Future BFFs

There were so many great reasons to be back in Minnesota for a visit.  One of the many highlights for me was to hang out with some of our best friends.   And, to introduce J#4 to a few of her future BFF's (at least that is what I am hoping). 

J#4 and Miss M meeting for the first time.
Not sure if Miss M was lunging for J#4 or J#1.  Tehehe.

We are so lucky that two of my greatest girl friends had little girls just a few months before J#4 was born.  Can't wait for the future shopping trips and spa days we can have while the guys are out golfing (or whatever they want to do with their time-won't be of concern to us, right?).  


Miss M was born at the end of September, so is just about four months older than J#4.  

holding hands.  love it! 

 telling secrets already? 

J#4 got to join Miss M's mama and me on her inaugural outlet mall shopping trip.  Remember this pic?  

yup, pretty sure this girl got the shopping gene from me.  :-) 

And then there is Miss L.  She was born at the end of October, just in time for Halloween.  Perfect for her Halloween loving mama.  And just three months older than our little J#4.

pretty girls in purple and pink

Miss L has an older brother,
who is just about exactly a year older than J#3.
I see many play dates in our future.  

Oh, and I am guessing you know how difficult it is to get a good photo of four children who are three and under.  But just in case you were wondering...

Yes, that would be my future WWE (wrestling) star (please no!) throwing out a big bear hug on the group. 

p.s.  this was #6 of 6 posts...but like I said the other day, I am going to keep this truck moving.  

p.s.s.  this could be a feature about J#3 and his future bffs (both of these girl's brothers), but boys who are 2, 3 and 4 just don't like to sit very still for photos together.  :-) 

Andma! Dadada!

J#3 is slowing adding to his vocabulary (yahoo!), yet still not including all the letters in certain words, like grandma and grandpa. As his translator, though, there are a few words that I have been to figure out.  

For instance, when he sits at the kitchen table and points at our family photos on the shelf and say "andma!" and "dadada" (his dad's dad--makes sense, right?)I know he is talking about some of his favorite people.  He does not have special names to identify specific grandparents with yet, but I am sure that will come with time.

I grew up essentially without grandparents (my only living grandma passed away when I was seven years old), so I am so very excited to see the relationships between J#3 and J#4 and their grandparents develop over time.  The few memories I have with my Grandma Alvina are special, and I know our kids' memories will be too.

J#1's grandparents were all around into his twenties, and he has great memories with them. Listening to his stories relating their adventures is the best.   

During our recent trip, J#3 and J#4 definitely learned that being around grandmas and grandpas comes with great benefits. 

 new toys

help getting INTO the toys

special treats

and cuddles

p.s.  This is day 5 of 6 in my six-day pledge.  I think I might just keep going though. Daily posts?  It just might be possible people!

Swim, little fish, swim.

One of the highlights of the extended stay hotel that we stayed at while in Minnesota was that they had a pool.  I know for a lot of parents, a pool is practically a requirement when choosing hotels.  But for us, not so much.  See this is not something we have taken advantage of in the past.
a
Mostly because Mrs. Packer (that would be me)forgets to pack the swimsuit and swim diapers for J#3.  There have been more than a few times where J#1 is equipped with swim trunks (since I told him to pack them), but then I failed to pack J#3's gear.  Oops!  That would be one of the reasons for my new packing list (more on that in a future post). 


But enough about my packing failures.  Back to the swimming. 

I was successful in remembering J#3's gear this trip.  See? You can tell he was thrilled about the fact.  Okay...so he could probably care less about that.  But he was pleased with the swimming experience.


But trust me, he didn't start out this way.  


My awesome sister-in-law Stacy, nephew Ben and niece Ellen joined us on a hot, hot Wednesday morning for a trip to our pool.  Why do I call it "our pool" you are wondering? 


Well, since we were the ONLY people there.  It was perfect.  Perfect for some posed photos. 

And perfect for a two-year-old who was a bit frightened of heading into the water. 

With Aunt Stacy cuddling and cooing J#4 into a morning nap, me and the kids tried coaxing J#3 into the pool.  

It started in the hallway (wish I had more photos of this).  Then we got into the main pool area.  We made it closer and closer to the stairs.  Finally I picked him up and brought him into the pool.  He got used to the water, with his arms and legs wrapped around me for a while.  

He got a bit more comfortable and we started throwing things back and forth with Ben and Ellen.  But J#3's legs never left me.  

Then Aunt Stacy was done with J#4, and with some superwoman swim skills, got J#3 to start "swimming".  

You can see from the photos...he was even kicking!  By the time we got ready to leave, he was ready to be on his own (not like I was going to let that happen) and jump in.  

He had to crawl around the side of the pool though.  Because whoever designed this pool thought it would be a good idea to use tile.  Yeah, not really.  Slippery!!!

After a few last fun photos...

We headed out for our post swimming carbo load.  To Perkins, of course.  Hard to believe they are going out of business in some states.

Although with the run of the place we had, maybe not so hard to believe? 

J#4 has to eat too, right?  She was a very considerate sister while we were at the pool though.  Slept the entire time, so we could focus on giving J#3 a great first pool experience. 

