Yay! We are back! We made it back to Denver the evening of February 1st, and were very happy to put down our luggage, kiss our doggies and sleep in our big comfy bed. I anticipated that I would get much more done than I actually have managed to get done, jet-lag is no fun. Here are some good things and bad things about being back stateside.
Wake-up!
Jameson has decided that a wake-up time between 4:30 and 5:15am every morning is a brilliant time to rise and shine. I disagree, but dare I say am getting used to it? There is a lot that can get done in those witching hours. The upside to the early wake-up is a 6:15 bedtime. Too bad I am too tired after he goes down to do anything productive. Perhaps as the jet-lag begins to subside his normal 7:15 wake-up will return.
Traveling
Jameson loved all the traveling. The whole time we were on the train from Vienna to Munich he was saying "chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-woo-woo." When he saw another train he would squeal in excitment, jump up and down and make sure that we also saw the train. He was a rockstar traveler on the plane, he was so happy to be on a plane, he had been ready since early morning rolling his backpack all over the hotel room. When we got to our seats he fluffed his pillow, took his blanket out of the plastic, sat down with his pillow behind him, his blanket on his lap and he attempted to buckle his seatbelt. I was laughing so hard. He looked so serious, and he was so excited to get seated. The only thing is that he chose the aisle seat. I let him sit there for a bit then moved him to the middle. He only slept for an hour of the 10 hour flight, but he didn't make a peep. Ok he made one peep, or rather angry squeal when he was two hours late for a nap and had barely eaten anything since breakfast, dinner was being served and I tried to get him to sit in his seat he let out a shriek that pierced my ears, but it last for 5 seconds and then he sat and ate his dinner. Have I mentioned how much I love my kid? For take-off he did his "Little Einstein" routine (i.e. "Pat, pat, pat" while patting his lap then "raise your hands above your head and shake your whole body" or something to that extent, it makes their rocketship take off) and he had to make sure Kevin and I did it too. You bet we did. He did great through customs in Chicago and then literally passed out on the plane to Denver, considering it was after midnight in Vienna I can't say I blame him! We were very happy to be home though with our travels behind us!
Sickies
The downside of traveling is the germs, the coughs, the flu that gets passed all around the airplane, and my boys were not immune to it. We were all coming down with a slight cold when we left Vienna, but with the stress of travel, staying up all night and trying to re-adjust to the time Jameson came down with a fever on Thursday night. I admit this was the longest illness he has ever had. He slept horribly and was restless all Thursday night, I was pretty sure he had a fever, but I didn't take his temp. I took it Friday morning and it was 102.1, not terrible, but certainly not comfortable. He was all things that go along with a fever: lethargic, hot, cold, uncomfortable, no appetite, and just wanted to be in my arms ALL day. That was just fine by me, but a little exhausting. He slept off and on all day and woke up about 8:30 pm. I knew he felt better when he immediately went to play his piano since he hadn't touched his toys all day. Kevin came down with the flu, body aches, headaches and a general yuckiness. The boys stayed in bed all Friday and both felt much better by Friday evening. Crossing my fingers that I don't get it next.
Big Kitchen
I love our kitchen with lots of counter space, and every utensil or machine we could possibly need. I wish we had a gas stove-top, but our electric range does the trick. The downside to all those utensils, machines and pots is the mess it makes when we cook. We had to stock up on all the basics since our fridge and pantry were empty empty empty. Groceries are SO expensive here, the same bag of groceries in Vienna that cost us 30 euros max. cost us closer to 80 dollars here. In the supermarket in Vienna it is incredibly easy to find organic items, and they are not that much more expensive maybe 10 cents to 1 euro more. One thing we were SO happy to have in our hands again was Udi's bread. Kevin missed the sliced bread and we have already gone through a loaf and a half. Toast, sandwiches, grilled cheese, yum!
Library
So happy to have my library back!! I had requested a number of books in the week before we left and they were waiting for me to pick up when we arrived home! Our outing on Tuesday was to the library. Jameson remembered all the toys they have in the toy area, and we checked out lots of books for him and ME. Happiness is the library!
Finally, my doggies
I love my dogs, love them in all their kookiness, and I miss them when we are gone. Jameson and Kevin missed them too. The first day or two Jameson wanted all three dogs with him at all times, in bed, his room, upstairs, downstairs. If we were playing in his room and only two of the three were there he would end up calling the third, usually Lu: "Woo-woo... Woo-woo..." I would hear him calling from all over the house. Leopold is "Bo-bo" and Lexi is "Yixi." Now he is having no problem disciplining them with the spray bottle for barking, and telling them to "Doh" (go) when they are sitting under the table waiting for spillage. When Leopold or Lexi come up to kiss him he says: "Ewwwww, nein, nein, nein." (nein=no in german). The dogs have learned to listen to him and follow him to the pantry because he feeds them kibbles one by one.
Changes
A few changes have taken place for us over the last month. After a lot of deliberation we decided to give up our apartment in Vienna. This caused a flurry of activity during the month of January and stressed me out beyond belief. It is the right decision for us, and it doesn't mean we won't be back in Vienna, just that we don't have a place to call home there. We have been trying to shorten our time in Vienna as the time change is very hard on Jameson, its rough on our dogs and Kevin and I don't like being apart for as long as was sometimes necessary. Its funny how much "clutter" can accumulate when we had a place to store it.
Also, we made the decision not to go to Costa Rica for our friend's wedding. This was a much harder decision. Overall, I am very happy that we aren't getting on another plane tomorrow for two weeks of traveling and feel like we got given an extra month that I wasn't expecting. We will go and visit the newlyweds sometime within the next year when our lives are a bit more settled.
We are so happy to be home, and I have a feeling once the laundry is done and the house is rearranged and cleaned how we prefer we will be even happier. We have lots of little projects on the books for 2010, and I am excited to get them going. Happy to be back in the same general timezone.
