{USA 2012} What have I let myself in for?

Once I read the customs declaration about not bringing any fruits or veg into the US, I quickly ate my apple

So after telling people bits and pieces about the holiday today at work, I'm ready to start blogging.

And... I'm going to feel my way with the topical posts but I have made a list of possible blog topics.

When I get tired of posting here I'll start on the travel blog!

**************************************

The conference people set up a group on Facebook the weekend before the conference and my speaker evaluator invited the 12 of us to it.

I went on and immediately started feeling, "Oh GOD, what have I let myself in for? And do You even CARE?" (I get very melodramatic with God sometimes)

Everyone was all super prepared and I didn't even have the TOPICS sorted let alone crafted outlines let alone written the speeches let alone practised. And this was about 4 - 5 days before it started.

Yessssss. But I was busy with birthday party planning and execution (doesn't that sound all swift and efficient, yet I wasn't) and of course, the small matter of being part of a very under-resourced team at work with TONS of pressure to deliver there.

So I got off the FB group. I thoroughly recommend getting off FB the minute you feel overwhelmed, by the way. It only feeds the comparison monster.

I emailed the nice SE (speaker evaluator), Mary, and said, "I am SUPER overwhelmed and I'm just going to have to wing it because all these super-prepared girls are freaking me out".

She was very nice, said she'll pray for me and so on, and agreed with me that maybe it was best to take a breather from FB.

And then I calmed down a little bit but on the Monday night I was furiously typing out something (blog posts I think for the other blog) and I get pinged on Skype from a friend in London.

"Are you busy? We want to phone you quickly."

Being newlyweds I immediately think, "they're pregnant". I answered that the whole house was asleep (11 pm) and we could only skype chat.

So here's what they say.

We felt we should bless someone and asked God who.. He picked you! So we want to give you 200 pounds, whatever that is in Rands.

Well.

My mouth hung open. How amazing is that?!

It's not about the money although that certainly came in very useful. 200 pounds is a lot of Rands (R2600).

It was that I was on God's radar... and He saw fit to touch me.


Are you getting goosebumps?

I was super chuffed from that day onwards knowing God was keeping an eye on me and just saying, "I'm with you. Calm down and stop panicking."

Of course that didn't get the speeches written but I got them written (or at least, mapped out) on the flight to NYC.

Packing and all of that was fine, if late, and I had a helper or two.



All the travel was just fine - my biggest accomplishment is that I only checked in with 16 kg of luggage (allowance is 23 kg)!

I had a good flight, finished a book, read about 60% of another, planned out my speeches and still slept 8 hours. But... didn't watch any TV.



I spent five frustrating hours at Kennedy Airport trying to get my phone and iPad connected and eventually flew to Charlotte.



This is the only pic I took in the airport. I'm scared to death of airport pics after I got scolded by a London policeman four years ago.

Even though it was boiling outside, inside it was freezing so I had to have some (hot) tea.This pic is of my tea.

So, South African Airways...

I don't know if I'll fly direct again. Even though the individual trip was nice, I actually like having it split into two legs - it feels like I'm accomplishing more.

And you get fed more. No joke but we got fed 12 hours between meals. You all know "meals" are not really "meals" and generally I eat a lot (apples and yoghurts in between real meals) so the 12-hour starvation was not good and I had to call the stewardesses for food in the middle of the night because I woke STARVING. I'm the sort of person who starts feeling nauseous if I go over that eating threshold point so they had to bring me something to tide me over til breakfast.

Also, very friendly staff (of course) but the efficiency is not always there :)

The best airlines that I've flown are Singapore Air, Etihad, Malaysia, and SAA/ BA tie in fourth for different reasons.

Do you take pics in airports? Have you ever been reprimanded?
Which is your favourite airline?

PS I absolutely REFUSE to ever fly 1Time. My colleagues laugh at me but I always say, "if I can't afford to pay an extra R100 - R200 to fly a decent airline, then I can't afford to go". I refuse to feel like cattle. RyanAir is the equivalent in Europe.
PPS My colleague tells me she's also been reprimanded for taking airport pics - hers was at JFK!

