Can they get any cuter?!

Two favorite pictures from last weekend, and probably soon to be all-time favorites.

Mary had a little Sammie Lamb

First, thanks to all of you who offered your sympathy, empathy and support for my "bad day" post. You have to admit, it made for some good reading, didn't it?

Well, today I want to tell about last weekend. We went up to Huddersfield (by Manchester, sort of) for the weekend to see my mission companion, Mary Walker. Mary and I served together in Texas over a decade ago. Mary was 61, I was 22. We've been able to keep in touch through the years, and even have managed a few visits while we've lived here in London.
We wanted Mary to meet Spencer, and get to know Samantha a little better, so we made another trip to see her. It was such a nice little getaway. Sammie and Mary fell in love with each other within 5 minutes. Although she has no children of her own, Mary is AMAZING with little ones! It was so fun to watch her get down and play with Sammie.
Samantha spent the entire weekend following Mary around, telling her all kinds of fun details, "helping" her with dishes and meals, etc. Mary got a kick out of Samantha constantly singing "Mary had a little Lamb" every two or three minutes. She also sang "Give Said" (the little stream), and "Twinkle" since she had such a willing audience.
If you ever want some GREAT English hospitality, Mary's place is THE place to stay! She's always hosting people in her little bungalow -- even up to 8 or 9 guests at once. She put us up in her own bedroom, and she slept on the futon in the conservatory. How nice!! She made us delicious English breakfast each morning -- eggs, ham, tomatoes, toast, porridge, etc., -- and yummy Yorkshire pudding (little bread cups filled with gravy, onions, and meat) for Sunday lunch. And she took us out on the most beautiful drive in the country all day on Saturday. I do believe I've found another favorite spot in England -- Yorkshire...
We drove across the lonely moors -- sooo beautiful. I can hardly imagine what it must be like in August when the heather is in bloom.
We also went to this great little castle that has been turned into a kind of children's museum and mini zoo. Sam loved looking at the animals and running in the garden best.


Of course, it was hard to say goodbye when we left. Mary just made us feel so welcome -- hard to leave her. Samantha talked about her all week long. We hope she'll make it to our place for a visit sometime soon, either here or in the US.

Gadfield Elm

It doesn't really matter that this outing was three weeks ago. It was just the most AMAZING place to go! Gadfield Elm chapel is one of the lesser known site of church history for our church. But it should be more well publicized in my opinion. This cute little chapel was the very first LDS chapel -- as in, the first real chapel that the church actually owned. It was built by a religious group called the United Brethren. Then most of the members heard the gospel and were baptized, and eventually gave the chapel to the church. Brigham Young even preached at Gadfield Elm, at least once.
The building was sold in the late 1840s to help finance all the saints who were emigrating to the US. It was privately owned for 150 years, and eventually fell into disrepair. Some members of the church bought it back in 1994 and started restoring it. It was dedicated as a chapel by Elder Jeffrey R Holland in 2000. That's a short church history lesson for those of you who were interested. (There's a whole site about it, if you want to google it... I'm terrible at adding links, sorry.)
We had a nice drive in the country getting there, eating a picnic lunch in the car on the way. We stopped to give Spencer some "lunch" and let Sammie talk to some sheep, up close and personal. The weather was perfectly gorgeous, which made for a great outing.
One interesting thing about the chapel is the lock on the outside. It's a combination lock, with a laminated sheet in the window giving "clues" for opening it. If you're a well-versed member of the church, you shouldn't have any problem figuring out the combination... things like "at what age can children be baptized into the church?" and "how many chapters in the book of Jacob," etc. So, we were able to have a little self-guided tour of the chapel while we were there. Very peaceful and quaint. We even signed the guest book and looked back through it to find Tim and Becky's names (yay!), from when they visited us (and Gadfield Elm) over two years ago. (Hard to believe it was that long ago!)

