merry christmas!! nah...bah humbug!

THE CHRISTMAS TABLE
THE HUMBLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS DAY
LILY AND HER NANA MICHELE

LILYS NEW SMILE AT THE XMAS MARKET
MUMMY AND LILY OUTSIDE A WOOD CARVING STALL
THE SILLY HAT FAMILY EATING BRATWURST
IM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS STOCKING THING YET
MAKING IGGLE PIGGLE DANCE

AMAZED AT THE PLANES
CISCA AND LILY
ME EATING HERRING AND PULLING FACES
CISCA, GERDA, LILY AND I
LILY AND DADDY DOING THE LILY SMILE

Hello all

I see you all had lovely Christmas's. Everyone looked like they had such fun, so a belated merry Christmas to all of you. My apologies for it being so late. It was not my intention I assure you but fate took over and my Christmas and holiday was challenged by a bad flu virus.

As I sit here , having dragged the laptop to the couch I may add, I am still coughing like a lung may emerge any minute.

I have never been sick over Christmas and I hated it. I love bloomin Christmas!! this is not what I asked for father Christmas!!!!

Aside from being so ill I still had a Little girl to make Christmas special for. She is still a wee bit young to understand exactly whats going on but she got into the present and stocking thing pretty sharpish and even exclaimed "wow" and "ooooooo" when she saw her crayons in her stocking.

Let me begin my stories by telling you from the beginning. Our trip to Holland.

We had a lovely , if not cold, time. I spent a lot of the time in stitches of laughter at Kristian. He is by no means the most adventurous person and the cold was just too much for him. I am certain he believes without a doubt that the Netherlands is the coldest place on earth.

Our flight was great. Lily loves planes and the airport provided much excitement for her. she was pointing and making noises at all the planes and then when we boarded one she was truly amazed.

We stayed at a friend, Ciscas , house in Amsterdam. she lives just outside Amsterdam near Schipol airport in a lovely, modern flat. We have been friends since we were little and it was lovely to catch up with her . Lily absolutely loved her wanted to be carried around by her all the time. The first day we went off to Volendam, a traditional dutch fishing village. I ate herring which I love and we had some poffertjies ( tiny pancakes) on the seafront.

The Friday saw us making our way into Amsterdam for the day. We went in by train and barely escaped death many times as the bicycles came at us from every angle. We had a wander around and then later that afternoon met up with Cisca and her mum , Gerda , at the sweetest quirky coffee shop , which I am told is called my Granny's panties ( I think) the dutch huh weird people!!

We went into haarlem the next day which is a lovely town that has a market outside the cathedral in the square selling the most amazing flowers. I am a flower person and these flowers were just amazing. the dutch are so house proud they do these amazing flower arrangements ,and everbody has these huge front windows decorated in some way.

We did get lost trying to find the bus there and we both got very cold. We wrapped Lily in her cosy toes thing and she was snug but we were not happy. Especially Kristian .

I think this was the beginning of my problems though as in the next 4 hours my sore throat hit and then the dreaded fever.

That evening we went to Gerda's house and had lovely dutch croquette and wine. Gerda's house is wonderful and her tree was lovely. Santa had been and brought Lily a doll and a buggy for her. What a hit this was she has not stopped playing with it.

Next day saw us going to my aunt and uncle . If we thought we were cold before we did not know what was about to happen. Not only did the temperature drop to minus 3 most days but the house was not exactly warm.

They loved Lily though and she had a ball and was fascinated by their budgie. The day we arrived I was drugged up trying to get through the day but we went to a small town called Bronkhorst anyway. It was beautiful but I felt so awful all I could think of was my bed. then it got so cold that Kristian's shoelace snapped. I went into fits of hysteria. his face was a picture.

I then had a day in bed to prepare myself for the market in Germany. You know what its like. You are desperate to do something. you have spent all your savings on going somewhere so you have to force yourself to go and have fun.

The day passed like I was watching it from above, probably due to the drugs, and we got some lovely Christmas bits like a table cloth and a wooden cut out candle thingy. We had bratwurst and gluwein ( lots for me to mix with the drugs)

All in all I must be honest and say that it was not the best after I got sick and all I wanted was to get home to my bed. we did make it home and I had my bed for a day until I remembered it was Christmas and I had not done any food shopping sigh.....

Usually i love going food shopping. not this time.

here was our menu

spicy parsnip soup with brushetta

balintore of chicken, duck and turkey stuffed with a pork , apricot and sage stuffing and covered with pancetta

roasted maple syrup parsnips

roast potatoes roasted in goose fat

baby carrots and broccoli

red cabbage with apple

little sausages wrapped in bacon

cranberry sauce

xmas pud with egg nog cream and custard

It was my first Christmas dinner and Kristian and his mum tell me it was delicious. It took every ounce of will power to get up and be merry on Christmas day and then to prepare the dinner. Awful I know but the truth.

