Benjamin Update

Well, Benjamin is growing like a weed. Although I don't know his exact stats, I do know that he has outgrown many of his clothes! He is almost sitting up on his own, though he still hates being on his tummy. As you can see from the picture, his has a new favorite toy. It seems silly to talk about "Santa" when the thing he's interested in most is attached to him. Ben is also enjoying table food. So far he has eaten everything I have given him so maybe he won't be a picky eater.

Christmas Draw

Last Friday, Joe and I went to the “Christmas Draw” at the Officer’s Mess. It was an absolute blast and has spoiled us for all future USAF “holiday functions.” (Heaven forbid they actually say Christmas.)

First off, a bus picked us up in Ely. No endless speeches about “having a plan” or forcing people to be DDs. Just get on the bus and we will bring your drunk butt home later. Brilliant!

When we got off the bus, Santa and his elves were there to greet us, along with two actual reindeer! The one posing with us is called “Comet.” Isn’t he cute!

As we walked into the mess, carol singers were singing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Unfortunately, this is where I lost Joe. He stayed outside to sing “O, Come All Ye Faithful.” I am sure he would have stayed out there all night if I had not gone to fetch him, but I digress…

Anyway, the foyer was filled with people all dressed in their finest black tie apparel. Waiters circled about with glasses of champagne and a variety of appetizers. On each side of the room, there was a cooler of beer and hard cider, free of charge. Now this is a party!

Then, we went to the dining room for dinner. Dinner was Beef Wellington with potatoes and vegetables. It was actually quite good, but the interesting part was how they served in. Rather than bringing out plates ready to go with the food already on them, they sat the plates on the tables and then a waiter came around with platters of meat and vegetables. Also interesting was the fact that there were no rolls or water on the table; just plenty of red and white wine. No point in even trying to stay sober.

After dinner, we went into a room that was strictly for coffee, liqueurs, and mince pies. My favorite! In fact, my favorite part of the evening was when I set my empty coffee cup down on a table, and when I looked again someone had replaced it with a platter of mince pies. I am pretty sure heaven has a room like that also.

In another room (there appear to be many), there was a chocolate fountain and casino games. Joe said that the games actually weren’t all that great, but I don’t know because I was too busy making myself sick on white chocolate. At one point, Joe came over with his squadron commander. He was going to introduce me to his wife, but then they realized that we were already standing next to each other at the fountain. Nothing brings women together like an opportunity to fatten themselves up.

Joe and I moved on to yet another room, where a cover band was playing and people were dancing. At some point, they stopped and all the women gathered in the middle of the dance floor. Balloons were released and the women scrambled over each other to pop balloons. Some of the balloons had big prizes inside. It was like being at a wedding where the girls actually want to catch the bouquet.

All in all, it was a fantastic night. I had not had fun like that in a long time. Fortunately, I won’t have to wait too long. Apparently, there is a Summer Ball, which is just as fun as the Christmas one…except that they bring bumper cars and mechanical bulls.

Happy Plate!

As it turns out, Benjamin eats a lot better when he enjoys the taste of what he is eating. The other day, I was eating Spinach and Mushroom soup and decided to give him a taste. He loved it! So today I gave him sweet potatoes. As you can see, he ate the whole thing.

Going Out and About with Benjamin

One thing I love about Ely is how unbelievably kid-friendly it is. As a stay-at-home mom, I must get out of the house on a frequent basis, and Ely has so many activities for the “under-5s.” There is Baby Sign classes, Baby Yoga (which is literally adjacent to my house), Nursery Play Dance, etc. It is a great place for young mums…and the kids too I suppose.

This morning, we made our first appearance at the Edward Bear Club. The class is held at the Cathedral Centre, which is a stone’s throw away from our house. (It is also free!) The EBC is a Christian based playgroup where children 0-5 can sing songs and hear Bible stories from the four lovely old ladies who run the group. Today was the first time Benjamin heard the story of Christmas and I thought that was quite special. (The story was told from the view of the donkey that carried Mary. Too cute!)

Afterwards, the mums and children had refreshments and socialized. The lovely ladies made sure that all of the mums had coffee and mums made sure that all of the children had biscuits. (Biscuits are cookies. I ate Ben’s for him.) The mums were pretty friendly and I had a great time. I even met a fellow American. No, she’s not connected with the base. She simply came over here to go to school, met a nice Englishman and never left. She told me that there are a ton of Americans who live near the hospital so if you need a fix of home, you just go to the “American Playground.”

