Day 6 in London

I am grateful for the experience of being a parent. One of the true thrills of parenting is leaving the children with a babysitter and going out. This was never such a thrill pre-kids. Last night, after making sure the babysitter had all the information she needed, we wandered back to Portobello Road. Kate wanted to visit a chocolate shop to get some easter candy. The shop had such amazing chocolate, we had to make a purchase. We purchased a basil and lime, tobacco, and black cardamom to name a few.

This is a picture of the bottom of the bag they gave us at the shop.

I have seen many reminders of caring for the environment. I am reminded that in other countries, the human effect on climate change is not debated.

After chocolate, we went to a delicious Mexican restaurant, and later, we stopped at Stephen and Kate's favorite gelato place... again delicious. When we returned home 4 of the 5 children were asleep. One of Kate's neighbors had stopped by to pick up some keys and told Kate the sitter was very kind and calm and seemed to have everything under control. Pretty impressive for 5 kids. Jack reported when he woke up that he wanted her to come back again.

Before going to bed last night, we made Easter baskets for all the kids. This morning when they woke up was a festival of sugar and an impressive display of meltdowns. Kate's kids are still sick and I didn't think they'd go anywhere. However we headed out around 1030 to Kew Gardens where there was an easter egg hunt of sorts.

It took about 40 minutes to get out to the gardens by the tube -- we had to wait longer than usual because of the holiday. The Kew gardens started as a park in the 16th century. In the 17th century it became the property of the Royal family and George III spent his summers there. I couldn't find the current size of the garden but by the time George III was there, it had expanded to 400 acres. It's a very large park. It is host to trees that are hundreds of years old. Today the mission of Kew Gardens to "inspire and deliver science-based plant conservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life." We wandered around the gardens, participated in a hunt of sorts (we got little tokens from people dressed as various animals then were supposed to collect a chocolate egg -- my kids didn't dig the delayed satisfaction and didn't finish the hunt), then found a cool playground that had indoor and outdoor sections. The kids really enjoyed it. The playground equipment here is different from home.. there's just a lot more of it -- for example, they build little hills that the kids spend a lot of time running over.

We had 3pm reservations at a neighborhood restaurant so we left around 2. IT's traditional in England to go to a local pub for a "Sunday roast." Since it was Easter and Stephen's birthday we splurged and took the kids. It wasn't really a pub. It looked like a restaurant to me. The food was amazing.

The action continued when we returned to Kate's and had a traditional easter egg hunt. We sang Happy Birthday to Stephen while Kate served whoopie pies she had purchased from a neighborhood bakery. At this point, the kids were zipping all over the place. Ryan joked we were stress testing their endocrine systems. We took them all outside to the park to run it out. Yes, Kate's kids are still sick but they don't want to be left out of the action. Tylenol works miracles.

Meltdowns began the day and ended it. We dragged Sonia crying from the park and Ryan is now reading to them. Wow. lots of action.

Day 5 in London

Kate and I started today with a run through Hyde Park. What a beautiful park! Lots of trees, ponds, children's playgrounds. The Diana memorial playground is in Hyde Park. IT's just lovely in the early morning. Kate saved me many times from running into traffic. The British have thoughtfully written 'Look Right' at every cross walk but it is still not my instinct to do so.

Last night, 2 of Kate's 3 kids got sick.. fevers ..They were pretty sick this morning so their family laid low. The 4 of us headed out to the Museum of London. The museum is a complete history of the city beginning in 4000BC. The museum has its own archeological team who have dug up lots of amazing stuff.. early tools, swords, shields, helmets. We saw coins from the time of Emperor Hadrian and models of homes from his era. The Romans were in Britain and they created lots of infrastructure as they did across their vast empire. I remember seeing Roman ruins in Israel. Some of the wall around the museum is from the Roman times although much of it was re-built in the 13th century.

The kids were ok during this 2 hour museum visit. We tried to engage them and there were some cool hands-on exhibits. Kate says that museums are an acquired skill for kids. Our kids are doing ok -- no meltdowns although Sonia did scream NO at me in her most shrill scream while we were in the Roman section of the museum. We headed through the medieval times. The plague dominated that era. During the 14th century, 1/2 of London's population of 80,000 was killed by the plague. The population grew rapidly though because by the end of 16th century there were 500,000 people in London. Only 1/5 of them were killed during that century's plague -- which Ryan thought was small pox. Hmm.

Today, London has a population of 10,000,000 and the diversity of the population is stunning. After lunch, we headed home via the Tube (still a thrill although carrying SOnia's stroller up and down stairs is less than fun). Ryan went out for an hour to Portobello Market and then I did the same. The market is like a very busy and large farmer's market. There is so much amazing food. Even though it was close to dinner I could not resist a nutella and banana crepe. I tried to eat only half of it but was ultimately unsuccessful.

