Sooo...on Thursday morning, bright and early, we weren't sure exactly where to go to find breakfast. We knew that most of the places close by to us weren't open, yet, and we hadn't ridden the Metro, yet, so we eventually reasoned that McDonald's was probably going to be our best bet. I mean, why not? We had only had it for lunch AND dinner the day before, but we were reasonably certain that our darlings were already having McDee's withdrawal. So, once again, we made the trek across the street for food. Now, the McDonald's in Paris had a cool little "easy order" kind of thing that had a touch screen where you could place your order in your own language. After about ten minutes of trying to figure out the machine and then going through each person to figure out what they wanted and then actually typing it in, we were sorely disappointed to find out that the "easy order" machine wouldn't accept Chris' Dutch bank card.
Good grief.
So, we proceeded up to the counter to try to begin the never ending battle of ordering food and wondering if you're going to actually get what you ordered. Honestly, I'm not really sure what we ordered that first morning. I think we ordered several breakfast combos, but we ended up with several packs of pancakes, a couple of egg mcmuffins of sorts, and several cups of juice that none of our pickies would drink. But, thankfully, they all three loved the pancakes!
So, with full bellies, we left to conquer Paris!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that while we were in the midst of driving with the crazies the night before, I discovered that the card in my camera was FULL! So, it was imperative that we go and immediately find a camera store to buy another card. So, the concierge directed us to the Virgin Superstore (as in Virgin Records!) and we bought another card. We took it out and placed it into the camera, but something was wrong with the card. SO....Chris took it back in to the store. The guy literally had to take apart a camera so he could "check" the card. After about ten minutes, he finally realized that we had indeed just purchased a faulty card, and he exchanged it. The second one worked.
We then began the next order of business...mastering the Metro. Now, most people that we had talked to about the Metro spoke very fondly of it, and we weren't too concerned about figuring it out; however, we had no idea about the Metro passes, how many days we needed them or if we needed zone 1-3 or 1-5. The lady at the Metro was very nice and spoke English fairly fluently...thank goodness. After about fifteen minutes of reading the Metro map, we decided we were ready! I'm SO glad we got to experience the Disney World busses back in October, because that was like a trial run to prepare us for the French Metro. The kids did great on this, and they got even better the more we rode it. So, in a matter of minutes, we arrived at our destination to get on the double-decker bus to tour Paris!
The bus tour was really great, and we got a great overview of the city and some historical background information, too. The tour lasted for about an hour and a half, and then it dropped us off at the *deep breath* EIFFEL TOWER!
And, let me just say that the Eiffel Tower is more breathtaking than I thought it would be. There was just something about seeing that iconic figure in person that was just plain overwhelming! The kids were just as overwhelmed as I was, and they couldn't wait to go up in it! Poor Ashlynn, though, had to go to the bathroom about midway through the bus tour, so by the time we actually got to the Tower, she was in dire need of the facilities! As we were getting in line to go up, I asked the man taking our tickets where the closest restroom was, and it was on the second level, which was where we were going. I assured Ashlynn it wouldn't be long and that all we had to do was just ride the elevator up, and then she could go potty. So we (and about 50 other people) crammed into the huge elevator and rode up to the second level. We jumped off and began to frantically search for the bathroom...no time for enjoying the beautiful scenery, just yet. Aaah...we found the restrooms! And, the line. I kid you not. We waited in a line for the bathroom for at least twenty-five minutes. Poor Ashlynn was a super trooper, though. She never complained, but became more excited as we inched toward the door. *Fun fact*... there were only three bathroom stalls for women on the ENTIRE second level, which is also the busiest level. So if you're headed to the Eiffel Tower any time soon, try to "go" before you go up, if possible.
Well, the views were amazing! When we got to the top (second-level top), it was pretty clear and sunny, so we got some pretty good pictures. The longer we stayed, the clouds began to roll in and then it started to drizzle. We ended up visiting both gift shops, eating some fantastically yummy ice cream and staying on the second level for at least an hour. It was awesome.
After walking around the tower at least twice and taking a bazillion pictures, we were finally ready to descend. When we got to the bottom, we began to look for the post office. I had read that if you mail items from the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, the postmark will be the Eiffel Tower, itself. So, we had purchased a couple of postcards from the gift shop and set out to find the post office at the bottom. My intent was to mail a bunch of cards, but I forgot to print off my addresses before the movers packed my computer, so sadly, we only sent cards to our parents.
After going up, walking around and coming back down, our McDonald's breakfast had long disappeared. We decided to hit one of the snack bar places at the bottom. We got each of the boys a HUGE hot dog. (One would have been plenty for both of them, but we didn't know that.) Ashlynn wanted a waffle...that she ended up not being nuts about. Chris and I basically ate what was leftover. :-)
Then, we decided we'd walk over to Trocadero to get some really good pictures of L'Eiffel Tower. So, we began to walk the block over, and it began to drizzle. Then, it began to rain. Then, it proceeded to pour. We ran under some trees, and a little guy came running over with a sack full of umbrellas.
Him: "Umbrella?"
Us: "How much?"
Him: "10 Euro."
Us: "No way!"
Him: "Okay...7 Euro."
Us: "No, thanks."
Him: "Okay...two for 10 Euro."
Us: "No,thanks."
Him: "How much you pay?"
Us: "3 Euro."
Him: "No."
And, off he runs to hit the next clump of trees with waiting tourists. In the meantime, it begins to be a monsoonal rain. And, it starts to rain through the trees. Here comes umbrella boy, again.
Him: "Umbrella?"
Us: We shrug.
Him: "4 Euro."
Us: "We'll take one."
We are crazy, gullible tourists...
Anyway, the rest of our evening consisted of going on a boat tour of Paris. The boat tour was incredibly relaxing. I didn't learn as much on that tour, but I did enjoy just riding and looking at all the buildings from a different angle. On a side note, this would have been beautiful at night.
We topped off our night with guess where?
McDonald's, of course.
Kids were thrilled.
We were not.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 1 of "Trip to Paris"
Well, it is now 10:45 AM on Tuesday morning.
What. A. Week. We've. Had.
Now, if I sat here and wrote down ALL the details of the things that have occurred since we arrived, I would be writing nonstop, and you would get tired of reading it. So, I'll try to summarize the highlights...
Let me begin with last Wednesday when we left to go to Paris. We had decided to drive ourselves to Paris (which was supposed to take five hours from our house) rather than take the "high speed train" (which was supposed to take less than three hours). Now, there were several reasons that we decided that this was the best route for us... 1. It was cheaper (the train costs roughly 80 euros per person, and with five people, that was pretty costly), 2. Since this was our first European vacation, we felt like we had more freedom to kind of figure things out, since we wouldn't have to be on a strict schedule. 3. This also would alleviate all of us having to drag all of our luggage from cab to train to cab to hotel and back. 4. This would give us a chance to see the countryside! :-)
Before we left the house, we made all the children go to the bathroom, and we had a "serious" talk about how in Europe, the bathrooms are few and far between-AND-you have to PAY to go potty! So, if we stop, everyone tries to go to the bathroom. No exceptions!
