So much to do, so little motivation to do it!

So, a brief update.

Regarding Cinnamon:  House breaking not complete.  Grr.  I had hoped she'd be trained by now, but nope, we are still having a few accidents.  I can't quite figure her out.  Just when I think she's got it, she goes inside.  How long will it take???  I know they say not to expect anything until after 16 weeks, and she's just 13 weeks, but I had her pegged as a prodigy!  We are taking her with us to Tuscany this week.   Here's hoping she's not going to ruin anything.  I had to buy her a new crate as she's managed to chew her way through her travel bag and foldable crate.  The crate is still somewhat usable as it's the top she chewed through and I safety pinned it shut and if I put a blanket on top, she can't escape, but I bought a small plastic crate for the car trip.  Try chewing through that, missy! 

We've also decided how she's flying back to the US.  Originally, I was planning to take her with us on board.  But, after realizing how squished she'd be, and how nervous I'd be about her crying or peeing or gaining too much weight in the next month, or whatever, I've decided to ship her as cargo.  Not sure how she'll do, but it's a pet service, and they assured me they fly puppies every day.  At least as cargo, her crate will be big enough to stand in and she can have some water.  And I can relax...with a glass of champers and good food...in first class...with 2 kids...while my husband is in economy class...

Speaking of the move, our flights are booked:  We are giving up the easy, posh, life we've lived for the last 3 years for the reality of mortages, full-time work for both parents, and living in a place where drinking wine at 10am is not socially acceptable.  We leave June 23rd, and can't wait to see our friends and family!!  Then the house hunting commences.  We have 2 months to find a home so that Aidan and Lainey can get sorted into a school.  In the meantime, we'll be living in a hotel, then my mom's house, and then (if we don't have a house by Aug 1.) a furnished apartment.  At some time during those 2 months, I hope to find out where I'll be working.  Currently, I have no clue if I'll be teaching Kindergarten or Middle School.  Just that I'll be somewhere in Plymouth or Canton.  But, hey, at least I still have a job!  Definitely not complaining about that!  Here's hoping there are some good homes on the market in Plymouth or Northville in July!

The Final Countdown:  Since we have less than 30 days left in Europe, we have got to get on with finishing our list of where we want to go! 

This week, we are going to Tuscany.  We've kind of saved the most obvious of European destination for last.  We are spending 3 nights near Pisa where we'll see the Tower and do a boat/hiking trip through Cinque Terre.  Then we go for total relaxation and food and wine heaven for 4 nights near San Gimignano.  We've rented a villa with 2 other families, so 6 adults and 6 kids and one dog altogether.  The villa has a pool, and there are small towns and lots of vineyards nearby.  We just have to get through the 10 hour car trip and all will be good!

The last place I've been wanting to go, but haven't yet is Amsterdam.  Another kind of obvious one, but it has slipped by me.  Jason went with a friend, so now it's my turn!  I'm going for a quick overnight trip with some friends the week after we return from Tuscany.  Amsterdam is just 4 hours away, so it'll be easy to do in 1 1/2 days.  Luckily, I have a wonderful husband and great friends who will take care of the kids before and after school for 2 days so the rest of us moms can go. 

We are still trying to fit in a fun park.  We have one more weekend to do something, and I think we'll hit either Playmobil Park, Europa Park, or LegoLand.  Each are just a few hours away from us.

So much to do: So as you can see, I'm avoiding the inevitable.  Moving details.  I should be spending the next few weeks sorting things out, separating items for air shipment, sea shipment, give aways, sellable items, throw aways. I should be working on our inventory list.  I should be trying to catch up on my scrapbooks.  I should be running so that I'm in shape when I see everyone again!  Woulda, shoulda, coulda...oh well.  It will get done eventually, but until then, I'm going to squeeze as much in to the next 26 days as possible!

Polish Pottery Shopping Weekend

This weekend, I spent time with some girlfriends in Poland.  Boleslawiec, Poland is famous for their pottery, and this is where we went.  We left after school drop off on Friday and stopped in Seiffen, Germany where all the Christmas Market goodies are made.  We all bought a nutcracker, smoker, or pyramid, then carried on into Poland.  Wow, Poland is really Eastern Europe.  Not so fancy, scammers trying to pull you over to ask for money, Communist era buildings, etc.  But, on the upside, Poland is very inexpensive!  We stayed at a really cute bed and breakfast, called the Blue Beet Root. The other guests were all British and Americans (lots of military) and had great food and drinks and spa services.

Saturday morning we were up and hitting the stores at 7am.  It had the fun feel of Black Friday!  It took me a long time to decide what to buy and everyone made fun of me for wanting to find all matching pieces. After 5 stores, I was finally able to make a decision and start buying.  Here is a picture of Andy's, one of the smaller shops:

Here's where I did most of my spending, with our whole group!

 This is the restaurant we at lunch it, affectionately known as the Polish Hooters, based on the waitresses attire.  Yummy goulash and perogis

 Outside our B and B

 Here's my stash!  I even bought Cinnamon some dog dishes :).  We also went to Borowski glass factory and I bought a big frog bowl, I'll add a pic of him later. 

I can see how people can get addicted going shopping here!  I got so much for so little!  The B and B was great, yummy food, pedicures, etc and lots of fun for groups of girls.  I wish I had known about Boleslawiec sooner!

On the way back, we stopped at Buchenwald, an old concentration camp near Dresden.  This was the first I went to, and it is seriously sobering.  I cannot believe people let this happen, and even more I cannot believe that German schools do not teach about the Holocaust.  It was a very moving experience.

 Entrance Gate to the death camp

 Translates to  "To Each His Own", not sure how that fits with what happened here. 

