It's Starting to Feel Real

It is hard to believe but September is barely 24 hours away. In eight days Myles will be headed over to Poland. He will meet with the landlord and get our little house all ready for our arrival. Then he will go to Poznan for 10 days of orientation. After that, we will meet him in Gdansk.

We have had this trip on our minds since last August. We began planning in earnest in May. But until now it has seemed kind of off in the future. We have caught up to the future!

The "organizing the house" project is continuing but much has been done. In our coat closet, Trey's closet, the girls' closet and our closet there is nothing but empty hangers. I still need to do Ben's closet and the linen closet in the hallway. My donation pile keeps growing even though much is already gone. What has been hard for me is that I have had to make a decision on every single item in our house. Does it get donated? Are we keeping it? Does it get thrown away? I have not had the luxury of "I'll come back to it." Really, it is a good thing, and I'm sure I won't miss any of the stuff that is gone. In fact, I can't even remember what it was--which means that we didn't need it! I am so glad that we have a large attic. Several years ago Myles put plywood down in there for a floor. Right now it is housing all of our household items that we are keeping. There are MANY plastic tubs filled and stacked in there. There is a lot of stuff in there but the attic looks the most organized it ever has!

Myles took down the swing set today. Now that's sad! That has been a fixture in our backyard for the past 12 years. I did not want to leave it up while we are gone because it is kind of old and I would hate for something to happen. Right now it is on the side of our house waiting for the big trash pick up on Friday. Myles also got rid of lots of stuff from the garage that we no longer use.

We have five boxes completely packed, sealed and ready to ship this week. It takes 4-6 weeks for delivery via ship. We have to fill out customs forms for every box. We also have three suitcases packed and ready to go.

We have met with all of the teachers of our younger three kids. All are very supportive and excited for our family's adventure. I am so excited that in Natalie's social studies class they are studying world geography. Awesome! We meet with the academic counselor at Ben's high school on Wednesday to make sure we know how to document his academic progress. We will be taking all of their school books with us and I am just thrilled that we will be able to see what our kids' classes are doing online. That is such a change even from when Ben started school not so many years ago!

The kids are still going to practices, going to games, participating in school activities. This is so great for them but it means running them around as usual in our unusual situation.

Four weeks from tonight we will be on our way. It will be here soon, and I think I'll be ready...

We're Petless

One of our biggest things to take care of was to find homes for our cat and dog. Our cat, Miranda, is being "fostered" by some friends. We took her over to their house two days ago. She was very freaked out by the change in scenery. The family who is keeping her until we get back has two cats and a dog of their own. Miranda was stressed when we left her there. She was hiding behind a table in the kitchen. I called yesterday to see how she was doing. She was still hiding out but seems to be ok. Miranda likes things her way so it will take a while for her to adapt. When she realizes that she can be her own cat there, she'll be ok!

Now...Ginger! She is a trip. Since we missed the pick up last week with Trucker Joe, I was determined not to let that happen again! Today was Ben's first day of classes for high school. He was so very sad this morning before school when he said good bye to Ginger. He broke my heart on the way to school. I have never been a fan of Ginger, but I am a really big fan of Ben.

So to see how sad he was to say good bye was very sad for me, too. I called Trucker Joe last evening and left him a message. Then I called him again this morning at about 8:30 and left another message. Then I called him around 11:00. He finally answered and said that he would be coming through KC between 4:00 and 5:00. We talked about meeting at a truck stop up by Worlds of Fun. He asked where we were coming from and we decided that it might be better to meet at a truck stop in Peculiar, MO (about 35 miles from us). So that was the plan. He said he would call about two hours before he expected to get there. At 3:00 I had not heard from him so I called him again. He said he was running a little late and he thought he would be getting to Peculiar at about 5:15.

So at about 4:00 I had Natalie, Abbie and Trey all say their good byes to her. Natalie cried but the other two just waved. Ben was at football practice and had not been home since before school in the morning. So Ginger and I headed off to Peculiar. We got to the Flying J Truck stop at about 4:50. I walked her around for quite a little while. She wagged her tail and was delighted to visit with several people who stopped to pet her. At about 5:20 I see the truck arrive. I met "Trucker Joe" who was very nice. He was very sweet to Ginger and she loved him. He had his own dacshund, Monty, in the truck who always travels with him. Ginger and Monty seemed to get along fine. The last I saw Ginger, she was on her hind legs, front paws on the window frame, looking out the window on her way to Tennessee. The lady who is adopting her is going to email us tomorrow when she is settled.

On another note, we have received our international driving permits. We cannot believe that what we received could in any way be construed as official documents. They are hand written (really?). And the pictures we submitted look like they are glued on the page with a glue stick. We will take them with us but I sure hope we don't have to present them at any time!

We are still waiting on medical clearance for Myles and I. Those should be arriving any day and I'd like to get all that documentation sealed up and ready to go. We have appointments for the kids to get flu shots on Sept. 16.