I don't know where to start but the photos are too many!

I don't know what happened with those 3 of the same posts.

They kept not appearing so I kept emailing it to blogger....and then eventually I just pasted the content in a fresh post and that one worked.

And then later the rest must have appeared.

But I've put my settings back to going to drafts so it shouldn't happen again.

Right, moving on.

MandyE - I kind-of am in love with my own pic :)

close-up of her ring - gorgeous!

MandyH - I love these kinds of pics. Downtown Charlotte.

I'm now sporting a cool camera strap like the one Mandy's wearing... and a camera bag to match.

So... I downloaded 1619 pics from the trip.

Since the Mandys already posted their versions, I feel slight pressure to post some of mine too and so I started with my Charlotte folder.

Before... 569
After... 452

I think deleting 117 is amazing on my part because I was deleting as I saw terrible pics.

I'm also a little confused.

I don't know if I should just post my "topical" travel posts here and the diary-type ones on my travel blog?

Any other ideas?

I have some gorgeous pics but I'll have to limit myself to serious highlights or favourites because at about 10 pics per blog, this could go on for a LONG time and I may bore you to tears after about two posts.

And I still have to post party pics...

I will leave you with one thought about one aspect of travel -  bags!

Usually I agonise over which ones to take (remember I change my bags almost daily depending on what I'm wearing, doing, etc.) because I don't like to be out thinking, I really wish I had that one.

This trip I took 3 - a khaki backpack Cab 55 I've had forever, a reversible red/ cream tote I bought in Liverpool and a more structured blue one.

It worked out perfectly because I used all 3. I used the backpack a LOT when I wanted my hands free to take pics and then when Mandy gave me my camera coat, I put that in the tote and it worked out beautifully. The other one I mainly used for airport travel because it took all my electronics - iPad, Kindle, all chargers, plus all my normal handbag stuff.

And now I'm on the lookout for a yellow handbag. I saw so many girls over there with a yellow one - not mustard and not the buttercup yellow, somewhere in between. And I decided I must have one. Except all the stores I went to didn't have a suitable one.

This is kind-of what I'm looking for. If you see one somewhere that is not too expensive (my comfort level is around R300), let me know!

When you travel, how many handbags do you take along with you?

Home Sweet Home

I had a nice post in my iPad drafts but of course, being me, I can't seem to connect.

I think it's because my work password expired while I was on holiday.

So iPad pics will have to wait til Tuesday when I'm back at work.

my favourite place in NYC - Bryant Park

Nevertheless, I'm home!

It's fantastic to be back - I squealed when I realised I'm paying in Rand again. It's so easy to just swipe when the numbers seem small until I switched on my cell phone in the airport this morning (for the first time since I left) and saw all the transactions. Gulp.

It will all be fine though - I kept track of the expenses and I think we're within budget. Of course that "inspired" me to go a bit wild in the airport with t-shirts for us and for the kids.

And we got the BEST welcome from the kids - they both couldn't stop smiling. Kendra kept saying, "I missed you, Mummy" and Connor kept saying, "you must sleep here tonight!" as if I'm in the habit of sleeping out!

However they didn't want to nap at ALL today so this post will be short as there are hands everywhere. Cute hands but that does mean nothing is 100% done. Both my bedroom and the study are unpacked.

The only thing that's ready to go is the dirty laundry.

I feel like my whole weekend was taken up travelling. Oh yes, that's right. It was! I flew direct but those 15 hours stretched to about 21 :)

But enough about me, how was YOUR weekend?

Home sweet home

I had a nice post in my iPad drafts but of course, being me, I can't seem to connect.

I think it's because my work password expired while I was on holiday.

So iPad pics will have to wait til Tuesday when I'm back at work.

Nevertheless, I'm home!

It's fantastic to be back - I squealed when I realised I'm paying in Rand again. It's so easy to just swipe when the numbers seem small until I switched on my cell phone in the airport this morning (for the first time since I left) and saw all the transactions. Gulp.

