Hair-y Times

WOW!  I haven't written in almost a week.  Apparently it has taken me a bit to recover from Hair Disaster 2011.  Which I am sure is receiving ample news coverage from your local news stations... as nothing else important is going on in the world.

(Self-important much?)

Oh, so it's no big deal, and my hair is not at the forefront of your thoughts (and dare I say dreams)?  Well, ok.  That's fair.  I must tell you one last thing about my hair.

I know... you can't wait.

In my here-to-fore unattainable quest to simply have long brown hair I have made two decisions:

1. Find a new hairdresser.  This terrifies me because now I am going to have to put myself out there again.  I am going to have to answer all those questions about who I am and why on earth I am here.  And most importantly, I may have to kiss a few frogs before I find my prince hairdresser.  Its like "The Bachelor: Hairdresser Version."

2.  I have read so much lately that the best way to help your hair get or stay healthy is to stop washing it so much.  So I am trying to get used to only washing it every few days.  I have read that my hair will adjust and become a lot less oily.  Right now though, I look like Lenny and Squiggy's love child.

Oh...vanity!!

I Will NEVER Learn

Justin comes home today, so it only makes since to head straight to the salon as soon as I drop the kids off at school, right?

Right?!

WRONG!!!

When will I learn?  Once again I look like I am ready to join an 80's Madonna Blonde Ambition tour.  What is so hard to understand about "I am trying to grow my hair out, only cut a tiny bit." Or "brown."

Someone please tell my stylist that the Gullet (girl-mullet) aka "the Rachel from Friends" died with the 90's.

I just want long brown hair!  Is that too much to ask?

Oh well, I am about to leave any minute now to go pick up my man.

Happy, much?

Yes.  Yes, I believe I am!

Hopefully he likes blondes!

Fire! Fire! Fire!

For the second time in three in a half years my hair dryer caught on fire.  This seems a bit above average.  What on earth am I doing wrong?

Looks like I have to go shopping...again!

Monday in London

Monday was our last full day in London.  Justin had to work, but he kids and I still had LOTS that we wanted to see.  Since we were worn out from three full days of touring we decided to hop on one of those open topped double-decker tourist buses.  We loved it! 

We saw EVERYTHING and didn't have to walk a single step.  Also, they had headphones that plugged into a commentary about the things we were seeing.  We learned a lot!

This is the view down the road from the top of the bus.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Noah was really intent on the commentary.  He loved learning all about the things we were seeing.

I think Lucy was just happy not to have to walk!  Her little legs were worn out!

I love this picture because it you can see three faces of London:

In the front is the very old building, followed by the modern squared-off office building, and then in the back is the "Gerkin."  A futuristic building named for its pickle shape.

Looking down the Thames towards the Tower Bridge.

While crossing over London Bridge...

which isn't impressive at all!

London city skyline

Looking back down the Thames while crossing the Tower Bridge.

The plain-looking bride in the background is London Bridge.

The Tower Bridge from the fortress wall of the Tower of London.

The only time we got off the bus was at the Tower of London.  Everyone included this in their "must-see" list for us.  And they were right!  We got to go up in tiny rooms where prisoners were kept, see the crown jewels, walk the fortress walls, see all sorts of armor and battle implements, and meet Prince Edward II.

Another old vs. new picture.

The kids LOVED hearing from the characters.

This is Prince Edward II telling them some history of the Tower and about different types of weapons used in battle.

The Queen's quarters inside the Tower walls.

A little princess I found in the prisoners' tower.

I LOVE old bricks, old windows, and old staircases.

This is the only changing of the guard that we really got to see.

These guards were guarding the crown jewels.

Of course, there were no pictures allowed in the jewel vault.  

But, take if from me, they were amazing!!

After thoroughly touring the Tower, we ate a quick lunch at the little cafe and headed out to catch our bus.

Look!  A blue sky in London!

It a Festivus miracle!!

Looking up the Thames towards Big Ben and Parliament on the left and the London Eye on the right.

The Marble Arch.

The famous Harrod's Department Store.

Our bus did a huge loop and even wove in and out of some streets.  So, I feel like I've at least seen a lot of London.  We saw Margaret Thatcher's house (with the guard out front), Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Green Park, The Princess Diana Memorial Playground, J.M. Barrie's (the writer of Peter Pan) home and the statue of Peter Pan across the street in Hyde Park, the first Hard Rock Cafe, foreign consulates, and so much more.  It was a great way to relax and see a lot of things in a short time.

Like I wrote before, things close surprisingly early in London.  We were happy as can be, oblivious to the time, when the bus driver came upstairs and told us that the buses were stopping for the night.  There were only a few people on it.  They decided to go ahead and get off.  So he asked me where we were headed and then took us as close as he could.  I thought that was really nice.

We were freezing so we stopped at Starbuck's to get some hot chocolate.  Did you know that I have now had Starbuck's on three continents?  And, I don't really even give a rip about Starbucks!

Anyhow we warmed up a bit and then hopped into a taxi to the train station.  We could have walked, but we wanted to catch a train before the rush.

Um... strike out!  But, we're used to crowded transportation.  And there they let us sit down.  While we were riding the train out to Kingston, the lady across from Noah looked at us and said, "Do you mind if I tell your children a paper story?"  

I had no clue what that was but I said ok.  She pulled out a piece of paper and folded it all up into a small square.  As she told the story, she folded the paper into different shapes of things in the story.  It was quite entertaining and made the time go by fast.

We met Justin at the train station and went to dinner together.  After one last stop at the grocery store we headed back to the inn.  

Time to pack and feel sad about leaving.

Tuesday we got up and had breakfast together.  Justin left for work and the kids and I finished getting ready and packing.  We walked downtown a little bit more and then met Justin for lunch.  He took us up to meet his coworkers and tour the office.

They are all so young!!

We ate a quick lunch at Subway and then took a taxi back to the inn.  We said our goodbyes and got in the car that Justin had arranged to take us to the airport.

Funny thing was that we couldn't check in.  We went to the customer help desk and learned that Justin had accidently booked our return flight for March 8th instead of February 8th!!!

OOPS!!!

They sent us to the booking agent to get it sorted out.  The charges to change our tickets plus the difference of the new ticket price was sky high.  Plus, there were no seats on that days' flight.  The agent was so nice and found us a flight at about the same time on a different airline, and I just had to buy new tickets out right.

OUCH!  Expensive mistake.

But, actually it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.  And the booking agent said that we could get all of the taxes back from the un-used tickets, which is a hefty portion of the ticket anyway.

And away we flew.

I wish we had stayed another month!

On the plane Lucy was sitting next to a grumpy old man.  He went to sleep almost immediately.  Lucy was playing with a little lip gloss on a keychain.  She started whining that she couldn't find it.  I looked over, and she had somehow managed to toss it onto the man's collar!  It was just balanced there.  And, he was just snoring away.

Major moral dilema.  Should I try to grab it real fast without waking him up and hope for the best.  Or, should I wake him and ask for it.

I'll let you guess what I did!

Justin comes home tomorrow night!

Hot-diggety-dog!!!

We are just a little bit excited around here for his arrival!

In other news... pizza for dinner!  That's exciting, too!

Sunday Sneak Peak: Birthday Edition

Just a little birthday teaser until I have time to write up a full post...

Sunday Sneak Peak

Do you know what these beauties are?

Stuffed Grape Leaves

My neighbors and I spent 2 hours rolling them on Friday night for Callie's party.  Before we moved here, when I dreamed of what life would be like, this is what I dreamt of.  Not the stuffed grape leaves.  But women working together and sharing life.  You can cover a lot of topics in a few hours over a few glasses of tea!  

Party=Success!

I am slap worn out.  So we are snuggling together on the bed about to watch a movie.  I just wanted to write and say that Callie's party was great.  She had about half the girls show up.  So we had 6 little girls from Callie's class, 2 other friends, and a few little sisters.  It was perfect!  Callie had a great time!!  Thank you for praying for us!

Sunday In London

This was my favorite day.  Not because of something we did or saw, although that was part of it, but because of the way that the Lord spoke to my heart on this day.

You see, I suffer from a great deal of "mommy guilt."  A fine example of that can be found here.  I know all parents do.  We worry because we work.  Or, we worry because we don't work.  We worry because we homeschool.  Or, we worry because we don't homeschool.  We worry because our kid has to share a room with their sibling.  We worry because we went through the drive thru a few too many times this week.  We worry because we sell all of our stuff, move our kids half way around the world, and plop them smack-dab into the center of another world!

Yeah.. the guilt is large!

But, all along the Lord, my gentle father, has whispered to my heart, "It is ok.  These kids don't need Little League, they need parents who love ME and are willing to follow ME.  Even when it hurts."

