My Grandad Lloyd

My maternal grandad Richard Lloyd was born in 1898 in Luke St. in Southport. His mum died when he was a baby and his dad gave him to his parents to raise in Hall St. (that house is now for sale and my mum is itching to buy it. I wish we could!). When his dad re-married he went to live with them but at 16 he ran away to join the Great War. He was too young to sign up so his new step-mum followed him to Preston and got him to come home, but the next year, 1915, he ran away again, determined to fight.

He joined the Royal Horse Artillery on the front lines, working with the horses that pulled the cannons and other artillery. My only visual reference I have to the kind of things he must have been involved with is the film War Horse. He (like all the others I'm sure) had a horrible time in the war and he was shell-shocked. After the war he was in a terrible state and throughout his life had nightmares. But he never spoke of it to anyone.

After the Great War he went to the seaside town of Blackpool on holiday and he met my Nana, Mabel. She was in service in Knutsford, Cheshire where her family were from. Her parents didn't like him so they ran away and got married. They went on to have 7 children: John, Stan, Ada, Edna, Ethel (my mum), Mabel (May) and Harold. The oldest, John served in World War 2 in the Royal Marines and my Grandad Lloyd was in the 2nd Army Reserves based on the Isle of Man. Thankfully he didn't get sent into the fighting again. My Uncle Stan served in the Korean War, which I don't know too much about.

My Grandad died one month before I was born, in 1969. I wish I'd met him and knew more about him. I think this might be the only picture I have of him and I'm only assuming it's him because he is stood next to my Nana at my Auntie May's wedding in 1961.

Chocka Saturday & 21-Day BS

Yesterday was a chocked full day! We got up at 7am to join in a local race to raise money for our local primary schools.I did the 5K and Jack did the 1-mile kids run. He did great, coming 2nd in his age range and 16th out of 84 kids. I was very proud of him. I walked the 5K with friends. Next year I'm going to run it!

Jack sets off

He tried hard, bless

After the race we took Jack for his first soccer game of the season. They lost 3-2 but he scored a goal and played really well. It was so COLD though. We just can't seem to get rid of the miserable cold weather.

After  soccer we headed home to clean house for a party at our house last night, We had a few people over for drinks and Craig had cooked pork loin and venison back straps on the smoker. I ate far too much, especially the bread and dipping oil.

Oh quick update on my 21-day spring challenge.... I got home on Friday to find another box of milkshake powder in the mail and a receipt for $132 in the box. Yep, I guess I missed the fine print that said "If you do not cancel this subscription after 21 days we will continue to send you powdered milkshake each month for the criminal price of $132 and even though it's legal what we're doing we are complete bastards for doing it". I called them, had a bit of a rant, returned the box, cancelled the subscription, and now I'm waiting on my refund. When I posted my discontent on the Facebook group's page I was reminded that next time I should read the fine print, since a 21-day spring challenge doesn't actually mean it just runs for 21 days. Huh? Another lesson learned I guess, never to sign up for anything.

And to end of a cheery note, I caught Danny singing to Bart yesterday. It melted my heart.

Danny serenading Bart 

My handsome boy

My 45th Birthday

What a fabulous 45th birthday I had.

New picture frame from my friend Eric

Quiz night with the British Expats

My friends Maureen & Lyn

Danny's art on display at his school's event

Cheeky monkeys

Lunch at my favorite fried chicken food truck. And yes, those are waffles. 

The boys got me Birkenstocks. So comfy!

Rewards for the K-Shots

Today I took Jack and Danny for their "well visits" which in England means "annual check-ups". Jack at 7 years old is doing great in all aspects because he's tall and slim and healthy. Daniel is too - he's super tall (96%-ile) and slim and healthy. Then came the shots/vaccinations/injections as we call them in England (I've got no idea at this point which country says which. That happens with a lot of Anglo-American words these days).

Daniel had to have 4 shots. I knew this but did not tell him for fear of hysteria.  As it happened, surprising him did not work either. In fact it was AWFUL. If I had to do this again would I warm him? I don't know, because he would have dreaded it and refused to go. Now he's anti-doctor for the rest of his life I think. He was hysterical and sobbing and I had to hold him down. UGH. Horrible.