It will all be fine though - I kept track of the expenses and I think we're within budget. Of course that "inspired" me to go a bit wild in the airport with t-shirts for us and for the kids.

And we got the BEST welcome from the kids - they both couldn't stop smiling. Kendra kept saying, "I missed you, Mummy" and Connor kept saying, "you must sleep here tonight!" as if I'm in the habit of sleeping out!

However they didn't want to nap at ALL today so this post will be short as there are hands everywhere. Cute hands but that does mean nothing is 100% done. Both my bedroom and the study are unpacked.

The only thing that's ready to go is the dirty laundry.

I feel like my whole weekend was taken up travelling. Oh yes, that's right. It was! I flew direct but those 15 hours stretched to about 21 :)

But enough about me, how was YOUR weekend?

Home sweet home

I had a nice post in my iPad drafts but of course, being me, I can't seem to connect.

I think it's because my work password expired while I was on holiday.

So iPad pics will have to wait til Tuesday when I'm back at work.

Nevertheless, I'm home!

It's fantastic to be back - I squealed when I realised I'm paying in Rand again. It's so easy to just swipe when the numbers seem small until I switched on my cell phone in the airport this morning (for the first time since I left) and saw all the transactions. Gulp.

It will all be fine though - I kept track of the expenses and I think we're within budget. Of course that "inspired" me to go a bit wild in the airport with t-shirts for us and for the kids.

And we got the BEST welcome from the kids - they both couldn't stop smiling. Kendra kept saying, "I missed you, Mummy" and Connor kept saying, "you must sleep here tonight!" as if I'm in the habit of sleeping out!

However they didn't want to nap at ALL today so this post will be short as there are hands everywhere. Cute hands but that does mean nothing is 100% done. Both my bedroom and the study are unpacked.

The only thing that's ready to go is the dirty laundry.

I feel like my whole weekend was taken up travelling. Oh yes, that's right. It was! I flew direct but those 15 hours stretched to about 21 :)

But enough about me, how was YOUR weekend?

On my way home

See you on the other side.

What is the deal with these u-shaped toilet seats?

The Great Technology Fiasco and NYC part 1

I'm convinced the technology gods are against me.

I now have no phone and no Internet.

Yes, about 10 networks show up as wireless on my iPad but they all say "can't connect" when I look for them and select one.

We went to a Starbucks tonight before supper so we could look up city tours. Ridiculous. Paid $9/ R77 for two coffees and, as I like to think of it, 45 mins of Internet.

The $8 a month thing I paid for when I landed in the US only worked at the airport.

I've recharged my Skype credit because I believe that will work too but I don't quite get it because you need Internet to get on Skype? Still that never goes to waste because I'm styling with the kids through my mother's cell phone and when home, we phone our overseas friends. Hey! I now have more overseas friends.

Then my phone says t mobile. So tonight at a Duane Reed I bought a t mobile recharge voucher. Well, tried to recharge, failed so I called customer service and she says "we're not t mobile". Also they only recharge in $30 denominations and more and no way am I paying that when I've already had endless hassles. It's more to make quick calls and text.

So....Mandy, I'll be typing emails and when I'm in a free wifi area, it will answer your SMS. And of course facebook and blogging will have to do.

I'll ask the lovely Tiffany at reception (I told D her whole life story and he wanted to know how I know all this stuff. I asked her, of course!) some more about this wifi business tomorrow.

I bought an adaptor at Target yesterday. When I got back to the hotel, I found it was WRONG. So today I bought another one.

I'm very scared of calculating all the money wasted. Although it has been priceless to get texts from the Mandys saying normal girlfriend things like "meet you downstairs in 10" and getting LOVELY voicemails from Heather. We can't wait to go out as couples with the two of them.

I swear, this is making me crazy. I promise you, I'm a smart girl but I just can't get this stuff figured out.

in other news... NYC....

Already have good pics, have eaten lovely Thai food, walked a lot and bought some MORE nail polish.

D and I are missing the kids (first thing Connor says today is "mummy, I'm missing you" and Kendra, "we're reading STORIES!" so I think she's having fun") but enjoying eating food that's still hot and talking uninterrupted!!!

