The Cliché of Moving

As I promised six days ago, I would blog about everything that has happened in the past three weeks.

So, if you review your Sunny blogs as of late you will find that about three weeks ago I threw a tantrum.  Like my children's tantrums this was loud, obnoxious, and did nothing to change anyone's mind about anything.  The reason I was upset: we were put in temporary housing because our permanent house was still occupied when we moved here.  This was a bit of a hassle but you learn very quickly in the foreign service that hassle is the name of the COLA/differential game, nothing is easy overseas, nothing.  So you suck it up and deal with it.

Here is my list of things I suck up and deal with:
1.  Moving
2.  Not having my stuff for a year
3.  Flying internationally economy class without access to any lounge or anything to make my life comfy
4.  Having to start all over and set up things like internet, which I may add if you hate your local cable man just think of how fun it is to have that same experience in a language you can't understand
5.  Not understanding anything

This list could go on but I really want to give you some content and not just ranting today.  So, as I was saying we got put in temporary housing.  We were told we would be there almost two months.

Everything was great until we made a call to find out when we were moving.  They told us we were moving in a week and we had to pack everything ourselves.

So, they dropped off twenty box and left me to repack our UAB.

I should note here that when the movers came to pack our UAB it took two men about four hours to pack the UAB and they are professional, and they do not have darling children who like to constantly be around you, that like to touch everything, that will not go an leave you alone to pack.

So, that was the last post.  I cried about that because it just didn't seem fair that I should have to the packing and cleaning alone without help when it wasn't my fault we were not put in the permanent house right away. (Note: Seth took time off to help and pack but it still sucked).

Since I was given no option but to pack and clean myself that is what I did.  It was, as I thought, awful.  There were some good moments in it all but none of those moments involved packing or cleaning.

Our new friends came through and made sure were taken care of the day of our move.  They fed us and made us feel like normal people.  We have been lucky to find people where ever we go that are just good people.  People who know how to be a good friend and neighbor.  I hope that I can be that kind of person to others because they are lifesavers.

So...the day of the move was a mess.  We had the movers coming to the temporary house to get our self-packed UAB (we ran out of boxes) at 9:00, we had movers coming to our permanent house with our stuff from Manila that had been in storage in Antwerp for a year.  They were coming at 8:30.  We also had to get our kids to the daycare/babysitting at 8:30.  Last I checked there were only two parents so we were in trouble.  Luckily, we befriended a newlywed who is kickin' it Belgium while her husband has an internship.  She was a lifesaver.  She supervised the temporary house move and I was able to get the kids to the daycare while Seth met the movers at our new home.

Remember that weird Mark Walberg movie called the Perfect Storm where all of the elements of disaster come together for one moment and make a colossal wave?  That was my life for about two hours.  Two moving vans came to one house and tried to unload crap at the same time.

Eight hours later we had mostly everything in our home.

Our home is a four-story town home.  It has five bedrooms and four bathrooms but only three toilets.  Oh, and not one toilet is in any of the bathrooms.  Of the rooms with toilets only one has a sink.  This is not conducive to teaching your children hand washing skills or for adults to practice those learned skills.

The kids decided to sleep on the top floor.  Even though it is a different floor than mine I like it because it has pitch black shades.  This is good in a country that has the sun stay up til 11 in June.  The funnest part of their floor is the little nook on the hallway that we made into a puppet theater.

The floor below is our guest room, office and master.  The office doubles as a dressing room and has closets galore which is good because the master's closet is teeny and we only have one dresser.

The main level has a kitchen that is newly redone and true to form has a dorm sized fridge.  Which is fine because in the garage we have an extra fridge and freezer.  The main room has a kitchen with a breakfast nook, dining area, and living room.  This is the first time in my parenting life that the living room has not doubled as a playroom.

The ground floor has a good sized garage that is way too steep to actually get our car in.  It will be a place that that kids can ride their bikes if the embassy ever comes to get their excess furniture.

So... we got the new issue furniture, which I really like (relatively).  However, they decided to put the entire set of furniture in the home.  This means we have eight extra Victorian chairs, three lazy boy type chairs, four end tables, two sofas, and three dressers.  Our tandem garage is stuffed to the brim with furniture.  We have been waiting patiently for them to come and take it but it looks like that just isn't going to happen for a while.

