Potty Mouth has Moved!

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We look forward to sharing more adventures with you.

Team Potty Mouth

Muh-thaaa

Need I say more?

Guy Fawkes

Fawkes burns in effigy on the pyre behind us.

Charlotte drives the pink princess car at the fair.

For three days we have heard the boom and sizzle of fireworks outside our home, the warm-up to Guy Fawkes day, which is celebrated on Nov. 5 and inspires the otherwise subdued Brits to go forth and light bonfires and set off pyrotechnics. They are celebrating (as Harry explained to me at breakfast), "Guy Fawkes, who tried to bomb the King."  It's actually not a bad approximation of the truth.

Andrea and Harry drive duo.

On Nov 5, 1605, Fawkes and his co-conspirators planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the thrown.  Fawkes placed a store of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords. An anonymous letter was his downfall and the plot dismantled. Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot. His effigy is often burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks.

After enjoying the family fair on Midsummer Common, joined by our friends Mila and Eduardo and their daughter Andrea, we gathered at 7: 30 p.m. for an amazing fireworks show (so BIG, so bright, so incredible to be standing nearly beneath it). After the last firecracker popped, organizers lit a HUGE pyre. Our first Guy Fawkes experience.

CIS International Festival

Shannon and I pose before the throngs arrive.

The American offering.

It was our school's first-ever International Festival, hosted at the upper school, and largely run by the diverse group of families that attend Cambridge International School. I volunteered to handle America (ably assisted by Paul) and our good friend Shannon Houde, a fellow American, whose son Max attends nursery with Charlotte. Her husband is Quebecois, so she spearheaded the Canadian contingent of our North America effort.

And let me tell you, it is not easy to divine strictly American delicacies (to be sampled by.....400!). What is America but a melange of every culture. But I think we hit the bulls eye with Toll House chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie topped with cream, Cheese Whiz on Ritz (our joke item, which by the way, the French contingent did not get at all...) and the hands-down favorite/controversial item: Root Beer soda.

Ms. Easy and Ms. Nichols sample the pie.

"Is it really beer?" asked many of the children. I tried to explain the addictive nature of root beer to those who'd never tried it and wrinkled their noses at the smell. But funny, they kept coming back for more (one girl reappeared no less than 4 times, "sneaking" a total of 15 cups for her friends sitting at a craft table. I counted). But my favorite comment, overheard, was a delightful little boy who brought a friend over to sample this new discovery.

"It takes a lot like mouthwash," he explained to his 8-year-old companion. "But it's quite lovely."

The Koreans served a delicious rice wine!

The finishing touch to our display was a power-point presentation about America, a self-deprecating romp that included some very funny quotes and factoids.  

"Very little is known about the War of 1812 because the Americans lost it."  ~Eric Nicol.

The puppet theater.

Charlotte and her puppet Angelina take the stage.

The event was a big success. In addition to  our food stall,  there were delicacies from all around the world - stinky cheeses from France, sweets from Australia, Spanish wines and dishes, Korean BBQ and dumplings, Indian  food galore, and a slew of activities for the kids, from drumming (led by a musician from Guinea), puppet making courtesy a puppet theater, Asian fan decorating, and Chinese Calligraphy, Japanese mask making, polish dancing, the list goes on. It was a great representation of the cultures at CIS. 


The evening closed out with fireworks on the property. We're very proud of our new school.

Eating Crow

This year's Smith Barnes offering: A Bat, Thomas the Tank Engine and Cyclops.

In a word, I am embarrassed. Just a wee bit, feeling low for all the disparaging things I said about our would-be English Halloween. Perhaps basement-low expectation were in order. But how surprised were we that we had so many trick-or-treaters at our door on Halloween that had we not dipped heavily into the kids' candy, we, the Americans, would have run out. RUN OUT.

Indeed, we heard reports from folks on the street that they'd never before seen such an embrace of the festival and were barring their doors lest they be banged down. We do live in the city and we do live in a neighborhood that's heavily populated with young families. We got a lot of visitors whereas some of our British friends still got nary a knock.

But kids galore there were. And Harry and Charlotte delighted in handing out candy before taking a spin around the block to gather more. We met slews of parents and were even invited to a back-yard party for a BBQ. That's the spirit!

It was a lovely experience, relieving much of my anxiety about ripping the kids out of America during their prime Halloween years (yes, I love it that much).

So three-cheer Cambridge. I'm eating crow, for sure.

Carved-Out

Scooping

 

 

   

What a thrill this year to get so much help scooping and carving (!) from Harry and Charlotte: a sincere dream-come-true for this pumpkin-lover.