Tell me I'm not the only one who has technology problems.

No blogging tonight

No proper blog tonight thanks to the lovely Mandys.

We acted like women without responsibilities, out enjoying Charlotte's nightlife (and by nightlife I mean sitting and chatting at a restaurant).

Got back at 11.30 ish.

It was all fabulous!

And now I need to pack :(

What was the latest you've been out with your friends since having kids?

Hotel room view of the sunset

Ps can someone tell me how to add pics to my posts if I'm blogging from the iPad?

Conference over and one Mandy down

So had a bit of drama with God this morning.

Something about dealing with an issue that's surfaced twice before and then again on the conference.

When I have a proper keyboard and have processed it better, I need to write more.

Anyway, the conference is over and now I'm finally on holiday!

Shuttle to the airport, taxi to the hotel, met my one friend, B, and we just fell into it like we've been sitting having chats in person forever.

Well, we do chat weekly but usually 80% business :)

Anyhow, then I got a text from Mandy 1.

 "We're here. When can I see you?" (don't you love how she gets to the point?)

I said, "now, I'm in 1620" but after I checked and the text wasn't sending, I phoned her and we arranged to all meet and go get supper.

Supper was very good but verrrrry expensive. R242 for main course, no drink or dessert. Wait, let me back track. We did exactly what D and I do, which is to wander around forever, taking photos along the way.

I loved it and just couldn't stop smiling... and snapping away.

So, you want to know about Mandy?

Oh my! Gorgeous! Inside and out. We also just fell right into it. Amazing. She also picked up on something with me that I hadn't quite been able to put my fingers on which I love! And her family's just great. The girls are a delight and are charming me. They're so compliant compared to my two, especially with pics. J is lovely too and has been asking me tons of questions about SA I'm not sure I'm answering well enough :)

Anyway, I need to go to bed.

I have a city tour with my name on it and have to look semi-good to meet Mandy 2. I can't wait!!!

How was your weekend? 

Ps F, happy birthday. It's still the 22nd here :)

Much better

This is this morning's breakfast.

I finally saw grits in the flesh! And American biscuits!!!

:)

am having a much better time.

Amazing what being connected to the outside world will do.

I've also just skyped with d and the kids. They sound ADORABLE and Connor said, "I want you to come back here" Not one to beat around the bush :)

They were also full of I love you and I miss you which is so lovely.

As for the conference, I need to process. I feel like I know nothing... So imagine the girls who are real beginner speakers!

Anyhow, have to go back now.

How's your Saturday?

PS only one day til I meet the Mandys :)

My words didn't post for some reason

> Okay, so I'm really really battling.
>
> Despite spending a lot of money on a US sim and Internet, I can't connect properly anywhere (I'm going to the foyer after I type this so it can send to the blog) so I feel hugely disconnected and I'm freaking out.
>
> My phone and iPad charger also don't work with the adaptor I bought so I've arranged to go to a radio shack during supper to sort it all out. !!!!!!
>
> And I don't have friends. crikey! I've become an introvert!!! I just want to hide out.
>
> Other than that, I really felt God move this morning so that's good.
>
> I also seem to have forgotten my foundation and I feel so naked. Will have to pick something up. I can't let the Mandys meet me looking like that :)
>
> sent from my iPad.
>

Very overwhelmed

So here's the state of affairs

I was checked in early, verrrry early.

D and I had coffee and a muffin and I'm through passport control.

I tried to go to the slow lounge and felt like a real idiot because I'm apparently not rich enough. FNB did send me a communication to say I had accesss but the guy there said its only for RMB private clients.

OUCH!

Oh, you want to know about the kids?

They were fine.

I only packed this morning and at 11 we went to see 3 pre-schools and then to PNP to return 5 pairs of shorts and pants that all don't fit me!

And then a quick lunch.

The kids went to sleep only after K made me promise I wouldn't go on the aeroplane without saying good-bye.

We waited for them to wake.... K eventually woke, we had to wake C, all red-cheeked and super gorgeous like a baby.

They said goodbye nicely and D and I were off.