Now I am off to add swimsuit & swim diapers to the packing list for J#4...

Reuniting.

Every couple of years, my extended family (on my mom's side) meets up in St. Joseph, Minnesota.  

This year we changed venues (same city, different park). 

We had a bit of a hard time finding it.  

Guess I should have printed out those directions.  Or remembered the GPS. 

But once we found out it, can you guess the best part of the new venue?  

Air conditioning. It was a day with temperatures around 95* F (35* C), and believe me, it was nice to have a cool place to spend part of the day in.  

I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked.  You start talking...tending to a tired and crabby two-year old...and well...the day gets away from you. 

But I did get a few...

love from great aunt Sr. Juliana

her smile is infectious

J#4 was the youngest family member in attendance

getting sleepy with cousin Ellen

love this age;
she took a nap in her stroller, easy peasy

Little Miss wasn't the focus of the day, even though it seems that way from her presence is the photos (she is just so darn adorable in photos).  The day was about reminiscing, catching up and making new memories with family that we don't get to see very often.

and here I thought this was a photo that J#4 wasn't in

some of the guys...and no J#4!  :-) 

One of our cousins brought a fabulous dessert that his wife had made.  I knew it involved crescent rolls and cream cheese.  So I pledged to scour the internet for the recipe.  Except, I didn't have to scour.  At least, I think I didn't.  Click here for TwinkieTotMom's post.  She had a disastrous end to her baking experience making the Sopapilla Cheesecake, but the dessert was still fabulous. 

I am thinking about joining up with her on her "What's Cookin' Wednesdays".  Because a disastrous baking experience?  Exactly what would happen to me.  Maybe I could make her feel a little better.  

"Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."

~Gail Lumet Buckley

P.S.  As promised, an update on our luggage.  

Turns out, it never left Amsterdam.  So much for "priority" treatment, right?  

We finally got both items about three or four days after we landed in Minneapolis...and right before we would have HAD to go shopping.  Boo. 

Step by Step

Hehe.  That title is a little play on words.  See, I am going to take you "step by step" through our time back in Minnesota.  


Well, not every single one...but definitely the highlights.  


And does anyone remember who sang a song with that title back in the late eighties?  Well, if you don't, I will supply a reminder later on.  Keep reading.  


Step 1.
Take huge van/taxi to hotel near airport in Amsterdam the night before our departure.  Due to a previous stay there and an assumption about the hotel restaurant not being open, walk over to event center next to hotel.  Find all restaurants there closed.  Be told that, in fact, your hotel restaurant is open.  Walk back to hotel.  Ring bell for service (yes, there is a bell).  "How can I help you?".  Tell her, well, we would like to eat (duh?).  Dinner doesn't start until six (about 30 minutes later).  Let out audible grunt/sigh of frustration.  Believe me--you would too. Feed J#4 in lobby of hotel, while trying to keep J#3 from taking over the ENTIRE lobby as his play area. Have an okay dinner, decide only to have burgers in the Netherlands in the future if they are made by me with my special recipe. Find out J#3 likes tradition Dutch croquets.  Hmm. That is a new one.  


Step #2.  Get a good nights sleep

Step #3.  Weave your way through the airport, luggage gets marked priority (one of the very few advantages of a husband who travels a lot ), grab a quick bite at McDonald's. Get on plane.  Entertain boy with a few DVDs, then with any car, train or airplane that is in our bags.  


Step #4.  Arrive in Minnesota.  Wait for stroller at gate.  Until EVERY last person has gotten off plane.  Find out stroller will come thru at baggage. Ugh.  Go thru customs.  Head to baggage claim.  Find only three of your five (yes, five) checked items.  Keep looking.  Yup, only three.  Fill a claim for lost baggage.  Try and keep two-year-old (whose body is telling him it is bed time) entertained while claim is filed.  Find rental car, stop at Target for a lightning fast (boo!) trip to buy the essentials (i.e. formula, diapers, cheez-it's).  Check into extended stay hotel. 


Step #5.  Visit the grandparents, let them love the littles a bit.  

Step #6.  Find way back to extended stay.  Sleep, until middle of night when J#3 comes into room, because, well that would be time to get up "back home".  


Step #7.  Wake up Friday morning and get ready for my day as a "deadbeat mom".  Ha.  After about nine months in the Netherlands, J#1 gives me a day off.  Pedicure and lunch with Mom, shopping with the girls, enjoy fantastic drinks and a great dinner at Ike's (randomly running into Facebook friend from high school in the bathroom), and then.... 


Are you ready?  


Are you really ready? 

Target Center.  Sold out (I think).  NKOTBSB.  

A few observations: 

• after a few drinks, the cheap seats we got were a bit scary. 
• I really don't remember as many of the words to these songs as I thought I would. Even after buying a few on Itunes to remind me. I am going to blame that on college. 'nuff said, right? 
• people at the concert were either in their mid-twenties (BSB fans) or mid-thirties (NKOTB fans).  And when "their band" wasn't playing, they were sitting down. Handy for me, since we were sitting directly behind some BSB fans. 
• I might be getting too old for this stuff: 

it was loud.  really, really loud.  

