Snow envy

Posted on February 18, 2014 by admin

I live in Austria. AUSTRIA. Generally, there are two things that come to mind when I tell people I live here: “The Sound of Music” and snow covered mountains. Vienna, however, is not in the mountains. It’s a relatively hilly city, and we can often SEE snow covered mountains off to the west, but Vienna itself is not mountainous.

Snow on the mountins, off to the west of Vienna (but not here)

It’s also just not very snowy here. Vienna, being on the leeward side of the Alps (which are big and stick up way into the sky) is quite a dry place. All the rain and snow fall on the other side of the mountains (or on top of them). Considering all forms of precipitation (frozen or otherwise) we get just over half as much as my hometown in the US on average throughout the year.

We get plenty of cold here, but not a lot of moisture, which means that Vienna is not the snow-covered winter wonderland that many imagine. This year, we’ve gotten only a few snowy days, and only one of those added up to an inch of snow accumulation. Back at home, meanwhile, they’ve been absolutely inundated, which leaves me in the surprising situation of living in Austria and pining for a Washington, DC winter.

My friends from home think I’m crazy. But I love the snow, and, living here, we’re pretty much immune to any potential negative consequences of it — we don’t have anything to shovel, we don’t have to clear off a car, we don’t have to drive anywhere. For us, living in Vienna, snow just makes everything prettier and gives the kids a chance to play and sled with their friends at school. It would be nice to have at least ONE nice, snowy day this winter.

So far, the only real snow we’ve experienced this year was while we were home in Maryland over Christmas. Everyone at home is pretty well sick of snow while we’re here waiting for our first real snow of the season . . . and waiting, and waiting . . .

Playground Olympics

Posted on February 17, 2014 by admin

Living in Vienna is my first experience of living in any kind of big city. When we lived in Virginia in the US, we lived in a very busy and crowded suburb, but it wasn’t the same as living in an actual city. In a lot of ways, I think that particular suburb had a lot of the worst characteristics of city life (traffic, tons of people, noise, expensive housing) with very few of the redeeming qualities (walkability, sense of neighborhood, culture on your doorstep).

I have, however, both where I grew up and then living in Virginia as an adult, been fortunate to live in very culturally diverse places. Living near Washington, DC does that — with so many people from international diplomatic services, as well as DC being the heart of the American government, there is an environment of cultural and ethnic diversity from around the world and throughout the US itself that’s pretty impressive. Vienna has much the same situation — home to a main office of the UN, there is, by requirement, a vast international community, and, since we live in the very heart of the city, we get to experience the international feeling of a major city that is then amplified by the UN’s existence here.

As such, my kids are growing up in a very international environment. Benjamin’s kindergarten class has kids from at least 5 different countries and Liam’s class has at least 6 nations represented — and each class only has 20 kids.

But school isn’t the only place we see this dynamic. Living in Vienna’s 1st district (the central and oldest part of the city) we encounter this international feeling all the time. It’s entirely common to take a trip to the playground and meet children from all over the world. On one particularly frustrating occasion, B tried repeatedly, in increasingly slow and precise German, to ask another child their name and age. He finally came to me in exasperation, asking why he wasn’t being understood, and after inquiring, it turned out that the child was Russian and spoke no German. (And since we speak no Russian, they were able to play together, but not talk much.) Another time, my two boys befriended two boys of similar age, finally settling on French as their most common language (in which Benjamin can only say “Bonjour” and “Je m’appelle Benjamin” … but it worked).

This weekend, I looked around the playground and realized that there were four families and four different languages and nationalities represented — American, Spanish, Russian and Austrian. This is perfectly normal at our local playground. We’re almost never the only “imported” family there. Watching my kids play with and around other children from all over the world makes me appreciate that of all the international cities we could have ended up in, Vienna is one of the best. My kids are used to hearing other languages all the time, they have the experience of finding a common language and sharing common interests with kids from all over the world. Plus, it’s so much easier to be “foreign” and “different” when you aren’t the only one. I love the international feeling in Vienna, and the variety of kids my boys are exposed to. Every trip to the playground is like our own little kindergarten Olympics.

