W is for Windsor

We have just returned from a lovely outing to Windsor and I thought I'll write about our day as it was really quite lovely. For the record, summer has arrived in Britain now and it is quite HOT!Part of the reason why we were hanging around the flat lethargically, like 3 finger sloths dragging our rear ends around the flat while Bennet was so agile and active! It was really quite comical! (Ryon drew a sketch on it so maybe I'll be able to scan and upload it onto here)

Our alarm went off at 9am in the Morning. I went out to run an errand in the Morning and when I returned Bennet was taking his lunch time nap. From the time he woke (at about 1am) we were talking about leaving the house for a nice outing somewhere.

It wasn't until 5pm that we actually set foot outside our flat and I thought "the day is nearly over, but at least we can go for a little stroll in Windsor."

It's really weird, but we got a lot of things "done" when we finally arrived in Windsor. We went to a Fun Fair and got some Cotton Candy and Donuts and watched the rides, we took a 40 minute boat trip along the river Thames and watched the crowds having BBQ's by the river banks, we went to the big Ferries Wheel at Alexandra Gardens and played with Bennet in the grass (he had found a tennis ball and loved playing with it).





And when it got dark we went to a nearby Pub and had dinner on the terrace.

When we walked back along the river with the reflection of the ferry's wheel in the water I suddenly realized the couple of hours we spent felt as if they had stretched into a whole day, as if the more stuff we were able to do the longer the hours became. Does this make sense? Maybe that was, because it doesn't get dark until quite late...

I loved that Windsor was bustling with people on a warm romantic summer night....It was a lovely day!

Pictures to follow!

Life goes on....

..., but it goes on with one less sensitive and caring, fun individual. I still find it hard to believe, but yesterday's funeral was a lovely send off for my friend Anthony.

Like his uncle said in his tribute speech along the lines "We need to carry on with the good deeds that he did." and perpetuate the love that he send out into world! I am only one of hundreds who will dearly miss him! ("We will always ride together")

R.I.P.

Donations, in memory of Anthony, for the "WSPA" World Society for the Protection of Animals may be sent to A.B. Walker & Son Limited, 36 Eldon Road, Reading, RG1 4DL

Mourning the loss of a good friend...

"I think every second in itself is a miracle and realising this, nothing need seem depressing at all but it's very hard to realise that as the truth. " Anthony Maynard

Walpole Park, Ealing, May 2008

Dear Reader,

On Tuesday night I received some devastating news in the form of an email. On Thursday night, 3rd of July, a good friend of mine, Anthony Maynard, had been killed in a cycle traffic accident around 8pm being out on a club run to Henley-on-Thames.
His dad didn't have my telephone number, but was able to log into Ant's email account so he informed me via that medium. I am so glad, actually, as when I opened the email, Bennet had been in bed and I was in the comfort of my home and had Ryon around.

The past few days have been incredibly difficult, but Ryon has been a GREAT support! Not only did he hold me when I received the terrible news, but he's been bringing food home so I wouldn't have to cook and checked up on me with many telephone calls during the day.

In the past days I've been obsessed with looking up emails from Anthony, posts on various message boards, pictures I took of him on our recent visit, pictures he took on various bike trips and climbing holidays in Europe, anything to be close to him again and feel his presence around me. Last year he biked the Dolomites with a friend which I thought was incredibly brave!

With Ant's tragic passing I have lost a dear, caring and genuine friend, who was always there when I needed him. He had a great sense of humour. He introduced me to lovely walks around the countryside were he grew up. He had much love for animals which eventually resulted in turning from a vegetarian into a vegan.

Everyone who knew Ant knew his LOVE for cycling and he seemed to be very good at it, too. I had never seen him in his professional gear until I went to the Reading Cycling Club (short: RCC) website after his passing and wasn't even aware that he was part of the RCC and that it existed. When he talked about cycling I always thought he got on his mountain bike and cycled with a couple of friends, but in fact he was a well known, well loved and respected member of the RCC with a lot of scope to be a professional cyclist.

My thoughts go out to his father Dave, mother Sue and sister Theresa, who mourn the great loss of a brilliant son and brother, which they can be so proud of! He touched many lives!