So, our first challenge was trying to fit all five of us and our luggage in a two-door, eleven year old BMW. Yes, I said a two-door. Downsizing from a nice, roomy minivan to a two-door coupe was no easy job, but we managed.
So, after loading the car with luggage and kids and setting the GPS, we finally began our trek at about 11:30 Wednesday morning. So, by our calculations, we should arrive by, say by 5:00, right? Sounds great!
Well, of course, the kids were starving, so we had to make a run by McDonald's in Leidschendam (about 15 minutes from our house). They had a great set up for kids, too! In the Happy Meal, they got chicken nuggets, fries, a drink, a dessert (cup of fruit) and a balloon on a stick, if they wanted one. We'll definitely come back here! Oh, and when I say "make a run," I don't mean in the drive-thru...there is not one. We had to physically get out, go in, order, sit down and eat. Who does that in America when traveling with kids?
So, after filling our bellies, we finally got going! Paris, France, Here We Come!!
We began the easy drive through the Netherlands and made our way to Belgium with no problem. And, let me just say that Belgium is beautiful! It is very green with lots of grazing cows. We drove along enjoying the scenery, and honestly, the kids did great in the back seat. They occupied themselves with DS's and iPods and a couple of little mini car games. We had told them that if they needed to go to the bathroom, they should give us PLENTY of warning, because it might take a while to find a bathroom. Sure enough, we were right. Now, I'm sure there are lots of places to go potty, if you are a local and you know where to go. But, since we couldn't read the signs, we finally figured out that if there is a fork and spoon sign, generally there are bathrooms close by. So, we had to stop twice in Belgium...at 2 euros a pop.
So far, so good! We kept going...went through Belgium and entered France. Again, France is beautiful, too! It is very, very flat with lots of farmland. We did notice that there were many more McDonald's in France than in Belgium. (We had been told that, generally, one can go to the restroom free of charge in most McDonald's, so we tried to look for those.) Anyway, we were making pretty good time when we started seeing signs for Paris, so we knew we were getting very close! We all were getting more excited by the minute!!
So, we finally entered downtown Paris, right on time, because it had taken us roughly five hours to get there! We were doing great!
Until, we came out of the tunnel to enter the "true downtown Paris."
Then, it was like a scene out of National Lampoon's European Vacation with the Griswolds.
For real.
There were cars EVERYWHERE!! No one followed traffic rules. If the light was red, they went through it. If you were in the left lane to go straight, you'd better watch out beside you, because the car behind you might go around you and then pull in front of you to turn left. People would cut you off without batting an eye. Oh, and the motorcycles could legally drive between the cars, so you really had to watch out for them! It was almost total gridlock. Talk about culture shock! All five of us were dumbfounded and quiet, just trying to take it all in. S-L-O-W-L-Y we inched our way to our hotel. What was almost a five hour trip turned into a SEVEN hour trip. Yes, it took us TWO hours to get through downtown Paris.
We had reservations at the Citadines Hotel, and our GPS had done a great job of getting us to it. But, we drove by it the first time, because it was not directly on the street. Once we finally located the tiny entrance, we couldn't find a parking place, so we had to circle the block...again. I'm certain the people standing outside the cafe down the street were laughing hysterically at us, because I'm pretty sure we passed them at least four times just circling the block. Finally, we decided to just pull up by the sidewalk and unload our stuff and try to quickly check in. Surely, the concierge could give us some advice on parking!
So, we all got out, unloaded and walked in. We got the key, and I took the kids upstairs to check in while Chris went back out to park the car in the hotel parking garage...thank goodness for that garage!!
Now, I will tell you that the hotel room looked like "normal" hotel room, for the most part. However, we kept tryig to turn the lights on, and they wouldn't come on. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. We looked around the room, and I noticed a strange looking "thing" beside the door that had two lights on it. It looked like it might be something that needed our hotel key, so I slid the key into it, and voila, we had lights!! So, I took it out. The lights stayed on for about 60 seconds and then went off again. I placed the key back in...again. Voila! Lights! So, I took it out...again. The lights stayed on for about 60 seconds and then went out...AGAIN! Finally, Aaron said, "Mama, maybe you have to leave the key in." Gee, I'm so glad we have our children to figure things out for us...what a smart kid. :-)
Anyway, we had managed to make it through Belgium, France, downtown Paris, to the hotel and into the room unscathed. I'd say that makes for a pretty great day!
And, how did we top off the day? Why, of course, at the McDonald's across the street from our hotel! :-)
Stay tuned for Day 2...
What. A. Week. We've. Had.
Now, if I sat here and wrote down ALL the details of the things that have occurred since we arrived, I would be writing nonstop, and you would get tired of reading it. So, I'll try to summarize the highlights...
Let me begin with last Wednesday when we left to go to Paris. We had decided to drive ourselves to Paris (which was supposed to take five hours from our house) rather than take the "high speed train" (which was supposed to take less than three hours). Now, there were several reasons that we decided that this was the best route for us... 1. It was cheaper (the train costs roughly 80 euros per person, and with five people, that was pretty costly), 2. Since this was our first European vacation, we felt like we had more freedom to kind of figure things out, since we wouldn't have to be on a strict schedule. 3. This also would alleviate all of us having to drag all of our luggage from cab to train to cab to hotel and back. 4. This would give us a chance to see the countryside! :-)
Before we left the house, we made all the children go to the bathroom, and we had a "serious" talk about how in Europe, the bathrooms are few and far between-AND-you have to PAY to go potty! So, if we stop, everyone tries to go to the bathroom. No exceptions!
So, our first challenge was trying to fit all five of us and our luggage in a two-door, eleven year old BMW. Yes, I said a two-door. Downsizing from a nice, roomy minivan to a two-door coupe was no easy job, but we managed.
So, after loading the car with luggage and kids and setting the GPS, we finally began our trek at about 11:30 Wednesday morning. So, by our calculations, we should arrive by, say by 5:00, right? Sounds great!
Well, of course, the kids were starving, so we had to make a run by McDonald's in Leidschendam (about 15 minutes from our house). They had a great set up for kids, too! In the Happy Meal, they got chicken nuggets, fries, a drink, a dessert (cup of fruit) and a balloon on a stick, if they wanted one. We'll definitely come back here! Oh, and when I say "make a run," I don't mean in the drive-thru...there is not one. We had to physically get out, go in, order, sit down and eat. Who does that in America when traveling with kids?
So, after filling our bellies, we finally got going! Paris, France, Here We Come!!
We began the easy drive through the Netherlands and made our way to Belgium with no problem. And, let me just say that Belgium is beautiful! It is very green with lots of grazing cows. We drove along enjoying the scenery, and honestly, the kids did great in the back seat. They occupied themselves with DS's and iPods and a couple of little mini car games. We had told them that if they needed to go to the bathroom, they should give us PLENTY of warning, because it might take a while to find a bathroom. Sure enough, we were right. Now, I'm sure there are lots of places to go potty, if you are a local and you know where to go. But, since we couldn't read the signs, we finally figured out that if there is a fork and spoon sign, generally there are bathrooms close by. So, we had to stop twice in Belgium...at 2 euros a pop.
So far, so good! We kept going...went through Belgium and entered France. Again, France is beautiful, too! It is very, very flat with lots of farmland. We did notice that there were many more McDonald's in France than in Belgium. (We had been told that, generally, one can go to the restroom free of charge in most McDonald's, so we tried to look for those.) Anyway, we were making pretty good time when we started seeing signs for Paris, so we knew we were getting very close! We all were getting more excited by the minute!!
So, we finally entered downtown Paris, right on time, because it had taken us roughly five hours to get there! We were doing great!
Until, we came out of the tunnel to enter the "true downtown Paris."
Then, it was like a scene out of National Lampoon's European Vacation with the Griswolds.
For real.
There were cars EVERYWHERE!! No one followed traffic rules. If the light was red, they went through it. If you were in the left lane to go straight, you'd better watch out beside you, because the car behind you might go around you and then pull in front of you to turn left. People would cut you off without batting an eye. Oh, and the motorcycles could legally drive between the cars, so you really had to watch out for them! It was almost total gridlock. Talk about culture shock! All five of us were dumbfounded and quiet, just trying to take it all in. S-L-O-W-L-Y we inched our way to our hotel. What was almost a five hour trip turned into a SEVEN hour trip. Yes, it took us TWO hours to get through downtown Paris.
We had reservations at the Citadines Hotel, and our GPS had done a great job of getting us to it. But, we drove by it the first time, because it was not directly on the street. Once we finally located the tiny entrance, we couldn't find a parking place, so we had to circle the block...again. I'm certain the people standing outside the cafe down the street were laughing hysterically at us, because I'm pretty sure we passed them at least four times just circling the block. Finally, we decided to just pull up by the sidewalk and unload our stuff and try to quickly check in. Surely, the concierge could give us some advice on parking!
So, we all got out, unloaded and walked in. We got the key, and I took the kids upstairs to check in while Chris went back out to park the car in the hotel parking garage...thank goodness for that garage!!
Now, I will tell you that the hotel room looked like "normal" hotel room, for the most part. However, we kept tryig to turn the lights on, and they wouldn't come on. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. We looked around the room, and I noticed a strange looking "thing" beside the door that had two lights on it. It looked like it might be something that needed our hotel key, so I slid the key into it, and voila, we had lights!! So, I took it out. The lights stayed on for about 60 seconds and then went off again. I placed the key back in...again. Voila! Lights! So, I took it out...again. The lights stayed on for about 60 seconds and then went out...AGAIN! Finally, Aaron said, "Mama, maybe you have to leave the key in." Gee, I'm so glad we have our children to figure things out for us...what a smart kid. :-)
Anyway, we had managed to make it through Belgium, France, downtown Paris, to the hotel and into the room unscathed. I'd say that makes for a pretty great day!
And, how did we top off the day? Why, of course, at the McDonald's across the street from our hotel! :-)
Stay tuned for Day 2...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Mother of the Year Payback
Well, a whole lot can happen in a 24 hour time frame when you are a foreigner in an unfamiliar country. Let me first begin by describing our night since I last posted...
If you recall, I was "bragging" about being the Mother of the Year, because I let my darlings stay up until 2:30 in the morning on the same evening that we arrived, because they wanted to watch a beloved TV show. Then, if you recall, I also ended my previous post going to wake up said darlings at 12:15 in the afternoon of the following day. Poor, poor sleepy babies...Fast forward to that evening. (Honestly, we didn't really do anything very "blog worthy" that day other than just lie around and try to get familiar with the house.) Well, by midnight of that night, my formerly sleepy babies were no longer very interested in sleep. Now, in Ashlynn's defense, she did have a very bad cough which did keep her up, but I knew that if she ever WENT to sleep, her cough would subside. So, Chris and I finally got them all in the bed (the same inflatable mattress-bed, mind you)at around midnight. I decided I was going to sit up and wait to see how Ashlynn's cough did before I went to sleep. Her cough didn't get any better, and at around 12:30, she showed up in our room. I let her crawl into bed with us thinking that she would eventually drift off to sleep and her cough would go away. (By the way, I had already given her some children's cough syrup from the ginormous suitcase full of drugs that we had checked at the airport.) Anyway, she continued to cough. And cough. And cough. And cough. And, then...at around 1:30, in walks visitor number 2. Aaron comes in immediately complaining that Ashlynn's cough had woken him up, and he just couldn't go back to sleep. Good grief. So, with Ashlynn hacking in our bed and now visitor number 2 about to crawl in bed with us, I suggested to Chris that he might actually get more sleep if he would relocate to the air mattress with child number 3. So, off goes Chris and in climbs Aaron. Meanwhile, Ashlynn continues to cough and complain that she is not tired. She eventually convinces me that she needs to go sit in Avery's room and play her DS so that she can "be bored and go to sleep." At this point, it is nearing 3:00 in the morning, and STILL suffering from jet lag, this sounds like a good plan to me. So, off goes Ashlynn. Aaron and I continue to try to get some sleep, but between him complaining that he is "hot" and "not tired" and "can't sleep because of Ashlynn coughing," I knew it was hopeless. I finally decide to get up at around 3:45 to go and give Ashlynn a repeat dose of medicine. Immediately, as I try to slide out of the bed without waking the giant, he grunts, wakes up and jumps out of bed to follow me, because he is too scared to stay in the bed without me. As we get to Ashlynn, Chris somehow intervenes and makes Aaron get in the bed with him. I gave Ashlynn another dose and took her back upstairs with me. I think everyone in our house was FINALLY asleep by 4:30. So, mental note...NEVER let your kids stay up until 2:30 AM after they've been up all night on an eight hour flight, AND then allow them to sleep half the day away the following morning. Lesson learned.
Our day continues...
The next morning, we all had to get up, because a lady named "Brenda" was coming to pick up all four of us to take us to two appointments to "officially" apply to become legal residents of the Netherlands. So, since "Brenda" was due to arrived between 9:00 and 9:30, Chris had set the alarm to go off at 7:00. So, after only having been asleep for two and a half hours, I was not very excited to hear that alarm go off...especially when the sound of it was totally NOT what I expected. The alarm sound was the sound of a ROOSTER! For real. And, then I couldn't figure out how to turn off the crazy thing. Good morning.
