A Few Random Musings from an American in Oxford

We've had yet another holiday here in England that is not really celebrated.  Thursday was St. Patrick's day.  EC's school advised students to wear red on that day to support Red Nose Day.  I thought someone might have a problem with the dueling color scheme, but no one seemed to care about St. Patty's day.  Maybe the English don't love the Irish as much as Americans do on March 17.  I was explaining to one of my British friends that Americans use the holidays as a way to emotionally get through the winter.  Call us crazy commercializers, but we Americans love a holiday!!  You live and decorate your house from one holiday to the next.  England has not caught on to the joy that is cheap holiday decor from Target.
I have big hopes for Easter though.  Cadbury's had their creme eggs out the day after Christmas--no lie!  Hopefully we will see some big celebrations for Easter.  If not, I'll just add it to the pile of holidays that left me feeling cheated.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day were all a bust!
Some sort of spring is coming to England.  I can tell by the flowers blooming, but not really by the weather.  We had a few daffodils in February.  March has brought forsythia, cherry blossoms, lots of crocus, and other budding and blooming plants.  The days are getting longer--we no longer have to head home at 3:45 to avoid nightfall.  We've had a few really nice warmish days in the 50s.  Otherwise, it's not really spring break weather.  Here's an interesting fact:  We are not on what America calls, "Daylight Savings Time" and England calls, "British Summer Time" yet.  America has already sprung forward, but we won't until the last Sunday in March.
What have we been doing lately?
A:
A is talking a lot more suddenly.  He says a few key phrases such as, "Read book now" and "Another book now."  He will mimic anything you say, and he asks for a lot of things by name.  Every morning he demands his vitamins.  He is super skillful at the playground, and loves jumping and climbing things.  He gets very frustrated with himself if he can't do something, but he tries again until he gets it.  A is desiring his independence.  He wants to sit in a normal chair, eat off normal plates and use a normal fork.  He's actually quite good eating with his fork.  His diet continues to amaze me with the variety and quantity of food he eats.  He loves tomatoes and avocados drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  He loves zucchini, broccoli, salad, salmon...really anything he sees anyone else eating.  He still has a fiery personality and angry outbursts.  He doesn't want to share with anyone, especially his big sister.  He is just a little over a month away from his 2nd birthday!  Wow, this year has flown.  We love our little buddy, but he is a handful!
EC:
EC is very passionate about her dancing.  She puts on ballet performances for us almost every day.  She also adores art.  She loves to draw, write, and cut things out.  There is always a trail of paper, pens, scissors, and tape.  She is quite good, if I do say so.  She always notices the detail in any illustration.  She is doing great with her reading and writing.  Her penmanship is readable and pretty.  She writes pages and pages of stories in her own way, by sounding out words as she goes.  You have to think phonetically to read them, but she does very well.  We recently had a second parent-teacher conference with EC's teacher.  She had nothing but good things to say.  She said EC has really settled into the class and gets along well with everyone.  She is progressing very well in her reading, helps other kids, and is a burst of sunshine in the class every day.  EC never stops talking.  She will tell you all about her imaginary unicorn and Rainbow Land, and all the fairies and their different powers.  She will ask questions that don't make any sense.  You could never be bored with EC around!
Jones:
Jones has been plowing through his second of 3 terms here at Oxford.  He has exams next week.  He gets a long break after the exams, and we are looking forward to some visitors!  Our families are coming to visit us in April.  When Jones goes back to school in May, we will be traveling to Paris for a few days so Jones can play rugby in the MBA Tournament.  It's a really fun excuse to get everyone in Paris for 4 days.  We can't wait!
Bess:
I have been sick a lot the past month.  I had Strep throat twice.  Horrible does not even do justice to my experience.  Thank goodness Jones could take over kid duty so I could writhe around in bed with a high fever for days.  There's nothing like an illness to make you appreciate your heath!  I've been able to attend a few book clubs and bible studies and small groups in the meantime.  I have the best friends here in Oxford.  I'm so grateful for the people God has put in my life this year.

This is a picture I took of some amazing daffodils.  I think they just happened to grow like this.  So pretty!