Afterwards I took them both for ice cream then got Danny home and made a huge fuss of him. Blanket over his knee, recliner seat, warm milk and the iPad. Hey, he had a bad day.

Tonight he is no less upset. At this point of the proceedings Jack was okay when he had it done (2010) but at least twice tonight Danny came to me and crumpled up and cried and made me promise that he'll never have a shot again. He feels things so deeply that he breaks my heart.

Snakes & Shakes

This past weekend was a busy one. On Friday we had the our friends Maureen, Lyn & Eric over to discuss a Brit event that we are putting on at our house soon. Of course it ended up with an outdoor fire pit and much drinking and laughing. Saturday we took the boys on a big walk at a local park and had such a great time. We saw garter snakes and deer and a kingfisher among other things. It was great to get outside for a couple of hours and not freeze to death.

Garter snakes just out of their winter nest

Can you spot him?

On Saturday afternoon we had a little boy over to play with my lad then we took them to see "The Muppet Movie Most Wanted" at our favorite spot. We ate pizza and watched the film and snuggled under a blanket. It was great.

On Sunday I got up early and went walking with my friends. We did 4 miles and had a good natter. I love my Sunday morning walks. Then it was housework (ugh!!) and then I took a man to dinner who had travelled across from Maryland to see me for a work thing. At the end of the meal I got the most excruciating headache of my life and I couldn't drive home fast enough to take painkillers and lie down. That nightmare headache stayed with me all night and made me get up at least once to get more medicine. By Monday morning I felt like I'd been through a traumatic event. It's funny how a migraine can do that to you.

My spring 21-day challenge is going okay. I'm drinking the shakes, laying off the wine and eating healthily and walking a lot. I haven't done the exercise dvds like I should be. I have a real aversion to work-out dvds and going to the gym. I don't know what it is but I find them so boring and not my thing at all. I love to walk outside. But walking alone isn't going to shift my bingo wings and get rid of my belly is it, so I probably should at least get the cellophane off the disk and see what it's about. Tomorrow.

Head Marbles

There's some stuff rolling around my head today.

Last night was amazing. The British Expats and people from local schools helped me host a dinner at a local center for needy people. There is no better feeling in this world than helping at a place like that. I'm going to be hosting one night each month and I'm already excited about the next.

I started a "21-day challenge" diet thing where I paid $140 for a breakfast shake and food containers and menu plans and workout DVDs. I'm with a group of women and we have a closed Facebook page and egg each other on. Well that's not happening as no one posts. I've posted a couple of times but feel like I got a bit shamed. I posted a picture of crackers and triangular cheese that I aways loved as my Weight Watchers snack as it's only about 100 calories and it makes you feel like you had a crunchy indulgent snack. Straight after my post the lady in charge posted the words "Don't eat CRAP". Nice. That made me feel part of the group, not. Ugh.

I'm training for a 5K. I did two miles yesterday and my shins are killing me. Jack's doing it with me but the slacker is only doing 1 mile.

I've got some personal stuff going on. Sorry to be vague. I know there's nothing more annoying and you want to shake it out of me but I can't say. I'm just seeking love and attention at this point. Sorry.

But life's great actually. We're all grand. It's just the niggly things keeping me awake.

Teetering on Spring

It was so nice to get the kids outside. Well let me rephrase that - it's nice that Craig got the boys outside today. I spring cleaned the house with gusto. Hoovered and scrubbed and did all those odd jobs like wiping mucky hand prints off walls and cleaning the floor behind the toilet. I also have a dozen house projects I want to start, like painting the kitchen cabinets and I think I can probably start now that my broken arm's improving. What I didn't expect is that I'd have to work so hard on using my fingers again but that's what is slowing me down. I can't grip very well or lift heavy things. I absolutely can't fire up a lighter either, so it's a good job I don't smoke.

The boys have let me get housework done because they are both obsessed with Minecraft and Terraria (video games) and don't need telling twice to amuse themselves for a couple of hours. I hate not being a more attentive mum but tomorrow I'll spend some better time with them and really, I have to get stuff cleaned. Anyone who insinuates that a clean home is an unhappy home is nuts. There's nothing happy about waking up with dog hair in your mouth and having your feet stick to the bathroom floor.

I love a fire - one of the nice things about the cold weather

New haircut today. No longer looks like Ken Dodd.

