia just had to go see. She was so excited to see “her T-Rex” but she was a bit spooked by him once we got there.

We also attended the last rolling of Toomer’s Corner with her cousin. We had a fantastic time and I’m glad Lydia got to participate in the tradition, even if it was bittersweet.

At the end of May we attended her graduation ceremony for 4K. We have known many of her classmates since they all were babies, and it was marvelous to see them all up on stage. I was especially thankful that Lydia, who was on the front row, was able to keep her legs crossed.

Lydia began taking gymnastics soon after she turned four. I wasn’t sure how it would go at first, but she has really taken to it. She is still greatly enjoying it, so now every Tuesday afternoon you will find me on an upper floor of an non-air conditioned building, either chilled to the bone or sweating my ass off while I watch Lydia see what she can get away with.

Now here we are at five. We will begin school in the fall, and I am looking forward to seeing what all Lydia can learn over the next year. I especially hope she will master reading. My lifelong love of books began when I was about her age, and I hope she will enjoy reading as much as I do. That way she can read that inane book about the bunny so I won’t have to. Mwuahahaha!

lydia_five

backseat conversations: wedding

Lydia: “Will you come to my wedding?”

Me: “Yes, sweetie; of course I’ll be at your wedding.”

Lydia: “No, I was talking to Sam. Hey Sam! Will you come to my and Nathan’s wedding?”

Sam: “No.”

Lydia, pouting: “Sam, I want you to come to my wedding!”

Sam: “No!”

Me: “Baby, he doesn’t know what a wedding is. Perhaps you should explain it to him.”

Lydia, to Sam: “A wedding is when you give rings to each other and get married to each other.”

Me: “Tell him there’ll be cake.”

Lydia, sing-song voice: “Saaaaaam, there will be caaaaaake . . .”

Sam: “I want cake.”

Lydia: “Will you come to my wedding? We’ll have cake!”

Sam: “I don’t want it wedding! I want CAKE!”

an island divided

I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but we did survive the little excursion I had mentioned. It was a very pleasant getaway, one that was much needed. After our long vacation drought from 2007 to 2012, these little trips have been wonderful.

It took two airplane flights to get to St. Martin*, and the first one was incredibly small. The smaller the plane, the more nervous I get. The second plane was a much bigger 757, and we landed on the island that afternoon.

Our hotel was on the French side, and it was a fancy hotel at that. The views were incredible, both from the lobby,

Palm trees let you close you're close to Paradise.

and our balcony.

The balcony was truly the highlight of the room. Can't beat that view.

For the rest of the afternoon, Steven and I donned our swimsuits and relaxed on the beach. Though magnificent, as soon as we stepped onto the sand we realized how spoiled we have become from our Alabama beaches. The sand at St. Martin was much more coarse than our own, and when you looked closely, it was composed of little bits of seashells.

We varied between lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean. At one point a waiter came by offering refreshments. The daiquaris were amazing, along with their price tag of $18 each!

Frankie says relax

The next day we had booked a snorkeling expedition. There were many fascinating sights along the way,

Yes, please.

I want to go to there.

Some of the people that went on the snorkeling trip with us were traveling via the Carnival ship.

. . . and the snorkeling trip itself was one of the most incredible things I’ve done in my life. As we floated above coral reefs, swimming sea turtles, and schools of fish, it felt as if we were flying above them as the waves steered us through the currents. Sadly, my camera is not waterproof, or else I would have some amazing photographs.

By that evening, I realized all that snorkeling left its mark on me in the form of a scorching sunburn on my legs along with the sensation of floating in the waves for the next week (which is rather fun as long as you’re not driving).

We had a fantastic group dinner that night, where we dined on salad with anchovies (oh hush, it was awesome), lobster, steak, and after that I don’t really remember since my wine glass was never allowed to be empty. Unlike Parisians, our French-speaking waiters were more than willing to let us practice our French, what little we had.

Our hotel served up a most fantastic breakfast buffet, and on each morning I indulged myself on lox and bagels, muffins, and coffee. I always looked forward to our breakfast meal.

Must have coffee to function, even on vacation.

On our last evening on the island, we headed out to a city on the French side called Grand Case in search of French cuisine. We made good time despite the continual mess of cars on the road, so we walked around a little bit.

Steven enjoyed a crepe from the Crepe Man,

Keeping Nutella in business.

and I admired all the city signage and graffiti.

Quelle manière nous disparaissent, Georges?

One must wear the appropriate personal protective equipment when dealing with lobsters.

Translation: Hey, you! I love you!

We found a decaying pier along the shoreline behind the restaurants,

Reichenbach.

and we were so close to the little French airport that the planes practically buzzed just over our heads.

Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz a tower.

Our French cuisine, when we finally did sit down to eat, was fantastic. I stayed simple with lobster bisque, filet mignon, and a cheese plate (!), but Steven was more adventurous with his choice of frog legs.

This was a bowl to wash our hands in, hot towel and everything. Fancy!

And before we knew it, the time had come to go home, and off to the airport we went. St. Martin is known for its airport, among other things. As our airplane taxied across the runway, I wondered if there were any idiots behind the plane.

Both plane rides were turbulent, but I survived! As long as the plane is staying in the air, I find the views out the window quite lovely, and I was glad to see the coastline of South Carolina as we headed back into the States.

I only know this is South Carolina because the pilot informed us. I wonder exactly where this is.

We dragged into Birmingham a little past midnight, and the kids — and even Hermione! — were glad to see us the next day. Lydia is a bit put out because she would love to ride in an airplane. We have promised her a beach trip later this year, fingers crossed that it goes better than last time.

And life continues on. Steven and I hope to travel a bit more this year. We had to get our passports renewed for this trip, and for the chunk of change it cost to do that, I would like to get some good use out of the darn thing.

Bougainvillea and fig trees were everywhere. Fascinating.

____________________________________________

*Even though one side of the island is called St. Martin and the other side St Maarten, I’ve stuck with the French spelling just so I won’t confuse myself.

sputnik; thirty-six months in orbit

Last weekend, Sam turned three years old. I must admit, this year’s set of birthdays has snuck up on me spectacularly. I’m fairly surprised that I even got a birthday party whipped up for Young Samuel. Lydia’s is still looming . . .

Sam has really grown into himself this past year. He continued speech therapy throughout the winter and spring, and he has done so well that he no longer qualifies for the service. He has made a vast improvement, and Steven and I are so proud of him.

Sam 3D Glasses

In fact, Sam picked up on some things that we’re still not sure how he caught on. Soon after he turned two, we discovered Sam knew all of his letters along with a few words. Perhaps that’s one of the perks of having an older sibling. Since then, he’s learned his numbers and most of the lowercase letters as well. His favorites are ‘O’ and ‘W.’

Sam Reading

Sam is still a voracious eater. There are some days where he eats more than Steven or I do. He is much less picky about foods than his sister and is usually willing to try about anything at least once. His allergies seem to be getting better as well. We began re-introducing eggs into his diet over the past few months, and it seems like that pesky allergy is gone. No more egg-free alchemy going on in this household! (However, I’m still afraid to try the rice. I think that incident scarred me for life.)

Sam Eating

Sam’s ever-changing temperament is still a big part of him. He can go from bright and happy to a tempestuous storm in the blink of an eye. As he ages, though, he is learning to better control his moods and find his way back to Happy Mode. Hopefully he will continue to improve. Happy Mode is best mode.

Sam Lydia and Steven

Lydia may be my artist, but Sam is my musician. He is more enthralled with music than Lydia has ever thought about. Not only does he enjoy it when we sing songs to him, he is usually singing songs to himself, especially if he’s playing alone. He will hum or sing as he plays, and many times he changes the words to suit him.

The older the kids get, the better friends they become. They’re about the same height and weight right now, and over the past year I have already gotten a few, “Are they twins?” questions. We don’t worry as much when they wander off to play together — we hear more giggling and less fighting or crying — though sometimes the occasional incident will happen, with Sam bursting out of the room in tears with Lydia right behind him, apologizing, “Sorry! Sorry, Sam!”

Sam and Lydia

Sam is a man of many loves. Nothing gets him excited quicker than any mention of water-related activities, whether it be bath, the pool, or brushing his teeth. Now that it’s summertime again, you can almost always find Sam soaking wet from head to toe.

Sam Water Hose

His other two loves are Yo Gabba Gabba and the color orange. Even his wardrobe is a mix of Gabba and orange shirts. If it’s not one of the two, he ain’t wearing it. Sam’s birthday party was even all Gabba.

Muno Birthday Cake

Despite having an older child, I have no idea what this next year will bring for Sam. The only thing consistent about him so far is his ability to be completely unpredictable. I hope he can keep it down to manageable proportions.

Messy Sam