Pregnant Thoughts

The last time I wrote for this blog I was 4 weeks pregnant and didn't know it yet. I am now 6 months pregnant and staring down the third trimester. Starting 6 months ago, my feelings about pregnancy were ranging from being shocked, to excited, to anxious, to excited, to panicked, to excited, to panicked again (notice the theme) and now I am just impatient. There is an awful lot of build up to the "biggest change of your life". You hear a lot of comments like "Better get your sleep now!" or "It will change your life" or "Have your fun now, it's all going to come to an end soon". Encouraging. And unlike planning for your wedding (which is also 9 months of build up, sometimes more), the fear of this unknown puts a light damper on the excitement. You know your life is about to change forever. You know it's monumental. You just can't possibly imagine what it's REALLY like. This isn't just build up for a big fun party and a pretty white dress. This is the build up of a whole new little PERSON. A person who is, by the way, growing inside you. A person who is kicking you from the inside out, much like you'd imagine an alien would if it somehow got stuck inside your stomach. And this little person will need you for every second of every day for everything for YEARS. Until they don't and they're yelling at you to leave them alone. This is not at all intimidating. BUT, we stay positive.
This week I have exactly 3 months to go until my due date (December 27- Christmas Baby? New Years Baby? Can I just be 10 days early??). As I have settled into my emotions (or maybe it's the hormones that have temporarily settled), I am noticing that there is a lot about being pregnant that I will want to remember (and a lot that I'll happily forget but laugh at later). So, for the next few months be prepared for my pregnant musings. Hopefully one day Baby Mattison will think it all as funny as I did.

We So Excited!

The 7th Grade trip to NYC was a success! We navigated all 40 girls through Brooklyn, Times Square and Ellis Island without incident despite the fact that they much more concerned with staring up at the lights on Times Square than with watching where we were going and had to be re-herded on several occasions. I won't bore you with the whole trip, but here are some amusing stories:
The girls were so excited to get to NY, we could barely contain them on the bus. One particularly animated young lady narrated a large portion of our trip through song, to the tune of "Friday" by Rebecca Black. If you haven't heard it yet, you need to... it's a YouTube and Middle School phenomenon. She also had a cute little game called "firsts" which went like this: "first hydrant!" "first New York doctor!" "first New York puppy!" first sbarros" first park!" "first orange car" "first guy riding a bicycle!" "first blue door!" "first deli!" "first, wait, what's that? Tasty Dee-Lite? OHH let's go there it looks yummy!" You get the drift.
Later that evening, we chaperones surprised the girls with a side trip to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The girls were running all over getting pictures of every statue (the most popular were Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Taylor Swift, with Justin Bieber being the main objective). One of my advisees who WORSHIPS Taylor Swift, started to cry when she saw the statue! To which a confused classmate whispered to me quietly "but it's not the REAL Taylor Swift".
Since we were rushing through in order to make it to the theater in time, I was constantly ushering girls to move along, while also trying to remind them that they were in public and could not be hyper shrieking girls, but to remain somewhat composed. During these efforts, I ushered a stranger by the arm (she saw what I was trying to do and laughed). I also yelled at two of my girls for jumping in front of a woman taking a picture of the Michael Jackson statue, only to realize that the photographer was also made of wax. Creepy. I definitely could see a horror movie out of all this (wasn't there one? Starring Paris Hilton?).
So overall, a great trip; exhausting but great! The girls seemed to have a great time. And now I don't have to go again until next year:)

New York! New York!

