The main updates: Big Munchkin is fine. Her rush has pretty much disappeared. Little Munchkin is rolling all over the place. He also started laughing properly. He loves playing peek-a-boo. He does absolutely fantastic giggle when you play it with him. We spent weekend without going anywhere. Did some of the packing, some of the shopping. One day we went out in the evening. We were not planning to, but some friends called us and the babysitter was available. Little Munchkin went to sleep like a good boy and Big Munchkin got to watch unlimited Sesame Street, which she did nearly till midnight. It was really nice to get out. We really ought to do this more often.

Big Munchkin's daycare is officially closed now. Today was her last day there. I don't think she really understood that she is not going there ever again. Last week they gave her development report to me. It makes pretty interesting read. Apparently my child is "always willing to help to tidy up after activities and mealtimes". Surprise to me ... "She likes to point things when she notices them,for example, she said 'not sleeping' when a child was staying awake at nap time". Apparently, Big Munchkin likes to tell on others ... mmm.... "She often instructs her peers by saying things like: 'wash your hands'". She likes to boss others around. That's my munchkin! The report is very good overall. Her nursery key worker though that Big Munchkin is a very bright girl and a quick learner. I have been feeling pretty good about it. I am not feeling good about that nursery closing down. I just hope that the new nursery will be as stimulating for Big Munchkin as the old one was.

I've been having more of medically active days. Last Saturday Big Munchkin developed a rush on her back. On Sunday it got a lot worse. On Monday I took her to the health centre, where a GP told us that it looks like an allergic reaction on a plant or an insect bite, possibly of a caterpillar. The next day the red rush has spread on her face. When I went back to the health centre, we were promptly sent to the emergency department of our local hospital. Fortunately, the emergency department was pretty much empty, so we got a first class service. After being checked out by two different specialists, we were told that it is very unlikely that she has a meningitis and it does look like a heat rush. Big Munchkin feels fine. She is all happy usual self. I am stressed as hell. Being told that they were suspecting meningitis and did not tell me anything was not particularly pleasant. She really does not look in any way ill. Hopefully her rush will begin to subside before our flight to India. In any case, I am getting both kids check out by pediatrician and dermatologist once we get there. I am also planning on getting a full physical for myself and my husband and I am planning on visiting a few specialists while I am there. Health care in India in my experience is better than it is in the UK and on par with Canada.

London has been impossibly hot in the past few days. I can't believe that I am looking forward to going to India because it will be cooler there. Not least because our house there is partially air-conditioned. I am really looking forward to giving the kids to grandparents, sitting in my air conditioned room with my laptop connected to the wireless broadband, opening the door once in a while for a delivery of chai and vadas. One week to go.

Today's plan was to go to Dover Castle. By the time we got out of the house it was already well after 10. The highway was jam packed. Little Munchkin decided that he did not like a slow drive and began to cry. We gave up and took a first exit off the highway and found a sign for a heritage building right at the first roundabout. We decided to check it out and, unexpectedly, found Hall Place and Gardens. After that we had a simply lovely day. Hall House is a nice old building with a big and very well maintained gardens and a free admission. We walked around for a little while and then settled for a nice picnic under a huge ancient maple. The weather had cooperated. The night before it was pouring, but the ground in the garden was dry. Sun was shining and birds were singing. Overall, lovely, lovely day.

On a funny note, the elevator in the House had a sign proclaiming that its maximum capacity is 2 people. I was rather concerned whether it can handle two adults, two kids and a stroller ... until I noticed a line "A maximum weight of 300 kg". Based on that line the builders are expecting to see adults of 150 kg each using that elevator. I still have some space to grow ...

I've been busy this week. The main news is that we ARE going to India. We are leaving on August 3rd and return on August 24th. We might stay a bit longer depending on how we feel about staying longer, availability of tickets, state of my husbands work affairs, etc ... Last Tuesday I had to go to the Indian High Commission in London to get our visas. Though very hot, crowded and uncomfortable, the Indian High Commission in London is still the least bureaucratic and the most efficient of all (four) Indian High Commissions I have encountered in my life. They hardly asked any questions and had our visas done in just over an hour. Although I returned very stressed and tired I am still very glad our visas were done in only one visit to the High Commission.

