Xavier's Birthday & the continuing pizza saga

Where does the time go?  Our sweet, hilarious, full of zest boy is 6 today!!!  Crazy....

Parties gone Ukrainian: Same as at home, we had several celebrations - party with friends, family party & in-class celebration.  Key difference was with the party with friends.  While the Western kids generally showed up with their parents, the local kids were a different story.  Most were dropped off by the family's driver....came bearing HUGE gifts (seriously - Santa Claus level).   A set of triplet girls came bearing their own nanny.  I'll take 3 more girls over here with a nanny any day!  


The kids had a great time swimming - but I overestimated the amount of their attention it would hold.  Once the kids got bored things eventually deteriorated into WWF like.  Can you spot the Marine dad below?  He became the bottom of a serious dog pile.....

Lego Love: Xavier was in heaven with the plethora of gifts - especially anything Lego.  Quincy was pretty happy too as anything Xavier got he negotiated the chance to 'help' build parts of it.

For our family dinner, Xavier selected noodles.......

Who screws up pizza?!:  For his actual birthday meal, he selected pepperoni pizza.  Given my challenges with delivery pizza to date, I decided to put matters into more reliable hands.  Asked the guy we hired to help pay bills (highly complicated around here) and do errands to order my pizza for me.  As a native speaker, I thought this was my 'shoe in' way to get a pepperoni pizza without any other random ingredients Eastern Europeans deem acceptable, but Western kids clearly do NOT (corn, peppers, stinky cheese).  


...BUT, just to make sure there was no miscommunication, I printed the menu, circled the items I wanted and gave it to him.  Phew!  Proud of my ingenuity, I kicked back, enjoyed my glass of wine while the kids played with the new Lego's and we all anticipated our pizza...


90 minutes later, errand guy returns...with aforementioned delivery pizza.....????

......oh no, with a bag of random groceries - including frozen pizza (yes - corn & peppers and all!)


Given it was already 6:20, we went with reheated leftover pizza and then I attempted to overcompensate for the lame birthday dinner with a 'dessert trifecta'....

.....hot fudge sundaes, chocolate chip cookies (consumed, not pictured) & cupcakes... this one decorated by Quincy for his brother....

The kids seemed totally happy - making me believe that sugar really can solve most all problems.

I plan to dedicate my entire next Russian lesson to ordering delivery.

Here's to Xavier & sweetness!

Quincy's Take

The kids and I have been talking a lot about what they like about Kiev, how it compares to Chicago etc.  Quincy provided observations from an 8 year old's point of view....


Location, location, location: "If our house here were in Chicago, it would be perfect..."  


While Logan and I LOVE our Chicago house, we knew this one had some kid-appeal features that would help sell this whole move thing to the kids........  Quincy has reported on why our house in Kiev is superior in his view:


A yard (albeit not that big) WITH GRASS!!!

A swing (on our patio).....

...AND one in the basement 

(leave it to the American family to turn their gym room into a family room :)  not pictured is the giant TV and couch we moved into this space)


A pool 

(we figured the pool would buy their affection for at least a little while.  It has been ~6 weeks and we just now are hearing that the location needs to move.....so, I estimate a pool buys you about a month with an 8 year old)


The play room

(This picture doesn't show the whole story....it's a lofted area above the main kitchen / living room area full of toys.  Currently looks like it threw up Lego's all over itself.  But the beauty of it being a loft is you can't see a thing from the main floor, so....Presto!  Instant clean house!  Just don't go up the stairs!)




....BUT....




With all that going for it, I had to probe more to understand what about Kiev was not up to Chicago standards......


"It's just not as fancy": Quincy observed (not flatteringly) "They still have a lot of work to do"
When pushed for specifics (OK, I admit I was playing dumb...), he identified


'The buildings just don't look as nice'.  He selected this one as a good example..

The streets 'need some work'...(self portrait on a stairway that illustrates the point)

And we agreed that people just don't seem as worried about picking up litter...

(Quincy with an intentionally disapproving face - for the story and all.  Couldn't convince Zoe not to smile!) 




"There isn't as much American food as I expected": While I prepared for any and all physical ailments (shipped enough OTG drugs & toiletries to open my own Walgreens), I underestimated the need to prepare for emotional ailments (homesickness & food cravings).  


Quincy, being fairly picky in the US, has been the most affected by the food.  Without Trader Joe chicken nuggets, Costco pizza, Kraft Mac n Cheese and Chipotle he is a lost soul.  In attempt to combat this, we've eaten at McDonald's and TGIF more than should be allowed, tried a new pizza place a week and secured as many imported foods as possible (the hot fudge ingredients sent from Chicago should buy me at least another week of happiness!  Thanks Mom!)




"I miss my friends": This one is tough.....it's easy to brush off the 'dire need' for a specific kind of cheddar cheese, but missing people is tough.  (If you are reading this, WE MISS YOU!  Come visit!!  How many times in your life will you get invited to Kiev?!?!)   


