Seasons

One of my favorite things from Montessori is the "Birthday" song.  The child having a birthday holds the earth globe and walks sedately in a circle around the sun (a candle) while singing "the earth goes round the sun" to celebrate.  I've totally corrupted this quiet celebration of another year passing for a lesson on the Seasons with our little group of 2 and 3year olds.  Using a giant yellow bouncy ball (held by one child) and  a smaller earth globe (held by another), I try to teach them a song about the Seasons:

(To the tune of Hi-Ho-Derry-O)

The earth goes round the sun.  The earth goes round the sun.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, the earth goes round the sun.

In Spring the flowers bloom.  In Spring the flowers bloom.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, in Spring the flowers bloom.

(Action: arms go up and out, like growing plants)

In Summer the sun is hot.  In Summer the sun is hot.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, in Summer the sun is hot.

(Action: ASL sign for sun - draw a circle in air with one finger then splash all fingers out)

In Fall the leaves fall down.  In Fall the leaves fall down.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, in Fall the leaves fall down.

(Action: wiggle fingers from high above heads to low)

In Winter it is cold.  In Winter it is cold.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, in Winter it is cold.

(Action:  make two fists near shoulders and shake (like shivering))

The earth goes round the sun.  The earth goes round the sun.  Hi-Ho-the-Derry-O, the earth goes round the sun.

The kids each got a turn to do each part and they never did actually sing the song (it was new to them), but they all liked the actions and got the seed of the idea that the sun changes our seasons on Earth throughout the year.

Our craft project corresponded to the song by showing a deciduous tree at different seasons.

Our activities involved reading different picture books and practicing dressing appropriately for different weather (over their clothes, they tried on snowsuits, swim trunks, umbrellas and jackets depending on what weather I was pretending to see).

There are a million different ways to tweak this to better suit different climates and add to it.  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Life Changers and Blog Alterations

So as we have slowed down our pace of travel and "normal" life...consisting of homework and playdates...has sped up, I've found my blog needs a slight adjustment in that in addition to covering educational and fun travel with kids, I will start discussing kids' educational ideas and strategies.  After all, my goal is to make my kids' world A Brilliant Place, regardless of where we are!  Hope this may be helpful to all you hard-working moms/dads/role models working towards that same goal with those bright shining little lights in your life.

Good Books and Small Efforts

I recently read a couple of books for Middle Graders (meaning pre-Young Adult, maybe 5-8th graders) that were really touching. It's rare for a book to make me cry and love it but two did:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
and
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate.

These are two completely different books (Wonder is about a "normal" boy with a facial deformity and Ivan is about a Gorilla), yet both books share the same sense of isolation and loneliness caused by something outside the protagonist's control. Yet the strength of their character and the goodness of other people result in beautiful triumph.

My younger kids didn't catch the humor that pervades both these stories, so I would recommend them to strong readers with high level interest. They both (I felt) tackle sensitive issues that not all of my kids are ready for. My oldest (age 10) did great with them and really enjoyed them, although I think Wonder was her favorite. Wonder especially is very insightful to the feelings of all involved. Kids can be so mean; naturally they seem to know everyone's insecurities and weaknesses and often point out physical differences in very loud voices, even if they aren't trying to be mean. I remember a time my daughter turned to a woman at a hotel and asked her why she had such huge nipples. Major embarrassing for everyone (except the perpetrator). She was curious and wanted to understand why she was different in that way. She also asked a woman with facial hair if she was a man...as the parent try to apologize your way out of that one. I think I made it worse. Anyway, until kids learn that we all have something that sets us apart and makes us each different and wonderful in our own ways these awkward moments and occasional meanness happen. These books impressed me in how the feelings of others are effected by our ignorance or questions and how it takes so little to make someone feel good about themselves....and what a precious gift that small effort can be.

I loved these, and unlike most books that get read and passed on (or returned to the library), these have found a permanent place on my bookshelf.

The UnFun Family Vacation

Have you ever imagined a great family trip, full of educational world wonders and fulfilling relationship building?  Now insert your actual family...not quite the reality?  That's where we are right now.

