Laowai

…for our stuff and Our Daddy to arrive (Claire always refers to Brian as Our Daddy)

Back in Switzerland I was always attracted to old Ravensburger puzzles and games. I amassed a good little collection from our brocki. Well what a pleasant surprise to find one this morning at a church rummage sale. It’s a cool game/puzzle called Rivers, Roads & Rails. 

The rivers, train tracks and roads link up – you have to find the right little card to match the pattern. And the illustrations have charming scenes of cities, farms, animals and forests. Bea got really into it today.  

We’ve been living in limbo land for the past 4 weeks or so. Limbo land has been nice, but I’m ready to have some normalcy back in our life. My life is usually a string of pretty leisurely days, but it is starting to feel strange not having Brian around and having absolutely no regular schedule. I’m anxious to get settled and get our couch and dishes and toys and all the other stuff that makes us feel at home. I keep looking around and hoping that this town will be right for us. It feels like a big leap now that we have a school age kid and we plan on staying put for a while. I think it will be right for us, but I keep thinking about all the things that we came to love about life in Switzerland. I’ve been procrastinating changing my wallet over to our new life. For some reason I can’t bring myself to take my train pass and other Swiss things out of my wallet. 

So while I often think about our old life – we are moving on too. I got my Illinois driver’s license. Bea and I got library cards and we bought our season pass to the beach. And once I got our home phone number this week I was able to complete Bea’s school registration.

Here are some of the enjoyable things we’ve been doing in limbo land:

A very smiley and bubbly bath in Jennifer’s jacuzzi tub:

Visiting Mom and Jennifer’s new puppies – oh so cuddley cute!

Mom loves to look at blueprints and room plans – she should have been an architect. Bea liked locating her room.

Plantinga few annuals – Bea was feeling overwhelmed by all the newness one day and I think getting her hands in the dirt cheeered her up.

Look at my massive hydrangeas – as big as my head.

Wow – pinch me – I have a yard!

Our new favorite place – the Wilmette beach. 

We were way overdue for a 4th of July celebration – our last one was in 2009. Mom and the girls and I went down to the Tridge and had a great evening. The girls ran around barefoot and played with stranger kids. I loved watching their excitement build as the sun went down. When I put them to bed it was around 11:00 pm – they were sticky from ice cream and their little feet were dirty, dirty, dirty. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA – it’s nice to see you.

Mom got out my wedding dress so I could take it to the new house and free up some space in her closet (thanks for storing it all these years Mom). The girls got really excited and Bea wanted to try it on. Okay, okay I said – just wash your hands first.

What is that look? Serious, proud, defiant, camera shy? Love her.

Claire was in a crazy hyper mood so I said you can only try the veil on and no you can’t run around the house like a looney with a lacey cape on your head. Bridezilla.

Are these photos going to somehow foretell the future? On their wedding days will Bea be reserved and shy even as she is happy? Will Claire be over the top excited, cute and flapping her little arms?

Straight out of bed, down the stairs and into Grandma’s lap.

I got to see Jennifer’s new house for the first time last week and it is so nice. Our houses couldn’t be more opposite. Hers is newer and updated and open. Mine is old with smallish rooms and a traditional layout. My yard is pure suburbia and her yard is 10 acres of woods. She has a fire pit, a hammock and a pond. It’s really nice! Oh, did I already say that…

Dad and and the girls did some fishing. They literally got a fish with every cast. Summer (Jennifer’s dog) thought it was a game of fish fetch.

My house is full of blue! Blue has not been my color – I like gray and green and many other colors but not blue. So I’m conflicted. If I want to repaint the trim and doors and closets etc., etc., etc. it will be a very big job. Also – when we moved our few random things into the house we seemed to have some blue things – like that blue chair that my in-laws gave me. And the blue painted shelves that Dad made which matched all the trim perfectly. Hmmmm – I might have to reconsider having blue in my life.

And then of course there are these charming blueprints: