Cold and Cough? CHECK!

Silly me, I seemed to have forgotten on my "Italy Check-list" the most important thing for travel...a common cold for Ava!  All day yesterday she was sneezing like crazy, and had a little cough in the evening, but I figured it was just allergies.  It is well known that if you've never had allergies in your life, the minute you are in Texas, you can suddenly be allergic to everything in the air!  Well, sometime during the night, Ava developed a full-fledged cold.  Snotty nose, mucus cough, and her classic bronchiospasms that inhibit her breathing and keep us both up at night.  Thankfully I had taken the advice of many other travelers and stocked up on our favorite children's medications since they can be hard to find, or are very expensive in Italy.  But the one thing she really needed, a good decongestant, was no where to be found in our medicine bag.

Go figure, the one day I really need to jet out and grab my daughter some medicine, there is torrential down-pouring in Texas!  I mean, this rain was causing dangerous, massive flooding on the roads.  And my little girl, with booggers streaming down her nose, had to accompany me so we could buy the one medicine I had forgotten to include for our trip to Italy!  I'm just hoping she will be over it all since we now have 4 days till our flight.  No one likes flying with a stuffy nose.  And no one enjoys hearing a croopy cough coming from the child behind their seat on the plane.  Purell will now be my best friend until we depart, cause we can't have a sick mommy on the flight too!

Lucky 9's?

Well, this may not be directly related to our trip to Italy, but felt I should make a post on 09-09-09.  Apparently many people were married today, as this could be seen as a lucky date.  From the Washington Post, they claim the Chinese word for "nine" sounds similar to the word meaning "forever".  I bet the diamond companies enjoyed banking on that one!

Also happening today, the Beatles' Remastered Albums will be released today, with lots of cool Beatles add-ons of their 12 original studio albums in a box-set costing...$199.  I think they should do a bundle with the new Beatles Rock Band set, and make it a classy $999!  It would be worth every penny.  Ava and I have been on a Beatles kick this whole summer, listening to a mix cd our friend made us.  Inevitably, everytime we get into the car, Ava now demands "Let it Be!" and we take off, belting our favorite tunes.  It's cliche, I know, but they really are the best band that ever existed.

Lastly, of particular note to this blog, this 9-9-9 day means only 5 more days till we take off!  You know you are excited for a trip when you are starting to count down the hours of each day.  I tried doing a test-run of weighing my suitcases tonight to see where I am in my packing job.  With a few more clothes to squeeze in, my running shoes, and Ava's favorite pillowcase, I think we might be right on the 50lb mark for each suitcase!  I hope I'm not forgetting anything, and that this day of lucky 9's will keep me under the weight limit till we fly away!

Translating Sheep

Last night I couldn't sleep.  I think I finished reading around 10:50pm and I was still awake when I checked the clock at 3:20am.  That's a whole lot of hours, trying to fall asleep.  I know it's from the excitement and anticipation of our move.  I feel like a little kid, it's the week before Christmas, and Christmas morning can't get here fast enough!


So what did I do for all those hours?  I tried to stop thinking!  That's my problem.  Usually when I can't sleep it's because I can't stop thinking about things, or singing songs in my head, or just feeling uncomfortable.  Last night I found myself, believe it or not, literally trying to count sheep.  I remember trying it as a little girl, and I hoped it might work.  It didn't.  So then I figured I would be productive while I couldn't sleep.  I started to make a list in my mind of all the things I think I've packed, but need to re-pack and make sure I really pack.  Yeah.  Next on the list was testing my memory of my Art History.  I would think of an artist I studied, and tried to give some biographical information, some points on the style(s) the artist worked in, and then recall the dates of their most famous works, as if I were giving a lecture.  Can anyone see yet that I'm a nerd?  

Then, probably around 2:30am, I started doing my Italian lessons in my head.  I was thinking of a word I knew in Italian, and then tried to make as many sentences with that word as possible.  What's funny, is that I really don't know much Italian.  So, the sentences were rather short, and who knows how grammatically correct they were!  I think that's what I need the most, while learning this language: someone to tell me when I'm incorrect!  I think I have an idea of what to say, how to say it, but most of the time I'm totally wrong when I check it with a translator.  


