Flowers around our flat

I cheated here because these purple beauties are on campus (and not outside my flat), but I have often seen them lining doorways like this.

This is also on campus, growing in a stone wall, lining campus.

The rest are directly out front of our flat and our neighboring building.

This was last night at 10:10pm. Creepy, but we love it. The kids' rooms have blackout shades (and Luke's is the very classy tin foil on the window), so as long as the children are still sleeping, I am a fan of extra daylight. The sun also rises around 4am or maybe earlier. I guess it's dark from after 11pm until 3am-something. The problem for us is that we forget it's so late and saty up until 11 or 12, and then are tired the next morning!

I really just loved all those flowers and am hoping to learn how to garden in our next flat where we have our own "garden." At the very least, I will continue to grow basil, and hopefully coriander (aka cilantro), and rosemary...I'd love to try my hand at flowers, too. I wish my dad were here to teach me!! We do have a lovely hydrangea out front at the next place I am excited about b/c it is a personal fave!

Sugar...we love it!

Evidently if I had introduced Skittles earlier, Luke would have crawled sooner...

Lament that you do not have Skittles...

Appropriate Skittles...

Eat Skittles...

Yesterday, we went to what amounts to the DMV to start the licensing process. We were supposed to get a passport-like pic taken, but no smiles, and have someone sign a sheet who is from here and has known us for 2 years...What the what? So, you can drive on a foreign license for a year, then you have to get the UK license. At what point does one year translate to 2? So, with more research, Josh found out that we could personally go to this office, the guy could take one look at us and sign it himself. We still have to send our passports to get the "provisional license," which then enables us to sign up for and take our theory test, which then enables us to take our practical test. We have still been studying for the test. The road signs are crazy! Tons to memorize...

Anywho- this was the view across from the "DMV" office...

Loved this view of the 2 kids. It took longer to load the kids in the stroller than to get this process done, so since we had already parked (someone was nice enough to leave a paid parking sticker on the machine I would have gotten one from, so we used that) and walked a bit to get here (to find that they had free, convenient parking), we decided to stroll through the mall- i.e. get a cookie, or 3 cookies. :)

This morning, Rebekah and I made pizza dough and sugar cookies for some guests we had for dinner. She saw my hands with flour on them, and begged to help. Who am I to say no? :) So, I measured 2 different amounts of flour for the 2 items and of course mixed them up! It all worked out, though.

Sweet one rolled balls of dough, placed them on the pan, and somehow managed to know that we needed to put 9 balls on there. She was very intent on her task, but also happy to munch on dough...

We did discuss hygiene and how you can't lick the fingers you're using to make balls. Bless her.

Pumpkin wanted to wear her hair like Mommy's (when it's long). Such a big girl! Her pants/trousers are getting pretty short, so we flipped them for capris. And, yes, we were expecting rain.

Luke is mastering crawling and it is just delightful! I can't tell you how many people hate it when their kids start moving, "because it's so much more work." They obviously have not had an immobile 14-month-old they've been carrying around for over a year! I LOVE it when they crawl! In fact, I had forgotten how much! I love seeing those little chubby arms and legs all working together and his little giggles as he gets to something he has never been able to get to before! I love how pelased he is with himself and how he feels a wee bit more relaxed about letting me out of his sight...in fact, much improvement in that area. I had forgotten just how much of "toddler" person I am and how relieved I am when babydom is behind us. I think this is just a great time!

Rebekah did ask, "When I get bigger, when I get older, when I can reach the sky, when I am an adult, will Lukey still pull my hair?" (she has always equated being big with being able to reach high)

Big day

This precious boy is crawling! At one day shy of 14 months, Luke Timothy Malone made a mad dash for a ball and several "ca-cas" (crackers) on all fours! Regardless of how old he is, I am so proud and so tickled for him, though not as proud or tickled as Luke is!

Rebekah forces Luke into "her tunnel," which was actually part of his bday gift...poor lad.

Rebekah randomly took this pic...well done!

4 am the other morning. That is light.

Rebekah has reverted to being a baby rather than a mommy. This was her dream come true- sit in the high chair and watch a movie during snack time. I was cleaning and all for it.

UK driving test

So, Josh and I have to get our UK driver's license within a year of moving here. That means by 8/9/09 (that translates to the 8th of Sept b/c the put the day first).

So, the test is broken into 2 parts: theory and practical.

