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November 28, 2002
Almost there
Our time in Anna went by very quickly. We visited with Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Bill and took a look at the new addition to their house. The last time I visited was almost ten years ago! The new bedroom/bathroom/guestroom/gym/jacuzzi addition is going to be beautiful. We had a nice big family dinner back at Dad and Doris's house complete with roasted marshmallows. The next day saw us back on the road, this time to Atlanta for a rest stop. Tuesday morning we had the good fortune of meeting up with a couple of internet friends of mine from a parenting group. We had breakfast at a really neat little diner called The Flying Biscuit. Atlanta is a very busy place!!
After breakfast we got BACK on the road for Kim's house. Jake and Eli have been counting the minutes until they get to see their cousins. I made a wrong turn somewhere and tacked on almost two hours to our drive time but all was well once we pulled into the drive. I am not sure who wore who out. I think it was an even match but suffice it to say their were six, dead tired children by eleven pm. We had Thanksgiving on Wednesday. Susanne and Jason came up with their families which was huge given that we rarely get all four of us together (maybe every ten years or so). Susanne's son Christopher,at 12 years old, is almost as tall as I am! Jake and Eli were in heaven to discover that Chris is heavy into Yu-Gi-Oh and even duels at his local mall on Saturdays. Jason's son Cameron is going to be two in a couple of weeks and is just a doll. It cracked us up to hear his cute little voice - he has a great vocabulary. Kim's daughter Shawna (16) discovered how to make Eli's LeapPad say interesting things like "Pooh is a pot head" - I don't think the manufacturer planned to have a teenager playing with it. Matthew (12) is now a Yu-Gi-Oh convert. Brandon (14) is very funny and great with little kids - Seth loves him. Little Randy (who isn't little anymore at 17) is busy with his life but is still as quiet as he ever was. We have had a great visit with Aunt Kim and are sad to be leaving today.
We will be driving down to Leesburg to stay at Dad's Florida house for a few days. I want to visit with grandma and also see Susanne and Jason again. On December 1st, we take off for Norfolk, Virginia where we will catch our international flight. I will update this journal again once we get into Italy. We land on the second of December which just happens to be Seth's first birthday.
Posted by DebC at 07:17 AM | Comments (1)
November 24, 2002
Working on phase two
While we were in Arizona, we explored the Grand Canyon. I think that it tops the list of the most beautiful things I have seen the world to date. The edge is terrifying, most places it is a half mile drop. They say that 20 people a year are killed by falling off!
We spent several days in Chicago with Eli and Jake's Wakefield family. We had a great time. Aunt Susan took the boys to a Children's museum in Naperville where the kids went crazy with overstimulation. Susan has triplets, Megan (spelling?), Daniel and Bradley, that are 15 now. It is amazing how fast kids grow when you are not looking. Last time I saw them they were about 11. Grandma and Grandpa Wakefield have a whole host of critters that they feed on their back porch. While we were there we saw possums, racoons, birds and dozens of squirrels. One of the squirrels is a favorite visitor named Patch. He only has one eye - he lost the other in a squirrel fight.
Yesterday, we drove six hours down to my dad's place in Anna, Illinois. I was amazed at how easy the drive was. The minivan that I rented has a VCR in it, so the big boys watched a couple of movies that made the time fly! Eli and Jake are outside with my dad right now while Seth is napping. They have been cooped up inside due to travel and bad weather for the past week and are absolutely in heaven here.
Posted by DebC at 08:57 AM
November 17, 2002
Move to Italy, Phase 1
Friday was my last day at work. While I was leisurely checking out at work, the elementary school called to tell me that Eli had fallen and now had a bad headache. While coming inside from a fire drill, he had tripped with his hands in his pockets and smacked the concrete. So much for leisurely checking out. When I went to pick him up, he was crying and didn't look very good. He started vomiting in the car on the way to the hotel, so I decided to take him to acute care. By the time we got to the hotel, he was feeling better so I changed my mind and took him into my work with me so I could watch him and check out at the same time. He slept for the hour I was at work and when he woke up, he was bright eyed and no longer nauseous. I was very relieved - a concussion is not the best way to begin multiple flights.
I ended up packing and squishing and cramming our suitcases until 2:30 am. We have three stuffed suitcases, one stuffed leather duffel bag, two carseats, two backpacks, a briefcase, and a diaper bag. Oh, and did I mention one baby in a sling? And a mama operating on 4 hours of sleep?
We managed to get on the plane without any problems and without any mental break downs. While we were getting dressed at the hotel, Jake farted and said "whew, that smelled spicy!". It reaked. I told him that he couldn't do that on the airplane. Later in the airport, he quietly said "I farted" and then loudly announced "oh, I forgot, my mom said I couldn't fart on the plane". Let the games begin.
On a serious note, Jake said, as we were taking off, "I am nervous but mostly excited". I suddenly flashed on the planes full of people involved in the Sept. 11 attacks and thought to myself, I'll bet there was a little boy onboard that said the same thing that morning. Must. Not. Think. Morbid. Thoughts.
We are now at my mom's house in Flagstaff. The boys are loving their six dogs. It is a strange kind of beauty out here. Stark, dry, sharp lines. The sunset tonight was breathtaking. We should wake up to at least a little bit of snow which will be a welcome sight for the guys.