Last year was definitely NOT a good travel with kids year.  Not that we didn't travel, but I didn't have the energy or focus to write about the several sleepless camping trips, a sleepless visit to family via air, or a sleepless "vacation" at the beach.  Did I mention my two-year-old is making our family trips sleep-deprived endurance-tests of family torture?

In fact the highlight of my 2012 traveling-with-kids adventures was, in fact, our first adults-only anniversary trip to Cancun since baby#1.  I love traveling with my kids (well, most of them), but I have to admit alone-time was so peaceful and relaxing...it's my new mental escape from all things stressful now.

Anyway, as eye-opening as our Cancun trip was to what vacations must be like for the rest of the no-kid-vacation world, I refuse to give up on relaxing family vacations.  I know they are possible and rewarding...I just don't know how long it's going to take for it to be possible or rewarding for US.  I imagine I can't be the only one with this problem! 

We have done so many much more difficult trips with kids the same age (driving Europe with a 6, 4 and not-quite-two-year-old for example...see Travel with Kids: Estonia), but clearly we have a different personality here.  A personality that doesn't go to sleep until 11pm and gets up around 4am and announces it by repeating everyone's names LOUDLY and without end:  Ella, ella, ella, ella, mommy, mommy, mommy, DA-ddy, daddy, daddy, and on and on and on.  You get the idea.  Which ends up with either daddy or I getting her up and taking her somewhere to get her quiet.  This results in our trips getting drastically shortened because we as parents are so exhausted and grumpy that no one is having fun.

 Maybe I have finally met that time in my life (or kid in my life) when I really do just want to chill at home...or in Cancun maybe, but I hope not!

Moving to Austin with Kids

Moving is hard.  Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.

Austin, Texas has an allure for many people these days.  With our nation's economy on the rocks and families struggling to make ends meet, many people are on the move in search of greater opportunities and more affordable circumstances.  Since 1990, Austin has nearly doubled in size and is growing each year.  For more on Austin, visit Wikipedia's Austin, Texas. 


For us the decision was fairly easy.  Although we love California, the economy is bad and shows signs of getting increasingly worse...spurred on by the state governments efforts to "help".   Small business owners have little reward for increasingly high-levels of risk and responsibility in California, and so the time comes to search for greener pastures in those states that still believe in Capitalism.  (I'll save the rest of my take on interfering government strategies for political and economic blogs.)  The search for better opportunities led us to say, "okay, not here...then where?"  There are several states that met our personal requirements, but certainly taxes, climate, job opportunities, housing costs and quality education were major factors for us.  Other factors, like proximity to family and finding a familiar culture should be considered as well.  One person's take on the advantages of living in Texas.

Once the decision is made, then comes the hard part:  The Move.

Moving with Kids is a special time for the whole family, but I don't mean that in a good way.  It's stressful and intensely disruptive.  

Make it a great move in three less than simple steps:  1) Say it..."I am responsible.  I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves.

My kids are a great help, but its still amazing how often I would pack a box, only to turn my back momentarily and return to find in unpacked.  This is especially true with toys, books and writing utensils!  We found that plastic drawers worked best for those items that tended to get used.  We packed them up, but having it in the drawers allowed the kids to still get in and out and yet repack the things away again themselves.  We also packed their clothes this way, except for those that we would actually keep on the trip out with us.  To minimize the amount of luggage we have from clothes, I packed the kids double or triple the underwear, and only one extra set each of daytime and nighttime clothes for the number of days we expected the trip to take.  This is especially helpful when things don't go quite as planned.  But with kids, when does that ever happen?  If you're coming to Austin, Texas in the summer, don't bother with sweaters, long sleeved shirts or heavy clothes of any kind...it's BLISTERING during the day and HOT at night. 

Another thing to mention is that IMO the kitchen is the toughest room in the house.  It takes forever to pack and its one of those rooms that has to wait til the last minute.  Instead of waiting this time around, I started packing the kitchen right away, but packed a small plastic drawer with kitchen tools I use daily:  a can opener, a knife, scissors, a pen, one set of utensils, a measuring cup and spoons, hot pads and a tupperware container.  This way, I could start packing up my dishes and use paper and plastic, yet still function at a basic level in my kitchen.

