Travel Day

The has finally arrived
Travel Day

The day when we have to commit to whatever is in our bags; we have to commit to whatever it is we leave behind; pay the extra baggage fees, face the security lines, the layovers, the airport food. The day we leave Texas for Paris.

That day is today, or was today, ... and well, tomorrow, thanks to the time change. :)

We have been committed to maximizing our allowed luggage, paying for the extra weight and extra bags would be significantly cheaper than signing up for any international moving. So we were happy to hear we got 7 bags, free. But we knew that meant either a)more bags or b) heavy bags.

Packing. Packing went something like this. Lay out all the clothes, shoes, toiletries for the family. Fit all of them in bags, add toys, books, etc in any remaining space.  I am pretty sure it looked like pure chaos. Clothes everywhere, luggage have opened and clothes everywhere. But we did it. 7 bags, full, not a bag more. Any only 2 boxes of kids stuff to ship (still under our original estimates, and significantly less than the moving companies quotes). After all, we are  moving into 530 square feet. Yes, that's correct, I did not miss-type that or leave off any numbers. All 4 of us will be living in close close close quarters so we don't need much, but we did need more than a normal vacation worth of clothes.

7 packed bags
2 car seats
1 stroller
2 laptops
2 backpacks
1 diaper bag

done. now all we had to do is get to the airport.

2:30 am. we wake up, load up 2 cars and leave
{well technically the kids didn't wake up and that was perfectly fine and made things much less hectic}

arrived at the airport around 4 am.
{worked with possibly the most amazing American agent ever... Theresa, who kindly noted we could check up to 10 bags, and as long as they were under 70 pounds they were good to go. Nice.... so we checked through those 2 car seats, free of charge, and not a single bag was near the 70 lb max. Though the Mr. did claim I had packed "the heaviest bag ever" that had to be "100 pounds"  but i didn't, and i had proof}

departed dfw at 5:45 am for chicago
{everyone sleeps. soundly, without concern, or hesitation}

hang out in the Admirals club after a nice disagreement with the Flagship Lounge lady. You know, I am a rule follower, but she was just mean and not nice. Apparently we were allowed to come in with the infant and two adults, but not with both children..... {crickets} yup, that was how i felt. So we lounged around, played in the family room, built forts out of blocks, knocked them down, kept Isabelle from stealing other peoples stuff, kept Faith from napping {we desperately need her to sleep on the plane} treated ourselves {read:me} to some of our {read:my} favorite thing :Garret Chicago Mix Popcorn... heaven, ate some lunch, hung out and got ready to depart for Charles de Gualle.

When we land, it will be New Year's Eve morning. There will be someone there to help us get our American luggage to our new apartment {thanks to Victor and a large van}, and we will have to rush to the store to get groceries for the next several days {rumor is it, the whole town will shut down till Monday morning, and we can't live off crumbs and snacks in our carry on}

we landed... nicely, too. Isabelle managed to sleep the entire flight and no one was in the seat next to me so I comfortably set her up on a nice palette of blankets and pillows so i could eat and relax for a bit. Then she relocated, nestled right up on my chest for a nice long sleep. Amazingly she stayed like that as I transfered her back to the palette for breakfast, and didn't stir till right before we landed. Faith was a bit different. She didn't exactly rest until way late in the flight and we knew the remaining awake hours would be tough.

Our flight was a good hour late, no problem execpt now we exited the plane in the middle of nowhere to load up buses to take us to a long flight of stairs to get to customs and our luggage.... with our double stroller, 2 kids, 2 laptop bags, 2 backpacks ... not easy, but we did it.  All the bags fit perfectly in the van with lots of room to spare and we arrived at our new home. We unloaded all of our gear outside the extereior door, moved it into the interior door, then the courtyard, then eventually up to the  apartment. I think we looked around for a good 10 minutes then headed back out for groceries... along with everyone else in France.

The supermarche was packed. Jam packed and our nice double stroller was not exactly the most welcoming site. Isabelle threw a nice screaming fit somewhere between crackers and toothpaste and about 140 american dollars later, a stroller overflowing with groceries stacked on sleeping children, we walked back home, which was simply around the corner. A quick drop of everything then back out for lunch.... mozzerella caprese flatbread..mmmmmm.