The dents are getting repaired in my car later this week and we will put a for sale sign in it this weekend. We will advertise it more seriously at the end of next week. I have been emptying closets and either storing or getting rid of lots of stuff we don't need. Things are certainly moving along, but much remains to be done. Myles has been whittling down his honey do list, and he gets annoyed when I keep adding things. He had a bright idea a week or so ago and he told me that he was thinking of going to Gdansk a little early. I'm not sure what he thought my reaction would be, but I'll just say that things are staying as scheduled!

All four kids have new rolling backpacks for our trip. We have told them that when we travel in Europe, that is what they will take. Whatever fits in it is what gets to go. They looked at us like we were crazy. This trip is going to be a big culture change for them (and really for all of us).

School starts tomorrow for the younger three. They are so excited! I am so glad that everyone gets to start this school year. It gives them a great jumping off point academically, they get to see their friends before we go and Ben gets to get the hang of high school as a freshman. Once the school routine is going, I will be able to get lots done during the day without interruption.

Flexibility is Key

Well, the plan was that Trucker Joe was going to pick Ginger up yesterday and take her to her new home in Memphis. The lady I have been corresponding with told me Tuesday morning that Trucker Joe (this is her brother and this is what she calls him!) would be coming through KC in the late afternoon/early evening. She said he would be calling in the morning to let us know when and where to meet. I've got Ginger's vet records, her crate and a big tub of food ready to go. Well we don't hear from him all morning.

The phone did ring at around 12:30 but none of us was near the phone and no message was left. So we were waiting and waiting. When it was about 5:00 I emailed the lady in Memphis and asked her if she knew what time he was coming through. Then Myles checked the caller ID, and the 12:30 call was from a number we didn't know. So Myles called it and sure enough it was Trucker Joe. He did not leave a message and he had called at that time to tell us he was in KC. Then he just went on his way.

Well looks like Ginger is staying here till NEXT Tuesday now. While it was our fault that the 12:30 call went unanswered, no message was left. Also, he is wanting to meet us at a truck stop by World's of Fun. There is no way we could have made it all the way up there before he wanted to get back on the road. I don't mind meeting him up there but I'm going to have to have a little notice so I can get there. Depending on traffic that's 45 minutes to an hour away. So clearly we are going to have to be much more proactive. Looks to me like this guy couldn't care less if this goes down or not. He made his one token phone call and we blew it. Well next week I'm going to call him the evening before to confirm and then in the morning to see where he is.

On a much lighter note, I posted our doghouse and rocking chair on www.kcfreecycle.org over the weekend. On Monday night a man came to pick up the doghouse and then yesterday a lady who just had her fifth baby came and picked up the glider. I think freecycling is awesome! I have some bifold doors and an old broken chest of drawers that I am going to post next.

The cat is moving out this weekend to live with our friends. One of our renters is allergic to cats so we are getting her out of here a month before they move in so we can really clean and she won't have any allergy problems.

School supplies are sorted and ready to go for the kids. I am just sending enough supplies to get them through the six weeks they will be there. I have a big tub of extra school supplies that we will use for next year. Hopefully I will remember where I put them!

I am headed to Dr. Dent today to get an estimate on my car. There are two little dents that need to be repaired before we sell it. One is in the back from a golf ball hit by my neighbor. Nice. The other is from when I pulled too far into the garage, bumped a bike that was hanging on the wall knocking it off, and the bike's handle bar landed on my left front fender. Oops.

Myles painted the posts on our porch yesterday. They look great and he is off to a good start on his honey do list!

Tales from the Sale

Well the garage sale is over. Of course, I did not sell all of my treasures and I did not make nearly as much as I had hoped. But I ended up with about $100 and now have less junk to get rid of. I listed the doghouse that didn't sell on www.kcfreecycle.com and am now waiting for a guy to come pick it up. I also listed the glider rocking chair that didn't sell on there. A lady with a new baby responded and I hope she comes to get it. I rocked all four of my babies in that chair! The donation people are coming on Thursday and there will be a pretty impressive pile on my front lawn for them. It's all leaving one way or another.

It was hot but we hid out in the shade so it was not too bad. There were four people in particular who came to my garage sale that made it worthwhile. First was a little blonde girl who was around three. She had a smart little outfit on, complete with sunglasses and a cute haircut. She was mesmerized by the selection of little girl shoes that my sister contributed to the garage sale. This little girl was drawn to a pair of shiny red shoes. She sat right down and tried to put one on. It was clearly too small for her but that did not stop her from spending 10 minutes trying to shove her pudgy little foot in it! She finally realized that it wasn't going to work and chose another pair of shoes. She was fun!

Next there was a little boy around nine years old, who came with his mom and siblings. He was looking at all the books. He found a Hardy Boys book and was overjoyed. I knew Ben had put a bunch of Hardy Boys books out and so I was pulling them out for him. This little guy got more and more excited each time I pulled out another one. He told me all about the ones he had already read and how fast he could read them. He told me he was home schooled and he told me that he could buy all of them because his mom owed him eight dollars for back allowances! He told me he likes to read all books but the Hardy Boys are his absolute favorite. He was so cute!

Then there were two elderly ladies who came together. They were sisters and one would look at something and the other would say something like, "put that down, you don't want that." Then one held up a pair of capri pants and the other one told her that they would never fit her because her rear end was too big. The discourse between them was constant and hilarious! They ended up buying several things and bickered all the way to their car. They made me laugh!