I also always pack one special stuffed animal/toy with our luggage, because anything irreplaceable must stay with us rather than going with the moving truck.  This is also true of any documentation you can't easily look up or replace (ID, immunization records, passports, important account information, school records and birth/marriage certificates.)

Kids are reactive creatures and often reflect our adult stress back to us in the form of tantrums, melt downs and out-of-character behaviors.  For me the hardest part of moving is being patient and understanding of my kids.  I am responsible for the decision, execution and results of this move.  It's a heavy burden, but I can't take it out on my kids.  We found it helpful to reward ourselves by getting out of the house for a fun activity or reward after accomplishing one or two goals.  Of course, when Moving-Day gets close, that's not really as possible, but even a short outing worked wonders for all of us.

I like to be organized and even downloaded an App for my phone called Moving Van.  It allowed me to make virtual boxes by listing items, taking pictures and making notes.  This app wasn't entirely successful, as it didn't do everything it promised, but it was still worth using.  Having pictures of the packed boxes with a general listing of what was in it was very helpful on the unpacking side of our move.  The only improvement I would make would be to be even more detailed on exactly what items are in the box.  There is nothing so frustrating as being unable to find that necessary kitchen utensil or phone or the tools when you need them.  It's amazing how much stuff gets lost during a move...some of it never to be found!

Most people decide to spend the money and hire a full-service moving company.  This is very expensive.  Some people don't want the hassle of a DIY move, especially with the added struggle of moving with kids, and some don't know that there is any other choice.  This is especially true when moving out-of-state. 

After talking to a nation-wide, full-service mover, the expense for us was prohibitive.  We then turned to a you-pack-it-type of company.  This is a moving company who offers a truck and driver at nearly half the cost of a full-service company, but still offers the full-range of services at additional cost.  This is a good option if you need to save money, yet want to choose additional full-service options to make it easier on yourself. 

Even this wasn't quite what we were looking for.  Luckily, a friend put us in touch with a former truck-driver who gave us the insider tips we needed to save the most money on our out-of-state move.  Most national moving companies have their own trucks, but lately, states like California have had so many people leaving and so few relocations coming in, that the moving companies must get their trucks from other trucking companies. 

One of these trucking companies that the national moving companies use is called Broadway Express (see link http://www.broadwayexpress.net/ ).  For a fraction of the cost, you can hire your own truck and driver.  Broadway, and other trucking companies have their own rules about things, so be sure to ask for details.  If you choose this option you will need to make the other arrangements for moving as well. 

You can save by packing, loading and wrapping your things yourself.  These are all things that full-service movers can do for you, but no one cares about your things the way you do.  By packing things yourself, you know your move better.  By wrapping your furniture, you protect it better.  Wrapping furniture sounds like a great and difficult task, but it is very simple.  To do it yourself, rent furniture blankets for a one-way move from a company like U-Haul or Penske (call around because some locations offer this and some don't...), buy furniture stretch wrap and handles (for an example on what I mean by this try this link ) , and wrap it yourself (a stretch wrapped furniture example).  All your wooden, textile and glass furniture should be wrapped.  Even your washer and dryer can be protected this way.   Other packing tips. 

And last, after packing, everything will have to be loaded onto the truck.  You can do this yourself with the help of a few friends, or you can hire a professional to pack it for you, or pack it yourself and hire some lifting help.  Either way, the savings in comparison to a full-service move is astounding.  Anyway you do it, you should seriously consider buying insurance to cover the cost of replacing your damaged items.  Many movers carry basic insurance that pays cents per pound on damaged items.  This means that if your very expensive flat-screen TV breaks, they will weigh it and pay you far less than it would ever cost you to re-purchase it.  Wheather you hire movers or DIY, additional insurance is necessary if you want to be able to replace damaged items.