I hear it.  He has to say it often, to be perfectly honest.  But, its hard to really feel it.  I know it in my head and I really do believe that we have given our kids a gift.

But, sometimes... just sometimes, I let the lies tell me otherwise.

"Your kids are going to be the weird ones."

"Your kids will be poorly educated."

"Your kids won't get a taste of real friendship on any continent."

"You are ruining your kids lives."

The lies, they creep in and take siege of my mind.  And, all of the sudden, I am overwhelmed and sad for my kids.

Again the Father whispers, "You are blessing your kids.  All they need is ME and you are showing them how to live for ME.  Have courage.  Trust ME."

And my heart settles down again and believes.

So, this post was supposed to be about London.  So, this is where I will tie it all together...

Justin thought it would be fun to take the kids to a play on Sunday.  I was so busy fretting over learning how to curtsey properly for the queen that I forgot that London is the epi-center of fabulous theatre!  Justin bought us tickets to the Sunday Matinee of The Lion King.

But first, let me tell you how the day started.  Remember that by the time we reached London, Justin had be away from us for two weeks.  That means TWO WEEKS of being a single mom.

HARD!  EXHAUSTING!  IN MUCH NEED OF TIME BY MYSELF!

So Justin sent me out shopping while he got the kids up, ready, fed, and took them to the park.

Have I told you lately that I love this man?

I do.

I arrived back at our little inn refreshed, happy, and a few quid lighter.  (That's British slang for pounds sterling.)  We quickly regrouped, and headed to the train station.

We loved the train.  A quick, fun way to get from place to place.

We were worried that we were running a bit late, and didn't know exactly where the theatre was.  So instead of taking the Tube we took a taxi from Waterloo Train Station to the Theatre.

We got there in plenty of time.  Here are the kids before the show.  They didn't know what to expect.  And weren't very excited about going.  Justin and I were so excited.

There was no photography during the show.  So this is the best I could get.  Our seats were sort of way up high.  But once the play started it didn't matter at all.

And this is where God spoke to my heart.  Unfortunately, I am sort of a slow learner.  In addition to that, I'm also a visual learner.  So the Lord had to SHOW me what He has been saying to me all along.  During the play I looked over at my kids.  They were on the edge of their seats.  There were entranced.  Their eyes were as big as saucers.  Lucy was bopping to the beat.  Callie's lips were moving with the words.  They were singing the songs that the recognized form the movie.

When I looked at them, my heart filled with joy.  And the Lord whispered, "If you were not where you are in the world, you would have never had this opportunity.  It is because you've followed ME that you are here.  And look at how blessed your children are."

I saw it.  And I felt it. 

This moment, this precious time together as a family, is worth more than the house, minivan, and schools that we left behind.

They don't need Little League, or even fancy plays in London.  They just need Jesus.  And who is going to tell them about Him if it's not me?

Amen.

To officially make this the longest post of all time, I will show you the rest of the pictures from our night.

After the play we walked through the most lovely outdoor market area.  Justin, Noah, and Lucy watched a street performer while I took Callie into Crabtree & Evelyn.  That girl loves to sniff things, so we were busy for quite a while.  She washed her hands no less than ten times.  That's about 7 times more than her yearly average!

We just sort of sauntered along with no real destination.  

We ended up on Regent Street.  It is one of the super fancy shopping districts.

I didn't care too much about the shops.  But the buildings were AMAZING.

We were in search of traditional English pub food.  Unfortunately most of the pubs don't allow children in for dinner.  So, it took us a bit of searching to find a place.

Finally we found a pub that welcomed families.  Justin got fish and chips.

I got Shepard's Pie.  Callie got chili which was served over rice.

(Noah got pizza and Lucy got mac & cheese.  Not picture worthy!)

For the third day in a row, our legs were aching by the end of the night.  But our hearts were full!

Update

In an update to this post, we made invitations for Callie's party, and she has gotten a positive response to them.  I think that we'll have a good turn out!

In an update to  this post, I "brushed" another pedestrian today!  To quote my favorite movie from junior high, "My teenage angst has a body count!"

Alıştım

Alıştım means I've gotten used to or adjusted to something.  Yesterday I realized that I have gotten used to the crazy driving in this city.  I realized it when I hit a kid, and it didn't bother me in the least!

Ha!  Now you think I'm evil.  Let me explain.

Lucy's preschool is right across from an elementary school/ middle school and right down the street from the main high school in our area.  So right as I am dropping her off at school, every middle and high school kid in the whole area is milling about in the street.