The good news is that Quincy has made several good friends already.  The other day when I brought him to school 2-3 boys swarmed him shouting "Quincy!" ala "Norm!" from Cheers.  When I mentioned it to him, he reported "Yeah, I am kind of popular".  :)




Here's to considering a trip to Eastern Europe and feeling 'kind of popular' today!  

Hair & getting rid of it

Long Locks, short skirts: Seems to be an inverse relationship between hem lengths (short) and hair length (long).  I would guesstimate that on average women's hair here is a good 8 inches longer than the average back home.... 

(yes, I was a creepy person who sneaks photos in the gym locker room - had phone on silent - but avoided capturing nudity - mostly)

Even the priest who lives around the corner from us believe in the powers of long locks......(but I guess he did not get the memo about the hem length thing)

(..looks kind of like someone from the Harry Potter book Xavier and I are reading)


Serious commitment to beauty: In the presence of all these long manes, I was increasingly aware of how out of control mine had become.  I'll blame all the chlorine...it was time for a service:

....a mere FOUR HOURS later, I emerge with a cut, new straightening treatment....

OK so there was a manicure and some waxing involved too.  The manicure was fine, but not quick.  The waxing was almost too X rated to mention (let's just leave it at they don't believe in any pesky underwear getting in the way for a bikini wax)


As someone who selects hair salons based on speed and efficiency, I'll have to get used to this investment in beauty!


Have a beautiful day!

Ich Liebe Munchen

Part of the appeal of living in Kiev for us, was the appeal of the relatively easy travel.  Our first stop - Munchen for Oktoberfest!  While I could sing Oktoberfest's praise for days, the broader truth is I LOVE MUNCHEN!  What's not to love?!?

Insanely bike friendly: The bike lanes are everywhere - and basically are their own, smoothly paved, part of the sidewalk - separated from the cars and avoided by the pedestrians.  I held back from laying down on the ground to give the bike lanes a big hug - but I wanted to.

Contagious Festivity: Before experiencing Oktoberfest, I had assumed only the 'die hards' or 'old people' got dressed up in traditional Bavarian costume....but was pleasantly surprised to find festivity everywhere. 

Now I know it doesn't take much to convince us to dress up, (and you probably could make a reasonable case for us being both old and die hard) but honestly, we did NOT stand out.  The festivity of the place is totally contagious!

Multi-generational fun: One of the things that struck me the first time I visited Germany (while in college - OMG ~20 years ago), was how there were commonly 3+ generations hanging out at the same events / parties - all having fun together.  I still saw that this weekend.  Groups of people that look like a family reunion meets crazy fun party.....I don't have the best pictures - was too distracted trying to teach the kids how to flip a coaster and catch it with one hand.... 

Our all time favorite place in Munich - Augustiner Keller (a beer garden).  Their stock went up even higher when we discovered the beautiful, sprawling beer garden right in the heart of the city also has a good sized play area for the kids.  Why don't we have places like this in Chicago?!

Note: Zoe is pictured wearing the Durndle my mom made for me in the 70s.  I think I was about 2 when I wore it!  Zoe, being a good, solid size 4, had no idea it was a bit small (note the comparative hem length of the other girl pictured) and said it was her 'Durndle shirt'!  

Delicious (but not diet friendly) fare: while I rarely eat sausage, and try to eat more vegetables than carbs, put me in Munich and Weight Watchers points be damned!

Respect Basic Culinary Rights: Things I once took for granted as 'staples' have now become coveted / on my long list of things to bring back with me next time I go to the States.....Little, but important, things like Baking Soda (HOW can one make a decent chocolate chip cookie?!), canned frosting (I consider the boxed cake the homemade part), cinnamon and mac 'n cheese.  Take these items out of my pantry and you've cut my menu in half!  Germany on the other hand, understands that these items are not whimsical nice-to-haves.

I think I made a friend for life by bringing a fellow American her own box of Arm & Hammer.  And at the rate my mom has been sending me care packages of such staples (thanks Mom!), I'll have to take her to Germany next time!  

So go hug a German, kiss your grandmother, indulge in something delicious and nutritiously dubious, fondle a pantry staple and let me know if you ever want to meet in Munich.  Prost!  

Finding our Happy Places

We are celebrating our first month in Kiev....it has been up and downs so far.  Trying to focus our attention on the ups to help everyone's transition.  Some of our faves so far.......


Outdoor dining: They really seem to get the joy of outdoor dining.  The sidewalks are full of tent like structures with tables or couches to dine on.  Many have space heaters and bring blankets if it's chilly. 

Retail & wine: After suffering through 3 1/2 weeks of sub-mediocre Maldovian wine taste offs, we wandered into a place called "Good Wine", and from my point of view, it's fab!  All kinds of wines from places where you assume they know what they are doing (France, Italy), German beer and a great deli counter to boot.  I got nearly teary eyed at the USA section (despite the fact that the Copolla that is $12 as Costco was around $30 here).  

Grass: Quincy has been petitioning for grass in our yard for years.  We've resisted given that our yard was maybe 10'x10' and out of fear of maintenance.  Given our small, woodchipped Chicago yard as their frame of reference, the kids think we live in a park now that our Kiev yard has maybe 20'x30' of grass AND even has a (very) small hill to roll down.

