Best Burgers Yet!

What a fabulous week! The weather here has been amazing, nobody was ill and Angus was enjoying his last week of family-time before work goes a bit crazy for a couple of months. If you look at your calendars you will see that last Sunday was the 4th July. A fairly irrelevant day for us Brits but here in the US it is their celebration of independence. When in America and all that, it would be rude not to join in the fun! I made a batch of proper American Chocolate Brownies (they were good but a little sweet, the recipe needs tweaking and then I will share it) which went down a treat with both Coco and Angus, they even got to lick the spoon!

We were very honoured to be invited to join some friends for their 4th July BBQ. It felt so good to go to someones house and be part of some family and friend time. We were made so welcome and met some lovely people. Hopefully, I even managed to get a play date for Coco and a game of tennis or two for myself! The day finished in true 4th July style with a magnificent firework display over Newport Harbour. By this point I was actually wishing I was American! I love the fact they have so much pride in  their heritage and their country. "God bless America" is all I have to say!

The rest of the week has been filled with more swimming lessons (still a big hit), fitness classes, walks along Ocean Drive and Angus and I managed to get a proper night out. Yes, babysitter and all - I felt very grown up organizing a babysitter. We got all glammed up, I even wore a dress for the first time in goodness knows how long and I swapped my usual satchel-like handbag, which I rely on for all the paraphernalia that goes with being out and about with a baby, for a dinky little black number. The babysitter was on time, Coco went down like a dream and we hit the town! Our evening started at 40 Degrees North where we enjoyed the sunset whilst sipping Bellini's (no talk of children whatsoever) and then we moved on to a restaurant called 22 Bowens for dinner. OMG - probably one of the best meals I have had for a very long time. Mouthwatering steak with wild mushrooms and a leek mash. Simple but completely divine. The wine was equally amazing and we made it to probably about two thirds of the way through the main course before we even mentioned Coco. Not that we don't completely adore her but having an evening that was just about the two of us was pretty special. It did nearly break the bank but it was definitely worth it.

A quick Coco update though, I have one word for you - stairs. She has discovered them. Having previously paid them very little attention, on Monday morning she ventured in that direction and the next thing we knew she was half way up to the second floor. First time, straight to the top without hesitation. Then, of course, they were the best toy in the house. With an open-plan living space, there was no way of shutting her off from them so we have had to purchase a cage! Now she stands and looks forlornly at what was once such fun.

Yesterday, we shot straight off after work to our new favourite place - Gooseberry Beach. It is along Ocean Drive and enjoys still, calm waters thanks to natural rock breakers jutting out from the edge of the bay. There are gentle sand dunes with the impressive Newport Mansions as a backdrop. It really is pretty special. With picnic, brolly, swimmers and lots of suncream we enjoyed and idyllic couple of hours together before heading home to bed. Well, bed for Coco, run and Uncle Gabes for a BBQ for Angus and I. (The running is going well by the way, we are a bit stuck on two miles so need to start increasing our distance this week.)

Last night was the night I was going to go for the new and improved burger recipe. You may remember my being slightly put out that Donnie's burgers put mine to shame, but he had talked me through his methods so last night I gave them a go. All I can say is success! And - SO easy! None of this herbs, onion and egg that I had done previously, this is just pure meat. Good ground sirloin beef, salt and pepper. Go for quite a generous size and then really beat them into shape. I mean really hammer them. I didn't season them quite enough but they were still awesome. Thank you Donnie.

Goodness Gracious...

... What a day! I am surrounded by sick people - literally. There is some sort of stomach bug going around our house. Coco had it at the beginning of the week but it seems to have come back again today and now Angus has gone down with it too. I'm not sure how many more sheets and pyjamas I can change. Just imagine if the washing machine decided to throw in the towel now?! I would be literally drowning in puke - what a lovely thought.

All is quite upstairs for the time being and both the patients seem settled. Angus is in the bath and Coco has gone to sleep, at last. It has taken two hours to settle her! That is just unheard of for her, usually you put her to bed, walk away and don't hear a peep from her until morning. Poor little thing just seemed so distressed. Lets hope that it is a healing night and everyone will wake up feeling as right as rain in the morning. I have everything crossed.

By the way, I decided to go Mac and I love it. The problem is there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to play with all the things I want to play with. iPhoto and iMovie look brilliant and I am itching to start experimenting with them but feel like I need a good few hours to really get going and it seems so anti-social. Maybe it will have to wait until Angus is next away and then me being a complete recluse in the evenings won't matter at all.

Our movie fest is going well. Since I last updated we have watched 'American Gangster' - absolutely brilliant, if you haven't seen it you must. 'Seven Pounds' - I quite liked this but Angus wasn't so keen. I don't think it needed to be quite so obscure, if they had revealed a little more before the end it wouldn't have been detrimental to the finale, in fact it would have improved it. Finally, 'It's Complicated' which I had heard was disappointing but we both laughed a lot and I do just love Meryl Streep. 

