An Early Delivery

Father Christmas must start making his rounds a little earlier than Old St. Nick because two days ago the most hoped for item on my Christmas wish list was delivered to my doorstep.  

A reclining glider chair & footstool to rock my little one in come March...hooray!  It is by far the most comfy piece of furniture we have now.  I have hardly moved from it since Tuesday (of course, having the worst cold of the century has greatly contributed to such a state of stagnancy...ugh).  I love it!!    

And the nomination goes to...

Yesterday my husband made me a lunch for school, drove me to work (in, yes, another rental car) so I didn't have to take the bus, went grocery shopping and remembered to buy all my favorite foods, re-made our bed so my side would have extra cushioning, did the dishes, did the laundry, made me dinner when I got home from work, and offered to massage my feet before I went to bed.  Is there an award for Best Husband EVER!? 'Cause I nominate Justin, hands down.    

Beatlemania

Our last adventure with Cody was a trip to Liverpool.  Liverpool is, of course, home of The Beatles.  It also happens to be recently voted "European Capital of Culture."  There seems to be a ton of stuff to do there, but we just barely scratched the surface.  We went to a Beatles museum where we learned everything there is to know (okay, maybe not everything, but we learned a lot) about the Beatles' story.  They had even recreated places like The Cavern, the little joint where the Beatles first started playing regular gigs, and the Abbey Road recording studio.  It was awesome.

Entering the Yellow Submarine phase of the Beatles' story.  (Pay no attention to the No Photography sign on the right.)

This was an interactive part of the museum.  Cody is playing a Beatles song Tom Hanks-BIG style.

We ate dinner in Liverpool where Cody ordered an American-style Cheeseburger for his last meal in England.  When we got home, he packed up his stuff and left early the next morning.  We really enjoyed having him out here with us for the past couple months.  He's such an awesome guy--the best youngest brother a girl could have.  Love you, Code!

Blessed Day

Last week we received a care package from Mom and Dad Malden.  A couple weeks earlier I had mentioned a craving for Peanut Butter M&M's, of which there are none in the UK.  This is what we received:

We have Peanut Butter M&M's coming out our ears!  We took a couple bags to our Thanksgiving celebration with some American friends and they were a hit.  We're now down to 1 1/4 bags, but that amount is currently dwindling since I'm snacking away on some right now. I'm pretty sure Baby is going to come out quite addicted to these little scrumptulescent candies.  We send a big shout out to Monty and Denise, Hollah!  (P.S. We had also mentioned that we paid almost $6.00 for a bag of fairly stale marshmallows, so we were excited to see a bag of those in the box of goodies as well.)

Tourists

Cody's last week here kicked us into tourist mode.  We visited a couple "touristy" places including Christ's Church Cathedral and Carfax Tower.  Carfax is in the center of the city and from the top of it you can see great views of Oxford.  Christ's Church is very old and very beautiful, but it also happens to be where some classic scenes from Harry Potter were filmed.  I'm not a fanatic Harry Potter fan (I haven't even read the books, but keep that on the down low or else I'll lose all credibility as a primary (a.k.a. elementary) school teacher), but I still like to establish the "Ooh, I've been there!" claim to fame.   

 

Climbing the very narrow staircase to get to the top

Harry Potter fans, do you recognize this room?

This is the staircase where Harry and friends first meet Prof. McGonagall 

Liberation

We rented a car for the weekend.  It was so fun!  I felt like I was 16 all over again, experiencing the sweet freedom that comes with a set of wheels.  We all took turns driving, some creating more nerve-racking experiences than others.  It was the first time any of us have driven in a couple of months.  Combine that with driving on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, using a gear shift with the opposite hand, insane round-a-bouts everywhere, and a bunch of road signs that we couldn't figure out the meanings of and you'll know why we're so thrilled to have not caused any damage to the car, ourselves, or others.  Woo-hoo! 

Our Ride

The "passenger-side" steering wheel

 Justin's first experience behind the wheel

Cody behind the wheel

Justin while Cody was behind the wheel

We drove up to Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday morning.  This is Shakespeare's town, for those of you who might not know.  They have preserved the look of many of the buildings so they still have that Shakespearian feel.  

In front of the house where Shakespeare was born

Shakespearian style unites with the 21st century 

Eating lunch

Anne Hathaway's Cottage (the wife of W. Shakespeare, not the actress)

We want to go back in the spring when the gardens will be in bloom!

We then went down to Reading to do some shopping, maternity shopping to be specific.  What we found in the way of maternity clothes was largely disappointing, but the trip was not a failure because I came away with a fruit basket that I love.  (Our accommodations have helped us to learn how to live with only bare essentials, so when an accessory such as a fruit basket comes along, above average feelings of excitement and happiness come along with it!) 