Our Austrian Valentine’s Days

Posted on February 14, 2014 by admin

Growing up, I was never a big Valentine’s Day person. As a little kid, I liked making the “mailboxes” to collect our Valentines at school, but being a perfectionist, it never quite turned out the way I wanted. As a teenager, I was a perennially grouchy person on Valentine’s Days, because I was always full of unrequited affection for someone or another. Then, as a young adult, even when I was coupled up mid-February, I never quite lost my vestigial semi-bitterness and residual disdain for Valentine’s Day.

Like so many things, I didn’t really start to like it until I was a parent, and then only because I made a choice and an intellectual effort to not pass on this anti-Valentine’s issue to my kids.

Since becoming a mom, I’ve been completely turned around on Valentine’s Day. I actually quite like it now. Since Benjamin’s very first Valentine’s Day, I’ve done a little something for the kids each year — a card, some decorations, or maybe a special treat. Nothing major, just something fun and little to mark the day and say “I love you.” I love doing it for them, and I love seeing them look forward to these little things, and then, by extension, to see them look for sweet little kindnesses to do for us or for each other on Valentine’s Day. They always do. They draw pictures for us or for each other, share their special treats, give extra hugs and kisses, share their toys with more willingness. It’s truly heartwarming, and has completely won me over.

Beyond that, though, Valentine’s Day is not really a children’s holiday here. There are no school parties, no heart shaped cookies, no glittery Valentines handed out, no paper hearts on the walls or windows, no classrooms full of kids wearing red and pink. Absolutely none of it. Adults celebrate Valentine’s Day here — with flowers, chocolates or a dinner out — but it’s really only for grown ups (and even then, not a particularly big deal). My guys were dressed in red for school today, but if anyone else was, it was purely a coincidence. I suspect that will be a bit of culture shock for my boys when we move home — the concept of celebrating Valentine’s Day at school will be weird to them, I expect (much how they feel about dressing up for Halloween at school — when I mentioned that tradition to them the other day, they reacted with skepticism and surprise).

But, as much as all of that would be (and will be) sweet, I’m ok with the way things are here. Valentine’s Day here is very nearly (as far as my kids know) something that only our family does. Our traditions shape the whole of their idea of the day. They see Daddy bring flowers for Mommy, so they want to bring me some, too. They look forward to their homemade cards in the morning, and they draw us hearts and pictures at school. They come home to fresh cookies, and they share them with each other. We all get lots of extra hugs and kisses today, because it’s Valentine’s Day. And I’m very happy about all of it.

Skiing at Hohe Wand

Posted on February 13, 2014 by admin

Last year, we spent 3 beautiful and arduous days in the Austrian Alps, ostensibly skiing. There was, however, a lot less skiing than there was dragging a ton of equipment and two tired kids all around the hills of Alpbach.

But even though B got worn out, tired of walking and more than a little grouchy about the whole endeavor, he came away excited about skiing and enthusiastic for more. (Liam, who we never actually got up on skis, remained neutral to the idea, which was really as much as we could have hoped for. I consider it good fortune that we don’t all break out in hives every time we hear the word “ski”.)

B has been asking to ski again. I’ve been theoretically enthusiastic but practically daunted by the idea of taking something like that on again. With a week off of school and work, though, it felt like the right time.

I was not going to sign up for three days of the kind of effort (and expense) it took for us to not go skiing last time, so I looked into day trip options. Vienna = Austria = Alps … right? The rest of the world might think so, but it’s not really like that. Vienna is IN Austria and many of the Alps are also IN Austria, but Vienna, and the surrounding area, isn’t particularly mountainous. But I did find one promising-looking option: Hohe Wand, which is just outside of Vienna.

So I did my research, we packed up our snow pants, took two U-Bahns and a bus, and an hour later we were there. As it turns out, it is a “high hill”, indeed — just one, though, with a single drag lift and one big (relatively steep) slope down. The snow was man-made (which we expected — Vienna has gotten almost none this year) and it very nearly covered the hill.

They have a nice looking ski school for children, but, being the school holidays, it had been booked up since October, so we were on our own in terms of teaching the kids. Undaunted (and, after last year, fully expecting a day of skiing to be a ton of work) we fueled up with some schnitzel (really), rented skis, boots and helmets for the boys, and got suited up.

We found a quiet and reasonably flat-ish section near the bottom of the hill, off to one side, and began our practice. We pushed the boys up the hill, and then ran back down the little slope with them, over and over, for an hour and a half.

