A New Look!

Kyle and I have been parents for 2 weeks and 1 day now!  We had a small setback in our routine last Sunday night.  Kyle was planning on returning to work Monday morning when I had a surprise bleeding episode that landed us in the ER around 1am.  We didn't sleep a wink that night while I was getting treated, but little Mr. Hamilton was an angel and miraculously slept 5 1/2 hours in a row through the whole ordeal.  When we got home between 5 & 6am, Bennett was ready to eat and start the day.  Kyle and I were not quite as enthusiastic.  Anyhow, my (second) recovery has gone really well.  Today was my first whole day alone with the baby.  This called for a celebration~ do you know how I celebrate?  A trip to Starbucks!!!

In honor of pregnancy belly shots, I thought I'd share my baby travel tote a la photo du miroir....

Cutie little legs which used to kick my ribs!

It was a bit easier to carry him internally, but Jeep does a good job with this fun pack.  Thanks Kemper family for our baby carrier!

Don't worry Mom~ I put a hat on his head to protect him from the sun.  He slept through the whole trip while I enjoyed a decaf caramel frap.  The friendly Starbucks staff was excited to see I had had the baby (I'm a junkie).  The only down side~ all the tables were full inside and nobody offered the new mom & babe a seat.  It was too hot to stay outside while I enjoyed my beverage so I loitered around the mix-ins station until I had emptied my cup.  For the walk home, I enjoyed a big cup of ice water while Bennett chilled out.  All in all it was a success.  First full day alone with the baby & first mommy/baby outing!

Computer Problems

Oh I dislike the seasons when all seems wrong with the old CPU.  This weekend was epic in terms of how many failures I had.  First my internet connection was good, but my browser couldn't load a website at all.  After uninstalling and reinstalling the browser, the problem persisted.  Kyle deduced that my firewall was partially responsible, and even after making some adjustments there are still some troubles.  For instance, Kyle and I were going to look on the Harry Winston website last night (not to make any purchases, but I "ooh"ed and "aah"ed over Blair Waldorf's engagement ring on Gossip Girl the other night while Kyle said, "who is Harry Winston?").  Whether it was our stormy weather or a last minute prayer from my husband for the website not to load, we were unable to browse sparkly bobbles. 

My next problem arrived when I tried to blend existing Amazon accounts.  I had done some baby registry things, but suddenly wasn't able to add or remove items from the list~I had been bumped as the registry manager.  Kyle rescued me by calling their customer service and sorting out how I had found a hole in their program.  It seems my having 3 accounts with different e-mails but the same password was a recipe for disaster.  I'm still a little bit confused about what I did wrong on this one, but the problem has been resolved thanks to my clever husband and a friendly fellow at amazon.com's call line.

Of course bad things come in threes; my cord sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.  As my battery was dying, my frustration rising with amazon, and frequent page refreshings when the website failed to load, I took for granted that the source of my computer's power would always be there for me.  It was at that point the little green light in the small cord's box turned off.  Defeated and in a puddle of tears, I surrendered my machine to Kyle and retired to my bedroom for a good cry followed by a nap of solace.  I woke up feeling so much better and thinking how ridiculous it was to get so wrapped up in computer troubles~ especially since I'm married to a computer genius who has always been able to solve my laptop predicaments and put an end to my times of distress.  He is so sweet that he even ordered me a new cord with speedy delivery.

Crisis averted.  Happy days are here again.  Now I think I can face a dead battery in my wireless mouse with a bit more composure.

If you've read my boring computer blog, you should be rewarded with a picture of my growing belly.  Boy, are we on the fast track of belly growth now, or what?  Behold my little one's outthrust~

Ooh la la~ we are large and in charge at 25 weeks!

It's harder to tell how far out he is here.

One of these days I may be patient enough to hold out for Kyle's return home so I'm not always snapping shots in the mirror.  They always come out grainy... alas, earwax.  I think we are going to make our way to Starbucks to see if we can try one of those new Mocha Coconut frappucinos... happy day!!!

Foggy London Town

Boy, I thought life would slow down a bit after ending my job, but this month is flying by as quickly as the last few.  Last week I embarked on a small journey to London~I say small because I only had to leave France and go through Luxembourg and Germany before I finally arrived in England.  Four countries before lunch is no small feat.  Alas I met up with Audrey and her mom Sheri who, thankfully, had visited London the week before and had all the tourist spots fresh in her memory for us to exploit.  These few days were action packed... most of my pics are less than thrilling because it's mostly scenery, and I am far from being one of those photography chic blog girls.  I'm just pumped to share with my family where all I ventured....here we go:

Day 1~No need for a double decker tour bus when all the city buses are two story too.  We were sporting green for special evening festivities....

Day 1~After searching high and low and far and wide, we gave up finding this site.  We enjoyed some tasty pub fare (Guinness, fish, chips, and mashed peas~strange and wonderful) before we hit the streets again to finally discover a seemingly plain townhouse.

