The London Eye

We almost didn't go on the London Eye, but I'm so glad I was able to push aside my phobias, because the view was amazing! Sometime I should share with you the anxiety-ridden, erratic thoughts that go through my head when I'm say, parasailing in Jamaica, or plastered against a wall, breathing erratically, unable to move a toe forward as my kids run carelessly across the glass floor on the top floor of Toronto's CN Tower. But then you might think I'm cRaZy. So instead, I'll just say, it was a mAjOr accomplishment for me to not just go on the Eye, but to actually enjoy, those 30 minutes in the sky and leave it at that.

You know, I wasn't afraid of heights or claustrophobic until after I had kids. Analyze that. =)

St. James Park

We had 2 days of sunny weather during our 8 1/2 days in London, and even on those days it was fleeting. Somehow, though, I didn't mind the grays skies, frequent drizzle and intermittent down-pours nearly as much as I thought I would. Actually, I didn't mind at all. The temperatures were mild and it felt like Autumn is supposed to feel. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I was on a kidless vacation in a beautiful European city, with my husband. What's a little rain?

(Funny - it rained at home today and I wasn't nearly so tolerant.)

Thursday, last week, was one of those days where we enjoyed the unexpected gift of a few hours sunshine on a lovely Autumn day piqued in oranges and golds. We didn't squander it. The photos below are taken that day in St. James Park, just across from Buckingham Palace. (You can see the palace in the background on the first photo.)

The first and third photos remind me of Monet paintings with the depth of field and play of light on the water. (But not for any great photography skills, only by luck and by virtue of the beautiful subject - I think I used the auto setting.)

The ducks and geese and pigeons and even squirrels at the park boldly wandered up to passersby, accepting food directly from their hands. The kids would have LOVED it.

We didn't get to see the changing of the guard - they only do it on odd days in the fall/winter months - but we paused for a bit to watch these guards with their funny hats at a training facility across the way from the park and the palace.

I'd think it'd be hard to take a guard seriously in a big furry hat, wouldn't you?

The West End

This is the scene when you emerge from the Picadilly Circus underground station in London's West End neighborhood, the UK equivalent of Broadway. (Captured during a rare, fleeting moment of blue skies in London.)

Derrick and I had purchased tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre ahead of time. Normally, I prefer the dress circle, but we had front row seats in the stalls* and it was fantastic to be so close to the action. I managed to escape the watchful eye of the usher just long enough to lean over and snap this photo of the celloist's score during the interval.

Her Majesty's Theatre:

Once we visited Leicester Square in the heart of the West End and discovered the plethora of ticket stands offering discounted prices on the day of performances, we could hardly fight the temptation to go back:

And back again:

On the last night in London, we saw Agatha Christie's The Mouse Trap. We almost missed this one, as it's a little off the beaten path and the tickets were not sold at any of the discount booths. When Derrick and I were newlyweds, living in Southern California, we used to listen to BBC radio production Agatha Christie performances together. We had a whole collection of them on cassette that we saved for road trips. So, it turned out to be a rather nostalgic and romantic evening to see this together on our last night in London, capped off with a fantastic late dinner at the Moroccan restaurant Souk Tearoom just down the street. I'm so glad we happened onto that little alley! It was the perfect end to our trip.

*Derrick and I were endless entertained with the way the English have their own very British take on the English language, changing all the common American conventions: e.g. stalls for orchestra, interval for intermission, way out for exit. Although when I pointed this out to my Londoner friend, she was quick to laugh and remind me that the English had English first. I guess she has a point. =)

Home, Sweet Home

The kids have been bickering and fighting all morning. The kitchen looks like it blew up. The kids had biscuits (English biscuits, aka cookies, not American biscuits) for breakfast. Our suitcases are scattered throughout the house. We're tired and jet-lagged. My mom left super early this morning to drive home.

Still, there's no place like home.

We missed hearing Kristen play at her piano recital last night by 20 minutes, thanks to the extra 1/2 hour we sat on the run-way at Heathrow and heavy traffic in Chicago. (Yes, we were cutting it close anyway.) She played beautifully, I'm told.

My 37th birthday was the longest day ever, thanks in part to the extra 5 hours gained in transit. My mom and the kids made me an apple cake and decorated cupcakes, which we enjoyed late last night.

After that, everyone talked me into going up to my office to do an ultrasound on Natalie and see if we could tell if she's having a boy or girl (at what felt like 3 a.m., but I guess it was only about 10 p.m.). She's only 15 weeks, so it's too soon to say for sure, but it's looking suspiciously like...well, I should wait and let her tell.