I must admit... I'm a little bit worried because my mother still favors K but I told nanny S to please be gentle with them and give lots of hugs as my mother's not affectionate at all and that's the stuff I worry about, not the physical stuff. but I decided these kids are God's, they always have been so it's His job to watch over them.

The main reason I'm writing is this though- I decided to only bring the iPad (which I still kind of hate) so who knows if it will be easy to buy data or if I'll be able to blog once I leave the comforts of glorious South Africa and my data provider.

Don't worry, I always get super patriotic when I travel, it's the strangest thing. comments will be very rare because I hate a typing on this thing and I'll have to try to remember to take pics from here so my occasional posts actually look a bit interesting.

I brought both the iPad and the kindle because the last thing I want is for one to run out of power on this long trip and me to have no reading.

And of course, the big camera.

But tell me, is there anything one can do to get the pics from the canon to the iPad? I don't think there is so you'll have to wait to see them all in Aug... Or from one of the Mandys :) sooner than that.

So what I'm pleased about so far...

# Being super early
# Getting in at 16.2 kg,I was aiming for 14 kg, Connor's weight. my allowance is 23 kg.
# I could have done hand luggage if not for the conference clothes. One suit, another pair of black pants, two pairs of shoes, one to present and one to be a delegate, tops, cardigans, etc,......
# My bags have been put straight through to Charlotte so I only have my handbag and a camera. Oh the joys of travel without kids :)
# My hair is trimmed and looking healthy again.

So that's me.

How are you on this Mandela Day?

Very cute babies with nanny S

These kids have a "thing" about running around the house n*ked when they're about to have their bath... even when it's freezing cold.

I had to take some pics - they look so happy.

Wait until this afternoon when I leave...ta da da dum :)



Thank-you notes - the big debate

So, not that I'm ashamed of the way I am, but somehow I feel the need to put a big old disclaimer on the top of this post.

Disclaimer
I know I'm old-fashioned and I'm very okay with that :)



 

1. The other day MandyH and I were chatting behind the scenes about thank-you notes.

She did an incredible amount of work (and that's being very diplomatic because it was about 10 times more than I would do!) for a family member's wedding who didn't bother to thank her properly, just a thank you at the end of a text.

I'm slightly (okay, extremely) horrified.

Where are the manners???

(some would say, "well, she said thank-you" but I'm about the how)

2. I get that people send texts for everything these days - invites, thank-yous and so on.

I also get that it's quick and you can tick it off the to-do list easier but I just feel better (about myself) if I do a "proper" thank-you note.

On Saturday when the kids were opening gifts, I had to slow them down so I could write down who gave what... for the thank-you notes.

The comment that hurt me... "oh don't bother to send me a thank-you note. It's just a waste of paper"

(stab to my heart)

Me who said I was going to send a note? (because due to my severe time constraints this year - normally I allow myself a whole week to get the thank-you notes out - I actually didn't do paper thank-you notes, I did an emailed version)

Person Oh, you always send cards and things and it doesn't even matter to me

(further stabs to my heart)

Me actually, it matters TO ME. I want the children to learn to thank people properly.

And, for the record, she still got a thank-you note. Teehee!


Okay, so on an intellectual level, I get that these things mean nothing to some people but let me explain from my point of view.

When I make the effort with something and I get a nice thank-you (via email or written, sorry but somehow texts just don't do it for me as much - maybe because they get deleted?), I glow with delight because the person appreciated the effort and hopefully liked the thing. And I'm a words person. If you've ever written me a really nice card, I probably still have it.

By the way, don't stop sending me texts if that's your thing... I just like an email more :) and a note even more :) :)

I also think it's just good manners to say thank-you if someone posted something to you. There have been people who don't say thank-you and I wonder and wonder if they've received it.

And then I eventually break down and ask (awkward!) and the answer is "yes. sorry I forgot to tell you". That is not good. I like to think I'm above these things but I'm actually not. I probably won't go to as much trouble for you again.

The same with the kids.

I know that most people wouldn't put shopping for a birthday present and wrapping it high on their "Love to do" lists.

