We have internet!

Indeed we have our very own internet - no more sitting in front of a public computer with only 30 minutes to get everything done. Now I can try to sit still and actually not be stressed when I get called away from the computer. Fantastic! Brian and I are not going to be using the magicjack so if you have that number disregard it as it is gone and lost forever. If you want our new number please e-mail me and I will get it to you, disclaimer to the phone - it is on the computer so you may or may not get through it just depends on if I hear it or not.

Life is still stressful, and like many of our friends and family we are still struggling to get by. We are trying to get rid of the house, but it is taking a lot of time - I hope that it is gone sooner rather then later though.

Minnie the dog is a new addition to our family, she is 9, a greyhound, and Zaylee and Brian love her to peices.

Brian is still working nights, and we hardly ever see him, he is thinking of taking some leave just so we can spend some time together.

Zaylee is Zaylee - she is in full toddler mode and is currently cutting like 4 teeth at the same time.

A Blog of Upsetness

My husband is exhausted, both physically and mentally, and so I type out of desperation to find some sort of peace of mind. Why is it that even ALL the way over in England, away from everyone, we still hear how people complain that we have "shut" them out of our lives? Brian's birthday should have been happy, yet we got a letter of reprimand on how no one understands what they did wrong that he would act so badly toward his family and friends. It's rather upsetting that while we struggle people complain because they don't get what they want from us, and when we say we are done with the complaining - it is denied that it ever happened. Brian is a grown man, and right now works constantly, while we struggle just to stay together the last thing he needs or wants is reprimand, particullarly for things no one has any right to reprimand him for. Exactly what is it that you want from us? Because the more people push the less Brian and I even want to come back to the states to visit, or at all. The more people feel they are entitled the less likely we are to have contact. The more you upset Brian who unlike me bottles all of his frustration, the less likely you are to have a relationship with him, and while Brian bottles his frustration towards everyone else it effects us as a family.

I wish that I could get on the blog and write about Zaylee taking herself to the potty 3 times last week and how excited we were for her, and this and that happened and bla bla, and be totally happy to share. But it's hard to share when my husband is frustrated at the whole situation. It's hard to share when the general feel is anger or dissapointment from the general population. And if you feel the need to defend your actions then you probably know that what I say is true, and if you have no friggin clue what I am talking about then you are probably in the group of people who 1. realize that it's hard to stay in touch with everyone and just randomly stopped by our blog today and thought...wow I didn't realize half of this craziness and as such aren't involved in the craziness or 2. don't think Brian or I OWE you anything and therefore haven't said to us or others who talk to us what a dissapointment we are so you just generally are like wow Brian and Meredith are writing cranky blogs. HAHA

In other news...Brian works alot and neither of us ever sleep and currently our life is beyond friggin stressful with finances being so hard, and we still don't have phone or internet but if you want to hear from us your best bet for Brian is to facebook him and your best bet from me is to e-mail me. I may update the blog now and then - but that entails me holding still for 15-30 minutes in from of a computer in a public place with a fully mobile one year old...were none of you parents? lol

A Blog for Us

When we started this blog it was meant to be a blog for us, a place for us to share what we wanted when we wanted, but it really didn't turn out that way. As Brian said it became a place where we had to write what others wanted when they wanted, and when we didn't, people felt that we were being disrespectful - hence we stopped blogging. It is true that we haven't sent pictures of Zaylee since Easter, we really haven't taken that many, our computers haven't been working, and we've been so busy we hardly see eachother, and frankly we feel that we will send pictures when we send pictures, and the more people complain the more irritated Brian and I get. So to calm the constant friggin nagging for all of a week I spent my morning putting pictures on Brian's facebook, or if you do not have facebook some have been sent to Don and Nona and Deb and Glen. Zaylee has been walking for 2 almost 3 months - has been completely out of diapers for almost 4 - and Brian works all the damn time. That's about it.

Zaylee Ann was on the tellie!

I attended a medieval festival as a trader this past weekend, and it made the news, in which my mother and daughter can be seen. For the sake of safety I will not post the link publicly, but the link has been sent to don and nona, or you can e-mail me for the link Meredith@thelordsway.net.

April Update

Zaylee Ann -

Has been out of diapers 24/7 most of the month, she has teeth, she stands. Still only reads the one book most of the time.

Brian -
Works, likes work, comes home smelling of airplane most of the time.

After a few months of doing this, I don't want to anymore. I will send pictures and update when I have the time and energy from here on out. If Brian and I write we write, but if we don't we don't. This blog and the updates and the pictures have been a source of great argument between Brian and I, because I dread this update thing, and neither of us have a lot to say about what is going on right now, and so neither of us want to write anything. I realize that everyone misses Brian and Zaylee, I realize that some people will read this and wonder what the heck is wrong with me and why this is such a problem with Brian and I, and how hard is it to write an update about Brian and Zaylee now and then? I understand that frustration with me, and I'm okay with people being cranky. Op - Zaylee is awake have to go!

Language Blocks

For anyone who is teaching their children a language other then English, or if you just want your children introduced to a different language I found these blocks online. They come in several different languages, and from what I have heard they are beautifully crafted.