Finally, once it is all finally on the truck and the truck pulls away you can relax...or in our case start the long drive.  But even this provides opportunities for fun.  Take the time to enjoy the journey, go for a swim, see a great sight, play a game or sing a song together.  Learn about the destination and get excited about this new chapter!  Plan fun activities that you'll do together at your new location and then do them as you accomplish your moving in goals.  Moving can be a bonding family experience that brings your relationships closer, or a divisive time of stress and agony.  Make it great in three less than simple steps:  1) Say it..."I am responsible.  I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves. Moving is hard.  Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.

Feeding Swedish Ducks

Hey!  Their ducks are just like our ducks Mom!

Carpenteria State Beach

Camping is a little like having kids. You don't do it because it's easier. It's not. Camping is an experience in building relationships, working together, being patient when you're frustrated, and actually spending time looking at each other and nature instead of the tvs, computers, phones or laundry.

Camping is also a real-time lesson in cultural diversity. Go to any American campground and you will see a variety of plants, animals, natural scenery and people. Camping grounds, especially in California, collect a variety of people of all types, styles and attitudes - with one thing (and sometimes only one thing) in common - sleeping in the great outdoors. They all do it in different ways and for different reasons. You may find the couple from LA just up for a romantic weekend in their pop-up tent trailer, or the family who bring all their friends and relatives together for a big RV party, or the elderly couple who stay for a couple of weeks before moving on to another long-term RV spot, or the many others who take their dogs or bikes or surfboards and a tent to live at the beach for a long weekend . . . sans the highprice beachside hotel.

Carpenteria State Beach is no exception, and over the long weekend people took to their campers and tents in droves. We took the kids for our first campout in about two years. My sad, but valiant attempts at camping organization have earned me a reputation . . . mostly for forgetting to pack those little annoying extras, like FOOD. I was determined to not only have a good attitude, but to not forget anything. So I made my lists, and then more lists from those lists and then went back and checked my lists. In the end the worst thing I forgot was the ketchup. Camping is all about roughin' it, right? So the naturalist becomes sudden neighbors with the beach party rock n' rollers, the romancers next to the family with their kids and dogs. We had a lot of family lessons on courtesy (we tend to use our "loud voices" at early dawn) and proper campground ettiquette (don't stare into people's windows as we pass by and don't just walk into someone's camp and eat their food).

I had no idea where Carpenteria State Beach was when we booked it online at the last minute (see the Reserve America site at http://www.reserveamerica.com/ and fill in what you're looking for on the left. This site reserves campsites across the U.S., not just California). We had to piece together the camping sites for our trip, since most people book the good spots more than six months in advance. We had to move our spot twice over the weekend, but it was certainly good practice at put up and take down as we were more than a little rusty. By the last time we moved, we'd worked out almost all of those kinks that usually end up in marital disagreements (like giving and recieving directions on backing the trailer into a tight spot).

Carpenteria is north of Los Angeles, southwest of Santa Barbara on the 101 highway. It's a beautiful spot, nestled near the now-green mountains along the coast and against the ocean's relentless waves. The beach changes from sandy on the north end of the grounds to rocky with cliffs to the south. A seal nursery lies along the coast to the south during these winter months, where you can go and observe seal mothers and babies sunning themselves (remember not to disturb them in any way though). The high tide brings crashing waves followed by the applauding sound of rounded ocean rocks being slowly rolled back out to sea. Surfers get an early morning start in the cold waters. Low tide leaves plenty of room for tide pooling, sunning and swimming (if you dare). There are no real kid bike paths here, but everyone just uses the roads since traffic is sparce and slow. Pitted dirt paths lead to more beautiful views of the ocean, interesting local wildlife (like the seals and earthier ones like gophers), and a variety of plants. The State Beach is within an adult walk, or a short ride to the area around the Casitas Plaza where you can find restaurants, banks, laundromats and grocery stores. A Community Pool on the corner of Palm Ave (State Route 224) and Casitas Pass Rd would be a great place to safely swim with the kids if you'd like a more mellow, less salty swim. And across Palm/SR 224 is a small, but fabulous toy store (think Melissa and Doug gone wild) in a house-turned-shop. We loved the eeBoo Animal Bingo Game, everyone (ages 3-30+) was able to play this together over and over and over again.

