As I look at our life through Facebook and even this blog, I see what we want to portray to the world. And, yes, it is very much a part of us. However, it is not fully authentic. Only a glimpse into the positive side of our family's life, with the occasional controlled glimpse at an isolated negative experience along the way. I do think it is important to know that life is not always perfect, no matter what we see on someone's Facebook page or blog.
Will I stop with Facebook and the blog, knowing all of this? Sometimes I am tempted to do just that, sometimes I slow to a standstill, but in the end I still do want to share our adventures with our friends and family around the world and be connected to them and their adventures.
Now, I have been facing some serious questions. I overcame much in my young life. I think I had even convinced myself that the pain from the past had built me into the person I am today, so because of that it was worth it. And, while on many levels that still holds true, what I wasn't prepared to face is the fact that just because you overcome some major difficulties at one point in your life does not mean you will never face serious difficulties in your future. The truth is that you just never know.
What I do know, from watching my parents, others and even when facing my own personal demons, is that it is easy to be the victim. And, it is very difficult to be the survivor. But, in the end, the victim stays in a pit of despair and the survivor does move on and thrive again. But, also, I know we need to do more than just survive. We need to live, really live and enjoy life and each other. And, this is the path I hope for us to embark upon together, authentically, with life's ups and downs and staying true to ourselves and each other. Easier said than done, but definitely the goal.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Where Do I Go From Here
I've been experiencing a rough time, not sure how to get myself together, but searching, looking, trying to appreciate those things that are true, happy, and positive. Just looking at my beautiful boys makes we want to try to be the strong, independent, confident and contented woman that I want to be and that they need me to be and that I lost somewhere along the way.
I'm hoping building strength of body will help me build strength of mind and soul. Definitely a work in progress, but it is helping me.
I've spent so many years focusing on being wife and mom, so many years planning for the future, I think I just need to stop, take a deep breath and experience life in the present a little bit. I can just live, do my best for my family and myself and see where that gets us for awhile.
I'm hoping building strength of body will help me build strength of mind and soul. Definitely a work in progress, but it is helping me.
I've spent so many years focusing on being wife and mom, so many years planning for the future, I think I just need to stop, take a deep breath and experience life in the present a little bit. I can just live, do my best for my family and myself and see where that gets us for awhile.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Travel tips. . .
So it took us 27 hours door-to-door to get home. I have some tips for my fellow travelers.
Tip 1: remember, WE CAN SEE YOU, so please don't sit there in front of us or next to us picking your nose. Oh my goodness can't you at least excuse yourself to the bathroom. It is not as if our plane didn't have plenty. In fact, it was very cool, they had a downstairs area that was all bathrooms, like six of them. So, get up, stretch your legs and go to the fricken bathroom.
Tip 2: SFO is by far the best airport port-of-entry to the US I have ever encountered!!! Choose it, use it!
Tip 3: when on an 11 hour night flight with a child who still normally wears pull-ups to bed. No matter how much your almost five year old promises he will wake up to go potty and doesn't need a pull-up, don't give in, make him wear the pull-up. That is unless, of course, you plan to wake yourself up every couple of hours, carry a 35 lb. blob over your shoulder to the bathroom and somehow get him to go potty - then you are amazing and certainly don't need any of my tips.
And, so, it would seem our choice of living a life on the path less traveled has certainly involved a lot of travel. :)
Tip 1: remember, WE CAN SEE YOU, so please don't sit there in front of us or next to us picking your nose. Oh my goodness can't you at least excuse yourself to the bathroom. It is not as if our plane didn't have plenty. In fact, it was very cool, they had a downstairs area that was all bathrooms, like six of them. So, get up, stretch your legs and go to the fricken bathroom.
Tip 2: SFO is by far the best airport port-of-entry to the US I have ever encountered!!! Choose it, use it!
