giraffe. shoes. and a good cause

So yesterday the kids and I took a stroll up to Hampstead in hopes of finding mama a new pair of shoes and to grab dinner at another favorite place. No luck with updating my not-so-sexy shoe collection but we scored with dinner. It was the first time that Ruby sat through dinner out AND actually ate. The girl chowed!!! Chili-soy edamame, salmon, fries, tomato soup and strawberry ice cream. So good!! The womanb at the table next to us was oohing and ahhing about how well behaved my kids were. I was so proud but began to get just tiny bit uncomfortable when she was blatantly irritable with her own two kiddos and saying things like "look at those children, why can't you sit nicely like them". It wasn't a huge deal but I really wanted to tell her to can it. Anyways, I think we'll have to go back. It was a big hit.

Okay, so back to the shoes, or lacktherof. I admit I do need to update my collection. I LOVE shoes, and bags, and most accessories which one cannot "outgrow" (if ya know what I mean). But I have this foot issue - remember? I have arthritis in the joint where my big toe meets the foot. Over the last several months I have seen a sports med doc, a physical therapist, I've had 6 injections of synovial fluid, taken 1500 mg glucosamine daily, had new orthotics made and even bought the ugliest shoes on the planet - all in an effort to prevent the arthritis from getting worse. The amazing thing is that it all really helped. The day we were flying back to London Brian asked me how my foot was feeling and I told him it was never better ... until we landed and a few hours later that old familiar ache was back. Unfortunately it hasn't stopped since we've been here. I'm guessing it's the cool and damp climate. Ugh. So you see I have a dilemma. It's hard to find shoes that are comfortable and that can also be good/supportive for my old, arthritic foot. Any ideas??

Lastly, I want to say that it really is a blessing that I did not find any shoes to buy because instead I did something with that money that is SO much more important than expanding my wardrobe. You can read all about it here.

two weeks

**this is my 3rd attempt at this post which was originally started on friday ... **

After two weeks being back in London it is beginning to feel like we never left. So weird how that happens.  The kids are doing well sharing a room. We have separated them when we put them to bed - putting Kaneu down in our bed and then transferring him after he is asleep. So far so good. Ruby and Rosie are the best of friends.  Ruby's first word after she wakes up is "doggy". She is obsessed with our other baby girl.

We are beginning to have some semblance of a routine. We made it to the gym over the weekend. I can hardly move today but it feels good to have gotten a good workout in. Kaneu finished his first week of tennis camp. He loved it and cannot wait to go again. We've been visiting all of our local parks and Brian and I even managed to have a date over the weekend. 

primrose hill


what a ham!

sharing snacks with rosie


more of big brother's handmedowns!

Columbia Rd flower market last Sunday

grossmeoutthedoor

In an effort to help me organize and clear out Brian laid out *some* of my shoes. I was pretty proud of myself for weeding out 10 pairs to give away. Brian's request: get sexier shoes. I have to admit the majority of my shoes are clearly for comfort over fashion.

As you can see it's been exciting times over here! 

july 22

here's a recap of yesterday's festivities

pancakes and pressies

ruby's birth certificate arrived!

on our way to the station (by kaneu)

guard march in windsor

legoland

dinner & pirate cake at his favorite restaurant

Earlier in the week I was feeling like a rotten parent for not having a party for our soon-to-be five year old. For months Kaneu has been telling us (and everyone else) that he was going to have a pirate party.  With the move back to London we just didn't quite have it in us to host a party and opted instead for a good old fashioned day with the family ... at Legoland. Thankfully it was a beautiful day and it turned out perfectly. Legoland far exceeded any expectations we had of a theme park AND most importantly the birthday boy LOVED it.  Yesterday was a "yes" day - whatever the boy wanted the answer was "yes" and as a result he had a LOT of sweets and sugar and a whole lot of fun. Cookies with breakfast, cookies as a mid-morning snack, sweet popcorn, juice, lollypop, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but you get the idea. We brushed teeth for an extra minute and will take a little break from the sweets for a while. So that was our day.  I am so happy he had such a great FIFTH birthday. He has told me today, about six times this morning, how much fun he had yesterday. More on just how big my boy is in another post. Our shipment from the US has just arrived and I have a day of unpacking ahead of me. Oh joy.

five

Today is Kaneu's birthday. It was a BIG day spent at Legoland.  He loved it(we did too!) and was literally skipping around the entire day. His little feet must be so tired. Nothing makes us happier than to see our baby boy shine. More on him in another post - Legoland kicked my butt. I'm pooped.

trouble

These two were up until 11:30pm last night partying like rockstars. Don't be fooled by their cuteness. They are T.R.O.U.B.L.E. and I have a feeling this is the very beginning of a very looooooonnnnng road.

Sweet dreams!

buzz buzz

I have been a very busy bee this week. We have way too much stuff and way too little space for it all. This week I have been a cleaning machine. Nine months of dust on the wood trim. I'm kind of a stickler about dusty trim. It looks so dingy - I've come to the conclusion that our house needs to be repainted from top to bottom. I wonder what the landlord will say ... I'd also like to get updated lighting fixtures in the bedrooms ... we shall see. We had a storage company come and take away our guest bed and we have turned the guest room into Kaneu AND Ruby's room. We weren't going to do this originally but we really need to have a workspace for Brian, which will be Kaneu's old room.  Lastnight was their first night sleeping together and it went better than we expected. Ruby woke up when we put Kaneu to bed but she was so exhausted that she fell right back asleep. Kaneu had a few wake ups but all in all it went well. Right now they are BOTH napping. Love it.

Okay, well I guess it's time to tackle our bedroom. I have been putting it off. I am going to make a serious attempt at eliminating a lot of items from my closet. I hope I can do it.

more of big brother's handmedowns

settling in just fine

Okay, I should have mentioned in the previous post that our flight was at 10 pm. I believe this helped GREATLY with the kids sleeping. We got them prepped for "bed" at my mom's house before we left for the airport. Also, the flight is only 6.5 hrs. The kids were asleep by 11:30 pm and slept until the flight attendants served breakfast. With the time difference we landed at 10am (5am EST) and we were to our house by noon. All in all it went really, really well. 

Ruby and Elaine (aka one half of "the south africans")

playing "a boo" 

big brother's handmedowns

rainy saturday

sweater weather in july (love it!!)

We went to dinner at our favorite local restaurant and were greeted by our favorite server, Barbara. She screamed with delight when we walked in - the four of us. There were hugs exchanged and she genuinely seemed thrilled to see us. The feeling was very mutual. As Kaneu said to me on Saturday morning "it's good to be home".