London (Days 0 & 1)

I had tirelessly made list after list for 2 weeks prior to our trip. Slowly but surely items were checked off and just before departure Danny snapped a picture of the various crossed off lists. Here is an example. I definitely found the list making experience pretty intense for a 2 week international trip with two kids. (In the end, I don't think we forgot anything...)


Our journey began at the Eugene airport which is such a beautifully relaxing way to begin. There aren't long lines, the security people actually help wrangle the kids and stuff rather than walk away after dismantling any semblance of travel organization.

I think Maya remembers at least a couple of flying experiences; although, she looks a bit nervous in this pic. Please take note that Baby made the trip to England as well.

Our first flight took us to Denver where we had a brief layover before hopping our plane to London.

the plane ride was pretty much as expected…

luckily jen and I hit the wall at different times

me about the 5th hour jen about the 8^th…

there were some spectacular moments of brilliant teamwork

and some not so pretty snappy moments

Maya called our black flight attendant Barack Obama…

and made “friends” with the poor girl next to her.

I have to admit I cringed and squirmed in my seat in the only way a mother of a chatty and precocious 3 year old can. Other high points from the flight include me feeding Maya and Danny (he was holding Fin) supper. I had 3 meals stacked on top of each other on my tray table and 2 hungry, grumpy and tired souls on either side of me. The flight attendants didn't really know what to think of us.

Thankfully, Maya slept for a few hours in her car seat and Fin slept in short spurts in the wall mounted bassinet provided by the airline. Bulkhead row is the only way to fly with kids--the extra space in front of us saved our sanity over and over and over again!

we spent our first day here in a stupor of deplaning

cab riding and checking in…

Maya thought the cab ride was cool (no car seat, don’t tell!)

but was not convinced we were in England till we saw a double decker bus…

we checked in to our room and despite plans and intentions to the contrary

ended up taking short naps…

The "Magic Bag" produced a lovely pair of new sparkle shoes for the trip. Maya got these on the airplane as a final distraction for the last hour or two. When she put them on I noticed they were a bit tight but I assumed it was because her feet were a bit swollen due to flying. She wore them a bit in the airport but started to complain about them hurting so we switched to her old shoes. After nap she put them on again for our grocery mission. Let's just say that the 8 hour time difference and the 20+ hours of travel time hit Maya (and us) square in the face. The sparkle shoes that fit brilliantly in the store a mere 2 weeks earlier were at least a half size too small. She didn't want to wear them, she didn't want to wear her old shoes, she didn't want to stay home, she didn't want to go out...she wanted and didn't want simultaneously. Here are the culprits. I promised her that we would go and buy a proper fitting pair when we got back stateside...I think she has forgotten...at least until our next trip to Target.

then out for groceries

home for dinner

and some play/movie time at home

we had a little midnight snack to help adjust our clocks

and maya was enamored with the city at night!

(but the screaming man upset her just a little bit.)

Thankfully our London accommodations were quite spacious which helped us deal with jet lag a bit easier than if we had been in a family room (all of us sleeping living in a single room). We had 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and living/dining space. They also provided a pack and play and highchair for our room for Fin.

trip log: vol. 1 - a taste of planning

Jennifer: So
here is what I'm thinking
here is the list of stuff
2 kids
1 suitcase
2 carseats
1 person straps on Fin in the Ergo
1 person holds maya's hand
whoever is holding maya's hand pulls the suitcase
me: okay
Jennifer: the person carrying fin pulls the other carseat
it gets a bit hairy here
me: wait
where is the first car seat
?
Jennifer: because in my mind we also have the maclaren
so the maclaren probably gets slung across the maya parent shoulder
then we figure out if it is easier for the fin person to carry the other carseat as a backpack
or if it fits on the suitcase that the maya person is pulling
me: okay
i gotcha...

Intentions...

UPDATE:
There are 4 new blog posts:
-Coordinating Outfits (3/3/09)
-The Many Faces of Fin (3/2/09)
-Rainy Days and Matching Outfits (3/1/09)
-Big Kid Bath (2/19/09)

There will be more...including: Maya bowling! Oh, yeah...that will keep you coming back!

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I had every intention of updating the blog tonight...then, the vomit hit. Perhaps tomorrow.

Of course, (like Christmas break when the kids got sick), we've paid for the extra week of daycare, I have a list of things I was going to organize, clean and projects to finish, as well as dissertation work to finish. Let's just hope this is a one day, one person kind of illness!

Perhaps tomorrow while she is vegging out to "Little Mermaid" I will be able to post the adventures of our last 3 weeks.

Cheers!

Minnesota Love

Care packages arrive frequently at our house. Maya can often be heard saying, "The postman is soooo sweet!" That should make Uncle Jonathan feel pretty special. I don't have the heart to tell her it probably pisses the postal carrier (yeah, I haven't broached that subject yet either) that he/she has to get out of their little van to walk to box up to our house...perhaps when she's 4! (:

Anyhow, we recently received a fabulous package from Jonathan, Teresa, Tyler and Porter. Boy, oh boy did we hit the motherlode. The box was filled with lots of treasures from books and little stuffed animals to some candy and pictures to matching shirts and a purse. Oh yes, I said purse. And...in the purse...CHAPSTICK and HAND SANITIZER. These sentences were heard repeatedly, "Aunt Teresa is "soooo sweet. I just love her so much. How did she know I neeeeeeded these." Yes, Teresa has reached sainthood in our house.

