Barcelona with the kiddos

Last year after our conference in Nerja, we took a train to Madrid and spent a few days there. This year we decided to go to Barcelona. We ended up spending longer in Barcelona and thankfully the weather was so much warmer than it was last year in Madrid.
We had some good moments and some hard moments, but I think that's just how it goes when you go on vacation with young kids.
We did a lot of walking.
We went to the science center which was really cool.

indoor Rain forest and aquarium

We had McDonald's! Actually we ate quite a bit of McDonald's. I think this is in large part to being kid-friendly and we've been in Africa for a year and a half. 

I think this probably qualifies as some of the worst parents. Feeding your 4 month old McDonald's. Sheesh.

My favourite day was our stroll along La Rambla. It's a street that's got a huge walkway down the middle where vendors sell delicious smelling ice-cream and candies or small pets or typical kitschy souvenirs.

Blaise happily slept in the carrier for the entire time and the boys enjoyed looking at everything we passed.

We went into La Boquieria {a really cool market} and drooled over all the delicious produce and chocolate.

They even have these people that pretend to be statues and if you put money into their bucket they do something funny and let you take their picture. I wanted the boys to come and do it but they were a bit apprehensive so I showed them with this guy:

Babywearin' and shooting a gun. That's how we roll around here.

I really wanted to take the boys for churros and hot chocolate. We walked down these incredibly narrow alley ways and went around a corner and stumbled upon this huge, old church with gorgeous stained glass windows. Amazing. I love Europe!

So let me tell you; this hot chocolate was exactly that. Melted chocolate with a bit of hot milk. It was incredibly thick. So thick and sweet that my boy with the sweet tooth {Noah. He takes after me.} couldn't even finish his!

We walked around Parc Guell and got some great views of the city:

We had a really good time even though we were all sick and made the most of our time in Spain.
As we plan our travels back to Canada we are still debating if we'll take some vacation days on the way - somewhere in the UK or Europe. Jamie and I dream of a vacation with just the two of us but for now, we plan our vacations to be kid-friendly. For the most part.

Suggestions for traveling with kids:

Consider renting an apartment instead of staying at a hotel. It's often cheaper, comes with all the amenities and you get the feeling of actually living in the city, instead of just visiting. You will also be able to save money by purchasing groceries and making at least one of your meals every day {for us it was breakfasts and often dinners}.

Find some indoor and outdoor activities so you can plan your days according to the weather. We had a really windy day which made it seem colder than it was (around 10 degrees). We spent most of that day walking around the Science Center.

Don't be so driven to complete your agenda of "SEEING ALL THE THINGS" that you all end up miserable and tired. We had many meltdowns and the stroller that was intended for Blaise, ended up being used by Jude while I wore Blaise in the carrier. Everyone wins!

Be flexible. And then laugh a lot and do things you wouldn't normally do {like eat McDonalds almost every day or let your kids stay up later than usual}.

What are your tips for traveling with kids to places that aren't specifically geared towards kids? {ie. Not a resort with kids program, Disney World, etc.}

simply Spain

Now despite losing Bunny and all the "bad" and "ugly" parts of getting to Spain I really have one thing to say:

It was worth it.

We love being in Spain. Last year the boys were so enamored with it that they listed it among Canada and Uganda as where they are from. 
Our one week conference was in Nerja which is in the South of Spain. Our apartment was ocean front and completely lovely. The conference itself was fantastic and provided childcare which I gladly dropped all three of our boys off at every day. We had some initial struggles to get the older two boys to go, but overall they loved their teachers {as proof: Noah invited his teachers to come and eat dinner with us when he saw them waiting in line to get their food. So.Cute.}.

We had a "free" day and we spent the entire morning at the beach.

The boys and their friend Sebastian who is STINTing {with his parents of course} in Scotland.

It was freezing, but that didn't stop the boys from playing in the Mediterranean.

We later explored town, enjoyed some gelato {have you ever had Ferrero Rocher gelato? AMAZING.} and walked the beautiful streets of Nerja.

Jamie and his friend Andy rented mopeds and bombed around town during the afternoons and in the evening when our boys were in childcare, Jamie took me for a ride during the sunset. It was amazing. Quite possibly my favourite moment in Spain. Riding along the waterfront, watching the bright, red sun setting and reflecting over the water. No pictures, but I'm pretty sure it'll stay in my mind forever. 

One afternoon I took the boys for a walk up to a nearby park. It's been almost 2 years since I uttered those words. A walk. On a sidewalk. To a park. These are the things I've missed from Canada. Strange how it's the little things that we end up missing the most.

Now this park was a bit lame, but the boys played on it by themselves for a good hour while I basked in the sun with Blaise. GLORIOUS.

My view from the park.

It was such a great week catching up with friends. The boys even performed in their first on-stage song ever! It was SO cute. Jude actually did the actions and while Noah stood and faced the wall the whole time, I was proud of him for actually making it on stage! Check it out!

God is watching over you from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

I enjoyed a one-on-one coaching session with a fantastic staff woman {and friend} from Canada. She listened to me and my experience and understood a lot about living in Africa {she's married to an African and lived in Ghana for a time}. We talked so long that I was late for my next appointment. Which was counseling. 

I've never been to counseling but it was offered for free so I thought I'd try it out. I'd also seen some anger in me that surprised me and saddened me as I interacted with Noah who had refused to go to childcare a couple times. Let me tell you, I am a total convert to counseling. I didn't really know at first what I wanted to talk about, but I talked and she listened and asked some really good questions and pointed out some words I had been using as I talked about the things I wanted for my kids and our home and our family. It's something I am going to look into as we move back to Canada and I continue to work through thoughts and life stages and transition back to living in Canada.

Our time in Nerja was a total blessing. Stay tuned for our time in Barcelona!

RIP Bunny

We had some interesting adventures in traveling as we flew through Cairo to Barcelona and then spent an overnight in Barcelona and then flew to Malaga {it's in the south of Spain} and then took a bus to Nerja where our conference was. Our first time flying as a family of 5. Overall we did okay. But there was a casualty. Somewhere between Cairo and Barcelona {either in the plane or at the Barcelona airport} Jude lost his bunny.
The bunny we gave him when he was 9 months old.

It's truly the end of an era.
Once we realized what happened we felt bad but Jude didn't really seem to fathom what had happened. It's a bit frustrating because we've been working with him to help him remember what he does with things and stop being so haphazard with his toys. There were a few sad moments later on in the day when he said, "I miss bunny." or "I want bunny." but nothing major. We bought him a new snuggle toy and life went on in Spain. He was often up and out of his bed a bit more than usual, but because of the late nights in Spain it wasn't so big a deal as he was pretty tired out by the end of the day.

But tonight's bedtime was rough. It was like a mourning for bunny had begun in earnest. Jude was in and out of bed and being disobedient and defiant and we tried everything with him. Finally he started sniffing and crying saying that he missed bunny and he wanted bunny and the sobs began. Poor guy.

I let him have one of the loveys that was given to Blaise and obviously he's not bunny {said in between sobs; but he doesn't have ears and he's not green. so he can't make me happy.}, but...maybe he'll form a new attachment.
The above picture is a classic for Jude; bunny in arms, fingers in the mouth. But I've noticed lately that he hasn't really sucked on his fingers since losing bunny.

Bunny was always around and always loved on. We checked each time we went to the Barcelona airport and with multiple desks/personnel. No bunny. RIP Bunny. You will be missed.

three on the third

I actually did take this on the third. But I didn't bring my computer and Jamie's computer doesn't have a card reader. So I'm back dating it. Because I can.

Spain was amazing. More on that later. But these three guys got a lot of attention - especially Blaise who made tons of friends on the metro which we took every day in Barcelona.