So all in all, the garage sale was worth it! But I'm so glad it's over!

Trouble With Technology

Things are moving along...

Myles bought a new (well new to me) phone for me that has internet capabilities. It will be very useful in Poland because it has applications to convert currency, translate to Polish (and back), maps, etc. I know it will come in very handy, but I'm having some trouble getting used to it. I have loved my tiny little flip razor phone that neatly fits into my pocket. This new one is bulkier and does not seem to want to cooperate with me. So far whenever I try to call Myles, a bunch of "m"s sail across the screen and no one gets called. Then twice when talking to my sister, I've muted it with no knowledge of how I managed that. She is abandoned on the line and I can hear her saying, "Did you hang up on me? Are you there? What is going on here?" It is a little funny to hear her talking to herself about my ineptness, but still!

Our upstairs bathrooms have new tile! One is not completely finished yet but will be later today. They look so pretty. I have extra tile left over and I'm going to see if they have time to do my little half bath, too.

I ordered all of the books that the girls will be reading for the upcoming school year. It is very nice that they are only a year apart and can read the same books. I ordered 10 books and they arrived earlier in the week. They look so good...it is tempting to go ahead and get started on reading, but there's too much to do around here to do that right now. We'll enjoy them when we get to Gdansk.

We filled out the forms and sent them to get our International Driving Permits. They should be arriving in about four weeks. We also had photos taken for visas once we get over there.

As of this morning, everyone has been to the doctor and the forms have been sent to the State Department. We have received confirmation on Ben and Natalie...they are approved to go. We are waiting for clearance on Abbie and Trey (their appointments were a little later). We had not received clearance on Myles so he called and the State Department did not have his info so he had to go back to his doctor and resend all of the information. That was earlier this week. Mine was just put in the mailbox this morning. We will all need to get flu shots in September and then we'll be medically good to go.

I am trying to find more and more stuff to get rid of for our garage sale. Hopefully that will go well and we will make lots of money. We are so busy that there never seems to be a good time to have it. Myles' honey do list is getting longer by the day. He leaves in 32 days so time is growing small.

We still need to sell my car and figure out how that's going to happen. We don't want to sell it too early because we'd hate to have to rent a van for very long.

I'm getting school supplies this afternoon. There are many gatherings and meetings for incoming freshmen. I am so glad that Ben is able to be a part of all this before we go. There is a freshman picnic tonight and a Mom's Bash at the same time (theirs is at a park, ours is at a bar!).

Hopefully I will get a handle on that new phone soon and our progress continues!

Farewell Tour

We took a quick trip to St. Louis to see Myles' side of the family before we head out of the country. He has several elderly aunts that we wanted to be sure to see. We left our house at 8:30 Friday morning and returned to our house at 10:30 Saturday night. We did not get to see one aunt, Myles' mother's sister, because she is quite ill and not up to having visitors. But we did get to see many other family members. Myles' Aunt Dottie is 91 years old and is his godmother.

 She is in terrific health, still drives and is sharp as a tack. She spends her time volunteering at her church and helping to take care of her 92 year old sister who lives across the street and is in poor health. Her sister's name is Marie but everyone calls her Sis. Sis sat up and visited with us and was happy that we came to visit. Dot arranged a lunch get together with many of Myles' cousins. It was so nice to see all of them. They are always lovely company and we are happy that we were able to see so many of them before we leave. 

We also met up with four college friends and their families who live in St. Louis. We had a wonderful relaxing evening at a beautiful park with Julie, Cara and their families. While the kids played, the adults talked and talked about old times. We stayed way past dark and were a little worried that we might get locked in. Fortunately that did not happen!

On Saturday we went down south of the city to Jefferson Barracks Military Cemetery. Myles' parents are buried there. His mother died August 4, 2008, and we had not yet seen the updated headstone. His father's information is on one side of the headstone and now his mother's information is on the back. The kids put flowers on the grave. They really miss their Grandma. Myles' dad died in 1992 before the kids were born, but they have great affection for him as well. It was a sweet and emotional morning.

From there we went downtown and checked out the WWI Memorial that bears Myles' great uncle's name. That was pretty neat.

Myles' cousin Pat, and her husband Joe, met us downtown for lunch. She gave each of us Miraculous Medals that were blessed by Pope John Paul II when he came to St. Louis.

 We will keep those with us as we journey to his home country!

On our way out of town, we stopped by O'Fallon, Missouri to visit our college friends, Kevin and Lori and their kids. We got there about 4:00 and our plan was to stay an hour and then hit the road. We lost track of time and stayed two hours! The kids all hung out in their basement and we sat in their back yard catching up. It was time well spent. We finally got back on the road at 6:00. We stopped in Concordia, MO at about 8:30 for dinner and then pulled into our driveway at 10:30.

This week we're getting new tile floors in our upstairs bathrooms and having a garage sale on Friday and Saturday. I also need to get school supplies, get everyone to dental appointments, get Natalie to soccer camp each day and Ben to weights and conditioning each day. Somehow it all gets done!