It was the best workout I’d had in a long while. Shortly after we started, B was back in the groove, and he was able to go down quite well on his own. Liam, frustrated that we couldn’t take the lift to the top, took several snowball-making breaks. By the time we (Dan & I) got worn out, though, both boys had made many trips down completely on their own (though often with an impressive, self-induced crash to finish … because it’s FUN). Mission accomplished —

the boys got to ski, and they had a great time. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as tough as what we attempted last year. Dan & I didn’t manage any skiing of our own, but I imagine that’ll come in future years.

B is already asking to go back. Next time, we’ll sign B up for ski school before we go (they only take kids over 4), and maybe Dan & I can take turns pushing Liam up the hill. It wasn’t ideal, but it was close, easy, and relatively inexpensive. With this place in mind, I’m much more optimistic about our future attempts at skiing.

Skating 2014

Posted on February 12, 2014 by admin

After our ride on the Riesenrad and our resort-like swimming experience, we decided that the next piece of our stay-cation should be something close to home and familiar (also, easier), so we decided to take our first trip of 2014 over to the Wiener Eistraum — the massive temporary skating complex put on at the Rathaus each winter.

It’s a pretty fantastic setup. There are two large skating rinks, connected by a series of iced paths through the trees of the park in front of Vienna’s Rathaus. It’s possible to basically stroll through the park, but on skates. Then there’s a separate area set aside during the day for children to practice their skating (in the evenings during the week, this area is used as curling lanes). The children’s area is free to use, so the only cost is renting skates for the boys. I knew, with it being the school holidays, that the children’s area would be busy (although not too much busier than usual — when school is in session, this area is typically crowded with school groups on field trips), but we hadn’t yet been over to skate this year, and I really wanted to overcome the inertia of being out of the habit.

It’s always a fun activity. The kids love getting their skates on and getting out on the ice. The thing is, I tend to forget that it ALSO is a ton of work and full of drama. Yes, the boys love renting their skates and getting out on the ice. But it’s also a bit frustrating learning a new skill, and there are never quite enough of the practice penguins to go around . . . and an hour of holding up off-balance kids gets exhausting. B does ok. He’s gone skating enough to basically remember what to do, and he has pretty reasonable expectations for himself (probably more realistic than mine). Liam, being littler, gets frustrated more easily. And though I have fond memories of all of our winter skating trips so far in Vienna, in retrospect I think every trip has ended with at least one of the kids angry or in tears (or both).

This was the same. B did well, but he really wore me out (he wanted to practice as much as possible without the penguin, which just meant I had to hold him up most of the time). Liam did well, too, but he did get frustrated and then bored. We stayed less than an hour, but I’m still glad we went. It’s a very special part of winter in Vienna, and I’m glad to start to get ourselves back in the habit of going. It’s on for another month, so hopefully we’ll get more chances to all go together.

I went again yesterday, by myself while the boys were at school. I, too, started with enthusiasm and slightly unrealistic expectations. After about half an hour, my feet and ankles were sore, and I had started to get wobbly from tiring out my muscles. I decided to call it a day before I fell or pulled something. Again, I’m glad I went, and I hope I’ve started myself in the habit of going. I’d like to make the most of the last month of it. But it gave me a lot of sympathy for the boys, and helped to remind me why it’s never quite as easy to go skating as I imagine it will be.

Swimming in February

Posted on February 11, 2014 by admin

Our week of home-grown fun in Vienna continued last week with, of all things, a trip to the pool. We wanted the boys to really enjoy our stay-cation, so we asked them what they wanted to do during our collective week off. Liam’s first choice was the Riesenrad, which we visited on our first day, while B’s chose a trip to the pool, which surprised us (we’d been thinking of, and suggesting, more wintry activities, such as skiing or skating).

I thought, since we were on vacation, that maybe we could find something particularly fun, in terms of swimming, rather than just going to our usual pool where the boys took a few lessons last year. A little poking around online led me to “discover” Dianabad — a very kid-friendly resort-type set up quite close to our apartment (and only two blocks from our first home in Vienna).

It was excellent. At €23, it was a little expensive for a 2 hour visit (which included the time it took us to locate lockers and get changed — never an easy task for a family of four) but it was well worth it. I was very pleasantly surprised by how many fun areas there were, and how each area catered to a different age and swimming skill level. It was basically like a massive indoor water playground, and the kids loved it.