Lily getting up and opening her stocking on our bed was the highlight for me. she was just so excited because we were and then all her little toys started coming out and she did not know what to play with first.

The gift opening went well as well and she loved all her gifts. Her iggle piggle went down a treat and she gave him kisses the whole day and pushed him around in her pram.

She is the light of my life that little thing. we love her so much and she really is so entertaining. she chats away now to herself and us and her vocabulary is growing by the day. she say car now as well and daddy and mum.

I always find when we have been away and she has seen new things she has a growth spurt .

My new year wish is that I have a good Christmas next year. I am planning to have a flu jab and inject vitamin c into my veins.

I will leave you with a few holiday photos and Christmas day ones.

I hope this year has brought all of you the happiness you deserve and that the new year is full of happiness and love and lots of blog posts.....................

I have a sparkly tree

Yes its up.

My tree and all my English decorations are up. my poor South African ones are all stored in a wendy house in my parents back garden. I do feel sorry for them.

We had a festive weekend beginning on Friday when we put the tree up. we started before Lily's bedtime and she loved it. It was a wee bit chaotic and at one stage when Lily was rushing through the lounge wildly banging two glass baubles together. They broke , I screamed , she screamed and then i rescued her from the shards of glass.

We have this little soft toy Rudolph that sings Rudolph the red nose reindeer ( what else) and dances . she loves this thing and has learnt very quickly that by squeezing its hand it starts all over. she holds his hands and dances along with him. Its very cute.

The weekend was the most foul weather we have had in a long time and forced us to stay indoors. We could have gone shopping but we figured the rest of Britain would be there as things are so busy recently I have queued to blow my nose.

It was a nice weekend though and we played with Lily and had lunch and watched some tv and marveled at our tree.

Tomorrow brings a new exciting trip. We are off to Holland for a week. I have always wanted to go to the German Christmas markets. Then our friends and my dads sister offered for us to come to Holland so I though it would be the perfect opportunity. We are near Amsterdam for 3 days and then in Dieren at my aunt and uncles fir 3 days, one of those we are going by coach to Germany to a market. Bring on the gluwein and stollen , I am there!

Its bound to be very exciting for Lily as her new favorite thing is aeroplanes. When she hears one she runs to the window to look for it and shouts excitedly. she can spot them when they are but pin pricks in the sky.

Her other new favorite is dogs and cats. she can do woof woof and pss pss ( the universal sound for calling a cat)

I hope you all have a good week and weekend. we have anniversaries and graduations amongst the bloggers this week. I will be back next week with tales of German Christmas's.

hers some pictures

Look how curly Lily's hair is from behind

our fireplace and mantle

The tree all wrapped in tinsel

the tree with light a bit blurry with no flash
putting some decorations on the tree chilling with daddy and dolly

yummy

from the time I gave birth to her I have been responsible for feeding her, from breastmilk to formula, to pureed everything.

I have spooned it into her mouth with care.

But now she is keen to spoon it herself and here are the results of Lily's first self feed.

Not too messy I am sure you will agree and she was so pleased with herself too!

I wish...

I wish my bum was smaller and my legs longer
I wish mince pies were zero calories
I wish I was going home for Christmas
I wish I was living in cape town
I wish Kristian could get a job in Cape Town
I wish Lily has a life filled with love, happiness and health.
I wish that Steven and Veronica's little crumb has a safe journey onto earth
I wish that little Amy's first year is the best ever
I wish that Honey is happy and joyful in doggie heaven
I secretly wish that there is a heaven
I wish my nana could spend a day with me to tell me more of her stories now that i am older and more appreciative
I wish my dad could give up work
I wish my mum would stop getting bronchitis
I wish that my family could see Lily at the stage she is at now.. the sweetest
I wish they would stop putting those plastic ringpulls on juice cartons that cut into your hand
I wish people would start paying more attention to the environment..me included
I secretly wish i could have another baby
I wish we had a 2 bedroom flat
I wish i could dance a latin american dance
I wish i was neater and more organized
I wish all the babies and kiddies I know have a magical christmas

but most of all I wish that every one of you that reads this blog has a joyful and happy Christmas period and that the new year will be filled with promise and new adventures .

I wish.....

Brrrrrrrr

As I type this the wind is howling outside and it is very cold. that cold where you don't dare open your mouth in case your teeth freeze. I am hopeful that it will get colder and colder until magically on Christmas day it snows !!!

We have just got back from a lovely night spent at our friends, Jason and Sandi. They have a lovely little house in Watford. we left on Saturday afternoon and drove up there in a lot of rain. Once again Kristian pulled a goerge and went onto the hard shoulder as he thought it was the off ramp. I found this tremendously funny but he DID NOT. so I had to fight to control my laughter for a good 5 minutes.