My final issue with the house is the readiness of it all.

Sure they sent a clean team to make sure it was tidy when we came.  Everything else though, a wash.

There are nails in the walls, holes in the walls, and not just small holes GIANT gaping holes. They just didn't do the painting or walls.  They have told us we can put in a work order to get it fixed but it bums me out they just didn't do it right the first time.

I have told Seth I am happy to fix it myself if they would let me pick the paint color.

My favorite part of the house so far is the backyard.  I decided to start a garden.  I know NOTHING of gardening.  I have never started one.

I ordered some seeds bought some dirt and now the grand experiment is beginning.  This would be super easy but I have been frustrated because the spigot in my yard is calcified.  When I put a work order in they informed us it was our responsibility to fix that.

I have problems with this on several levels.

Level I:  We just moved in and in no way are responsible or caused the calcification that happened over years to make the spigot un-usable

Level II:  Part of our responsibility to care for the house is the yard and garden making access to water a necessity and not optional.

Level III:  No on in this household has the skills or ability to install a spigot if we even did feel responsible or want to fix it ourselves.

I am filing this on the list of things I have to suck up and deal with:

6.  Having a spigot that was broken before I came and being told I have to repair it myself.

And so you have it folks.  The past three weeks.

I would love, love, love to give you pictures but until the embassy comes and gets their furniture I cannot  really move in and would rather not show you the mess of settling in.

I will however leave you with a picture of my garage showing all the junk we are storing for the embassy.

Can I be on Hoarders - U.S. Embassy?

While You Were Cooking in the U.S. of A

We moved.  It was every bit as annoying as I thought it would be with some added twists. What twists you ask? We had two separate moves at the exact same time and had to get our kids to the arranged babysitting at the exact time as the two separate moves.  This required three adults and last I checked there were only two adults in this family unit. 

Oh, the fun!  But here is the end of the story: we moved in.  We like our place and we are happy. 

So... before you delete me from you reader know that the stories are coming with pictures of our U.S. government issued furniture and digs (we got the newest edition of furniture which is good and bad). 

In the meantime my job beckons and I have to get some work done for my client and then I am all yours blogosphere.  So until you start paying me I must complete this project before Yo Gabba Gabba ends.

Sunny's Tantrum

This post is one of those screaming posts.  It is too early/late to call anyone in the U.S.  thus my poor blog is the victim of my ranting and panics.  The panic as of late: moving, again.

This is our fourth move in one year.  Fourth (Manila, Park City, Arlington, Brussels house #1). None of them have been pretty, all of them have brought me to tears at one point, but I admittedly confess they could be worse.  For example, the DOS has been kind enough to hire movers and packers the day of the move.  That doesn't change the five days prior to the move where I was making piles of junk and running around like a zombie mom.  However, the day of the move is usually the least stressful because I just need to watch the movers come and pack and take away the fruits of my labor.

Some of you may remember when we came to Brussels we were put in temporary housing.  We were expecting to be here for two months but the word on the pipeline is we are out of here as of next Friday.  Hooray!  A light at the end of this state of year long temporary tunnel.  A home to call my own for 22 months.

But no journey is without trouble, certainly not when your life is controlled by a giant bureaucracy.  A giant bureaucracy that is even bigger here because it serves three missions and THOUSANDS (plural) of U.S. government/military families.

So I suppose I shouldn't have broken down into tears (yes, again) when I was informed that I had to box up my own UAB and have my temporary home in tip top shape.  And since they gave us all of a week's notice of the move (we called them, they didn't call us) it isn't like Seth is able to take off gobs of time to help me.

Which leaves me, Sunny, your hero, alone, to somehow watch a two year old, four year old, box up 1100 pounds of our belongings alone (without any tissue or packing materials or tape, only boxes).  And somehow in the middle of having my little ones at my feet and all of my worldly possessions boxed up I am going to pull out my magical broom from you know where and clean our temporary apartment to a Marriott standard of living.  You know, because I have a vacuum (oh, wait I don't) and all of my cleaning supplies (hmmm, nope don't have that.  Does Windex count?)  Nevermind that they have a make-ready team that comes and cleans after me to get it ready.  If it isn't clean enough, we are fined.