I had wanted to get a picture of them outside somewhere cool in Barcelona {which is where we were on the third} but it was quite windy and cold that day and there may or may not have been numerous melt downs and tantrums. So a few pictures snapped during some tv time worked just as well in our Ikea-decorated apartment that we rented for the week {definitely the way to travel with kids}.

Noah. He is just growing so fast. Jude is non-stop and mostly defiant. Blaise is adorable but enduring his first cold, poor guy.

We've had some really tough moments over the past couple weeks but also some really good ones. Traveling with young kids is not for the faint of heart, but I think it's worth it to push the limits and see what you can do and what doesn't work. Again, more on that later.

Three boys in Barcelona! Huzzah!

going

So thankful to have our passports and to those who prayed! And now to finish packing...

gratitude

why is gratitude so hard to do in the not-so-great times? why does my heart fall back upon grumbling and complaining and having a bad attitude?

on our drive home from jinja today i commented to jamie that sometimes {lots of times} pride is all over me. i pat myself on the back for being a mom in africa and how i must be so awesome-special to be doing what i'm doing and then i stop and think {or something happens to make me stop and think}, really, vanessa? really? because it seems like just yesterday {and a few days ago and pretty much all of last week, 2 months ago, etc.} you were barely hanging on.

there is nothing awesome-special about me. because it's nothing in me that enables me to be here. the real me is grumbling about late-night karaoke and hotel rooms right beside the bar and {my} out of control children and the lack of mosquito nets in our hotel room and lake flies in the bathroom and no power in our house in kampala and a fridge that got turned off for 3 days and wasted food and on and on it goes. that's the real me. or at least the me without Jesus.

i need Him far more desperately than i'm often willing to acknowledge. 

it's sad, really.
but i'm learning to abide in Him.
because He doesn't need strong, healthy, holy people coming to Him to abide. He calls the weak and desperate to come. abide. He calls me. and then once i come, He helps me to abide. it's amazing really. you might say that it's awesome-special. 

little world traveler

the other day noah said, i want to travel the world. like mouk.
i laughed and said, buddy, you are mouk! you've been to more places than a lot of kids i know! and you're living in africa! not very many kids from canada get to move to africa and live there for 2 years.


so what {or who?} is mouk? well, it's a show that the kids have started watching on tv here on disney junior and it's adorable. it's essentially about these two animals that travel the world and experience different cultures and then they skype back home on the computer to their friends/family and share their experiences. i love it! and our boys really relate to it, especially noah.



anyway, i think it's super cute. and thought i'd list all the places noah has been to in his short little life {for posterity, of course!}.

toronto, ON
guelph, ON
vancouver, BC
{road trip to} quebec city, QC
{road trip to} florence, SC
{road trip to} chicago, IL
london, england
all over northern ireland
madrid, spain
nerja, spain
amsterdam, the netherlands
all over tanzania
kampala, uganda
jinja, uganda

i think that's it {so far}.
that's huge! what a little traveler. and more places to come...

new shoes!

With Spain less than 2 weeks away I've been trying to figure out what we need. I figured the average temperature will be around 12 degrees. Which, quite frankly, for us will seem ridiculously cold. 

So when I realized I didn't bring shoes for Noah and Jude could barely fit in the ones I did bring, I asked Jamie to pick some up at the crazy market he was heading to. {My boys live in Crocs and flip flops/sandals. I love living in a country with only "dry season" and "rainy season". No need to buy clothes for 4 different seasons!}

When he brought home the shoes and the boys tried them on it was instant love.

 

Seriously.
Jude wouldn't even take his off for his nap.

And Noah kept asking when his quiet time would be so he could have it with his shoes on!

