Our Days

Our days have been pretty full and fun -say the least- and we are just now, some what, settling into a rhythm. Zooey wakes us up every morning with the request for Cheerios; Josh and I play 'chicken' to see who is going to be the first one to break and get out of bed. Coffee, multiple bowls of Cheerios, reading, trying to distract Zooey enough to limit the amount of stomping he does (we are in an upstairs flat - sorry neighbor.), and then Josh leaves. 

I must admit, I don't know who the transition to "stay at home Mommy" has been harder for. Most days are fairly smooth and eventful. There are some crafts, songs, games, a lot of park time and field trips to explore together. I'm really thankful for the tons of time together and that i have someone to explore with. 

Then other days...we fight like brother and sister. I don't know who is in control - it doesn't feel like me. Honestly, my little brother was much easier to boss around. 

Those days have me doubting what I'm doing here, with Zooey, in Oxford, in my life, in Josh's life, in Z's life, in my friend's life, in my creative life,  etc...( this list spirals to a pretty dismal place - ending in the fetal position.)

I've been reading a lot from blogs that I follow about 'rhythm' in one's home/daily life. It's definitely something I'm seeking - I think all three of us are. I've noticed that the first thing that I had to accept when trying to establish 'rhythm' for us, was that I wasn't going to be in control of it all - and that I shouldn't be attempting to be so. Whew! That's a biggie! For a lot of people, but, in my case, for teachers, 'control of your classroom' is a must. Seeing that it's now fall and my teacher friends are sending me pictures and stories of their new classrooms - I, myself ,have attempted to carve a few "teacher-y" spaces in our flat. I made a calendar, pencil and marker cups, and a lot of Z and my conversations have been about Autumn and apples and the letter 'a'. 

Oxford

We've been here now for one whole month. And a full month it has been. So we live in Oxford now. Whew! I feel as though we talked about it, planned, visualized for a really long time, and then, in no time at all, it became our normal everyday.

So let's see what's happened...

We moved. Zooey did wonderful with the traveling. He didn't meltdown until we landed in London, resulting in us having to carry him through customs along with our overstuffed luggage and somehow we forgot to pick up the stroller at baggage claim. By that time we were all hitting our wall. Zooey immediately fell asleep in the cab to the hotel.

The first of three airplanes

Our  13 boxes being loaded on the truck to somewhere. We thought that we would be getting our stuff today. As it turns out, today may be the day it arrives to England. Then it has to sit in customs for at least 5 days. After that the company can make arrangements with us for delivery. This would have been extremely useful information for us to have about two months ago when we were carefully planning to travel with only enough for the first three weeks. ugh. 

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland. A wonderful distraction during our 9 hour layover. 

Resting up for one more flight

London

Z didn't make it to dinner - Josh and I were hanging on by a thread - Still exciting to be eating at an old favorite - Wagamama's

Headed to Oxford

Zooey discovered the double decker buses 

We're having fun exploring and getting to know our new town. It's slowly starting to feel permanent instead of like a long vacation. We've luckily enjoyed tons of great weather, which I like to think of as a 'welcoming gift'. Thanks, Oxford!

cheers,
Kelly