I started to upload photos to share, but I'm being summonsed to play Bananagrams by Jack. Which actually, sounds just perfect right now. I'll catch up with you all soon. (With pictures, too.)

Trafalgar Square at Night

Today was a beautiful fall day in London - the weather was mild, and there were even a few hours of sunshine. We saw Buckingham Palace and walked through St. James Park and the gardens at Westminster Abbey. The ducks and geese, squirrels and pigeons are so tame there that they will take food from your hands. We saw a little girl hand feed a squirrel, which is definitely not anything I've ever seen in Michigan! We rode the London Eye. We went back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery and to the National Portrait Gallery as well. It was a GREAT day for photos - I took well over a hundred today. It is killing me that upload here is so painfully slow! Many more London posts and photos promised once I return home to Michigan - where the squirrels are wild, the galleries are few and far between but the Internet is super-speedy and decidedly less finicky. (It takes 3 or 4 attempts to upload each photo, as the internet cuts out every few minutes. Maddening.) We fly home Saturday morning.

Sunday on the Thames

On Sunday, we took a river cruise on the Thames from Westminster to Greenwich. Along the way, we stopped and enjoyed a couple hours exploring the sights at the Tower of London, including the Crown jewels (though we weren't allowed to photograph them.) Having just read Great Expectations recently, it was interesting to see the bridges and to be able to visualize the significance of the rising and falling tide described in the book's climatic Thames escape chapters.

In Greenwich, we explored the Observatory and a beautiful view of the river below, had our photo taken on the Prime Meridian, and enjoyed the pleasure of the company of my friend through blogging, her husband and her darling daughter. It was great to meet you in real life, Z~.

I uploaded all the pictures in reverse, accidentally. So, this is the imaginary return trip. (For real, we took the train home.)

Greenwich:

Tower of London:

The River Thames:

P.S. (for the kids) The second to last picture is of "Big Ben." Actually Big Ben is the large bell inside the clock tower that tolls on the hour. Thought you might think that was cool, Ben. The last picture is the London Eye. Daddy and I thought all four of you would love to go in that. Each car can carry 25 people! We heard it takes 30 minutes to go around. I'm trying to decide if I want to ride it - you guys know how freaked out I get on the little county fair Ferris Wheel and can hardly wait 'til it's over. =)

Something for Everyone: Camden Markets

We spent the afternoon at the open air markets and shops of Camden today. (My seminars finished today - yeah!)

I was struck by the contrast between these two side by side shops:

Whether your taste tends towards the goth or Victorian (or pretty everything in between) it seems there is a little something for everyone in Camden. It was definitely one of the more colorful afternoons I have enjoyed.

P.S. In case you're wondering - I didn't buy anything for myself. But, I did snap a few pics of things I'd like to try making, such as this tank, with fabric and beaded flowers.

And, I found some very cool souvenirs for the kids, but I can't show pics of them here. Little eyes may be reading. Hi guys - we love and miss you. =)

Quick Hello and Good night from London

All is well in London. Sorry for the lack of posting. I've been brimming with things to post, but finally had time and then we've been without Internet since yesterday afternoon. Now that it's finally up, I'm too tired to do more than just say hello and promise to post more tomorrow.

P.S. Saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria tonight after a long day of meetings. It was fantastic! (Though a bit strange at first to hear it with English accents, after I've listened to the Original Broadway Cast recording so many times.)

Old Navy Saves the Day, and some other stuff I almost forgot...

I scored a cute and chic umbrella at Old Navy today, on sale for $7. Which, I am going to need because the 10-day forecast in London is highs in the low-50's with rain, chance of rain, and scattered thunder showers.

When I paid for the umbrella (and a few other things) the clerk asked to see my driver's license and then helpfully pointed out, "Oh, it's almost your birthday - don't forget to renew your license!" I totally forgot! (Not about my birthday, but about my license. You would think that I had learned my lesson from standing in line at the Secretary of State on my actual birthday four years ago. But no.)

Derrick and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon for London, UK. I have continuing medical education seminars for a few days next week, but we are padding the trip on either end with extra days for sight-seeing. My mom is coming to stay at our house with the kids and Derrick's mom will have them for 2 days until she gets here.

