The past few weeks have been marked by a nasty bug, which has made the rounds (sometimes twice) in our house. Last week I spent the entire week ministering to one child or the other and then to Jim, considering myself lucky to have dodged the bullet myself. Alas, this morning I too woke up with the family sickness: sore throat, fever, achy back and neck, and drowsiness.
While I lay in bed this morning, the girls pattered back and forth, getting dressed and checking on me. Evie came in and felt my forehead and, after kissing it (like I do when she is sick) she clucked and said, 'You feel very hot, Mama.' Then she brought me a piece of bread and supervised while I drank some water. Millie was less concerned, but no less sweet, snuggling up to me and showing me her outfit for the day. When they left for school, I went back to sleep and woke up thinking they were standing next to me, looking concerned (They weren't. I just had hallucinatory fever.)
And so, from the sickbed: Mother's Day in London. Not UK Mother's Day, which happened in March, but the US Mother's Day that I'm always angling for (I strongly believe that I should get TWO Mother's Days. Jim thinks this is Mother's Day overkill). This year, with so much going on in our lives, I decided that I didn't have the energy for our annual American Mother's Day argument.
It's been a few years since we've been down to Brick Lane and the Sunday Upmarket and we are both in the market for a bike. Having heard that cheap bikes could be had in the Brick Lane Market, we wanted to check it out (Side note: said bikes are clearly stolen bikes so, despite their enticing prices we were too moral to actually buy any).
Shoreditch in East London is vibrant and artsy and trendy, full of hipsters and artists and funky people much younger and out there than we are. There are lots of galleries, and vintage stores, in addition to the fun markets that happen on Sundays.
After wandering past an amazing looking (and cheap) fruit and veg market, we stumbled on some live music a la Adele. They were just warming up, but the girls settled right in and ate the complimentary dried pineapple snacks that were on the chairs.
Post musical interlude, we finally made our way to Brick Lane Market, which sprawls through several parking lots/car parks. In addition to the stolen bikes there were all kinds of toiletries, some slightly musty looking clothing, wires of all sort, various computers, cameras, chintzy jewelry and other 'bric a brac.' The girls tried to convince us to buy them each a junky ceramic animal figurine, but the 1 pound price for each was just too steep. Our feeling about the Brick Lane Market, despite it being amusing and fun to visit, was that it is pretty seedy and also that it should be the first place you look for any of your stolen goods!
Further on, we encountered a second hand clothing shop that was having a 'super rad' sale. They were playing fun music and had an LSU baseball shirt hanging in their window, so we knew it was a quality place. Or at least a good place to play dress up for a few minutes:
And if you ever desire some colorful, Indian shoes, Brick Lane is the place to go! I love them.
Next stop, obviously, was lunch! Since the last time we were at the Sunday Upmarket, the food options have expanded, with three or four food halls filled with all kinds of international street food. We got there on the early side of the lunch rush, but our chosen food hall was still bustling with hungry people trying to decide between so many tempting culinary options. Usually there isn't anywhere to sit, but we managed to squeeze ourselves into the end of a picnic table, which we shared with a French family. I was beyond happy with my delicious vegetarian Ethiopian Food:
Jim got something Mediterranean, after deciding not to chance Mexican food (wise, I think) and the girls enjoyed South African hot dogs followed by homemade caramel ice cream. Delicious and always the highlight of their day!
Post lunch, our next stop was Jim's choice: Rough Trade Records, which has the biggest selection of music in London (or something like that). Rough Trade Records with two small children is probably not the record shop experience Jim was hoping for. I think, in an ideal world, he would have liked to have wandered through for hours, exploring the new artists, finding vintage Cure vinyls that he wouldn't be able to play because we don't have a record player, listening to music on really awesome and outrageously expensive headphones...
But, instead, he got a brief jaunt through the store, chasing after one girl while I chased after the other, followed by a very exciting trip to the Rough Trade Records Bathroom! Where, to Millie's glee, she could write on the walls with abandon! (unfortunately, she seems to think, since having this exciting experience, that she also can write on OUR walls with abandon. We're working on that).
(I know, Mom, "Fools names and fools faces, etc. etc.")
We spent about half an hour in the bathroom so that everyone could get their fill of writing on the walls, then we headed to the Upmarket (outside of which was the self-proclaimed 'Home of Meat Porn.' Whatever that means. We call it Brisket and Burgers where I come from.)
Recently, I have been taking advantage of my children by having them give me foot massages. They get really excited about it because they get to use my usually forbidden cream and they can pretend to be the spa ladies. This is not child labor because then I give them foot massages too (but Millie is too ticklish so she kind of gets the short end of the stick). Evie LOVES to have a massage, so as soon as she saw the chair massages at the Upmarket there was no stopping her. She and I each enjoyed a 7 minute chair massage that actually was very nice and relaxing. Jim and Millie looked at us like we were crazy and wandered off for the duration of the 7 minutes.
Other highlights of the Sunday Upmarket included: Sunglasses
Dancing
And a guy playing a wooden tenor sax.
Back at home, I changed into my pajamas at about 3:30, expecting a long afternoon of relaxing, but my beloved children and husband had other ideas. It was time for the Mother's Day Restaurant to open and the dress was 'cocktail.' So I donned my finest little black dress (which I was pleasantly surprised to fit into. When so many months--err years--go by without an opportunity to dress up, you just never know!)
My waitress took my order (Wine, main course, and an apple for dessert)
The table was neatly set with beautiful flowers from Jim's garden:
The chef was slaving away in the kitchen, but he took a break to come and dance with us at our New Orleans jazz themed dance party.
And then I found my Sudoku book, which is always all consuming (and a good way to kill time when waiting for your main course to arrive).
Rose attempted to join us for my Mother's Day meal too.
The waitress served up the delicious main course: buckwheat pasta with vegetables and shrimp and salmon and an Asian inspired sauce.
And this is a rare shot of Millie actually eating her dinner (although I think she only ate about three bites):
It was a good American Mother's Day and I'm a lucky mama to love and be so loved by these beautiful little girls and their sweet daddy. Looking forward to all the Mother's Days to come! And now, back to bed...