As the boys are not yet good swimmers (although they’d say otherwise) we started in the baby pool, for ages 6 and under. The water was warm and shallow (knee-deep on Liam) but included an easy to negotiate water slide for the little ones. The water was shallow enough that the boys were able to crawl around and splash, immediately getting them back to being comfortable in the water.

They bored of that part pretty quickly, though, so we went on to explore the other areas. In the next level up (in terms of age — for 8 and under), the boys explored a tire swing in the water, a tunnel they could crawl through, another water slide, slightly deeper and cooler water, and huge overhead fountains that sprayed water for a few minutes at a time every so often. They then moved on to the pirate ship area (for 14 and under) with even more slides — this time, the slides landed in water deep enough to be about chest-height on the boys when they were sitting, and which splashed up into their faces when they arrived at the bottom. It was *perfect* for stretching their self-imposed limits just a little at a time, while not putting them into any kind of peril.

They had a fantastic time, and so did we. The variety of activities meant that no one got bored, and each of the boys was able to choose an area that fit their comfort level. In addition to the kids-specific areas, there was also a “river” with floating inner tubes, a massive wave pool (which Liam loved wading through) and an impressively enthusiastic water slide. It was more like being at a water park than it was like “just” going to the pool.

And, because it’s Vienna, things were pretty laid back. Most of the kids over the age of about 8 were only vaguely supervised by their parents, although the behavior of all of the kids was pretty good, and the older ones did a generally good job of watching out for the little ones. Their were only 2 lifeguards on duty for the entire pool, and they were focused on the big wave pool — parents are expected to watch over their littler kids in the children’s areas . . . and they do. And there are fewer rules. Although not running around the pool is a good idea, people weren’t chastised for it. The pools were mostly too shallow for diving (there were no diving boards) and there were signs posted to that effect. I didn’t see anyone dive while we were there. So, we saw a lot of that odd dichotomy that we’ve become accustomed to here — fewer rules, but more sensible behavior; less oversight, and more individual responsibility.

In all, it was a great day. I only regret that I didn’t get a few pictures. (Although, with the European sense of acceptance towards less-clothed children, it probably would have been tough for me to get pictures that didn’t include other people’s half-dressed kids.) My only fear is that with this swimming adventure, we may have set the bar a little high for future swimming trips.

Riesenrad, together

Posted on February 10, 2014 by admin

We had a great “stay-cation” in Vienna last week. We skied, we skated, we swam, we did touristy stuff, we visited the animals at the zoo and we took some time to just rest and be at home. It’s great fun living in a city that’s worthy of a European vacation in its own right and which we haven’t nearly finished exploring. Plus, there was no packing required.

Our first stop on this trip was the Riesenrad, the giant Ferris wheel in Vienna’s Prater. (If you’ve seen “The Third Man”, that’s the one.) I went once with a friend, but Dan and the boys had never been, and it was one of the things on our “must do in Vienna” list.

As often happens, our day kind of got away from away from us, and we weren’t ready to trek over there (3 whole U-Bahn stops away) until after nap time. It was cold, dark and raining when we left the house, but if we waited to do everything in perfect conditions, we’d never get to do anything. So off we went.

The bonus to going on a dark, cold, drizzly February evening is that there was absolutely no line, and we even got our very own car, all to ourselves. We didn’t have to worry that the boys’ exclamations or their desire to run from one side of the car to another was bothering anyone else (although with only 4 of us in there, every time they did switch sides, the car tilted, which was a little disconcerting). The rain obscured the view somewhat (more of an issue for the pictures than for the actual view), but the darkness created a lovely scene of Vienna all lit up at night. It was a worthwhile visit, especially being such an iconic piece of Vienna. The boys enjoyed their view from the top, and we all enjoyed sharing it as the first piece of our 2014 Vienna stay-cation.

Semester break

Posted on January 31, 2014 by admin

It’s our third winter here, and for the first time, we’re going to be taking advantage of the Austrian “semester break”. Semester break is just that — a break between school semesters. Here in Austria, it’s a whole week, typically in early February. All of the school children are out of school at the same time, and it’s traditionally a popular time for the whole family to take a week’s skiing holiday in the mountains.

