LOW: Abby and James were both still sick at the beginning of the week and understandably had the hardest time adjusting to jet lag. Here is AJ at 2 AM, when we were coloring pictures together because she couldn't sleep. I think on this day she finally fell back asleep at 6 AM, on a morning I had to get all the kids downtown by myself. The sleep deprivation from the 2 kids being up night after night felt like having a newborn again. Abby decided she liked our late night activity and snack routine, and was frustrated that I didn't keep up this charade for many nights.
HIGH: Finally a bribe of donuts (with sprinkles) helped convince her that she could stay in bed all night. James took a few more nights, but after 1 full week in London both are almost entirely back to their routines and happy selves.
 |
| 2 AM Abby |
 |
| Finally our happy Abby Jo returns! |
LOW: At one point in the tube station I asked AJ to walk since I needed to carry the stroller up some stairs. She refused, looked at me with exhaustion, and just melted to the floor. So I carried James in the bjorn, Abby in my arms, and the folded stroller over my shoulder. Danny and Kaylee stayed close and helped by carrying the diaper bag. After getting our cards we had tacos for lunch and Matt could tell that on this day I probably would not survive the return trip by myself. He left work early and helped us get home, then finished his work day from home. He is a good man.
 |
| The family that tubes together stays together. |
HIGH: We anticipated being stuck at the house the entire day on Tuesday, but our deliveries all arrived by noon, so I decided we could venture out to find uniforms. Not only did I find where they were, I was able to drive there without trouble. Each day I'm getting more confident behind the wheel here!
LOW: What I didn't anticipate was that parking would be such a challenge. I literally circled for about 20 minutes (good driving practice) as the kids lost their patience. Finally I noticed a sign for an Aldi (grocery store) parking garage. BINGO! We found our way there, found a parking spot, unloaded everybody, and went to pay at the parking meter. Then discovered it was cash only, which we did not have, so we had to load everyone up and circle around more until we could find street parking. The street parking was labeled "Pay by Phone" which I tried. But you had to have a valid UK bank account to link it to, which we are still in the process of getting so I could not pay by phone after all. Another sign said said you could pay by cash. Which I didn't have. Luckily this time I noticed an ATM close and we were able to park. Finally after about an hour of parking shenanigans we made it to the uniform store and quickly found what we need.
HIGH: A new ward friend clued me in to ordering the majority of the uniforms online to save $, so I did not spend a fortune at the uniform store.
HIGH: Next door to the uniform store was a McDonald's. The kids could not have been more thrilled, particularly after there eternal car ride circling around for parking.
LOW: Because we stayed and ate at McDonald's, it was dark by the time we were heading back to the house and it had started to rain and Abby had reached her threshold and was screaming with exhaustion.
HIGH:I discovered I am capable of driving in the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road in the dark in the rain with a screaming child. I felt exhausted, but also empowered.
LOW: The last day in our Air BnB all I had to do was haul the kids and last couple pieces of luggage to the car. But for some reason that task was miserable. Despite planning ahead and having Matt take most of our stuff to the house the night before, it still seemed to take an eternity to haul a duffel, a pack and play, and a backpack down 3 flights of stairs. I suppose I also had a car seat, stroller, and 4 kids so I should give myself some credit. During the morning I definitely lost my temper more than once. I realized during one of my moments of frustration that I had been with all 4 kids 24/7 for the last week with almost no adult interaction other than late evenings conversing with Matt. I was tired.
HIGH: To celebrate finally getting everything and everyone out of the Air BnB, we went to the local bakery for brunch.
LOW: 2/3 of the kids looked around and said they weren't really hungry and didn't see anything they'd like anyway.
HIGH: I ordered what I thought they would like anyway (chocolate croissant, chocolate chip scone, cinnamon swirl bun) and got myself a quiche. Lo and behold they ate. And we were happy and smiling and content as we munched away on delicious, fresh baked goods.
LOW: After brunch we decided to run to get a few groceries, no more than a dozen items for the next few meals. The kids thought it would be better to do self-check out. It was not. The system was just slightly different than what I was used to, enough so that it kept getting stuck and the manager would have to come assist. Additionally Abby kept leaning on the scale prompting it to say "Remove item from the bagging area," and again, often requiring manager assistance. I think it took us almost 15 minutes and my eyes were welling up with tears by the end. "All I want to do is get a few items for lunch and dinner today. That's all. Why is this so, SO hard!?!?!" I consider myself a fairly competent person, and the looks from other patrons and the managers made me feel like a complete idiot.