This week has been particularly hard because of continuing heat wave in the UK. It is very, very hot. So far, the temperatures beat all prior records for July and well on the way of beating all prior records. To make matters hardly any places have air conditioning. None of the houses do. I am looking forward going to India where we, at least, have air conditioning in all bedroom. Our house in London is absolutely sweltering. Because of the heat I have not been able to go to a playground this week. Big Munchkin had to survive on our little backyard sandbox. I also turned the lead of the sandbox into a very small paddling pool.

I signed up Big Munchkin for a gymnastic class. Now there is only her swimming class needs to be finalised. The sign up day is August 3rd, right before our departure to India. Hopefully, I can manage to get that done before we leave. She is really ready to learn proper swimming. If not, she can always continue going for Sunday morning swim with her father.

Today we went for a long awaited and much hyped up party organized by Nick Jr - a TV channel for kids. As with many other things in London the main ingredient of this event was hot air. The party was free but ticketed and was advertised as the hottest event of the year for toddlers - a must thing to do if you are a good parent. Trying to be a good parent I managed to get on-line at exactly the right time and reserve much sought after tickets. As usual, the reality is quite a long way from the hype. It was not a bad party, but it was definitely not worth a nearly two hour drive across the city, all the way to Gunnersbury Park. It can be best described as nothing special. Needless to say, we are not going to repeat this trek next year. Big Munchkin would have been as (if not more) happy to spend that time in a sandbox in a local playground.

This week I went to see another house. It was advertised as a charming Victorian three bedroom house with plenty of original features in need of freshening up. Reality - build in 1830-es, two bedroom house. The people who lived there about haft a century ago, judging by the style and state of the bathroom, converted one of the bedroom into the bathroom to make a what I would consider a normal size bathroom. The agent suggested that it could be easily converted back into a miniature bathroom and a box room. The most notable original feature was an outside toilet. It has been awhile since I saw one. In addition I discovered another ghetto where I don't want to live. For all this 'charming' house the asking price is 'only' 250 thousand pounds. Am I the only person who thinks that there is something wrong with this country?

On the family front, Little Munchkin began to roll couple of days ago. He now rolls consistently from back to front and sometimes from front to back. I can't leave him now anywhere. As I wrote earlier I signed him up for Kindermusic class on Mondays. Unfortunately, this classes are not going to continue 'due to financial considerations'. Basically, the teacher can't make the ends meet with what she is making out of this classes. Fortunately, I finally made it to the local library for their Baby Bounce class, and it is fantastic. The people doing it are full of energy. The songs, they do, are just right. I am sure Big Munchkin would love those classes as well, and they are free. I'll take her after her nursery closes down in August.

Big Munchkin's dance class is going OK. She is still following instructions very rarely. The only time you can count on her cooperation is when it comes to getting a sticker ('Well Done' or 'Super') at the end of the class. But she is getting used to it. After all, she is one of the youngest. I will find out on Monday if there is a place in a Gymnastics class for her.

Tonight we got a babysitter, abandoned out kids and when out to a nearby pub for an early dinner. It was so nice to be out by ourselves. Last time we went out was when my mom was here at the end of April. We were out for only two hours and the kids were fine. We might do it again next week.

Saturday was another good day. Earlier in the morning we drove to Stonehenge. The place was really busy with hundreds of people walking around the stones. It was a bit of a disappointment. I expected a lot more of commercialization of the site. At least, I expected a playground, a restaurant, and a picnic spot. There were none. Essentially, Stonehenge is a bunch of stones standing in the middle of a field. Not worth nearly three hour drive from London.


On the way back we decided to make a slight detour and go to Windsor. That place is great. I loved it. The palace is huge and beautiful, but the town around is even better with lots of little cafes and restaurants and little shops. It is definitely a place I would like to come back. Walking around the Windsor Castle I could not help feeling a bit resentful. Places like this should be owned by the state and not by the royal family. What did they do to deserve it? This Castle is a testament of all the looting the British Empire did around the world. The next time we would skip the Castle, as it is not a value for money, and just hang around the town. In the evening we dropped in to see a friend and got into a drinking party. Since we weren't interested in drinking or watching football, we have left just after dinner even before some guests have arrived. Both kids behaves surprisingly well the whole day.