We've had a slack few days with our running programme although, to be fair, it hasn't really been our fault. We did a really good 2.2 miler on Monday and both felt like there was a huge improvement but then Angus had a bad foot on Tuesday and I did a rubbish run on my own. Rest day yesterday and then sickness today so we've gone off schedule a bit. Hopefully we'll get back on track when everyone is fit and well. I did manage to do a wardrobe clear out today though and check out the pile of clothes heading to the charity shop because they are too big!

Congratulations to Rich, Lush and Jemima on their new addition - we were all so excited to hear of the arrival of baby Joshua.

I really am a Mummy!

It feels like it is the most bizarre things that really make me feel like I am a Mummy. Not the things you'd expect like feeding times or nappy changing but those more random tasks. Angus and I were talking about it the other day and one of the things that we both agree is a real 'parent moment' is that ten minutes after bed time when you come downstairs, tidy all the toys away, clear up the tea things, put the dirty clothes in the laundry etc. It is the same routine pretty much everyday and it is literally just a few minutes of your day when you make the transition from family time to grown-up time and somehow it just defines being a parent.

I had another of these moments yesterday when I had to get Coco ready for nursery. It was her first day and a momentous occasion in itself but it was when I was standing with my permanent marker in hand writing 'Coco' on her snack box, beaker, bib and bag that I suddenly realised I was a Mummy!

Coco had the most amazing first nursery experience. She was only there for an hour and a half but she completely loved it. She's going to go three times a week now, just for a couple of hours, but she is such a sociable little thing that I think she will thrive being able to be with other children for a while. Plus, it gives me some time out! Yesterday I took the opportunity to do a 3-2-1 Shred exercise class. All I can say is OMG! I have NEVER hurt so much in my life... and still do! What a killer, I think I will opt for something a little gentler next time.

The weather is still beautiful and we were honored to be invited to the boats dock BBQ yesterday afternoon with the best homemade burgers I think I have ever tasted. I had thought that I was the queen of homemade burgers but I definitely have to hand the mantel over to Donnie - mine aren't a patch on his. He has given me his recipe though so I will have to try and replicate them at our next BBQ.

Looking forward to a sunny weekend with my delicious little family xx

To Mac or not to Mac?

I need a new laptop fairly urgently. Mine keeps crashing, takes forever to do anything, mouse pad seizes up all the time and can take up to six or seven times to get started in the mornings. So, the question is do I take the opportunity to go over to Mac? I love my iPhone and find it so simple to use so have faith in Apple products, it just feels like a big change!

Great day yesterday, Coco had her first swimming lesson. She has been swimming loads and is very confident in the water but I didn't have a clue how to move on from bobbing around with her in front of me. Yesterday we did loads of games, used floatation aids and even started teaching them to kick and doggy paddle. It was amazing. She had a complete blast laughing and splashing her way through the whole half hour.

We were finished in time to make it to the boat for the second half of the footie. All I have to say is... phew! We looked so much better than previous matches but I am still very nervous about Sunday.

A rest day from running yesterday but back to it today. Both Angus and I are really enjoying it so far - long may it continue. We made the most of our evening off and the gorgeous weather and sat out in our 'yard', eating, drinking (Angus on wine, me on water as I am still on this ridiculous diet) and watching the sun go down. Another brilliant movie this evening - An Education - well worth a watch. (Thanks for the recommendation Mums and Lot.)

Having Too Much Fun!

I have simply been too busy to sit for even 15 minutes at my computer to blog - and my computer is playing up but that's a whole other story - or keep in touch with anyone properly. Sorry everyone at home, I have been very slack but will do my best to improve.

Still no real joy on the local friend front but there is time and I am hopeful. However, I seem to be discovering things to do all of the time. I won't dwell on Friday too much, lets just say pub, football (boo), home for drinks with friends (yay) and then an evening in with a gorgeous supper and Coco Before Channel. For those who haven't seen it, you must. I loved it. It is a heart wrenching story and beautiful to watch and, of course, features another Coco! I am on a film mission at the moment. I have joined Blockbuster and DVD rental is cheap here so I am going to make my way through all of those films I have been meaning to see for ages. I have even made a list! The others I watched last week were Rachel's Getting Married - good, interesting to see Anne Hathaway in a more gritty role and The Gift - not so good. Kind of enjoyed it and kind of got spooked but we guessed the ending quite early on. Was expecting better from a pretty good cast.

Saturday was fun, the weather was superb and spent the morning hanging with my brother before packing up a picnic and going to watch the polo in the afternoon. I have always wanted to go to a polo match and haven't done it yet in the UK but I am so glad I went here. It did feel extremely English and very bizarre hearing American accents all around us. The American's sure know how to 'do' outdoor events though. The picnic / BBQ spreads we saw were truly awesome.