So, to try to wrap this up...the children and I went to our appointments, and we are now almost "official." We also had an appointment with our "tour guide of sorts" Riemke at 1:00. She showed up ready to answer any questions I had and to take us wherever I wanted to go. So, we went to the Blokker (the Dutch version somewhat of Wal-Mart), and I got my beloved coffee maker. Now, when that rooster crows in the morning, I'll be ready. :-)
If you recall, I was "bragging" about being the Mother of the Year, because I let my darlings stay up until 2:30 in the morning on the same evening that we arrived, because they wanted to watch a beloved TV show. Then, if you recall, I also ended my previous post going to wake up said darlings at 12:15 in the afternoon of the following day. Poor, poor sleepy babies...Fast forward to that evening. (Honestly, we didn't really do anything very "blog worthy" that day other than just lie around and try to get familiar with the house.) Well, by midnight of that night, my formerly sleepy babies were no longer very interested in sleep. Now, in Ashlynn's defense, she did have a very bad cough which did keep her up, but I knew that if she ever WENT to sleep, her cough would subside. So, Chris and I finally got them all in the bed (the same inflatable mattress-bed, mind you)at around midnight. I decided I was going to sit up and wait to see how Ashlynn's cough did before I went to sleep. Her cough didn't get any better, and at around 12:30, she showed up in our room. I let her crawl into bed with us thinking that she would eventually drift off to sleep and her cough would go away. (By the way, I had already given her some children's cough syrup from the ginormous suitcase full of drugs that we had checked at the airport.) Anyway, she continued to cough. And cough. And cough. And cough. And, then...at around 1:30, in walks visitor number 2. Aaron comes in immediately complaining that Ashlynn's cough had woken him up, and he just couldn't go back to sleep. Good grief. So, with Ashlynn hacking in our bed and now visitor number 2 about to crawl in bed with us, I suggested to Chris that he might actually get more sleep if he would relocate to the air mattress with child number 3. So, off goes Chris and in climbs Aaron. Meanwhile, Ashlynn continues to cough and complain that she is not tired. She eventually convinces me that she needs to go sit in Avery's room and play her DS so that she can "be bored and go to sleep." At this point, it is nearing 3:00 in the morning, and STILL suffering from jet lag, this sounds like a good plan to me. So, off goes Ashlynn. Aaron and I continue to try to get some sleep, but between him complaining that he is "hot" and "not tired" and "can't sleep because of Ashlynn coughing," I knew it was hopeless. I finally decide to get up at around 3:45 to go and give Ashlynn a repeat dose of medicine. Immediately, as I try to slide out of the bed without waking the giant, he grunts, wakes up and jumps out of bed to follow me, because he is too scared to stay in the bed without me. As we get to Ashlynn, Chris somehow intervenes and makes Aaron get in the bed with him. I gave Ashlynn another dose and took her back upstairs with me. I think everyone in our house was FINALLY asleep by 4:30. So, mental note...NEVER let your kids stay up until 2:30 AM after they've been up all night on an eight hour flight, AND then allow them to sleep half the day away the following morning. Lesson learned.
Our day continues...
The next morning, we all had to get up, because a lady named "Brenda" was coming to pick up all four of us to take us to two appointments to "officially" apply to become legal residents of the Netherlands. So, since "Brenda" was due to arrived between 9:00 and 9:30, Chris had set the alarm to go off at 7:00. So, after only having been asleep for two and a half hours, I was not very excited to hear that alarm go off...especially when the sound of it was totally NOT what I expected. The alarm sound was the sound of a ROOSTER! For real. And, then I couldn't figure out how to turn off the crazy thing. Good morning.
So, to try to wrap this up...the children and I went to our appointments, and we are now almost "official." We also had an appointment with our "tour guide of sorts" Riemke at 1:00. She showed up ready to answer any questions I had and to take us wherever I wanted to go. So, we went to the Blokker (the Dutch version somewhat of Wal-Mart), and I got my beloved coffee maker. Now, when that rooster crows in the morning, I'll be ready. :-)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Greetings From Holland!!
WE'RE HERE!!
We're Here!
We Are Here.
We. Are. Here.
Well...There are so many thoughts going through my head right now that I'm sure there is no way to be able to get everything down.
First of all, let me just say that it is 11:45 AM in Holland, and all three of my babies are STILL asleep! AND, Chris called here this morning at just after 11:00 AM and woke ME up! Now, I'm sure that the kids are exhausted just from everything else that has been going on around them...the move in general and especially jet lag. But,I also know that they are especially exhausted, because I let them stay up until 2:30 in the morning (local time) to watch the "new" episode of "Shake It Up!." I remember several weeks ago when Disney started advertising the new episode. My babies were so disappointed that they weren't going to be able to watch it, because it was to premiere the night we arrived here. Then, I guess they began to do the math with the time difference, and they both were thrilled to discover that they could, in fact, watch it...at 2:00 in the morning. So, I'm pretty sure that qualifies me for the "Mother of the Year" award, right?...not that I needed ANOTHER reason to qualify me. I'm pretty sure I've done a million things to qualify me for that category over the course of the last four months...including watching TV and eating at McDonald's much more than I'd like to admit.
So, anyway, here I sit. In the quiet, quiet living room. By myself. Normally, I would relish any moment like this, but it really is a totally different feeling being utterly alone. After I got up this morning, I looked out our kitchen window, and I saw some sort of "work truck" parked across the street. I have no idea what they are here for, and I intend to "Google" it to find out. I wish I could post a picture , but right now, my phone doesn't work. AND, I'm certain there is a way to do it on this crazy laptop, but I don't know how, yet. Our computer from home is currently packed up and waiting to be placed on a boat that will take approximately two months to arrive here. Good grief.
Last night, Chris had to take the rental car back to the airport. We were all tired, so he waited until around 9:00 to take it. Now, I realize it is at least a half hour's drive to the airport, so that should have accounted for at least an hour. I also allotted him about half an hour to just simply turn the car in. But, last night at 11:15, he still hadn't made it home. It was then that I realized that I don't know a soul here. I didn't even have a phone to contact anyone. I knew we had a phone on the computer desk, but I didn't have the foggiest idea how to use it. And, even if I did, who would I call?! And, what was the number here for 911?! I tried to think about how to get in touch with Chris, but all he had was his American cell phone that was still in "airplane mode," thanks to the outrageous cost of international calling. And, my phone was the same. Chris can take the SIM card out of his cell phone and replace it with one here, but I wasn't sure if he had done that before he left or not. And, even if he had, I didn't know the number to get him, and did I mention that I didn't know how to call anyone, anyway?! Crazy thoughts started going through my head, and I could feel myself begin to panic. Fortunately, I had the kids here, and I didn't want them to be scared, so I pulled myself together and calmed down. I ended up looking for our sweet "tour guide of sorts" Riemke's email. It took me several minutes of searching in my past emails to find it, but I did. I sent her an email, and about five minutes after I had sent it, Chris showed up. Whew!
Needless to say, I got a crash course in how to use our phone, got a tiny list of numbers (including 112, which is the Dutch 911), how to use the oven, the dishwasher and the washer and dryer, and how to turn on the televisions. Good grief, my brain is still hurting.
And, did I mention that the kids wanted pizza last night for dinner just after Chris had left? I thought, "Ok...that sounds easy enough!" Until I realized that not only were the directions to cook a pizza in Dutch, but I also couldn't figure out how to turn on the oven. Now, I'm certain that I could have figured out how long to cook that crazy thing, but with the conversion to celsius for the temperature, I was not even going to try it. So, we had cereal. That's better than McDonald's, right?!
Well, I guess I should go and wake up my snoring babies. After all, it is 12:15 PM now. Poor little guys. I hope the neighbors haven't gotten too used to it being quiet on this side, because that is ALL about to CHANGE.
I'll post more soon!
We're Here!
We Are Here.
We. Are. Here.
Well...There are so many thoughts going through my head right now that I'm sure there is no way to be able to get everything down.
First of all, let me just say that it is 11:45 AM in Holland, and all three of my babies are STILL asleep! AND, Chris called here this morning at just after 11:00 AM and woke ME up! Now, I'm sure that the kids are exhausted just from everything else that has been going on around them...the move in general and especially jet lag. But,I also know that they are especially exhausted, because I let them stay up until 2:30 in the morning (local time) to watch the "new" episode of "Shake It Up!." I remember several weeks ago when Disney started advertising the new episode. My babies were so disappointed that they weren't going to be able to watch it, because it was to premiere the night we arrived here. Then, I guess they began to do the math with the time difference, and they both were thrilled to discover that they could, in fact, watch it...at 2:00 in the morning. So, I'm pretty sure that qualifies me for the "Mother of the Year" award, right?...not that I needed ANOTHER reason to qualify me. I'm pretty sure I've done a million things to qualify me for that category over the course of the last four months...including watching TV and eating at McDonald's much more than I'd like to admit.
So, anyway, here I sit. In the quiet, quiet living room. By myself. Normally, I would relish any moment like this, but it really is a totally different feeling being utterly alone. After I got up this morning, I looked out our kitchen window, and I saw some sort of "work truck" parked across the street. I have no idea what they are here for, and I intend to "Google" it to find out. I wish I could post a picture , but right now, my phone doesn't work. AND, I'm certain there is a way to do it on this crazy laptop, but I don't know how, yet. Our computer from home is currently packed up and waiting to be placed on a boat that will take approximately two months to arrive here. Good grief.
Last night, Chris had to take the rental car back to the airport. We were all tired, so he waited until around 9:00 to take it. Now, I realize it is at least a half hour's drive to the airport, so that should have accounted for at least an hour. I also allotted him about half an hour to just simply turn the car in. But, last night at 11:15, he still hadn't made it home. It was then that I realized that I don't know a soul here. I didn't even have a phone to contact anyone. I knew we had a phone on the computer desk, but I didn't have the foggiest idea how to use it. And, even if I did, who would I call?! And, what was the number here for 911?! I tried to think about how to get in touch with Chris, but all he had was his American cell phone that was still in "airplane mode," thanks to the outrageous cost of international calling. And, my phone was the same. Chris can take the SIM card out of his cell phone and replace it with one here, but I wasn't sure if he had done that before he left or not. And, even if he had, I didn't know the number to get him, and did I mention that I didn't know how to call anyone, anyway?! Crazy thoughts started going through my head, and I could feel myself begin to panic. Fortunately, I had the kids here, and I didn't want them to be scared, so I pulled myself together and calmed down. I ended up looking for our sweet "tour guide of sorts" Riemke's email. It took me several minutes of searching in my past emails to find it, but I did. I sent her an email, and about five minutes after I had sent it, Chris showed up. Whew!
Needless to say, I got a crash course in how to use our phone, got a tiny list of numbers (including 112, which is the Dutch 911), how to use the oven, the dishwasher and the washer and dryer, and how to turn on the televisions. Good grief, my brain is still hurting.
And, did I mention that the kids wanted pizza last night for dinner just after Chris had left? I thought, "Ok...that sounds easy enough!" Until I realized that not only were the directions to cook a pizza in Dutch, but I also couldn't figure out how to turn on the oven. Now, I'm certain that I could have figured out how long to cook that crazy thing, but with the conversion to celsius for the temperature, I was not even going to try it. So, we had cereal. That's better than McDonald's, right?!
Well, I guess I should go and wake up my snoring babies. After all, it is 12:15 PM now. Poor little guys. I hope the neighbors haven't gotten too used to it being quiet on this side, because that is ALL about to CHANGE.
I'll post more soon!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Blessings...
So, once again, I sit at the computer, and it's late. I'm a night owl, so that is not really that uncommon for me, though. I have SO much stuff that I really NEED to be doing, but I just couldn't resist sitting down and journaling the last three nights I've had and their impact on me.
So for starters, my sweet in-laws offered to keep my children overnight on Monday night, my sister-in-law offered to keep my children overnight on Tuesday night, and then, on Wednesday night, all three of my babies were going overnight in three different directions! Now, I haven't written much over the last couple of weeks, but let me just say that I've had a VERY emotional past several days, so I really needed a few nights away from my beloved babies. The only other time I've had three nights in a row away from my babies was in February when Chris and I went on our "preview" trip to the Netherlands. Having had at least one child with me every single second since Chris has been gone, including sleeping with me, I can't tell you how much I needed a few nights just by myself. Now, of course, once I found out that I was going to be childless, I decided that I would work during the day, and then I'd line up my long overdue Girls' Nights Outs with some of my gals! Here is the how the last three days have played out...
Monday...I had planned to hook up with my bestie Melissa on Monday evening, so I knew I was going to have to work Monday during the day to get as much stuff done as possible. I did accomplish a lot, but I still had a bunch of "running around" to do, so poor Melissa ended up going along with me on all of my stops that night. We went to Kohl's, Lifeway (where we ended up buying the book "Radical Together" that we intend to use as a Bible study over Skype...can't wait!), Barnes and Noble, World Market, Kirkland's, and of course our personal favorite...Target. Then, we headed back to Melissa's so I could drop her off, and we sat in her driveway talking until almost 1:00 in the morning! It was SO good to catch up! Goodness, it really has been a LONG time since I've been out talking that late! ☺
Tuesday...so, Tuesday was mostly the same way. I worked and worked all day on the upstairs of my my house trying to separate (again!) the kids' stuff, so I could get ready for the movers when they showed up on Monday morning. (I need to be able to just tell them, "Just pack this side of the room." Or, "Pack this whole closet.") Anyway, two of my closest friends from high school were scheduled to come by at 6:30 that evening. Our plan was to gather some of our favorite recipes and swap them out. Now, we'd been planning this for several months, and it didn't look like it was going to happen, but thanks to my unexpected babysitters, our night became reality. So, my sweet friend April donned her pajamas and went to a Chinese restaurant and picked us all up some fantastic Chinese dinner. So, my sweet friends, Kelly, April and I, sat around for hours in our pajamas copying recipes, listening to Kelly's eclectic mix of songs on her iPod, and just reminiscing and laughing. There is something about old childhood friendships, and I'm so thankful that we got to have that night!. Can I just say how much I love these two?! They are definitely going to have to come visit me when we all turn forty! Can't wait!☺
Wednesday...so this morning, I got up and straightened up a bit. I had to leave at 10:15ish to meet my sister-in-law Becky in Joelton at 11:15 to pick up my crew. They had a FANTASTIC time, and they were also looking forward to going in different directions that night! So, I got them, ran home and changed out clothes in their suitcases. We were supposed to be at our cub scout den's "End of the Year" swimming party at 12:30, but I had given Ashlynn and Avery the option of going to the party or going to the house where they were going to stay. Both of them wanted to be dropped off at their destinations. So, I dropped off Ashlynn at Melissa's, and I dropped off Avery at my sister's. Then, Aaron and I jetted out to the swim party. Okay, let me just say that I had NO idea that the "party" was for us. There was a sweet cake with "We Love the Kennedy Family" written on it, and we were serenaded with "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow." Then, I was presented with three precious scrapbooks for each of my babies. I couldn't even look at them today, and I totally wasn't prepared for anything like that. We are planning to join the Cub Scouts of America at our new school overseas, but I can say with all certainty that there will never be another group of boys and Mama's that will ever be able to live up to this one. They are truly irreplaceable, and I love them. THEN...I left there to go change clothes and head out to meet another group of gals. This group is my Bible study gals. We planned to eat at Newk's (LOVE that place!), and again, I wasn't prepared for what they gave, either. They gave me the movie "The Proposal," because during our Gatlinburg trips, that is our choice movie, and I love it! They also gave me two journals...one that is BEAUTIFUL! It is leather, and it has my name embossed on it! I can't wait to write down all of our adventures in it! The other one has my favorite verse (Jer. 29:11) on the front of it -AND- I *almost* bought it on Monday night when I was with Melissa at Barnes and Noble. It immediately caught my eye, but for whatever reason, I put it back. The girls had warned me not to look inside this one while we were out, because they had each written in it. So, tonight after I Skyped Chris, I leaned back in the chair for just a minute, and my eyes fell to this journal. I picked it up and read the entries. How. Blessed. I. Am. Tears streamed down my face as I read the precious words written on the pages that were meant especially (and only!) for me! After I finished reading the entries, I just sat and thought about the unique situation that I'm in. How many people get to really see what their true friends think of them? I've just been OVERWHELMED by ALL of my precious friends and seeing how much they care about me and my precious family.
I am very excited about going, but all of these "Good-byes" are almost too much for me to bear. I'm sure I'll make friends in Holland, but they will NEVER replace my sweet friends here at home. "Blessed" is the only word I can think to describe how I feel right now.
So for starters, my sweet in-laws offered to keep my children overnight on Monday night, my sister-in-law offered to keep my children overnight on Tuesday night, and then, on Wednesday night, all three of my babies were going overnight in three different directions! Now, I haven't written much over the last couple of weeks, but let me just say that I've had a VERY emotional past several days, so I really needed a few nights away from my beloved babies. The only other time I've had three nights in a row away from my babies was in February when Chris and I went on our "preview" trip to the Netherlands. Having had at least one child with me every single second since Chris has been gone, including sleeping with me, I can't tell you how much I needed a few nights just by myself. Now, of course, once I found out that I was going to be childless, I decided that I would work during the day, and then I'd line up my long overdue Girls' Nights Outs with some of my gals! Here is the how the last three days have played out...
Monday...I had planned to hook up with my bestie Melissa on Monday evening, so I knew I was going to have to work Monday during the day to get as much stuff done as possible. I did accomplish a lot, but I still had a bunch of "running around" to do, so poor Melissa ended up going along with me on all of my stops that night. We went to Kohl's, Lifeway (where we ended up buying the book "Radical Together" that we intend to use as a Bible study over Skype...can't wait!), Barnes and Noble, World Market, Kirkland's, and of course our personal favorite...Target. Then, we headed back to Melissa's so I could drop her off, and we sat in her driveway talking until almost 1:00 in the morning! It was SO good to catch up! Goodness, it really has been a LONG time since I've been out talking that late! ☺
Tuesday...so, Tuesday was mostly the same way. I worked and worked all day on the upstairs of my my house trying to separate (again!) the kids' stuff, so I could get ready for the movers when they showed up on Monday morning. (I need to be able to just tell them, "Just pack this side of the room." Or, "Pack this whole closet.") Anyway, two of my closest friends from high school were scheduled to come by at 6:30 that evening. Our plan was to gather some of our favorite recipes and swap them out. Now, we'd been planning this for several months, and it didn't look like it was going to happen, but thanks to my unexpected babysitters, our night became reality. So, my sweet friend April donned her pajamas and went to a Chinese restaurant and picked us all up some fantastic Chinese dinner. So, my sweet friends, Kelly, April and I, sat around for hours in our pajamas copying recipes, listening to Kelly's eclectic mix of songs on her iPod, and just reminiscing and laughing. There is something about old childhood friendships, and I'm so thankful that we got to have that night!. Can I just say how much I love these two?! They are definitely going to have to come visit me when we all turn forty! Can't wait!☺
Wednesday...so this morning, I got up and straightened up a bit. I had to leave at 10:15ish to meet my sister-in-law Becky in Joelton at 11:15 to pick up my crew. They had a FANTASTIC time, and they were also looking forward to going in different directions that night! So, I got them, ran home and changed out clothes in their suitcases. We were supposed to be at our cub scout den's "End of the Year" swimming party at 12:30, but I had given Ashlynn and Avery the option of going to the party or going to the house where they were going to stay. Both of them wanted to be dropped off at their destinations. So, I dropped off Ashlynn at Melissa's, and I dropped off Avery at my sister's. Then, Aaron and I jetted out to the swim party. Okay, let me just say that I had NO idea that the "party" was for us. There was a sweet cake with "We Love the Kennedy Family" written on it, and we were serenaded with "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow." Then, I was presented with three precious scrapbooks for each of my babies. I couldn't even look at them today, and I totally wasn't prepared for anything like that. We are planning to join the Cub Scouts of America at our new school overseas, but I can say with all certainty that there will never be another group of boys and Mama's that will ever be able to live up to this one. They are truly irreplaceable, and I love them. THEN...I left there to go change clothes and head out to meet another group of gals. This group is my Bible study gals. We planned to eat at Newk's (LOVE that place!), and again, I wasn't prepared for what they gave, either. They gave me the movie "The Proposal," because during our Gatlinburg trips, that is our choice movie, and I love it! They also gave me two journals...one that is BEAUTIFUL! It is leather, and it has my name embossed on it! I can't wait to write down all of our adventures in it! The other one has my favorite verse (Jer. 29:11) on the front of it -AND- I *almost* bought it on Monday night when I was with Melissa at Barnes and Noble. It immediately caught my eye, but for whatever reason, I put it back. The girls had warned me not to look inside this one while we were out, because they had each written in it. So, tonight after I Skyped Chris, I leaned back in the chair for just a minute, and my eyes fell to this journal. I picked it up and read the entries. How. Blessed. I. Am. Tears streamed down my face as I read the precious words written on the pages that were meant especially (and only!) for me! After I finished reading the entries, I just sat and thought about the unique situation that I'm in. How many people get to really see what their true friends think of them? I've just been OVERWHELMED by ALL of my precious friends and seeing how much they care about me and my precious family.