It's remarkable to me how infrequently I hear English spoken on the street. I hear lots of French, some Spanish and Italian, and then lots of languages I don't recognize. Kate says there are many Russians in her neighborhood.

Tonight, we are going out with Stephen and Kate to celebrate Stephen's birthday. This will be interesting as kate has hired one babysitter for 5 kids. The service she uses says the sitter can handle it. We'll see.

Jack and SOnia in one of the kids' areas at the museum:

These are some of my pics from the market:

These were some sights on my way to the market:

Day 4 in London

Today was a beautiful sunny day. Kate's family (husband included) and our family (9 people total) headed out to Covent Garden on the tube. The streets of London are really busy but somehow one can navigate a stroller and a bunch of kids. Kate's kids are very adept at using the strollers on the busy sidewalks. Jack.. not so much. I am trying to teach him he has to stay on one side of the sidewalk (the opposite one we are usually on) but he doesn't really get it. Today, when he ran into a crowd he yelled 'I need to get through!'

Anyway.. in the 13th century, the site of the current Covent Garden was a 40 acre garden for the monks at Westminster Abbey. Later Henry VIII took all the land from the church and gave it to a friend. The land remained with that family until 1918. What currently stands at the sight was built in 1975. It's an open air shopping center.. very beautiful. Today outside of covent garden was a display of faberge eggs that had been hidden all over the city. We checked out the eggs then listened to a busker sing show tunes. Kate told me that the singers you hear on the streets are licensed by the city government. They have to audition to get a license. So the guy we were listening to was pretty good.

Covent Garden - Sonia listening to singer

From there we headed to the transportation museum. A very cool museum of all the public transportation methods in London since 1800. In 1800, London had 1 million residents and was the largest city in the world. Public transportation has always been a concern of the government here. Their current subway system is amazing. The current design for the map was created in 1931 by a British underground employee named Henry Beck. It's been replicated for every subway system in the world.

Former design:

Post 1931:

Map of London:

The kids enjoyed driving a simulated subway and playing in all the old buses and trains.

Around lunch time we went to lunch at one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants. It was perfect.. an italian restaurant with great, quick kid-friendly service.

After lunch, it was such a nice day that we bought some cupcakes and went to a little park in Soho. The kids chased the pigeons and ran around.

Jack seems eternally happy here because he always has playmates. We jumped back on the tube and then visited Kensington Gardens, the land behind Kensington palace where Prince William and Cate live. We hung out near a huge pond that had lots of ducks and swans. After a while, it was obvious the kids were really tired. We put Sonia in the stroller and she fell asleep. We returned to Kate's and dyed our Easter eggs then relaxed. Great fun!

Randomly.. on our way to covent garden we passed the building from the great BBC TV series MI5.

Day 3 in London

The last time I was in London it was 1992. I was here with my friend Sarah who was my roommate at the time in Florence, Italy. By some crazy coincidence, Sarah and her husband Pat are here this week as well. Ryan and I met them near their hotel at the Marble Arch. We went on to St. Paul's Cathedral, the 4th largest cathedral in the world (St. Peter's is the biggest). St Paul's is also the sight of Charles and Diana's wedding. It is incredible. I can't imagine anything constructed with such detail today. We walked across the millenium bridge and onto the Tate Modern Art Museum. This was our first trip to a museum with the kids. When Jack walked in he asked where the toys were.. when we said there weren't any toys, only art, he declared he did not like art.

We did our best to interest the kids in the exhibits there. The art work was so varied. We saw a large Monet but also really different pieces like a Classical Greek nude standing in front of a mountain of clothing as tall as the statue. There was a room titled energy and process that had exhibits that used different metals.. There was a Richard Sera piece that was not as impressive as the one in the Sculpture Park in Seattle. The kids were bored though. At one point, Sonia started rolling around on the floor. By that point, there was quite a crowd at the museum so we headed to a restaurant Kate had recommended for lunch. It was delicious pan-Asain food. The meal would have probably cost $30 in the US and it cost 30 pounds here.. I try not to do the math but that is around 48$.. very expensive for lunch.. but everything here is really, really expensive. We are so grateful to be staying with our friends!

Sarah and I

This is going to be the tallest building in Europe when it's complete. It's called the shard.

On the millenium bridge with St. Paul's in the background

Sonia rolling around on the floor

We arrived home mid-afternoon. Jack is still thrilled with traveling on the Tube and riding his scooter around town but it tires him out. He relaxed at Kate's while Sonia napped. Kate and I headed out to a market and we also went on a search for hot chocolate. We found a little spanish deli that served authentic spanish hot chocolate -- very thick and delicious!

Day 2 in London

Our day started slowly as the kids and Ryan slept in a bit. Kate's kids headed to school then Jack returned to bed reporting he was sleepy. Ryan explored Notting Hill and searched for coffee (easily found). We headed to the park that is across the street from Kate's house. Parks cover 30% of London.