From the polo, Coco and I drove to the airport to pick up Angus. It is lovely to have him home and he passed his Celestial Navigation with flying colours, what a clever chap he is.

I am so pleased that Angus was home to celebrate his first Fathers Day with Coco. She obviously spoiled him rotten giving him a lie-in, cooking banana muffins for breakfast, buying him his favorite chocolate and taking him for a ocean walk in Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge (a good find - great walking right around the shoreline).

This week it is back to normal, Angus back to work, Coco and I doing our thing - we have joined a gym, signed up for swimming lessons and joined the library so we're getting there. But most importantly, our fitness regime started this week. Angus and I have signed up to run the Eden Project Half Marathon on 10th October which gives us about 16 weeks to get 13-mile fit! Arrgghh! We did our first run together yesterday and we were both pleasantly surprised at how well it went. OK, so it was only 1.3 miles, but a good 1.3 miles! Watch this space for our ongoing improvement.

Finally, any film recommendations would be gratefully received.

Where are the other Mommy's?

I am full of burger and the baby is sound asleep so I am taking advantage of the peace and quiet to have some blogging time.

Having had a disappointing morning I am feeling a lot more buoyant after a lovely lunch with a friend. You see the friend thing was what was so disappointing about my morning. After yesterday's 'Momless Mom Meet-Up I set out today to go to the Baby Gym having been reliably informed that takes place on Monday's and Thursday's and you just turn up and pay. On arrival I discovered that actually it only runs from October to May! This is no good to me - I need things to do in exactly the few months it is closed. Anyway, I was determined not to be defeated and having spotted a group of Mums with babies heading into the library, I followed. Does this sound too stalkerish?

The library looked promising - a handful of women with children roughly Coco's age were sitting playing and chatting in the children's area. I confidently plonked Coco on the floor and started finding books for her and pretty soon the opportunity arose for me to strike up conversation. You know the kind of thing; "How old is your child?", "He's so cute", bla bla bla and then I jumped in with, "So I'm new in town and do you know of any baby groups in the area?". I thought this was fairly inoffensive and tame but your should have seen everyone shut down! It was bizarre! Feeling fairly disheartened I brought my friend search to an end for the day, how on earth do you meet people in this town? Thank goodness for a lovely lunch arrangement to help make me feel a little less of a Norman-no-mates.

Quick question - Coco has taken to throwing all of her food off her high-chair tray straight onto the floor - literally every bit of finger food she is given - any suggestions on how to stop it? It is driving me mad! She is much better today by the way. No temperatures so far, no Calpol and seems back to her old self. Good news for everyone.

We're Back!

Hello All,
We are back after a brief trip home (it probably seemed more brief than it actually was), but we're on the move again and experiencing yet more new parts of the world. This time we are based in Newport, Rhode Island,USA. Other than passing through for literally 24 hours last year, this is a first for me and so far so good.

The flight out was complete luxury for no other reason that the fact there was an extra pair of hands - thank you for coming along Mums.

I was a bit nervous about our home for the summer, I had made a decision based on a few photos which had made the place look tiny, so it was a huge relief to discover that the house is actually gorgeous. It is small, but not as small as expected, and it is clean, comfortable, well equipped, beautifully decorated and generally an overall lovely place to be. Angus and I have an ongoing competition to see who manages to find the best accommodation - I didn't think I was going to beat the brilliant Antigua house that he found us but this certainly gives it a run for its money. So one all me thinks.

Our first week was a bit of a tourist gaunt and we enjoyed having Mum with us to do some sight-seeing. In just a week we fitted in Nantucket (my best day yet - beautiful island and has made me want to read Moby Dick), Boston and Newport. Not only that but we ate lobster, clam chowder and drank cocktails watching the sun go down over Newport Harbour... life is tough I tell you!

This week has been much more normal. Angus is off doing his Celestial Navigation course so we are trying to find our feet and get settled for the summer. Our calendar is filling up with 'Moms Groups', Baby Gym, Playgroup and swimming. I might even fit in a bit of spinning for myself and, oh yes, work!

I went to a 'Moms Meet-up' this morning. Excited about meeting some new people I set out early only to get there and find no other Mums, um, there is something wrong there. It did however lead me to discover the delightful village of Wickford. An old (by American standards) harbour town with leafy streets lined with traditional clapper-board houses that include the epitome of Americaness - a front porch! Some even had rocking chairs on them! Coco and I sat and enjoyed a cup of tea in the sunshine on the waterfront whilst watching the world go by. Not quite the Mummy friend making I was expecting but lovely nevertheless. 

Unfortunately, by the time we got home Coco's temperature had soared again, it has been a problem for the last couple of days, high temperature after 3pm. Poor thing. I think it might be time to see a doctor, just for peace of mind.

My mantra for the next few days is 'I will blog, I will blog, I will blog', hopefully making regular updates part of our daily routine or at least a few times a week. So on that note... speak soon!