I am very excited about going, but all of these "Good-byes" are almost too much for me to bear. I'm sure I'll make friends in Holland, but they will NEVER replace my sweet friends here at home. "Blessed" is the only word I can think to describe how I feel right now.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friends
Okay...can I just say that I have the BEST friends a girl could ever ask for?!?! I just got back from a MUCH NEEDED Girl's Night Out with my sweet friend Melissa, because my sweet friend Marian selflessly volunteered to come over and watch my babies tonight. I got to go eat at Newk's and Sweet CeCe's, and then Melissa and I went to pick out books for our babies for our annual Christmas in July. Since it seems that our phone conversations that once lasted for hours have now shrunk to mere minutes, because of babies and husbands being out of town and the like, it was so great to catch up! There were even stories that I thought I had already shared with her that I didn't realize she didn't know the details about. It really had been too long since we had gotten to go out for coffee!
Melissa...I remember the first time we ever met. It was the summer of 1998, and I had just been hired at Stewartsboro Elementary to teach first grade and be the new cheerleading sponsor. It was my first year as a "real" classroom teacher, and I had been hired to teach first grade! My certification was only for first through eighth grade, but my emphasis was on grades six through eight. What in the world was I going to do with all these baby first graders?! I'll never forget going to the school to get my classroom key and Mrs. Belcher, the assistant principal, taking me to see my classroom and then on a tour of the rest of the school. As we were approaching the end of the first grade hall and clearly on the way back to the office, we heard some "child like" noises coming from one of the classrooms. Mrs. Belcher stopped and said, "Oh, one of the first grade teachers is here teaching summer school. Come here and I'll introduce you!" We walked into the classroom, and Melissa quickly stood up and came over to say hello. She was immediately warm and welcoming, and I knew instantly that we would be friends. Before I walked out the door, she had given me her name and number and had told me that if I needed ANYTHING to give her a call. It wasn't until later that I found out that she also had decided to be a co-sponsor for cheerleading. God truly does work in miraculous ways, because I had no idea what I was getting into and how much I needed Melissa in my life...and not just for that one year. Since then, she has been my confidant, my cheerleader, my prayer partner, my problem solver, my babysitter, my shoulder to cry on, my partner in crime and countless other titles. I can't imagine how I'm going to function on the other side of the world without her being ten minutes away. :-(
Marian...our babies (Alex and Ashlynn) were in the same dance class at Dance With Stacey in Smyrna. They were four years old at the time, and I had Aaron who was three years old and into everything, Avery who was a baby, we listed and sold our house because we were building another one, and we were living in an apartment at the time. My life was crazy then, and I didn't socialize much in that class. Then, the following fall, Ashlynn's kindergarten open house was scheduled for one evening in August. I remember walking in and scanning the room filled with several people I already knew. I remember seeing Marian sitting at the table with her husband, and I remember recalling that our kids had been in the same class the previous year. I also remember feeling badly that I had not made an attempt to talk to her at all during the dance year. Right off the bat, Marian and I immediately began to volunteer for Ms. Cockrell, so we began to be around each other quite a bit. It certainly didn't take long for me to see how caring, hard-working, selfless, creative, dependable and all kinds of other labels she was. Everyone needs a friend like Marian. She is that friend that you know you could call at 2:00 in the morning in an emergency, and she would do whatever it took to help you out, and she would not think twice about it! I tell everyone that she would give you the shirt off of her back if you really needed it. Again, what am I going to do without her? :-(
These two precious friends (along with some other friends of mine that I have similar stories about!) are also in the progress of planning a going away party for me. I can't even tell you how incredibly blessed I am to know them and to be able to call them my friends. I know that everyone comes into your life for a reason...some for a short time and some for a lifetime. I know these girls are in it for the long haul! I love you, girls!
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
Melissa...I remember the first time we ever met. It was the summer of 1998, and I had just been hired at Stewartsboro Elementary to teach first grade and be the new cheerleading sponsor. It was my first year as a "real" classroom teacher, and I had been hired to teach first grade! My certification was only for first through eighth grade, but my emphasis was on grades six through eight. What in the world was I going to do with all these baby first graders?! I'll never forget going to the school to get my classroom key and Mrs. Belcher, the assistant principal, taking me to see my classroom and then on a tour of the rest of the school. As we were approaching the end of the first grade hall and clearly on the way back to the office, we heard some "child like" noises coming from one of the classrooms. Mrs. Belcher stopped and said, "Oh, one of the first grade teachers is here teaching summer school. Come here and I'll introduce you!" We walked into the classroom, and Melissa quickly stood up and came over to say hello. She was immediately warm and welcoming, and I knew instantly that we would be friends. Before I walked out the door, she had given me her name and number and had told me that if I needed ANYTHING to give her a call. It wasn't until later that I found out that she also had decided to be a co-sponsor for cheerleading. God truly does work in miraculous ways, because I had no idea what I was getting into and how much I needed Melissa in my life...and not just for that one year. Since then, she has been my confidant, my cheerleader, my prayer partner, my problem solver, my babysitter, my shoulder to cry on, my partner in crime and countless other titles. I can't imagine how I'm going to function on the other side of the world without her being ten minutes away. :-(
Marian...our babies (Alex and Ashlynn) were in the same dance class at Dance With Stacey in Smyrna. They were four years old at the time, and I had Aaron who was three years old and into everything, Avery who was a baby, we listed and sold our house because we were building another one, and we were living in an apartment at the time. My life was crazy then, and I didn't socialize much in that class. Then, the following fall, Ashlynn's kindergarten open house was scheduled for one evening in August. I remember walking in and scanning the room filled with several people I already knew. I remember seeing Marian sitting at the table with her husband, and I remember recalling that our kids had been in the same class the previous year. I also remember feeling badly that I had not made an attempt to talk to her at all during the dance year. Right off the bat, Marian and I immediately began to volunteer for Ms. Cockrell, so we began to be around each other quite a bit. It certainly didn't take long for me to see how caring, hard-working, selfless, creative, dependable and all kinds of other labels she was. Everyone needs a friend like Marian. She is that friend that you know you could call at 2:00 in the morning in an emergency, and she would do whatever it took to help you out, and she would not think twice about it! I tell everyone that she would give you the shirt off of her back if you really needed it. Again, what am I going to do without her? :-(
These two precious friends (along with some other friends of mine that I have similar stories about!) are also in the progress of planning a going away party for me. I can't even tell you how incredibly blessed I am to know them and to be able to call them my friends. I know that everyone comes into your life for a reason...some for a short time and some for a lifetime. I know these girls are in it for the long haul! I love you, girls!
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Random Thoughts...
