Delayed posting

My previous blog entry was written last week while we were still in Germany...between being super busy, flying across an ocean, jet lag and lack of internet, I am just now getting around to publishing. :)

Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland

1,535 days ago (yes, I counted. I'm freaky like that.) we started our newest adventure ~another 4 years in Europe. Oh my has that time flown. We landed here with a 9 year old 4th grader and a 7 year old 1st grader, anxious about new schools and friends, bewildered by this new language that was just impossible to understand. Now we leave with newly minted high- and middle-schoolers (their mother feeling impossibly old) who will forever be able to keep up with their friends due to that wonderful invention called Facebook. No more wondering when the next letter will come in the mail or begging to make a phone call. And for this I am grateful, for my kids it meant easier goodbyes.

Before we ever set foot in Germany, we sort of set some ground rules. Biggest rule: No traveling back to the USA. Sure, we would miss family terribly. But with the kids being old enough to appreciate and understand their surroundings, we thought our travel time and money would be better spent on seeing things that most people only dream about. Things they will read and study about in history class. World famous landmarks and Wonders of the World. How could we pass that up? So with a "everyone is always welcome to come travel with us," we set off on our adventures. And boy did we make the most of it:

Germany: Berlin, Munich, Oktoberfest (Twice!), more Bavaria (aka heaven on earth), Black Forest, Day trips galore.

France: Paris, Normandy, Mont St Michel, Disneyland!

Belgium: Bastogne, St Vith

Luxembourg

Switzerland: Bern and a beautiful drive through the Alps.

Italy: Genoa, Naples, Pompeii

Austria: Innsbruck, more Alps, Salzburg (the hills are alive....)

Czech Republic: one very loooong day trip to Prague, one of the most beautiful cities I've seen.

Greece: Ancient Olympia, Athens, Crete, Rhodes

Turkey: Mamaris

Egypt: Cairo and the Pyramids. So thankful to have gone on that cruise early in our time here as now you can't get there because of all the unrest.

Denmark: Copenhagen

Estonia: Tallinn (another beautiful city)

Russia: St Petersburg

Sweden: Stockholm

England *disclaimer - everything here could be deemed a repeat but due to our kids not remembering much at all, AND due to the fact that I refused to leave Europe w/out a trip to my fave European country, we spent a week there.* - Dover & White Cliffs, RAF Lakenheath, London.

Phew! I'm tired. I'm afraid I will find the states a bit boring after we land and our vacations come to a screeeeeeching halt. But that is ok. There are some things I am really looking forward to having again:

Family within 2 time zones, ending middle of the night "OMG who died" phone calls where your family just forgot you were 9 zones away and sleeping.

Garbage Disposals

Garages

Garage Door Openers!

Any kind of possible storage closet to include bedroom, hallway, linen, bathroom storage.

an oven that will fit ALL my cookware, or for that matter:

a kitchen that will fit my extensive Pampered Chef and Polish Pottery collections.

T-A-R-G-E-T

Starbucks (pretty easily found here in Europe but oh-so-pricey. Not that a silly thing like cost stopped me from my Caramel Macchiatos and Vanilla Creme Frappachinos)

mail delivered to my front door, to include UPS and FedEx...and an end to "We don't ship to APO's, sorry" emails.

Wendy's

Papa John's

Olive Garden (you get the picture on the restaurant thing)

That being said, there are many more things I will miss about this country. A few:

Lazy Sundays. Everything is closed. People go for walks. There is no rushing around. It's nice.

Rodenbach, our happy little town. I love it.

Rodenbach's Pizza Galerie and take-out delivery restaurant. Best. ever.

Eis Shops.

Gabriellas

Schnitzel (I learned how to make it, but it'll never taste as good)

The Autobahn. Sigh. Cruise control is now my bestest friend.

the kids' schools. Loved VES and KMS.

Traveling, traveling and more traveling.

Bavaria and the Alps (could be roped into the "traveling" line, but I love it so much, it needed it's own shout-out.

Autobahn rest areas. you pay, you get your money back and they are CLEAN. Love it.

Rolladens

There are also things that bug the daylights out of me about this place. But, I choose not to dwell on them. Europe is what it is. You adapt or you're miserable. We adapted, we went with the flow and we loved it. Loved it so much, we are not opposed to coming back if the Air Force so desires Rod's abilities over here again. Family, before you howl the war cry over my last statement, I think we're good for awhile. Chill.

So here we are, looking in on the next stage. We are first time home owners. that will be an adventure all on it's own. The kids will be starting new schools in a few months, once again the "new kids." Rod starting a new job. Me getting a job (gah). New adventures to come.

But, wherever we go, there will be a Biergarten.

Tschuss, Deutschland. Til we meet again.

Still waiting...

So soon, next month in fact, our 4+ year European adventure comes to an end. More on what I've loved, hated, what I'll miss & won't miss later. Now it's just time to get our stuff packed up, car shipped, moved out of our house and into billeting (military-speak for "hotel on base that may or may not have tv, phone or internet). So we wait. You can't do any of this stuff without hard copies of orders, which finally came in 10 days ago. Bright and early the next duty day, Rod starts calling to try and get this stuff scheduled. 5 duty days, endless phone calls and emails later, we only have a date for our car to get shipped. No pack-out dates. No flight arrangements, which we need to get a date to move out of our house and give our LL notice (way past the deadline for that but what can you do when you just don't know). It's been very a very frustrating week on which my resolve to give up soda (again) went up in flames. Over the course of the week I stress-ate Spicy Nacho Doritos for breakfast every day. I did get some stuff pre-packed in anticipation for the movers eventually showing up. Got the wine stash (pitifully tiny per Missouri state law) organized. My scrapbooking cave is mostly boxed up. 2 carloads of trash has been gotten rid of. 6 bags of clothes donated to German charites. 4 bags of stuffed animals donated to the KMS/VES Japan stuff animal drives (i hope they enjoy those Beanie Babies I insisted on collecting years ago). So it's not like we've been sitting here twiddling our thumbs and wasting time away. I've been feeling a little less stressed over the course of the weekend because there is just nothing I can do about it. We'll get our stuff gone eventually. Our LL's will have zero problem getting our house rented as PCS season is in full swing and there are hundreds of new families that will need a home and quick. We'll see what this week brings. This coming weekend though.....AMSTERDAM! The Netherlands. Our last hurrah. The 17th (and last) country we'll get to visit. One more Hard Rock Pilsner glass and Starbucks Mug to add to my collections. Looking forward to the beauty of the Van Gogh Museum (already under protest of my non-museum loving family. Tough.), the solemness of the Anne Frank House, and the Heineken Experience. Should be a fun and busy 2 days.

Alright, I'm off to tackle another dresser.

It's Been Awhile...

So, yeah. Here I am blogging again. I guess I got WAY too used to Facebook (an addiction that I will never overcome. There should be support groups for people like me). Instant status updates, Notes, Messages...just way too easy to do all that and forget about my poor little neglected blog.

This entry is in response to my dear high school friend Carrie (who I can keep in touch with oh so easily...thanks to the beforementioned FB, ahem). She double dog dared her friends with lapsed blogs to post something. So hear you go Carrie! Thanks for the shot in the arm. So much to say, so little I don't think the whole wide world needs to know...and I will be going private with this thing, as soon as I figure out how.

Til next time~ Tschuss!

Hmmmm

I wonder what it is that makes babies think a 2 minute (literally) nap in the car is a reasonable substitute for a normal 90-120 minute nap in their nice, comfy crib. Seriously.

And, I wonder why the German court system is taking so long to place Aiden with his loving grandparents when it's super obvious his own parents have zero interest.

I'm tired today, can you tell?

Congrats to my Mom!

Today marks my mom's retirement from 25 years of working at the State of Washington's Department of Natural Resources. Go Mom! I'm so proud of you and wish I could be there to help you party this weekend. I remember her first getting this job after being a teacher for years. It was an adjustment for all of us, her to working full time, us having to go to day care and sitters before and after school. We grew used to it, though. We bugged her incessantly at her office. Calling for one thing or another. But a bonus was going down to her office sometimes on the city bus...it was right across the street from Dairy Queen! That was a treat. One of my funnest memories of my mom at work was when I was 16. She had given me a hand-written gift certificate entitling me to go down to the local Animal Shelter and adopt a kitten. She couldn't take me, so my "Big Sister" did and I adopted Ashley (and so began my habit of naming my cats after "Gone With The Wind" characters. But that's another blog entry). I was so excited, I had to show my mom. So I got Kristen to take me to my mom's office, where I promptly removed him from his carrier and put him on her desk. I'm not sure she was so amused....but she put up with it.



So now I don't have to wait til her lunch hour to bug her during the week. I'll be sure not to call at 7am (4pm Germany time!) hoping to catch her before she leaves for work. I'm sure she'll keep busy turning out project after project from her sewing room. She burn up the skies flying back and forth to Spokane and Grand Forks, ND and maybe Germany to visit the grandbabies.

Mom, congratulations and I love you.

Now would someone PLEASE convince her to come to Germany for a month. :)

WITF...Day 2

Yep, I'm too lazy to type out the whole title.

Today is going to be short and sweet. I loved the fact that today was sunny and 61 degrees. M, Baby A and I went to get my "M" from the bus stop...with no coats, mittens, scarves, etc. If there are 2 things in this world that can calm a cranky Baby A...it's a warm bath (he's such a water baby. He's the next Michael Phelps) or a nice long walk in his stroller outside in the fresh air. So today, I am thankful for a short (but sweet) semi-Indian Summer in the middle of November. But the rain, it is coming. After all, this is autumn in Deutschland.

Til next time~~~~~