TGIF

Yes, it's FRIDAY!!! My favorite day of the week! Although, I'm not sure that today will be too extremely fun since Josh has a Dr. appointment, and he needs to get about 5 shots. He's not too pleased about that. I suppose I shouldn't have told him that, yes, he would be getting shots today, but he asked that question specifically, and I couldn't lie to him! I didn't tell him how many, though. I think he will be none too pleased! I did tell him that if he was really brave, he could have some candy afterward. We'll see. I just hope that after he gets his shots, he doesn't do like he did last time: He refused to walk. He said the shots made it so he couldn't feel his legs anymore, so he just sat on the ground! Luckily, Devin was there with me at the time, so between the two of us, we were able to carry all three kids. Today I'm not going to be so lucky! I can barely even hold Andrew anymore! That kid is solid! So, if Josh refuses to get up today (and when he does it, Claire does it, too, since she idolizes her brother), I'm going to be in trouble! I don't think I'll be able to manage carrying all 3 of them by my lonesome. Especially since I've been having so much trouble with my back lately. I'm just hoping and praying that it all goes well!

So, there are only just over 2 weeks left for us here in the good ol' US of A. I keep forgetting it's that close! I don't want to talk about it.

We played 'horsey' today. Normally, my games of 'horsey' don't last very long, due to the fact that my back just doesn't hold out as long as it used to. Today, though, I really enjoyed the game!! Here's why: JOSH was the horsey! Claire loved it...and now, we'll play horsey any time!!

Silence is Golden

Andrew has finally fallen asleep after screaming in his bed for 45 minutes. I suppose that's not terrible, but it's not really normal for him, as he really enjoys his naptime. Yesterday, he was whiny and unhappy, so I asked him if he wanted a nap. Immediately, he stopped crying, and walked toward his room, pointing! I take that as a yes! :) What a little sweetheart! I think Josh and Claire enjoy his naptimes almost as much as he does, because of my new leniency. Sometimes, though, Claire will say, "Put Andrew down for a nap so we can watch a movie!!", and it will be 7:30am. That doesn't work quite as well. Ha!

Today, Josh went to his kindergarten class. They talked about the moon and drew pictures of their own made up moons. They also talked about carrots...even painted a t-shirt using a carrot instead of a paintbrush! What fun! I know Josh will miss this time with teachers other than his own mom! :)

While Josh was at his class, I took Claire and Andrew to the mall. A friend of mine had to exchange some things, so we tagged along. It was nice to get out. They have a fun play place for little tiny children there, so they had fun running around. We ate lunch there, too (pb&j sandwiches and chips...from home...I don't like mall food). Then, I had to leave to pick up Josh and Joseph (a friend he goes to class with). It was all fine until I mistakenly went West on I-66 instead of East!! Doh!! I have no idea how I missed it! It was so plainly there on the sign: I-66 West Gainesville. I think I was nervous because I hadn't ever gone that way, and there were a lot of cars on the road. I just put on my "freeway driving cap" and pushed on the gas! I was headed past Centreville when I finally noticed the signs. Dulles? Centreville? Ummm...where am I going??? Then it was too late to get over, and I had to wait for the next exit to be able to turn around, which was Manassas!! That is 12 miles West of Fairfax! DOH!! Oh well. I needed gas in the van anyway, and it was $2.99 there instead of the $3.09 here. So, I guess I saved $1.60 in gas...somewhere... I finally was able to turn around, though, and went on I-66 East to the Beltway and made it to his class only 15 minutes late for pick-up! whew!! I hate I-66. Oh well. At least we made it all in one piece. I am going to miss this area, though. It is SO much fun to drive here! I love the adrenaline rush!!!!! :) It's super fun to maneuver in downtown D.C. during rush hour! Ha!!!

So, it is now quiet time. It's not so quiet right now, because Claire is getting tired of sitting (after about 5 minutes) and feels that she needs to have a snack during the entire movie. No. Sorry. I gave her an apple and a piece of bread, but she wanted to have candy. It will be nice in Africa when candy is not so readily available!!!

Random Cameos

It's time for some picture fun! :) It was bedtime and they were wearing their new slippers and wanted to show them off. So we ended up with a photo shoot and a bedtime made a little bit later than usual.

An extreme close-up of my kiddies...



Andrew is either sitting down or in the process of standing up. Look at those cute little slippers! :)

The cute kids showing off their slippers! Josh is into making faces for the camera...and Andrew kept trying to get away (thus the side of me in my purple pajamas holding him there).

An Aerial View! With a fun shot of my foot. At least I was wearing some fun socks. :) These guys are just so much fun!!!

Josh has kindergarten class today, and he's being picked up in 45 minutes! I get to go make him a lunch (thankfully we went to the store yesterday...) and I'm thinking I'll take Claire and Andrew to the library while he's gone. They need to get out, too!!

Empty Photos

It is now my favorite time of the day. Andrew is sleeping. Josh and Claire are lying on the floor with pillows and blankets, watching a movie on the portable DVD player. So I get a break. I think moving has made me soft. I normally don't let them watch movies during the week, but lately, I've given in a bit. Oh well. We all need a break once in awhile.