See them by following this link http://www.lindenwoodinc.com/UNCLEGOOSE/foreign.html

Of course they have all kinds of blocks beyond the alphabet - very interesting stuff

Monthly Picture

The monthly picture of Zaylee is currently being sent to Don and Nona.

Monthly Update

Zaylee Ann:
Has been crawling for like 2 months I guess, she isn't on her hands and knees yet but that doesn't stop her from going full speed wherever she wants. She's been pulling herself to standing for a few weeks and has been sitting up for a month. We took her to the zoo and she really enjoyed it. She opens drawers but never pulls anything out of them. She hasn't been wearing diapers at home for almost a week, but I still put one on her when we go out and about in case she can't hold it. She loves her billingual video, as well as a few morning tv shows, and a few books. She has a lion she can ride but prefers to smack his nose in order to get him to play music, and she recently started claping her hands.

Brian:
Is currently doing some job training, which will last another week or two and then he will be back to work. He has high hopes that he will be going back to midshift from 15:30-23:30 once he is done with this part of his training. He also has roughly six months to read a few manuals and take tests on the information, since he tests well he isn't worried at all but still hopes to score high as it will help further his career. He also is getting ready to do some work on the car, and has taking a liking to the show Bargin Hunters where two teams spend a day at flea markets and such finding bargins and then selling them at auction to see who makes the most profit. More often then not no one makes a profit.

We went to a boot sale and a whiskey distillery yesterday after church. The distillery was very nice, the only one in England and had a extensive selection of whiskey and some lovely tasting flavored whiskey as well. Brian preferred a cream but we decided to buy a cranberry/raspberry liqour whiskey instead.

Pictures

Brian has posted pictures to his facebook - if you do not have facebook you can get pictures from Don and Nona.

Where are the pictures?

We've gotten some e-mails wondering where the pictures of Zaylee are and why they are not posted on our blog, and I have explained this to a few people, so if you've already heard this disregard. If not and you are wondering why we are not posting pictures of us online please read on.

Technology is great, it's a speedy way to share, but just as an identity can be stolen with a simple credit card number, a picture can be a dangerous thing in the hands of the wrong person. Our blog is public, and can be found with a simple google search. I do not wish to display pictures of my daughter for just anyone to see as there have been numerous cases of stalkers, kidnappers, etc. that have found their victims from the internet. I realize that some will read this and be upset because I'm just being "paranoid" but I know from experience that this can happen. That is why I posted the previous blog stating that I promise to update 1-2 a month here and send a picture once a month to once every other month via e-mail. We will still post pictures here, but they will not be of us, just places we visit. Thanks!

Jan. Update

I'm not really sure what to write, but I know people want to know what's going on with us.

Zaylee Ann is big, she rolls, and has two teeth. She does what any baby does all day, baby things. She loves being outside, and has grown some hair, today I noticed how much she is looking like me, and how her eyes still are the ever unchanging blue color that is exact to my sister's color. It will be interesting if they stay that dark, as Brian's eyes are so light. She has a favorite book, and loves the new sheep skin I bought her for sleeping, and now it is an essential for naps too. Her attitude towards people is a bit more relaxed, but she still gets tense when other people fiddle with her, but that is not very often as the British are not the type of people to ask to hold a baby, or even touch a baby. Sometimes they will put out a finger and Zaylee will grab it but that's about it.

Brian does what airmen do - airmen things. He goes to work, he does paperwork, he does what the military tells him. Thankfully he has a job where he doesn't have to keep EVERYTHING a secret from me. While I'm not allowed to know a bunch of stuff most of it is trivial to me really, and I at least get to hear the basics of his day. He will be going back to school soon, and once that is over get back to work. He is also looking forward to the time he can go on tdy (it's like a deployment and can be anywhere from 2 days - whenever the AirForce tells him to come back lol), but like anyone in the military that is expected.

I called my mom a few weeks ago as I was in need of some things, at first she didn't realize it was me and thought I maybe had the wrong number lol. Thankfully my parents gave me a phone card when I was in the hospital with Zaylee Ann and for some reason I ended up keeping it, it's come in handy when I've had to call the states. I called Ashley to check on our car, she says they have yet to sell it but that Steve is going to put it in Auto Trader to get it sold. So YAYE for that.

I gave myself a second degree burn yesterday by accidentally pouring boiling water on myself while making soap. Brian insisted we go to the pharmacy, which in the end I'm glad we did, whatever they gave me to put on the burn caused the blisters to almost disappear, which will hopefully mean minimal scaring. I had to stop the soap making process because of the burn, but I got back to it this morning and was able to get the fat lye and water mixed and the soap is settling in Zaylee's room.

My mom found some pajamas for Zaylee and sent them to me - so that is exciting. She also sent me enough cereal to last until she is no longer eating it, or at least until she is done with rice cereal.

We explore everyday we can, but we aren't like doing touristy stuff really so there isn't much to say. We walk alot, and drive to nearby towns, and have fun exploring wherever we go, but we tend to not go to big like "attractions" we just go to wherever we feel like.

