Staying up late and practicing walking

Edwin has packed his suitcase. By himself. Goodness only knows what he thinks he needs to bring. I think there are some clothes in it. But, as he told me on the walk home, no pajamas. Yet.
We walked to the Relay for Life tonight across the street at Central Park. I thought it would be a good idea for a nice evening walk and perhaps make it for the Luminaria ceremony. We missed doing the walk this year in South Pasadena, so we went to the Santa Clarita one to check it out. The kids played on the grass: running, jumping around and dodging the many games other kids were playing. Celebrating life in the ways that come so easily and naturally for children.
It was a pretty good walk over there, and a long walk home given the lateness of the hour. But the kids rallied - the pretend candle tealights from the Luminaria ceremony kept the way lit for us home. I told the kids that we'd be doing a lot of walking soon, and that this was good training. Julia didn't looked thrilled at that prospect, so I changed tunes and let her know it was good training for Disneyland on Tuesday. She perked right up with that. Off to bed we all go. Laundry awaits us tomorrow - as well as packing. And we'll remember the pajamas this time.

It's 902 estimated Mapquest miles from Rieti, Italy to Paris. That's a lot of hours (13.5) in a minivan with 4 stinky kids. In preparation for our trip, we asked the kids where in Europe they would want to visit. We limited them to the continent. They unanimously chose Paris. Admittedly, not my first choice destination - having experienced the aroma of Paris in July already once in my life. And then came the reasons for Paris: "They have the Eiffel Tower!" "Euro Disney is there too!" These are their reasons. All 2 of them. I could drive them to Las Vegas to see the Eiffel tower at Paris hotel followed by many days at Disneyland and still not be driving for 902 miles. We may be re-thinking Paris. And by "we," of course, I mean me.

Single Mom and Playtex Sport fan

Brian has left. He is currently enjoying a business classed seat en route to Vienna (again.) He'll be gone for 2 weeks. He says 13 days, but that's 2 weeks to me. In addition to his own luggage, I packed him a suitcase of towels, sheets, pull-ups and tampons... all the basic necessities for 10 weeks abroad in Italy. He got through security fine at LAX. I'm guessing he'll be safe at his arrival end. If not, he'll have some Lucy-esque 'splaining to do about the Disney princess themed sheets and the Ziploc gallon-sized bag of tampons. And yes, I do know that Europe has feminine products. I'm aware that they are not still using rags and such. But there are certain brands that a gal must remain faithful to - and I'm not taking any chances that the "Emmazeta (rhymes with Catherine Zeta)" will carry my brand.
So he'll spend the week in Vienna and fly to Rome for a day to procure lodging for our small family for the summer. We still don't know what kind of accomodation awaits us - hence the precautionary extra shipment of towels, sheets and plastic plates and bowls which will be stored at the Baxter plant in Rieti until our arrival in June.
These are the details that mark our adventure in a completely different category than your average European destination vacation. Disney princess sheets, Winnie the Pooh beach towels, and a month's supply of tampons: not your average travel items. They certainly aren't listed in any book I've read by Rick Steves. And while it's wonderful to hear everyone's experiences of travel in Rome, I've yet to hear personal experience on how to do it with a 5 year old in tow. So while I can appreciate the "vacation" theme, it's really not a vacation. Brian will be working. We'll be living. If we are lucky, we'll see some of the country and do some touristy things.
- Joelle
Single mom for 13 days &
Playtex sport fan

26 Day and Counting

So we have 26 days until our departure al'Italia. 26 days to pack, settle the house here and learn some Italian: a language that seems to thrive on the irregular verb.
So far the clothes shopping has been going well. Colin needed clothes that actually fit, and happily, he doesn't care much what he wears - unlike his father who "pretends" not to care but actually really does. (We will be trying to "blend" during our stay, so California ultra-casual may not cut it. I anticipate some lengthy "discussions" surrounding this issue in the near future. Stay tuned.) So Colin ventured out to Kohl's with me yesterday and did his duty trying his clothes on, and pushing the cart around while I shopped for myself. He is gradually learning that the only answer to the question, "Does this make me look fat?" is, "No." This is a huge lesson that needs to be learned by male children. It coincides with the lesson, "Compliment your mother on her appearance without having being asked." The boys are passing with flying colors.
Edwin's journey to Target today did not have the same effect as he kept choosing pants 6 sizes too big for himself.
I suspect Julia may be the challenge in the shopping extravaganza. She'll be next.
Off to learn some verbs.
Ciao,
Joelle