We had a lovely evening with wine and lovely real champagne. They had done tomato soup, chicken , potatoes and veg and for pud a lovely hot chocolate pudding and treacle pudding yum!!

Lily was a star and kept Jason fit this morning walking up and down the stairs. She really loved them , being a bit of a novelty as we don't have stairs. We then went of to a village called Chipperfield to an old fashioned pub, overlooking farmlands and a green. a fireplace was crackling and I had some pork sausages, mash and red onion gravy.

So that was the weekend. On the Lily front she is growing like a weed and its all about chatting at the moment. This week alone she has said 3 different words. Ball is still her favorite but she is saying dad very well and there (der) and quack quack. she is imitating every word we say ( gulp) and is babbling away non stop. Her little sense of humour is so developed and she really is very funny. She has learnt how to hide now and hides everywhere. I truly believes she understands everything I say. She can point out mist of her body bits like her nose , feet , toes etc. All in all I am having such fun with her,its so rewarding being with her and watching her learning new things.

With all this Independence comes strong will though and on Friday I had my first toddler battle and did not fair too well. She keeps touching the coal in the fireplace getting her hands and my furniture and clothes filthy. also its dangerous obviously. Will she listen to me? not a chance!!!

I was stern, removed her and distracted her. then I tried putting her in the room for about 30 seconds and then going in and telling her mummy says no. nothing worked she kept going back and touching it while looking at me. My temper is very short and eventually i put her in the room and let her cry before she could come out. how terrible did I feel. I hated it but I made her look at me when I told her that she must not touch and she stopped doing it. yay I won

Oh here's her later that evening when she removed a piece of the coal and brought it to me and then smeared it all over her face. excuse the runny nose she is a bit sick , but it adds to the chimney sweep look. perhaps I did not win after all!!

Also a sad farewell to our friends Gavin , Catherine and baby Max. Tuesday sees them winging their way back to South Africa to start a brilliant new job. We will miss them . they are our singing partners :(

good luck guys ,enjoy it, and see you soon

I am of course insanely jealous and am popping in tomorrow to hide in their suitcase

Baby Max with his iggle piggle we gave him

I will leave you with a few photos from recent weeks.

Ps. be vey excited as my tree is going up in the week and I am going to bore you with many photos of that

xxxxx

Lily being serious

a bit of personal therepy

I look upon this blog as therapy at times. Sharing your thoughts and ups and downs is very therapeutic.
I have had one of those days today. The minute I opened my eyes I thought ...shit!!
Blocked nose, sore throat, aching body. up I get cause mummies have no sick days and Lily was on top form.
Then I check my credit card statement to find I have spent a large fortune and the bank are charging me willy nilly for things I don't understand. At this point the sensible thing to do is to forget about it until I feel better. But no... not me!!
So I get on the phone to customer services in India. they have these standard phrases that they have to read out. I cannot even begin to tell you my frustration.
I say how can my interest on £19 be £8.90 ( if any of you have an answer please tell me)
she says we work out you interest o a daily blah blah and from your balance blah blah so its 22%
I say but £ 8.90 is not 22 % of £19 so she repeats it again so I start crying. yes people crying to the Indian bank lady. I then gather myself and tell her she has been no help at all to me.
Kristian and I have a small disagreement about said balance and he goes off to work.

The final nail in the coffin and by far the worst news was that our beautiful doggie, honey, was put down today after a long and lovely life.
she was the happiest , most lovely dog. always smiling and tail wagging.
we are all so sad and will miss her so much

If you got to this point of my post, congratulations and sorry for depressing you. Things can only get better and already my nose feels clearer

there is a new post promise

you just have to go below the one for the best day ever . I have no idea why it is that way and to be frank I am too tired to work it out

the best day ever

Huge congratulations to my dear, dear bestest friends Steven and Veronica. Finally a little baby on its way .
So much joy lies ahead of you and I could not be happier.
Today all is well with the world and the smile cannot be wiped from my beaming face

Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree.....

The excitement is mounting, can you feel it? The air gets a certain smell and there is a magic feeling all around. i know that perhaps that is just me, but Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year.

I wanted to start this post with a challenge of sorts , except its not very challenging. I did one of those questionnaires that I love so much the other day and one of the questions was , ever written a letter to Santa? I was shocked to see that most of my friends said no. For me your letter to father Christmas is the beginning of all the excitement. deciding what to put on it, what to say to him and then of course your method of "posting".

My mum always took us into the back garden and we burned our letters (pyromaniacs that we are) she said that the fairy's came down and collected all the pieces and put them together and gave them to father Christmas. So of course because my mum did that, so will I. I plan to "help " Lily write her letter and on the 1st December we are going to burn it outside for the fairy's. I have it on good authority that father Christmas is going to write back to her too.

So here's my challenge. I think we should all write a letter with something we want on it. I know of a few blogger friends who have already received their Christmas wishes!!

My next favorite thing is decorating. I am a traditionalist. none of these poncy different colour trees for me. I like a lovely, full ,green tree. I would love a real tree but as the ones in cape town were never very good I have a good artificial one. When I was little it was really the most exciting time. We would put on our Christmas records and unpack all the boxes of decorations. my dad would huff and puff putting up our tree and then we would set about unpacking each decoration. I just love that all my mums decorations were individual. bought as the years went by. they all have a story and a meaning, as do all of mine. one by one the decorations were unpacked very carefully as some are precious you know. when the tree is up and sparkling we switch off the lights and the tree twinkles. You must then have a mince pie , the ultimate Christmas fare, and a lovely cup of tea.

I have the best ornaments on my tree and since moving to England have acquired another tree full.Last year I was set free in the Harrods Christmas shop and was never happier. I have old fashioned ornaments , glass ornaments , crystal , funny , traditional... you name it I have it. I also have a beautiful snow globe collection and stockings...

aaahhh stockings... my next favorite thing.

I have only recently got a new stocking when my old one more or less fell apart. Lily has a divine one purchased for her last year and I am having such fun finding stocking fillers for her. I cant wait for her the open her stocking up. Today I got her these cute little wind up toys. a penguin and a dinosaur and a bouncy ball filled with glitter and a snowman.

But I digress

On Christmas eve I used to put my stocking at the end of my bed for father Christmas to fill. Christmas eve is like bursting point for me. getting the mince pie and sherry to put out, putting out my stocking and lying in bed wishing for sleep through my excitement because then morning would come quicker, but listening out for the sleigh bells just in case.

We could always open our stockings first, usually at 6 in the morning and then we would spend the morning looking longingly at our pressies waiting for my Nana to get ready. My poor Nana. We would start pestering at about 8. I remember one Christmas going down there with my brother and my mum to pick her up hurrying her along, poor Nana!!

we always have my Nana's shortbread in the morning with tea and all give out our gifts and laze and play. Mum usually puts some breakfast out like croissants and a few people come round as the morning progresses. We have a buffet cold lunch usually and in recent years a bucketful of wine and champagne.

I can never remember what we did in the evening but I presume passed out ( much like now just for different reasons) in recent years I have gone to the Cobley family and we usually play some games which are very fun or very stressful depending on the competitive nature on the day.

I think that's whats great about tradition. Some things stay the same always and some new traditions are born.

I always put my stocking on my bed as we had no fireplace but I do have one now and Kristian insists father Christmas does not come to houses that have no fireplace ( shock, horror)

so Lily will put hers up on her little holder thing.

Lily also has a fabulous talking bear that reads the night before Christmas. I want to incorporate that into our traditions.

And so begins a whole new set of tradition as Lily is on our life

ultimately Christmas is about family and friends. I have a dream of having one big Christmas lunch with all my family and friends and children running around.

Christmas time is magic, It fills me with excitement and joy and I cannot wait to share it with my little girl this year.

Lily and her christmas bear last year

a terribly exciting adventure

Happy bonfire night as they say here in old blighty. Guy Fawkes is a big thing here. I love fireworks but I don't think that the man on the street should have them and use them. They do the most fantastic organised displays here, one of the best in our little Blackheath. Every year 80 000 people flock to the village to watch an organised display which goes on for half an hour constantly. the partying carries on into the wee hours though.

We decided not to go. Last year it was our first post baby outing but I thought being a bit late and loud would be too much for the Lilster. We met Kristian's mum Michele at Waterloo as she came to visit for the weekend and we had a lovely day in St James park feeding the ducks and playing with the ball in all the autumn leaves. At about 4 30 we trundled over to the Southbank and had a pre dinner drink on the Thames. It has been unseasonably mild here and the evening was still and pleasant and we sat outside as day turned to dusk. Lily had a little nap after refusing to for most of the day and when she woke we walked over to Strada, an Italian restaurant, for our dinner. Pizza with caramelized red onion ,goats cheese, rocket and black olives yum! Lily ate all the olives and a fair bit of pizza before we started to head for home.

Our train seemed to be in the stops for a fair bit of time but I thought nothing of it . As we were in the first carriage ours was empty. I had said to Kristian that they close the roads but he said no only later . you can see where this is going.

We exit our train and THOUSANDS of people are streaming off the other carriages. I start to feel uneasy about getting out as I see its 40 min to firework time!

Yes they would not let us out. Kristian had a goerge costanza ( one of his panic fits) there was much " but my baby needs to get home" " this is unbelievable!! " and the like. I am sent off to get a policeman. I thought it was all pointless but I knew if I did not go Kristian would pass out. The policeman says to me madam 80 000 people are up the street you cant drive down it. I say OK and go and break the news to Goerge.

