How I know it's almost Halloween....

This arrived in the post last week:

Yep, my annual Halloween box from Mom. Sure I'm 30 years old and am still getting Halloween gifts from my Mom-so?! Unbelievably my Mom spent $90 to send a 20 lb. box which is sure to include a ton of candy I really shouldn't eat seeing as how I have to be in a bikini in two months time for our Miami trip but oh well....

I haven't officially opened the box yet, I'm saving it for Halloween but I did have to sneak out Calum's Halloween costume from the top which I ordered from the US Amazon since our UK selection isn't great. Here's a little sneak peak, I think it's safe to say that someone wasn't really loving not being able to use his hands and wearing a furry hat. Let's hope we have more luck on the actual day, this year I'm having Calum's friends around again for a little party and we're going to take Calum trick or treating around the new neighborhood to meet a few of the more distant neighbors we haven't had a chance to meet yet. Can't wait x

Down on the farm....

Last weekened we made our first visit to the nearby Godstone Farm which was I'm sure, the first of many. It was a perfect fall day to see the animals (which weirdly included ferrets and guinea pigs in an outdoor pen), play in the gigantic sandpit and explore what has to be the biggest playground I have ever seen. I think I had as much fun as Calum did, seeing the smiles on his face were priceless.

Calum with just about the biggest pig I've ever seen. For the record, seeing a pig in person has really put me off eating pig-such disgusting animals!
Trying to climb into the pig pen
Petting the goats despite the big sign saying DON'T PET THE GOATS
Love that smile!
This was only a small fraction of the sand pit. Calum finally overcame his dislike of sand that day, up until now he's not liked getting dirty!
On the swings

Before and after....

When Mark and I first viewed our house last year around this time, I fell in love the second I walked in the door. It just had that warm, cozy feel that felt like home and as we walked through I could picture us living there-Calum playing in the massive backyard, the three of us sat around the kitchen table eating dinner, it just felt right. This was despite the fact that the house was decorated in a style that was completely not our own (garish yellow wallpaper and gold carpets, *red* wallpaper in the master, a bedroom completely in pink from ceiling to carpet, different floors in every room due to the owner owning a flooring business.....). After months of waiting, we moved in on May 28th and within a week Mark had invited about 30 different painters and electricians in to give us quotes on how much it would cost to make it our own.

For a period of a month our house was filled with painters and electricians; on the day the fireplace was replaced we had 10 workers total in our house! It was a nightmare and something I'm not sure I can live through again-my OCD was in full effect and the stress of trying to keep the house clean and livable was overwhelming. Four-plus months later and we're still not quite there in terms of finishing touches (pictures, mirrors, entry table and etc.) however I thought I would post a few before and after pictures since most of you haven't had a chance to come over yet (although I know you will eventually, guest room remember!).

BACK LIVING ROOM AKA WHERE THE GROWN UPS WATCH TV:

BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER (still waiting on our new mirror to go above the fireplace)

FRONT LIVING ROOM AKA CALUM'S PLAYROOM:

BEFORE
BEFORE

AFTER
AFTER

KITCHEN (we've decided to keep this as is for now, even though it's not my dream kitchen-yet!):

MASTER BEDROOM:

BEFORE-The previous owners tried to sell us these curtains for £200!

BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER

HALL AND ENTRY WAY:

BEFORE-Gold wallpaper covering the hall on all 3 floors
BEFORE-The only picture I could find of the matching gold carpet, this is a picture of the winding staircase leading to the 3rd floor which is currently my office

AFTER-I LOVE these windows, an original feature of the house which was built in the 1930s
AFTER
AFTER (view from kitchen to front door, door on left leads to Calum's playroom)

GUEST ROOM:

BEFORE-pink carpet, two styles of pink wallpaper.....
AFTER-the bed is admitedly too big but as this will probably someday be another nursery we couldn't justify getting new bedroom furniture. Not to worry though, when/if that time comes, we have plans to convert the 3rd floor to a guest room! x

Triennale (3 years)

Three years ago today Mark and I were married in Ravello, Italy. I went through some of our wedding photos yesterday and they brought back memories of what was a truly magical and special day which was only enhanced by the amazing location, fantastic guests, and gorgeous food and wine (and lots of it!). Never in my life did I think I would marry an Englishman and most definitely not in Italy-if you would have told me 6 years ago where my life would lead, I would have never believed you (nor would most of my family and friends!). That said, I'm a pretty lucky girl-I've got a gorgeous, funny and very hard working and clever husband who has given me the gift of being a mother to the most cheeky, sweet, caring and cute little boy in the world. Tonight we celebrate by having dinner at a little Italian restaurant nearby although I am definitely wishing I could be back here again-

Flat Head

So over the past week I've been trying to back up all of the photos stored on our computer onto CDs since the (literally) thousands of pictures I've stored of Calum make my computer move at snail pace*. Whilst doing so I came across the below pic of Calum's profile shot, taken in January 2010. At the time I remember how concerned we were about Calum's flat head, we even went as far as doing some research on those awful helmets they have (actually saw a baby in one at the store last week and couldn't help but stare). What a difference 10 months makes!