R.I.P my dear Ant

Milena

A few quotes:

"Do you know what he [Ant's dog Drew] does sometimes ? When I am not really watching he grabs the lead with his mouth and pulls it out my hand, then walks ahead, taking himself for a walk. He learnt this so long ago, that I gave up trying to stop him !!"

"You know, the only one thing I know I really want to do is travel around Europe..."

"Don't mention the sea please !! I love it a lot too. Have you ever been to Devon? I went there camping about a month or so ago. It was like you said... great sunsets, sea, everything, and I never felt better when I got back. To spend all that time away from the everyday stuff makes you feel loads better."

"Thanks, it was a good time, I'm sad to be back! I came back last night [from Nepal], so I'm tired now, not much sleep! I went for nearly a month, not quite long enough to miss home, so was always glad to be away. "

"My friend does it [Salsa] and he says it's really hard (says it's easier for girls, although I can't work out why) but then that's probably because his lessons are run by an ex-policeman who is really stern with all of them and will literally shout at him whenever he puts a foot wrong!"

"Are you still enjoying living in London? I don't go in there as often as I used to, I went to Wandsworth to see my sister last weekend though because I hadn't seen her for ages. I lost my wallet on the tube a couple of months ago too, I thought I'd never get it back but the lost property department phoned me a couple of weeks ago to say they'd found it. I was really pleased until I found out I had to pay £10 to get it back! That's hardly fair."

"The trip to Nepal was unbelievable, I'll tell you about it next time I see you, there's so many things that if I start writing now I probably won't sleep tonight! I have all the pictures in an album (Theresa (sister) got it for me, I wasn't too keen on it at first but now I see it's good to have them all in one place, even if it took ages to put them in order) so I can show that, but I'll try to put them on the internet soon and tell you how to get to them. All in all though, the people were brilliant, I keep in touch with some of them. And the scenery was awesome, that is one thing I know you would have loved! You're right, I am longing to be away from home! And out of the office!"

"I’m not sure what your situation is, or what you’re doing, but I’m sorry you don’t feel that good at the moment. I can't really say anything to help as your mind is your own. I think every second in itself is a miracle and realising this, nothing need seem depressing at all but it's very hard to realise that as the truth. If you want to share anything specific that is hard, you honestly can tell me if you needed to. You have many good things about you so I hope you're not down for long."

"I'm going to Slovenia with my friend from work, we've been planning the routes for weeks and now I'm starting to think they're too hard. We're carrying everything - tents, etc - on our backs and now it feels like I'm two people! I might take a lot of pictures, so I'll show you a few of them, only the good ones. I had an endurance event in Wales at the weekend and just got back last night. It was one of the hardest I've done because of the climbing and it being 110 miles, plus still almost feeling like winter here as well."

"I had a look on your myspace area - nice dog! He looks like he's sunning himself soaking up the rays. You always have loads of different dogs to look after. Lucy is great, competely different from when she was at the rescue centre - gone from being terrified of men to chasing me around and biting my feet - I don't know if this is a good thing or not."

A email from Ant, dated Friday 07 September 2007:

"Alright Folks, Just a quick message to let you know how I'm getting on. Currently in Innsbruck, been chased here by snow, hail and strong winds. It shouldn't be this cold at this time of year - Innsbruck is covered in snow. We started in Slovenia, then rode west towards the Dolomites and then up over the Italian/Austrian border. The Dolomites were mind blowingly awesome but cold. We have done a huge amount of high passes carrying a lot of weight. The best climb so far was the Tre Cime De Laverdo, which they raced up in the Giro this year. I rode that unloaded, views at the top of that climb are unbelivable, make the 25% gradients worth the effort! Did the Zoncolan too, that is a climb! This trip has been hard so far but worth the effort - it's a lot of ride, eat, set up tent, take down tent, etc, but I'm into it and still got two weeks left. People I have met have been great, Italians especially. It's a good job that some speak English and I'm good at making monkey like movements to get my point accross because I can't switch between all these languages. Apparently I'm not very good, but I'm trying! My legs feel good and I'm eating a lot so keeping the energy up but this winter weather is sapping. A couple of mornings my water bottle had frozen and only at 1500 metres - that's crazy! My tent leaks as well, which is even crazier seeing as it's not that old. It's North Face, don't get one. We've only had to free camp twice, once on the Italy/Slovenia border after a 120km day over three passes in thunder and lightening. I'm riding out of here in the morning because Anita is flying home so I'm mentally preparing myself for two weeks on my own. I only have a rough idea of which route I'm taking but have decided to avoid the mountains because they're too damn cold and my moral might take a bashing if I'm up in them on my own! My plan is to chase the sun wherever it is though it's been out foxing me all the way so far. I might ride through the Black Forest because a German couple I met a couple of days ago said it's great for riding. Met a lot of people here, many people doing similar things such as hiking, climbing or biking staying on camp sites so there is always someone to talk to. Most of them think we're insane - it might be the time of year but no one is climbing these passes with the same loads we've got! Got to go, I'm watching the Vuelta on TV and am going to have a beer(s). See you later, Ant"

Babies turning one...

One by one the babies of my baby massage group will be turning one in the next couple of months. We already celebrated one baby's birthday on the 27th of June. The next one will be following on the 19th of July. It makes you realize that soon your baby will be a toddler and the first precious 12 months are over. I will be compiling (finally!) a scrapbook about Benny's whole first year, if I'll ever get around to order the pictures as we don't have a printer at home.

The lucky Germans?

Was it luck or was it skill? (Apparantly not the latter as we get bashed by the critics and maybe they are a little bit right...but if we are we've been lucky QUITE a LOT, maybe luck is a skill that only the Germans have?)

What counts is we made it through to the Final :) Hooray!

Go, Germany, go! And Lahm, next time pull yourself together. But you made up for your poor defense by scoring that beautiful goal at the end! Well, done. And sorry, Turkey. You would have deserved to win!

Grau Look-alike Meter

(Bennet und ich)


(Ryon und ich im Eden Project, Cornwall)


(Bennet im door bouncer, 8+ Monate)


(Urlaub in Cornwall 17th-24th May)

Hallo mal wieder, nach langer Zeit!

Es tut mir leid, daß ich so lange nichts mehr hab von mir hören lassen. Der kleine Bennet hält uns ganz schön auf Trap! Er ist mittler Weile 9 Monate und 3 Wochen alt und robbt fröhlich durch die Gegend. Dann zieht er sich überall hoch und muß natürlich ALLES erkunden und Schubladen auf und zu machen. Wir haben, soweit es geht, FAST alles Babysicher gemacht, aber trotzdem müssen wir natürlich immer aufpassen, daß er nicht in Schwierigkeiten gerät! Sein Haar ist immernoch ziemlich blond und wird immer lockiger und ist schon ganz schön lang. Er sagt häufig "Mamamam" und "Papapap", obwohl er nicht wirklich weiß, was es bedeuted.

Seit unserer Rückkehr aus dem Urlaub Anfang Juni hat Ryon einen neuen Arbeitgeber. (Kleiner Update: Er hatte im April seinen Job gekündigt, um sein 10 Jähriges Jubiläum bei Fedex Kinkos zu feiern :). Es sind einfach so viele Sachen schief gelaufen, daß es besser war einen Schlußstrich zu ziehen) Er arbeitet immernoch in der Druckerindustrie als Designer, aber schaut sich schonwieder nach etwas Neuem um, da sein Arbeitgeber einen kleinen Franchise Laden betreibt und die Möglichkeiten zum beruflichen Aufstieg auch dort nicht gegeben sind. Desweiteren geht er wohl in Anwesenheit der Kunden respektlos mit den Angestellten um. Und das ham wa ja gar nich gerne!