I will have breakfast in the U.K. and dinner in the U.S. on my birthday - we are flying home that day - so there will be no time for standing in line at the Secretary of State. Thanks to the Old Navy girl, I added finding and mailing in my license renewal form to my busy pre-trip to-do list today.

P.S. If I hadn't been so lazy with blogging lately, I would have asked a long time ago for pointers and recommendations from those who've been there (neither of us have ever been to London). It's not too late now though! We are taking a laptop, and our schedule it still pretty open and flexible, so fire away! And, hopefully I can make up a bit for being such a bad blogger lately and post a bit during the trip. (Packing the camera memory chip now. haha.)

Trick-or-Treat!

It has become tradition for all of the local cousins, Aunties and Uncles, and grandparents to gather at our house for dinner (take-out pizza and hot caramel apple cider) and trick-or-treating on Halloween. Last night, we unleashed this motley gang of candy pilferers on our little suburban cul-de-sac haven:

I usually look forward to Halloween as the perfect outlet to exercise my Martha Stewart-ish tendencies on my children in the form of micro-managing their costume planning and creation. (Remember when I made Chewbaca? Or when Kristen and Katya became Nastya and Shawn, U.S. Olympians?) Well, this year, in a completely out of character stroke, I delegated costuming to the kids and challenged them to come up with something creative out of things we already owned. (Alternately, you might say, I dropped the ball, but it sounded better the other way.)

Katya as Catwoman, Jack as Spiderman, Kristen as Roller Barbie, and Ben as Brian Urlacher.

(I did pick up the blond wig for Kristen, last minute on Friday afternoon at Wal-Mart, after she announced that she thought it'd be funny to be Barbie. It was so out of character for her - she's so not a pink and princess, Barbie-playing girl - this MUST be the junior high influence!)

I think they did GREAT with their costumes. Maybe it is time for a new tradition!

Kristen, with the jack-o-lantern she carved:

Kristen with cuz-cuz (Tony) who loves Elmo, but was completely freaked out and unhappy to BE Elmo.

Jack and his jack-o-lantern:

Jack, as the amazing Spiderman:

Don't mess with Catwoman (aka Katya), she still remembers how to hiss and growl!:

I tried to convince Ben to recycle the Chewbaca costume I made for Jack 2 years ago. It looked GREAT on him and fit him perfectly!:

But, as soon as Francie and Jason showed up dressed as Bears, Ben was over Chewbaca and pulled out last year's Urlacher:

It was cold and windy, but the rain stayed at bay, and the candy-getting was good! Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! We certainly did, and there is enough candy around here to last 'til next year. (Though it's all been placed out of reach for rationing. Too bad it can't be placed out of MY reach.)

P.S. Did you ever see a bunny so cute as Bella?

Too True Tuesday: the Hypothetical Windfall Edition

I am late to the party, as usual, but since we are talking about a hypothetical lottery anyway, I'm going to go ahead and buy a ticket.

In this week's edition of Too True Tuesday, Essie asks:

"What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery? Tell the truth! Spare us the crap about buying your kids a Carousel or paying off your parents mortgage. The REAL truth!"

For New Years 2007, right before Katya joined our family, we vacationed with my good friend Jill (who lives in Dallas) and her family, my sister Lori and family, and Lori's good friend D'Arcy (from Seattle). We scraped and saved and pooled our pennies together, then rented a big house on the beach in Negril, Jamaica, hired a personal chef to cook for all of us, and lazed around in the sand and sun for a glorious week. (We had planned this, bought airline tickets, and put down deposits before we even started our adoption process, not knowing how quickly the adoption would fall together. Otherwise, we'd have never been able to pull off something like that in the midst of the adoption travel and expense.) Anyway, ever since, Jill and I have been dreaming about doing something similar again. Only, each of us has expanded our family since then, and neither of us has a money tree growing in the back yard. But, since we are talking about imaginary piles of cash today, here's where I think we should go next:

I would plunk down $56,000 to rent THIS 4 bedroom, 5 bathroom, hidden gem of a villa in Little Eden Cay, Nicaragua for 2 weeks:

The $28,000 weekly rental includes a full house staff of gardeners, butler, maid and chef. I am packing my imaginary bags now.

A girl can dream, right?

Okay, truth be told, even if I had piles of it laying around, I don't think I could plunk down that big of chunk of cash ($28K a week?! Crazy! Can you imagine?!) for something as fleeting as a vacation - even though I'm sure it would be a FANTASTIC one.