Artsy shot by Brian...
After our tour, we hung out on the grounds, giving Spencer a chance to stretch out on a blanket, and Samantha a chance to run around.


In the back of the chapel, there's collection of white rocks, along with markers for children to decorate them and a sign telling people to "help yourself!" So, Brian and Sam decorated a cute rock, which Sam has deemed a treasure that she likes to carry around the house.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving back through our favorite little villages in the Cotswolds. Soooo gorgeous. I don't think I could ever get enough of the Cotswolds, the perfection of English countryside. It really was just so lovely!

The only downside to this outing was the car seat. Spencer hates his car seat. I repeat, Spencer HATES his car seat. We thought he was hungry first, so we fed him. Then we thought he must need a change. Nope. Maybe he's hot? Nope. Cold? Nope. Just hoppin' MAD every time we put him in the car seat. The drive home was about 3 hours. Spencer screamed for more than two of those three hours, only stopping for a brief 20-minute nap in the middle. That made it not quite so pleasant to be driving along this dreamy countryside with a child wailing at the top of his lungs the entire time. The worst was the 45-minute stretch at the very end. He really didn't stop AT ALL, and our only option was to get him home and out of the seat as soon as possible. Not fun. But I guess there are thorns on every rosy day, eh? We had fun! Too bad we didn't go to Gadfield Elm earlier, and we would have definitely recommended it to our many visitors! A great day trip.

Not tough enough

The score for the day has been tallied. London officially stomped me today. Ballots say I am NOT tough enough to do London with two children. Full story below...

So, it all started this morning at 6:42 a.m. when I woke up to feed Spencer who was crying frantically in his little bed in the office. I opened our bedroom door to get him and a little voice greeted me from the couch, "Hi Mama!" Yes, Sammie was already awake, sitting on the couch with her blanket, reading books to herself. This may not seem like a leary start for some of you who are up at such hours. But you may not realize or remember that we London Bishops are 8 a.m. people (and also midnight or 1 a.m. people), NOT 6:42 a.m. people. So, it was an unexpected early start to our day, followed by a series of tiring tantrums and "into everything" occasions until nap time.

There was some peace in the middle of the day, and a lady came to buy our coffee table set and ended up committing to buy some other stuff as well. All this was positive, and I am grateful that I had that little midday respite.

The main event I have to share was our outing this afternoon, after naps, after furniture dealings. I decided to be brave and go to Home Base (like Home Depot) to get the varnish we need to touch up our dining room table. Leaving the house is still no small feat for me: Feed Spencer, change Spencer, get his blanket and binky, then put him in the swing so I can carry him out the door at the very last moment, listen to him cry until we leave. After Spencer, I work on Sammie... do her hair, get her socks and shoes on, get her sippy, get her snacks, get her back pack and jacket, no she can't take all those toys with us, get her up the stairs to the door. All set? Oh, wait -- get Spencer, lock the house, unlock the house, grab the back pack and my money, relock the house, unlock it again and grab my oyster card for the bus (all the while hauling Spencer up and down the stairs with me), relock the house once more, go to the car, unlock the car, put Spencer on the front seat, pop the trunk, get out the stroller, tell Sammie to stay right by me and not go near the road, set up and recline the stroller, strap Spencer in, and we're off. Does anyone have a funny feeling I forgot something?

Yep. The backpack is sitting on the sidewalk by the trunk, right next to the VERY busy street we live on. But of course I don't realize this until we've made the 7-minute walk to our first stop at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription (yes, the one I've been meaning to get filled for 2 weeks now, sorry Brian). Just as she's about to ring up my prescription, I remember the backpack. I also remember the other backpack I left in that same spot back at Christmas time -- it got nabbed, wihch was not a huge deal as it only cost $2 and only had wipes and diapers and Ritz crackers in it. Nabbing today's pack would be more of a find for Mister Nabber, as I had cleverly put the keys to the house and the car in the front pocket! All these thoughts put me in a panic, of course.

