Mother’s Day 2015

We overflowed the coffee machine at a rest stop, Finley ate a smashed dandelion in a parking lot and for about six minutes, Shawn and I were in a panic because we thought our car had been stolen.

That’s how the weekend started, and if you know us, it’s a pretty typical way for us to begin a road trip.

Saturday morning, we loaded up the kids and the car and drove to the Netherlands.  I’ve been wanting to go in the spring for as long as we’ve lived here, but each year something has gotten in the way.

We saw the famous cube houses.
And bikes.
Lots and lots of bikes.
Did you know that there are more bikes in the Netherlands than actual people?

Sunday morning we got moving slowly and I sipped coffee as my kids ran around the hotel room, jumped on the bed and watched boats out the window.  It was Mother’s Day and I couldn’t help but think that I love these two with a fierceness I never knew until I became a mom.  

After our leisurely morning, we drove to Keukenhof Gardens, which is in the bollenstreek, or bulb growers region.

The Dutch are serious about their tulips.

And also, clogs.

Motherhood is exhausting, scary, messy and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left the house with cereal smashed in the bottom of my purse, a 2 year old wearing his t-shirt with one arm through the neck hole (like a toga, because he insisted) and both kids eating candy before 9AM, because this was the only way we were all going to make it to school on time and in one piece.

I hope that my kids won’t remember a childhood with a mom who was frazzled and anxious and they’ll forget all the hurry ups and straighten ups and remember their mom laughed a lot, had patience, taught them well and showed them the world.

A mom who saw the humor in being photo bombed by a goat…

And willingly stood in the enormous, touristy wooden clogs in front of a windmill in Holland just for her kids’ amusement.

I’ve been a mom for a little over seven years, and frankly, I feel like I’m an all-over-the-place-mess. 

I’ve birthed a baby in America and one in a foreign country.
I’ve celebrated healthy deliveries and I’ve grieved a miscarriage. 
I’ve breastfed and bottle fed, worn my babies close to my heart and pushed them in strollers.
I’ve been a stay at home mom and I’ve worked full time and part time.
I’ve judged other moms and have been judged by others.

I’m trying my best everyday to teach my children to be gentle – one with his little hands, and one with her words.  Every night when I fall into bed, I pray Lord, protect them.  And please cover up the mistakes I made with them today.

We stayed in Keukenhof longer than planned and returned home pretty late Sunday night.  All of us were exhausted and Hannah hadn’t finished her homework yet, so I declared that we’d all sleep in and take her to school late the next day.  In the flurry of events the next morning, which included window washers showing up first thing (that I had forgotten about) I asked Hannah if she could pack her own lunch, so that we weren’t too too late.  When we got to school, I peeked in her lunchbox to find nearly a pound of salami, a yogurt cup and two peppermint lifesaver candies. 

Clearly, I don’t have any part of this gig figured out.

But despite all the mess and chaos, they’re mine and I’m theirs.
I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Skiing the Alps

Well, we’re back in Luxembourg, fresh from the slopes of the Alps in beautiful Les Gets, France.
This was our second time there and it was just as beautiful as I remembered.
(You can read about last year’s trip HERE.)

We set off on a Friday as soon as Shawn got home from work, stopped at a hotel for the night and then met up with our friends the next day.

After we got settled in our chalet, we headed out for some sled riding and playing in the snow.

I had been a little concerned about Les Gets, because in the days before we left, they got an enormous amount of snow and were under an avalanche warning of some sort. 

The next morning, we picked up our gear and got ready to ski.  Finley wanted to get on skis so badly, but he is still a bit too young.  Next year, buddy.

These sweet girls are such good friends.  We’re so lucky to know them and their parents.

As most kids do on a ski holiday in Europe, Hannah went to ski school every afternoon.  When we picked her up after the first class, I asked her about her instructor and she told me his name was UNO.  On the second day, when he introduced himself to me, I learned that his name was actually BRUNO. 
Close, I guess.

Here’s some of our group, with the girls acting silly.

I learned that the slope, or piste gradings aren’t the same in the US as in Europe and by the middle of the week, the girls were ready for some red runs, which means that the piste is intermediate/advanced.