So...I'm sitting here at 11:15 on a Sunday night watching a "Minute to Win It" rerun. I've been trying to catch up on email responding, and I jumped on Facebook for a bit to check out some of my "new friends'" pages. I ran across a friend of mine's sweet blog, and I decided to read a day or two of her posts. Several minutes later, I realized that I had gotten lost in her beautifully eloquent writing! Then, I thought about my blog that I very randomly update. So, with a bit of guilt, I decided to take some time tonight and "catch up" on my currently crazy life.
So...this past week has been crazy, much like the past few months! Chris flew in from Holland on Saturday, and we picked him up from the airport that evening at about 6:30. We then came directly home to attend a sort of neighborhood block party. It was originally planned to celebrate our neighbor's 30th birthday, but it was also to introduce our neighbors' new catering business. The party was complete with a band (who are also our neighbors!), and they were fantastic!! The party was SO fun with great friends, great food and great music! I (again, much like the past few months) had a myriad of emotions that night. I hated to leave the party, because I thought about how this would be our last get together with the neighbors I love in the house that I adore. Yet, I wouldn't have missed spending time with my husband for anything, and my poor honey had to leave less than 24 hours later to head to Indianapolis for training.
We celebrated Father's Day, albeit very quickly, on Sunday morning before church, headed to lunch at Red Robin's with my parents and my sister and her family, and then Chris headed off to Indy at about 3:30 that afternoon. Bless that man! As hard as this has been on us not having him here, I can't imagine how much strength he has had to have to travel back and forth three times from Europe to the States, and then within the States on top of that! I'm so thankful for him!
We had Vacation Bible School this week, and the kids loved it! This is the first year since I was in college that I haven't volunteered all week, and I missed it terribly! My poor babies did have a hard time getting up for this, though, because they stayed up late Tuesday night waiting for Daddy to get home. Then, Ashlynn had date night with Daddy on Wednesday, and the boys and I went to the Lads concert at church. Thursday night was Aaron's date night with Daddy, so another late night, again. Chris took off on Friday, but that day was filled with VBS, cleaning out the garage, having a ton of paperwork notarized for our house, the mover survey guy coming out (for a third time!), Avery's date with Daddy, mowing the yard, cleaning the house for a Saturday showing, and finally MY date with Daddy that night. I decided to mow the yard while Chris and Avery were gone on their date, and the whole time I was out there, I was trying to hurry and figure out how to finish mowing and get showered before Chris got back dropping off the kids. For a brief second, I thought, "I hope Chris likes the smell of goat, because that is what I'm going to have to go on this date smelling like!" Fortunately, I did have enough time to finish the yard and shower before we left.☺ We had a great time, but we were both exhausted from all of the stuff going on!
We got to go to Clarksville to see Chris' family on Saturday, and then we went to see Cars 2 that night. Okay, I have to say that I LOVED the beginning of Cars 2!! The very beginning starts off with a reference to the reality show Deadliest Catch, and people who know me well know that I LOVE that show!! We all loved the movie! We are also trying to see lots of movies on the "big screen" before we go. There are movie theaters in Holland, and they are in English; however, Chris informed me last week that he had read something in a book that going to a Dutch movie theater was quite different than going to an American theater. Apparently, Dutch people talk loudly in person and on the phone, throw things and are just plain rude in movie theaters. I wonder why they even go? I'll definitely have to ask around about that!
Anyway, now it is 12:04, and I'm beginning to wind down. (I knew I shouldn't have had that mocha frappe from McDonald's at 7:00!) This week will consist of eye doctor appointments, play dates, more organizing (as we get ready for our sea shipment that will take place in two weeks!), and planning more details for the move.
I can't even begin to describe the emotions I have felt over the past several weeks! Right now, I'm missing my honey, but I still feel incredibly blessed that we have been able to see him for the last week!
Blessings until next time...
So...this past week has been crazy, much like the past few months! Chris flew in from Holland on Saturday, and we picked him up from the airport that evening at about 6:30. We then came directly home to attend a sort of neighborhood block party. It was originally planned to celebrate our neighbor's 30th birthday, but it was also to introduce our neighbors' new catering business. The party was complete with a band (who are also our neighbors!), and they were fantastic!! The party was SO fun with great friends, great food and great music! I (again, much like the past few months) had a myriad of emotions that night. I hated to leave the party, because I thought about how this would be our last get together with the neighbors I love in the house that I adore. Yet, I wouldn't have missed spending time with my husband for anything, and my poor honey had to leave less than 24 hours later to head to Indianapolis for training.
We celebrated Father's Day, albeit very quickly, on Sunday morning before church, headed to lunch at Red Robin's with my parents and my sister and her family, and then Chris headed off to Indy at about 3:30 that afternoon. Bless that man! As hard as this has been on us not having him here, I can't imagine how much strength he has had to have to travel back and forth three times from Europe to the States, and then within the States on top of that! I'm so thankful for him!
We had Vacation Bible School this week, and the kids loved it! This is the first year since I was in college that I haven't volunteered all week, and I missed it terribly! My poor babies did have a hard time getting up for this, though, because they stayed up late Tuesday night waiting for Daddy to get home. Then, Ashlynn had date night with Daddy on Wednesday, and the boys and I went to the Lads concert at church. Thursday night was Aaron's date night with Daddy, so another late night, again. Chris took off on Friday, but that day was filled with VBS, cleaning out the garage, having a ton of paperwork notarized for our house, the mover survey guy coming out (for a third time!), Avery's date with Daddy, mowing the yard, cleaning the house for a Saturday showing, and finally MY date with Daddy that night. I decided to mow the yard while Chris and Avery were gone on their date, and the whole time I was out there, I was trying to hurry and figure out how to finish mowing and get showered before Chris got back dropping off the kids. For a brief second, I thought, "I hope Chris likes the smell of goat, because that is what I'm going to have to go on this date smelling like!" Fortunately, I did have enough time to finish the yard and shower before we left.☺ We had a great time, but we were both exhausted from all of the stuff going on!
We got to go to Clarksville to see Chris' family on Saturday, and then we went to see Cars 2 that night. Okay, I have to say that I LOVED the beginning of Cars 2!! The very beginning starts off with a reference to the reality show Deadliest Catch, and people who know me well know that I LOVE that show!! We all loved the movie! We are also trying to see lots of movies on the "big screen" before we go. There are movie theaters in Holland, and they are in English; however, Chris informed me last week that he had read something in a book that going to a Dutch movie theater was quite different than going to an American theater. Apparently, Dutch people talk loudly in person and on the phone, throw things and are just plain rude in movie theaters. I wonder why they even go? I'll definitely have to ask around about that!
Anyway, now it is 12:04, and I'm beginning to wind down. (I knew I shouldn't have had that mocha frappe from McDonald's at 7:00!) This week will consist of eye doctor appointments, play dates, more organizing (as we get ready for our sea shipment that will take place in two weeks!), and planning more details for the move.
I can't even begin to describe the emotions I have felt over the past several weeks! Right now, I'm missing my honey, but I still feel incredibly blessed that we have been able to see him for the last week!
Blessings until next time...
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