So I abandon the prescription, grab Sammie and start walking VERY quickly back to the house, pulling Sam by the hand. Of course she does not like being pulled by the hand, and eventually completely rebels. Dragging her jello body on the pavement looks abusive, I realize. So I hoist the screamer up over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continue briskly walking, pushing the stroller, trying to act unphased as people watch me. From her vantage point on my shoulder, Sam sees her favorite Italian restaurant that gives out free suckers, and her cries immediately escalate as she become verbal, screaming very loudly, "I WANT A LOLLY!! I WANT A LOLLY!"

Yes, in retrospect, I recognize this is quite comical. But as it's happening, do you think I was laughing along with all the spectators? No, I was not. I was still walking as fast as I could push the stroller and lug my Sammie Potato back to the car, praying the backpack would still be there. Yes, it was, thank goodness. And the keys were still in it, even more of a thank goodness, of course.

After such an episode, is it wise to try to venture out again for the varnish? I can tell you now it was NOT wise. But we did it anyway, just because I am not always wise.

The bus ride down is no problem. The short walk to Home Base is no problem. Even getting the varnish isn't much of a problem, other than the twenty times I have to tell Samantha to put back the paint, the tape, the varnish, the stain, the furniture polish, the little fan, etc. Then we walk back to Sainsbury's to pick up a few things for the weekend. (We're having friends over for lunch tomorrow, before our dining table disappears.)

The "put it back on the shelf" conversation with Sammie continues in the grocery store. (She REALLY wanted a pineapple and could not understand why I wouldn't let her put it in our basket.) We also have several "hold Mommy's hand, please" and "stay with me, please" conversations, before another on-the-floor tantrum erupts. This time I opt for the under-arm football hold, which is effective unless someone tries to pass us on the side where she happens to be kicking frantically, which of course they do quite often in a crowded supermarket. I apologize frequently, let her walk occasionally, and we make it to the check-out stand eventually. Thankfully there's one of those big toy buses (the kind you can put money in and it plays music and moves back and forth, I presume) and it's right in front of our check-out, so Sammie can play while I bag our groceries and pack them on the stroller. Spencer's still okay? Yep, still asleep, thank goodness.

We start up the escalator to the bus stop. Just our luck, it's broken. And the lift seems to be broken as well, a pregnant lady tells me as Sammie is repeatedly pushing the buttom, yelling "ELEVATOR!!" (which is foreign in this country, by the way-- it's alway a lift, not an elevator). To avoid climbing the stairs, we exit by the back door and start up a long hill on the side of the store to where we can go around front to the bus stop. For some unknown reason, Samantha decides she doesn't want to go up the hill with me. She is NOT holding my hand, not being dragged, not even being lugged over my shoulder or under my arm. All the wriggling, wiggling, flailing and screaming is too much to handle while trying to push the grocery-laden stroller up the hill. I leave her crying on the pavement, walk to the top and wait for her to eventually mope her way up the hill by herself. We finally reach the top and I see the #82 bus is just arriving. I grab Sammie's hand, she resists. I football-hold her, while she screams and we run to the bus. Spencer finally wakes up to join the commotion with his own screams. We board the bus, swipe my oyster card, and the bus driver shakes his head at me. I look down to see my card doesn't have enough money on it to pay for the fare!

That's the climax right there, folks. Me, standing on the bus with NO cash; a screaming two-year-old under one arm, a screaming three-month-old and 5 bags of groceries in/on/and under the stroller; an obviously annoyed bus driver shaking his head at me; three people behind me wondering "what's the hold up?"; and several people on the bus staring at the commotion.

