The Eccentric American Mama in Cumbria

This blog post was in my feed this morning and I couldn't help but share it because it reminded me of an email I received from my brother Matthew, I wrote back to him with a bit of advice that I thought would be helpful but really I should have just sent him this blog because it pretty much sums up what I was trying to say but as usual is way more concise :) The original post can be found here:  Blog In the end, more than anything else, we regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were too afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make. Think about it… The big opportunity you procrastinated on.  That friend you never called.  Those important words you left unspoken. You know what I’m talking about. Every one of us has experienced feelings of regret.  But it’s not too late to set things straight.  We’re still here breathing.  Today we have an opportunity to change tomorrow.  Right now we can choose to erase reg...

I had errands to run and a house to clean ... Coffee, milk, dog food for Hobson, cat food for the cat we haven't seen in months, who refuses to come when we call him, only sneaking in here and there to grab a bite of food before venturing out for the day to most likely chase field mice or terrorise the other local cats. Dinner, oh god what are we going to have for dinner, hamburgers again? No they sit like a rock in my stomach. Pizza? Maybe, but what about when we start weaning Cyril, can we have pizza then, probably not, better not get into the habit. Speaking of weaning, he's 21 weeks, only 3 weeks to go until we get started on this train and I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Puree or baby-led? Who knows and quite frankly who the fuck cares how I feed him as long as he learns how to chew and swallow it'll be a success right? Oh god what if he doesn't learn to swallow, will I have to tube feed him for life, or use a food processor forever, god I hate ...

I'm finding it very difficult to keep up with my blogging these days. On the one hand, I desperately want to record these special moments and share them with friends and family from afar but on the other hand i'm finding time far too precious these days to allocate anytime to regular blogging. When did Cyril become 19 weeks old? Where has that time gone, how could it have possibly gone so quick?  When he was days old, and I was in excruciating pain, the days seemed to last an eternity. Now that we're making real strides, the day seems over before it's even begun. And then there's my husband, yes I am actually married, although some days it just seems like we coexist under the same roof. I'm not saying this negatively, but when one of you has worked a really long hard day in the office, and the other has changed about 10 nappies, played 15 rounds of peek-a-boo, sung every nursery rhyme known to mankind, endured endless crying, walked both dog and baby to ...

Da Beach! This post is two weeks late because quite frankly Cyril, Josh, Hobson and I were having way too much fun on holiday to post in a timely manner, we also didn't have internet connection, but seriously vacationing with a four month old was a blast ;) Glenvaugh Castle, Ireland Tea room at Glenvaugh castle, the midges were ridiculous, miraculously Cyril didn't get bit! Attempting a family photo, Hobson finally cooperated but it involved Josh grabbing him and placing him in this position just as the camera clicked, phew! Mini me Hey, are you guys still out there?! Daddy help The top of Muckish Mountain, taking a well earned rest, not that he needs it since he slept the entire way up :) At four months Baby Cyril ... *Can roll from his back to his front and his front to his back Practicing rolling from front to back :) *Can move approximately 5 feet by squirming on his back, sometimes this ends up...

With summer right around the corner, and more importantly for Americans celebrating the Fourth of July, I decided to scour the internet for some of my favourite red, white and blue items for my little pigglet. I particularly am obsessed with the star spangled slip on shoes, and for £6, you can't beat the price. Sadly, there won't be any fireworks over in England but I'm wishing everyone back home a safe and happy holiday, have a beer for me as I will definitely be missing one of my favourite holidays over here :( Please excuse the look of the photos, I'm still trying to figure out how to group items together and write on them like they do in the magazines, I might never find the time to figure this out! Hawaiian Vest Red Stripe Red Jeans Striped Tank Top Star Spangled Bordies Sun Hat Tank Top Vest Flip Flops Red, White, Blue Striped Shorts Star Trainers Oh, and this one is for all of you that can't resist my ...

I just want to wish Josh a Happy First Father’s Day from the Soper clan! We couldn’t survive without him, literally I think I would have killed the whole family by now, not on purpose of course but I often find my blonde tendencies getting in the way of survival. For example, there was the time that I completely forgot to feed Hobson and only realised he was hungry when I couldn’t figure out what that noise was in the bed, oh yeah, it was Hobson’s stomach growling, that’s when Josh took over the responsibility of feeding the dog. Then there was the time that I left Cyril in his chair only to come back into the living room to see him hanging off of it screaming, he decided he wanted to roll over way early. Or the time I got hopelessly lost in the back country only to be rescued by a sketchy guy in a minivan, after that ordeal Josh taught me how to read a map and compass. I’m pretty sure I could write a novel about all the times I screwed up and Josh came to the rescue. Needless t...