There are three loops in Carpenteria. All have bathrooms and showers at both ends of each loop. The showers always work, but the hot water is optional . . . which means you pay 25 cents for a minute or two of hot water. We found we could get the kids by on 50 cents by getting them wet in warm water, getting out to soap up when the time ran out and then pay another quarter to have a nice warm rinse. Big community sinks with both consistent hot and cold water (located outside the bathrooms) were also good for a quick rinse, or washing dishes. The beachside spots are far preferrable to the other spots, due not only to the lovely views but also to having more space for the kids to run around off the parking lot. On one interior spot we couldn't even have a fire because our trailer would only fit directly over the camp's firepit. Every spot comes with its own table and firepit. Some have a lot more privacy, some have electric and water hook-ups and some are "dry" spots. Just be sure to know what you need and if you're not sure don't be afraid to try a couple on for size. We were pretty recognizable by the end of our last move because we'd seen and been seen by pretty much everyone. Like: oh, there those crazy people with the cute kids go again.

The next time, I'd probably shoot for booking the first loop, the Miguel, six months in advance since those ocean-side spots have access to the sandy part of the beach from their campsites (better for explorers under 6 years old). The other loops aren't bad, but the rocky break turns into a cliff the further from the entrance you get (much better for older explorers 7+). This was my idea of winter camping as the temperatures were really pretty comfortable, and it was not too crowded. Just don't make the mistake my hubbie made and come dressed only for summer . . . the nights still get really cold and it's only comfortable if you gear up like it was the dead of winter. It's so much easier to strip clothes off than to try to sleep shivering with cold. So must haves: a temperature-rated sleeping bag, extra blankets, warm hat, gloves (not ski gloves, but insulated soft gloves), warm coat, sweaters, long underwear, extra socks, firewood/kindling/lighter (I remembered ours this time) and don't forget the all-American camping classic: S'Mores.

How to Make S'Mores

Although this is classic American fare, there are as many ways to make them as there are people who camp. This is our family "recipe".

Ingredients - large marshmellows (white taste best - as good as marshmellows can taste anyway), toasting forks (bent wire clothes hangers work too but you can also buy these long-handled metal two-pronged utensils in sets for cheap), chocolate-chip cookies (often bars of chocolate and graham crackers are used, but we've found the chocolate is often too hard and graham crackers are too crumbly) and a dying fire with hot coals.

Directions - first place a marshmellow onto the toasting fork (I like to do one marshmellow at a time to get a nice even toast), place it near the bed of hot coals turning it slowly from side-to-side. Do not light it on fire because it will burn. Watch for the slight browning that will give it a slightly crunchy outside and warm gushy (is that a word?) inside. Remove the marshmellow from the fire and sandwich it between two cookies, pulling it off of the toasting fork. Eat. Repeat.

Okay, so it's not gourmet . . . but it's one of those things that you should try once in your life if only so the kids can get all sticky and gooey and talk about it until the next camping trip.

Summer Sand, Sea, Sun in Albufeira Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful country. Coming as it did at the very end of our trip we opted for serious downtime. So we didn't really "see" Portugal as this meant alternating beach days with pool days. Not hard to do in Albufeira in the south of Portugal , where you will find dozens of similar seaside towns with perfect summer weather: warm and dry. Getting around was quite easy. Everyone we met spoke some level of English and we found many things catered to the UK tourism industry, including the escalators down to the beach (enter on the left, exit on the right). Fish 'n chip shops abound, and books, even kids books, are readily available in certain bookstores. A mini train is a fun, but more expensive way to get to and from the beach, and buses run very regularly. Bull fighting is one entertainment option and local shopping is another. There are beautiful handmade linens and expensive (10 euro per) but well made beach towels for sale near the beach. Local events, summer concerts or sporting events are frequently there as well. We basically lived in our swimsuits for a week before starting the long journey home. The entire southern county of Portugal, the Algarve, is a well known "family friendly" destination. The weather is warm and dry and the sand is soft with generally gentle waters. The sun is very hot and strong but the water is very cold. The downside to this lovely place is that some parents brought their kids here to get a vacation FROM rather than WITH their kids and inconsiderate and childish, obnoxious behavior often went unchecked by tuned out adults. As an added FYI, you can't go to a pool or beach here without seeing topless women. All throughout Europe, men, boys and kids wear the speedo bottoms and babies go naked. Directly opposite the American cultural norm, we saw girls up to the age of twelve wearing only bottoms. And when they do graduate to wearing tops, it's bikini style. I just convinced all the men where to go! We didn't find this offensive as it's really normal here, but it required a little explanation to our girls. This coincides with the European mentality generally. In Croatia we learned that any beautiful beach can easily become a nudist beach, but here in Albufeira the usual thing is to lay down to take off your top, but this not a hard and fast rule by any means.

