2 Hours Traffic

Yesterday was about ending...today is about new beginnings

First a little background. Bob and I were married almost eleven years ago.  We decided quite a few years ago that we wanted to have children and we would let things take their own course (about 8 years ago).

...and it was beginning to look like we were not going to have children.  Some days we were OK with that and other days it was a bit harder.   ...but we went on with our lives.  Working, traveling and spending time with all the children we have in our lives...and we loved our lives, especially when we were finally able to travel to Europe and go to all the places we dreamed of.  I used to always say that I didn't want children until I went to Europe because I knew I would be unable to go once we had them (of course this was years ago and not a REAL concern, just a wish and I would have taken a child ANY DAY).

It was the last day of our time in Paris when I started to think I might be pregnant.  Just a small creeping thought.  Boy, I was really late.  Gee, I am pretty tired.  Still, I had cramps and just thought I was off from the time zone change and major travel.

...and a couple more days passed.  We went to Weymouth for the weekend, our last days in England with our friends...and that is when the little niggles started to grow.

...and on the last day, as we were heading for the tube station to head home, with all of our luggage, I stopped at a Boots on Queensway (jn Notthing Hill).  We got to Victoria Station and hopped on the Gatwick Express, the train that takes us to Gatwick Airport...and Bob talked me into taking the test on the train.

So, in the rumbles and bumps of a train ride...I peed on a stick, and for the first time in my life, I saw a plus sign.. IMMEDAITLY.   NO FREAKIN WAY!!!!!!!!!

...and I went to wash my hands, put soap on them...and the water didn't work.

nice.

So, I wiped the soap on my jeans and walked out to show Bob.  We laughed. We cried. The other people on the train thought we were whacked.

...and then we flew home.

...and then I called the clinic.

....and since then, I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, have had some bleeding and had a ultrasound yesterday that shows the baby in there with a 166 beats per minute heartbeat.

AWESOME.

...and it is time to tell the world and hope for the best.

Meet Baby Gatwick (not really the name LOL)

This is the End...My Only Friend, the End....

Pére Lachaise : While in Paris, we knew we had to make the pilgrimage to Jim Morrison's grave.  Just one of those things I guess...

Morrison's grave was possibly the least interesting thing at the cemetery.  It is just a stunning and serene place to visit.  Everywhere I turned, there were interesting features to photograph.

We actually did have a funny experience while visiting Jim's grave.  There was a guy standing at the site, the entire time we were there, with a large bag of chips.  He ate chip after chip...never stopping for a second.  He stood and stared at the grave, never wavering his gaze.  Each chip was consumed with a very loud CRUNCH followed by the dude's open mouth chomping.

THE ENTIRE TIME!

Dude was waaaaay STONED!

Our first Day in Paris...

We, our friends Pat and Melissa came with us this time, took the Eurostar, Chunnel, to Paris from London.  We were already exhausted (and Pat was hung over from my birthday the night before), so we decided to take a nap on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower.  Relaxing and beautiful in the shade...but also a bit surreal..like Whoah!  We are sleeping in France under the Eiffel Tower  ;-D

That evening just happened to be the last night of the FIFA World Cup game.  France and Italy were playing for the title.  Everyone was closing shop early and we were worried we were not going to find a place to watch the game and have dinner.  Everyone seemed to be headed to the Tower, but the guys didn't want to go with the masses.  We ended up finding a Bistro open right by our hotel.  We were cramped in a back hot and narrow room, but it was such a fun experience.  We drank wine, had dinner and talked to Americans and locals alike.  Bob got into an in depth discussion with a local photographer and later with a cute young French couple (below).  The young women is Crystal, but I am unsure of her boyfriend's name (we never really did figure out how to pronounce it correctly.)

We ended up spending the entire evening with them.  They bought us wine, we bought them wine.  Crystal spoke English very well and her boyfriend spoke very little, but we just had so much fun trying to communicate.  They were very sweet, and I learned a lot from them.

The evening ended around 2 in the morning.  France lost the game, but people were still celebrating and there were cries of, "Itallia" all over the streets by visiting Italians. The owner of the bistro told us how much she enjoyed us and that we were, "great for Americans."  Of course, we did giver her a nice tip.  ;-p

Our first night made Bob a believer.  He really didn't want to go to France, but after that first day/evening, he understood the allure of the city.

...a few more of Ireland.

Thanks for the comments!  Here are a few more of Ireland before I move on...

#1 sitting on an alter stone in Kinsale Ireland at a small stone circle.

#2  Dublin at night from the Ha' Penny Bridge.

#3 This is what most of the little towns look like in Ireland.