Tip 3: when on an 11 hour night flight with a child who still normally wears pull-ups to bed. No matter how much your almost five year old promises he will wake up to go potty and doesn't need a pull-up, don't give in, make him wear the pull-up. That is unless, of course, you plan to wake yourself up every couple of hours, carry a 35 lb. blob over your shoulder to the bathroom and somehow get him to go potty - then you are amazing and certainly don't need any of my tips.
And, so, it would seem our choice of living a life on the path less traveled has certainly involved a lot of travel. :)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
We will see. . .
So, my husband has accepted a handshake on an unaccompanied tour. We knew this was coming, it was something he felt he must do. Next summer, he will go for a year without us. He will get to come home for a few visits during the year. Still, with the hours he puts in, perhaps, we will end up seeing him just as much. Perhaps, we will spend more time with him even, but in more concentrated periods of time. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.
So, the kids and I have some decisions to make. Do we want to stay at our current post or go back to the US, to our home state? I know in our hearts what the boys and I want to do, and that is go home. But the logisitics of moving them, us, everything, everyone, for just a year is daunting. But, when in this life do we actually have the opportunity to go home to the Pacific NW for a year - never. So, I'm really thinking we should do it when it is possible. My oldest really has his heart set on it - though I hope he isn't disappointed when he realizes just how much it rains back home. He insists that he loves the rain. We will see. . .
So, the kids and I have some decisions to make. Do we want to stay at our current post or go back to the US, to our home state? I know in our hearts what the boys and I want to do, and that is go home. But the logisitics of moving them, us, everything, everyone, for just a year is daunting. But, when in this life do we actually have the opportunity to go home to the Pacific NW for a year - never. So, I'm really thinking we should do it when it is possible. My oldest really has his heart set on it - though I hope he isn't disappointed when he realizes just how much it rains back home. He insists that he loves the rain. We will see. . .
Monday, June 18, 2012
Emma Lou
Emma Lou was the Belgian Malinois that we adopted during our first State Department tour of duty in Islamabad, Pakistan. She died Sunday night at the age of 14.
During training for our first tour, our post went into evacuation status. My husband, still in training, was asked to come in during the evacuation to help out. He left for Islamabad while the cat and I stayed back in the US waiting for the evacuation to be lifted. During the evacuation, a single woman that worked for the USG was sent back to the US. Her housekeeper was adamant that a woman should not be living alone in Pakistan and, at the least, she needed a guard dog. So, while this woman was evacuated to the US, the housekeeper took it upon himself to find a dog that he could make into a guard dog for his employer.
Emma was kept outside in a small fenced area with doghouse and called, Kuthi," which literally means dog in Urdu. When the woman returned from the US, she had a dog; a dog she did not want, a dog that had been "trained" to be a guard dog. She started looking for a home for the kuthi. My husband wanted a running partner and so he started running with the kuthi. She had no idea how to walk, let alone run, on a leash. She was quite wild and undomesticated, she had some "quirks," but she started to understand how to run with my husband.
My husband wanted us to adopt the dog, but when I met her she was so wild and loud that I was fearful. Eventually, I gave in and we named her Emma Lou. When she came to our house she was so scared. We had to teach her how to walk up the stairs step-by-step. We would find this to be the case with any new surface she encountered. In a few days, she got used to her surroundings and was feeling more at ease. It turned out she was such a sweet girl. We noticed when new people came over she was very scared and she would bark ferociously at their feet. And, when the water truck would come to our house, she would be shaking in fear and hide in the shower. Yes, we had a very loud water truck that would fill our reservoir tank with water every so often, so we could shower and such. Boy, was Emma Lou scared of that truck. She was also exceptionally scared of people who smoked and/or wore Shalwar Kameez. However, we would later discover that if someone came over with a dog, she wasn't scared of them. In fact, Emma Lou absolutely adored playing with other dogs and made best friends with a little black and white spaniel named Meg.
