A dedication

Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday was a photo of our freezer. You can see the ironing board on one side, and a folding chair folded up on the other. We hope that's enough to get a sense of the size of the thing.

Ida, we dedicate this post to you, and hope to make it to Berlin one day.

Wordless Wednesday

Religious education

Our friends held their son's birthday party at their church this weekend. This led to a conversation with the kids on the car ride home about what a church is, who/what is God, what is a religion and what different religions teach/people believe. I had been largely stalling on this version of "the talk" as I have been very unsure what I want to teach my kids. Thus, such spontaneous conversations occur and I can't be sure I'm actually giving them the information I want them to have.

After some thought at the end of the conversation, Alex reveals:  "I think Leprechauns and flying horses are real, and God is not."  Terry was so proud. 

Wordless Wednesday

Springtime

This is a little late but on the first day of spring (based on the equinox) was also the first day that some of our crocuses opened up fully.  Prior to that there was three of them just starting to pop out.  Nothing says spring here is here like the early spring bulbs popping up out of the ground.  

Kinda cool mom blogger news

I may have mentioned how much I love my mom blogs. One of them, The Happiest Home, ran an online course called Beyond Baby about how to figure out who we are when we aren't moms, especially as our kids grow up and need us less immediately and we had the time and space to be. Things went well and now she's writing a book. She invited blog readers to sign up to be on a "book launch team" and yep, I'm a lucky winner!  I will get a pre-release copy of the book and get to give feedback about various kinds of things along the way. The timing couldn't be better as the kids are getting more independent by the day at the same time I just re-entered the workforce and have been feeling more adult myself.

The book launches in time for Mother's Day (I believe, and understand schedules sometimes unexpectedly change) so I should have more to say about this - and I'll have a book review - coming up in the next month or so.

She's coughing yet again

This time it's *the* cough. We are trying a new approach and yes food elimination is part of it. This sucks.

Wordless Wednesday

Drinking from a fire hose

My first week of A-100 has drawn to a close. We have heard the expression "it's like drinking from a fire hose" a million times or so, describing all we cover in these weeks. It's pretty accurate. The training isn't intellectually arduous, but it is like an endurance test. Spending 12 hours outside of the house every day is exhausting in any situation. When I get home I save my precious few hours each night before the kids' bedtime for family time. By the time the kids are settled and I have done my homework (yes, A-100 is now loaded with homework!) and a few chores to pull my weight around the house it is already past my bedtime, given the 5-something wakeup each morning. There is no downtime. I have spent this week being a hot mess, promising all my new colleagues that as recently as last week I was smart and organized.

First, a shout out to my amazing husband, who has uncomplainingly picked up my slack this week and will for the foreseeable future - although the not complaining part may change. I can only imagine what my nerves, attitude and ability to properly participate in training would have been like if he weren't doing so much.

Second, now that we're a week into it, I want to publicly state how much I appreciate our babysitter. I had asked her to do light housework during the hour she's here before the kids awake and coming home to a clean kitchen every evening is a real morale booster. She looks around and figures out what needs doing - she's prepped veggies for snack; cleaned the bathroom; folded laundry. The kids adore her, even a friend who met her at school dropoff had a positive reaction. Trusting the people who have the care of your babies makes the difference between being able to concentrate on your work and being an even hotter mess. I am so thankful this is working out so well.

We got the bid list this week. There are no DC positions. This is all I can say. So we are working through the options, putting places comparatively high where we said we'd never want to live and moving otherwise more desirable places farther down, as we delve into the whole package of what our life there would be like. Flag day promises to be emotional.

1950's

The most exciting thing happened tonight. A neighborhood kid we know from the bus stop rang the doorbell. We've almost never spoken with him, the kids have never played with him. But, with the kindergarten confusion of what he actually wanted, he was able to make clear that he wanted to talk to Alex. And now all three kids have been running and playing outside for the last half hour. I thought such things only happened in TV shows and certain compound embassies.

Wordless Wednesday

Alex GI update

After barely two weeks she had completely stopped coughing, so we put her back on dairy. A couple of times she complained of heartburn after a meal that included dairy, but no other symptoms. We cut down a bit on dairy - no more milk at dinner - but stopped reading labels. I tested a hypothesis and gave her a glass of milk the other night and there was no heartburn, so we still have no real answers.

I'm working on a hypothesis that involves a structural issue plus a food intolerance issue. She may be catching Zoltan's cold as we speak so there may be more experimentation in the next week or so ...

An important week

After seven years, this was my very last week as a stay at home (or work part time) mom. I'm now just like almost all my friends, and like I would have been had we lived in the USA when having children. I have been reflecting constantly about how lucky I feel to have had this time. This week has also shown me, if I had any last lingering doubts, that this is a good time to get back into the work force and pursue a career. The kids are growing more independent by the hour as though they were simply waiting for us to give them the room.

Tuesday, the second snow day of the week, promised to be a frustrating one. I expected to have my children trailing after me while I tried to do three days' worth of errands in one. The weather was fine and the roads were clear, why would I not run my errands? The real question is: why wasn't school open? Instead, when Alex heard one of our stops was her after school care center to drop off some paperwork she decided to spend the day there. From then it was easy to convince Zoltan to go to sadik. They both protested when I came to pick them up that they weren't ready to go home yet. This pattern has continued through the rest of the week.

And there it is, folks. We are all ready to start our newest adventure - the first one for the family that hasn't included an international move (yet).

Wordless Wednesday

I do love my children, but ...