We had a ball taking photos in our now empty house, so here we are cruising about the house:

Devin and the kids relaxing after a quick run around the living room. :)

I took this picture all by myself!! :) I suppose I could have put on the timer and set it down somewhere...but where?? :P There's nothing to set it on!! :D

We let Joshua take a picture of us. He did a pretty good job, too...except he missed some of Claire's face. He got a little over exuberant as he was pushing the button to take the photo, and the camera shook. Oh well. You can still tell that she's smiling! Ha! What a nut! Behind us is the dining room sans table. Weird. The kids are enjoying eating on the floor, though. We've had Andrew strapped into his stroller, but this morning he figured out how to get out on his own, and now terrorizes us as we run around the room, screaming, holding our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches high above our heads so he can't steal them! (Claire let him steal hers, though, and he very thoroughly enjoyed eating it...and getting jam all over the place!! I must admit, though, that it is much easier to clean the floor without having to move the benches out of the way and crawl under the table...)

I even took the kids grocery shopping with me today, and we had a ball!! Why are they so good for me in public places lately? It's been SO nice! They have these shopping carts at Wegman's that have to be my favorite. It has what looks like a miniature park bench attached to the regular shopping cart. So Josh and Claire sit on this little bench, all strapped in, and can face Andrew as he is in the normal infant shopping cart position. They all love it! They keep each other happy and entertained through the entire store! I like that one much better than the cars and trucks that they usually have. Claire won't stay put in those, and Andrew gets mad because the scenery never changes. Mom is not as entertaining as Josh and Claire, obviously!! :)

Emptiness

How strange it is now to walk into our apartment and see nothing! No comfy couches, no table and chairs, no stereo, no toys strewn all over (YES!!!!). I don't know that I always enjoy the transition point of moving very much, but it does always make me grateful when I'm settled again once it's over. I know it's a headache. It causes so much stress not only for me, but for my family. It's interesting to see the different ways that stress is manifested. I feel like I'm handcuffed to a wall. It's almost like I can't move or function! Weird. Josh becomes very moody. One minute, he's higher than a kite--flying around the room and screaming! The next moment, he's back to his little purple puddle on the floor, sobbing hysterically about something minuscule. Claire becomes defiant. I will ask her to do something and she will either ignore me completely, or blatantly disobey me, yelling "No! I won't!!" as she goes. Andrew is extra clingy. *Sigh* What fun. But it's ok. We all learn to adapt and to cope...and I think more than anything, we learn patience with each other.

We got to spend the morning today with some friends who let the kids and I hang out with them while Devin stayed with the movers. It was nice to have a break from the whirlwind of moving and be in a stable environment with more kids to play with. I enjoyed the respite, and I think the kids did as well. It's nice to be home again, but it is starting to not feel like home anymore. Sadly enough, it will probably be about another month before we get to start feeling comfortable somewhere. We will make the best of it, though, and enjoy the adventure of our family's first move overseas. I think it just means I need to find more fun activities for us to do during the day, so we don't sit around feeling sad that our books, toys and furniture are all on a boat going across the Atlantic Ocean.

Moving

I've never actually experienced the whole professional movers scenario. I think it's something that I could really enjoy! :) Devin and I have spent the past few weeks preparing just for this day...when the movers would come! We've categorized everything, and tried to make things easier for them. I think the nicest thing about movers is the fact that they aren't partial to any of our stuff! So, they don't spend hours agonizing over which box to put certain things in...they just pack it all in. The don't stop for a jaunt down memory lane for a few minutes (or hours...) when they find some random memorabilia...they just pack it all in. Make a box--throw stuff in--tape it up--write on it--set it aside--do it again! Kind of nice! And another nice thing is having friends take Josh and Claire. I know that if they were still here, two things would happen: Josh would want to help...and he'd melt into a little purple puddle when they told him no (which they would, because of insurance); and Claire would cry because they were putting her stuff in boxes. She really would flip out. They are both going to do that when they get home, but it will be on a much smaller scale, and for a much shorter duration of time. :)

More Stress

Today was supposed to be a happy occasion. Oh well. I must admit that I'm tired of the stress filtering through my poor little family. There's so much to do, and it always seems like there's so much time to do it...then time plays that funny trick of running as fast as possible, right past you, as you're not looking, and all of a sudden, it's gone! I will liken it to when we are at a restaurant... I will look over to help Andrew find some food, then when I look up, it's just in time to see a little blond streaking all the way across the room! Boy, is she fast! Or another little boy, who takes off to find his own silverware, catching all of us completely unawares, as he happily jogs back to the table holding a steak knife high in the air as a king would with his mighty scepter! Luckily, no one was in his way, and he didn't trip. Thankfully, Andrew was strapped in. *sigh*

We put in for our Visas today. The move is becoming more and more real as each day passes. Over the next few days, we'll finish all the household organizing. I just need to make sure I set all the regular baggage and air freight aside so the movers don't decide to pack it up...NO! I need that!!... Hopefully the next few days will be enough for us to do all of that! I can't believe that by this time next week, we'll be in a COMPLETELY EMPTY apartment! YES!!!!! I won't feel like I'm drowning in all of this stuff! I must admit that it feels like I'm being suffocated, and that feeling is so persistent. I have to continually remind myself...just a few more days! Just a few more days!!! I know I'll miss some of the stuff that will be packed away (mostly just the wheat grinder, though. I'll miss my fresh bread, rolls and cinnamon rolls...) but I need some time away from stuff to make me grateful for it once again. It's good for a person to do that. Stuff is good and useful, but not the most important thing in the world. I honestly wouldn't even care if we lost everything in the move. Sure it would be super inconvenient, and a HUGE waste of money and stress and time...but as long as my family made it intact, it would all be fine and worth it!!!!