Day 1~It was none other than Benjamin Franklin's home.  Word on the street is that he used to open the windows wide and enjoy a refreshing breeze while lounging in the nude.  That's one saucy founder!

Day 1~We ended the evening at the Apollo Victoria to take in a little show about two witches in Oz.  Audrey and I sported our green in solidarity with Elphaba.  Hope this company treats their "Dorothy" better than Victor Flemming did...poor Judy.

Day 2~We had a few showers early in the day at Trafalgar Square.

Day 2~It cleared up pretty quickly.  Why do Europeans love obelisks so?

Day 2~We strolled down the Buckingham Palace in the hopes of seeing some of those silly guards and maybe some royalty...

Day 2~Instead of the queen, I caught a peak of Big Ben...

Day 2~ ...as well as the London Eye!

Day 2~Next stop: Tower of London (perhaps for a dance party with the Potter puppet pals...)

Day 2~Audrey and I waited in a rather long line to catch a glimpse of those highly coveted crown jewels.  No pictures allowed.  I did spot a little diadem I was totally smitten with.  Oh, to be a queen.

Day 2~YES!  Two different outfits~both of those chaps look quite sporty.

Day 2~Though we look happy today, this was not such a joyful place for Anne Boleyn at Tower Green.

Day 2~I may have lost my love for posing next to Leah-sized doors after this day.  I was startled half to death by a large beefeater who emerged from within moments before this photo was taken.

Day 2~After we left the Tower of London, we passed the lovely Tower Bridge.

Day 2~A fancy ship.  It seemed out of place in front of (what look like) battle ships.

Day 2~We didn't have our theatrical fill from seeing Wicked the night before.  Oh how I wish Miss Foo could have been here with me (she's quite the Shakespeare buff).

Day 2~The Globe Theatre stage was quite ornate.  No photos of the players allowed; we saw Henry VIII.  It made me think of my mom's Christmas tree of death (unfortunately the only death in the play is Catherine of Aragon biting the dust the old fashioned way~natural causes...).  Christmas tree of death (for those who don't know) is a collection of beautiful ornaments of Henry VIII and all his wives.  It makes the holidays so much more festive.

Day 2~We thought these folks were fortunate to have seats until the midday sun beat on them for the last hour of the production.

Day 2~Does this count as a famous Harry Potter landmark?  No, it doesn't appear in the books, but it stands out in one of the movies....

Day 2~Our last tourist stop for the day was St. Paul's Cathedral.  After that, Audrey and I rested our weary feet before heading out to dinner at a Thai restaurant.  It's a funny sensation to order food and drinks in English...

Day 3~We made the obligatory trip to King's Cross Station.  Looks like Audrey forgot to pack her owl.

Day 3~Sheri looks like she has the speed to get through.

Day 3~Shear force isn't enough to get to the train to Hogwarts... *sigh*

Day 3~Our last official stop before heading home was at the British Library. I'm going to make a (somewhat long) list of all the things I saw and enjoyed in the museum.  Since no photos were allowed, it's good to record what I liked: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Jane Austen's writing desk, Jane Eyre, Oscar Wilde's writing, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's marriage contract, Beethover's Violin Sonata in G major Op 30/3, Mendelssohn's Wedding March, Henry VIII's prayer scroll, Salvador Dali illustrated Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Codices Sinaiticus and Alexandrius, the Magna Carta, and the Gutenburg Bible.  Phew... there was even more than that, but this is just what I thought was cool.  Also noteworthy~there were writings by Darwin, Freud, and Jeremy Bentham on display.

Before departing we sampled some scones, clotted cream, and jam.  That stuff is rich.  While I'm on the subject, our hotel served a very peculiar breakfast that day.  We had toast, country ham, an egg, and BAKED BEANS on top of all of it.  Beans for breakfast before bounding back to my abode was a big blunder.  Thankfully I was put off by this queer morning meal so that none of my fellow Frankfurt bound flyers had to endure an unpleasant ride.

Let's end on a happy food subject.  The Stansted airport had a lovely Starbucks.  I say lovely because I haven't been to one since before Christmas while in Mannheim with Kyle, Audrey, and Sheri.  I went a little nuts... I bought a London tumbler, a tall caramel frappacino, and some freshly ground French roast to surprise Kyle.  Since I've gone over six months without the stuff (which most of you know is quite an accomplishment for this lady), I think the indulgence didn't do too much damage to the Hamilton bank account.  I also surprised Kyle with some English muffins (though they are just called muffins on the label) and some chocolate chip short bread cookies.  This Scottish boy has got to learn how to like shortbread even if it is doctored with dark chocolate.  Anywho, I'm starting to make myself hungry for something sweet.  We had a ball in London, but my fun with Audrey wasn't over.  She came home with me to Metz... I'll be writing about that soon!