Also FYI - I plan on trying to update the blog 1-2 times a month now that we are setlled, and sending out an e-mail every month to every other month that has a picture of Brian and Zaylee Ann. You can either e-mail me with your e-mail address, or you can ask Don and Nona to forward the e-mail on to you. I'm sure Brian will update the blog as well, and there may be times when we update alot, but I will be putting up a least one blog a month.

Thanks!

Cookies, Butter, and Sewing Machine

Brian likes sweets and such on a semi-regular basis, and I thought well I will make cookies, easy, quick, and I have a new recipe I want to try. So I begin to find pans and such that I can use to mix the dough, (We don't have anything here yet) and I realize I have like 1/2 the ingredients I need to make this specific type of cookie, and I really didn't feel like making a different recipe. So I didn't use a recipe at all, I put my cookie book away, and grabbed whatever I thought would make a good cookie, skipping the measurements - because I have no tools of measurement anyway - I made one delicious cookie - which has been dubbed "snuggle cookies".

In other kitchen news, I made butter today. Much to Brian's surprise. (I think he had little faith in me.) He helped, and the finished product is cooling in the fridge. At the rate we use butter I may just make it, as it would probably be cheaper. I will have to see after the milk man delivers next week and I can see how much butter I can make from the fresh milk he brings. Brian just interjected that he did in fact have faith in me, he just didn't know how butter was made. To me that is strange as I've made butter quite often, or at least I did as a child, but I often forget not every child learned how to make bread with just their hands and a bowl, butter from scratch, candles from tallow, soap from lye, and so forth. I guess I never thought of my childhood as all that different from others.

I have a sewing machine again, I bought it off ebay for 15 gbp, roughly $22. It's beautiful and I already have a pile of clothes to mend or hem. Some of Brian's pants are going to become shorts, and some of my clothes have holes. Brian drove all the way to London to pick it up for me, he got lost, but he eventually made it there and back, and he spent a good hour just playing with the machine, much to my dismay...the sound is rather annoying when there is no fabric going through the machine. I wish I could find a fabric store - but I have searched to no avail, and beyond that fabric is RIDICULOUSLY expensive here...at 5gbp a meter for cheap stuff! UG! I think I may have to order fabric online and have it shipped from the states. Although I hope I will soon come across a fabric store in a nearby town.

Pictures Of places and stuff here in england

This was the Thetford Priory in Thetford. It was torn down in the 1500's when the Great Reformation began and Henry VIII declared himself the head of church in all england and started the church of england. there are many monestaries and priories and abbeys all over england almost every town has an old church or cathedral. There is and abbey in Bury St Edmunds only 12 miles away from our house we went to it last weekend but didn't have the camera becase we were ust driving around when we saw it and decided to stop and look bu in the next few weeks or so we will have pictures from the Abbey of St Edmund

There were some swans at the riverwalk nearby our house. It is a short walk on the footpaths to get to the river we walked all the way down the walk that day it was a nice 2 mile walk. we often go out on walks mostly because Zaylee loves to get out of the house and be in the fresh cool air outside. we also bundle her up nice and warm and that helps her to sleep too.

Update

It snowed, it's been a little cold, and the Air Force gave our reimbursment money to the wrong people - so poo on them. All in all things are going well, we are alive and Zaylee Ann and Brian are doing well.

Here we are ...and a wish list

So we are here in England, and I've realized there are a few things I would like from the states - so IF and I truly do mean IF you come across any of these items while you are visiting sales and such they would be greatly appreciated. Please don't run out and just buy them, because I never do that lol - in short these are things I can only get stateside, and should be around thrift sales and the like.

Childrens Books: A Magical Day with Matise; In the Garden with Van Gogh; A Picnic with Monet; Dancing with Degas; Sharing with Renoir - this is a series of books that introduces are and poetry - I have one, Zaylee loves it, and would like the rest. I got the first one for like $3 at a sale somewhere.

Ok this one is a little hard to explain...but here goes. So the baby gowns, there are ones that button down, and then there are ones that button down but have the option of buttoning into a little pajama jumpsuit as well as a gown. I have one of these and I adore the every loving crud out of it because it makes keeping Zaylee's legs warm and nightime pottying a flipping breeze. This is the one item I've been having a hard time finding even stateside. 6 months and up.

England is beautiful, I love it so much, and have no desire to live stateside anytime soon in ever. I would live here forever if we could. Since that's not going to happen there has been talk of volunteering to be stationed in Korea - that might be fun :) Who knows - for the moment I'm going to enjoy where we are. Our house is lovely, the town is great, church is fun, people are friendly - and if anyone comes to visit there is a cute b&b down the block...(b&b is like all they have here).

Oh and I just bought a sewing machine for 15 pounds...it's a singer...an antique, and Brian will have to go pick it up (yaye ebay). I'm quite excited because my sewing machine is stateside...and it may not even work here anyway and sewing machines are expensive. So an old rusty iron maiden singer will do fine, at least I know the thing will sew through anything...including fingers, it will make my stiches more precise.