Goodbye, #82 bus. I stand on the sidewalk and watch it drive away as the tears start. Yes, by this time I'm crying as pathetically as my two kids. Back down the hill (with a very subdued Samantha who is quite unnerved to see me crying), back to the ATM to get money, back to the store to get the money in exact change for bus fare, back up the hill -- this time holding hands nicely most of the way, back on another bus which is very crowded this time. Spencer really picks up with the crying thing on the way home, and people look at me like I should do something for him. I pull out the bottle and pretend to try comforting him, even though I know he won't take a cold bottle in a crowded bus.

We get off the bus in front of the Italian place and I cave. Samantha gets her lolly after all, and I get my favorite rigotoni amartriciana for take-out dinner. Spencer gets food as soon as we get home, and now they are both fast asleep -- little angels. And Brian gets to hear me whine about my day on the phone, while he's still working late into the night, then he'll probably read this later?

Well, as I was saying, London beat me to a bloody pulp today. I am NOT venturing out on my own again tomorrow or Sunday. I'll have to think carefully about my plans for next week. Maybe my friends will have pity on me and come see me, so I can hole up here and find my "happy place"!

ps. Sorry for the long blogging absence. Stupid spotty internet connection, it's been a pain for the last couple weeks, and continues at present. I do have more to write, more pictures to put up from our last outings. But this episode took presidence today.

Sickie Spencer Boy

It's been an eventful week for us, and our internet has been spotty so it's been nearly impossible to blog. If you're actually reading this post that means a modern-technology miracle has occured and our internet is working for more than 5 minutes at a shot!So, this entry is about our little Spencer baby. He's been sick this week. Actually, it started last weekend, when he kept running a slight fever. So that you don't have to go through all the suspense we did, I'll tell you right now that Spencer is fine. But the story is journal-worthy, so I'll share...

Last Friday Spencer was just fussy and unsettled all day -- short naps, lots of groaning and stirring, etc. Then on Saturday he was inconsolable while we had a little outing to the country all day (the grand finale was when he cried for over 2 hours on the way home, only breaking for a 20 minute nap). Sunday, he slept and slept, and was rather warmer than normal. On Monday, he was fussy again, and still warm. I gave him some tylenol-type stuff several times, to keep the fever down. But it seemed to creep back up after the medicine wore off.

On Tuesday morning, his temp was at 101F -- not extremely high, but also not exactly low. I called the doctor and got worked in for a visit before 9 a.m. I had just given Spencer some more medicine, so by the time I got to the doctor, the fever wasn't as high. But it was still there, and the doctor was concerned. He asked me all kinds of questions -- does Spencer have allergies? has he been sniffly? does Sammie have a cold? has he showed any other symptoms of anything? No, no, no and no. Nothing other than temperamental and feverish, and a slight loss in appetite.

The puzzled doctor sat down at his computer while I sat in silence waiting for some response. He printed something, put it in an envelope and handed it to me, telling me to take Spencer and the envelope straight to the A&E (emergency room), paediatric ward. What?! He explained that with no symptoms other than a persistent fever, we should treat this seriously and get some blood work done at the hospital.

Brian came with me and Spencer to the hospital while Joyce and Debbie took turns watching Samantha (what wonderful friends!! I owe them, for sure). At the hospital, they took several blood samples from Spencer (he wailed, I cried, Brian bravely held him), and put an IV in his little hand. Then they admitted Spencer for the night, ran some chest X-rays, and did a lumbar tap (where they stuck a needle in his back to remove spinal fluid to test for meningitis). Again, he wailed, I cried, and Brian bravely held my hand.

Then we waited. I stayed at the hospital with Spencer, and Brian stayed at home with Sam. They monitored Spencer's temp and heart rate all through the night. Everything was normal. They got some preliminary test results showing that he indeed had an infection, but there was nothing to indicate what or where the infection could be. They put him on antibiotics, just to be safe, but had no way to tell what they were treating. By Wednesday morning, Spencer was acting a lot better than he had been all week. When the doctor came to see him, Spencer cooed and smiled and put on a good show. Was he really even sick? It really hardly seemed like it, to me!