Meg would escape from her yard every day and come over to our house to play with Emma. It was so cute. The guards new Meg and her owners and so when she showed up at our gate, they just let her in to play. So so sweet. Still, it was apparent, people without dogs were not on Emma's list of people to trust. I cannot say it was an absolute, as there were the rare exceptions on both sides, but generally speaking if Emma knew you through your dog, you were golden with her.
As the years went on, she continued to be scared to walk across any new surface she encountered. And, her aggressive behavior towards those not accompanied by a dog continued. We didn't have kids at the time and saw how sweet she was with us, so we kept her. Every night before bed, she would insist on going outside to walk the perimeter of our house. She wanted to be a guard dog and took it quite seriously. We just wanted a family pet and she was that to us.
After Pakistan, we took Emma back to the US with us while we were in training for my husband's next assignment. We took her to a US vet to be spayed, as there was no way we were having that done in Pakistan. When we went to pick her up from the Vet, he told us that she had little pieces of spleen growing throughout her abdominal cavity. Apparently, she had suffered a severe blow to the abdomen at some point in her life and was lucky it didn't kill her. We don't know who or what, but it certainly explained her fear of feet and of new people. We kept trying to socialize her with people with dogs, hoping she would slowly start accepting more and more people and perhaps, one day, people without dogs. She did great at the dog park. But, she never would get over her fear of some people.
We moved to Portugal and adopted our second dog, a street dog found in Estoril, Portugal. She just reminded me so much of Emma Lou and she needed us. When we had our first son, Sophie wouldn't let Emma get near him. But, when she did, she would try to kiss him. As our first son grew, he became so loving towards both our dogs and they toward him. This is why we were so taken aback one day during a tour in Africa.
One day in Senegal, our oldest was two years old and ran to Emma and laid on her and gave her a big hug. She snapped at him. We took her to the vet, asking for advice, wondering if we should put her down if we couldn't find her a new home. The vet discovered that she had over 100 mango worms (worms that hatch out of your skin), which are very common in West Africa, especially if a dog lays in the mud outside! He worked them out one by one, with us standing by her side counting as he did it. That she was in so much discomfort and only snapped at our boy, made us realize that putting her down was not the right choice. She never snapped at our boy again.
When we had our second son, Sophie couldn't care less. In fact, when he was toddling by her, she would walk by him and give him a little nudge with her bum sometimes. Sophie didn't try to stop Emma from going near our second child and so Emma was with him all the time, following him about, always wanting to give him a kiss.
For several years now, she has had some hip issues, arthritis, and we found out bone spurs on her spine. She had to stop running with my husband several years ago. As time went on, it got harder and harder for her to walk, even with anti-inflammatories, pain meds and anything else we could do to help her, it just continued to get worse. When she couldn't stand up on her own, couldn't walk anymore, we knew it was her time. It was a very sad father's day for my husband! And a very sad day for all of us to lose our girl, Emma Lou.
Our oldest was just heartbroken. When we told our youngest (who is almost five) that Emma had died, he said "I miss Emma, I miss her kisses." We will all miss you girl!!!! And so hope we were able to give you a good life!
During training for our first tour, our post went into evacuation status. My husband, still in training, was asked to come in during the evacuation to help out. He left for Islamabad while the cat and I stayed back in the US waiting for the evacuation to be lifted. During the evacuation, a single woman that worked for the USG was sent back to the US. Her housekeeper was adamant that a woman should not be living alone in Pakistan and, at the least, she needed a guard dog. So, while this woman was evacuated to the US, the housekeeper took it upon himself to find a dog that he could make into a guard dog for his employer.
Emma was kept outside in a small fenced area with doghouse and called, Kuthi," which literally means dog in Urdu. When the woman returned from the US, she had a dog; a dog she did not want, a dog that had been "trained" to be a guard dog. She started looking for a home for the kuthi. My husband wanted a running partner and so he started running with the kuthi. She had no idea how to walk, let alone run, on a leash. She was quite wild and undomesticated, she had some "quirks," but she started to understand how to run with my husband.