They obviously made a considerable amount of effort.

So I like to say thank-you properly. And I want the kids to do the same.

Last year I did them all myself and this year, I did emailed cards plus some photos attached. The kids can talk this year so we're still busy making the rounds of kiddie phone calls this year... hang in there, we'll get to you eventually. Once they get the phone, they like to chit-chat :)

I have some questions for you.

What's your thank-you style?
How do you instill a spirit of gratitude in your kids?

If you're very different from the way I am, and you feel like that person, I'm (now) open to listening. Please feel free to tell me why you do things the way you do.

I told them!

Mandy, recognise the cards?

So I took your advice and told the kids this evening.

I used Cat's and Blackhuff's ideas.

I had some teddies I'd bought for them while in Ireland when pregnant (pink and blue - verrrrrrry soft with patches). They were displayed before they came home but when I saw how messy babies are (!), I put them away.

So out they came tonight.



I also printed out two Outlook calendars and marked off the days I'll be away.

I explained that I'm going on a TRIP (on an aeroplane) and that I'll be away for 11 nights. Connor was more upset that he wouldn't also be going with me on the aeroplane so I told them we'd make some aeroplanes on Wed and they were happy with that!

Kendra said why do I need to be away for so long. D jumped in and said it's quicker if it's on an aeroplane. :)

I also said when they miss me, they must come and give Pink Patches and Blue Patches big hugs. And that PP and BP don't like water or to be flung onto the carpet :)



And they're mostly fine.

After stories and praying (oh, they prayed for me too), Kendra said, "I'm going to miss you" - too sweet!!!!!!

Are you proud of me?

PS I'm under no illusions that it will be this smooth. I know there's going to be drama, poor things! And poor Mummy!

How do I tell the kids?

So there are two days before I leave and the kids don't know I'm going away.....

Any experience on telling your kids that you're going away for a holiday?

Also, which words would you use? I don't want to say "holiday" since they know "holidays" and that usually means they go with us.

I wanted to tell them this morning (and then escape to work!) but I thought that's the cowardly way to do things and I don't want my mother (less than tactfull) and Nanny S to have to deal with it.

Party Day... in bullets

The weather forecast said something like a high of 16 or 18 degrees, grey and overcast and a 71% chance of rain. We had the cold, the grey but fortunately, no rain. Because I hired one of those kiddie ride cars and thankfully, I got my money's worth.

The weather also means I took crappy pics because I can't shoot in non-sun weather. On the bright side, it was COLD, GREY weather which I still do love.

Seriously, my pics indoors are so terrible. Hopefully my friends got some good ones. But I did take some nice ones, mainly of people, outdoors. Shame - I had to tell Cat's daughter, "please come outside for 2 secs so I can take a nice pic of you". Best? She listened. Amazing age!

This is the only one I got of my two the whole day.



I do have some pics I took while they were getting dressed but haven't looked through them all yet.

• Everyone pitched. Amazing since this is winter and kids are sickly (one of the twins stayed away).
• Thank goodness I got Nester and Nanny S in for some of the day. Everybody had a list this morning. I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't stayed up late preparing.
• I still had to bake a last-minute cake. Somehow I'd miscalculated and bought too few cupcakes.
• I jumped in the shower at 10:19 for a 10:30 party... I figured it was more important to get some of the table pics first rather than get dressed on time.
• Not everyone wanted their pictures taken or wanted to play :(
• I was hurt by a comment and very irritated by another, both family. Par for the course.
• There were some tantrums. And some quick thinking by some mothers. E.g. my one friend eventually told her boy the battery on the kiddie car was flat so they could go home :)
• The kids got SPOILT tons and tons. They still have 4 gifts to open tomorrow. So far they have fought over a pram and a doll, and have been occupied for a long time with blocks and alphabet magnets.