It was horrible to see  the crematorium, where the barracks were, and the photo gallery.  I'm glad I saw it so I can learn from history, but it is unconscionable to think this went on for around 10 years. 

My Mount Everest

I did it!  I ran a 10K race this weekend! 

This may not be much to some people, but to me this is like climbing Mt. Everest.  I was never a runner.  I only took it up 2 summers ago.  I enjoy running, but I don't love it.  I still don't consider myself a runner, but at least I've proven something to myself.  When Jason and I were first married, we made a "Life's To Do" list of all the things we'd like to accomplish in our lives.  One of mine was run a 10K.  When I wrote it, I never really thought I'd do it!  But, after being diagnosed with asthma a few years ago, I realized I could do it! 

My friend Monica and I decided we'd do one together.  We began training a few months ago, and were planning to run a nice flat 10K near Amsterdam.  But, her husband had to go out of town and her mom was in town this weekend, so we cancelled our Amsterdam plans and chose to do a race sponsored by our school. 

This race was NOT FLAT!!!  If we had known how uphill this whole trail would be, and how it would be raining during the race, and how the trail through the forest would be covered in huge rocks, I think we'd have bailed.  But, it was too late when we realized all of this.  Here we are blissfully unaware of what the trail and weather would be like:

Lainey and Aidan were our cheerleaders!

We soon realized this was a seriously uphill battle.  After the first 5K below, we were swearing up a storm, but still running strong!

 It was in the middle of the 7th kilometer that it started pouring.  As if uphill and rocky wasn't enough.  But, I think it made us run faster!  We completed the whole race in 1 hour 44 seconds!  That is way below our goal time of 1 hour 5 mins and that was when we were planning on a flat course!  I am so proud of us both!

Here we are, wet and grimy, but happy to be done!  Now we are trying to talk ourselves into the Detroit Half-Marathon in 2012 when Monica returns to Detroit too.  Hmmm....wonder if I can stay on the running wagon once I'm working full time? At least I'm able to cross something off my Bucket List!

Mother's Day

Even though it fell on the same day as Aidan's First Communion, Mother's Day did not get ignored!  My family let me sleep in as much as I could before church and made me breakfast.  Jason even took over early morning puppy duties for me!  When I came to the breakfast table, I was showered with gifts and hugs.

From Jason and the kids: tulips and a special Delft tulip vase direct from Amsterdam, and an Apfelwein pitcher from our local Biergarten!

Lainey made me a few things at school, and she was so excited to give them to me.  Here is a poem in German that translates to:

Dear Mommy, listen

None is as dear as you.

Now to end this

a sweet sugar kiss!

She also made me a card and wrote a poem:

Mommy

Cuddles, cooks

My best Mommy

I love your kisses

Sweet

Apparently, 2nd graders don't make Mother's Day crafts at school, but Aidan did draw me a picture of he and I playing catch :)

This I know for sure: I am one lucky Mommy!! 

Aidan's First Communion

Today was Aidan's First Communion!  We have been really lucky to find an English speaking church near us, and to top it off, the church offers religious ed classes at our school!  So all year, Aidan and Lainey have been doing RE 2 mornings a week.  Aidan has been preparing for his communion, and Lainey has just been learning a lot.

Today, Aidan made his First Communion with 11 other kids from his school and the larger International school campus.  They all did a great job and looked so handsome and beautiful.  Aidan wasn't so happy to have to dress up, but ended up looking great and was very proud of himself.  He even had to read one of the Prayers of the Faithful and bring up the gifts.  He told me he'd like to do that more often!

After church, we went out to a nice lunch with the families of the other 2 girls who go to Aidan's school.  We all had a great time celebrating, but of course we wish we could have been celebrating with our own family!

Our First Communicant

Lainey and Aidan

Family pic

The 12 Communicants

Aidan, with Brianne, and Kendall (his schoolmates) and his RE teacher, Mrs. Corrigan

Vienna and Bratislava

During the kids' Spring Break, I took them to visit our friends, the Baurs, in Bratislava, Slovakia.  We met them in Zürich, and Delainey and the youngest Baur girl, Sara were best friends for the 2 years we lived there.  Their family moved to Bratislava just before we moved to Germany.  I thought this would be a nice treat for Lainey to see her BFF one more time before we move back to the states.  Plus, Bratislava is just 45 minutes from Vienna, Austria, so we could check it out too!

We didn't spend too much time in the city part of Vienna but we did see the Hotel Sacher, where the famous torte originated and for me to find my Starbucks mug!  Instead, we spent most of the day at the Prater, a small amusement park in Vienna.  The kids loved it and since this trip was mainly for Lainey, we let the kids dictate most of our time.

Goofing around at the Prater

Lainey and Sara, BFFs!

One of the 2 ferris wheels at the Prater, the other one is over 100 years old!  We chose to ride this one.

Here's a pic of the old one

After the Prater, Jeannine took us to a Viennese institution, a Heuriger.  It's like a Biergarten, but with wine.  This is one that she used to go to when she lived in Vienna 10 years ago.  I loved it!  It's still run by old-fashioned rules about when it can be open and such, so you have to pay attention to the pine branch hanging down by the sign.  When it's hanging down, it's open!

Jeannine and our strawberry wine

We spent one day in Bratislava, at a swimming pool and just hanging at Jeannine's house.

 This is what the sleepover room looked like!  They all had such a good time together!

On our last day, we went to Schönnbrunn Palace.  It was the summer palace for the Hapsburg family who ruled Austria for hundreds of years.  It contains a palace, the world's first zoo, a playground and maze, and Gloriette a mini-palace atop a hill overlooking the main palace.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place!

At Gloriette, looking down onto the palace

In the maze, there were these weird Feng Shua (sp?) things.  Boys were to hug one, girls the other for peace and harmony in life.

At the palace, looking up at Gloriette