...we could all use a bit of a break from each other. I deliberately kept Alex home on Friday so we could have "one last special day". Four days later the kids and I have been each others' constant companions 24/7. And it seems that tomorrow is looking like another doozy of a day, made all the more poignant because Terry is having dinner with a friend after work. Yep, I'm alone with these cherubs from the moment they wake until the moment they fall asleep.  Here's a photo of them being adorable playing in the snow.

I still get a thrill ...

... out of letting the kids play outside without adult supervision. We lived in the center of a big city, in an apartment, for essentially their entire lives. A backyard is still thrilling to me. I get to stay inside and get something accomplished (even if it is just a blog entry) and they get fresh air and exercise. Win/win.

(edited to add photos: As you can see, they were chalking the deck and loving every minute)

СУП С ФРИКАДЕЛЬКАМИ

Every Tuesday, the soup at sadik is soup with "frikadelki". I'm not entirely sure what frikadelki are but as it's a soup with vegetables and meatballs and I know the word for vegetables, let's call them meatballs. Every Tuesday Zoltan tells me he had his very most favorite soup today.

As any good mom would, I went looking for a recipe for this soup. I found this one. I loved the photos to show step by step what it all should look like. I used Google Translate when I wasn't entirely sure what I needed to do. And I added breadcrumbs to my meatballs because they were not coming together without it.

It was fast - definitely within 1/2 hour. Zoltan of course didn't want any, but I took it for my lunch (in Alex's thermos) for after skating. It hit the spot! This is definitely being added to the roster ...

The final piece of the puzzle

I am thrilled to report that the final piece of the puzzle has been put into place. This week I hired a lovely lady to take care of the children in the morning and get them where they need to go. I am now free to be excited about the upcoming A-100 class!

Wordless Wednesday

Soon to be a working mama

When Terry joined the foreign service, I quit my job as an attorney in Philadelphia so that I could accompany him all over the world. I conveniently became pregnant two weeks after my last day at work and being a mom has been the bulk of my "employment" since then. Even when I was CLO, I was never away from home/the children more than 8 hours a day, 4 days a week - including commute.

What this all means is that the whole family is about to get thrown into a huge turmoil. Chores that have been mine for the last 7 years now need to be shared. My children won't even see me in the morning when they wake. I have a feeling I'll spend a lot less time on Facebook.

I am both excited to once again be a professional, and terrified about how the family will adjust to the new life.

On the whole, though, I am mostly excited - especially as each piece of the puzzle fits into place. Zoltan was easy - he can go full time to his preschool, and he's finally becoming comfortable there.  Both days this week he played with everyone; he told me yesterday he likes speaking Russian.

For Alex there's been a lot more anxiety as those darned snow days last week made it impossible to call facilities to see if anyone had any space in March. As it turns out, the after school care center that I walked to in 10 minutes actually takes the kids outside EVERY DAY. In rain. In temps as low as 15F (yeah still plenty warm but lower than the school's outdoor recess policy so I'll take it gleefully). They tell parents to bring boots, umbrellas, whatever. They do kitchen projects like make vegan cookies or homemade play doh. Did I mention they go outside every day and are a 10 minute walk from home? They also have a summer camp that books up week by week so if there's any gaps in the Russian camp there's a backup.

The very last piece of the puzzle is morning care. I'm meeting a woman today and if it isn't a good vibe I have a few more applicants I can call. I am also amazingly lucky in the friends I have made in since we got here - two fellow moms have offered to pitch in if I end up short. Think about it. These people have known me barely 6 months and are willing to take my children in at 6:30am and get them to school. I didn't think this kind of thing happened outside the foreign service, where 6 months is an eternity and people become each other's "emergency contacts" within weeks.

Wordless Wednesday

It finally begins

It makes no sense at all, but three times is no longer a coincidence. Something about having a cold/being sick makes Alex's GERD act up. She was sick last week and coughing up a storm now (even though she didn't have any stuffiness or runny nose during the illness!) Interestingly, the tummy bug of last month did not have the same effect.

So, it finally begins. Three weeks off dairy. If that doesn't stop the coughing, three weeks off soy. Then gluten. Please if it's anything let it be dairy. I'm a little excited to try a 100% dairy free yogurt, for mine I've been using starter with some skim milk in it.

Breadmaking

In an attempt to take it to the next level, I have sought out breadmaking books and recipes. This is a seeded ale boule from Kneadlessly Simple. Although the bread stuck to the cast iron pot (not supposed to happen) and I cut my fingers on the crust trying to get it out (with real blood, although none got on the bread).

But isn't it so pretty?

USA vs. Russia

When we were researching St Petersburg before moving to post, we read one random piece of advice to the effect that it's better to buy your laundry detergent in Russia rather than bring a favorite brand, because only Russian detergent can get rid of Russian strength dirt and grime.  This put firmly into our minds the idea of "extra strength" Russian dirt and grime, and by corollary, Russian germs.

Fast forward to now. Last month Alex has her very first ever tummy bug. This week she couldn't enjoy the two snow days with her 102 fever, headache and exhaustion. Again, very first time to be sick like this. She's 6 years old.

I say American germs win. 

Snow day!

Yesterday might very well have been the first snow day that we were actually in Maryland for and that I decided was completely legitimate to shut everything down. It doesn't hurt that Alex was under the weather anyway and I am now looking directly into the whole "two working parents" thing starting in just a few weeks, so that a family snow day is especially special.

Here's Terry measuring the snow in the back yard. If you can't see, it's 11".

And here's Terry washing his fur hat in the snow as instructed when he bought it in Russia.

And the children playing in the snow, in the hour or so during which Alex was feeling fine.

Wordless Wednesday

Finally finally finally

Today I received my offer to join the 176th Generalist class of A-100. Starting March 10 I begin my foreign service career!