Independence Day - several parts

We celebrated independence last week!

Ukraine Independence - Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.  The city was alive with blue and yellow flags, parades and fireworks.  It was a national holiday - but importantly restaurants & stores were still open!  We completed our back to school shopping in no time flat.  This international school gets it!  No more 40 item school supply list - 2 things per kid....a backpack & inside shoes.  Done & done with a smile!  Zoe was so excited about school she slept with her backpack on the day before it started

Mom Independence - Thursday was the first day of school!  YIPPEE!  The bus arrived a mere 10 minutes late and whisked the kids away in Secret Service style!  The boys promptly claimed the back set while Zoe was assigned the front row with the 5 point harness seats for the 'little kids'.  Luckily she seemed to enjoy the extra attention vs. resent the label.

After 3 months of a lot of quality time with each other and me, the kids all seemed to enjoy being around people their own age.  Quincy had set a pretty low bar on his expectations - as it turned out he thought the kids would not speak English!  (As a kid that does an awful lot of taking, that was an unpleasant assumption.)  Once he realized he COULD talk to his peers, things looked up & he had a great first day.  Xavier came home crying & insisting he would NOT go back to school.  Turns out the afternoon bus monitor enforced the Kindergartners and below must sit in the 'baby seats' up front.  Xavier had set his sights on the back row again and was TRAUMATIZED.  While I claim I am NOT a 'helicopter parent', I was mighty fast to put in a call to the head bus coordinator to put a stop to that!  I chalk it up as keeping the peace (and honestly, Xavier dwarfs the other Kindergartners.....the late birthday with Logan's genes = a kid that 'looks like a 2nd grader' according to his brother Quincy - who is bracing himself to be lapped in size by Xavier someday.  Not justifying my actions - just laying out the facts here)

Moving to Kiev

No more shopping: In 1994 when I moved to Germany, I think I had 1 suitcase and a carry on....just my most prized possessions - favorite outfits and a German/English dictionary. 

Moving to Kiev the situation looked a little different.  40' container full + ~500 lbs air shipped + ~16 suitcases full.  How can we possibly need all of this?!  

Don't congratulate yourself too soon: The trip over was smooth - too smooth for our own good.  We got cocky.  Thought we had it made.  Then Q barfed.....two days later X did too.  And this time in the back seat of the car service we had rented for the day to go on some adventures.  Needless to say, the driver was not thrilled.  We hadn't even left the driveway - did an about face & spent the day at home.  I learned my lesson.  No more travel success gloating & ALWAYS carry wet wipes.

Beware of Nerf Guns: Despite slight hopes that the ship with our container would sink & we'd be freed from the 'too much stuff-itis', we now anxiously await its delivery (3 months without a soft surface to sit on has gotten old for Logan, I'm looking forward to being able to have 2 meals in a row without washing dishes).  After being selected for random inspection our shipment was further delayed by the 'suspicious toys' found during X-ray.  The boys are convinced the Nerf guns sent aplenty (need at least a dozen shooters for a proper war) were the cause of the customs agent scare.  Hoping the container arrives with at least most of the upholstered furniture intact.  I'm working on taming my inner-planner (It helps that my Russian is incredibly limited - making talking to anyone about the situation futile) and enjoying the scarcity in the house that will soon be a 40' distant memory.