Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

This morning Asher woke up at 3:30, 4:00, & at 4:30 he decided he'd had enough sleep. We couldn't blame it on the room not being dark b/c it was pitch black. It was really nice, we slept really well, until Asher decided he was done!

So, we got up early, I had Chad make us some coffee from the coffee maker so thoughtfully provided in our room & then we went to Denny's again for breakfast. Asher was quite excited to have pancakes for breakfast, but even more excited that they came with cherries on top. I think we'll have to start ordering him things with fruit on them. Last night he was more excited about the grapes that came with his dinner than the Mac & Cheese. Although this morning when I asked him what he was going to have for breakfast, instead of his usual answer of, "Pancakes!" I got "Mac & Cheese!" I had to explain that he couldn't have Mac & Cheese for breakfast & he was ok with that too.

We started on our way home & stopped off at a western store as I was looking for a new pair of Roper Performance shoes since I really liked mine, but couldn't find a place that sold them. I struck out once again, except that the sales lady remembered she had been sent a sample from Roper, but didn't want to order them, so she had the one pair. They were a size 8 & I am a 8.5, but she gave me a really good deal on them, so I got them anyway. I was looking for a brown suede pair like the ones I have, but these are tooled brown leather & I really like them, they are a little less frumpy than the other pair.

After our little foray off the freeway, we got started again, only to stop at the next exit b/c Chad saw some stores that looked interesting. We spend time, but no money, then off again. We made it to London, ON, I decided since it was lunchtime to stop off at the mall. We began to window shop a bit & CHAD FOUND A COAT! I was very excited for him & he is quite happy with his purchase. I suppose it can still go on the record that he got it on our holiday, even though it is w/in an hour of home.

Once we got home Asher was very excited to get to play w/ all his toys again while we unpacked the car. However, he was quite upset 15 minutes later when I told him it was time for a nap b/c he wanted to play instead. He said, "want to play w/ firetruck.'" To which I told him it was time for bed. "Want to play w/ police car." Time for bed. "Want to play w/ school bus." I so it went while I changed his pants. He had such a good nap though that I had to wake him up 2 hours later so he'd go to sleep again at the end of the day.

Chad's off on a men's retreat tomorrow morning, so we'll see how Asher & I cope w/o him for a few days. Our fridge seems to be on the blink as well. Everything in our freezer was melted when we got home & the fridge seems to be a bit warmer than it should be, so I'll have to figure something out.

Back in Canada

Have you ever felt like you've been in transit all day? We left G&M's at 8am to go to Gatwick. We got there at about 10, & our flight was scheduled for 11:45. By the time we were checked in it was time to go through security.

I usually leave Asher's drink in the diaper bag simply b/c it's easier. There's enough other stuff that we have to do that I don't mind them having to check it after wards as it gives us a chance to get all our shoes on, the laptop put away, Asher in the stroller, & all our bags situated again. Well, the lady had to do a swipe of the bag w/ her little kleenex thing & then check the cloth in the scanner. When she did so, the scanner beeped & printed out a little report so she had to call over her supervisor who then had to question us & she had to re-swipe the bag. The second time it didn't go off, however I had noticed while she was waiting to check the bag that her cloth thing was already quite dirty, so I think it was from someone else's stuff, but it didn't really matter anyway.

I did find it quite humorous however that the supervisor's first question was “who does this bag belong to?” Well, truthfully Chad & I answered that it was Asher's, so the man said to Asher, “well young man, you have some questions to answer here,” before he actually began to question Chad.

Once we were through security we began to look for a place to get some food, but the only places in the area were travel items, clothing, Harrod's, cosmetics & alcohol, so we decided to head toward our gate figuring we'd find something out there. Costa Coffee was the only thing to be found, so we settled for a few muffins & smoothies.

They began boarding our plane about 10 minutes after we had finished eating, so we really didn't have much time to let Asher run around before we got on the flight, but it couldn't be helped. Once we were on board we discovered we were in row 4, just one row behind first class. I wasn't sure it was a great place to be sitting, but it worked out ok. Our luggage had to all be put up top, which was kind of annoying, but the people behind us didn't have anything under the seats, so we could shove our shoes under the seats & it also gave Asher more room to muck about.