I, however, being the slowest and most cautious skier in my family and in our group of friends (there’s always one in the bunch) spent the first two days on the more gentle sloping pistes.
Hannah: Mom, were you skiing on the greens today?
Me: Yea, but just for a little while. 
Hannah: Wasn’t that embarrassing?
Maybe a little bit.

On the third day, I got in a bit over my head, on some pistes that were a bit too much for me and I fell.  A lot.  And then I had myself a little pity party and I may have said something to Shawn like I’m horrible at skiing, my French is awful and I shouldn’t have come on this vacation.  

Going on a ski holiday in France is a great way to remind yourself of just how bad you are a skiing and French.
The next morning, I was telling my friends about my meltdown and they smiled, nodded and one of them said, “Yes, of course.  That was just your ski tantrum.  Everyone has one at some point during a ski holiday.”
A ski tantrum?  I didn’t know this was a thing, but it gave me just what I needed to pull myself up by my boot straps (literally) and carry on.

Shawn never had a ski tantrum, but he did take a day off to rest his knees because he’s not exactly supposed to be skiing.  You see, he’s had SIX knee surgeries so let’s not tell his doctor about this trip, ok?

Remember when I said that although I may not be a good skier, I am good at après-ski?  Well, here I am, doing what I do best on the slopes.  Everyday, we relaxed on deck chairs in the snow, eating, snacking and enjoying the sun, blue sky and mountain air while the kids played. 

One morning, Hannah and I snuck off by ourselves for a hot chocolate.  We don’t get a lot of time for just the two of us, so this was long overdue.  I told her we could talk about anything she wanted.
”Mom, when you were my age, did you make excuses?”
”Oh, probably.  Why?”
”What kind of excuses did you make?”
(I wasn’t sure how to answer that one.)

Ready to head outside.

They spent nearly every evening snuggled under a blanket in pajamas.

Here’s one of our whole group, at one of the restaurants in Les Gets.

After a fantastic week, we headed out early on Saturday morning to return to Luxembourg.  We packed the car the night before and if I’m being honest, were a bit smug about making it down the mountain with no traffic.

And then we ran into this:

We sat in this mess for a nearly FIVE HOURS.  That’s 300 minutes.  With two kids in the backseat. 
Luckily, we had water and snacks in the car and Finley fell asleep for a while.  Hannah watched a few movies on the ipad and I got to crack open a book I started but hadn’t made much progress in.  Lots of people got out of their cars and kids were building snowmen along the side of the road.  No one was moving anywhere.

Me: I’d like to know who’s in charge here.
Shawn: This is France.  No one’s in charge.

In France’s defense, however, a man wearing a fluorescent vest and a backpack did come through and ask if we were okay.

And then Shawn said, “Ya know what could make this situation worse?  If we had a cat in our car.”

Oh, you mean like this car next to us?

We made it home around midnight, which was 16 hours after we set off.
But, what a time we had!
We skied, we relaxed, we caught up with friends.
We had raclette, tartiflette, and panaché.
We talked about everything from the future of the Euro to cats to CNN.

We made it home in one piece, with no broken bones.
And no avalanches.

A Holiday Wrap Up

So I know we’re already in the middle of January, but I still have some holiday stuff to get posted here on the blog. 
I’m terribly behind, I know.
But I have an excuse.
Jet lag.

So here we go. 

The weekend we arrived in Ohio, Santa visited.
This was as close as Finn would get.

Hannah, however, wasn’t shy.

Cousins!  I love this little family tradition we have and I’m so glad we were home in time for it.

My sister arrived later on that evening and we got down to business.  And by that, I mean she blew out my hair and we ate chicken noodle soup in our pajamas.  Who needs a flatiron when Traci brings the dry bar to Christmas?

The cousins on Christmas Eve.

We had ourselves a very merry little Christmas.