Probably, I'd stretch that $56K a little further by putting a little paradise in my backyard in the form of a pool with a little natural stone hot-tub and a waterfall.

That frivolity aside, then *of course*, I'd use the rest of my imaginary lottery winnings responsibly (after taxes, tithe and charity) to pay off my parents' mortgage (mine too), build my inlaws their dream retirement house overlooking the lake, and then save to send each of my kids on a 4 year all-expenses paid trip to a really great college someday. I'd pay for my sister's wedding. Oh, and I'd love to pay for someone else's adoption. Anonymously. Wouldn't that be cool?

Spending imaginary money is FUN! How big is this imaginary lottery windfall, Essie?

OK, your turn!

What would you do?

P.S. Also, I really want THESE BOOTS.

They Clean Up Nice, Don't They?!

Just another of the myriad of things I've let slip through the cracks lately: the boys were seriously overdue for haircuts.

You know it's bad when people start asking, "So...are the boys going to get their haircut soon?" And, people start offering to take them for me, if I am too busy.

Truth be told, I was getting sort of used to the shaggy look. It almost seemed stylish.

Jack wanted to keep growing his until crazy hair day at school. Except, they usually don't have that 'til spring.

Earlier this week, the boys had been playing outside, running around and getting sweaty before bath/bedtime. Before I put Jack in the shower, he and I were playing around with his hair, seeing what kind of crazy things we could make it do. His sweatiness made the texture just so that it stuck out in whatever crazy place we put it.

I know some girls who would kill to have hair that full and wavy.

Alas, I had to insist on trims. I took both boys in Friday afternoon.

Before:

Two brothers could not have more different hair. Ben's is strawberry blonde, stick straight and cowlicky. Jack's is dark brown, thick and wavy.

After:

While it would appear that Jack is upset about his haircut, really what happened is that he fell getting out of the car and skinned his knee and ripped his pants, and thus was in no mood for photos. Ben is trying his best to cheer him up by goofing off.

Replay

When I wrote the last post, I had to look through my archives to link to the early posts about Katya's godfather. I found this video, that he sent me, and Katya and I watched it again together just now. It is SO cute, and I am so thankful that I have this! Thought I'd share it again here.

This is from the kids' Christmas program at the orphanage in December 2006, which was the month after we had first met Katya. It was during this time that we were anxiously waiting for any snippet of news from Russia and hoping for a court date - that ultimately would not come until the end of March. It was a hard time for me. Missing Christmas with her. Missing her 7th birthday in February. We weren't able to communicate with her during this time, and I worried about her state of mind - pining away for her family to return, all alone in the orphanage. Ha! Little did I know, she was singing and dancing and shaking her booty. I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to know that though she didn't have parents, my girl was happy and loved and she had someone cheering and clapping for her in the front row.

Guilty Conscience

My conscience has been nagging me for many months now: not loudly enough to spring me into action (yet) but persistent and niggling enough to work me into feeling sufficiently horrible. It is saying, "Call Vladimir. CALL VLADIMIR. Why has it been so long since you've called Vladimir?!" Sometimes it adds, "And while you're at it: call your sick grandma! And your sweet great aunt Mone! And the best friend you ever had, who lives halfway across the country, and who you haven't talked to in...HOW LONG?!"

My guilty conscience is working overtime now, and I think she figures that she ought to just keep going now that she's making time and a half.

So, I could offer a million excuses - most of them valid - but we haven't called Katya's godfather in Russia since Katya's birthday. In February.

(If you are new/newer to my blog, you can read HERE and HERE how we found out about Katya's godfather, and how he was/is an important person in her life history.)

Prior to that, we were pretty faithful about calling him 6 or 8 or so times a year and I'd sometimes email him pictures or a short note (he says he can read English, but I think he uses an online translator program) in between calls. But, after February, all of that stopped.

He doesn't speak English at all. I don't speak (much) Russian. Katya can still understand Russian, and speak it a little (with coaching) but she is no longer fluent. Plus, she is nine. She's not the greatest telephone conversationalist, even in English. All this to say, that it's not so simple as picking up the phone. And, I'm not even bringing up the 8 hour time difference, so that by the time Katya gets home from school, it's already almost midnight in Russia. (Okay, I brought it up. Excuses, excuses.)

What seems to work best is that we go to my friend Olga's house and call from her computer. Seeing Vladimir on the webcam holds Katya's interest a little better than just listening on the phone, and Olga is available to help translate and keep the conversation going.

Katya will often tell me a random story of Vladimir and she always speaks fondly and positively of him when she recalls him. She is always happy and excited to talk him on the phone, but after about 5 minutes, she's had enough and she's off to play with Olga's daughters. Seeing and talking to Katya is a huge high-light for Vladimir, so often then Olga and I are left to explain that Katya has a short attention span for phone conversations, she doesn't speak Russian well (he has a hard time understanding how this can be), she's excited to see her friends, but that she really does remember him fondly. (All true. But, I know he is sometimes hurt by her seeming display of disinterest.)

Come to think of it, it's sort of like behavior all of us are sometimes guilty of with our grandparents. You know, minus the fact that we speak the same language and live on the same continent (most of us) as our grandparents.

Well, Olga and I have been back and forth with our crazy schedules and this and that recently, trying to get together to visit each other and to call Russia, and somehow (more) weeks have managed to go by without me actually taking the action to make it happen.

So, dear good intentioned Olga. She called me last week and guess what? She was feeling sorry for Vladimir, sure that he was worrying about Katya, and so she took the initiative to call him herself and talk to him. Oh, and she told him about our trip to Russia last May. You know, the one that I DIDN'T TELL HIM ABOUT, mostly because we just hadn't talked, but also because I was a little afraid he'd want to come to Moscow to see us and we were pretty pressed for time with a full agenda visiting our friends and sight-seeing during our four and a half short days there, and I thought it might be awkward. I was either A) going to tell him about it later, but feign that I never imagined he'd be able to come all the way to Moscow and we just didn't have time in our agenda to go to St. Petersburg this time, but promise there'd be a next time some day (which is true, I hope) or B) just not tell him at all, since I imagined he'd probably be hurt.

My guilty conscience is now rallying for double time pay.

Why did she have to tell him?! I feel horrible! Especially that he found it out from someone else. And, after we've not called or emailed for almost 8 months too!

So, earlier this week when Katya's tutor, Polina, came over, I suggested that Polina help Katya write a little note to Vladimir. I thought maybe Katya would write it in English and Polina could help her translate it. But, Katya was very excited about this and she really dug in and wrote a nice letter - in Russian! - with Polina's help. Afterwards she read it to me and told me what the words meant. It was a really cute little letter about all the things she's been doing lately. She signed it "your Katya" (in Russian) which was especially sweet. She's drawing him some pictures to go with it and we will mail it snail mail, and though a small token, I hope it will make him happy.

Then yesterday, I emailed him an olive branch: a red-faced, excuse-laden apologetic kind of note and attached some pictures of Katya.

He promptly responded this morning with this reply:

Good morning!

Thanks you for the letter and a photo. I was very glad to this event. I thank you for your kindness and attention.

I love Katya and I think of it every day.

Also it is very glad that at Katya the best parents in the world!

Here in Russia I could not give Katya of all of that you do for it.

The language barrier and time zones are not a barrier for общения.если Katya will want общатся with me, I will be very glad.

Thanks you for all!

Владимир.

P.S. I will be glad to receive drawings and the letter from you if it does not complicate you. (and then he included his address in English and Russian)

(Does that not have on-line translator written all over it?!)

For whatever reason - I think he is trying to respect boundaries and keep the ball in our court - he will not initiate contact. He patiently waits for me to email or call, but whenever I do, he is always gracious and thankful, and asks for me to call or write again soon. (He has Skype and internet so it's not that he CAN'T call or write first.)

I really must do better...

Wow! Maladyets!

Katya's Russian tutor, Polina, shared this cute You Tube video with us after Katya's lesson today. It is from the TV show "Ukraine's Got Talent". Incredible, amazing performance! The kids and I - even Derrick - watched it a couple more times after Polina left.

Amazing performance aside, I loved listening to the judges interview the kids and hearing them answer politely in Russian - even though I could understand little of what they said.

I so, so, so wish I had video taped Katya more often when she was still speaking Russian fluently. (The little girl in the above video is 6 - the same age Katya was when we first met her.) I have one little snippet of her saying a poem about Father Frost to us in the car in Russia and one other of her playing with us on the beach at the Bay of Finland during one of our day excursions with our translator, throwing ice chunks and walking out on the the frozen shallow water, all bundled up in a million layers. Both are from our first trip to meet her in December of 2006. And that's about all I have! And, both are in a format that I cannot figure out how to get on to my computer, too! Well, I can't get back all the missed moments, but I really, really do need to get someone to help me with those videos. (Will share once I do.)