Swimming till exhausted: Quite a few of the houses we looked at had pools, but this was the only one with an indoor one.  Honestly I am not sure which of us love this the most.  The kids can play like mad, splash water everywhere and get exhausted.  They beg us to throw them as far as we can (an acceptable way to deal with frustrations of parenting!) and entertain us all with semi-acrobatic, mostly-spastic jumps.  The indoor part means they can do this despite rain, there are very few dead bugs floating around and best yet - NO NEED TO APPLY SUNSCREEN!    (Xavier pictured jumping over his lovely assistant Zoe)

Cheap Street food: Thanks to Carol for pointing us to the Ukraine episode of "No Reservations", we discovered the Peripechkas - aka 'hot dog donuts'.  Just like they sound, a giant fluffy donut with a hot dog in the middle.  And all that heart clogging goodness for less than $1!  Sold from a window that always has a line down the street - but moves quickly.    Quincy and I agreed next time we are bringing our own sugar to sprinkle on them to enhance the experience.....will keep you posted

So here's to finding the joy!

Signs of change

Subtle signs of the seasons:  Today was the first day my local bazaar (babuska market) did not have any raspberries....  But the first REAL sign of the impending chill of winter.......the t-shirt and underwear booth added a floor length faux fur coat!  Uh-oh....

Hurrying to pretty up the joint: The city is abuzz with the excitement of the Euro Cup coming in 2012.  Construction is everywhere getting ready - including building this big new soccer stadium right in the heart of downtown (behind the tall buildings) - just 4 metro stops from our house in case you want to come visit during the games :)

A few weeks back I was a bit alarmed when some workers at our house (our landlord had hired for some repairs) walked around with big hairy bellies hanging out as they worked (and smoked) on our patio.  While it was a hot day, I thought that seemed a little overly friendly.  Come to find out, that is just typical construction guy AC....

And while they are working hard to make things look nice for the big games, I feel like I need to tell someone that Westerners expect seats......(this was a bathroom I paid ~$0.25 to use....) in a mall right across the street from the new stadium!  Clearly I did not know what I was paying for



Bomb Shelter or hills: Given the impending chill of winter, I decided I'd better move beyond walking and learn the Metro.  I'd heard the Metro here was kind of deep - but hot damn, the escalator was seriously high speed and still like a 3 minute ride!  I've heard it is deep because a) there are a lot of hills in Kiev so it needs to be lower than the lowest spot and b) because the stations were old bomb shelters.  Don't know which is right - but do know that the kids are going to like those escalators!

 And maybe due to the cheap fare ($0.25) has serious ridership...

Like most cities, the Metro is pretty easy to use - all you need to do is head in the direction of the end stop.  No problem with signs everywhere!  Except.....OMG look at that alphabet!.....

Be nice to a foreigner today - they too may just be trying to figure out the damn alphabet!

Old Habits Die Hard & a New Leaf

Despite our very new adventure, moving half way across the world, I find myself continuing with many of my old ways.....

Bulk Buying: I used the family of 5 as an excuse to indulge my love of Costco at home -   nostalgically photographed a cart full o Costco joy before departing.....

In Kiev, bulk buying is NOT the norm.  Packs of 5 trash bags (huh?!), individual beers and sodas at even the largest grocery stores & 10 oz bottles of lotion are pretty much the norm.  Meanwhile, I search for the bulk buys everywhere.  Programmed to procure a week's supply, I was thrilled when a local babuska had a whole kilo pack of raspberries!

Beverage mania: With the loss of fountain soda (limited places have fountain - like McDonald's - but no diet 'on draft'.  Only regular), I told myself it would be high time to reduce my silly levels of soda consumption and evolve to a more tea centric beverage plan.  Well, seems I'm adjusting to bottled Pepsi Light and have merely added tea into the mix.  Beverage count growing...

Parties: Our love of throwing parties does not need to subside here.  Plenty of friendly ex-pats to invite... (Xavier's birthday party & an Oktoberfest party planned to date).  Last night, we hosted Logan's team for a BBQ.  The language barrier & 'fear thy boss' culture made for a bit of a stiff start.  Guess the # of candies in the jar and an ice breaker helped.  But my small talk in Russian could use some work..

NEW LEAF? With all that sameness, I've been thinking I should pick up something new.  Russian language lessons are starting soon (trying to be excited about reducing my cloud of confusion - but know it's going to be serious work). 

So I attempted another new activity I thought would come more easily....started with common new hobby step 1....bought the book:

Preserving!  Why not?!  We have trees dropping lord-knows-what kind of fruit that my Driscoll's berries kids won't accept, I have time on my hands - so we'll give it a go!

First attempt was not all that successful.  In my defense, I had not yet purchased the book and leveraged a no-recipe method.  As a rookie, this is not a recommended approach.  The knife is standing on its own because the consistency is somewhere close to hardened concrete.  You've been warned - don't try this at home kids - do yourself a favor and buy the book first...

Have a sweet Sunday!