One last day

One last day to site-see and do fun Dutch tourist stuff. That was today. Next weekend we visit my grandpa one last time, and the weekend after that we pack up all our stuff. And just like that our year in Europe will be over. We've visited all the really touristy attractions when visitors were in town, so we opted for a fun children's science museum in Amsterdam. I almost see the Nemo museum as a great indoor alternative to a playground. The kids might even learn something (although that's doubtful).

As we were checking out some old boats, this bus came driving up, and drove right into the water!

The Scheepsvaart museum has an amazing replica of an old ship. It had me imagining what it would be like to sail this baby on the open wide ocean.

Every time we visit Amsterdam, we get into the city the same way. Parking inside the city is about €5 per hour, so that's out of the question. Train tickets for 5 people also adds up. Instead the city has a genious system set up. If you park in one of the parking lots in the outskirts of town, you pay a flat fee of €8 for parking, which included a free public transport ticket for up to 5 people. Not too bad of a deal, as long as time isn't an issue.

Our last visual on canals, bikes, and old houses in Amsterdam

Craziness

My life is craziness right now.

We move back to the USA in less than 3 weeks.

I work for 2 more weeks

We have to liquidate our whole household (again)

Somehow we need to fit everything we want to bring into suitcases

Many services have to be canceled (like phone, internet, insurance etc etc)

We still don't have a job, or any solid leads for that matter.

I'm still 5 months pregnant.

Both my mom and my dad are dating someone - my mom getting married in less than 3 months

So the current plan? I say current, because it is liable to change by the end of the day.

We go to Texas for Thanksgiving. A week or so after thanksgiving, Joe takes off to Utah and Colorado to network and job search, while the kids and I stay with Joe's parents to give the kids some stability. The kids will attend Andrews Elementary for the 3rd time, with no idea how long they will stay in the school. At least they'll know some kids already.... Meanwhile, Joe looks for work, and I try not to get too stressed about the fact that I have NO idea how we will have health insurance. I must keep the faith that everything will work out. Somehow...

Sunday with the Cornishes

As our days count down, we try to cram as much quality time in with friends and family. A cloudy Sunday afternoon is the perfect time to go on a hike through the woods and sand dunes with my cousin Talita and family.

We're gonna miss these guys!

Fun fact: Talita's husband Camaron is also my chiropractor!

Poor little Coco has become a lady. She's going through her first heat, and just absolutely hated to wear her fancy diaper pants. This photo captured a rare moment of relaxation.

Poop and pumpkins

Trying to keep an American tradition alive, we participated in a few Halloweenish activities. Winter and Sterling attend activity days with the American ward and had a pumpkin painting activity. Ginger got to carve her pumpkin with Joe.

It was very difficult to find suitable pumpkins for carving/decorating. I must have visited 6 different garden centers and grocery stores, to find these specially marked pumpkins for decoration. They even came with stickers marking where to cut, which is exactly how Ginger believed it should be carved and no different.Our ward organized an amazing Halloween party. The kind of party I remember going to when I was a kid in Holland. I'm not sure why Americans don't go all out like this, perhaps because of the massive cleanup that is required.

Ginger dressed up as a princess, with her new dress from India. It would have been funny to video the response she got from virtually every person passing her on the street.

Sterling chose to be a zombie, and really enjoyed ripping up some of my old clothes to create his costume.
Each room in the church had a different activity. The nursery housed a poop-disecting station. The kids had to dig through (fake) feces to find some egg larve (jelly beans)
All in all it was a great success. The kids were a bit disappointed with the small quantity of candy they received, but I was relieved. No sugar-induced coma for just one year!

Results

Staying off the computer was especially hard after dinner. But some great results have come out of it already. Things I got out of it:

A trip to the library

Sorting through Winter and my clothes, getting rid of old/ ill-fitting clothes

A picnic on the living room floor

Reading 4 books to the kids

Better supervision of chores

Cooked dinner (alright... it was pizza, but still!)

And an overall better mood from myself.

Addiction

ad·dic·tion

   [uh-dik-shuhn] Show IPA

noun

the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically

habit-forming.

According to this definition, I am addicted to spending time on my computer. And as with any addiction, it takes away from other important things in my life. Such as house keeping, spending time with kids, and personal development and spiritual growth.

It came to me last night as I was pondering the disobedience and consistent bad mood of my kids. Kids in India have many more chores and responsibilities, yet they do them without complaining. The only conclusion I can thus come to, is that it's somehow my fault that they haven't learned obedience and content.

In order to somewhat keep the level of my addiction private, I'm not ready to divulge just how much time I spend on average every day. However, I am ready to share my goal as to overcome and/or improve myself. Somewhat like a test. Starting today, I will not get on my computer AT ALL while my kids are home and awake for a week. No more early morning email checks, or afternoon TV show watching. This plan still leaves me with plenty of computer face time. At work I still have nothing to do but sit on the computer, and of course the kids go to bed around 8pm, which leaves me with an additional 2 hours at night. After the first week, I will assess the results and see if occasional email checks won't hinder my other goals.

As with all addiction I anticipate some withdrawal symptoms, but hope the benefits will make the process easier. A clean house, cooked meals, and time spent with kids are enticing benefits!

Day 4 - Friday

Every day the children get up at 5.30am to clean the dormitories. They do it without complaint!

I wanted to bring something for the children, but it had to be small and light, so we could bring enough for everyone. Sterling loves his silly bands, which is the perfect solution. They are all different shapes, and they are colorful. Trying to find a good system for passing them out was difficult. They all just gather around and hold up their hands.
It was interesting to me how almost all of them asked for a blue one. I was expecting to get requests for pink from the girls.

October is supposed to be monsoon season, but year has been especially dry. This is why an impromptu playing session was initiated when the rain came pouring down.

Pathway sits on a large plot of land, which is kept up and worked on by local workers. Today while walking from our "quarters" to the school, they were shucking coconuts. They opened one for us, and it was delicious!
Our plans to go to the village for more shopping this morning didn't happen, since the school bus needed to go to the hospital. Instead, we had a speed-shopping trip after classes and before dinner. I bought 4 saris (3 for sisters), and some other little gifts. The blouses would take too long to make, but those could also be made in the US (by me). I prefer to make my own blouse anyways, since the last one they made is too short, and also dips too low in the back: that's the Indian way, but I asked specifically for some alterations which didn't get executed.

This is in the middle of town. Notice the mud, trash, and shacks

Sunsets are shorter in India for some reason. But they sure are beautiful!
After tutoring some girls for their 8th grade algebra, we headed back to the dormitories to teach me to write my name in Tamil. Anytime I'm with the kids, they gather closely around, which makes it even hotter!
Power outtage is a regular thing here. Some buildings have backup-generators, but most buildings including the school and dining hall don't. So when the power goes out while dinner is served at 7.30pm, the kids eat in the dark with flashlights.