It took about 10 minutes for Asher to fall asleep & he slept for over 2 hours. It gave Chad time to sleep & I had a chance to watch "The Bucket List." I was quite glad that I didn't have to pay for it since I didn't find it to be that great of a movie. Out of a 7+ hour flight that was the only bit that Asher slept for, but he was pretty well behaved, so we didn't mind too much.

When we got to Toronto, we called the hotel that we had parked at, so they could send a shuttle to get us. Once we were at the hotel they told me they said we had no reservation, so I showed her my confirmation paper, & she asked if it had been confirmed when we had arrived. I said yes, & she then told me that nothing had been booked, but she booked us in, so it was ok. She was in a bit of a snarky mood I had noticed. The man behind me asked her something & she directed him to the lifts. He turned & didn't see them, so he asked her where they were. Her response was, “the brown things right behind you.”

We got settled in our room & then went to find a place to eat even though it was only 4pm local time, it was 9pm London time. We didn't find much at first, it seemed we were in a bit of an industrial area, but then we saw a billboard for Denny's, so we went there for dinner. When we pulled up to the restaurant I enthusiastically told Asher we were going to Denny's b/c there was a McDonald's right across the parking lot. Asher fell for it! He noticed the McDonald's, but wasn't overly upset that we weren't eating there.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for the promised swimming! I had been looking forward to that since I booked the hotel. Asher wasn't quite sure about the big pool, he got as far as the 2^nd step & wasn't sure he wanted to go any further. Perhaps having a Rubbermaid container for a bathtub is giving him a fear of big water. But once we started having him jump into the water to Chad he was ok.

Next on the agenda was a bath for me, since it is a luxury I seldom get these days. We got into the room to discover that the plug on the tub was broken! Arrrgh! I called the front desk & they said they'd send maintenance. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them knock a mere 10 minutes later. Chad figured they knew I was trying to have a bath right then, so they sent him quickly. I had a very enjoyable soak in the tub. It's now 7pm & I'm off to bed!

Our Last Day in England

We took it a bit easy today. It was a bank holiday, so b/w the less frequent buses, & most places being closed, it was a bit forced upon us to take it easy, which was probably good since we'll be on the aeroplane most of the day tomorrow. This morning began at 6:30am. Asher initially woke up at 5:45, so we decided that it wasn't so bad to get up then. He's going to be so off schedule that it doesn't really matter anyway.


We had breakfast and then went off to the park, but there had been a very heavy dew last night, so everything was really wet. We had decided to go to Chingford today in a last ditch effort to find a coat for Chad. We got there around 9:30 & almost every shop was closed, so we stopped at Cafe Nero to kill some time & have a latte. I ordered an iced latte & the next thing I knew she was blending it. It wasn't overly icy though, so it was a bit like a melted milkshake. Not too pleasant. Another reason to not go to Nero.


Then off to shop we went, however the shops were still closed, so we made our way up the street & found nothing open, & caught the bus back to Highams Park. Then we went back to the park, since other children's bottoms had dried off the playground. Chad was quite interested in getting an English breakfast before we leave, & had seen some signs at pubs for all day breakfast, so we took the car & returned to Chingford.

We stopped at a pub advertising all day breakfast & went in only to be greeted by a waitress telling us that they didn't open 'til noon, & it was 11:45. We contemplated the "All Dayness" of their breakfast if they didn't open 'til noon, then decided we'd go elsewhere b/c Chad doesn't like to be the first patrons in a restaurant after it opens as sometimes the kitchen isn't in full swing yet at that time.

So we returned to "The Royal Forest" pub that we had eaten at with Theres. I had a carbon-copy of the mal I had the other night & enjoyed it thoroughly. Especially the Sticky Toffee Pudding, this time I had it topped w/ Custard & it was DIVINE! I figured since it is so difficult to make & impossible to get at restaurants in Canada that I'd better take advantage of being able to eat it as often as possible.

Asher had a double burger & was doing quite well with it except it was a bit large for his little mouth. Chad decided to break it for him.... thus began a small meltdown where Chad & then I was instructed to "fix it." We had to explain that it couldn't be fixed, the crying actually stopped quite suddenly b/c a boy at a nearby table started having a tantrum of his own & Asher doesn't like to compete at times like these, so he let the other boy do the crying from there on out. It may have helped that my dessert showed up shortly thereafter as well. He was a bit disappointed that there was no ice cream this time, but it couldn't be helped, Sticky Toffee Pudding is better w/ Custard!

We came back to G&M's for naps (yes we all enjoyed nap time) & then went out to the back garden to enjoy the grass & the sunshine for awhile. Chad wasn't feeling well & didn't want to leave the house so we ordered Pizza Hut (don't we splash out?) for dinner & Asher quite enjoyed that the man came & brought it to the door.

So we are in for a long day tomorrow. After an 8 hour flight plus airport travel & waiting & am already looking forward to our hotel's pool & my once-in-a-blue-moon chance to take a bath at the hotel. Signing off from England, Ta-Ta!

"Going a Church aday...Yay!"

This is what Asher says every time we tell him that we're going to go to church. He loves going. I think perhaps it's more for the toys & the kids than anything else, but it's a good start. We decided to go to All Souls this morning since Chad never had a chance to go while we lived here. Church was at 9:30 or 11:30 & since it takes 1:30 to get from here to there we decided to go for the 11:30. We also knew they had a lunch at 1pm so we thought if we were interested in staying for htat it made more sense to go to the later service.

We got into London at 10, so we stopped for a coffee at Caffe Nero since Asher had fallen asleep on the Tube on the way in. We're not the biggest fans of Caffe Nero since when we lived here every time we went our coffee had been made with sour milk, but we figured that the weather wasn't overly hot, so it wouldn't be as much of an issue. We had a rather good latte & Asher continued to sleep for about 45 minutes. Then we continued on to All Souls. Chad spoke w/ one of the ministers about getting into ministry in England, but he didn't seem to know how to go about it, so he wasn't a whole lot of help. We enjoyed the service, the singing was really great too. Asher enjoyed being able to play with other kids for awhile, but when we went to get him from the creche he was standing in the window looking for us.


After the service we talked to a few people & went to check out the lunch, but since there was no highchair we decided to go elsewhere for lunch. We had passed a Garfunkel's on the way to church & I thought we should try it b/c it looked rather good. My meal was ok. I probably didn't choose the right thing to order, but my dessert was magnificent! I had a Treacle Sponge with Custard. Asher also enjoyed my dessert. He doesn't seem to understand that we aren't buying them for him, but I don't mind sharing... within reason!

Post dessert we took the bus down to where I used to work, just to look at the area again, & then we rode another bus to catch the Tube, to catch the Train to get home. Asher has really enjoyed all the different forms of transportation that we have been able to take here. Even though when we are on them he won't sit still. We got home quite late in the afternoon, so Asher didn't get an afternoon nap, but he was really quite good. We had a bit of an early dinner b/c Chad wanted to go to All Saints in Woodford Green.

All Saints is the church that we were in at about the same time of year five years ago when Chad felt God was calling him into the ministry. I told him he really ought to go there again so God could tell him what His plans are for us again. I'm now waiting for him to get home & let me know.

A Day at the Market

Today we decided to walk through Walthamstow Market to see if Chad could find a suitable coat. Of course our first stop was Costa Coffee to fuel up for the morning of shopping, but we had to walk right by a park, so after we had purchased our drinks we let Asher go play on the playground for awhile. Apparently the most exciting part of the playground was trying to escape it, so that little play break didn't last very long.


We walked up & down the stalls only to discover that 95% of them were not men's clothing items, which was what we were primarily looking for. However I did find a nice "England" sweater for £3. I'm very excited about that purchase, but won't be able to wear it properly for about 3 more months. It's a good investment. We also found a cute baby book for the new little one & that was only £3 as well. So it was a pretty good day for me. Not so much for Chad as he still didn't find a coat like he wanted, but I think he's somewhat enjoying having something to look for, so it's not so bad.

After the market we came back home & tried to get Asher to sleep, but he'd fallen asleep at the market for awhile, so it wasn't meant to be. Chad took Asher out for a walk later & I had a bit of a kip. Then we went to Chingford to the King's Head Pub. We used to go there occasionally & quite enjoyed both the atmosphere & the food. We brought Theres along as well. She's living @ G&M's house & we had met her before we left England before.

However, once we got to the pub we were told that children under 14 are not allowed inside the pub. We were invited to eat outside, but when I asked about a highchair the man said, "no, we're not really a child friendly pub. I mean, we're friendly, just not to children..... I mean, ummmmm." At this point we knew it wasn't meant to be. Asher isn't really the sort to sit on a picnic table bench for an hour while we try to have a nice dinner.