BEFORE

AFTER

*P.S. How are you other Moms out there storing your pics? I've started to get really freaked out by technology and worried that someday CDs will be obsolete and then how will I access those precious baby pics? I think I went a bit over the top with the first 6 months which I have CDs for, Rachel has CDs for in her safe and I kept the SD card for. Any suggestions on the best method? x

Me? SPOILED?!

This weekend we went on a mini shopping spree. It would seem that my 17 month old son was in need of a new wardrobe even though he spends 75% of his time at home in sweats or PJs, Mark and I still felt the need to spend some serious cash outfitting him in all of the latest fall styles as well as a few new pairs of shoes now that he's walking (how cute are baby Converse?!). I have to admit, I actually think I prefer shopping for Calum-guess it takes me back to when I was a little girl and dressing up my dolls, it's fun to play dress up with Calum and he even seems to enjoy it although we found out that having a baby who thinks he can walk makes trips to the mall in a stroller a lot harder than they were before. We're about thisclose to investing in a pair of reigns.

Anyway, in addition to Calum's new fall wardrobe we also treated him to a slide. Calum loves slides and when we go to the park he zeros in on them immediately, crying and throwing a fit when he is separated from his favorite toy. I've become a bit thrifty lately and been using this site here in the UK called NetMums where you can source some great barely used stuff so we managed to get him one for £10 and it's been brilliant (if only he could learn how to get himself up the ladder and onto his bottom himself-it's a serious work out for Mom!). Perfect for those rainy days that are right around the corner when we're stuck inside.

Oh, and what else does a 17 month old baby need? His own chair of course! Mark and I went to this local nursery last weekend and Calum fell in love with this little camping chair which now adorns our newly decorated grown up living room which is slowly looking more and more like Calum's playroom next door... When we put him in it at the store Mark said to me it really hit him for the first time that he's not a baby anymore but a little boy and I have to say, he does look pretty grown up sitting there all on his own.

My new chair

At the nursery on the nature trail

Wallabies!

Otherwise over the last week or so we've been going through the tireless process of trying to find a new childcare option since we won't have Mark's Mum any longer from January. We've seen 3 daycares (called nursuries here) and met with 2 childminders which are like nannies who operate from their own house and are regulated by the government so background checked and etc. and required to follow a ciriculum with the children. The first thing I've realised is how expensive they are-even though we only need him to be watched 3 days a week we are still looking at about £600/month which is about double what we've been paying Mark's Mum so the pressure will be on me even more to be making placements. I've also realised how much of a control freak/neat freak I am and how hard it's going to be for me to let go and enter into this next stage of Calum's life. A couple of the places we've seen I wouldn't leave my dog in (if I had one), let alone my precious child. I worry about how much time he will be spending with someone who isn't family, someone I don't really know and how much that person will shape his life. Most of all I wonder how I will get through those 3 days a week with only seeing him in the morning and then for dinner and a bath when he gets home at night.

On the more exciting front, work is going really well and I had a great meeting with an old client last week which has really helped boost my confidence. Mark is in the process of signing a lease for new offices where he and his partner will move their staff which is super exciting, I'm so proud of how well he's done in such a short period of time and hope it will continue and he can deliver on his promise that we can move back to the US in the next 5 years. In the next week or two we're booking our tickets back to Seattle for either Thanksgiving or sometime around Christmas so it will be nice to have that to look forward to again and I know the trip will come up before we know it. Have a great week x

My waiter in training

So it's finally happened (well kind of finally happened), CALUM IS WALKING. Yes, on Sunday the 5th of September at approximately 1.35 p.m. GMT (that's THE Greenwich Mean Time) Calum Xavier Verghese AKA Cal, AKA Big Cal, AKA Munchkin, AKA Munchie, AKA Bieber, started walking after being subjected to watching paint dry (literally) and other mind numbing DIY tasks that his parents were trying to get through on a boring Sunday afternoon. He was 16 months and 8 days old.

Yep, after Mark and I trying to coax him like a little dog with treats, after subjecting him to hours of kid socialising hoping he would just pick it up like my Mom claimed I did after a visit to the doctor's office, Calum just decided to up and go when we weren't even looking! Guess this is true Calum fashion though, he's never been one to do things when we want him to, he's definitely stubborn (not sure where he gets that from?! MARK! JEN!!!), and even now, 5 days later, he won't walk if I try prompting him which was a little embarrassing at our Talking Tots class this morning when I came in bragging about how he was walking and he spent the whole class alternating between sitting on his bum and arching his back when I tried to get him to stand.

Oh well, I have proof! See the video below. Someone get this kid some knee pads! I heard Huggies makes them, is this true Moms out there?

Yes, he is a waiter in training-in weeks I will have him with a tray in that little outstretched hand with a glass of Sav Blanc perched upon it. Love this little boy, and am so proud he's finally in the club! Watch out girls!