Daniel in his usual high-speed mode.

Luke the hamster. Coolest hamster in Ohio. 

Tubing, Pancakes and Relentless Snow

My laptop got dropped and the hard drive had to be replaced which is why I haven't blogged for a while. My fingers are far too big and clumsy to blog from my phone or iPad! So much has been going on the last 2 weeks. We've done lots with the kids but also both been very busy at work.  I'm able to do about 70% of my regular stuff with my arm now but still struggling with anything heavy or awkward or twisty. I'm going to physio 2 x week and meet with the hand surgeon again on Friday to have another x ray.
Anyway here's a couple of pictures from the last 2 weeks ....

Tubing at Mad River Mountain. One time was enough for Danny.

Pancake Day celebrations with the Brits

Snow snow snow. When will we ever see grass?

 In addition to tubing and pancake day we took the boys to see the Lego movie and we had an Oscar party at our friend Maureen's house. Soccer season is also starting but our first practice was cancelled because of the relentless snow. I hate the snow. We've also volunteered twice at our local soup kitchen and attended various children's birthday parties. In fact it's been quite a busy and stressful couple of weeks to be honest. It would be nice to have some down time so that I can catch up on housework and other tasks that have been put aside.I can't remember what it feels like to be "bored".

But that's ok. Every day might be absolute chaos but at least I get to spend it with these boys.

First Yearly Zoo Visit

We got up at 7.30 am this morning and hit the road to take the boys snow tubing but we got the date wrong on the event (doh!) so turned around and set off home. To salvage the day we stopped at the zoo. The boys had a great time as you can see. And it was sunny with no ice! It was only 40 F (4C) but I'll take it. Anything is better than ice.

There's not much difference in height now with these two

My Love & My Arm

I should change my name from Pamela Jane to Calamity Jane. As well as breaking my arm I have broken my Mac laptop. So I'm typing left handed on Craig's old dinosaur. I have also dropped my phone THREE times today. What a muppet.

So what have we been up to? Well Valentine's Day was perfect. We set the boys up with snacks & Minecraft in the basement and me & Craig had a curry. Prawn poori, popadums and mango chutney and chicken tikka marsala to be exact. Craig also got me a bottle of pink bubbly and some daffodils. I got him some apple pie moonshine - how romantic!

My Love

We've had teacher conferences at both kids' schools. Both have done great. Not perfect, but then I'd probably be worried about something if they were perfect kids. To keep things real I shall relay the story here of me going to the bathroom this week, passing by their bedroom door as they had gone to bed and hearing Daniel say to Jack  "wanna smell my finger?"

At his conference, Danny's teacher said to me & Craig "He's ready for kindergarten" and I envisioned it and got a lump in my throat. My baby going to school this Autumn makes me sad.
Jack actually came to his conference with me and sat shaking, so nervous that he might be in trouble. His teacher is so nice, so kind, and I realized he was terrified of me being disappointed and that made me feel terrible. So my goal is to help him at school without getting impatient at him. That's hard for me - I'm not an elementary school teacher for a reason. In other words I have little patience, but I'm trying to be better. Both of our boys adore us and have so much fun with us that I want to cherish it and keep it going as long as I can.

Lastly I'm going to do a little post about my arm. If you are squeamish then stop reading & looking now. I'm doing this for me - to record my progress.
Physio is tough and I have a long way to go. They told me I'll be "good" after about 8 weeks after surgery (for me that's end of March) but will take a year to feel normal. I'm actually relieved to hear that because I've been getting nervous about what I can't do and how immobile my hand is, but it's normal. I just have to give it time.

War Wound

Right arm is swollen and I can't straighten my fingers (yet)

Longest Winter EVER

Last week was a doozy. I had two doctor's appointments and a trip to the physio, I travelled & got stuck in Boston, schools were closed for 3 days and we got more snow. Lots and lots more snow. Go away snow!

This weekend I thought I'd catch up with housework at least but Craig got a cold and, well I was just exhausted. So another lazy post from me, while I play catch-up. Here's a few pictures of my last few days...

An x ray of my new bionic arm

We built an igloo with the boys.

50th Anniversary Beatles concert with my Brit Expat mates

 

 

 

 

An early birthday present: my favourite album framed