Now, even though there is no concept of "pedestrians have the right of way" or even be careful around pedestrians I still drive so slowly and carefully in this situation.  Usually cars rocket around and people are left to fend for their lives.

So, anyhow, yesterday as I was creeping down the road after dropping Lucy off a bit group of teenage boys was walking down the street towards my car.  They were so obnoxious and they would not get out of the way.  But, I slowly continued on.  I clacked one of them with my mirror- not even hard enough to fold it in.

It didn't even bother me!

I sort of laughed to myself and realized that I was officially used to the driving here.

(FYI- Justin has been hit at least twice by buses.  The drivers have mastered the art or gently brushing unalert pedestrians out of the way!!)

Funny thing is I had the same thought a few days earlier when I realized that I had mastered the art of cutting off the busses!  You see, tailgating is just normal driving here.  So you have to get really good at merging quickly or looking into the eyes of the person whom you are trying to get in front of and staring them down.  But to avoid any of this machismo, you can take the easy route and get good at cutting off the buses.  Obviously they move slower so it is easier to time it right.

So, I am proud to say, that I have officially gotten used to driving like a maniac!

Oh yeah... I almost forgot.  Tonight when we got home from visiting friends I parallel parked... in a tiny space... on a hill (our car is a stick-shift).  Parallel parking skilz are a must in the city.

I don't think I ran over anyone in the process!

I know, I know.  You are impressed!

I'm rockin' this car!




P.S.- My hands smell like potatoes and I cannot figure out way.  The smell will not wash away.  It's not altogether unpleasant, just weird.  I just thought someone needed to know this.  Justin isn't here, so tonight you are my sounding board!

Saturday in London

Justin didn't have to work on Saturday so we got to go out as a family.  We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to the train station.  The train station was just a few blocks away.  We bought an all day transportation pass.  So, we could hop on and off of the trains, tube, etc.

We rode the train into Waterloo (I just love saying Waterloo).  Then connected to the tube and came up at Victoria Station. 

A traditional English taxi cab.  Even the newest cabs are still made in this style.

Victoria Station

We were trying to see the changing of the guard.  They only do it once every other day.  Unfortunately every tourist in all of the United Kingdom was there, too.  This is out in front of Buckingham Palace.  The Bobbies had stopped traffic so that the guards could march through.  There was a band, guards, and mounted guards.

The guards marching towards the palace.

The mounted guards

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace with the Victoria memorial statue in front

The guards marching back to wherever they came from after the ceremony.

St. James Park park with the London Eye and Big Ben Clocktower in the distance

Westminster Abbey

They had a really neat activity for kids, so we got to really explore and they weren't too bored.  They had their own clipboards with a special leaflet of things to find, count, etc.  It was a bit like a scavenger hunt.

One of the clergymen (I don't know exactly what they are called in the Church of England) spotted us and showed us around a bit.  He even opened up the special spot where the Queen sits when she comes to the Abbey.  He let me go up the stairs and stand in her spot, but not sit on her cushion.

There was no photography in the Abbey so all I have are outside shots.  The whole thing was just gorgeous!!  Since the kids were having so much fun on their scavenger hunt we really had time to explore.

The clocktower that houses Big Ben.  Big Ben is not the tower it is the bells.

Parliament 

Sort of a spooky view of Big Ben

Across the Thames from parliament

Noah, Callie, and Lucy in front of Parliament

While Justin waited in line to get tickets for the London Eye we ate a quick lunch.

There was a McDonald's really close but I refused to allow us to eat there!  Hot dogs from a street vendor seemed like the better choice. HA!

The Millenium Bridge from the London Eye

Noah and Callie were a nervous wreck on the London Eye.  Callie cowered most of the time, and Noah hollered at anyone who went near the sides. 

Finally they loosened up a bit and started to walk around and look out.

From the Eye we took the tube towards Piccadilly Circus.  

We were walking towards Trafalgar Square when we heard drumming.  So we went over to see what was going on.

We ended up in China Town and they were celebrating Chinese New Year.  It was really fun and festive.  I have always wanted to see these big dragons.  The street was lined with Chinese restaurants.  Each one put out an offering for the dragons.  The dragons would go up to each restaurant and "eat" the offering.  

Beautiful buildings the we saw while walking towards Trafalgar Square.  By this point we had practically walked our legs off, so the pictures and descriptions are sparse.  Sorry!