Sometime later, when I thought it was 5 or maybe even 6 pm I was trying to keep the Mr. up and the kids awake when he kindly noted it was "only 3 pm" I think i moved pretty quickly from no nap to passed out. Hours later we made our first meal... bowties and tomato basil sauce, and Faith had some Champ-o-my... kids apple bubbly, in honor of the new year. Surprisingly we bathed both kids, put them in pajamas, layered them with pants, leg warmers, hand warmers, hats and coats then hit the streets for some real Parisian New Years fun.

First thing we realized: Our street was packed with people who literally stopped and blocked the entire sidewalk to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower. The first stop was La Duree....for a macaroon... perfection. Then somewhere between the closed starbucks, the boarded up Disney store, the loads of French police in roit gear, we realized we should head back home, towards the one thing everyone else was going to see, the Eiffel Tower. We  joined the hundreds, saw the pretty light show and made it home, tucked the kids in and stayed up just in time to say happy new year before going to sleep.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all....

{side note: we all slept till 1 pm. Paris time.... might have been longer, but Isabelle had over-nursed during the night and decided we needed to wake up and try out the washer and dryer }

:)

on your mark, get set...

woah!

okay so I am so ready for some serious beach therapy. You know, the kind where the rest of your life sort of gets put on hold while you take in each and every ray of sunshine, listen to each roll of the waves as it crashes, soothing you into a sort of trance while your toes find new homes among thousands of tiny sand crystals, with the precious laughter of your kids surround you as they linger way too long in sandy swimsuits with their uneven tan lines, begging you to build a castle, pour water on them, or simply chase the waves ...

and yes, my children are in my beach therapy, my little escape, yes, my children are part of those moments,

and yes, i need grown up beach therapy too, but that can wait, these moments are few and far between, there will be a day when they no longer want me to play, or chase them, or be silly, so for now, they are my beach therapy, & the rest is just the icing on the cake

i am a planner, by God's design, an organizer, a list-maker & super pro-active, which explains why I support prevention focused health practices but that is an entirely different post....

so naturally, my head is spinning as I am trying to wrap my mind around how we are going to pull this Paris-move off... so for all you followers out there, here is a brief look at all the exciting adventures we will embark on upon my return from beach therapy:

updated passport for Faith (new picture) &

passport for Isabelle [both require BOTH parents present at the passport office]

the search for a reliable/organized realtor to manage the corporate rental of our home

the search for our Parisian home

the search for a storage unit for all things not being left/stored with grandparents/venturing abroad

my mad attempt at downsizing stuff/donating a lot/ & stressing over it all

making the house 'show-ready' for potential renters

the collecting of all our medical records

the filing of all paperwork for renting purposes

the sorting/packing/labeling/organizing all personal items in house for dispersion among storage/grandparents houses/France/goodwill/etc

the slow accumulation of gray hairs on my head

the crazy household full of blessings that laugh/cray/teethe/color/dance & make our lives perfectly amazing

so get excited - you know i am

grateful, truly blessed & grateful

C'est la vie !

" Every time I look down on this timeless town,

Whether blue or gray be her skies,

Whether loud be her cheers, or whether soft be her tears,

More and more do I realize that...

I love paris in the spring time

I love paris in the fall

I love paris in the summer when it sizzles

I l

ove paris in the winter when it drizzles

I love paris every moment

Every moment of the year

I love

Paris, why oh why do I love paris

Because my love is here "

and so will we be... all of 2011 we will be living sans Paris!!!!

how?! what?!who?!

The Boston Consulting Group has a wonderful Ambassador Program, to which David applied for & was chosen to represent the Dallas BCG office. We have know that now for months, and we put in for 5 locations : Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich.... and it is now official.... PARIS,FRANCE is where the Martin Family will be living in 2011. If you know me, I am already creating spreadsheets/checklists/asking a million questions/planning/sorting/deciding, blah, blah, so thank the Lord above for my fabulous husband to field those thoughts/questions/frustrations for the next 6 months before we are living in Paris. I promise to fill you in more and more as the details unfold. We are so excited & so grateful for this opportunity, what a wonderful gift from BCG and what a wonderful blessing to completely submerge our family within a culture my husband and I enjoy. Now, its off to learn French, or rather remember what I learned & try to teach the girls. Thank goodness for Fancy Nancy and her French words. haha

au revoir