Cutting together

Job Well Done

'Phone Home'

Cinderella

The Gruffalo

People are always asking if we hang out at the local air force bases to be with other Americans. In short: NO, NO and NO. But when it came to Halloween, we knew we wanted to rub shoulders and candy with other like-minded Americans. Bring on the Reese's and the Milky Ways and the costume contests and general door-to-door merriment.

So off to RAF Alconbury we went Saturday night for their annual festival. The highlight was the trick-or-treating on a few blocks of base housing. There are SO many Americans (and Brits who find a way to get invited) there each year that they take up a candy donation in advance to help the homeowners. And they do an amazing job, setting up shop in front of their doors with massive buckets of candy and lit pumpkins and a phenomenal attitude. It's just like being home. And surreal:  the throngs of kids in costume made both Paul and me (SIMULTANEOUSLY) think of the trick-or-treating scene from the movie ET. Just that strange.

But the kids loved it, of course. We'll definitely be back next year.  And a big, final thank you to grandma for investing so much time and love in Charlotte's costume. She felt and looked SO beautiful.

Plastic Fangs, a bit hit.

Tarantula Cupcake, a bit hit.

The Throngs....can you see them behind us?

A Taste of Summer

We've been shocked (!) to hear about the October snow in our beloved Washington. Especially since it is still so unseasonably mild in Cambridge. Dip the toes? Why not.

A Bootiful Surprise

We're sending big hugs and kisses to some of our favorite Alexandria mums (Dinah, Jen, Holly, Amanda and Perrin) for the wonderful box of Halloween treats that arrived last night. You guys rock! Missing you very much and what is sure to be a fun Halloween party at the Dietrick's.


Somehow our Halloween decorations and pumpkin carving tools got left behind (inconceivable to me) in the move, so the little felt trick-or-treating bags that were included are a  godsend.

We head to RAF Alconbury this afternoon for hayrides and door-to-door candy gathering, American style, which will be the highlight of the Halloween experience for us here.

Halloween night proper will likely be a relative dud, still we plan to put out candy and look for a lit jack-o-lantern or two in the hood (case and point: our 15-year-old babysitter last night saw the box of goodies and said, very curiously, 'OH, you celebrate Halloween?!' as if it were the most foreign of concepts. Which I guess it is. So we wowed her with our newly acquired marshmallow ghosts and Pez. You'd have thought we arrived from Mars.

Kick, Kick, Kick

Charlotte with Simon. She has mastered eyelash -batting through goggles.

After a 5-day swim crash course, which the kids both enjoyed, I have discovered two things: my son is not a natural fish (I believe he was a shipwreck victim in a former life. Having clung to the lifeboat for days he is naturally reluctant to put his head under the water). My daughter is part mermaid, part Gossip Girl, and spent much of her lessons with teacher Simon...chatting about butterflies and ponies.

Harry and his American instructor Carolyn.

Pencil or Pen?

Charlotte dives into a refrigerator cake while Harry "tucks in" to the crossword with  a pen and a random smattering of letters -- great amusement for the other diners in Balzano's Cafe.

Monster Mash

Group hug.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a raucous (read: loud) play date with our buddy Sofie, who is in Harry's class but is also a favorite of Charlotte. My daughter suggested they dress up. Harry modeled his Halloween costume, taking the role of the princess-eating monster (he's a big fan of the horns).

Children of the Corn

In the exurbs of Washington, you can't swing a cat without hitting a farm festival selling beautiful, robust pumpkins. The cider and the caramel apples and the hayrides....ahhhhh.

Max, Charlotte, Austin and Harry

The Halloween picture is less rosy in England where best I can tell it's the small number of expats and their children, and a few adventuresome Brits, that drive the Halloween festival. 

On Sunday we piled into the car and ventured with our friends the Houdes to a pumpkin patch near RAF Mildenhall. It was the saddest collection of gourds I have ever seen ( our local Giant Food has a better offering). They just don't breed 'em like we American's do, plump and tall and round and oh-so ORANGE.

So we engaged in a little compensation called "pony rides!" And enjoyed, really really enjoyed, a trek through the maize maze, which challenged visitors to complete a quiz (answers were along the pathways, grand prize...100 quid).

Let's face it...who cares about the perfect pumpkin? Me. Not my children. They want to ride in the wheelbarrows, pick up every gourd within eye-shot find just the right combine tractor to climb. Mission accomplished.


It is, as always, a pleasure to be living in a city that is, at it's core, rural. Our walking paths in the city center are engaged daily by cows, who roam and eat and roam and eat and deposit pies for us to navigate. Between the easy-to-obtain farm-fresh veggies and eggs, it always feels like a fall festival.

But just for good measure, I'm sending a love letter to Cox Farms in Centerville, Va. this year.

There's a reason I lament the crummy pumpkin crop here. I'm a carving addict. These are from two years ago.