Unsere Miete sollte mit Ablauf des Vertrages am 31. August 2008 und bei Erneuerung des Vertrages um £25 im Monat ansteigen. Das hört sich jetzt vielleicht nicht viel an, aber für uns ist es das schon. Es gibt in England leider keinen Mieterschutz und im Vertrag war nichts von einer Staffelmiete erwähnt, aber auch dies ist hier wohl nicht vertraglich zu erwähnen. ? Ryon und ich haben uns dann zusammengesetzt und einen langen Brief verfaßt und uns auf all die Dinge bezogen, die uns versprochen und nicht eingehalten wurden und den Zustand, in dem uns die Wohnung übergeben wurde und in Anbetracht dessen eine Mieterhöhung absolut nicht gerechtfertigt sei. (Natürlich viel diplomatischer verfaßt von Ryon, der das immer so schön macht!) Diesen Brief schickte ich dann zur Managment Agentur und frecher Weise einfach auch zum Eigentümer der Wohnung, obwohl uns gesagt wurde, daß alle Kommunikation über die Agentur zu verlaufen hat. Es hatte sich bei uns jedoch so viel Ärger und Wut angestaut, über die leeren Versprechungen und was nicht alles, daß die Mieterhöhung wie ein Schock einschlug und ich hatte mich schon sehr über die Dreistigkeit geärgert! Am Montag bekam ich dann einen Anruf von der Eigentümerin direkt (ups!). :) Sie war jedoch sehr höflich und entschuldigte sich für die Miskommunikation zwischen uns als Mietern, der Agentur und ihr, als Eigentümerin. (Ausrede??) Auf jeden Fall sagte sie das es viele Mißverständnisse gegeben hat und das ab August dann eine andere Agentur für unsere Wohnung zuständig sei, da sie den Anschein hatte, daß Haart Lettings Ltd. ihren Job nicht so toll machen. (Und nun haben wir endlich einen Sündenbock gefunden!:) Nagut. Wenigstens hat sich dadurch mein Ärger auf den misteriösen Eigentümer ein wenig verflüchtigt und sie hat "sogar" angeboten, die Miete beim jetzigen Preis zu belassen. Wenigstens etwas!

Der Sommer läßt in England noch auf sich warten. Ich weiß, in Berlin ist er schon angekommen. Grrr! :) Ich genieße meine letzten Monate mit Benny, bevor ich wieder anfange zu arbeiten (voraussichtlich im September). Ich werde jedoch 2.5 Tage arbeiten und den Vollzeitjob aufgeben. Wenn auch nicht finanziell sehr rentabel, schien es mir doch die beste Lösung für mich und Bennet und ich freue mich sehr, daß ich Teilzeit arbeiten kann! Wir bekommen dann im August ein neues Telfonsystem bei LEGO, welches sich vielversprechend anhört! Bin ja mal gespannt! Vielleicht/hoffentlich schaffe ich es vorher noch mal nach Berlin zu kommen.

Das war's dann erst mal soweit von mir. Huhu? Hallo? Bist du noch da? Oder schon eingeschlafen? :)

Bis bald und ich versuche wieder etwas regelmäßiger vorbeizuschauen!
Habe mit Interesse Deinen Blog Update gelesen, Charlene und Ryon. Mira und Luise haben ja schon ewig nichts mehr geschrieben? Schlummert Euer Blog? Es ist Zeit für eine Wiederbelebung! Was macht das Studentenleben in Athen und Isreal???

VIEL GLÜCK der Deutschen Fußballmannschaft im Spiel gegen die Türkei heute Abend! Wie ist die Stimmung in Berlin? Befinden sich die Türken jetzt nicht in einer Zwickmühle? Ich werde mit Leidenschaft meinem Heimatland zur Seite stehen. Und wenn wir gewinnen, können sich nicht viele Türken in Deutschland mit deutschen Pässen auch freuen??????

Eure Milena

Back in ye olde England

Benny and I are back since Saturday. More physically than mentally really. It always takes some time to get used to the "new" surroundings again. How quickly one gets used to old ways of living and a culture that is familiar to oneself. It almost felt as if England never existed. I know I probably shouldn't be writing a blog in this time of transition as it's bound to be somehow negative and sulky. I just can't seem to find a country in which I feel 100% settled and home. If I think about the priorities it's "whatever is best for my son". But then I think...a happy mummy equals a happy Benny, so where would I feel the most comfortable? I feel sorry for Ryon as he is under a lot of stress. Money issues. I'm only getting paid maternity leave until end of May. Then I think I should help him feel less stressed and go back to work early, but I can't seem to stand the thought of giving Bennet into care. *I* want to be the main caregiver at least until he's 3 years old. Shall we go back to Germany, shall we go to America? Shall we stay in England? These three question go through my head all the time and it's driving me mad. You don't have to come up with any solutions for me, just let me have a rant and I'll feel better! I miss Berlin, I miss having 3 big parks in walking distance, one of which has a busy outdoor cafe and a big playground where everyone gets together. I miss talking German and having people around. I feel lonely and isolated in Burnham.

Berlin

Der Berlin Besuch rückt näher und obwohl ich mich freue, bin ich auch ein bißchen angespannt, da ich nicht weiß, wie es ist allein mit Baby und 2 Koffern zu verreisen. Meine Mutter hat mich heut angerufen und gesagt, daß zur Zeit die BVG streikt und keine Busse fahren, das kompliziert die Sache noch mehr, aber wir werden schon eine Lösung finden. Vielleicht miete ich mir auch ein Auto. Am 10. März geht unser Flieger. Am 15./16. März wollen wir Bennet's Uroma in Hamburg besuchen und das Wochenende darauf ist Ostern mit Familie angesagt. Tante Gabi will uns auch noch sehen. Tante Erna auch, doch die ist zu der Zeit leider zur REHA. Die 2 Wochen werden bestimmt so schnell vergehen! Freunde stehen auch noch auf der Liste: (die Reihenfolge hat mit der Priorität nichts zu tun) Berit, Charlene, Diana, Marie. Ich hoffe ich kann Euch 4 irgendwo unterbringen. Diana und Berit, dazu brauch ich jedoch nochmal Eure Kontakt - bzw. Handynummern, damit ich Euch in Berlin erreichen kann. Bitte schickt mir diese doch per email zu oder übers StudiVZ!

Ansonnsten gibt es bei uns nicht viel Neues zu erzählen. Benny ist jetzt 5 Monate und 4 Wochen alt. Ich habe vorhin ein paar alte Babysachen aussortiert und sie an ihn rangehalten und kann gar nicht glauben, daß er da mal reingepaßt hat. Er ist so gewachsen! Ein bißchen melancholisch wird man da schon. Ich stille ihn immernoch ausschließlich und möchte auch noch eine Weile durchhalten. Wie lange wird in Deutschland eigentlich empfohlen ausschließlich zu stillen?

Dann werde ich jetzt langsam mal ins Bett gehen. Sobald mein Kopf mit dem Kopfkissen in Berührung kommt, wacht sowieso Bennet auf und möchte Zuwendung oder gestillt werden oder hat Zahnungsschmerzen (heute war wieder besonders schlimm) ;)

Na dann, bis bald, eventuell, hoffentlich???

Milena

Babyschwimmen

Armer Bennet! Poor Bennet!

Seit dem 05. Januar gehen wir mit Bennet zum Babyschwimmen. Man kann nicht sagen, daß es ihm gefällt, aber manchmal ist sein Gesichtsausdruck wennigsten neutral. Letztes Mal sind die anderen Babies schon untergetaucht, doch Bennet fing bei ein paar Tropfen die ihm übers Gesicht kullerten schon an zu weinen. Ich mußte den Kurs im Vorraus bezahlen, da muß er jetzt durch! Es ist ein 13-Wochen-Kurs. Morgen gehen wir wieder! Mal sehen, ob er morgen lacht???

Happy New Year 2008!

Unfortunately, our stay in the US has come to an end. We flew back yesterday, on the 31st December and got to wish each other Happy New Year's twice. First time at 7pm, just after take off (midnight UK time). And later on at 5am UK time (midnight in MD, USA), just before landing. The first day after a holiday abroad is always weird. Especially if it was a very special and meaningful holiday. It was so lovely to have 4 generations under one roof and all coexisting peacefully and in harmony. I miss it! But life goes on, has to go on....for a while, without family around.

We didn't get much sleep on the plane and by the time we got home, in the early Morning hours, we were so desperate to go to bed...instead we had to deal with a jet lagged crying baby! It will probably take a couple of days until he is back to his normal schedule again. When we came home and I opened the door, there was this huge YAMAHA piano or keyboard standing in front of me with a big red bow! I couldn't believe it! Ryon is always in for a surprise! I had no clue at all! WOW! I have a KEYBOARD! *bigsmile*I always wanted to learn how to play the piano. A dream has come true! :)

Now let's quickly summarize year 2007. On the 2nd of January 2007 I wrote the following in my blog: "I have applied to University, to do a 2 year course in Business. If I get a student loan then I will commence my studies in February, so wish me luck! Also, Ryon and I have been thinking of having a little marriage thingee going on, nothing big ;), but before that we're going on a Marriage Preparation course, how good is that?"

So what did I do? CAREFUL: Boring Alert!

Well AGAIN, I didn't get to study. Maybe it's just not meant to be? But lots of other exciting things happened! For me it was a year that was extremely productive or should I write reproductive? I fell pregnant, got a full time permanent job at LEGO despite being 3 months pregnant, gave birth to a beautiful child and moved to a bigger (but not big) apartment and the cream on top was a wonderful visit in the states...a Christmas full of harmony and lovely family around, even the four-legged ones.

The year 2007 set high standards, but I'm not expecting anything (big) for the year 2008. I just expect of myself to be a great mother to Bennet in his first year on earth. My maternity leave finishes on the 31 of August 2008 and obviously I want to be a stay-at-home mom until then. I hope for all 3 of us that we'll be healthy and in good spirit, because that's the most important. I hope to visit my family in Germany to introduce them to Bennet. We hope to get a car so we can get the shopping done more easily, drive Bennet to activities and go on weekend excursions. Maybe we'll stop by in Cornwall this year and swim in the ocean in clear blue water...

But most important of all: all I want I already have and that's Ryon and Bennet! Everything else is a Bonus!!!

Merry Christmas 2007!

I hope you're all having a grand old time with family and friends and if there is no family or friends to have a grand old time with, I still hope you take the chance to withdraw into the tranquility of this festive season and load your batteries, so that they're fully charged by the time you enter the new year - 2008! Yes, 2008! Wow, does time fly or what?

Ryon, I and our little one are having a great time! Yesterday, on the 24th we went to the 8pm service of my in-law's church where they had a live nativity with real animals and Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus (not sure if the baby was real though, it was awfully quiet, contrary to Bennet). We sung Christmas Songs (which I like) and listened to Ryon's dad playing in the Church Brass Band (Ouch! ... just kidding). And there was a beautiful choir singing as well! And the preaching by paster Chip was quite good.

Around midnight, Baby Jesus had also arrived in my mother-in-love's nativity. Teeny tiny baby Jesus...(and I was wondering why the cradle was empty the whole time! *duh*)

Today, the 25th December we had a wonderful breakfast, opened up our presents (and we got tons of them! even an extra suitcase to carry them all home), went for a long walk in the sunshine and had our Christmas meal in the evening, organic Turkey, beans, messed up red cabbage prepared by me, mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly, gravy, all in all: YUM! And there are those delicious buckeyes, and cinnamon "puffs" and it's really quite hard to maintain my bodyweight, as it is rocketing sky high at the moment, weighing as much as I did when I was pregnant with Bennet if not more and my rear end is really quite gargantuan...but I'll get rid of the excess fat eventually. When we're back in London with no money to buy food :)

I am so glad to be so blessed to celebrate Christmas with Ryon's lovely family!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS, everyone!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...we're in the US!

Hi Everybody,

thanks for all your messages on my blog! It's so nice to know you're all taking part in my/our life. :)

Last Thursday, 13th December, at 4.20pm we flew out to Washington Dulles Airport in Maryland which is where Ryon's family lives (in Maryland that is, not at the airport). The flight took about 7 hours and we were so lucky that most of the time Angel Bennet was fast asleep in his little plastic bag (pretend to be moses basket) provided by United Airlines. I was worried we might have a screaming baby all the flight through, but he was soooo good! Ryon's dad and brother picked us up from the airport and after an hour drive we were greated by Ryon's mom and sister-in-love (Ryon's brother's wife) at the "Hotel Grau".