The boys’ preschool stays open during this time, so our first two winters here we never knew it was coming until it was already happening. At some point in February we would turn up to drop B off at school and be confused about where so many of his classmates had gone. It was no big deal, though — B would have a small class for the week, and we went on with life as usual (and if we wanted to go skiing, we just went whenever we wanted to).

This year, though, B is allowed a limited number of days off, and although that number (3 weeks . . . not including sick days, 2 weeks for Christmas vacation, a week for Easter and a week for the semester break) seems generous in comparison to the number of vacation days an American child could take, this restriction has kind of hindered our holiday planning this year. So this year, we decided to take full advantage of the “free” days off he’s allowed during semester break — though the school is open, he isn’t required to be there, and these days off won’t count towards his 3 week limit of days off — and we’ve planned to “go on holiday” (my kids “go on holiday” now, they don’t “take a vacation”).

So, we’re taking a week, starting today. We have no specific plans, but lots of good ideas. With the busy pace of the holiday season, we thought we’d take a week and just relax, and maybe enjoy some of Vienna. We may go skating, go to the zoo, take a day trip out of the city for some skiing … or maybe not. We might just snuggle up on the couch, watch movies and play video games. Whatever we do, I’m looking forward to the week spent together, doing whatever fun stuff we might choose. (And yes, we’ve been totally converted to the European attitude towards time off — more is definitely better.)

Something cinnamony

Posted on January 29, 2014 by admin

(I think everything is going to be out of sequence for a while — since I still have things to post from our *last* UK trip back in September, everything is obviously out of order — so, for now, back to Christmas!)

There are some insights you just can’t have about your own culture until you’ve stepped outside of it. Being home for Christmas was wonderful. Spending the holiday with family and getting to see a few friends was incredibly special. I was so happy to be home.

But, it’s also uncomfortable to feel like a stranger in my own country, to feel awkward and out of place in my hometown (especially because I spend all of my time in my new culture feeling awkward and out of place, too). But that’s the reality. I’ve forgotten how to do things in the US. Grocery shopping feels weird. I can’t exist normally in a coffee shop (I glare at the other patrons and feel compelled to greet and say farewell to the employees . . . at least I don’t do it in German) and I didn’t even attempt to drive. I look like I should fit, it seems like I should fit, but I just don’t. It’s ok — it comes with the territory.

This feeling extended to my social interactions — even those with my closest friends. On one occasion, I was making plans with a friend for a playdate. Our plans were coming together at the last minute — late on Saturday evening for early Sunday morning. As we finalized everything, I asked if I could bring anything along the next day, and when she responded, “Something cinnamony”, I panicked a little. I panicked because I was still in an Austrian mentality — and my first instinct was that since it was late on a Saturday and we didn’t have anything “cinnamony” in the house, that I wouldn’t be able to acquire anything. I instantly started thinking of what I could cobble together. I’m so accustomed to the Austrian shopping schedule, where the shops close at 6 on Saturday and don’t open until Monday morning. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to accommodate such a specific request.

After realizing that I was in the US, and that the shops are open all the time, I realized that getting something “cinnamony” (or anything else) would be a simple task. Regardless of how specific the request was, I’d probably have been able to manage it.

But then I started to wonder what I should get. What the right “cinnamony” thing would be. Whether this or that particular confection would be the best choice. And I started to freak out again, because the pressure of getting it right started to mount immediately. And although I *know* that it’s silly — this is one of my best and oldest friends, and I know that her enjoyment of our visit would have absolutely nothing to do with whether I brought the *right* thing to breakfast — I went from 0 to perfectionism in about 1 minute.

Because, since basically all the stores are open, all the time, there comes a kind of obligation. Since the stores ARE open, and since I COULD get just the right thing . . . shouldn’t I? Isn’t that the “right” thing to do? I felt a near-immediate return to so many of my perfectionist tendencies that I’ve worked so hard to let go of.

In Austria, things work differently. Because the availability of commerce is more limited (shops close down by 6 in the evening, and are closed on Sundays . . . some have very limited hours on Saturdays, too) the pressure to purchase the “right” thing is so much less, at least in part because it might not be possible. If I was going to a Sunday morning playdate, and my host requested “something cinnamony”, I’d either have something like that already in my house, or I wouldn’t. And if I did, it would likely be a partial package of cinnamon graham crackers, which I would happily bring along. And that would be completely ok.

