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    • November
      • Seeing Swift(ly)
        11/30/09
        Last week Taylor Swift played one show in London as part of her "Fearless" tour, and guess who was there?

        Yup. My mom is a big fan, and I'm glad she is because I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise. Now I'm a fan, too.

        I knew about three of Swift

      • Cold
        11/27/09
      • Thanksgiving Is American
        11/26/09
        Another sunny day, and we started out early. I discovered that while Thanksgiving is, indeed an American tradition, it seems other parts of the world are aware of it, too.

        Since I didn't bring pie-making materials with me to England and some American friends invited us over for Tha

      • Landscape
        11/25/09
        I talked at length with a woman recently who told me that she loves her scooter. Basically a motorized wheelchair that tops out at 8 mph., she informed me that she has not attempted to take it to that speed, but it is her "freedom" and as long as she can see the world in whatever proximity

      • Just Playin
        11/22/09
        If the house is semi-quiet, and I have a feeling a boy or two have gone missing, I need only look as far as my mom's bedroom---the place the boys have adopted as their play place away from the playroom. It's on the top level of the house and far away from Babes, which means more privacy an

      • City Farm
        11/21/09
        Hounslow Urban Farm is one of London's largest---29 acres, that is, of pure pig, spitting llamas, Shetland ponies-cows-rams-rabbits-geese-chickens-turkeys-tropical birds, and well...you get the idea. They even have pedal-powered John Deere tractors. For three toddlers, that sounds like paradise

      • Park Week
        11/20/09
        This week was brought to us by several rainy days but a few sunny ones, too, allowing us to enjoy the great outdoors sans umbrellas. England's parks are vast and beautiful, even when the weather has left them damp and muddy. And here---halfway across the world that I have always called home, I

      • After Church Rumble
        11/15/09
      • Baby Builder
        11/11/09
        If given the opportunity, Lennox will sit and build Lego structures for long stretches of time whenever one adult lingers somewhere in the room and older brother soldiers are not nearby guarding the blocks.

        Fortunately, Lennox is a resilient little architect, making magnificent towers

      • As Fast As You Can
        11/10/09
        You know the old tale:

        <i>"Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"</i>

        ...Well, Kellen did, indeed, catch a little baked man on his trip to the grocery store with me yesterday. Because he was such a goo

      • Rain
        11/09/09
        It's raining;
        It's pouring;
        We donned our wears this morning.
        Took a million years to pack our gear,
        And we finally got out the door-ing.

        <i>And Grant says, "Mom, is it lunch time? I'm huuungry!" To which my mom and I looked at ea

      • The Best Thing
        11/07/09
        Walking on the way to anywhere in Richmond on a weekday, we pass by Justin's office. I text Justin just before we reach the building, and if he isn't on a call, he meets us outside for a few minutes and always the boys run full steam ahead to greet him---the highlight of their day.

      • 337 to Clapham Junction
        11/06/09
        The boys see dozens of double-decker buses every day but, believe it or not, had never ridden on one until a few days ago. So without an agenda except getting ourselves onto a Two-D, we set out over Richmond bridge, didn't wait long at the bus stop, and caught the first double-decker we saw: t

      • Glass Kiss
        11/05/09
        Every morning, Lennox walks into my room while I'm getting dressed and ready for the day and he contents himself with several things, in no particular order.

        He rifles through Justin's drawers, usually on the hunt for squishy, purple earplugs or my long-lost cell phone that o

      • Osterley House
        11/04/09
        We visited the grounds of the most lovely neoclassical today, Osterley House, and lovely isn't the word. The place is a beast---a gigantic beauty complete with 16th century stables at its side.

        As we drove in, I felt like I was treading onto footage of an English period film, and

      • Dad Time
        11/02/09
        Knowing our stay in the U.K. is short, I am motivated to fit in as many extra curricular activities as my family can handle (thank you, Mom). But the boys would trade every excursion to hang out on the couch with Justin. They'll leave any game, put away any toy, and even walk away from any TV s

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