So we get out and watch the fabulous ,wonderful fireworks. we all loved it even Lily and we got home at 10 with the most tired child in the world.

She is in bed early tonight again in a bid to catch up.

Otherwise the week was good for us. It seemed to fly by. Keeping up with Verons news (yay) and having the MMR jab (boo) My poor little Lily. I had not realised that there were 2 jabs and I had to hold her down for the second one. She was so heartsore but it was soon forgotten. It was the one jab I was dreading with all the links with Autism its a massive decision to make. In the end I just feel that the diseases are more dangerous.

We went swimming on Friday with Cath and Max. Max is looking so cute and he smiles away now. Lily is loving swimming now and does not want to get out. she holds onto a small waterpolo ball for dear life and loves my pulling her through the water. I really want to do the swimming lessons with her so we will have to see how finances go.

Oh and excitedly I bought my first christmas goody from the pier . A lovely little santa garland. the first of many I am sure!!

just close your eyes and realx while i lay my hands on you Watching the fireworksI am sooo tired now Ill just sit here in the road

Damn you , father time

While most of Britain is cuddled up in their duvets enjoying the extra hour of sleep the clocks going back afforded them, spare a thought, please, for the parents of routined babies and toddlers.
The don't know the clocks went back . so after months of work Lily is sleeping till 7 :30 am but not now. 6 :30 today ,on a Sunday!!!
So the hard work begins as we reset her little body clock
Could I just mention that this clocks thing is stupid!!!

get out the hats and mittens

autumn/ winter has arrived in London this week. We have put the heating on and my coat is all dusted off and has had 3 outings this week. Lily has started to wear her adorable red coat and new hat. She drew lots of stares and smiles and aaahhhhss when she was out in it on Wednesday. She looks so cute its unreal.

I have been having one of those homesick weeks. I really am missing my friends, my mum and dad and my brother Andrew. It was Andrews birthday on Tuesday and although I know he was working and I probably would not have seen him , I still feel unsettled when I am not around for a birthday.

I also switched on my old laptop in order to retrieve some old photos on there. I found these from our time in Cape Town 2005. Steven and Veronica got married, I was newly pregnant and we had the best time. these photos just made me feel so weepy. what a sap I am

Ever the artistic bunch. we can spend whole evenings taking mad photos!!!

This week we met with Nicola (cheeky monkey) and the cheeky monkey himself. We had a walk round Greenwich and a play in the park as well. It was lovely to see them and the bump.

Lily is just being adorable at the moment. She has started doing so much. The beginnings of talking are there . she is saying ball and daddy and dadads ( grandad) she says hi as well. We have started a new routine of watching " in the night garden" at night before bath and bed. she loves it. she has started copying them and clapping blowing kisses and even touching her toes. when she sees the characters in the shops she recognises them and gets ever so excited.

The best was tonight when I bathed her first. she was very tired so I thought we could bath and then watch. while we were getting dressed in the bedroom the music came on. At the beginning a little child is always in bed and his/her mummy is circling on the palm of the child's hand like round and round the garden

So my brilliant child hears the music and starts doing that on her hand. I tell you your heart can burst from pride. then you tell anyone else and they stifle yawn!! Its just amazing as they start to understand the world.

I will leave you with some photos of Lily watching night garden in her towel and then in her coat at the park

xxx

I carried a watermelon

Yes Dirty dancing. 20 years ago dirty dancing was released in cinemas and 20 years later it is a cult film.

Its one of my favorites ,it has all the right ingredients. dancing , love, some sexy bits. I can remember watching it when I was in Standard five. a baby really( pardon the pun) some bits are quite eye opening , especially for a 12 year old. I think thats why we love it. its like a coming of age film. just as babys innocence was shattered so were ours.

When I was home now it was on tv after carolines baby shower. My mum ,veronica and I ran to the tv to watch the last bit. " no one puts baby in the corner"

We are united by the way that film makes us feel.

I have just watched it and am doing dance steps around my flat. what with that and strictly come dancing I will be at dance lessons before the week is out!!!

whats happening with Wendy?

On the train
In the autumn leaves
I love these leaves
I love Sandi!!!

Hello all
Yes I am back after a short break. By break ,I mean time where I had to rest my eye and was forced not to be on the computer. As you can imagine I suffered severe withdrawal. Cold shivers ,chattering teeth, mindless babbling.

