L'aventure américaine

Randal and I were reminiscing about what we were doing ten years ago and how we marked the end of the first decade of the 2000s.  I thought back to where I was in December of 2009 and then remembered that I had done a blogpost to close the decade.  It was fun to look back on it and the one constant of my life...  I have no idea where life will take me in the next ten years.  So.  Ten years ago, I had recently moved to Phoenix.  I was lonely, but working at my first job that really paid well and I was really a grown up.  I filled my days with reading, educational activities, and actively seeking and securing solid friendships.  I embarked on self-improvement projects and worried that I would never meet the right person and would never get married.  And today?  One, it will be a miracle if I get through this blogpost in one sitting without a kid calling me.*  But, as for the rest..  We have relatively recently moved.  I have not worked in the last year and have struggled with not ge

Has it only been a night? Travel really skews one’s sense of time. You leave one day and get home at some point later, but the details are hazy.  Our trip home is due to a glitchy website and the fear that we were going to lose a really good deal on flights to Ireland. Hence a 7 hour layover in Copenhagen and a 10 hour layover in Stockholm.  We are currently through the second and longer layover and here is what I have learned: Always book the airline lounge when you have a long layover. The food is free and they HAVE WINE ON TAP.   My mom is a rockstar. She might of turned 70, but she travels better than a 19 year old taking a gap year backpacking in Europe.  I am tired.  So, I’ll close with photos of our last night in Ireland. What a spectacular time.  The last photo is Stockholm at 2am!

We are back in Ireland after a wonderful visit to Wales. More pictures to come, but these were a few gems from my phone.  We enjoyed great meals and very little rain. We had a beautiful walk to see an imported California redwood and several games of cards. The kids get along famously- Daniel and Josephine are so nice to milo- and while Marian has been sleeping terribly, it’s hard to be mad at her when looking at that cute face.  Back in Ireland and I hate that it’s our last day. These Irish jochims are too much fun. 

We are happily in Wales and celebrated Mom’s 70th birthday today. It was great. The Welsh are wonderful and accommodating and seem genuinely pleased when a noisy party of 8 wanders in to eat. We have had some delicious meals and good laughs and are staying in a charming cottage. It is great.  I haven’t downloaded my pictures, but here is one from our hike today. Charles and I went to the top of Tabletop Mountain. It was stunning.  So grateful for my mom and her youthful 70 years. And the whole noisy gang here this week.  Well, mom just sent me some of her pictures... so here are some treasures from today:

I am fortunate to share such a great relationship with my mom and brother (and that we all have supportive spouses). We have enjoyed amazing experiences and adventures together.  But, I wanted to ring in their next decades with something special. To celebrate mom’s 70th and Charles’s 40th, we decided to go to a Michelin Star restaurant. After some research, we decided upon Chapter One with its contemporary Irish cuisine.  It was decadent and fancy and beautiful and fun. The food was gorgeous and the wait staff were phenomenal. But mostly, the company was wonderful. What a night.  And it wouldn’t have been complete without Elisabetta who watched the kids- including Marian who refused (and is still refusing) bedtime.  Happy birthday Mom and Charles!

It was my first experience driving on the left side of the road today. I think I staved off some dementia with this new way of thinking, but mom says that I aged her as the passenger.  Mom, the kids, and I headed to Malahide Castle this afternoon - a 30 minute drive away. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful to be outside in the crisp, fall air. We got a tour of the castle and learned that the last male heir was named Milo. How apt. This 800 year old castle was beautiful and we loved our tours as well as the garden.  Games and delicious dinners by Elisabetta abound back in Tyrrelstown. A great day. 

I hear Milo’s voice in the kitchen, so I think it might be time to get up and join the family. The Ireland family- it’s good to be back with those Irish Jochims.  To sum up the trip so far: The flight went well.  Milo didn’t sleep.  You can fit two car seats and three adults in a Micra, but it is tight.  Charles looks (and acts) the same at 40 years. Except for all of that gray hair and a bum ankle.  Elisabetta has been a great hostess.  We are happy to be here.   

It was a great Easter and one of the biggest yet with 62 guests.  The sunshine poured into the house and encouraged us all to get outside for the hunt, the egg toss, and the chicken and rooster game that returned this year.  We had newcomers and stalwart standbys.  There were more kids than ever before and it was an excellent day. In other news, Randal and I are buying a house and I am trying to adapt to this two kids while staying at home business.  It comes with some bumps.  (Including getting a massage yesterday with Marian.  Situations that I never thought I would be in: breastfeeding during a massage and leaking breast milk everywhere while smelling a baby blowout and wondering if it's best to change the diaper or just power through.  The massage...  was a bust.)

We have now been in Indiana for a week, but it has flown by. Life with two kids takes more effort than life with one and I feel like i am juggling diapers and tantrums and Mickey Mouse dolls galore. How did people have seven?! We are slowly moving into our rental as well as looking at homes to buy. Randal earns the money and I try not to spend it all. And my parents continue to do more than their fair share of work and childcare to help make this transition comfortable. Alas, I guess that I am THAT millennial who moves back with her parents.  Cute kids make up for it though?

Well, we projected it would take a week and it did. We pulled into my parents’ driveway yesterday around 3:30pm or so. Marian cried for the last fifteen minutes of the drive and Milo was so excited to see his dad. (A quote from him: “when I get to Indiana, I won’t have to miss my dad anymore.”) It was good to arrive, but will take some time to settle in. For now, I appreciated today- the first day with nothing to do in ages. My body appreciated it too and decided to saddle me with a cold that has been waiting until I take a break evidently.  It’s good to be here and have the family together. It is hard to be so far away from our Oregon home. 

It’s our last night in a hotel tonight and I think we are ready to arrive in Indiana. Milo has been doing so well, but this time of so much change is wearing on him. Marian is tired of the car. And you can tell that mom and I are wearing down.  We left Kansas today and made it most of the way through Missouri. They are not interesting states to drive through and we didn’t even make it the usual six hours. (Just a little over five). That leaves a bit more to go tomorrow than we had anticipated.  My friends got together tonight in Klamath and I was envious. As we drive further from Oregon, it becomes more real. And sad. It will be good in the end, but for tonight... I hated not being with such fabulous women. To close- these adorable kids watched each other for awhile tonight before bed. (Before they both became incredibly clingy... blurg ...) and now hopefully they sleep.