Benjamin and I have also become regulars at Baby Rhymetime, which is held at the public library. The class is ran by a very dedicated librarian who always reminds the mums to take the baby board books on our way out. It is a very large class of about 30 mums and babies. We sing songs and nursery rhymes to the children for about half an hour. This group is not as friendly as the Edward Bear Club, but I attribute that to the size of the group. I think in smaller groups you are forced to acknowledge someone else’s existence, but with a large group, it seems perfectly acceptable to ignore people. (Sorry for the analysis, but I suppose I have to do something with that Sociology degree I worked so hard to get.)

Anyway, I must say that Baby Rhymetime has been educational for me as well as Ben. Now, I am well versed in English nursery rhymes, such as “The Grand Old Duke of York.” I was also quite interested to learn that “The Wheels on the Bus” has different words here. The wheels on the bus go round and round “all day long” instead of “all through the town” as they do in America. (There goes that brilliant mind again!)

Poor Baby B...and Mummy Marsha too!

Well, it is a well-known fact among military wives that if something is going to go wrong, it will happen while your husband is off “defending democracy.” Of course, why should I be any different? Yesterday morning started fairly normally. Ben woke up about 7:30. I fed him and we played. The baby and I both decided to take a nap while Joe got ready for his trip to the west coast. (He’ll be gone for about 3 days for his water survival training. Really, this is a very minor TDY. What could possibly happen?) Joe said good-bye and left for the train station. I offered to drive him, but he declined. I wish he had let me.

Not more than 15 minutes after Joe walked out the door, I set Ben on the chair to watch cartoons. I ran upstairs to simply brush my teeth and change into something more appropriate. My goal was to make it to church. (Those of you with children can see where this is going.) I had barely picked up my toothbrush when I heard BOOM, then the unmistakable sound of my son screaming. He had fallen down and was laying flat on his back on the hardwood floor. This was not happening.

Fighting the urge to cry, I picked him up to soothe him and dialed the on-call nurse line. He appeared not to be truly hurt, but I wanted to know what to look for. I was also hoping to hear a soothing voice say that it happens all the time. I wanted to hear someone tell me that I was not the worst mother in the world.

Her advice: Go to the emergency room. No words of comfort; just go ahead and drive 30 minutes through the narrowest roads imaginable and wait for who knows how long. By now, Benjamin had stopped crying and seemed to be okay. However, I knew that every time he got fussy I would wonder if he was all right. I grabbed his diaper bag and a few snacks for me and off we went.

Fortunately, the ER was not as bad as I expected. (I think God was trying to give me a break since I had had all good intentions of making it to church.) We were in and out of there in under an hour. Benjamin laughed and smiled at the staff. To be honest, the thought crossed my mind that it was probably a terrible idea to bring him to the ER since it put him in contact with all kinds of contagious people.

Well, lesson learned. My son is no longer a motionless blob, and I cannot afford to take me eyes off him. He has propelled himself off the sofa and survived. My little man is growing up.

Benjamin at 4 months

Well, it's hard to believe that it has been 4 whole months since Ben has come into our lives. Yesterday, Joe and I took him to the pediatrician for his 4-month well baby check-up. As you can tell by the picture, he loves to stand up. He is learning to sit nicely also. He can't quite do it without support yet, but I know it's just a matter of time.

He weighed in at 15 lb and 3 oz and is 25 inches long. Ben was so happy and playful for the doctor. Unfortunately, he had to get his shots too, so he was cranky for the rest of the day.

Salutations!

Greetings everyone! Rather than send out a series of large e-mails, I have decided to share our adventures in this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Well, the Howell family has found home in the lovely city of Ely. The city is well known for its beautiful cathedral, which is about 900 years-old. It is a charming place to live with many things to enjoy.

After a rigourous housing search, Joe and I settled on The Coach House (yes, the house has a name). Nestled near the cathedral is an old manor house called The Chantry. Well, we live behind it on Chantry Lane in what used to be the old coach house for The Chantry. The house was recently remodeled and feels warm and cozy. While technically a four bedroom house, the house is much smaller than our old home in Pikeville so Joe and I are having to get creative. The parking situation also requires a bit of finesse. In order to get to our house, you turn into a tight alley barely wider than our car, then you make a 90 degree turn into another alley only slightly wider than the first. Chantry Lane looks like someone paved it 25 years ago and then forgot all about it.

But England has been very fun so far. Everyone's favorite pub, The Minster, is 70 paces from our door. (70 Joe-sized paces, so a little further for me.) Most of the pubs allow children until a certain time. Apparently, it is not taboo to have your baby in a bar. Wednesday night we went to the Thanksgiving service at the cathedral, and tonight, we went to the live nativity and lighting of the Christmas lights in the city center. It was like a carnival with rides and fun booths to look at. The whole scene made me wish Benjamin was a little older so he could enjoy it. However, I probably enjoyed mince pie and mulled wine more since I did not have to chase him around.

Well, I will try to keep this updated regularly. Now I have to figure out how to post pictures so the grandparents will leave me be.