C & D: A Tradition Continues

We are so very blessed to have my in-laws visiting for extended periods of time. They sold their Southern California home earlier this year and moved to Oregon for retirement. Although they now live much farther away from us, retirement does offer them the flexibility to visit for longer periods of time. They'll be around until Thanksgiving and we're so happy to have them around.

Today my father-in-law Randy continued a family tradition with Ella -- C & D. In the past, it has stood for "Coffee and Doughnuts" but in our little town, it could also stand for "Coffee and Danishes". Over the years, Dad has enjoyed taking his children out on solo "dates" for coffee and doughnuts and to talk about life. Ella and Poppa Randy spent about two hours together walking around town, eating yummy treats and shopping at the bookstore.

At first, Ella decided that she was going to save some of her treat for Lucie. But, as the morning went on, she decided that she was hungry and finished it off. So, she asked Poppa Randy if he'd buy one to bring home for Lucie. Predictably, when they walked through the door, Ella said, "Mom, we got a treat for Lucie! But, it's kinda big so I suggest that I share it with her."

And they're off!

Ella & Daddy's Adventure in the British Isles has now begun! Yesterday was a whirlwind of searching for needed items, shopping, notarizing "authorization" paperwork and packing. I don't think that I stopped moving until they pulled out of the garage.

Ella was very cute when I showed her all of the things I had packed for her. I wrapped little gifts for her -- one for each day -- along with a little note from me. So, at least once a day she will remember me! There were two other things that she was very excited about. She loved this little leather coin pouch that I bought a decade ago in France (you can see it by her head in the photo above). In fact, she swiped it out of Brett's bag when we weren't looking and decided that SHE wanted to carry it. I think because it is full of coins she thinks that she can throw them in the fountains. I sincerely hope that Brett sorts out the valuable euro & pounds and just leaves the pennies for her to use. Otherwise, Ella is about to throw about $25 into fountains! She was also very excited to see her passport...and she swiped that out of Brett's money wallet too! We quickly told her that the passport stays with Daddy. Isn't her passport photo cute? She was only two when she got it for our Italy Trip in 2007.


Last night they left home and spent the night closer to the airport with Brett's parents. Then this morning, my sweet mother took them to the fly-away to LAX. Their flight left around noon today and I believe they are still in flight. Once they get to London, they have another flight over to Dublin before the real fun begins. Thanks to the cool iTouch we got for free when we bought our Mac, Brett should be able to access his email if he finds some free wi-fi spots along the way. So, starting tomorrow I just might start checking my email frequently.

I've made it through Day 1 of the separation...and I plan to keep busy for the other 9. I will be cleaning, organizing and doing the Girls' Room Makeover. I'm going to try to take a "Before" picture tomorrow before I start changing the room as Ella knows it. I really hope that it turns out to be a nice surprise for her when she returns. I've got lots of ideas floating around in my head and hope that my sister Jamie -- who is very artistic -- can help me realize them when she visits this weekend. If I have the time, I'll post pics as things progress!

Gettin' Ready

It's strange to think that in just one month's time, my "little" girl will be going on a European adventure without me. I'm excited for Brett and Ella and really hope that Ella is a trooper. I know enough about my daughter that if she is not happy, Daddy will not be happy. So, I'm doing my best so that we can keep her as happy as possible -- mainly keeping her warm, fed and rested throughout the rigorous schedule. This is what two of my favorite people have to look forward to:

• Day 1 - Overnight Flight to Dublin
• Day 2 - Arrive in Dublin, free time in the afternoon
• Day 3 - Sightsee in Dublin including St. Patrick's Cathedral, Kilmainham Gaol and the Temple Bar section.
• Day 4 - Cross the Irish Sea to Wales and travel through North Wales to the Lake District.
• Day 5 - Visit to the village of Grasmere and then travel on to Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Day 6 - Sightsee in Edinburgh including Edinburg Castle.
• Day 7 - Travel to Hadrian's Wall and continue on to York.
• Day 8 - Travel to London with a stop off at Windsor Castle
• Day 9 - Sightsee in London including St. Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament & Buckingham Palace
• Day 10 - Return home

So, how am I going to ensure that she is warm, well-fed and rested while I'm an ocean away? Well, I guess that is really going to be up to her Daddy, but right now I'm in the process of getting all the provisions. She needs a warm jacket, waterproof shoes, gloves and lots of layers. Also, she is going to need some snacks and special treats (aka bribery) - who knows if she'll like the food there? (I know that my brother didn't care for it when he went to Dublin.) As for rest, well, I'm not sure about that one. The girl still loves her naps and those may be in short supply during the whirlwind trip. So, I'm contemplating getting a new stroller for the adventure -- one that is lightweight and easy for my tall husband to push around. I think I might look for an old model Maclaren Volo. I've read lots of good things about those. Plus, Maclarens are British so I would assume that they would work on the streets of London!

I'll have to get myself ready emotionally to be away from the two of them for so long. The longest I've been apart from Ella has been 2 1/2 days when I was in the hospital having Lucie. I'm sure there will be some difficult moments, but I pray that it works out alright for all of us. Hopefully, we'll all get to go on the trip to Greece next year!

An Afternoon with Daddy

Brett returned last night from a training meeting in San Jose and mentioned that he wanted to take Ella out on Saturday to give me a break. The times I am not with her are few and far between. Although I didn't do much while they were gone, it was nice to be in a quiet house alone for a bit. About three hours after they left, I heard someone at the door. Expecting it to be Brett holding a sleeping Ella, I was shocked to see Ella standing there with her red sunglasses on strumming a kid-sized guitar with a HUGE smile on her face. It was one of the most precious sights I have ever seen -- I happily laughed for nearly 30 seconds straight while Ella continued playing.


Ella was so excited to bring her guitar home and play for Mommy. All she wanted to do was play AND sing. She made up her own words - it was hilarious. It was a bit difficult to drag her away from her guitar and put her down for her nap. She had a big afternoon with Daddy so she should have been tired. Not only did Ella go guitar shopping with Daddy but they also bought some kid history books, played at the park AND went out for lunch. It brought me so much joy to know that they had such a great time together.

UPDATE: After her nap, the first words out of Ella's mouth were: "Where's my guitar?"