We got to go home by 1p.m. Wednesday, and they left the IV in for more antibiotics. A nurse came by the house to check on him and give him the last dose before she removed it yesterday (Thursday) evening. By today (Friday), Spencer seems to be one happy boy, just smiling and cooing and eating like normal. The doctors said it must have just been a virus, and is probably on its way out. I'm just so glad to know he's feeling better.

Some pictures of Spencer after we got home (No, I did not take the camera to the hospital... I try to keep my blogging addiction under control). Here is Spencer in his pajamas, modeling the little splint and IV, along with the hole I cut out by his foot, so they could monitor his heart rate with a little electrical band around his big toe. A close up of Spence with his Calpol and his splint. (And yes, his hair does look red a lot of the time nowadays)...
He's not THAT sick, as you can see...
Big smiles from our little man...

Two cuties

Just a few quick pictures of my cuties...

Here's our little chubby cheekers boy after church Sunday...

Sammie got a package today from Gramma Karen. Sponge rollers!! She had them unwrapped ready to put in her hair in less than thirty seconds. The new do turned out great, but I forgot to get picts of it. Rats! Here she is modeling the curlers...
And, refusing to pose...

We went to the park yesterday for our "bank holiday" (supposed to be a 3-day weekend, but Brian had to work the entire time, poor guy). We played at the park, ran through the fountains, and got ice cream at McDonalds. A fun day...

Spencer was exhausted by the end, as you can imagine...
One cute story, before I close... Last night before Samantha went to bed, we painted her fingernails as a special treat. She also wanted her toes painted but I told her maybe another day. So, tonight after three songs, a roll-around-on-the-bed prayer, kisses and hugs, a drink, a new CD of bedtime hits, I hit the light switch and started to close the door.

"Mamma!" she called out frantically.

"What is it, Sammie?" I answered, waiting for yet one more request.

"Ummm... Paint Sammie's toes??"

Can you believe, she was in complete shock that I denied her on that one! Tears and sobs for another 5 minutes after I shut the door, poor deprived little angel girl. Oh well.

Princess Party

Monday was our friend Abby's fourth birthday. We got invited to her garden tea party, which was so much fun. All the little girls came in their best princess attire, complete with princess shoes, necklaces, rings, crowns, etc. It was soooo cute to see so many little princeses running around. Abby had a brand new Cinderella dress that looks JUST like the Cinderella from the Disney movie, so adorable! And our Sammie was wearing a Sleeping Beauty costume with another one under it... so pretty!
We left our camera home, so all my picts are from afterward. But Joyce has some great pictures and a nice narrative of the party details on her blog. She shows pictures of all the kids hitting a little mermaid pinata. It was pretty funny because she forgot to fill it with candy, but none of the kids really knew too much about pinatas anyway, so they were happy just to be hitting it. ha!

One thing Joyce doesn't mention on her blog is the pouty little princess Sammie Bishop. Not sure what it was, but our Sam just was NOT a very happy girl at the party. She did several little things that required scolding (taking toys from other party-goers, not sharing, not staying at the table to eat, ect.). Whenever I tried to gently reprimand, she just kept breaking down into tears, running from the room dramatically, and refusing to be consoled. Here's a sample party face (from after, but you get the idea)...
The grand finale was when Sammie totally lost it for the last 15-20 minutes of the party. It was a proper meltdown, with snotty sobs and those horrid snuffles -- you know, the kind where they just can't seem to draw enough breath to continue crying properly. Oh boy! She didn't settle down AT ALL until I put her in the car, poor Sam girl.

When we got home, she was all smiles and pretty princess again... at least long enough for me to get some cute pictures of her. I love this one where she really is striking a princess pose...

Then I told her it was nap time, and pouty princess returned until she was hauled off to her royal bed chamber for a good long sleep!

But for the record, it was a really fun, cute party. And I think all the kids enjoyed it... even grumpy girl Sammie.