After my mothers crazed" I am a worrying type of person" post you may have deduced that I have something wrong with my eye. It started quite innocently with a very red ,bloodshot eye. kind of like those ones you get after a whole night drinking and clubbing. as no clubbing takes place here at the moment I went to the Doctor. he gave me drops. I went home , put them in and thought that was that. He had said if it had not got better in 24 hours I was to go to Lewisham A and E. Now, I don't even really like going into Lewisham, so the thought of A and E was not appealing, however, by Monday the flashing in my eye was persisting and getting worse.
So I thought right ,I am going to have an eye test. long ,long story very short. they tell me I have this high pressure in my eye. tell me that that's sometimes glaucoma . I must go to A and E
PANIC!!!!!
3 hours in Lewisham A and E left me none the wiser about my condition but armed with an appointment at kings college hospital and a large dose of the heeby jeebies ( from the stinky people)
Next day kings. 2 hours waiting, see the nurse. she looks ums and ahs. then I must go and wait again. then the Doctor. ums and ahs. puts drops in my eye to dilate the pupil (aka the drug addict look) tells me my vision will blur for a few hours.
Minutes later I cant see a bloody thing just blurs. Doc looks in my eyes for a long long time. tells me its iritis. its an auto immune disease. sometimes they never know the cause, inflamed iris blah blah blah. send me off with a prescription for drops and an appointment in 2 weeks.
right sorted
But No. I must now get home to Catherine's house where Lily is. I cant see. My phone is a blur so I cant find the numbers to phone. the light is hurting my eyes so I put on my sunglasses and walk in the rain to the train station enlisting the help of willing strangers to tell me the platform, the time etc.
eventually when I was on the train everyone gave me a wide berth and I got a lovely seat separated from everyone. I stumbled to Caths and she phoned Kristian to tell him that he would have to pick me up.
So now I am religiously ( yes mum) putting my drops in and its feeling a little better.

besides that excitement we had a quiet weekend watching the rugby (yay) and strictly come dancing. that is one of my favorite programmes. how I wish I was a dancer. this year they have such a great group of people. Kelly Brook, penny Lancaster Stewart. its amazing I tell you.

Sunday saw us having a wonderful day in St. James park where Jason and Sandi met us and we had some sandwiches on our blankets , chatted and played with Lily while she ran around manically.
this week I have already had a trip into Richmond to meet up with Jen. lunch and chat and the most glorious almond croissant from a french patisserie. Today I have ventured across the river to visit Lailaa in her amazing apartment along the banks of the thames. what a view from her floor to ceiling windows. we had a lovely quiche and salad and more tea and cake and chat.
aahhh the life of a stay at home mum.

I do have an interview next week at a shop in Greenwich that is looking for staff in the evenings. The extra cash will be great to have as i am saving for a very special event next year in August.
yes.....finally...... We are getting married!!!

Sugar and spice

I will be upfront with you at this point and tell you that the title of this post was not my own , but my dear friend Carolines. She wrote me a quick email to tell me to do a counter post singing girls praises after all this "boys are wonderful "talk.

When I first fell pregnant , quite unexpectedly, I thought I was going to have a boy. I have always done the ring test and Caroline and I were always going to have little boys. We spent long afternoons locked up in either her bedroom or mine discussing their names amongst other things. Mine went from a Philip ( I Know) to Liam to Luke ( still a fav ) to Jack. Then when I was about 6 weeks pregnant I felt very girly all of a sudden. I had a strong girl feeling. By the time my 22 week scan came I was so happy that she was a little girl. It felt so right. I am definitely a little girls mummy.

Like Pia said in her blog that she is so surprised how boy like Adam is i am too surprised by Lily's girlyness. Shes a tiny, petite little thing , quiet as a mouse at times. she brushes her hair when i brush mine and her very favorite thing to do is put on make up with me. When I apply blusher she gets her little brush and does the same. she loves shoes and I mean LOVE. this weekend saw her getting a pair of black patent leather shoes from her Nana Michele. she walks along looking at the shoes and then at the Indian restaurant (where she gobbled up curry... but that's another post) she placed her feet up on the table for all to see her new shoes. everyone who passed, she pointed at them.

All day long all she wants to do is kiss and hug us. I feel so blessed to have such a sensitive , lovely , pretty little girl. I know this first year together has been the very beginning of our bond. the mother daughter relationship. I am very close to my mum and it feels so right for me to have a daughter.

All was made right though when Caroline had little Amy. Two little girls who sat well over 2 decades ago discussing their little boys now have little girls. From the minute Caroline told me she was pregnant I knew it was a girl. I knew we would always have the same. Now our little girls will discuss their future offspring together huddled in their bedrooms. Just know this little Lily and Amy.... girls rock

these are a few of my favorite things

Have I mentioned lately I am a taurus? thought I may have. well I am a typical taurus and we put great value on material possessions. I am loathe to ever part with anything. I hang onto stones, birthday cards, clothing that's over 10 years old, anything really. It all seems to have great value to me. I have recently had to be quite ruthless with myself as in the 3 years I have lived in England i have accumulated mounds of "stuff" . our flat was at bursting point and as we are staying in it a while longer I thought I better sort out my life.

Black bags were purchased, a few tears were shed, alot of bargaining with oneself was done but I finally have 3 black bags to go. 2 to charity and one that's full of stuff so shit that I will not even send it to the charity shop.

During this clean up I began thinking of my favorite things. Things that I will never part with. sometimes I have things and I just love to look at them. sometimes its just the way i have arranged things that fills me with joy. a vase of flowers often does it for me.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am reading atonement by Ian Mcewan and one particular paragraph just resonated with me

"The vase she was looking for was on an american cherry wood table by the french windows which were slightly ajar. Their south east aspect had permitted parallelograms of morning sunlight to advance across the powder blue carpet. Her breathing slowed and her desire for a cigarette deepened, but still she hesitated by the door, momentarily held by the perfection of the scene - by the three faded chesterfields grouped around the almost new gothic fireplace in which stood a display of wintery sedge, by the unplayed, untuned harpsicord and the unused rosewood music stands, by the heavy velvet curtains, loosely restrained by an orange and blue tasseled rope, framing a parcial view of cloudless sky and the yellow and grey mottled terrace where camomile and feverfew grew between the paving cracks..."

I just love that description of a scene that holds you.

Walking around my little flat I have a few treasured items like my sculpture I got as an engagement present, however it was a little late and I was pregnant already. it is of a fat lady ( that's what they are called) with a baby. that sits on my mantelpiece that I have made black and white. alongside that is this little tealight from Paris. Kristian and I got engaged in Paris and we bought it there. Its a very thin almost translucent white porcelain etched with scenes of Paris so when a tealight is placed inside it becomes sort of 3d, this is not as tacky as i have made it sound but very beautiful.

I also have this hanging crystal that Veronica bought for me. Its all green. there is a large bit of labrodorite and adventurine and one other I cant remember even though I am thinking soooooo hard. Its been with me since I moved to England and I just love it. it makes me happy to look at it here it is

all my tea set goodies are very important to me and I love washing them and arranging them. I am collecting different cup saucer and plate. I also have a portmeiron teapot from my first mothers day and lots of little cake platters.

I mean this is just a few things. When we move onto my jewellery box we will be here all day. I have these amazing crystal pendants given to me by a variety of special people and my rings . one from Kristian for my 30th. my 21st ring from my dad and mum and my engagement ring which belonged to Kristian great nan to mention but a few.

there is so much. photos, special cards , pictures, my silver cutlery set, my Nana's bracelet, bedding pillows the list goes on.

I think I will always love beautiful things and I love that. When I go out I see about 5 different things that I would love to have whilst I am sure others see nothing. Over the weekend we went into Greenwich and I saw an indian prayer table. I know if I owned that I would treasure it forever. amazing. then this man in the market sells art deco little frames and earrings. I saw about 5 I loved. then i saw a red leather tub chair that I would definitely love and finally an indian coat which would just go with absolutely everything!!!

aahhh the weekend at last

Its been a quietish week here this week but its felt really long to me. I suppose its because term has started at university and that's when Kristian actually works . hee hee
Academics is a very flexible job but when it term time you do most of your work. Its been sort of a freshers week this week. Kristian met all his tutees and had to introduce himself. apparently he was so laid back all his colleagues thought he was stoned!!

So I have not had Kristian here in the mornings as he is up and at work by 9. I am usually so lazy in the mornings wondering about. This week on Tuesday, Lorraine who I met with last week brought her daughter Taryn to have coffee in blackheath village. she was leaving later the same day. We had a wonderful time and Lily played on the pavement like any good London toddler should. actually they have chairs and tables out there but she had a ball throwing her little fabric ball down the hill for aunty Lorraine to catch. great fun.

We went to singing on Thursday as well and were generally very lazy. Lily has taken to having a long afternoon nap on my bed so I lie next to her reading my book. I am reading atonement as the film has just been released here so the book was half price. I am loving it though. It is beautifully written so give it a go.

Lily has been so funny this week toddling around like a little drunkard, REFUSING to hold my hand at all. She is really strong willed and knows exactly what she wants. she just points and eh eh ehs until you get what she wants down and to her. She can show me where her head is, her tongue and her teeth as well as her belly button. she helps me rub her cream in and dress her. Its quite amazing really.

We have just got back from bluewater shopping centre where we intended to buy her some shoes. I fancied these adorable boots or these cute brown and fushcia shoes, but apparently her feet are too small. these shoes start at a 4 and she is only a 3. she was a 2 1/2 for her little cruising shoes so her feet are not growing rapidly. I was very disappointed as I really wanted those boots. So I have these cute little trainers that Steven and veronica bought her and I will still put her in her other shoes. but what about the little black patent ones i wanted....Its NOT fair.
To lift our spirits we had a pizza out at pizza express . lily had her own pizza with black olives and then ate all my black olives too. she then proceeded to drink most of my very sour still sicilian lemonade. this child is mad.