Theory:

A) Pass a written, multiple-choice test. (which we are currently studying for)

This test is very specific to the UK. Types of pedestrian crossings (there are 4: zebra, pelican, puffin, and toucan), the color of lights a vehicle has (such as a blood transfusion vehicle (blue), a slow-moving vehicle (amber), or a doctor on call (green)), the documents you need to have (registration, MOT, SORN for a vehicle you're not driving, a tax disc- none of which are called the same thing in the US), your attitude about driving, because, don't we all know that good driving is more a result of the right attitude than the right aptitude (That's a quote)?.......etc.....

B) Pass a computer-scored hazard perception test

In this test, you are presented with a scene as if you are driving. You click the mouse every time you see something hazardous or that would affect your own driving (a pedestrian, a cyclist, something falling off a truck, etc.) There is a 5-second window for the click and you get more points the faster you click and fewer points the longer is takes you to perceive the hazard. Supposedly, the computer can detect and invalidate your score (thus failing you) for random clicks. There is a series of these scenes and supposedly practice makes perfect.

Practical:

You actually drive for 35 minutes with an instructor who looks for you to mess up. There are 4 types of mistakes (can't remember the names) and you can't have more than 16 and NO major ones. Yikes. This is the test that is tough to pass the first time.

We are planning on taking lessons due to the fact that we'd rather pay for lessons and get the ebnefit of the "tuition" and pass the first time (fingers corssed) that keep paying to fail. Plus, we have 2 very precious munchkins in the car with us and we'd like to keep them alive as long as possible. Plus, if they ask you for what classes you've taken, and you tell them none in a decidely American accent, they really have it in for you.

So, we bought some DVD instruction and practice tests/books from some friends here and are working on it a little every night. Josh is amazing at it. I still am working on common sense skills. :) We hope to take the theory asap and have the practical done by September.

Side note: each of the crossings is named for an animal that helps you remember it: (this is my version, I am still learning)

zebra: black and white stripes on the road
pelican: pedestrian with light sensor
puffin: pedestrian user friendly- the crossing can sense you're there and when you've crossed, thus slowing down traffic as minimally as possible
toucan: two can cross (pedestrians and cyclists)

Many people regularly walk, so the UK is pedestrian-friendly. There are some types of crossings where oncoming traffic must stop for any pedestrian- so as a driver, you have to be on the look-out at all times.

Did I mention we drive on the left side of the road? When we watch American movies and shows, it seems weird to see them on the right now. I actually go to the correct side of the car to drive now, too. I know that left turns are easier than right turns and know to look both ways for right turns. Roundabouts are just crazy and there are just too many of them- how expensive is it to put in a signal? Seriously.

The beach and a swim date

Beach

Yesterday was lovely enough that Josh decided that he would take an extended lunch so we could take the kids to Burger King (on the beach) and then to the sand to play! Note what they are wearing- or rather NOT wearing- coats!! Yippee! Even though the time in between the decision and the actual outing was gray and rainy, the sun came out just in time for burgers, fries, Diet Coke, and sand. Both kids had a blast...

Swim date

Today was my turn to take Rebekah on a date...being gray and dreary again, we opted for the pool and ice cream! We decided yesterday as we returned from the beach and passed our ice cream haunt. In true female form, Rebekah planned the whole outing without any feedback and knew exactly what it would look like and feel like- FUN! And it was!

First, let's check out the suit- 2 piece! In general, I am opposed as we are trying to instill a sense of modesty. However, this suit was passed down to us and showed off her abs, so we went for it. ;)

We had a FANTASTIC time! In excitement, R pulled her floaties out of the bag and so we arrived sans arm bands. Knowing we will frequent this place, I squeezed her into a Luke-sized pair that I ourchased on the spot (they probably know me as the spendy American who just buys what she needs) and will use them for him.

Since my arms were free (not holding sweet Luke, who took a 2 1/2 hour nap with Josh this morning!), R and I were able to explore a bit more than last time. We played in the water, in the wave pool, in the "lazy river," and finally, went down the "flume"- where I held her all the way down and at the last minute held her above the water as I plunged underneath the water in the splash pool. She LOVED it! However, much my child, she is scared of going under water, getting her head wet, and being out of control- we both semi-enjoyed the waves and lazy river, but the feeling of something stronger making you go somewhere is a bit overwhelming for us both. (I did realize how vital swim lessons are and will look into that. ) Rebekah CLUNG to me (no complaining, mind you, just a hangy monkey) and finally said, "I love you, Mama. I'd like to go away from here." Fair enough. Ice cream it is.

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I let her pick out her ice cream, cone, and topping- raspberry swirl with sprinkles, all pink, of course! Oh the days of making all your choices based on "Which one is the pinkest?"

She even shared without being asked. She really is a precious girl.

We ended the day with nail-painting. I've never seen R still before, unless asleep. She was perfect. She's drying her nails here.

Luke developments

And- Luke crawled today! Never thought I'd say it, but he was on all 4's for a teeny tiny moment, but Josh and I both saw it at different times- he crawled a wee bit, then collapsed, and pushed himself around a bit after that. He is still tugging at our shirts to pull-up all the time and often pushes himself halfway-up with his bottom in the air and his hands holding him steady on the floor. It'll be interesting to see how long this process is. We both think he won't "crawl" for long.

He also pushed through 2 teeth yesterday- I know b/c I check every day- so #7 and #8 are officially in and he now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom. Good job, Buddy!

Lastly, he is talking all the time! It has been tempting to over-use the paci as he has been teething for years, I mean weeks, but we don't want to miss out on him talking. He now says "buh-bye" and waves, as well as "nuh-nuh" for night-night. He said Papa the other day (Josh's dad) and he says "Baba" for Bekah. Of course, he says Mama and Dada. I say "up" every time I add a block to a tower and he now says "uh uh uh" as we build and "dddd" as we knock them down. Clever boy. He also mimicks almost every noise we make, inflections included. He seems to love music and I've mentioned his fondness for TV and movies. He really, really reminds me of my brother. I think that's a good thing. ;)

The Hamburglar

You simply have to see my Hamburglar...

Yesterday Josh went to a conference. It was funny- 4 of us left-behind wives/moms all separately realized, with joy, that we didn't have to cook dinner! For my family, this meant we could and should go out! I promised Rebes the HUB (Subway inside it) and realized at 5:35 that it closed during the summer at 5:30. Oops. No car because Josh had it, so no Burger King. That left a very disappointed little girl or a bus ride to downtown for McDs. You know me. You know what I chose. Now, I have rarely ridden the bus here and never with both kids by myself- and certainly not at 5:45, where the kids' moods are anyone's guess. It was raining pretty hard and I don't have a rain cover for the easy umbrella stroller. That left the double stroller, which is cumbersome for a bus. I threw the kids in it and we strolled down the hill, peeking to see if the bus was coming. Indeed it was and I raced across the street and caught it literally in the nick of time! You need to know that controlling a wheeled item on the bus that zooms to and from stops was trickier than I imagined. I kept both kids in it, braked it, and held on for dear life. Luckily, the bus stops right at McDonalds and we had a great dinner....except where Rebekah asked me "Why does he have brown parts?" and I didn't hear her and said "What?" so she asked louder "Why does that man have brown parts?" pointing to a Nigerian man. I quietly said, "That's the way God made him" and never looked at him. Awesome. See below. She ate every bite.

We managed to do the exact same thing on the way back- catch the bus as it was pulling up! This is phenomenal, people! This time, I held Luke, not wanting to press my luck. He was a gem and a charmer. We made it there and back (and ate of course) in an hour- crazy!!

The same 4 women also all grieved that it was bath night with no husbands to help. However, I can't speak for the others, but I had THIS precious face to encourage me to do it. (Is anyone thinking how can that baby be in the 20th % for weight? Do you see him?) I seriously fall in love with my kids while looking at my own blog. They really are this cute.

You just never know when Bekah ("Baba") is going to come at you...

Still flinching. Poor baby.

Typical Aberdeen...you may think, OOh! Blue skies! But, lurking in the clouds on the left, is a rain cloud, ready to ruin any park plans you might have had...

So, we went to ASDA and these were my precious kids. Seriously, such good sports!...and looking quite sporty, I might say.

Oh- by the way, my sister-in-law started a blog for our recipes! The first entry looked delicious and easy! I added mine from a few months ago that I posted on this blog. From here on out, though, check out our recipe blog for a little inspiration!

p.s. Side note here- after the "brown parts" incident, R has been particularly attentive to her own skin color, which she evidently believes to be orange. I know this because she picked out her own socks today (yellow and orange stripes) to match her shirt (yellow) and herself (orange).

p.p.s. I burped yesterday (not very loud even) and Rebekah goes, "Wow, Mom! Was that YOU? That was pretty solid."