Overall, we found southern Portugal to be the perfect temperature with plenty to do and see and we'll probably be back for more.

Neuschwanstein- Land of Dreams and Fairytales

Last summer, in June, we traveled to Bavaria, the southern region of Germany. After having been to Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, we were very excited to finally see what my kids call "Cinderella's Castle" and drive some of the famous Romantic Road that runs from Wurzburg to Fussen. Although Walt Disney's animators did use Neuschwanstein Castle as the pattern for the castle located in the center of Disney's theme parks, it doesn't resemble Neuschwanstein very closely. While Disney's Cinderella is magical, it can't touch the magic of the real thing.

The village of Schwangau (Swan Land) is actually home to not one, but two beautiful castles almost directly across from each other. Schloss Newschwanstein (meaning the New Swan Stone Castle, named after a Wagner opera) is the more elaborately built and famous castle. It is the creation of bachelor King Ludwig II, and is only one of several (see the Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee Castles as well). Hohenschwangau (High Swan Land or Country) is the yellow-colored castle that was Ludwig's childhood home.

Although we went in June, we ended up freezing cold and soaking wet. This area borders on the Alps, so it tends to be wetter and cooler than the other parts of Germany. As a result, it is also very lush, green and beautiful.

You must book your tickets to see one or both castles in advance, and arrive early in order to make your scheduled tour time. If you drive, park in one of the pay lots and follow the signs to find the main Ticket Center (you can also just head towards the yellow castle, as the ticket center lies near its feet). It's less than a ten minute walk with kids to the ticket office and then less than ten minutes up the hill to Hohenschwangau where our tour started. Tours can start at either castle however. All the walkways are paved, but it is very hilly and can be steep and inside the castles there are a lot of stairs up and down. I would not recommend strollers inside either of these castles.

You will wait outside the castle doors for your tour (luckily for us an awning provided some cover from the steady drizzle while we waited) until the electronic board shows your tour number. Everyone in that group number shows tickets to the agent, pass through a turnstile and go up some stairs to begin your tour in a display room. The tours can be arranged for different languages, and tour guides seem very knowledgeable and able to answer questions. There is NO picture-taking allowed inside either of the castles. Very unfortunate. I would have loved some pictures. . .

Hohenschwangau was just the right size for our enjoyment, but we had no time to eat lunch before having to hurry to make our next tour at Neuschwanstein. If I had this to do over again with kids (ages 3-6) I would have done separate tickets so we could have later tour times, or done them on different days. Neuschwanstein is one mile up a very steep paved road from Hohenschwangau. It was not to be attempted with three small kids in the pouring rain. We paid our money for a round trip ride and waited for the bus. There are also horse-drawn carriage rides available for an extra fee, but on a day with rain like that, even I considered PETA might actually have a point on that topic.

The bus drops passengers off near a small wooden shelter with several paths leading in different directions. It is still a bit of a walk to get to the castle, but it is level or slightly downhill while going this direction, and wide enough for strollers. When you reach the castle, you queue up and wait for your number to appear on the board. You can get some interesting pictures of the outside of the castle from under this archway.