So who do I make the check out to?

I know my blog has been viewed before by folks at Main State with appreciation and criticism for talking about these sort of issues.  This time, I hope they are reading (and lets put a disclaimer here, this is the non-employee talking not the employee).  The family takes on a huge burden by giving up everything to follow the spouse and organizing these moves.  However, it is not right to make them pick up the slack for their inability to get us into our housing in a timely manner.  I don't mind temporary housing but I do mind having to do the packing myself to get into the permanent home.  And I also mind the expectation that I have to do a move-out standard checkout twice, because the year and a half notice that we we gave them  of our arrival wasn't enough time for them to work out a place for us to move to.  

So... for those who think the developed world is all chocolate and castles please note there is always a flip side.

Enter Jullet

This past week was a roller coaster, literally if you added liquid.  

The highlight of the week: Uncle Ben came to visit.  Our first visitor and hopefully the beginning of many more to come.  I love having visitors because it actually gives me the impetus to go out and see things.  With two small children there is never a good time to go see a cultural event, add a guest into the formula and all of the sudden it makes more sense.  

Poor sick Stella.  

The lowlight of this week: Stella was terribly sick.  30 hours of crying, vomiting, rolling around in pain, long baths, lullabies.  There was insult to injury when some maintenance workers came right as the poor girl fell asleep and decided to test the burglar alarm.  Fortunately by the time Ben came she was able to start tolerating food and by Saturday morning she was good as new.  

Saturday was the embassy Independence Day party.  It was held on a HUGE field and had a lot of fun typical fourth of July things to do.  Sadly this is Brussels which means 60 degree weather so the water activities may have not been the best idea.  Still nothing intimidates kids.  I saw tons of blue-lipped, teeth chattering kids going down the water slide again and again.  My kids had to make do with the tricycle races and as many weird flavored french fries they could handle.  

Tiger rolls into town with his villainous 'stache

Stella and Uncle Sam.  Note the butterfly face.

Stella and Tiger loved the party.  There was face painting and Stella is becoming quite the face paint connoisseur, this time she was a butterfly.  Tiger decided to sport a mustache.  Nothing says America like a mustache.  

After the family party we decided to play tourist and we drove into downtown Brussels in search of the perfect waffle, chocolate, and a statue of a boy peeing.  We found all of that and some more.

Tiger notes the clashing Gothic and Baroque styles a the Grand Place.  Silly Louis XIV, what was he thinking?

I don't know what they sell or perform here but I would like to know.  

Stella runs at Grand Place.  I think I am going to make an album of her around the world running away.

Uncle Ben Totem Pole.  Also please note the kids faces are still painted.  We had a lot of smiles, especially at Tiger and his mustache.

Mannequin Pis.  If this were a movie he would come to life when no one was looking and urinate on things, luckily this isn't a movie.  This city and really every city I have lived in so far has enough people urinating on things without this statue anthropomorphizing.

The next day was Sunday.  We all slept in and were late for church.  I justified it since Stella had been so sick on Friday and I thought she needed the rest, in truth we all needed the rest.  Maybe someday I will bore you all with my strong opinions about church overseas and trying to combine people who do not speak the same language, until then you should all know they asked me to be the children music leader.  I have to teach songs in French and English since we have both languages in our congregation.  If nothing else maybe this will force me to learn a bit more French or at least work on my pronunciation.  

Sunday afternoon we checked out yet another amazing Brussels park.  They all seem to be themed on some kind of crashed ship or plane.  This one was a pirate ship.  I am amazed by the endless parks, forests, and manicured grounds.

Monday is Independence Day.  Seth has to go to a fancy work party in the evening so we decided to do one last family trip.  We went to Oceade which is near this giant atom, luckily it was not real or the universe would be in peril.  The atom:

The Atomium

We spent a few hours in an indoor water park and left thoroughly exhausted.  We had a nice leisurely European lunch (translation s-l-o-w) and enjoyed the sun, which is a rare enough that you have to take advantage when it comes out.

We are tired but feel like we gave our country the proper respect by running around with very little clothes and pretending it is summer.