Off and running

We got to Chicago on 7/19, but, technically didn't leave the airport until 7/20. (Baggage handlers at Midway airport, you're consistent, and you're SLOW!!)

My wonderful brother and future sister in law waited patiently for us and drove us to the funeral home (grandma's house). Myrt was wide awake at 1:30am and ready to party! :) The kids ran straight to the toy room to make sure that all of their favorites were still there. (of course they are, they're the same toys I played with.) After the kids went to bed, we stayed up until 3am talking with Myrt, the most hilarious grandma ever.

The next day might have been the hottest, most humid day in the history of the world. We stayed inside, playing with said toys and visiting with family. Camille & Erin brought over their beautiful babies, both of which were nibbled by me and got stink eye from Ben. ("I hate babies!!")

Then, on Thursday, we woke up to a very clingy Ben. He told me he had to throw up. He's been saying this lately in the car though, so I wasn't sure if it was for real. It was for real. He threw up a few times and then he'd lay on the floor, lethargically playing legos. We continued to pack for Michigan (rearranging suitcases, eliminating a few, shoving things in Myrt's closet) hoping that Ben would magically feel better. It worked! He was miraculously fine for the rest of the day. We drove to Michigan in record time.

Oh yeah!!

One more day

We leave tomorrow and our house is showing signs of movement. Suit cases, boxes, piles of crap and just an overall feeling of chaos. All good though, almost there! We have the best friends in the world. Lisa came over Friday and made lists out of our schizophrenic ramblings. We woke up on Saturday, started getting things done and checking them off. THEN Lisa shows up with coffee and starts working. She cleaned out our fridge, organized and was just a HUGE help. Sunday, more packing and Erik & Shanon (across the street) had us over for dinner. They've also had our kids over to play every day so that we can get rid of things without crushing anyone's soul. Sarah is taking Gracie dog tomorrow for the first shift while Dhruv is out of town. (AND she's trying to move)! What would we do without you guys?!?!?

Alright, back to work!

Home School...sort of

I'll be home schooling Lily while we're away. It just seemed cruel to put her into a German school for 4 months. There are English schools in Bonn, but we wanted the freedom to travel and not have the responsibility of a school schedule. We really wanted to stick with the curriculum that her fellow students will be getting this Fall. We also want Lily to feel like she's part of the class and help her transition back into the routine when we return. Luckily, she has an AMAZING teacher next year who has been so helpful. She has copied everything under the sun and given me a Fall packet. I'll be able to do a bit of school each day and help Lil to stay on track. Good thing she loves to learn and is a homework junky. (See? I did not clone her in a lab, she does have some of Matt's genes!) So thankful for her Kinder teacher for helping her to love school so much too! While Lily is having school time, I have some workbooks for Ben as well. I know, it's only preschool, but it'll be good for him to practice some of the basics.

Remember that part about "no responsibility?" Yeah, right.

Some books and workbooks going straight to Germany, not stopping in Chicago......or collecting $200.

And of course, RIck Steve's. We've been reading bits to the kids and they laugh and laugh. We tell them, "this is seriously how people talk in Germany. We're not just speaking gibberish!" The kids ask me to read one phrase over and over. It means, "the ATM has eaten my card." They think it's hilarious. This will be my bible.

Down to the wire

So we leave on Tuesday and our days are numbered. We've been trying to hang out with friends and pack up things in the house and decided what's going to which destination. I have learned that SPACE BAGS! are the greatest invention ever! We packed our entire linen closet into a few of them (thank you Lisa, oh, and p.s., Matt ripped one of your SPACE BAGS!, sorry). We have one giant box full of things that we know we will want while in Germany. I have also learned that we have very little warm clothing. Why would we in LA? It's going to be shocking to live in a cold climate. I fear for my spoiled little beach babies. (but mostly for me).

Here are some things helping us to pack.

Packing cubes from Ebags, bought on Amazon with a gift card Matt got for taking a survey. Sweet!

Multi-sectioned Ziplocks from Divide n Pac by Myriad. A friend gave them to me as a sample when her friend was developing them. Here is their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/people/Myriad-Divide-N-Pac/100000526736655

These are great for storing travel sized products and mini liquor bottles (jk) or anything else you don't want to see all over your favorite dress when you open your suitcase!

A little of the old Rex. This is great because it gets you through, well, anything.

Link to Lily

Lily did a project for school in December, 2010. She chose Germany as her topic and I think she explains things pretty well :)

http://table-4-four.blogspot.com/2010/12/lilys-germany-project.html

Packing......and more packing

As I'm packing things up to send to Chicago, Bonn and to get out of the way of the very fine family staying here while we're gone, I'm finding inspiration is a few places.

One: Ralphs (the grocery store). I was doing my regular shopping and realized that I need to scale back. I don't need 2 loaves of bread because we're going to be leaving soon. Oh my-lanta! We're leaving! (I then went home and cleared out shelves, emptied most of my dresser drawers and clicked into packing mode).

Two: This blog http://smallnotebook.org/2011/05/18/tips-to-travel-overseas-with-babies-and-kids/

Matt seems to think that we can be a savvy and pack just as light. Well, I am not this lady and it will no be happening. We're going to work at it and do our best, but there will be a hefty box of essentials being shipped over. I got a lot of ideas from this blog & have gotten some of the packing cubes to help keep our clothes organized.

We also have a month of travel to pack for BEFORE we go overseas. (justification)

Travel w/in Europe

This is our tentative schedule for travel while in Europe. These will be trips that are planned by the Academy for International Travel (AIB) with the study abroad students in mind. There will be tours of energy plants, structures that are feats of engineering and flux capacitors or something. Yeah, the kids and I will just be tagging along and then finding our own things to do. We're looking forward to just exploring and trying new things. We're hoping to do some other small trips with our free weekends too. Also hoping to really get to know Bonn and enjoying all that the city has to offer!

The first month of madness

We're heading to Chicago for a month with family before we leave for Germany. It goes like this:

July 19 Arrive in Chicago

July 21 Leave for Michigan

July 22 Celebrate Ben's 4th birthday on the lake. (pontoon pirate ships anyone?)

Matt & I leave for South Bend, IN to celebrate my cousin's wedding (Kids stay at the lake with Nana)

July 24 Back to the cottage

Aug. 1 Quad Cities (IL/IA border) To visit with Matt's borther, Jimmy, his wife Molly and our niece Sophia (yay!)

Aug. 3 Back to Chicago

Aug. 8 Back to MI

Aug. 15 Back to Chicago

Aug. 19 Matt goes back to MI for my brother Brian's bachelor party

Kids & I still in Chicago

Aug. 22 We all leave Chicago for Charleston, SC. From there, we drive to Hilton Head Island to stay in our friend Sarah's house for some much (I'm sure) needed chill out time.

Aug. 26 Head to our hotel in Savannah for rehearsal for......

Aug. 27 Brian & Jami's wedding!!!!!

Aug. 29 We leave Savannah and after a stop-over in Newark its off to Germany!

PHEW! I need a nap!