I am writing this on the eve of my third Middle School Chaperoning Trip at Girls Prep. We are taking the 7th grade to New York City for two days and one night. We will walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, take the train, walk through Times Square, see a Broadway show (Lion King), and take them to Ellis Island. All this, without losing a single girl. I have spent a few afternoons answering questions like "Can you tell us who we're rooming with? Can you tell us the bus seats? What about just the first name? What about the first initial of the last name? Can we bring snacks on the bus? Can we bring snacks to the hotel? Can we buy snacks in Time Square, Can we buy snacks at the play? What if we get lost?
As I go over the details again and again, I can't help but reminisce about my own school trips.
In 4th grade I was at Progressive Elementary and we were studying American History. We took a trip to the Old State House and put flowers on the spot of the Boston Massacre and had a memorial service (complete with eulogies) for those who died. I was shocked 7 years later when I found out it wasn't so much a massacre, as an angry mob provoking soldiers. I remember sitting in my AP US History class saying "No, wait, but in elementary school they told me that... wait, that's NOT what happened??!!"
The next trip was in 6th grade, still at Progressive Elementary. This time it was a week-long trip to Nova Scotia. 20 boys and girls, ages 11, with no parents, just teachers. How brave our teachers were! Some of them even camped. In tents! I'm stressed about going away for one night in a hotel. But of course, in 6th grade, it was amazing and most of the trip I still remember.
My last class trip was in 8th grade, at Girls Prep. This was before they started going to Washington D.C., but when we would go up to Quebec City. By bus. We were in French-Speaking-Canada with only half of us speaking French (and those who did, it was only 8th grade French). I remember walking around the city, walking in a mall, but mostly I remember the ridiculous games we played in our hotel room (the very fancy Le Chateau Frontenac). I really don't think we slept at all (I actually think we challenged ourselves not to). And, much to the chagrin of our French-Canadian Security Guard (who didn't specialize in interacting with Middle School girls), we had a hilarious, fabulous, amazing time with no sleep. That's what it will be like for the girls tomorrow (but add back the sleep please). They'll bond as a class and have great memories of running around New York City. I just hope they don't run too far or sleep too little or I won't make it to Friday.

Converted?

If you follow this blog, you can likely gleam that I am not a morning person. Those who knew me in high school knew that my mornings were so well coordinated to maximize sleep, that I could get out of bed and to school within 5 minutes. Those who knew me in college knew that I could orchestrate my Saturday with supplies surrounding me (phone, computer, remote, snacks), so that I wouldn't have to get out of bed at all. I always had an appreciation for mornings. But I admired them from a distance, like an expensive pair of shoes or a marathon runner. Impressive, but out of reach. But now, in the final months of my 30th year and have noticed some significant changes. I think my long term motivation has been SHM, who has always loved the mornings. But more recently, I think it was my jet-lagged return from London that has pushed me over to the mornings. When we first got back we were naturally waking up early, as our bodies adjusted to the time change. But then, it started getting easier and easier to get up early. Granted, its always been easier to wake up early when you have nothing to do for the rest of the day. Once school began, my enthusiasm in the morning waned quite a bit. However, today, the first Saturday since vacation ended, I found myself at a spinning class at 7:00am. And liking it! By 9:00am this morning I had spun for an hour, had a leisurly coffee and breakfast stop with SHM, come home and showered. And I feel great! It's quite possible that I have turned the corner and seized the mornings! Who would have thought? If my 19 year old self could see me now, she wouldn't recognize me. But I think that's ok.

Glorious Britain! Part III

The next two days in London were similar to the day before, but with each day a different section of London. Tuesday was east and the Tower of London. This was by far the most highly anticipated venue given its high profile status in The Tudors series. We spent close to 5 hours touring all the different towers (there are several) and getting a personal tour and hearing the various stories from when it was a palace to the most notorious jail. Interesting and spooky fact: Upon Anne Bolelyn's execution, when the ax man held up her severed head, instead of cheering and chanting "Long Live the King!, as the crowd was supposed to do, they all gasped in unison. It is said that her eyes and mouth were still moving as if praying and looking about the crowd! OOOOOOHHHH. We went into towers where they have preserved graffiti etched in by former prisoners, and to the chapel where ex-Queens Anne Bolelyn and Catherine Howard were buried, We saw the AMAZING crown jewels (some of us went around the conveyor more than once).
From the Tower, we walked on to St. Paul's Cathedral (incredible, with the most sophisticated ipod audio tour). From there we crossed the Millennium Bridge and spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. Of all the museums I have seen, this was quite an interesting one. I thoroughly enjoyed the Picasso exhibit, and seeing Pollack, Miro, Matisse and Warhol. I did not enjoy as much, the exhibits of "bulls-eye made with pebbles", "White Splotch on the Wall" and "Mirror". I actually missed the mirror entirely to which SHM said, "That's because it was a mirror". Right.
Although we were exceptionally tired, we made our way down the Victoria Embankment, mainly on the hunt for a cute pub for some snacks or dinner. We began walking in, away from the river, at the Temple Bar stop and wandered to Rouge Cafe, a very cute little bistro that made us feel like we had jumped the channel and were eating in Paris.
On Wednesday our now bruised feet took us north. We tried again to see Westminster Abbey, and success! Thank goodness because we stayed here about 3 hours. We saw the tombs of half of the British Monarchy: Elizabeth I, Mary I (entombed together, although they were rivals in life). Mary Queen of Scots, Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York, among others. We also toured through "Poet's Corner" to see the tombs and monuments of Lewis Carrol, Henry James, Jane Austen, Chaucer, Handel, and many many others.