There are two beautiful Labrador dogs here called Maxie and Murphy and a sweet cat called Romeo (and one poor old cat called Grizabella living in the basement, cause she's too scared to come up and meet the 'new' family additions). Everyone who knows me, knows that I adore dogs and quite like cats, so this is paradise! This might be the nicest Christmas holiday I have ever had in my life so far! All the harmony I have always wished for especially around Christmas has already been bundled up in 3 wonderful days that we've been here!

Good night for now and read you soon...

Milena

We have the Internets

After 3 long months of waiting I'm finally connected to the web again! It isn't the fastest connection, but better than nothing, right?

We are in need of a bigger external hard drive, so we're currently unable to download the pictures we've been taking, but to the left you can see the newest one that had been sent to me in an email!

3 months have past and I'm sure there's a lot to tell you, but right now I'm out of words. So for the 3 people reading this blog "hi! I'm back! 's good to "read" you again, leave messages, cause then I know who's actually reading this blog"

Ok. Thanks. Bye. I love you!

Why it's so quiet around us...

Hi everyone,

Bennet is nearly 3 weeks old now. While I was recovering from birth, we moved to the new flat as well. We are now all set up in the new place. Well almost. Kind of cut off from the rest of the world as we're waiting for a landline and broadband to be installed, but Virgin Media let us down, so we have to wait some more and find a different provider. One who knows what he's doing! I'm at Ryon's workplace now so I can quickly write a post. Watch this space for more pictures and videos soon. As soon as we're connected to the World Wide Web again, that is....

I miss you all! Life is lonely as a new monther, in a new flat, with no means to communicate to the outside world. :(

Bye bye for now,
Milena

Hello, little Bennet!

BENNET ALEXANDER GRAU

10th September 2007 at 5:18pm

Lenght: 53cm; Weight: 2940 gram.

Type of delivery: Induction after PROM (Pre-Labour Rupture of Membranes)

Length of pregnancy: 37 weeks + 6 days

Place of birth: Ealing Hospital

Last Night of the PROMs

PROM's being = Pre-Labor Rupture of Membranes (Did you know that only a small percentage, like 10% of woman have that and at least 80% of those go into labor within 24hrs following PROM ?)

Last chance for me and Bennet having our ultimate birthing pool experience...The trick with enticing him with ice cream didn't work. I guess it's because I'm already eating loads of it now (on my second tub of Häagen-Dazs right now) so why make all the effort and come out for it...d*** it! I told him that he's going to be circumsized without anesthetics if he doesn't come out tonight :) I know it sounds mean, but I'm getting kinda desperate here! Seriously, I have almost given up hope now. Hospital bag is packed and tomorrow Morning we have to call them and go in to get checked out ... Most important is that we all get through this safe and sound, because as time progresses, the risk of infection rises apparently...

Thanks for being with me in your thoughts and for the encouraging posts..I appreciate!!

Waters breaking

Yesterday, Friday at 6pm in the Morning my waters broke without the onset of labour. I went to hospital to get checked out and have a Fetal Heart Monitoring done. The baby is not distressed, everything is fine. As my water broke at term (after 37 weeks, 37 weeks + 4 days to be precise) I was allowed to go home and wait for 48 hours to spontaneously go into labour. Since then I'm just waiting, drinking Rasberry leave tea, eating hot curry, fresh pineapple, go for walks... I'm doing everything they said would/could help bring on labour. I'm getting more and more desperate as the Birthing Centre will only take me until Sunday Morning, up until 48hrs after my membranes have ruptured. We are talking to Bennet to entice him with cookies, chocolate and ice cream and with a big pool of warm water he could swim around in if he comes out now! I don't want to be induced!!! I want to have a natural water birth!

Milena :(

Mutterschaftsurlaub/Maternity Leave

First in German and when I get the time, I will write an English Version as well. This time no pictures as we've got most of our stuff in the new flat, but I'll add some soon, hopefully.

