apple picking

Along with every other yuppie family in Northern Virginia, we went apple picking Columbus Day weekend in Purcelville, VA. It was a tad warm to feel truly like fall but the girls were loving it in their summer clothing. Addie really got into the apple picking and climbed a few trees to get the good unreachable apples at the top. She then got a hold of my camera and snapped a few decent photos. One of my favorite is the one of Kiki in the blackberry bushes. Addie yelled "Kiki, stop right there" and then snapped the picture. Arabella was happy picking an apple and then immediately taking a bite out of it. I think she ate about three apples that day. I lugged Ashlynn around the entire time wishing she'd just arrive already. She's becoming much too comfortable on the inside. The trip was fun and in the process Justin and I decided that an old house in Purcelville, VA just might be where we end up after all our overseas jet setting and diplomat living. The country side was gorgeous and the old homes were full of character. Now we can just fantasize about it for the next few years. I was definitely picturing my teenage daughters with boots and buckets working at the apple orchards as their summer jobs during high school. We brought the apples home and I promptly made an apple pie that we ate a la mode. Not too shabby. Every day in America is pretty darn amazing. It's still not getting old.

Pumpkin Patch

Justin and I love the Fall for all the obvious reasons. Football season, pumpkin flavored everything, Halloween, the leaves on the trees changing color. It's been a very long wait to experience Fall again in America with our girls. This weekend marked the first day of real Fall we've experienced as a family. It was a breezy 50 degrees, Justin made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, we all wore coats and boots and visited a real pumpkin patch; complete with corn maze, hayrides, slides, goat feeding, and apple cider. I road the extra bumpy hayride as a rather unorthodox way to jump start labor. We'll see how that worked. The girls loved the farm and animals. The big slides were a hit! The girls weren't thrilled about the cold wind and rain. They are tropical babies through and through. That red cheeked, freezing hands and nose feel was the most invigorating feeling in my opinion. My daughters disagree!

It's been a long wait to get pictures like these.

Preschool in America

It's the second week of Adelaide's preschool experience in America. Above is her first day of school. Below is another day that she wanted me to photograph her carefully chosen outfit. I wish I was as cool as my daughter. I chose a community run/ parent co-op preschool system that is just three days a week for 3 hours each day. It's about a 3 minute drive from our house. After her all day, 5 day a week pre-k program in Manila; this preschool is very loose and more play oriented. Most the kids are 3 and she's easily the most mature 4 year old in the classroom so my goal to have it be a social growing experience if it wasn't going to push her academically, isn't really working out. She's enjoying the arts and crafts and the outdoor play time. Her teacher is really great too. I think the program will be fine knowing we're only going to be here for four months of school before moving her to the International school in Addis Ababa for the pre-k program there. The price is right on this program as well compared to some ridiculously priced preschool programs in Arlington, VA. But along with the low price tag comes a commitment for me to volunteer once a month in the classroom (hence parent co-op). This has proven to be challenging for two reasons; 1. Arabella 2. my huge pregnant belly! We're making it work though.I really wish Arabella could attend this preschool. She's definitely ready for the classroom and I have to beg her to give up her seat when it's time for us to leave Addie at school. A lot of this also stems from the connection Addie and Bella are cultivating as sisters. It's so sweet to see how close they've become. Hand holding is a must when we are walking anywhere and Bella asks me a million times "where's Addie?" "Addie at home?" "Addie?" when she and I have our three hours together when Addie's at school. Picking her sister up from school is Arabella's highlight of the day. Thank you to Auntie Brienne for the matching sparkly Hello Kitty t-shirts. Adorable!

checking in

Life has been pretty busy for us lately. We quickly settled in to our rental home in Arlington. It's was nice to make it our home in such a short period of time. I guess that comes from moving often. We love the neighborhood. Last night all the girls who live in the homes around us made a huge hopscotch game in the street. Adelaide is in heaven with all the new kids. Preschool starts on Monday, we attended an open house and parent meeting last week. Addie told me she thought the class was too crowded and I have to agree. All the parents and siblings of the classmates made the open house feel chaotic. We weathered the hurricane with a short power outage and then this past week day after day of heavy rain that caused a power outage and flooded the basement. Not awesome but we are managing. Thank God our consumables haven't been purchased yet and stored down there.

The girls and I are loving the freedom of walking to the park or driving to the store during the day. We've visited every grocery store in the area just because we can.

I'm savoring every second we have in America! Taking over all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and shopping is wonderful. There are moments when I miss Cora and it's mostly when I realize that my expectations for myself to keep everything in order are way off base; especially this pregnant. After having things done a certain way for three years it's hard to realize that I can't possibly do it all by myself 9 months pregnant. It's a sad realization every time it comes to me. But you better believe I'm doing the best I can.

Here are some cute photos of the girls in our new place. We started baking again immediately!

My blog holiday

The last time I wrote on the blog was when we were packing up and shipping out of Manila. Our world has turned upside down since then. I’m now sitting at the counter of my little remodeled 1940’s rental home in Arlington, VA writing my first blog since we’ve moved back to the States after living overseas for three years.

I took a blog holiday. It was unintentional. I didn’t plan on not blogging about our two months of R&R (rest and recuperation) at home. It kind of just happened. Once we got over our extreme jet lag and started really seizing every day of R&R I just couldn’t sit down and regurgitate the experiences. They felt so real and at the same time so unreal to me. Every day was full of friends and family and American-ness and for the life of me I didn’t want to ruin the euphoria that came with repatriating in the US. Writing about it felt like I would be less in-the-moment. I just wanted to smell the fresh air and see the blue skies and taste the vibrant fresh flavors of food, all while being selfish with my feelings about it all.

For three years in the Philippines we relied on the computer and Internet to connect with everyone we loved and cared about while we were away. R&R was about being with these people face to face. No computer involved. It was so fantastic.

I know family and friends read our family blog to stay familiar with what our family is doing and I apologize that I left you in the dark for the last two plus months. I took tons of photos of all our adventures and the girls have grown so much. Justin says they look even more golden in America. I have to agree. I promise to get some of these photos up on the blog with time.I have to share, in detail, one moment for me which sums up my feelings about being in America after having lived in a third world country for three years. We spent the month of July in Washington State visiting my family. Every single day was pure bliss for me (and my folks I’m sure). One day during the week Justin and I decided to drive the girls to Estershort Park in Vancouver, WA to play at the playground. The park sits in a downtown Vancouer city block. It’s surrounded by mature shade trees and a spray-ground creek kids can splash around in. We let the girls run around and play for a good long while on the amazing play ground. We then decided to walk and pick up something being sold at one of the food carts for lunch and grab a seat on the lawn to listen to what looked to be a mid-day concert starting at the little outdoor pavilion. We found an open grassy spot next to a few other groups of moms and kids and layed out our beach towels. The girls munched on hot dogs and eventually a little local pop country band started playing. Justin brought back a huge waffle cone of homemade ice cream and we all passed it around for licks. The girls got up to dance as were most of the children in the park and I couldn’t help but just start to cry. Not little easily hid tears but big weapy sobs that my husband quickly noticed and immediately assumed something was wrong like I might have gone into early labor right then and there. I could barely get the statement “America is so wonderful” out without more blubbering sobs drawing the attention of strangers so instead I just sat there crying behind my sunglasses. What I wanted to express, but couldn’t find the words in the moment to say was that; this moment in time was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. I sat on the greenest grass I’ve ever seen under the clearest blue sky I remember, next to my amazingly wonderful husband, watching my two gorgeous daughters run around with ice cream on their lips and ketchup on their hands. The breeze was blowing, the music was playing, we were surrounded by people of all ages with their kids, dogs, and friends. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the summer sunshine and concert. Next to me a little girl pulled out a red vine, lifted it in to the air and took a bite from the end ripping it from the rest of the licorice. I felt (as I always do now days), big with pregnancy but so blessed to be breathing in the fresh air for my unborn daughter. It was a perfect American moment for me in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t think I’ve ever been moved to tears by something so mundane as an outdoor concert in a park. Maybe it was the fact that, to me, it looked as if the rest of the people sitting around us with their picnic baskets and blankets or lawn chairs did this every week in the summer. For them this was just another day. Just a last minute grab-the-kid-and-head-to-the-concert for something to do before nap-time kind of activity. That blissfull obliviousness to greatness made me sob just a little bit more. Justin rubbed my back understanding exactly what had me in tears without me really having to say so. I explained to my concerned four year old that Mommy had happy tears. Oh so happy tears.

So yes, we are home. It’s everything I hoped it would be and more. I don’t miss our life in the Philippines as I thought I really would. Some things were easier there (I just bleached my own toilet-necessary but not awesome) but I wouldn’t want to spend another moment in Manila’s poor air quality. I’m loving cooking for my family and meeting other American moms at the local park. I love driving down the streets Justin and I used to frequent together. Only now with out two daughters in the back seat and our third bouncing along in my belly. Home sweet home never made as much sense to me as it does right now.

Old Navy Fourth of July gear. I couldn't pass up the cheesy opportunity.