But in the US, the opportunity to find just the right thing leads, I think, to an obligation to find just the right thing. Because the stores are open, we can use them, and therefore we should. And I think it creates a higher expectation all around.

The truth is, I’m sure my friend couldn’t have cared less. Just as I couldn’t have cared less whether she would have coffee for us when we arrived. But, just as I instantly snapped into a sense of perfectionism and obligation, I wondered (and worried) that she might, too. Since we were coming over, did they feel obligated to run out to the store (at 9:00 on a Saturday night) to make sure they had the things in the house that we might like to have when we arrived on Sunday morning? I certainly hoped they didn’t. It hadn’t been at all my intention to create any sense of pressure or obligation, but I knew, since I had just experienced it myself, that it might.

The interesting thing to me is that I’m not sure I would ever have had the awareness of the pressure I felt to provide the perfect thing if I had never lived without it. Or, at least, I never would have questioned it. Living in a culture with fewer hours of access to shopping inevitably lowers the bar when it comes to these kinds of expectations — sometimes the “perfect” thing isn’t available, so you have to make do with what’s convenient, and that’s completely acceptable. While in the States, I feel like I existed in a space where the availability of resources created an obligation to use them . . . and I wasn’t even aware of it.

I started thinking about other ways that this pressure exists in the US. Since the gym is always open, don’t we feel like we have no excuse if we don’t work out? Since the mall is open late and on the weekends, don’t we feel an obligation to purchase a perfect gift? Since the activities for the kids run all evening and all weekend, don’t we feel obligated to take advantage of them? I don’t think the availability of shopping creates this pressure on its own . . . the incredibly long store hours may instead be a reflection of the cultural requirement to have the perfect thing and to fit ALL THE STUFF into every 24 hours. I wonder if we haven’t convenienced ourselves into insanity.

What I know is that this pressure does not exist here. The feelings of “good enough” instead of “perfect”, of “making do” instead of “making it right”, are much more comfortable to me. Thinking of things in the “you CAN so you MUST” way makes me go a little crazy. I like that I can see it, because it allows me to opt out. I hope I can hold onto this perspective — it’s something I’d like to carry with me when we come home again.

(As it turns out, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for cinnamon donuts to take to my friend’s house . . . and chocolate donuts . . . and coffee . . . all at 8:00 in the morning, which was pretty fantastic.)

The end of the weekend

Posted on January 28, 2014 by admin

Even though I had an absolutely amazing weekend exploring London and generally being a geeky fangirl, I was excited enough to get home to my guys to not mind getting up at 4 a.m. (Not too much, anyway).

I had a great time on the girls’ weekend. I was shocked at how long it took me to unwind, to turn off the ultra-aware, persistently vigilant Mommy brain and remember how to just relax and enjoy myself. I think this time away was overdue. I think it’s something I could use to do more often than once every 5 years.

And we couldn’t have picked a better spot for it. I love London. I would live there. I don’t feel that way about very many places, but I would absolutely live there (and probably spend way too much going to the “theatre” at every opportunity).

The morning of my departure, it was far too early for me to contemplate things like trains, so I opted for the vastly easier (but much more expensive) option of a cab. I had a nice chat with the driver on our way out to Heathrow — he’s the dad to one daughter, now all grown up, and insisted that mom having a weekend away from dad and the kids truly is good for everyone.

Heathrow is intense, even at 5 in the morning. Coming up to the airport, I was surprised to already see the line of plane lights in the sky, stretching off into the distance. (What time do those flights depart wherever they’re coming from?!?) I was also please to see how efficient Heathrow was — I was able to check myself in, print my own luggage tags and easily make my way to the gate (where, as a slightly odd security measure, I had to show my passport again to enter the gate area) to wait for my flight home.

I had a pleasant and comfortable flight home (British Airways is as good as Air France was on our recent trip home) and I spent part of the time contemplating people.

I think people are great. I love how we help each other. How we’re basically kind. The cabbie, the check-in people, the other assorted staff at the airport. No one has to be nice to each other, but most people generally are. I love how we build and invent things, like air planes, like London. I love how creative human beings are — theater, movies, storytelling. It’s amazing what we do and who we are. I love people.

And, on that note, it was time to return home to the people I love very most of all.

A Mommy Abroad

Our big adventure, as a family of three.

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