From here, we walked north passed the National Gallery, and into the area of Covent Garden. Here we again were transported to Boston. Although this time we are standing in a pedestrian market place: there is a main center where a street performer is doing contortions and magic to the delight of school children on tour. Behind the performer is a large columned building that housed the food stations. The only thing missing were the words "Quincy Market". After a little shopping and a bite for lunch we continued north to the British Museum. Not originally on our itinerary, we added it once we read that it was the oldest museum in the world and home to the Rosetta Stone. How could we not go? Luckily for us, and our feet, the Rosetta Stone was in the "Ancients" exhibit, right on the ground floor, as you enter. We stayed to see the massive Egyptian exhibit as well as bits from the Parthenon. It was all very incredible, very amazing and very old. But on our fourth day of seeing old, incredible, amazing things, we were at our maximum saturation of old, incredible, amazing things. We exited the British Museum and met Briggie for dinner at a bustling restaurant in the theater district called Brown's. Very good, although SUPER busy and our waiter was greatly flustered all the time (we had to ask him three separate times for flatware). Although he did give us complimentary champagne:)
Finally, our great tour ends with Hampton Court. Another highly anticipated stop! We were there for 5 hours and toward the end felt rushed and could have used another hour. Hampton Court was a palace originally built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Henry VIII's chief advisor), but when he fell out of favor with the King (mainly because he could not get the pope to approve Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon), he "gave" his palace to the King and went to the Tower (although he suspiciously died along the way). The staff was incredibly welcoming and friendly (they held our bags for us, since we were heading straight to the airport). The palace was "interactive" with "Henry VIII" and his courtiers roaming the grounds and doing little presentations in the different halls. We, of course, were most interested in the Tudor section (there is also a section built by William and Mary as well as a "Georgian" section).
We saw the Great Hall of Henry VIII as well as the Royal Chapel. It was just amazing to be standing and walking in the same rooms as all of these historic people! We saw doorways engraved with roses and pomegranates (the symbols of Henry and Katherine). Then, in the Great Hall, that was originally built for Anne Bolelyn, our attention was turned to a wood carving of an H and A intertwined. The hall had been full of these carvings to commemorate the marriage of Henry and Anne, but when she was executed all signs of her were destroyed... except this one carving... ooooohhhhh. In the next grand hall with saw the coat of arms of Jane Seymour decorating the ceiling. So neat.
It was a fantastic way to end our trip. We saw everything we were hoping to see (minus some royals) and more! We can't wait to come back and see more of the countryside!

Glorious Britain! Part II

Monday began with a lesson on British Railway. Our lovely host walked us to our station, Watford Junction, helped us buy Oyster Cards (like a Charlie Card), and instructed us on how to change to the Tube. All went without a hitch for the entire trip! We didn't get lost, or misdirected or confused. It's a very user-friendly system. We did however witness the potential peril of riding the tube. That first day, as we were waiting for our train to pull away from the station, not one but two different people got caught in the train's closing doors. What's even scarier is that it did not seem that the doors had motion sensors, like ours do. They seemed to hit quite hard and take a minute to release. One poor woman, had the door close on her arm, causing her to release her Oyster card and drop it in the gap between the train car and the platform. She and her husband got off the train to try to retrieve the card, and we saw them board our very same train car about 4 stops later. These gaps can range anywhere between a step down of about 4 inches, or a full space of air about half a foot wide. No wonder it's posted everywhere and announced at every station.

We arrive at the Westminster stop, ready to begin our great tour of London. We walk out of the station- Big Ben! We walk across the street to Westminster Abbey... CLOSED! Curses! Tough start. So we continue walking. We walk through the lovely St. James Park, through to Buckingham Palace. We cut over through Knightsbridge to Harrod's and then the Victoria and Albert Museum. We then walk next door to the Natural History Museum because Pablo tells us about its amazing entry way. We follow the crowd in and WOW- it is amazing! It is set up like the galaxy with constellations on the ceiling and an enormous earth that has an escalator that goes up into it. So then you are IN the middle of the earth- so cool! Too bad it wasn't the right entrance. Later that night we checked our tour book and saw that the actual entry way he was talking about is a magnificent, old, gold and intricate ceiling, not the galaxy exhibit. Blast! This museum also had an earthquake exhibit, in which there is a model of a Japanese convenient store where you can stand and feel a real earthquake. Given recent events, this was kind of spooky.
From here we walked up to Kensington Garden which was just lovely. It reminded us of being in Boston Common. Actually, a lot of London reminded us of Boston, like Boston is a mini version of London. I think all of Boston could fit into Hyde Park. The funniest thing in the parks were the large groups of tourists taking pictures of squirrels. Is that another link between Boston and London? Does no one else have squirrels? People were posing with squirrels, trying to feed them. So strange. Meanwhile, we find city bicycles that were FREE for 30 minutes- only 1 pound for 24 hours. Nevermind that it took a good 20 minutes and 3 different people helping us to figure out how to unlock these bikes, we finally did it and rode up and down the park:)
The highlight of Kensington was the palace! Under renovation, it had a special exhibit called "Enchanted Palace". Each of the rooms we went through was designed for a certain princess who lived at the Palace. Each room was also designed by a different artist with a different interpretation. This is the picture from Queen Victoria's room. Other princesses included were Diana, Margaret, Mary, Charlotte and Caroline. Each princess with her own story and with intrigue and secrets.

