Is it too late for me to 'grow into my feet?'

I've always had large feet - probably an American size 8 by the time I was 12. Does this seem odd for someone who is otherwise pretty petite? Yes. Despite my dad insisting they gave me a 'good foundation,' did I use to be embarrassed by these trotters? Yes. I am 5 foot 2 and have size 8.5/9 feet (UK 7). Flippers. Flat-footed flippers with no trace of an arch.

HOWEVER, as I've grown older, pretty much nothing embarrasses me (thanks kids) and I've come to love my feet. They've run a marathon, several halfs, and, with a little nail polish, they don't look half bad. Due to their sheer size, however, I cannot stop breaking my toes.

Yesterday afternoon was just the latest - I broke my pointer toe on my right foot tripping over the corner of the bed when I was tucking Freddie in. As I crumbled to the ground and tried not to swear, Freddie rushed over (he loves a good emergency) to see how I was. I got out the frozen peas, hobbled to the couch and iced my mangled toe on a few pillows.

Freddie pulled over the coffee table, put my water bottle on it, handed me a book about castles and put some rose petals he'd collected from the park in a train car on the table. He told me to call him if I needed anything, anything at all, and headed back down the hall to play with his truck.

You never know if they're grasping the concept of empathy but there it was. :)

Hello Elsie. 

Rhea

Rhea was a constant companion of Freddie's when we lived in Edinburgh. I met her mom, my friend Lisa, when we were both pregnant and did the same yoga class. I was thrilled to meet her and instantly thought she could become a good friend. Plus, we lived close to each other and she offered me a ride home after every class. So nice not to walk back to my flat on those pitch black Scottish nights.

Our kiddos were born exactly a month apart - Rhea on April 5th and Freddie on May 5th. They were babies who stared at each other during our coffee shop meet-ups, 10-month olds who crawled around together at the museum, 1 year-olds who toddled after one another in the park, 2-year olds who jumped up and down in each other's cribs and 3-year-olds who chased after each other and played hide-and-seek.

Rhea was an amazing little girl who we loved so much. We are talking about her daily and trying to remember all the fun times we had together instead of being sad. It's helped to look at pictures of them together - Freddie finds thinking about them as babies especially funny. She will always be synonymous with our time in Edinburgh - she (and her mom) certainly helped shape me as a parent. Lots of love to her whole family now and for the future.

Seaside 2015: Jam-packed days and anxiety dreams

A couple weeks ago we got to spend a week in Seaside, Oregon - the place I have been vacationing since I was an infant. It's a fantastic town, complete with a huge beach, delicious caramel corn and some interesting locals.

We had a GREAT time. Freddie and Elsie lived it up with their American cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. They built sand castle after sand castle, jumped the chilly Pacific Ocean waves and had one-on-one 'dates' with their parents to get giant ice cream cones. They even enjoyed the long car journey. "That was a great road trip!" said Freddie, covered in granola bar crumbs and nectarine residue, as we arrived.

I don't know if I'd say 'great,' but it wasn't too painful. I was expecting the 5+ hour car ride to be the most difficult part of the vacation (William got car sick, Elsie learned how to THROW toys precisely at Freddie's head and we listened to 'I've been working on the railroad' on repeat) but instead it was something else.

Ever since that New York Times article came out, I can't get the 'big one' out of my head. For those not in the Pacific Northwest, the 'big one' is a huge 9.0 earthquake that is due to happen in this area. Actually, it's OVERdue. And the worst hit spot? Seaside, Oregon.

Yes, I spent the week in Seaside having a blast with my kids and rest of the family but I also spent it very low on sleep. Every night I had horrible anxiety dreams about the earthquake, tsunami and how to get everyone out alive. I memorized evacuation routes, parked the car at the beach (3 blocks from the house) so we'd have a quicker method out if the tsunami hit (and the roads were drivable - unlikely), and carried the Ergo (baby carrier) everywhere in case I had to throw one kid into it and make a run for it. By the end of the week, I was a blurry-eyed mess.

The article was a real eye-opener, so for that I am grateful, but I was also happy when we drove past the 'Leaving Tsunami Hazard Zone' signs on the way home. I feel like I'm at a real dilemma here. Are we not supposed to go to Seaside ever again because of the risk? Should I just live in denial? Oh, and where should I store our disaster preparedness kit (yet to be packed) in case I store it in the part of the house that collapses and we can't even end up getting it out?

Whew. Let me know if you have any answers to those questions and, in the meantime, here are some pics of our holiday! :)

Camping with toddlers

Corina, Freddie, Ollie & Keeley - the 4 'big kids'

Some of my best vacay memories as a kid are from going camping. Good old-fashioned pitching a tent and cooking meals over the fire (and by fire I mean camping stove). We've gone camping twice this summer so far and it's been awesome! Not a ton of sleep but LOTS of laughs.

We've gotten over bathroom fears (of the automatic toilet flush - NOT going in the woods), tent tears (picture a double air mattress with Freddie squeezed between William and I) and the youngest two straight up eating dirt.

Here are some pics from our trip last weekend to Lake Easton, just over an hour from Seattle.

Couldn't believe her good luck!

Washing dishes at the spigot!

Tent time!

Elsie learns to climb...everything!

Smiley GG.

Fire ban means roasting mallows on the stove!