Theres suggested "The Royal Forest" pub in Chingford at the Inn, so we decided to go there for dinner instead. The service was a bit slow, but the menu had really good variety, even the kids' menu had over 15 choices. We had a very enjoyable dinner & I had Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert that was delicious.


Tomorrow it's back into London for Church etc, so off to bed I go!

Traditions Are Grand!

Today we went into London to do some shopping. Chad had some Christmas money that has been burning a hole in his pocket. He wasn't really sure of what he wanted (other than a haircut), so in & out of shops we went. We had the stroller, so it wasn't too much of an issue w/ Asher.

We started out by going to Starbucks b/c that's the way one is supposed to begin shopping on Oxford street, obviously. There is literally a Starbucks every block, it can't be a coincidence. Up & down the street we went. We decided to appease Asher for lunch & eat at McDonald's. He'd been such a good shopper & he didn't even complain when we passed the first McDonald's, he just watched it slowly go by.

After lunch we stopped at a green space for Asher to run around for awhile. It was a bit wet, but we thought it more important for Asher to get a chance to expend some energy than to keep his shoes clean, so off Chad & Asher went chasing pigeons. Shortly thereafter I heard a wail that was distinctly familiar. Apparently Asher had been running to investigate a statue & found the only puddle in the park, slipped, fell & cracked his head on the cement base of said statue. Amazingly he was more concerned about being wet & dirty than the fact that he had a giant goose-egg forming right b/w his eyes. We cleaned him up as best we could & moved on. I figured it was about time for a nap & kids tend to sleep better after they bonk their heads!

On to more shops. Chad still had not bought anything & it was going on 2pm. We had circled all the way back to where we had started & the rain began to fall. We decided that since Asher was now either sleeping peacefully or passed out in the stroller, we'd go into Starbucks & read for awhile until the showers passed. At about 3pm we decided to head for Piccadilly Circus & Leicester Square since there are a few more shops along there.

Chad suddenly remembered there was a jacket that he really liked in one of the shops we had gone to earlier that morning, so we went to try & find it. We had no luck, BUT he did finally make his first purchase.... a pair of sunglasses! We decided since we were so close to Chinatown at this point we really should have dinner at Wong Kei's since it was where we went almost every week with our friends Jeffy & Meigan. It was all we remembered it to be & Chad really enjoyed the garlic hot sauce.

After a scrumptious dinner it was time for the traditional dessert.... Ben & Jerry's ice cream! I was sad to discover they were not serving "One Sweet Whirled" as it is my absolute favourite, but I made do with a scoop of "Coffee, Coffee, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!" & a scoop of "Baked Alaska." They were the perfect compliment to each other. And off we went to try to find Chad's jacket once more.

After nearly an hour we managed to find the correct shop, but in the course of the day they had sold the last of the jackets he liked. Needless to say, he was disappointed, but hopefully he'll find something else to take his mind off the "jacket-that-wasn't-meant-to-be-Chad's."

Now we're back at G&M's & I'm doing yet another load of laundry. I thought I'd make it until we got back to Canada, but I didn't really want to haul a bag of wet muddy clothes back with me. Sounds like the washing's done, so I'd better get everything all laid out on the radiators! Yay!

Laundry In London

That's right folks, today I spent doing the exciting task of washing our clothes. Yes, apparently they do that in England too, although their methods are a bit different from ours. To start, you need to take the 2 loads you have & split them again into 3 or possibly 4 b/c the washing machines are front load & quite a bit smaller. Then you load the washer & wait about 1 hour for your load of washing to be finished.

When the washing is done, you take all your wet clothes out & sort out all your undergarments. Then place all your wet clothing items on the radiators in the house, taking care to place your unmentionables in your own room in a discreet place. Then you wait about..... well, it's been about 10 hours & only about 1/2 of the laundry is dry. Of course you can count on your jeans taking at least 24 hours to dry.

During all this time you must have discussions with your spouse who is feeling the heat of all the radiators being turned way up. If he turns them down, drying time is increased, if they stay turned up, sleep is fleeting as the room must be cool in order to get a good nights sleep in.

Once the laundry is dry, you must fold, grab, wrinkle it so that it softens a bit. It can get quite crispy, especially thicker items such as thermal shirts & jeans. Ahh, it makes me glad to have a nice large washer & dryer waiting for me at home, but it sure gave me something to do all day!