Swing Time

Harry knows a good time when he sees it and cozied-up to some bigger kids in the park for a chance to ride the genie swing- at near death-defying heights. A very sweet father kept asking him if he was OK. The only danger to him was over stimulation. 

Tippy Toes

The girls in our Friday ballet class are working hard for their November performance. I only get sneak peeks, but I laugh uproariously when I look in and see them. The ballerinas range in age from 3 to 5 and as you can see, most of them are doing their own thing, particularly my girl, a good year younger than the others, who stops in the middle of this performance to....chat. The clip ends just as she's doing her curtsey, which resembles a bit of a dying swan routine.

Princesses and Knights

Adison and Charlotte

You will not be surprised to hear that Princess and Knights are a big birthday theme in the UK. BIG. We attended another party on Sunday, a joint fete for our friends Adison and Axel. And thanks to providence, we just happen to have a full princess rig in the closet. A few snapshots, including a very exuberant dance-a-thon (prizes awarded to children who can stand statue-still when music stopped).

I am not exaggerating when I say I have not seen this many hoop skirts since a televised cotillion.

Pucker-Up

Someone, and I'd rather not say who, this afternoon received a small compact of lip gloss in her birthday party favor bag.  Unfortunately she knew exactly where to apply said gloss.

Beauty Lives

The Bean has come to town and brought a special birthday present for Ms. Charlotte....the ultimate Disney extravaganza....Sleeping Beauty's rig, complete with a detachable cape, tiara, purse and (wait for it)...hoop skirt!

Balzano's is Open!

The Cafe

We are so delighted for our friends Rebecca and Rocco Balzano who today unveiled  their renovated cafe. It is a testament to stylish eateries and organic eats. I can't wait to go in often for Illy coffee and an Italian cookie...or two. Congratulations guys!  

Rocco and Becky

Good Eats

Anglesey Abbey

See the dust in the air? That's flour.

Only in England would you take your kids to an abbey for a good time. Anglesey is a great place for an afternoon walk, lots of woods, a little croquet and a water-driven load mill where you can watch flour be ground and then buy a bag to take home (I'm planning some homemade pancakes on Sunday, Harry is most intrigued).

Boo! (hoo hoo hoo)

Halloween in Britain is scary, just not in a good way. Read about it at On The Roundabout.

Zaaaap!

Harry is learning to read but apparently not fast enough. "Mommy, why does my finger hurt?"  Serves us right for trying to meet our Christmas dinner in advance.

Crowned

Of course I am all in favor of the subject matter of this latest headdress brought home from nursery. school. It was accompanied by an apple crumble that the kids made. With it were a list of instructions - take a photo of your Charlotte eating it and ask a host of questions: what ingredients did you use? Etc.

Number 3. Do you like how it tastes?
Charlotte: "I DO NOT LIKE THIS!"

Points for honesty.

Feathered Breakfast

Please note the horizontal and vertical stripes. We're trying to stun the swans into submission with our avant-guarde fashion sense.

Charlotte's 3rd Birthday Party

We had barely touched our feet to English soil when we were introduced to Michelle and Alex Robson, whose son Kai attends nursery with Charlotte. Sensing our tentative grip on the landscape, they very very very kindly offered to host with us a joint birthday party (Kai and Charlotte are but two weeks apart in age).

The party itself fell on Charlotte's birthday, Oct. 9, when we and the Robsons and all of the kids' nursery playmates, gathered at the Grantchester mini railway, which is set in a park, for lunch, cake and a few chugs around the track.

Lucile gives our pinata a whack.

Heloise hits the jackpot.

Heaven!

Despite all predictions, the weather held beautifully and the kids, bless them, had a jolly time. Harry, of course, was keen on riding the train, which circled the woods, while Charlotte was mostly preoccupied with her cake, a testament to all things American and Barbie and pink. I'm pretty sure the mere existence of said cake has branded me an audacious mother from the States. But she just loved it and that's all that matters (to this audacious mother from the States).

Before the afternoon was over, we played pass-the-parcel (a UK favorite) and showed our wee little friends how to whack a pinata, the concept of which is foreign to most of our new pals, both young and adult. In fact, I was approached after-the-fact by a photographer from the Cambridge News asking me what in the blazes we'd been doing. "Is that called 'beat the bug?'" he wondered at our tattered butterfly. He took photos and perhaps they'll make the paper.

It's particularly during occasions like this that we miss our friends back home, but we feel ever so lucky to have wonderful playmates from school help us fill the big void.  Our big thanks go out to grandma, who offered the children face painting (Charlotte, when you ask years from now, you painted your OWN face), and the Robsons, whose suggestion of the mini railway was nothing short of brilliant.

Happy Birthday Charlotte! It was definitely one for the record books.

Our offering to the weather gods.

Kai and Charlotte, who is pouring on the charm for his benefit.

I could write an entire post on how to CUT a Barbie cake.