Neuschwanstein is bigger and more "modern" than Hohenschwangau, which was Ludwig's childhood home. I was impressed by the ingenuity he (or his engineers) used to solve such everyday problems as heating and water. Many romantically-styled murals cover the walls, depicting either historical events or ancient tales of ladies in distress, rescuing knights and battles of great heroics. The luxurious rooms at Versailles in France were impressive, but these rooms were even more extraordinary.

The vast and gorgeous views from the windows of peaceful mountains, green meadows and clear lakes just reinforced its magic. The other tour members and the guides were all cheerful and kind to the kids, who had been warned by us beforehand not to go jumping on the beds or climbing on the chairs. We had learned this from our experience at Jane Austen's house, which is a tale about a child, a pen and a chair . . . but we'll save that for another day.

Even the kids were impressed with some of the stunning objects Ludwig had received for his birthdays growing up. I'm sure they were mainly trying to figure out ways to make their birthdays resemble something more like his. They loved the floors, wall pictures and amazing luxury of these rooms, paired with the very tragic story of Ludwig himself. Even the tour guides couldn't quite agree on how to understand this complicated and quirky man, but the architectural magnificence of this legacy guarantees his place in history.

Well, we loved it! It was everything I'd hoped, but we were sore-footed and exhausted by the end of this tour. The tour itself ends at a well-stocked tourist shop, and there is a small cafe across from it where you can grab a small bite to eat. After a food, potty, trinket break, we posed for a picture by the glass wall with the beautiful pillars and arches trellises and lush landscape behind us. I just wished they would let us out on the balconies, but no. We tried to finish off with a movie about Ludwig's life, but after five minutes we left. I wouldn't bother with it as it was very strange and failed to capture anyone's interest.

So we headed off. This time we had to choose whether to just walk down the hill all the way back to our car (STILL pouring rain) or walk up the hill back to the bus stop. As tired as we were, we opted for the closer bus stop. BIG MISTAKE. There is no ticket taker up here; the bus driver is supposed to ensure you have a ticket, but doesn't enforce a line of any kind. This created the perfect storm of human nature, cultural differences and terrible weather.

When we arrived at the bus stop, we got behind the group that had arrived just before us and waited under the slight protection of the wooden shelter. When the bus came, it quickly became apparent that not everyone felt it necessary to wait their turn. We missed the bus. Deciding that if we were ever going to make it on, than we'd have to stand right out front in the rain. This time, we realized that only one bus was running. It took about 10 or 15 minutes for the bus to go one direction. After almost 30 minutes of standing with three very muddy children in the pouring rain, we were very glad to see the bus again. But we were not the only ones. No one wanted to stand in the rain, and there were many vacationing adults who didn't hesitate to throw elbows and trample small children to make sure they got on. Our general misery was acute: wet, freezing and with feet so sore it has reached levels of agony we hadn't felt since we'd hiked London on foot. I don't know if you've ever tried to maneuver three small and sometimes timid kids through a pressing crowd. For us, this meant moving at a literal snail's pace as the scared kids latched onto our legs and doing a hurried minced-step while still trying to aim for the open bus door. The surging crowd pressed forward, nearly pushing us under the bus. Luckily for us, several men joined my husband in leveraging an umbrella in the door's hinge to keep me and the three kids from getting trampled right at the steps of the bus.

I certainly don't give you that account to discourage you from visiting, but I do hope to prevent anyone from getting hurt. So, if you happen to find yourself in a similarly rainy and crowded situation, just know to AVOID THE BUS! It would have saved us a lot of time and misery to have just sucked it up and walked down.

Driving out of town, I was once again struck by the beauty of it all. The bright green fields spotted with blue lakes and dark green forests, set next to majestic mountains rising up out of floating mists - and a beautiful castle, perched, overseeing it all. I had high hopes for this place, and usually that means I'll be disappointed. I wasn't. The landscape and castles really are magical in their beauty and magnificence. Even in the pouring, freezing rain this place is totally worth it.

TIPS: for vacation rentals in Germany, try: http://www.live-like-a-german.com/ ,

for info on the Romantic Road, go to: http://gogermany.about.com/od/sightsandattractions/a/romanticroad.htm ,

and information on hotels, castle tour tickets, the history of Ludwig and other helpful bits can be found at: http://www.hohenschwangau.de .