The beauty of living with less is that when something "new" {they are likely second-hand, coming from the market and all} is given, the gratitude and "specialness" is so much more!

a bit of verbal you-know-what

i've been feeling a bit of writer's block on this blog lately.
maybe it's because i've been preferring to actually journal {for awhile, this blog was my only journal} and keep my thoughts to myself. to reflect and be raw without thinking about grammar/if this is interesting to other people.
maybe it's because life has slowed down and we've been shuffling back into place, like pieces in a puzzle that are familiar with their places.
i find myself in that all-too-familiar place of looking forward more to what's coming than where i currently am. the rush of christmas and visitors and sightseeing has passed and here i am in the
now what?
i've been consistent {for the most part} in sticking with three simple health-related goals i set for myself about a month ago.
1. drink water. all the time.
this involves me filling up my water bottle over and over again throughout the day. it also involves many, many trips to the bathroom throughout the day.
2. exercise 5 times a week.
surprisingly i've been doing really well with this. it's helped that jamie's been doing the 30 day shred along with me for encouragement.
3. no snacking in the evenings.
this allows me to still nibble on some chocolate in the day if i want but after dinner, snacking is no longer. except for one "cheat night" a week. i've also stuck to this with unprecedented resolution.
it feels good to stick with something. and see results. that has helped as well.
i don't tend to weigh myself too much {i generally go by how my clothes fit - or don't} but i'll likely step on the scale at the end of january and see how i'm doing.

i've got the heebeejeebees right now. nighttime is always when the bugs and creepy crawlies come out. the big ants that like to hustle around our kitchen. the mouse was already spotted tonight. {i shake my fist at that thing. or that species in general as i can't be sure it's the same one since we've already disposed of 2.}
there are scratchy noises coming from across the room.
but that's life here.
in a few weeks we're headed to spain for a week and a bit. i'm excited. but also? it's going to be stinkin cold compared to here. {that would be our 30 degrees compared with their 12 degrees. brrrrrr.}
but still...spain! hoorah!

whew.
that feels better.
any resolutions or goals you've set for yourself - health or otherwise?
what gives you the heebeejeebees?

sunny days...

so remember this and this?

we're house sitting just steps away from that beach.

until next Friday.

call me if you want to come visit. 

we won't have internet {or time to check. we'll be at the beach!}.

breakable

kids are pretty resilient.
but they need some sort of stability in their lives.


it was a long, drawn out, somewhat difficult bedtime tonight but God gave me grace and patience for my sweet boys.
noah looked at some books while i rocked jude to sleep and then i lay down with noah until he fell asleep so he wouldn't be scared on his own.
they are both quiet and sleeping now. i pray they sleep through the night okay.

while i lay there with noah, he and i had another conversation about africa.

n: do aunt heidi and uncle jordi (whose place we are house sitting for now) work at daddy's work in guelph? (the university)
me: yes.
n: but daddy doesn't work there anymore.
me: you're right.
n: why?
me: because we're going to move to uganda and he'll be working there.
pause
n: but why do we have to move to uganda?

oh how my heart squeezes with a little grief as i try to explain to you, sweet boy, why we feel God has called our family to move to uganda. away from what we know. to something different.

oh how my heart is excited for all that you (we) will experience and how it is going to be so worth everything we are "giving up".

He is worth it. all of it.

i pray that you will know this and experience this. with all my heart this is what i pray for you and your brother.

photo credit

going and coming back

we went to the beaches today.

i am going to miss this city. this country.

so much.

it's hard to know where to even begin. we flew for over 17 hours to be in africa for 6 days.
we found a house.
we met the people we'll be working with.
i remembered the smells of living in an over populated city with diesel pollution and people coming up to your car window wanting to sell you things and sitting in traffic for 2 hours. we sat in traffic a lot.
i have very mixed feelings.
in a way, it's good. i know what i'm going into and it's causing me to miss my familiar already. it's causing me to soak it all in before we leave. it's causing me to grieve.
i feel strongly that this is still where we're supposed to go, but there is an ache that i feel that wasn't there before.