My husband wanted us to adopt the dog, but when I met her she was so wild and loud that I was fearful. Eventually, I gave in and we named her Emma Lou. When she came to our house she was so scared. We had to teach her how to walk up the stairs step-by-step. We would find this to be the case with any new surface she encountered. In a few days, she got used to her surroundings and was feeling more at ease. It turned out she was such a sweet girl. We noticed when new people came over she was very scared and she would bark ferociously at their feet. And, when the water truck would come to our house, she would be shaking in fear and hide in the shower. Yes, we had a very loud water truck that would fill our reservoir tank with water every so often, so we could shower and such. Boy, was Emma Lou scared of that truck. She was also exceptionally scared of people who smoked and/or wore Shalwar Kameez. However, we would later discover that if someone came over with a dog, she wasn't scared of them. In fact, Emma Lou absolutely adored playing with other dogs and made best friends with a little black and white spaniel named Meg.
Meg would escape from her yard every day and come over to our house to play with Emma. It was so cute. The guards new Meg and her owners and so when she showed up at our gate, they just let her in to play. So so sweet. Still, it was apparent, people without dogs were not on Emma's list of people to trust. I cannot say it was an absolute, as there were the rare exceptions on both sides, but generally speaking if Emma knew you through your dog, you were golden with her.
As the years went on, she continued to be scared to walk across any new surface she encountered. And, her aggressive behavior towards those not accompanied by a dog continued. We didn't have kids at the time and saw how sweet she was with us, so we kept her. Every night before bed, she would insist on going outside to walk the perimeter of our house. She wanted to be a guard dog and took it quite seriously. We just wanted a family pet and she was that to us.
After Pakistan, we took Emma back to the US with us while we were in training for my husband's next assignment. We took her to a US vet to be spayed, as there was no way we were having that done in Pakistan. When we went to pick her up from the Vet, he told us that she had little pieces of spleen growing throughout her abdominal cavity. Apparently, she had suffered a severe blow to the abdomen at some point in her life and was lucky it didn't kill her. We don't know who or what, but it certainly explained her fear of feet and of new people. We kept trying to socialize her with people with dogs, hoping she would slowly start accepting more and more people and perhaps, one day, people without dogs. She did great at the dog park. But, she never would get over her fear of some people.
We moved to Portugal and adopted our second dog, a street dog found in Estoril, Portugal. She just reminded me so much of Emma Lou and she needed us. When we had our first son, Sophie wouldn't let Emma get near him. But, when she did, she would try to kiss him. As our first son grew, he became so loving towards both our dogs and they toward him. This is why we were so taken aback one day during a tour in Africa.
One day in Senegal, our oldest was two years old and ran to Emma and laid on her and gave her a big hug. She snapped at him. We took her to the vet, asking for advice, wondering if we should put her down if we couldn't find her a new home. The vet discovered that she had over 100 mango worms (worms that hatch out of your skin), which are very common in West Africa, especially if a dog lays in the mud outside! He worked them out one by one, with us standing by her side counting as he did it. That she was in so much discomfort and only snapped at our boy, made us realize that putting her down was not the right choice. She never snapped at our boy again.
When we had our second son, Sophie couldn't care less. In fact, when he was toddling by her, she would walk by him and give him a little nudge with her bum sometimes. Sophie didn't try to stop Emma from going near our second child and so Emma was with him all the time, following him about, always wanting to give him a kiss.
For several years now, she has had some hip issues, arthritis, and we found out bone spurs on her spine. She had to stop running with my husband several years ago. As time went on, it got harder and harder for her to walk, even with anti-inflammatories, pain meds and anything else we could do to help her, it just continued to get worse. When she couldn't stand up on her own, couldn't walk anymore, we knew it was her time. It was a very sad father's day for my husband! And a very sad day for all of us to lose our girl, Emma Lou.
Our oldest was just heartbroken. When we told our youngest (who is almost five) that Emma had died, he said "I miss Emma, I miss her kisses." We will all miss you girl!!!! And so hope we were able to give you a good life!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Expectations of my oldest - a cost benefit analysis
My 3rd grader has been melting down over the expectations I have of him. And, I am starting to doubt myself. Perhaps it is too much??? Perhaps I am an ogre?
