When in doubt...

PURCHASE!

Ok, so I know that's not really the thing to do, but in my paralyzed-oh-my-word-I-can't-believe-we're-going-to-Europe-in-18-days-what-should-I-be-doing
state, I have been buying things. It's not just me, Joel has as well....ok, well, it's mostly me.

A few weeks ago I bought these pants for Garrett. I just bought one pair, but he loved them, so the next week when they went on sale, I bought another pair for G, plus a pair for Madeline. I promised her we could get something pink to sew/iron on them to make them look girly. She loves them though. (But she won't admit it.)

Joel was the one who thought of the zip off pant idea- so convenient! He was on the search for them, and last week finally found a few pair at the Eddie Bauer outlet in Woodburn. While in Woodburn, we bought out the Stride Rite store and purchased good walking shoes for the kids, and Joel also got a pair of shoes to break in before the trip.

A few weeks ago I stopped at MudPuddles in Sherwood and got a bunch of great travel games and such. I figured since we will be gone for Easter, maybe the Easter bunny will come a little early with 'travel fun' Easter Baskets? Maybe?

And then today. Today! I made my most exciting purchase yet. It does seem a bit indulgent to be buying a nice baby carrier when our 'baby' is nearly two. But rattling the Maclaren around the cobblestones of Tuscany and up and down all the stairs on the bridges of Venice just doesn't sound very appealing. I've eyed some friends lugging their toddlers around in Ergos all year around G's preschool, and I finally tried one on the other day. SOLD! I had some offers to borrow them, but we've been talking about hiking this summer, and Carter gets held so much anyway...and Joel said to just do it. (What he really said was, "Fine you can buy it, but it better be the best thing since sliced bread." Love him!) Also on ebay these carriers are selling used for not a lot less than new price, so I figure if we ever want to off load it, it won't be difficult.

So, I guess I am out of things to buy, and, um, money (shoot!), so I'd better get packing, right?

Deep breaths....

Oh! I think I need some shoes too!

Paralyzed

Joel told me the other day he only had something like 19 days of work left until he is off for 2 months! Unbelievable. We leave in LESS than 4 weeks. Holy Smokes. I know I have a lot to do, but I am kind of paralyzed with the enormity of it. Every time I think about leaving, I get shots of adrenaline through my body and my heart starts racing. I'm so excited, so nervous, so.....I don't even know!

Anyway. Plans are being finalized. Birthday parties are booked, supplies ordered. I emailed the lawn guy yesterday. What to do with Sammy the cat is still a bit of a question mark. I guess we are taking all. three. carseats. Which sounds like torture, doesn't it? But I wouldn't drive across town here without my kids in carseats, so I am not going to drive all over foreign countries without them. Renting boosters for the Bigs is not an option, we are told. If we buy them over there we would save ourselves barely any hassle because we need them week 2, and weeks 4 and 5. So.

Breathe.

Accommodations

It has been an adventure finding places to stay for The Trip. I found Darlyne online a few months back and she has helped us a ton. She is SO thorough and she and her husband love to travel and help other people travel. We would highly recommend her!

Here are the places we are staying. Our goal was to (as much as possible) find apartments that were comfortable, but also that were in neighborhoods. We want to get a feel for the culture- no Holiday Inns for us on this trip!

Italy:
Rome
Tuscany
Cinque Terre
Venice

Germany:
near Füssen at Hopferau
Hunsruck
Stadtkyll

(More Germany to come...)

Preparation

I am making lists. Color coded lists. By nature, I am NOT a list maker. But Hubby and I are preparing to take the three children to Europe for over 5 weeks. Our kids are 7, 4, and 1 at the moment, and I know many people probably think we are nuts for attempting such an endeavor. Maybe we are. At the risk of sounding completely selfish though, it's not really for the kids. It's for the family. It's to make travel a part of who we all are. To help us all realize that (even in Western Nations), people are different. People do things in different ways, cultures are rich, and there are new and exciting things to experience! I believe one can discover this anywhere, but it has been my husband's dream for years to spend his sabbatical in Italy, and it just happens that when said sabbatical hit, we have 3 kids. So off we go. And no, we aren't rich. We've been saving and saving. We will have some credit card bills to pay off when we get back. We think it's worth it. (Not that you asked, but you were wondering, weren't you?)

Anyway- the lists. Find someone to mow the lawn, find zip off pant/shorts for G, make school arrangements for The Bigs, think of clever and small (yet not too small and not too many pieces) toys for plane, figure out carseat issues (currently the biggest stress), travelers checks, prepare for birthday parties (3 members of our families have birthdays immediately upon our return, and our littlest guy will turn 2 while in Rome), get the sprinklers fixed, the cat (crap! what ARE we going to do with the CAT?), and on and on and on.

Six weeks from today we will drive away from the house. These lists will be all crossed off (right?), and we will be on our way towards memories that will last us forever. (The good, the bad, and the ugly...and hopefully some more good after that.)

What else to say besides, "WOOT!"