overdue update

I can't believe it's only been 2 months since we landed here in the UK...

so much has happened, so much has changed, so much has grown (me in particular!)

After a month and a bit in temporary accommodation at cozy Regent Cottage (which is more like a holiday home for tourists), we are now nice and settled into our own place, a cute and cozy little fisherman's cottage just on the outskirts of town.

It is in the perfect location, walking distance to all of the town's amenities, about a 2 minute's walk to the seafront and a 20 min cycle ride to work for Matt.

It took me several weeks to find this place as we had strict priorities, mainly parking availability, which is so difficult to come by here! But here we are, happy and settled.

Although I've visited England many times, I'm only starting now to get used to how things 'work' here, like the usual mundane things such as gas, electricity, water, tv, internet connection, etc.

Shops and companies are pretty rigid when it comes to business hours and anything that can't be done between the hours of 9am-5pm, you will be more or less stuck.

On the driving front, I'm proud to say that I've not (yet) scratched our car in the small narrow Cornish streets - whereas Matt has left a beauty of a dent on the right side because he didn't see this huge flowerpot, oops!

I actually had to do my British Driver's License test in order to drive manual cars.

Luckily i passed, but there was one baby-brain moment where i actually started to drive on the 'wrong' (aka: Canadian) side of the road.

I was so embarrassed and begged the examiner to redo the manoever again... lucky for me, he took pity on the pregnant lady.

We've gotten into a nice routine now, and the spring weather is finally here which means daffodils EVERYWHERE!!!

I've applied to a few jobs, but in all honesty, i probably haven't been pushing it as much as i could. For one, I'm a bit wary of employers wanting (or not wanting) to hire a 6+ month pregnant woman but also I'm just really really enjoying the time to have the day to myself.

At first it was a lot of unpacking and 'setting up house' and battling many utility companies on the phone, not to mention trying to decipher thick accents from northern Scotland and Wales - I'm sure it went both ways though with my "abooots" and "ooouts. English can really be that mutually unintelligible!

But I'm quite aware of the fact that this precious time to myself will soon be gone in a few months so i'm cherishing it as much as i can now.

Since we shipped the minimal amount of stuff from Canada (and I'm happy to report everything has arrived safely, except for one broken glass picture frame, which is pretty good, considering..), we had to buy everything new again here.

And oh, how i miss big box stores here!! it's such a struggle to find out where to buy sofas, tables/chairs, beds, curtains, dressers.

In the end we went to this place called Trago Mills, about an hour away, which is a bit like today's modern Ikea store, except the whole place is like one big theme park with gargoyles outside, a huge bird cage, a pond, ducks, watermill, many pubs, but of course!

Inside is this intricate maze of STUFF! Practical everyday stuff and then useless stuff you never thought you ever would need, but end up buying anyway.

And everyone that worked there seemed to be at least 60 if not 70+ years old!

Everything on their inventory list was still written in pen and paper in a tatty binder, and everyone calls you "My love". Or that could just be a Cornish thing.. i seem to get that a lot here. Do i really look that young??

At least I haven't gotten carded yet here. Not like in Nanaimo when I got asked for ID the first weekend we arrived, but then again, i'm not ordering double scotches or vodka. Although some days I could kill for a glass of red wine.

As I'm writing, reading and keeping active by going walking swimming 3-4 times/week, attending prenatal yoga classes, and biking - not the motor type, although I do wish for just one long ride along the coastal road... we shipped our helmets and bike gear... but i must be patient.

There's a great National Childbirth Trust (NCT) charity organization in the UK and every so often, towns host "Nearly New" sales, mainly parents who have baby/toddler paraphernalia that they don't need anymore.

We went to one a couple of weeks ago and went crazy mad for Tigger/Tiger outfits.

Since it's the Year of the Tiger, this poor boy of ours already has a huge collection of tiger stuffies, shirts, hats, etc.

I've never seen Matt make a beeline for an item of clothing as quick as the moment he saw that tiger outfit (it's like a Halloween costume, with tail and all!), but I must admit it is very cute.

Yes, we are having a boy!! We wanted to find out and at our last scan there was no inkling of doubt... it is a little boy munchkin!

And is he ever active - last week was the first time i actually SAW some limb of his actually poking OUT of my belly. Unbelievably crazy. Of course I screamed and cried at once!

I am fortunate and am feeling very well during this second trimester. My sinuses have completely cleared up, no swollen ankles, no back ache, nothing.

Just a bit of heartburn now and again and the 20-pound weight gain! However, if the weight continues to pile on in all the right places (ie. chest rather than thighs), then i don't mind one bit!

At he last scan, the sonographer measured the baby's head which is in the 90th percentile - ouch, I blame the Thornington gene there!

And his legs were shorter than average - ok, that's probably thanks to me.

So, I'll sign off here and leave you with the mental image of our son with a humongous blimpish head and short pudgy legs.

Bless him.