There’s a new restaurant in our hometown that nearly everyone from my hometown that’s on my Facebook feed has been checking in at and posting about.  Shawn and I went on a double date with our friends and I had the sautéed shrimp, which was delicious, and a desert that should be illegal in all 50 states.  We shared a couple bottles of wine and some laughs and decided to take a picture before we left.
This is when things got weird.
Just after this picture was taken, two girls who’d clearly had a bit too much to drink jumped into our picture.  And then one of them grabbed my left boob.
Nothing says “suburban, white, American girl” more than Ugg boots, a top knot, drunk photo bombing and grabbing a complete stranger’s left boob.

Just before the groping.  I had no idea what was about to happen.

Our New Year’s Eve was simple and quiet, with an early dinner, snacks and deserts and a game of Cards Against Humanity.  At one point, Shawn was reduced to a giggling puddle of tears.

The following weekend we flew back to Luxembourg on the overnight flight that will forever be known as THE WORST NIGHT OF SLEEP I’VE EVER HAD.  I realize that calling it the worst night of sleep leads one to believe that sleep was actually had, but really I didn’t sleep one wink.  But we made it back and except for some turbulence and one box (that we checked with our luggage) opening up and spilling onto the baggage claim conveyor, it was pretty uneventful.
We took the next day and a half to recover and unpack and then it was back to normal routines.
I finally took all of our Christmas decorations down, but they are piled up on the dining room table at the moment.  I am hoping to get them boxed up and back into the attic on Saturday.  Or before Valentine’s Day.  Whichever.
I did add a few bits to the photo gallery wall in the foyer this week.

Shawn: Did you use a level?
Me: Ah hahahahaha!  Girl, nah.
(I’m more of the eyeball it and hope for the best type.)

So that’s about all that’s going on around here.  We’ve only got a few weeks until our next adventure – skiing the Alps!

Happy New Year and Bonne Année, friends.

Vianden and Cologne

So, like I mentioned before, Shawn’s parents were here in Luxembourg with us, and we did some relaxing, some traveling, and the kids had a great time with their grandparents.

The first place we took them was Vianden, because, well, we take all our visitors to Vianden.
I just don’t feel right about sending anyone back to America without seeing it.

We also took them to The Chocolate House for treats.
I definitely wouldn’t feel right about sending anyone back to America without going to The Chocolate House for chocospoons.

After a few days of rest and recovering from the jet lag, we packed our overnight bags, hired (because in Europe, you don’t rent, you hire) a van and drove to Cologne, Germany.  I’ve never been to Cologne before and it sort of reminded me of Trier, except the big attraction is Der Kölner Dom, instead of Porta Nigra.

They call it the Mount Everest of cathedrals and I learned that it’s Germany’s most visited tourist site.
See why?

 
It was cold and rainy the first day we were there, but the rest of our visit was beautiful.

We hopped on (and off) the Hop On Hop Off bus all over the city and went to the Schokoladenmuseum, the Chocolate Museum.  I’ll admit, at first I was a little bored but then we got to the part where you get to see actual chocolate being mixed and poured and I was all THIS IS JUST LIKE WILLY WONKA.

I never imagined that I’d be posting pictures of industrial machines on the blog, but it was kind of mesmerizing to watch all the gooey chocolate get poured into molds, stamped, wrapped and dropped into boxes.
It smelled amazing.
Then we got samples.
I know I’ve admitted before that European chocolate isn’t my favorite, but it is growing on me.

Finley slept in his stroller through nearly the entire thing but woke up when we got back on the Hop On Hop Off bus.  He was all smiles.  He has no idea what he just missed.

Shawn had to take a work phone call so while he was on, the rest of us found a beautiful park to take a walk.  This was the best big sister/little brother picture I got.  I’m thinking of using it as our Christmas card photo this year.

We finished the day with dinner at Hofbräu Früh, which, I’ve been told by a Cologne native, is the place you must eat when visiting.

We had a family style platter of sausages, potatoes prepared all kinds of ways and some type of noodles that were covered in butter and cheese. 
Oh, and those big warm pretzels.
And beer.
It was all so very delicious.
And healthy.  I kid.

We said auf weidersehen, tschüs and bis später to Cologne and returned to Luxembourg, where we hung out at home for a few days, unpacked our bags, did some laundry and packed our bags again.

Then we headed off for our next adventure.
To Be Continued…