Kate tells us the flowers are changed year round.

This is one of the last bottle kilns left in this neighborhood which used to be the poorest part London in the mid 19th century. Bricks were manufactured in the kiln. There is now housing all around this kiln.

We ate lunch, packed snacks and headed for the double decker bus for old london. The kids here ride scooters to get around so Jack scooted around and Kate lent me a stroller for Sonia. She napped while we checked out Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Parliament building. This area of town is packed with tourists. It was unusual to hear British English spoken. From there we walked over to St James Park which is across the street from Buckingham Palace. This park is owned by the royal family and we were told picking the flowers is illegal. We rode the Tube back to Notting Hill and snacked on gelato and Italian hot chocolate on Portobello Road. This is a very happening part of town.. lots of shops, fancy homes and foot traffic.

London!

We have the great good fortune to have friends living in London. I was very sad when they moved away. They are a family of 5 whose oldest child is the same age as Jack. Sonia is between their #2 and #3. We arrived yesterday after a loooong journey. We spent 2 hours in the Seattle airport, 9+ hours on a direct British Airways flight, an hour at the UK passport check/border control, then 30 minutes in a car. We arrived at our friends' lovely Notting Hill home around 230pm. We walked around the neighborhood a bit but were all pretty exhausted. The kids did sleep a bit on the plane but we did not sleep at all.
Last night, we all slept in one room. The kids seem to think it was daytime in the middle of the night.. not the greatest night of sleep but not that bad either. All told, our transition has been ok. We'll be here 3 weeks and I'll chronicle our adventures here.

intrepid explorer

Jack has become quite an explorer. He loves to be outside and he has started enjoying moderate risks. He used to be pretty cautious. One of the really fun things about staying at home with my kids is that we get to be spontaneous. Today, I picked Jack up from a friend's house and we went to Hidden Beach and hung out there for a little while... no agenda and we stayed until we felt like leaving. It was cold and the wind was blowing but we still enjoyed it.

The shots I got of Sonia were not great since she wanted me to hold her the whole time we were at the beach. She liked the waves and the water but they also made her nervous. So here is a pic from a few weeks ago. My sister wanted a picture of Sonia wearing the shoes she gave Sonia for christmas.. plus check out the cool sweater..also from aunt katie. My favorite outfit is when Sonia wears the skull sweater with her tutu.

Traditions

I am instituting a couple of family traditions. The first is having adventures. I want to have an adventurous life and I want the kids to have one as well. We bought a mini-van and headed out on our first family adventure last weekend -- Hood River. Lots of fun! We visited friends and took the kids sledding (Sonia declined to participate but Jack loved it). The next day we went to several museums -- an antique car and airplane museum in Hood River, then onto OMSI in Portland. We spent a loooong time in the car due to traveling on a holiday weekend but we had fun. We spontaneously stopped in Olympia to eat.. for us, wild times.

Our next big adventure is a 3 week trip to London. It is important to note that adventure does not always mean fun. It's an escape from our every day life. I am not sure taking 2 small children across several time zones to a different country will be fun .. but it will definitely be an adventure.

The other tradition I've started is weekly dinner guests. Every week, we have 1 family, couple, or person over for dinner. I want the kids to know how important it is to have friends and be a good friend, how to be a good host ( I am still figuring this out), and how to cook (also still in process). It's also a bit of an adventure because we never know how the kids will behave with others around.. sometimes they are happy and sometime they are .. not.

The Dentist and other adventures with Sonia

For a while, I didn't have much to say about Sonia. She was just there and I had to focus on Jack. This explains why second and youngest children are the way they are. Sonia seems to become more aggressive daily. If I could have cloned myself, I wonder what she'd be like. She pushes Jack (and other older children) for no apparent reason. Most are nice enough not to retaliate but sometimes, after a while, they can't help it.
It's tough sometimes. Then there is another side of Sonia.. she is miss personality. She is so funny.. so full of ideas. At 2 she is already playing pretend games, loves Star Wars and playing games, and she likes to draw. She makes her needs known and I appreciate that about her.

We recently went to the dentist. She already brushes her teeth and understands what happens at the dentist office. She was cooperative and watched Dora.

Sick again

Ah winter. Time for sickness. Our house has been invaded by the stomach flu. Jack has had it since yesterday. Sonia already had it although the stomach flu for her consists of vomiting once and eating a full meal with no consequences 2 hours later. When Jack seems really sick, it gives me lots of opportunity to practice being present.. it's always been an anxiety trigger for me. I can get some distance from it now although yesterday I wished for ativan. It's tough when he is a limp little guy. He is already so skinny. Luckily it's a sunny beautiful day and we live in a lovely, light filled house. We borrowed several videos and downloaded the audio of 'charlie and the chocolate factory.' We make the best of it. We created a cozy little nook for jack on the family room couch. We sit with him in between cleaning and cooking and taking care of business. It seems like he is on the mend.