This was our last stop and we could barely walk another step. Instead of wandering up to Notting Hill, which had been our plan, we walked toward Holland Park, where we were meeting Pabs and Briggie for dinner. We paused at a place called Mall Tavern, and it was heaven! Quiet, with cheap bar snacks (soda bread and butter for 2 pounds, Dorset Meatballs for 3), and chill music. It was just what we needed to rest our weary feet.
From here we met up with Pabs and Briggie at the restaurant Belvedere, which was very lovely and fancy. The perfect end to our second day in London!

Glorious Britain! Part I

We have been back from England for a couple of days now. It has taken a thorough recovery from the 5 days of intensive walking in non-supportive shoes. For the third morning in a row, I have woken up on my own before 8:00am, which I guess is a good habit to start. Today, I am sitting at my kitchen table, drinking newly purchased English Breakfast Tea out of my newly purchased William and Kate Royal Wedding Commemorative Mug and reminiscing with SHM about our fabulous trip.
The trip began with a very easy flight, direct, to Heathrow, with a car picking us up. Everything was arranged by our fabulous host, Brigitte, who booked us dinners, researched trains, and did any other leg work we needed. We arrived in London and were shuttled to Pablo's (Brigitte's paramour) house in Fulham, a section of London equivalent to Brookline. The scenery throughout London is much like what we see on TV. It was so realistic, that it almost looked like a caricature of itself. Skinny little streets packed with brick or stone row houses and little biddy cars. I was assured that all roads are two-way, but I really don't see how that's possible.
For our first dinner in London we went to a swanky little place around the corner from Pablo's called the Sands End, confirmed to be a watering hole of Prince Harry, but no sightings today (in fact, no sightings at all of any members of the royal family. Very disappointing). This spot proved to be quite lively. It was so loud that it was easier to observe other patrons than to talk to each other. At one point we were all trying to speak, when what appeared to be a ball of fire came flying in, through SHM's hair, and landed on the table. It was a lit match, catapulted by a bloke at the table next to us, who was quite inebriated, but still quite stunned (and I think a little proud) that it had made it all the way to our table. He apologized profusely, and SHM, and his hair, remained nicely intact.
Sunday morning we arose bright and early and set out to Stonehenge. Pablo graciously drove us. The weather started out pouring rain, but cleared quickly, and we luckily saw no more rain the rest of our trip. Stonehenge is literally in the middle of rolling fields, although back in the day, it would have been in the middle of a forest. You can see it quite early from the road, and from that large distance, it looks a bit small with a thin line of people who look like ants circling like satellites in orbit. We arrived and received a free audio tour. Up close, the stones are really something. Gigantic and looming, and we find out there is at least 10 feet worth of stone underground. Incredible! We learned about the construction, about the design, theories as to what it was used for, but two questions remain unanswered: WHY? and by WHO? Very mysterious and intriguing.
From Stonehenge, we continue our road trip to Windsor Castle, royal residence when the Queen is on holiday from Buckingham Palace. The Castle was built after William the Conqueror invaded around 1066, and is the birth place of many monarchs as early as Edward III in 1312. The grounds and the interior are all incredible. Despite quite a devastating fire in 1992, the Castle has been kept in amazing condition (and was renovated after the fire using Medieval techniques to keep authenticity). The slight disappointment was the fact that we couldn't go into St. George's Chapel as it was closed for Sunday worship. Inside is the tomb of Henry VIII and his favorite wife Queen Jane Seymour.

It was a packed first day, and Brigitte and Pablo were wonderful tour guides. The next day begins our adventures as we navigate Central London on our own.