He has a 30 minute piano lesson once per week and a two hour Hebrew lesson on the weekend (this is instead of Sunday School). Though Sunday School back in the US was clearly more fun than one-on-one tutoring. I get that, but it doesn't mean you don't have to do it! Still, perhaps there is some wiggle room here?
During the school week, he has maybe 10 minutes of homework each day, 5 minutes/day of speech therapy practice, and 10 minutes of either Hebrew or piano each day (alternating them so he only has to practice one each day). So, a total of 25 minutes of study per day. And, we ask him to read for 20 minutes a day before bed. I really don't think this is asking too much.
Now, next year in 4th grade, he may have more homework. I really don't know. But, is it really too much to ask a 4th grader to spend a total of an hour/day on study. And, do some reading before bed.
I worry about lowering my expectations. But, I also worry about burning him out. Honestly, I don't really want to be an ogre. So, next year, we will cut his Hebrew lessons to one hour/week. But, require him to do both 10 minutes of piano and Hebrew each day, except lesson days. I think he will actually get more out of that. And, we will have a one hour scheduled block of time for his work each school day. If he gets it done early, he still must use that time for study or getting a head-start on his bedtime reading. The questions are. . .will he spend more time doing it than complaining about it? Will this new system cut down at all on the "fuss factor." Dare to dream I say, dare to dream.
He has a 30 minute piano lesson once per week and a two hour Hebrew lesson on the weekend (this is instead of Sunday School). Though Sunday School back in the US was clearly more fun than one-on-one tutoring. I get that, but it doesn't mean you don't have to do it! Still, perhaps there is some wiggle room here?
During the school week, he has maybe 10 minutes of homework each day, 5 minutes/day of speech therapy practice, and 10 minutes of either Hebrew or piano each day (alternating them so he only has to practice one each day). So, a total of 25 minutes of study per day. And, we ask him to read for 20 minutes a day before bed. I really don't think this is asking too much.
Now, next year in 4th grade, he may have more homework. I really don't know. But, is it really too much to ask a 4th grader to spend a total of an hour/day on study. And, do some reading before bed.
I worry about lowering my expectations. But, I also worry about burning him out. Honestly, I don't really want to be an ogre. So, next year, we will cut his Hebrew lessons to one hour/week. But, require him to do both 10 minutes of piano and Hebrew each day, except lesson days. I think he will actually get more out of that. And, we will have a one hour scheduled block of time for his work each school day. If he gets it done early, he still must use that time for study or getting a head-start on his bedtime reading. The questions are. . .will he spend more time doing it than complaining about it? Will this new system cut down at all on the "fuss factor." Dare to dream I say, dare to dream.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Campania Region of Italy
Italy for spring break was wonderful. Getting to Sorrento took some time and I must say I was not too pleased with the amount of sick people traveling by plane and train on the way to and during our visit. As much as I cursed the fools for exposing us to their illnesses, for not just staying the heck home when they are coughing and sneezing, what did we do at the end of our trip? Of course, we got on that plane home with S and K coughing and sneezing.
But, at least before we started getting sick, we were able to enjoy our time in Italy. We stayed in Sorrento, which is a great place to base yourself if you want to see the sites in the Campania region. We arrived into Naples on a Saturday night and had a car and driver take us into Sorrento. I am so glad we did, as future experience with the train would prove it was the best decision.
On Sunday, we went to the Isle of Capri. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. As we got off the ferry, we were approched by someone offering us a boat ride to the Green Grotto. "Just like the Blue Grotto, but no wait, less crowded." He explained how he offered a much cheaper, private service and the Green Grotto was just as good. But, we came to see the Blue Grotto, not the fake Blue Grotto. So, we decided to check-out the boats that were supposedly "crowded and expensive" and are so glad we did. The price was cheaper than what the guy at the dock was offering, the boat was bigger and had life vests (under the seats, but they were there), and there really was no waiting at all. We went to the Blue Grotto. Once there you transfer to a small row boat to enter the Grotto. Our row boat captain was new on the job. Apparently, he hadn't quite figured out how to not get a big splash of water in the boat upon entering the grotto. I have some choice pictures of me in my white jeans with my derriere all wet. Dear husband was so kind to capture it on film, which we did not and will not be sharing. After the Grotto, we went into Capri and enjoyed our time there very much! So beautiful!!! Expensive, but beautiful!!!
Our next day, we went to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. We downloaded the free audio-guide from Rick Steves and it was a great little tour. It is quite hot when walking the ruins. At the end, we had some fresh lemon juice, a snack and were on our way to Mt. Vesuvius. After walking around Pompeii for hours in the sun, the 800 meters from the bus parking lot to the crater were a lot more tiring than we expected, well at least than I expected. It was pretty cool to see. T is learning about volcanoes at school, so it was a very fitting site to see. That night we ate at Il Ristorante Lionne Rosse and found it was right next door to David's gelaterria - now officially our favorite gelato place! Gelato - yummm!
Day 3 we planned to stay in Sorrento as K really really wanted to swim at the hotel and Sorrento is quite pretty to see. However, at the last second we thought, let's try to get the ferry to Ischia and go swimming in thermal springs we just found out about. Only, then, I realized I couldn't find my phone. And, unfortantely I had turned off the volume the night before so I wouldn't have to hear it ding every time I got a message. After searching and searching the hotel (I had it at breakfast) to no avail, I started changing passwords and canceling accounts, while S took the boys swimming at the hotel pool. Where, I understand, "heated" is still really really cold. At this point, I was cursing myself for not downloading the "find my phone" application, which also allows you to remotely erase your phone. Panic, panic, panic. After checking the hotel and our room a half dozen times, I decided to do one more check. I found it!!! It was in our room. It had fallen between the back of the suitcase and the wall. What a relief, but it meant Ischia would not be in the cards after all. It wasn't our original plan, so it was OK. And, I have to say, that perhaps working in a day with no real plan to the vacation is a very worthwhile thing to do. We did a tour of Sorrento via horse drawn carriage, had lovely meals and, of course some David's Gelato. We also took a little tour bus to see a local lemon grove and see a beautiful view of the bay and Mt. Vesuvius. There are definitely better tours than the one we took, but with the time we had it worked out just fine.
On Day 4, we went to Caserta to see the Palace. This was the point of our whole trip for the boys, as the palace was used in Star Wars films as the Palace on Naboo. The Palace was very cool to see and had a wonderful big garden. And we had a local pizza that was so delicious, but huge. We had no idea that it would be a 1/2 meter in size - yikes!!!
We were one week too early for the tour buses to take you to Caserta, so we went by train. Let me just say the town of Caserta is, well let's just say gritty. Of course, we only saw the section of town near the train station and it does seem that many towns are gritty near their train stations. The train to and from Caserta from Naples was fine. However, the train to and from Naples from Sorrento is a nightmare. It only runs every 1/2 hour. Sorrento was the first/last stop. So on the way in, you can get a seat if you are lucky. The train seats completely fill at the first stop and then some. And, with each stop more and more people keep getting on. On the way back, you can be sure you will be standing and packed like sardines. Whoa!!! Definitely, avoid the local Naples-Sorrento train if you can. We did use the same train for Pompeii, but it is not nearly as long of a ride with two little ones.
The next day, we took a car to Naples airport. We could just not imagine going in by train with our luggage and the boys - no way!!! And, then off to home via Rome. It was a short trip. I would've liked two more days, one for Ischia and one for a little town on the Almalfi coast, that would've been just perfect. But, even still, it was a great trip and I highly recommend it!!!
But, at least before we started getting sick, we were able to enjoy our time in Italy. We stayed in Sorrento, which is a great place to base yourself if you want to see the sites in the Campania region. We arrived into Naples on a Saturday night and had a car and driver take us into Sorrento. I am so glad we did, as future experience with the train would prove it was the best decision.
On Sunday, we went to the Isle of Capri. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. As we got off the ferry, we were approched by someone offering us a boat ride to the Green Grotto. "Just like the Blue Grotto, but no wait, less crowded." He explained how he offered a much cheaper, private service and the Green Grotto was just as good. But, we came to see the Blue Grotto, not the fake Blue Grotto. So, we decided to check-out the boats that were supposedly "crowded and expensive" and are so glad we did. The price was cheaper than what the guy at the dock was offering, the boat was bigger and had life vests (under the seats, but they were there), and there really was no waiting at all. We went to the Blue Grotto. Once there you transfer to a small row boat to enter the Grotto. Our row boat captain was new on the job. Apparently, he hadn't quite figured out how to not get a big splash of water in the boat upon entering the grotto. I have some choice pictures of me in my white jeans with my derriere all wet. Dear husband was so kind to capture it on film, which we did not and will not be sharing. After the Grotto, we went into Capri and enjoyed our time there very much! So beautiful!!! Expensive, but beautiful!!!
Our next day, we went to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. We downloaded the free audio-guide from Rick Steves and it was a great little tour. It is quite hot when walking the ruins. At the end, we had some fresh lemon juice, a snack and were on our way to Mt. Vesuvius. After walking around Pompeii for hours in the sun, the 800 meters from the bus parking lot to the crater were a lot more tiring than we expected, well at least than I expected. It was pretty cool to see. T is learning about volcanoes at school, so it was a very fitting site to see. That night we ate at Il Ristorante Lionne Rosse and found it was right next door to David's gelaterria - now officially our favorite gelato place! Gelato - yummm!
Day 3 we planned to stay in Sorrento as K really really wanted to swim at the hotel and Sorrento is quite pretty to see. However, at the last second we thought, let's try to get the ferry to Ischia and go swimming in thermal springs we just found out about. Only, then, I realized I couldn't find my phone. And, unfortantely I had turned off the volume the night before so I wouldn't have to hear it ding every time I got a message. After searching and searching the hotel (I had it at breakfast) to no avail, I started changing passwords and canceling accounts, while S took the boys swimming at the hotel pool. Where, I understand, "heated" is still really really cold. At this point, I was cursing myself for not downloading the "find my phone" application, which also allows you to remotely erase your phone. Panic, panic, panic. After checking the hotel and our room a half dozen times, I decided to do one more check. I found it!!! It was in our room. It had fallen between the back of the suitcase and the wall. What a relief, but it meant Ischia would not be in the cards after all. It wasn't our original plan, so it was OK. And, I have to say, that perhaps working in a day with no real plan to the vacation is a very worthwhile thing to do. We did a tour of Sorrento via horse drawn carriage, had lovely meals and, of course some David's Gelato. We also took a little tour bus to see a local lemon grove and see a beautiful view of the bay and Mt. Vesuvius. There are definitely better tours than the one we took, but with the time we had it worked out just fine.
On Day 4, we went to Caserta to see the Palace. This was the point of our whole trip for the boys, as the palace was used in Star Wars films as the Palace on Naboo. The Palace was very cool to see and had a wonderful big garden. And we had a local pizza that was so delicious, but huge. We had no idea that it would be a 1/2 meter in size - yikes!!!
We were one week too early for the tour buses to take you to Caserta, so we went by train. Let me just say the town of Caserta is, well let's just say gritty. Of course, we only saw the section of town near the train station and it does seem that many towns are gritty near their train stations. The train to and from Caserta from Naples was fine. However, the train to and from Naples from Sorrento is a nightmare. It only runs every 1/2 hour. Sorrento was the first/last stop. So on the way in, you can get a seat if you are lucky. The train seats completely fill at the first stop and then some. And, with each stop more and more people keep getting on. On the way back, you can be sure you will be standing and packed like sardines. Whoa!!! Definitely, avoid the local Naples-Sorrento train if you can. We did use the same train for Pompeii, but it is not nearly as long of a ride with two little ones.