• back in the day, my fave's were Joey (no, not where J#3's name came from) and Jordan.  Now, it is Donnie. 
• but not because of his grabbing (think Michael Jackson) and thrusting.  Can someone please explain to me why the crowd went wild when that occurred? 
• a night out with some of your best girl friends is the best way to start off a trip

Hey ladies, the next time I want a Caribou Coffee to keep me awake for the concert at 3 in the afternoon?  Remind me it will keep me up until about 3 in the morning.  Oops. I mean seriously, as tired as I was--how could it keep me up that late? 


Thanks for sticking with me through this long post, but hard to break up the first few days.  From here on out, highlights people, I will supply the highlights.  But really, a travel experience with that many issues?  Must be detailed.  


Oh, the luggage?  Check in tomorrow to find out.  {insert evil laugh here}

What is an expat?

Today I am linking up with Tales from Windmill Fields.  She asks the question of "what is an expat for you"? 

According to dictionary.com, here is the definition of the term expatriate:

1. to banish (a person)from his or her native country.
2. to withdraw (oneself) from residence in his or her's native country. 
3. to withdraw (oneself)from allegiance to one's country.

J#3 checking our our plane to Amsterdam

Well, I can tell you for sure that the only one of those definitions that applies for me is #2. I definitely wasn't banished from the U.S. (unless someone has something to tell me?), and I absolutely have not withdrawn my allegiance for the U.S. either.  

So that leaves me as someone who "withdrew myself from residence in my native country".  

But that doesn't answer the original question.  

What does being an expat mean to me?  

It means so many things.  And after the morning I have had (from kids taunting my son in Dutch--at least I think they were--to almost literally getting STUCK in the grocery store) I am going to try and not go the negative route.  Because as in any situation, there are always positives and negatives. 

Being an expat means:

• taking a chance  (+)
• leaving family and friends (-)
• experiencing some adventure(+)
• being a bit lost--figuratively and literally (and I think some of this might depend on where you live and if you know the first language of the country you live in, or like me, don't.) (-) 
• making new friends (+)
• having to translate food packaging--minimal, but hey, it is something I still have to do on some occasions to this day (-)
• growing closer as a nuclear family (+)
• not having access to things (food, stores, etc.) that you know and have always had nearby (-)and (+)
• getting to experience a new culture (+)
• spending just about every day learning something new (-) & (+), depending on the day and what it is you are having to learn
• having the opportunity to travel more easily throughout Europe (+)
• did I mention being away from family and friends?  (-) (-)

getting to show your family and friends the sights
is definitely a highlight
(Cologne, April '10 with my brother)

Would I do this all over again?  For sure.  I don't want to look back and have many regrets in life.  And I think turning down this opportunity would have definitely been a possible regret.  

Do I look forward to being repatriated?  Absolutely.  There is nothing like seeing your littles develop those lifelong relationships with family and friends.  I can only imagine how much more they will develop once we are back in the U.S. for good. 

cousin & step-grandpa getting
J#3 ready for football  (July '11)

linking up with:

6.

Or maybe 12?  


I have 2 reasons for the title of "6" today.


Reason #1


This adorable, happy and flirty (yes, you read right) little lady is now 6 months old. 

I wish I had thought ahead enough to be prepared to do monthly posts for her, with photos at the beginning of each month.  You know, the ones with cute little blocks or fabric backgrounds included. But alas, I wasn't.  So instead, I am going to start my own little tradition.  


In honor of her six-month birthday, six things I love about our little J#4: 

1. Her ever present smile
2. Her toughness (you should hear how many times a day I have to say "don't sit on your sister", but she still doesn't cry)
3. Her expert communication.  The girls knows to cry when she is hungry, dirty or tired.  And that's it.  Glorious, I tell you. 
4. She is sleeping thru the night!  This started just a few weeks ago when we were visiting Minnesota.  Perhaps I have a bit of jetlag/time change adjustment to thank?  Well, thank you.
5. Her words.  She has now said:  da (yes, that was the first one.  boo!), ba (while reaching for J#3's milk), and ma.  YEAH!!  I know, I know. At this point, according to "the people" she doesn't really know what she is referring to, but I still love hearing her say and sing "mamamama"!   
6. Her rockin' moves.  Ha.  Okay, so no dancing yet.  But this girl has been rolling (both ways) since four and a half months, and she is now moving herself successfully around the room.  THIS CLOSE to crawling, and maybe even does once in a while (when I am not looking, which is rare).  Right now it is a "get on her hands and knees, push up on to her feet (so her cute little tush sticks up in the air) and then stumble forward" kind of action.  

So happy 6 month (or first half-birthday) to my precious baby girl!  

Reason #2 (for the title, in case you forgot)


I have been a VERY bad blogger.  I mean, seriously bad.  I haven't been as consistent as a girl blogger should be.  That ends now.  


I pledge to write new posts for the next six days straight.  Yup. Six days straight. 


It helps that we just spent two weeks in Minnesota. 901 photos (yes, 901!!) later, there must be a little to share.


So, see you tomorrow?