Things I'm not sure of:

• having a 10:30 start time in winter. It works great in summer because it's warm but not too warm yet. 
• why I continue to have somewhat high expectations of family.
• if I'll ever get into the "themed cake" thing. It's the first thing my sister thinks about every year and she really gets into it. She does it herself and practises a week or two beforehand. I love it but it's not me
• how I'll ever transition to a venue party. I just LOVE having people in my house, even if it gets messy. All part of the fun. I love the buzz and the people and the taking it all down and restoring to order afterwards.

look at the sunroom - this is the cleaned-up version

I had to lie down with Connor this afternoon to get him to calm down and sleep. He eventually fell asleep at 4:15 and didn't wake for supper. He's still asleep in his t-shirt but I put tracksuit pants on him so he'd be more comfortable. You all know my motto - never wake a sleeping baby!

I also slept for 1.5 hours and then I've been up, tidying, sorting, starting to prepare for US.

One more before I jump into my warm bed... a silly pic with Connor




We so loved having everyone over. Even Kendra said so (and she's the shyest of the 4 of us).


Do you like having people at your home?
Or is the stress of the mess too much for you?

PS paper plates rule!

{Friendship Friday} Is she blowing me off?

Do you remember this post where I spoke about spontaneity?

Number 5 on that list is a particular friend. We've been friends for 12 years, since I started working at my previous company.

We were work friends for a few months until an awards dinner where the husbands also met and liked each other (you know how key that is for couple dates!) and from then we'd have couple socials.

Here's what I wrote in that other post:

I am desperately trying to arrange a lunch with a set of couple friends.
They are the most highly structured people I know and do not like things to mess with plans :) It's actually funny because I'm sure people see me like that but oh, I am a 2 on the scale next to her 10.

We haven't seen them since November and we had a plan on a weekend in April but their house move was shifted so that messed everything up.
We tried for May and June and now she's emailed me for July (when I'm away) so I said eventually, "okay, this is getting ridiculous. Let's change something because otherwise it's never going to happen". I suspect we'll have to move our normal plan to a Friday night (um, no) or a Sunday after church because the Saturdays are just not on.

So now she told me that there is one date in September they're available. One date.

Even after we've looked at Sundays.... because they go biking on Sundays.

I've since gone back to her and said what about Fridays? Even though I really don't mess with the kids' bedtime, I thought, "fine, one Friday night won't kill us".

No answer yet, after 3 days....

My thing is - why can't they be just a little bit flexible? We're the ones with kids!

So I'm wondering if they're gone off us and this inflexibility and rigidity is their way of saying it but also not saying it?

Thing is... this kind of thing will work well with other people but I have a problem letting go.

What do you think?

What would you do?

And because I can't end a post without a proper pic (!), pics of my little friend. This little one is always game to be silly with me - I love it.

"Kendra, let's make our funny faces"

Kendra phoning Connor because she's missing him

"proper" blogging later :)

PS I'm putting myself on a blog reading fast (except for about 10...) for about 5 - 6 days because I'm behind on all things party and trip planning!

This is what they get up to at "pre-school"

Um, you were right - I totally didn't do my to-do list.

instead, I

1. showered and dressed
2. organised my wardrobe (I'm getting really sick of having stuff I don't use so I tossed some more "thin jeans")
3. took photos of 10 bags I want to sell/ give away
4. made lunch
5. felt really sick at the thought of eating the lunch
6. went to sleep for 2.5 hours
7. woke up
8. did puzzles with Connor
9. wrote one guest post (which is going to be repurposed as one on my blog too :))
10. put on some lipstick
11. raced to Bedford to meet a friend
12. had a fabulous supper (butternut soup) and an even more-fabulous catch-up (more on Friday)

I took these pics with my zoom lens from our pause area on the 2nd floor. Yay for spying on kids :)



Connor playing with food



10 points for you if you can see Kendra's head sticking out

their craft of the day - mosaic mirrors - I'm so chuffed with these

apparently they're not into drumming :)

getting bored



getting bored

at least they look cute!

I only have one baby at work with me today.

The other baby is still coughing and was very cross that he was going to be left home with Nanny S.

However when I said, "Connor, at least you don't have to share all the puzzles", he cheered right up :)

How's your day going?

PS I have 48 mails, best I get to it! Only 4 days of work left and 3 days FULL of meetings.......