i am scared. i am cautious. i am excited. i am happy and thankful for the house we found - my home for the next two years. i have so many questions and thoughts and things to find out before we go.
but

i still have peace.

at Murchison Falls

the African Queen going to the base of the falls

our future home. just kidding. it's a village we passed on safari.

i love giraffes.

friend

my heart is full.
full of hellos and goodbyes and catching ups and excitement and nerves and plans and passions and frustrations and wrestling with thoughts of all sorts of wonderful, scary, challenging things.

life seems really busy/crazy these days.

i remarked to a sweet friend today that it seems that in the last year or less i've stumbled into these deep, real, raw, honest friendships and i ask God
why now?

and almost as quickly the answer comes back. so still. so perfect.

to sustain you while you're gone.


it seems like the timing is off, that just as these amazing friendships are developing i'm galavanting off to the other side of the world.
i don't know how many of these friendships will last, but i do know that all of them will change to some extent.
i also know that i am incredibly blessed to have so many amazing women in my life to call friend, regardless of the season of life or the distance that separates us.

i dream

i dream of:

romance

adventure

sitting at a bay window, cozied up with a good book and a wool blanket

opening up my own bakery

- in Europe somewhere (or the beaches)

singing in front of small but crowded venues

being skinnier

being healthier

being closer to Jesus

adopting 5 (or so) kids

giving birth to a few more, too

living downtown Toronto

travelling across Canada (in one of these) and then down the west coast of North America

running a marathon

peonies, lots of peonies

acting again

summer

owning a piano

the tattoo i never got

reaching out to my neighbours

making friends in uganda

doing something BIG

living on the east coast

living on the west coast

living in new zealand

sailing around the world

having a closet full of beautiful summer dresses

never having to shave my legs again

throwing caution to the wind

i dream.

what do you dream of?

*found this video (03.25.2011) and it fits so perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI

The Manchester Recap

So...my time in Manchester.

It was amazing.

I loved it. Yes. It was hard to be away from my kids and the hubs. BUT...it was so so so good to be on my own.

Manchester. Not exactly a pretty city, but it definitely has aspects of the prettiness of the UK with old buildings and great architecture. It truly is an industrial city, but I definitely enjoyed my time in the city. The uncharacteristically fantastic weather was a huge bonus.

Of course I had to do the whole high tea thing as well.

Scones, clotted cream and jam with the most amazing tea at a 5 star restaurant. It really doesn't get any classier (or tastier) than this.

And the hotel I stayed in (which was also where the wedding and reception were) was stunning. It was the classic English garden I pictured in my mind with brick buildings and hideaway courtyards with little fountains and beautiful cobblestone pathways.

The day of the wedding we were lucky enough to have more beautiful weather as we rushed around to get ready - hair, make up and then getting dressed consumed hours of our morning. Thank goodness for a 3:30pm wedding!

Seriously INCREDIBLE dress.

Tam looked gorgeous and stunning but completely herself. Oh and did you see her ring?

I know, right?

Oh and I was there too. Here's proof:

So because I was actually IN the wedding I didn't get any shots of the ceremony even though us bridesmaids were sitting (I couldn't quite figure out how to get my camera in ahead of time and then not lug it around afterward...the downside to having a really big, nice camera) I didn't get any ceremony shots. But it was sweet even though we all walked down the aisle to the wrong song, it somehow fit perfectly.

The reception was lovely. With stunning flowers and little touches here and there, and of course the stunning setting, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to.

They cut the cake (which was so amazing),

and they danced their first dance...

and it was a perfect evening. I wish I could have stayed for longer (and I wish I could go to GREECE with them on their honeymoon - is that weird? Let's face it, Greece?!? That'd be awesome with anyone!) and I miss my lovely friend Tam, but I'm so glad and honoured I was there on her big, beautiful day to see her joy and love for James and I wish them all the best and I can't wait until the summer when we get to hang out again!

Now where is the nearest restaurant that does high tea?....to The Boathouse I go!