We were so blessed to have the car on Sunday.  The walk to the bus stop for church would have included much wind, rain, and cold, but instead we enjoyed the luxury of just hoping in the car!  For those of you who enjoy this luxury every week, remember to be grateful for it (it might be a good one to mention when you go around the table expressing your thanks on Thursday).  After church we went to C.S. Lewis' house.  There is a forest surrounding a big pond directly behind his house which is the scenery that inspired Narnia.  Did 'ja know he even had 4 children come stay at his house during the war, just like in the books?  

"Narnia"

We want to come back here again in the spring too

Growing like crazy these days!

We had to turn the car in this morning, but not before taking advantage of it one more time.  We got up extra early and went on a BIG grocery shopping spree.  I normally have to go to the store every other day because I can only buy as much as I can carry home.  With the car we were able to stock up on stuff that is a bit heavier to carry (canned foods, potatoes, laundry detergent, etc.).  Our kitchen is the most stocked it's been since moving here.  Once again, be grateful if you get to drive to a grocery store whenever you want!

We had such a great time with the car and the rental price was pretty affordable, so it's definitely something we see ourselves doing again in the future.       

BOY,

... are we surprised to be having a GIRL!  Actually, Justin predicted it would be a girl from the very beginning, but I must admit my "mother's intuition" was leaning towards boy.  Intuition Shmintuition!  We are thrilled to not have an it anymore, but also feel a bit more nervous as the renewed sense of 'we are actually having a baby' sinks in.  Her hands, feet, arms, legs, heart chambers, spine, brain, etc. were all accounted for and in their correct places.  And for the third time, from the third medical professional, we received the comment, "That is one very active baby in there!"  It's true; she's definitely not shy about making her presence known.  She especially likes to remind me in the middle of the night when I try to snooze on my tummy.  Apparently it cramps her style and she gets me to shift pretty quickly with her incessant jabs of protest.  Wow!  We're having a girl!! 

 

        

Home for Christmas!

While totally not in our original plans, we found an amazing deal on plane tickets that we just couldn't pass up.  In fact, our calculations show that it will be cheaper for us to fly home for the holidays than to stay in Oxford.  Shocking, I know.  A small indication of just how expensive it is to live here!  

Alright, alright

Here are some prego belly pics for all you Requesters. I know a pregnant belly is supposed to be fun and exciting (and it is in the privacy of my own home), but I'm still feeling weird about posting pictures of my belly for all the world to see. Oh well.

It stays pretty well hidden in my p.j.'s

But there's definitely something there!

And this bare belly pic proves it's not a basketball.

Too Early?

I listened to Christmas music while creating my new blog posts this morning. I've been having some cravings for it since around mid-October, but I made myself hold off till November. Without the Thanksgiving holiday to act as a stepping stone into the Christmas season, Christmas seems to be making it's appearance here in England already. So whether it's too early or not, I will continue to listen and enjoy my holiday tunes and soak up the love, peace, and happiness that accompanies this wonderful time of year.

Take It or Leave It?

Before leaving for England I received advice from a friend to not make any judgments for the first 3 weeks, granting time for culture shock and other feelings to settle before making my mind up about things. Well, today marks 6 weeks since our arrival, so let the opinions fly!
TAKE IT
- The view outside our living room and bedroom windows
- The weather our second week here. Perfect Fall weather - warm sun, brisk air, pretty colors
- Hot water comes fast (doesn't take long to heat up)
- Justin's excitement about getting involved with school again. He is passionate about his field. I love listening to him talk about his educational and career prospects. He's so enthusiastic about it all. He's totally in his element. (This is my absolute favorite thing about being here!)
- The couches, ping pong table, and Friends in the common room
- The grapes...yum!
- The healthcare
- A utility bill we don't have to pay for
- How green everything is
- The ward. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming, and there are lots of young married couples.

LEAVE IT
- Can't hang anything on the walls. Blah.
- No couch in the apartment
- Can't wash hands/face in warm water because the Hot and Cold faucets are separate
- The time difference between here and CA making it difficult to find times to talk with my mom that are convenient for both of us
- The cost of everything
- All the people who smoke, everywhere, all the time!

Well, it looks like the Take It side wins. I guess I'll stick around for awhile longer. : )

Legally an Adult

It was Cody's 18th birthday yesterday. Woo hoo! We had fun celebrating with him. Things were pretty low key, but we're all going to see Wicked in London on Tuesday and then Cody leaves on his European travel adventure the next day so I'm guessing 18 will remain pretty memorable for him. Also, he got to vote! How many people become a legal voter 2 days before the presidential election?! Very cool.

The birthday boy...ah-hem, man

The cake (We didn't have candles so we supplemented Twix)

The present

The birthday man and his cake

Unwrapping the present

Cody hasn't been able to play basketball since he's been here, so we thought he would love this gift. We were right.


No explanation for this photo

Wrapping up the night by watching some American football on the laptop

Singing Happy Birthday to Cody; we mimicked the version we hear our Indian neighbors who live above us sing to their baby every morning.