Cookin' up some breakfast.

Booster seat = only thing making Elsie sit still. 

Happy 4th! (aka the best time to be back in the USA)

Following the age-old phrase 'when in Rome,' we jumped right back into the swing of things today. What say you Brits? It's just an average ol' Saturday? Not here. It's Independence Day! A day to celebrate being finally free from those durn Redcoats. Here are our highlights (so far) from the holiday weekend:

1. William got yesterday off work. Woohooo! Long weekend! We celebrated with banana pancakes on our new pancake griddle. (That's right - we may not have our own house but we did buy a brand spanking new pancake griddle. Only the essentials.)
2. Flag shirts. If you do not wear red, white and blue on the 4th of July here you are by FAR the minority. Not only that - you're weird. It's simply a must. William and I sported his and hers flag shirts while the kids wore white shirts they spray painted with red and blue paint (genius idea by my sister Anna.) 
3. The parade. Americans really like to kick up their heels whenever they can. Halloween, St. Paddy's day (?!), a solo trip to the grocery story (you MUST treat yourself to a frappuccino) - whatever it is, it's time to go all out. On the 4th of July, every city, town, village and suburb has their own parade. Continuing the tradition of my childhood, we made a float (wagon) and the kids partook in the Edmonds 4th of July parade. One word: chaos. (See the stunned faces below). A delightful barbecue followed, complete with aunts, uncles, cousins and two kiddie pools.
4. Fireworks. I'm just assuming this will be a highlight because, let's face it, it always is. I plan on watching the Kenmore fireworks display (what up Log Boom) from the comfort of my parents' living room. Although, when Freddie and Elsie are old enough to make it past 8pm, we'll almost certainly head to Edmonds for their evening do. Can't beat that pre-fireworks dance party on the dusty park grounds. Hip hip hooray!

Living in the U.S.A.

Well, we've been stateside almost 2 months so I guess it's time for a Kay/Kearns family update! We arrived in Seattle on April 28th, with a well-rested Elsie (5 hours sleeping on William's lap on the plane), a semi-well-rested William (dozed with Elsie) and a very tired Freddie and I (spent most of the flight eating, drinking coffee and watching TV). We were met by 3 of my 4 siblings, waving American flags and welcome signs. What can I say, Americans are expressive! As always, it was a relief to get off the airplane and take a big breath of fresh air.

We continued on a sickness run (no, I haven't yet gotten past the chicken pox misery of March/April. Brutal!) and within a week of arriving I had mastitis and after another week William had mono and a bad throat infection. Thank heavens for antibiotics and lots of family around to help us rest! We are all (even Freddie after his recent fall off a rock/bloody head/trip to the ER) back to good health now, thank goodness!

We've been enjoying the Seattle summer, which apparently started in April this year! It has been hot and sunny pretty much every day since we've been here. We packed away the coats and snowsuits, gone through copious amounts of sunscreen, and Freddie has freckles. Adorable. He is suddenly so mature and capable (he'll be the first to tell you he's 3!). He climbs trees, dresses himself (even the sandals!) and can cruise on his balance bike and scooter. He looks after his little sis very well and loves sharing the new 'kids room' with her. They chat a bit before naps and bed and miss each other when the other one's not in there, too.

Elsie has followed in her climbing brother's footsteps and climbs up on toys, chairs, cushions, and anything else she can reach. She isn't saying much (other than the constant 'hiya' and 'hi' to her cousins, Nina, Grandpa and her favorite companion — Booter, my sister's dog) but she signs 'more' and 'all finished,' so can definitely still get her point across. Her volume has increased as well, which helps. :) Both Freddie and Elsie are beside themselves with excitement every time their cousins come over or we all meet up somewhere. Instant friends!

The job front has been amazing — William got a job within two weeks of us arriving (did the interview two days before he got mono) and he's really been enjoying it. I've been working with my sistahs (check out Cascadia Content for all your web copy/content needs) but despite being busy somehow William and I are spending more time together than recent years. Nice to have so many babysitters nearby!

We REALLY miss our friends and family across the pond. Hope you are all doing well and planning your Seattle holidays! ;)

"I wanna walk, I wanna walk!"

"...a mile in your shooooooooooes." Don't get the reference? Watch this. Fantastic version. Hands down the best song from my childhood. And that's saying a lot. It beat out 'Backwards Land' and 'Shapes, Shapes!' (NOT this insane techno version).

Whew, that was almost so annoying I couldn't keep writing.

Anyhoot - the point is.......Elsie is WALKING! She took her first couple of steps a few weeks ago and is starting to cruise more and more every day. She loves pushing the bee wheely bug at 100mph down the hall (sorry paint trim I just redid) and can walk pretty steady between the couch and the chair.

She's starting to give her brother a run for his money (pun intended) in the race for toys and it's hilarious to watch them chase each other around their room. She's Freddie's number one fan and boy does he know it. Despite the power struggle (this morning's must-have item? a rubber spatula), they are best friends. Freddie even instructs Els to say good night to him every afternoon before his nap. And, of course, she does it. So sweet!

Our amazing Elsie celebrated her 11 month old birthday last week. Happy Birthday little gal!

Look out! Here she comes.

She's obviously inherited her mother's crazy smile. 

Big kiddo!

Little maniac on the loose. :)