While we are in Florence, I've decided to check out several language schools.  I don't think I'll attend any while we are over there, but I think it will be a good way to get back into the country for an extended period, if everything goes alright for these first 3 months.  The student visa is one of the "easier" ways to get a visa in Italy.  And that's not saying much since it's still a hassle.  I can find a really good language school (they are everywhere in Florence!), one with small classes, and study intensively to become fluent.  For me, learning languages has been one of the greatest struggles for some reason.  My brain just doesn't seem to retain what I learn that day.  But I really, really, really want to learn this language!  1) for the necessity of getting around and surviving in the city day to day  2) so I might actually be able to speak with my Italian friends without having to dumb down my English or look like a fool when speaking Italian and 3) if I want to eventually get a job, it will be necessary.  Lately I've been thinking a lot of how I could find a job working with American students in Florence.  Or being able to give art history tours to Americans in the Uffizi!  These might be dreams, but I guess it's better than translating sheep for now...     

Extra Expenses...

Alright, I'm not even going to try to hide my excitement now!  One week exactly until we are boarding a plane in Houston, getting ready to fly to Italy!  We had a really productive week, and a lot of the loose ends are all tied up now.  Got all the little last-minute gifts for friends, last little things Ava will need, and figured out the car seat situation.  The main objective this week is to take all the things I have packed in the suitcases, empty them out, and re-pack everything!  This is the "cut-throat packing job"...need to make sure all the suitcases are under 50lbs, and cut out any unnecessary objects that might put us over the limit.  But I figure, if one suitcase is over the 50lb limit, I'll pay the extra fee since it's probably cheaper than having any items shipped over to Italy!  It will be a very strategic packing job, for sure.


Another important job was getting all my finances in line.  This is one of the unpleasant realities I hadn't really considered of having to live between 2 countries for a little while.   Our move is not permanent at this point, and most of our things will remain in the States.  So, I will have to be making payments on things I won't even be using for 3 months!  Like my cell (can't get out of my contract till March) and my car (need to keep it in storage, along with everything I own that is not traveling to Italy).  It's kind of annoying, paying for things you won't be using, but I guess it's just a small price to pay for living in Italy for 3 months.


Besides all these things, we're ready to go.  Just kind of counting down the last few days of easy living in our familiar city, where I know the language, know the highways, and all my favorite stores.  I think these kinds of things will be the biggest daily challenges.  Familiarity will not really be easy to come by in many ways.  Thankfully Ava and I have each other to speak English to when I get tired of trying to remember the most simple phrases for getting around in the city.  Thankfully we will have some of our favorite movies to watch when we just want to hunker down at home and leave Italy outside for a little while.  I'm fully prepared for those days when nothing feels familiar, and I feel like a complete outsider who knows nothing about this foreign country!  But on those days, I hope to remember that we're going to Italy for an adventure and most of the time that means flying by the seat of your pants...and yelling into the wind "Carpe Diem!"...and paying for those extra expenses that prove that you're doing something spontaneous and exciting!  And that's really living...   


   

All Off???

Alright, I know there will be many things we will have to try to figure out while we're in Italy.  The language, the customs, the bus route, the best way to walk down a narrow sidewalk with a stroller without being run over by multiple motorini.  I know all these things will come with time, and we must figure them out in order to function in the city.  But before we leave, I'm trying to wrack my brain for things that I just do not want to try to figure out, and just take care of in the States before we leave.  This brings me to the pre-Italy-preparation that we accomplished today:  the haircut. 

I don't know what it is, but I just don't feel like walking into a hair salon in Firenze to explain how I would like my hair to be cut.  Or how to cut my darling daughter's hair, too!  Maybe I have watched Roman Holiday one too many times.  I know Princess Ann walked into that hair salon to get a new look, and cut all her hair off into a cute little summer style.  But I am fond of both our long locks at the moment.  It has taken both Ava and I a long 3 years to grow our hair out!  I would hate to walk into a salon and attempt to say, in my broken Italian "just a little off" and have it translate into Princess Ann's demanding "All off!"