The next morning Maya insisted on wearing her new pink shirt; so, of course we put Fin in hers. Here are a few pics. Please note that the glow around Maya's mouth is not snot or spit...it is CHAPSTICK! (: We've come a long way since this summer when she ate...literally...a tube of chapstick. Now she just slathers it all over her face!

Definitely not the most becoming picture of Fin but it does show off the glow around Maya's mouth!


"I have a purse and you don't!" was probably the phrase going on here. Maya definitely enjoys the "taunts" which we are working diligently to curb. Actually, I doubt that is what is making Fin cry...could be she wants her mama-breakfast and we are torturing her with pictures.


But she bounces right back. I like to think Fin is saying, "Hey Maya...you got something on your face." (Of course that might be a bit evil...but it makes me giggle on the inside.)


Probably the best picture of the bunch. Fin only looks mildly in pain and Maya looks only mildly strung out on CHAPSTICK!


Another taunting moment... This one I like to imagine Fin saying, "Come a little bit closer...just a little bit and I can get a good handful of face or hair to pinch/pull!"


And quite honestly, this final picture has no words. The expressions are priceless.


I realize that every time I've written the word CHAPSTICK it has been in capital letters. This isn't because of trademark branding or anything like that. I'm just trying to help you, the reader, understand the volume at which this word is spoken in our house...e...v...e...r...y...t...i...m...e... she says it! (:

Coordinating Outfits...

PREFACE:
Taking pictures of Maya as a baby/toddler was challenging because she was always moving and her smiles came and went so quickly. Fin is much the same but thankfully we have a faster camera and know a little more about using it!

Grandma Sandy sent Valentine's Day outfits for the girls at the beginning of February. We put them on the girls for a pre-Valentine wear and attempted to get pics of the girls in them so we would have something to post on the 14th. Unfortunately, Fin pooped up-down-inside-outside-all over her dress. Yes, lovely. So into the laundry both outfits went.

Fast forward to Valentine's Day weekend...we all had the flu. Yeah, everyone was wearing pajamas and pictures? Not so much.

Finally, 2+ weeks after the fact...Maya put her dress on one morning and I immediately put Fin in her dress too!

Here are the results:

It started off well, even if a bit strange.


They were easily distracted...by feet.


A little bit of "serious" love.


A little questioning...

And tears...

The outfits are fabulous and the pictures are definitely entertaining! Thank you Grandma Sandy!

The Many Faces of Fin

We are often heard talking about how even-keeled Fin is--no extreme highs or lows. And, for the most part she is. Although, we did happen to catch this wonderful set of shots within about 30 minutes.

A sleepy (even if a little strange looking) wake-up smile!


Followed by a little big sister torture, er, I mean love! Please note the quickly shrinking size difference between the girls!


Once Fin bounced Maya and I from her room, she was much happier. Well, that and the camera. Do you remember when Fin was first starting solids and all the pictures are of her looking like a deer in headlights because of the "red-eye prevention light". Well, now she loves it! In fact, it makes her quite happy!


But if you don't click it fast enough she gets distracted by her need to eat and her mother's unwillingness to immediately satiate her needs.


Another thing that makes Fin really happy (and distracts her) is Puss Puss. Of course, Puss is happy to torture Fin by sitting well within reach which means Danny has to constantly be the intermediary so WW6 doesn't start.


And, when Mom doesn't provide 7/11 service and when Dad acts as a Puss Puss blockade...we get this!


And, this...is our even-keeled baby!

Rainy Days and Matching Outfits....

Maya is doing much better with the "restricted clothing choices". If you'll recall, it was taking anywhere from 5 minutes to what felt like 5 hours to get her dressed in the morning. One outfit would be chosen, we would get all (or none) of it on and we would need to find a new outfit. This would be for any number of reasons.

I read on one of the mom blogs that I read about other parents of 3 year olds having similar problems. So, I did what they did...took away all the clothes. Now before you go calling CPS on us, let me explain. In order to help Maya make a choice we are restricting her choices...which apparently is exactly what toddlers/pre-schoolers need.

So we removed the clothes from the middle two drawers and put them in her closet. We then went to Target and purchased a couple sets of drawer dividers which essentially makes 6 spaces in her 2 drawers. Every Sunday night we fill the spaces with an outfit. Maya gets to choose one element and mom/dad chooses the rest. So if she chooses a shirt we get to choose the pants/skirt. She still hs a drawer for underwear/socks/tights another drawer for wraps and a drawer for pajamas. Sheer brilliance...I'm thinking of trying it out on Danny! (:

Anyhow...if you good with numbers you have probably noticed that there are 7 days in a week. Well, that means once a week (depending on when we run out of outfits) Maya gets to choose her own wardrobe. Let's just say these days are trend-setting, fashion-forward days.

To be honest, I'm not sure if this was one of those days or if she just got a bit wappy when choosing her outerwear!


Exploring the puddle depth and muck level in the gutter. (Note: Ladybug rain coat, Hello Kitty rain boots and green polka dot skirt. Don't fret...it gets better.)


Walking home from the park. A little more soggy than before.


A little bit pouty about being soggy. AND...showing off the polka dot sweatshirt that is under the ladybug raincoat. I tell you, this girl has style!


At home warming up. She's so weird...and we love her to death!