HIGH: The tears did not fall, and I did not yell at the kids who were fairly patient, and we made it out of the store. Danny reminded me about a bookstore he'd wanted to poke his head into and we all went in for a moment of tranquility. I'm so glad we did, because it was seriously so charming. We made it back to our new home in better spirits.
 |
| Abby Jo sweetly reading . . . you'd never know we had just escaped the self check-out experience from hell. |
LOW: Since much of the week we had spent shopping or waiting for deliveries at the house, I decided we'd do something fun and check out the huge park near our house in the afternoon. Alexandra Park is right across the road, but the play area is on the opposite side of the park. I ended up carrying Abby on my back the whole time, while pushing James in the stroller. Uphill. And it was really, really cold. And Kaylee slipped in the mud. And the kids didn't really like the lunch items we had picked out so they were once again hungry. And cold. With 3/4 of a mile to walk back home.
HIGH: We found this little gem on our walk. I'm glad we named that little guy James because it's fun seeing his name everywhere.
LOW: Abby's blanket had acquired a great deal of dirt from being hauled everywhere the past few days. I decided it was a good opportunity to test out our new washing machine - a washer/dryer combo. But the user's manual made absolutely no sense. So I just went for it - I started the load before we left on our park outing. When we returned home, it was still going. I pushed several buttons trying to end the cycle early, and ended up starting a new cycle. And the door locks until a cycle is done. Again with the tears of feeling totally incompetent at such a simple task. I stood here staring at all these buttons and knobs and screaming in my head "All I want is to wash my daughter's favorite blankie!" But it was sopping wet, locked in the washer. Eventually (I think after 6-7 hours) the cycle (2nd cycle actually) ended and the door unlocked. The blanket was clean, though not entirely dry. I had to use my hair dryer to finish the job, because I certainly wasn't going to risk pushing the wrong button and having it stuck in the washer/dryer at bedtime.
 |
| So many buttons and knobs, but all I want to do is open the door and rescue pink blankie! |
HIGH: We like to have family pizza movie night most weekends, and decided this would be a great way to break in our new house. I had found frozen pizzas that would feel like home, figured out the oven, and improvised without a pizza cutter or cutting boards. We laid out a blanket and busted out the mini-DVD player and were ready for a fun family evening.
LOW: The kids fought about the movie. And argued. And bickered. And fought. So I got to choose and then there was even more whining and moaning and tears. So maybe I should have just called it off, but we really needed this fun night together. So I ignored the tears and put on my choice. "Little House on the Prairie" season 1 episode1.
HIGH: The kids loved it. And Danny watched another one later in the weekend - this time his choice.
 |
| Caught watching and loving "Little House on the Prairie" |
LOW: Matt got home later than planned. The longer commute and demands of his new job mean he is usually not getting home until almost 7:00, a huge adjustment after not only a short commute in Bellevue, but also so much time off with paternity leave and holidays. We had to start pizza movie night before he got home.
HIGH: Through texts, Matt knew just how rough my week had been. He showed up Friday night with a box of macaroons from Laduree - a Parisian bakery we had eaten at (in Paris) earlier this year. He knew I was not as totally incompetent as I had felt all week and he appreciated all my efforts to make a smooth transition for the family. And they were super super tasty.
 |
| Macaroons from Laduree at the end of a really rough week. |
We capped off a really, really hard week by doing something fun. We took our kids downtown to see celebrate Chinese New Year with Dim Sum and see some sights.
 |
| China Town after eating delicious dim sum for lunch. |
 |
| Trafalgar Square with Nelson's Column and Big Ben in the background. |
 |
| Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery |
 |
| Recently opened LEGO Store |
 |
| Abbey Road at M&M World |
Even that day of fun had it's highs and lows (waiting 40 minutes to get into the LEGO store, Big Ben being underwhelming for the kids who thought it would be much, much bigger, crazy protests and crowds). But at the end of it all, we had survived an adventure together and made some new incredible memories. And most important of all, we were together. I'm looking forward to the adventures ahead and am learning to find joy in the highs and lows of this journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment