Trip to the US & SuperStormSandy

We have been in the US for about 10 days now, so we are more than halfway through our visit.  Right now we are hunkered down waiting out this massive storm that is hitting the East Coast.  At least being stuck inside has finally given me a chance to sit down and update the blog at long last.  Here are some photos from our trip so far....

On Oct 19 we said goodbye to our dear boys, who we miss terribly.  Paolo has been taking good care of them.  He took Enzo to Laryssa's apartment yesterday and Tigre to Grace's but then his flight was cancelled so he is now stuck in our apartment without any furry friends to keep him company.

Gio and I  had an easy 22 hour (well, as easy as 22 hours straight with a 3-year-old can be) trip to DC, complete with a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt's brand-new, fancy "Z" terminal.  Gio has lately developed an obsession with his pjs and prefers to wear them all day.  He had these on the entire trip and has also spent quite a few days here in DC in them.  Not a battle I feel like fighting.  

One of our first meals was at Surfside, Gio's all-time favorite joint.  

Our first week in DC was absolutely gorgeous ( we had no idea a massive hurricane was on its way!).

We spent quite a lot of time up at Montrose Park.

Gio was very proud to show off his newly acquired "Big Boy" swing skills.

If not in pajamas, then just underwear is his second choice.  A few new puzzles from Madrina Linda have been big hits.  

And a BIG surprise for me was discovering this little trick. I had no idea he could do this!

Uncle Andrew sent Gio some early birthday gifts- his first Playmobile toys.  He loves them, especially the fire boat that actually squirts water!  Barley is less enthusiastic but he does manage to stay pretty close to Gio most of the time.  Here he is in a rare moment of being awake.

Halloween event #1- party at Turtle Park.  Gio is a Wild Thing from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are."

A Saturday visit to the local farmers' market.  

And last night, just as the hurricane was beginning, we hit the Boo at the Zoo event with Tim and Jay (or, as Gio calls them "TimanJay and Jay").  This was a fantastic time with vendors every few feet distributing treats (some healthy, some not!) and a chance to visit the animals at night.  Gio's favorite was the giant Pacific octopus.   

Gio has amassed quite a collection of toys that we keep up in the attic.  Nonno and Nonna  are being very patient with the toy overflow in their house!

And now we are stuck inside with a storm raging outside.  I have even gotten Gio to help me with some cooking.

And he and Nonno have been very busy with a train set from Godpappas Tim (aka "TimandJay") and Jay. 

Please send good travel vibes to Paolo and Andrew who are eager to get here themselves.  We are hoping to get to trick-or-treat with us on Wednesday.  For all of you on the East Coast, may you stay dry and with power.

xo. Clara

US-Bound....

Images from the last week....

Enzo and Tigre are becoming friends....slowly.

Tigre sleeps and eats A LOT.  

This funny ad campaign outside of our building is attracting quite a bit of attention. It is a real car (or so it seems!) somehow placed on a balcony. Yes, parking is a challenge in Kyiv, so I suppose the gist of the message is that this car can fit into any space....

Yesterday we visited an outdoor museum called Paragova where a replica of a Ukrainian village from 100 years ago is set up to explore.  Here is Gio emerging from the church where he attempted to blow out all of the candles.

Of course, this being Gio, his primary activity at the museum was to chase and capture kittens to cuddle. We are not sure he really absorbed all there was to learn about living in 19th century Ukraine....

Gio and I head to the US on Friday morning (starting with a 3:30 AM taxi ride!).  It has been nearly 8 months since we have been on US soil and I know the 2.5 weeks we will spend there will go by in a flash.  We are going to begin the preschool admissions process, which is a crazy exercise on its own in DC, but adding to the nuttiness factor is the fact that we are not at all sure we are returning to DC next year.  But since the applications are due before we know anything about our next destination, off we go to get started.  Poor Gio has quite a schedule ahead with school visits, dentist, pediatrician, and an intelligence test to take (required by many DC schools for admission!). In between all of this business we will fit in visits with family, his godpappas, friends, Halloween, and touring all of our favorite spots like the Natural History Museum, the zoo and 5 Guys for fries and burgers.

Perhaps the following list will only make sense to my fellow expats, but here are the places, things and experiences I have been missing during these last 8 months out of the US....

Wandering the aisles of Trader Joes, Safeway & Whole Foods.  The choices, the choices!!
Having a friendly person at checkout who does not glare at me AND actually bags the groceries for me
Being able to eavesdrop again
Hearing only English on TV & radio
Fewer clouds of cigarette smoke to pass through
Ice cream that actually melts
Not having to hoard Smuckers Natural peanut butter
Brown sugar
Freedom from dill.
Smiles
Big black SUVs driven by soccer moms rather than by terrifying, furious bullies.
Road signs I can read.
Cheap gas (yes, you whiners in the US, your gas is CHEAP!)
Amazon Prime and internet shopping in general
Not worrying about whether produce, meat & dairy products are coming from areas near Chernobyl
Much more variety in the produce aisle
Surfside
5 Guys
Baked & Wired
Starbucks
Halloween Candy
Strolling around Georgetown and running into familiar faces
Hearing Gio greet strangers and having them actually reply
No grumpy babuskas
Not feeling so out of place in my "sensible" shoes


And as a counter balance, things I will miss while I am away from Kyiv....

Paolo (he will join us for our final week in DC!)
Enzo and Tigre/Cat
My many wonderful friends
Gio's school and his teachers
Having a full-time nanny (yes, being an expat has its perks!)
The rumble of the metro under our building- I have come to like this sound.
The dog walking gang at the park
Our fabulous gigantic bathroom- best we'll ever have, I expect!
Not worrying that people understand what Gio is saying (last week's example, said very loudly while walking in the park: "If girls do not have a penis, how do they pee???")

Imagines from the week so far...

I have been in a slump in terms of remembering to take my camera around with me, so posts have been lacking.  Apologies.  All is well here. Paolo is traveling a lot (on a 10 day jaunt now to Maldova and then to Italy, so no one should feel too sorry for him). Enzo is busy with his gang; every morning it looks like two grizzly bears fighting as he and Yoof, a Malamute, engage in wild play.  "Cat," the name Gio insisted on giving our kitten, is thriving.  He eats more food each day than Enzo which is quite funny considering that Enzo  has about 120 pounds on him.  I cheated a bit and gave him a real name, "Tigre" as I had to think of something when I took him for his shots yesterday.
As for Gio, well, he continues to speak in "ALL CAPS," as my friend Merilee describes it.  So true. There is nothing quiet about this kid.  He loves school, his teachers, his new and old buddies.  He has a  gang of boys I watched him racing about with today. As one of the older 3-year-olds, I am afraid he might be leading these younger boys astray. I can imagine I will be getting a few phone calls this year.  He is currently fascinated with Spiderman, feather dusters and the hot chocolate we frequently walk down to the Lviv Chocolate Factory to get on cold afternoons. '

Here are some images from the last week or so...

As much as I dread waking Gio up for school each morning,
look what happens now that I bring Cat/Tigre along!

Gio went to school on this morning in these pajamas.
I cannot win all of the battles in the morning.
At least his teeth were brushed.

Our park at about 6pm.  The long darkness of the Ukranian winter is coming. 

Once in a while we indulge in a visit to a nearby toy store. 

These large back SUVs make driving around here a nightmare at times. Today this one was mad that I did not let him cut in line (he had stormed up driving on the wrong side of the road and then tried to bully his way into the line I had been waiting in for 30 minutes.  I did not let him.  He proceeded to stalk me for the next 20 minutes honking, flashing his lights and yelling obsenities out his window.  I remained calm, tried to ignore him and luckily lost him in a traffic jam.  These incidents are very common here and very scary.  Those of you in the US should be grateful you have 911 to call.  Nothing for me to do here but hope the idiot gets caught behind a bus, which is what happened today.  I did write down his license and took this picture, just in case anything worse had happened, though I am sure I would have found not a single sympathetic police officer.  I was grateful Gio was not in the car with me today. 

And to end on a much more pleasant note, here is part of the preschool gang (William, Gio & Grace) after they ran a 1K race at a charity event last Saturday.  Such proud finishers!

I hope the rest of your week is filled with autumn leaves, smiles and no road rage incidents.

xo.  Clara