We’ve been transferred from Western Europe back to the States, and while parts of every move are exhilarating and hope-filled, sometimes we need to call other parts what they really are: stressful at best, and totally crappy at worst (right?). But it’s amazing how quickly the things that seemed so hard can become hilarious in their retelling with […] Read more…
Today. Today was the last time I nursed my fourth-and-final child. I’m sitting in my kitchen alone — all the “big” kids at school, my baby drifting off to sleep in her nursery — with quiet tears falling down my cheeks. I feel like I need to mark this occasion somehow — commemorate it, celebrate […] Read more…
We just returned home from such a fun winter vacation in France’s Vosges Mountains in the Alsace region. Three days was perfect! The area is beautiful and central to Strasbourg and Colmar. A little background: I’ve researched ski trips in the Alps for two straight years (especially since most people book their chalets at least six […] Read more…
So much of parenting involves shuttling kids — to school, to lessons, to playdates, to church, to baseball, to naps and bedtimes, to birthday parties, to doctor appointments. At our house, even when we try to keep life simple, there’s still a whole lot of moving-little-bodies from point A to point B. There are shoes to […] Read more…
According to Charlie, my now 7-year-old son, there are only two types of clothes in this world: Sports Pants and Handsome Clothes. Handsome Clothes are rotten. They have zippers and buttons; they’re itchy and not nearly soft enough. Sports clothes, on the other hand, are the bomb. Charlie’s drawers are filled with polyester sports clothes […] Read more…
The kid-to-parent ratio is double in our family. That means we’re always short-handed. Since moving to Europe two years ago, we’ve traveled about once a month, so we’ve picked up some tips that work for our family. Maybe they’ll work for yours too! Here’s what we discovered: 1. Dress the Kids in Bright Colors I could spot my […] Read more…
During our transfer from Milwaukee to Europe, John’s blankee (or “doodoo” as they call it here) was packed up in a box and loaded on the moving truck, not to be seen again for months as it sat on a dock and traveled by boat across the ocean. So as we prepared for our transatlantic […] Read more…
The other night on the couch, Rob said, “I find myself thinking in British English sometimes.” And it’s true; I do too. One of the odd things about not just just expat life, but about moving in general as often as we do, is the way you can feel like an imposter as you integrate […] Read more…
One of the greatest perks of expat life is the travel. Proximity to places we only dreamed about visiting from the States means we can hop on a plane or roll down the highway from our little Lux and be anywhere in Western Europe within hours. Our four kids are young (aged nine and under)…one […] Read more…