I can sense that the silly season is almost upon us. From reading everyones blogs they already seem busy busy with lots of things.The shops have started putting out their christmas stuff which I think is mad but hey i love it so i don't complain too hard. I have been planning my Christmas mantel piece already and am surfing the net looking for a fabulous garland. be warmed people i am a Christmas a holic. its my favorite time of year so you have many more of these interesting posts to come. where I am putting the tree etc etc.

anyhoo enough of my waffling. I hope you all have a great weekend. let you know about mine on monday
xxxxx

the pearly kings and queens and other stories about London

kisses with mummy
Oh how I love berries!!

Lailaa and Lily in georges
Yes I know i am walking now but get that thing out of my face!!
Ami and Lily having their lunch

I have been a bit of a social butterfly this last week. its funny how that happens. Its feast or famine.

It all started on Tuesday when Aunty Lorraine phoned me ( a friend of our family) fresh from her trip to Greece she had a day to meet with Lily and I, yay!!

She caught the boat from the southbank and came up to Greenwich. There on the quayside was a shivering Wendy waiting to meet her. I had looked out the window to see lots of lovely sunshine, pulled on a short sleeved top and a dress for lily and off we went. In England the weather turns overnight. all of a sudden its autumn. I do know this but I ignore it never the less. Lucky me she was bringing a jacket of mine with her . That went on me sharpish and we had a lovely day out. Coffee first at Georges of Greenwich to warm up and then onto Blackheath village. we walked about a bit and then stopped for lunch at the villages newest deli, momofranks. Its a Mediterranean deli and has the most divine food. We had a few small dishes. hollumi cheese that was fried with black olives and pita bread. hummous that was divine. i think it had some tahini (sesame paste) in it. we had some falafel as well. Lily loved it all (see black olive photo on post below). she then came for tea and I was able to show off and use my new ebay purchase. An Aynsley china trio ( cup, saucer ,and plate) in Indian tree design. I got it for a bargain and that takes my tea set up to 3. so no more than 3 for tea!!

The next day saw me go to Georges again ( I like it there) to meet one of my blog readers . I met Lailaa at Caroline's yoga classes many years ago and she has been in London a year and we have not met up. disgusting really. So we made a date and had a lovely afternoon chatting and catching up and then a quick swing in the park. We are going to her house soon to have some tea as well yippeee!!!

That evening I was very grown up and got to go out after the sun set. I had some bits for my friend , Jenny that her folks had sent over for her so we made a plan to meet up at Charing cross station and went for a glass of wine and bowl of pasta at Carluccios in Covent garden. I had a lovely spinach and ricotta ravioli in traditional butter and sage. delicious

I came home on a packed train at 10 30 at night and was thoroughly amused by listening to 2 drunken conversations that were taking place around me. How I love to people watch and listen.

A quiet weekend has followed. Lily and I met our baby friends Leigh and Ami at the swimming pools on Saturday for a swim followed by lunch. Lily has a new cossie now and she looked so cute in it. Its orange and red stripes . She liked the swimming and I really enjoyed it. both the girls have grown so much. both toddling now. when they met they were 6 weeks old.

Today has been a lazy one. we just walked into Blackheath standard to get some lunch ( french stick and cheese) Lily had a nap in her buggy and we picked up a cappuccino. whilst we were in the cafe a pearly king pulled up in his own personalised cab. I have only recently heard about pearly kings and queens. i saw this man in a button covered suit and hat walking around and rolled my eyes to Kristian saying it takes all sorts. He told me it was a pearly king.

From there I did some research and have since seen quite a few in our neck of the woods.

So here's the deal, in 1885 an orphan called Henry croft started working as a road sweeper at somers town market. whilst there he became interested in some tough marker traders called costmongers. they had a tradition of sewing smoke pearl buttons on their caps and piping of their trousers. He began picking up the buttons that had fallen off when on his sweeping rounds and sewing them to his cap and suit until it was completely covered.

He set about collecting money to help other orphans . when the demand became greater he roped in the costmongers to help him collect. to this day the original pearly families were costmongers. Pearly kings and queens are a tradition that is passed down through a family and they collect for several different charities.

The Kings design and sew the buttons as it is tradition as Henry did all his own sewing. The traditional horseshoe for luck is a pearly design.

originally they were 28 pearly families. One for each London borough and one for the city of London and the city of Westminster.

Going back to the pearly king in Blackheath Kristian took a photo of the cab. Note the cockney rhyming slang on the cab. " call me on the dog and bone" ( Phone) I did not catch him so I downloaded some photos to show you what they look like. I find it so fascinating. 125 years of tradition. You gotta love London for its quirkiness!!

2 pearly kings and a queen and the aforementioned cab

what the hell

Hey fellow bloggers
Is a lot of your posting pages etc in german? or is it just me?
xxx