The next day, we took a car to Naples airport. We could just not imagine going in by train with our luggage and the boys - no way!!! And, then off to home via Rome. It was a short trip. I would've liked two more days, one for Ischia and one for a little town on the Almalfi coast, that would've been just perfect. But, even still, it was a great trip and I highly recommend it!!!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
But, they're tasty
My dearest K. He is so cute, filled with personality and resolve, except when it comes to hamburgers and hot dogs. We were driving home from school and K asked if we could have hot dogs for dinner. I told him, "but honey they are made from cow." He replied, "but they're tasty."
So, K has clearly decided that these things are just too tasty to give-up. Not that we eat them a lot, but clearly vegetarianism is not his forte in its full form. You can imagine the joy experienced by my husband at this realization. It's funny, making efforts to provide vegetarian meals for K, seemed to quicken his realization that it wasn't for him. So, I guess in the future, when he won't let something go, the best thing to do is to show him the reality of what he seeks and then just let nature take its course. How come I have feeling that might back-fire on me one day???
Oh no, but guess who came home from school talking about some awful video he saw on how animals are treated. T is such a sensitive soul, where is this going. Did we just trade one vegetarian for another. Yikes!
So, K has clearly decided that these things are just too tasty to give-up. Not that we eat them a lot, but clearly vegetarianism is not his forte in its full form. You can imagine the joy experienced by my husband at this realization. It's funny, making efforts to provide vegetarian meals for K, seemed to quicken his realization that it wasn't for him. So, I guess in the future, when he won't let something go, the best thing to do is to show him the reality of what he seeks and then just let nature take its course. How come I have feeling that might back-fire on me one day???
Oh no, but guess who came home from school talking about some awful video he saw on how animals are treated. T is such a sensitive soul, where is this going. Did we just trade one vegetarian for another. Yikes!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Meat to Eat or Not. . .
Our 4 year old is a very deep thinker. When he starts learning about something of interest to him, he really focuses in on it to a degree I just wouldn't expect from a 4 year old. From understanding death, to understanding the differences between boys and girls, to really understanding the internal workings of the body, to practicing his letter sounds (constantly quizzing himself and us on letter sounds), he will focus intensely on a topic for months. He even does this thing where he walks around our living room coffee table, around and around, for up to 10 minutes at a time. If you ask him why he does it, he simply replies, "I'm just thinking."
So, his latest focus is on meat, specifically where meat comes from. He now realizes that meat comes from animals. He is constantly asking about every animal he knows and what that animal eats. And, has recently declared that he WILL NOT eat any animals. "If it doesn't have meat, it's not a meal" is my husband's favorite saying. So, this is going to be interesting for the cook of the family. Knowing K, this is something that he will take seriously and completely for quite some time. . .
So, his latest focus is on meat, specifically where meat comes from. He now realizes that meat comes from animals. He is constantly asking about every animal he knows and what that animal eats. And, has recently declared that he WILL NOT eat any animals. "If it doesn't have meat, it's not a meal" is my husband's favorite saying. So, this is going to be interesting for the cook of the family. Knowing K, this is something that he will take seriously and completely for quite some time. . .
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Countdown Begins
A good countdown! And, finally, a countdown that doesn't involve moving, yeah!!! For Spring Break, we are going to Italy - woohoo!!! The plan is stay in Sorrento for a week, using it as our base to see Casserta (Queen Amadallah's Castle for you Star Wars fans), Pompeii, Crete and the Blue Grotto, and a high-speed train trip up to Rome for a day of sight-seeing. Rome could be a trip in and of itself, we know, but the boys are so excited about the other parts of the itinerary that we decided, this time, it will not be our focus. Let's just hope there is a next time!
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