On My Knees Cleaning Sick Off the Floor

There's nothing like having sick kids to really make a mom tired. I consciously remind myself that I did indeed sign up for this. But as I'm kneeling on the floor, scrubbing the carpet for the umpteenth time, while making yet another dirty laundry pile and trying to sooth the poor, suffering child I remember back in the day (BK) . . . and I remember someone telling me being a mom could be really hard. Insightful.

But that just shows the limitation of the English language. The word "hard" doesn't really accurately describe the consistent sleepless nights of being a new mom or the accompanying depth of exhaustion, the wearying work of potty training and never ending laundry duty, that stressful start of school and the worry about your child making friends and learning good things. Or even just that constant nagging thought of what are we going to eat tonight? And that's if everyone is healthy and happy.

Really, my understanding of "hard" has grown as I've faced serious challenges. Being a mom is one challenge I got to choose, although I certainly didn't have vomiting in mind when I did, but it's all part of the package and I have to say there is nothing better than making my baby (no matter how old) feel better just by giving them love and comfort.

Now . . . back to the floor.

Traveling with Kids

I don't consider myself a blogger. It feels a bit like leaving a voicemail on a wrong number, but here I go. Out of my comfort zone . . . again.

I've been out of my comfort zone a lot in the past year. When my husband first suggested moving to Europe for six months, I thought it was a crazy and funny idea, but especially crazy. In usual life we live in Southern California. My oldest goes to school, we attend church and playgroups and sports events. We go to the fair and the beach in the summer, see family at holidays and visit the local attractions during the school year. But what if we did leave it all behind to try something extraordinary? The thought took hold. We'd traveled extensively in North America and Australia B.K. (before kids), and I love travel. But to travel Europe with three kids, ages five (almost six) and under? Could I keep it together? Would I lose my temper and my mind? I've never been one to allow fear to make my decisions, so setting all self-doubts aside, I set to researching.

I already knew that a vacation with kids is not a vacation in the adult sense of the word. Someone says 'vacation' and I conjure up the vision of lying in the shade on the beach, reading the latest Sophie Kinsella or Shannon Hale from start to finish, and only moving to take a cooling dip and grab some melon. To date this has only happened once since I entered the foray of motherhood six years ago. This would not be a 'vacation'. It would be better described as an adventure.

As long as I remembered to look at it like that, I was never disapointed.

So, in the end, although I didn't find nearly enough information to adequately plan our trip, I did find enough to know it could be done. So we did it.

To give a sense of the breadth and scope of the thing we did, below is a list of the cities where we stayed or did noteworthy things:

Dublin Ireland
London England
Dover England
Calais France
Paris France (and Versailles )
Brussels Belgium
Amsterdam The Netherlands
Hamburg Germany
Copenhagen Denmark
Stockholm Sweden
Tallinn Estonia
Tartu Estonia
Parnu Estonia
Helsinki Finland
Rostock Germany
Berlin Germany
Prague Czech Republic
Munich Germany (and Bavaria Neuschwanstein )
Bled Slovenia
Ljubljana Slovenia
Plitvice Lakes Croatia (a national park)
Mjlet Island Croatia (a national park)
Dubrovnik Croatia
Split Croatia
Rome Italy
Madrid Spain
Lisbon Portugal
Albufeira Portugal

This trip took us nearly a year, and it wasn't all free time as my husband did actually have to work and I was homeschooling. But to live in a place with children, and yet to live as a tourist is a very special and unique opportunity to really see a place and get to know something about the people who live there.

My goal in sharing these stories and insights is to help others who are ready to venture into the brave new world of traveling with kids, to be able to do it with accurate information and a support system.

That said, I won't be able to help anyone find the best wine in town, the best babysitting services or nightlife of any kind. This wasn't that kind of trip. What I can tell you about are some of the best kid-friendly activities, cities and highlights of our trip. I can give tips, advice and insights into traveling Europe with kids.