Posted by DebC at 05:26 PM
November 13, 2002
Deb?s Itinerary
16 Nov ? 10:30 am ? depart Portland, Delta flt 1802 connect on flt 3827
16 Nov ? 3: 51 pm ? arrive Phoenix, pick up rental car
16 Nov ? 7:30 pm ? arrive at Mom?s
17 Nov ? Mom
18 Nov ? Mom
19 Nov ? 4:00 pm ? depart Mom?s, hotel for night in Phoenix
20 Nov ? 7:15 am ? depart Phoenix, Delta flt 3821 connect on flt 736
20 Nov ? 2:12 pm ? arrive Chicago, pick up rental car
20 Nov ? 4:00pm ? arrive at Gayle?s
21 Nov ? Gayle
22 Nov ? Gayle
23 Nov ? 3:00 pm ? depart Gayle?s
23 Nov ? 10:00 pm ? arrive at Dad?s (Anna, IL)
24 Nov ? Dad
25 Nov ? 3:00 pm ? depart Dad?s
25 Nov ? 10:00 pm ? arrive Atlanta, GA for rest stop
26 Nov ? 9:00 am breakfast with Kayla and Sharon?
26 Nov ? 11:00 pm ? depart Atlanta
26 Nov ? 6:00 pm ? arrive at Kim?s
27 Nov ? Kim
28 Nov ? 10:00 am ? depart Kim?s
28 Nov ? 1:00 pm ? arrive Mt. Dora, FL (stay at Dad?s house)
29 Nov ? Mt. Dora
30 Nov ? Mt. Dora
01 Dec ? 11:35 am ? depart Orlando, U.S. Airways flt 1543 connect on flt 1759
01 Dec ? 3:35 pm ? arrive Norfolk, VA, take cab to MAC terminal
01 Dec ? 6:00 pm ? check in no later time for MAC flight
01 Dec ? 8:35 pm ? depart for Italy flt MC17
02 Dec ? 5:20 pm ? (Italy time) arrive NAS Sigonella
Posted by DebC at 10:22 PM | Comments (5)
November 09, 2002
I survived the movers (but got no t-shirt)
I packed up my computer on Tuesday night in preparation for the movers on Wednesday. I remembered to print off my Quicken, my address book, Cheryl's pay information but FORGOT to write down the url for updating my blogs AGHHH!
The move went very well. Day one, the movers showed up and suddenly I saw my house through their eyes. I was scared for them. I cannot describe how much I hate the fact that I am a pack rat. I swear, I am turning over a new leaf in Italy (I say this each move). Anyway, their task seemed daunting but they were amazingly cheerful about it. Seth toddled around happy as a clam. He was so excited, all that paper to eat and all. Around lunch time, Cheryl says ummm, where are the Yu-Gi-Oh cards? Insert record scratching to a halt. If there was ever a tragedy in the making, this was it. These are the new version of Pokemon cards and are not only worth alot of money but are my two older sons prized possesions. The mover guy was just putting the sealing tape on the second school desk - he looked at us like we were crazy but obliged. Ahhh, whew. Insert happy soundtrack restarting. The guy packing at the back of the house says "Do you work with pregnant women or something?". Fifteen minutes later, the guy at the front of the house says "You have alot of books on breastfeeding and pregnancy." Gee, ya think I need to cull?
We moved into the hotel on Wednesday night and promptly got into the pool. Let me just tell you how loud three little boys are in a hotel room. We are on the third floor and their feet sound like a cacophony of drums. The boys school bent over backwards for us and actually has made the hotel a temporary bus stop! The boys are doing fairly well, we have had a few meltdowns (mostly by me). The main task will be to get big exercise and eat as healthy as possible.
The movers finished up on the second day. Most of the appliances and garage junk are going to permanent storage so I had to clean up the lawn mowers (yes I have two, don't know why, given the fact that I don't mow), the deep freeze and the refridgerator. Please explain to me WHY I had 5 bags of frozen spinach? I simply must start taking an inventory before shopping. I ended up giving a huge box of frozen food to a friend of mine but all of the open stuff went into the trash. It is amazing how much food you can horde in a refridgerator.
Today, the permanent storage guys came and did their thing. I had to go into work and get my obligatory end of tour award. I hate this. It is similar to giving a kid a cookie when they behave at the restaurant.
As I said before, major upset in the itinerary. I am now flying out of Norfolk on December 1st. This lops off 4 days of visiting, wahhhh. Fortunately, I had five or six days planned for the Chicago part, so I will just decrease it to three. I will post the new itinerary in a few days when I've contacted everyone affected.
Posted by DebC at 12:00 AM
November 02, 2002
Halloween pictures
<a href="http://debcodding.com/Fall2002.htm">New photo gallery for your viewing pleasure.</a>
Also, major upset in the itinerary so standby. The travel office bought tickets for Dec 8th flight to Italy. I have to figure out how to keep my original date of the 4th, or leave a day early or change Cheryl's flight to the 8th or foist Cheryl onto my sponsor in Italy for four days. AHHHHH please just make it stop. I have a feeling that I am going to have to pay big $$ for their mistake.
Posted by DebC at 02:44 PM