Sunday has begun like a good day. After having Russian pancakes (blini) for breakfast, my husband took Big Munchkin for a swim early in the morning. After that we went to town where we were supposed to meet some friends for dim sum. Of course after very late night drinking party the day before they were late by an hour and a half. My biggest problem with most of our friends in London centers around their complete luck of understanding of issues associated with having kids. I can't be angry with them as I understand that they don't do it on purpose. They are not being purposefully inconsiderate. They really just don't understand. They really can't understand until they have their own kids. Nevertheless, I find it very upsetting. We plan all our outings around Big and Little Munchkins mealtimes and nap times. Routine is important as any serious changes result is crying and crankiness. The guys whom we were supposed to meet for lunch were by over an hour late. Big Munchkin went to sleep in her stroller before having lunch, she did not sleep long enough and was incredibly winy and cranky till evening. Little Munchnkin got his milk late and did not go for his nap on time. My husband ended up feeding him at the restaurant and missing most of his own meal. For the rest of the time at the restorant Little Munchkin was screaming his head off.

There is a very good Chinese restaurant, Imperial China, in London with a changing table, with lots of parking space for a stroller, a high chair, and big tables. Jade Garden is very crammed, but that is the place our friends chose for lunch. When we arrived we found that our friends got a table on the second floor, within a smoking zone, and with half number of seats than the number of people. What were they thinking?! It was loud, hot, and crammed. We had to carry our double stroller on to the second floor where there was no place to park it properly. Big Munchkin was wining the whole time and the Little Munchkin was crying. Needless to say, we did not have a good time. After the restaurant we decided to split and to try to salvage the leftover of the day, but it was too late. With change of the routine both Munchkins were not happy and they shared their mood freely. On the positive note, since neither of them had much sleep during the day, they went to sleep pretty early, giving me a change to clean up and write this update.

I had a near accident today. Still feel very stressed about it. To put it simply, I turned into the wrong lane. I was driving as usual with two screeming children in a car. Stopped on a red light and when the light turned green I turned left ... into the wrong lane, which would have been the right lane if I was driving in Canada, but I am not in Canada any more. Fortunately, I reacted very fast when faced with a row of cars and swiveled back into my own lane, but it was a near miss. I am still shaking a bit. I just began to feel more comfortable about driving and I nearly had an accident. I hope the cameras on the intersection are not designed to catch idiots who are trying to turn into the wrong lane. The last thing I need is a ticket and few points on my licence.

It is very hot again. I can't even take Big Munchkin to a playground. She kept asking for 'more slide', ' more sandbox' and 'more ground' today, but it is just too hot. On Sunday we went to the zoo with some friends. The only crazy animals there were people and camels. All others had gone into hiding. Still Big Munchkin liked running around. Next weekend we are thinking of going to Stonehenge. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

We checked out two more houses on Monday. Again, we were disappointed. I am seeing another one tomorrow. I am taking both kids with me. There is no better way of testing a house than to take both munchkins for a tour.

We've been very busy today viewing potential houses. At the end the only thing we have achieved is the elimination of two areas of the house search altogether. There is no way we are living anywhere in Kidbrooke or in a part of Forest Hill that we visited today. I still remain hopeful of the part of Forest Hill close to Dulwich, but the other part is a ghetto and so is Kidbrooke. The social environment is very important factor in any child's life and my children will not be growing up in those places. The cost of housing in London is very distressing. Quoter of million pounds buys you a very nice house in Toronto. In London it buys you a dingy three bedroom in a ghetto. We are viewing another two houses on Monday. I have high hopes for that area, but till now my high hopes we consistently quashed.

On additional negative note, my loving husband drove over my foot. By some sheer luck, it does not appear to be broken, only severely swollen. I'll see how it feels tomorrow. In any case, he is not going to hear the end of it for years to come.