I will openly admit that since Ava was born, I have had her hair cut professionally a total of....one time.  Yep...3 years old, and only one little trim.  A couple of weeks ago I just couldn't take her bangs in her eyes for one more second, so I bravely dared to cut her hair.  Bad idea.  Well, it wasn't a total disaster, but thankfully she has just enough curl in her hair that you couldn't see how crooked her ends were!  And her bangs situation wasn't great either.  I, myself, hadn't had my hair cut since May.  So I decided to bite the bullet, pay $25, and get our hair cut before our big trip.  Just a simple trim for me, with the addition of some long, side-swept bangs....and exactly the same for Ava!  haha!  What can I say: it's kind of funny to have a mini-me, and I can't stand the thought of cutting her hair into that little girl bob.  It took too long for her hair to start growing to begin with!

So I will tell everyone that I chickened out of the "italian haircut situation" for now.  I've gone 3 months without a haircut, and I can do it again.  Maybe by the next time we are in Italy I will have the courage of Princess Ann to demand "All off!" in favor of a cute Italian summer hairstyle.  For now, I say "just a little, thank you very much!"

 

Talkin' and Hoppin'

Today has been one of those days that I really wish Ava didn't have to be buckled in a car seat each time we have to drive somewhere.  Very often I feel compelled to say "Hop in the driver's seat with me, kiddo, and let's roll!"  Haha...I know, I know...after the ranting and raving about using her car seat on the plane, here I am contradicting myself.  Well, obviously I would never do that.  Sometimes I hate the whole process of opening her door, climbing in, buckling up, making sure cup/blankie/toy are in reach then closing the door, getting in myself, buckling up, driving wherever, getting out, opening her door removing the cup/blankie/toy in her lap, and crawling out of the seat and door at a snail's pace.  It just makes any set of multiple errands turn into an eternity.  This is what we experienced today, having to go to literally 7 stops which included this whole process.  And I'm an organized mommy who only makes necessary stops, tries to multitask in a certain store, and then drive a route with the least amount of backtracking!

Anyways, these were all errands for the trip.  One errand was going to get my International Driver's License at AAA, even though I'm not a member.  What a deal: to drive anywhere in an allotted 150 countries, I just needed to show my US driver's license, get 2 passport photos, and pay $15!  This will be valid for a whole year, and should I ever be stopped in a foreign country this little booklet contains all my driver's information translated into 10 languages.  It is just a good way to be able to communicate with foreign authorities should there be any cause, and will probably help me be in a better position for driving legally outside of the US.  And for being a law-abiding mommy to a 3 year old in the back seat : )

Ava was a trooper, running in and out of stores with me and making all the sales clerks smile as we walked by as she talk, talk, talked and hop, hop, hopped.  Sadly, all this talking and hopping resulted in a couple of little blisters on her toes, due to her new Old Navy Jelly shoes.  She has been wearing the pink pair all summer long, and one of the straps cracked.  So, thanks to the sale's rack, we found a new pair of the pink ones, and a pair of the green sandals.  Poor girl has to learn the joy of wearing shoes, means the pain of breaking them in!  

Also, with all her talking and hopping, I think most of the city now knows we are moving to Italy.  Even the other day we were in the shopping mall, and were talking to a sale's clerk who was from Bari, Italy!  Ava proudly said her two favorite Italian words for him, "gatto" and "ciao" and everyone was impressed.  Last week at the dentist, Ava was getting her teeth fixed and the dentist asked "So where will you go after your teeth are all better?  Will you go to the park, or to the movies?"  Ava promptly said (with the nitrous oxide still sitting on her nose) "I'm going to Italy!!!"  All three of the dental assistants looked up at me "She said Italy!"  and I was like, "Yeah, we're moving there in a couple of weeks"  Haha!  Sometimes I forget how blessed I have been to have the opportunity to travel so much.  Some people never get on a plane in their lives...Ava was on her first plane at 3 weeks old!  It just makes me realize what a special time this will be for both of us.  How many kids really will be able to say "Yeah, when I was 3 I went to live in Italy with my mom, just because we wanted to."  Well, we might be crazy, but that's okay.  We'll just keep talkin and hoppin, even when we're in Italy.    