Seit Montag, den 3. September 2007 bin ich nun im Mutterschaftsurlaub und bin um 11 Uhr erst einmal zum Frisör, denn wer weiß, wann ich das nächste Mal dazu komme.

Am 31.08. war also mein letzter Arbeitstag. Es scheint Teil der "LEGO-Kultur" zu sein, daß, wenn ein Mitarbeiter geht, sich alle Kollegen und teilweise auch das Management am letzten Tag nochmal um einen versammeln um dir ordentlich Tschüß zu sagen. Und meist wird dann noch eine kleine Rede gehalten oder wenn du Pech hast von dir verlangt eine Rede zu halten ;) und ein Geschenk überreicht oder wie in meinem Fall Geschenke . :) Ich find das total putzig. Der gleiche Tag war noch ein wenig stressig, da wir gleich danach zur Wohnungsagentur in Maidenhead fahren mußten um den Vertrag für die neue Wohnung zu unterschreiben und die Kaution etc. zu zahlen. Danach sind wir dann in die Wohnung gefahren und Inventur gemacht und der Schlüssel überreicht. Am Samstag, den 1. September war dann der eigentliche Umzug. Wir haben uns ein Auto gemietet und das meiste unseres Zeuges in die neue Wohnung gebracht. Jetzt sind wir noch bis 15.09. in der alten Wohnung, da ja meine Hebammenpraxis und alles gleich um die Ecke ist. Ein eher ungünstiger Termin umzuziehen! In der neuen Wohnung haben wir noch kein Bett. Es soll innerhalb der nächsten 10 Tage geliefert werden. Na hoffentlich! Das Kinderzimmer haben wir nun schon eingerichtet, mit Möbeln von IKEA. Ein Bettchen steht drin und ein Wechseltisch. Blau angemalt waren die Wände schon, da bracuhten wir also gar nichts mehr zu machen :) Die 2 Typen, die davor in der Wohnung gelebt haben, haben die Wohnung total verdrecken lassen. Uns fiel gestern, daß der Teppich zwar gesaugt wurde, aber nicht ordentlich mit Schaum gereinigt, da meine weißen Socken und Ryon's Füße dunkelbraun waren. Der Teppich fühlt sich wie ungewaschenes, speckiges Hundefell an. : / Darum müssen wir uns noch kümmern. Wenigstens haben wir genug zu tun, während wir auf den Kleinen warten. Hoffentlich läßt er sich noch 1 Woche Zeit! Milena

34+ SSW - Das "Ende" naht

Nachdem wir gestern beim Wassergeburtskurs waren, ist mir nochmal aufgefallen, was für einen kleinen Bauch ich habe im Vergleich zu anderen Frauen, die genauso weit sind wie ich. Die haben sich so langsam an uns vorbeigeschoben und sahen alle massiv aus. Aber wart mal ab, wenn Bennet noch ein wenig zulegt über die nächsten Wochen, dann werde ich auch so aussehen. Es neigt sich alles "dem Ende". Noch 1.5 Wochen bei LEGO *schnief*. Am 01. September ist Umzug angesagt. Alles auf den letzten Drücker wie es scheint. Ich werde Ealing vermissen. Noch ein paar Photos, damit ihr auf dem neuesten Stand der Dinge seid. Sie sind ein bisschen gewollt und nicht gekonnt, aber Fotograf ist hier £200 für eine Session, zuuuu teuer. Ryon hat mit vielen Schwangerschaftsymptomen zu kämpfen. Er hat extrem trockene Augen und heute war im so übel, daß er sich 2 x übergeben mußte. Außerdem hat er einen schmerzhaften Versensprung, der ihn davon abhält normal und ohne Schmerzen zu laufen. Und das, obwohl er am Samstag Paintball spielen wollte.

Our Shotgun Wedding ;)

It was something like this... (as narrated by Ryon)

'PPL plz be seated'

'Hi I's officating this heer weddings'

'Ringz plz'

'O hai now u marries my daughter.'

'O noes preggers chixxors shouldn't booze!'