Vive la France!

Alright, so two weeks from today exactly, we will be driving to Houston to board an AirFrance plane and be on our way!  The top priority for me right now is to consider all that I will need to have packed.  What to bring, what to leave behind...I mean really...we are two girlie girls who love clothes, and we're having to pack for practically 3 seasons!  When we arrive it will still be in the upper 80s, then a month later it should start to cool down, and then by the time we leave in December, it will be winter!  And then let's not forget toys, books, crafts, toiletries, medicines, jewelry, jackets, and SHOES!

A couple of days ago I was searching and searching the AirFrance website for any info about our baggage allowance on the flight and the use of car seats on the place.  Why did we go with AirFrance?  Cause they were the cheapest tickets we could find!  I also had a pretty good experience with them on my last trip to Firenze in June of this year.  Even though they changed my flight a week before my departure, the flight crew was wonderful, and my transfer in Paris was easy.  I particularly enjoyed having the ability to drink a couple little personal-sized bottles of wine with my fellow passengers, without anyone calling me a lush, or having to pay $10 a bottle!  Oh, and the little, steamy, warm towel after dinner...that was a nice touch!

So, I was rather upset to find that there was NO information about children flying on AirFrance unless they were an infant-in-arms.  There were specifics about what infants could bring on the plane, such as strollers, extra baggage, etc...but nothing about a child with a paid seat.  Most American carriers allow car seats to be used during flights, or will check the car seat (with a lovely big plastic bag) without counting it as an extra piece of baggage.  I had to search countless forums, and email AirFrance directly to find the answers to my questions.  They responded promptly, but I soon found out that AirFrance is picky and stringent about their allowance of car seats on the aircraft.  Great.  The one thing Ava loves to have on long trips--her comfy car seat!  As long as she has that car seat, she feels safe and secure and will sleep whenever she is tired!

I also was informed that not only is the car seat not allowed, but if I check her car seat, it counts as a piece of baggage!  So now, she can't have her car seat on a 9 hour flight (aka, she won't sleep a wink), and it means we can only check 3 suitcases!  Silly AirFrance.  On my last flight I saw flight attendants cooing and accommodating the 3 infants on the flight.  Do you not like children older than infants?  Do you just like to complicate matters for parents on international flights?  Why not let them be happy in their car seat on the plane?  Well, this just is the beginning of dealing with internationally-related experiences with a 3 year old!  Vive la France!!

Two weeks till Go Time!

Ugh...I just realized I should have started this a week ago...then I could have had my first post say "Three weeks till Go Time!" and carried out the whole "3" theme of the blog. Ah well. C'est la vie.

I have never attempted (or thought) to host a blog. But this thought occurred to me the other day, as I was contemplating the ways I could keep in touch with my family and friends while on our journey. Everyone hates those group emails, and who wants to look at 600 pictures that someone sends out after their long time away? Most of all, I hate to be one of those Facebookers who writes a 3 page synopsis of their day in the "What's on your mind?" section on their page.

So, here is a solution I figured I could try! Who knows how often I might post, and what in the world I will write about. But hey, I like writing, I like taking pictures, I like sharing my life with my family, and I apparently like the thought of doing so with anyone in this vast internet world who would bother reading about our little adventure! Who doesn't like to try something new?  Hmm...I just realized I will need to invest in a new camera if I want to record and share all these adventures, seeing as my recent Kodak Christmas present was caught in a torrential downpour at our most recent trip to the beach house, and someone didn't see my camera outside, though someone was in charge of bringing everything that was outside, inside, and I won't mention that someone's name.  But he knows who he is.  Yes, indeed.

Anyways, I digress.  Ava and I will pack our bags (mainly she will try to play with every toy I am attempting to wrangle) and fly to Florence, Italy.  Two weeks till Go Time, and I will openly admit my suitcases are packed.  Literally.  I just gotta throw in my toothbrush and we're gone!