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Happy Grilled Cheese Day!

I’ve never been great about family traditions. Rather than stick with the same routines year after year, we tend to switch things up. I love the idea of the families that get new Christmas pajamas every year, or go caroling and drink hot cocoa, or put up lights on their house. Fortunately and unfortunately, we’veContinue reading “Happy Grilled Cheese Day!”

A Gray Area

It’s far too easy to paint others in categories of “good” or “bad.” Our brains like to compartmentalize, label, and make sense of the world, but I have never met anyone 100% evil and I have never met anyone 100% perfect. Humans are more complex than that. We all have the capacity for both, andContinue reading “A Gray Area”

Cursive, Corn, and Jerry, the Aloe Vera Plant

Reporting back after about a month back in the classroom- The short answer is: it’s a mixed bag- highs and lows, but I am so incredibly grateful to be there! Overall, I love being a teacher again and I feel like out of my 13 years on the job, this is the strongest I’ve been.Continue reading “Cursive, Corn, and Jerry, the Aloe Vera Plant”

Back to School

The culture shock is real! It’s been 5 years since I’ve taught at an American public school, and man, has it been a rude awakening stepping back into this role. You know the episode of 30 Rock, where Jack Donaghy leaves the corporate world of GE to go work for the Government? He points outContinue reading “Back to School”

Part 2: Gratitude

If you didn’t get a chance to read Part 1, here’s the gist- My husband and I are DODEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) employees and his position as SPED Assessor was recently cut. Just as we were feeling settled, we learned that it’s abruptly coming to an end without us getting to finish the contractContinue reading “Part 2: Gratitude”

Our European Adventure Coming to an End?

Part 1 We had a feeling this was coming. Since Trump took office, we’ve read about Federal programs and jobs being slashed left and right with no consideration of the impact to individual lives. We’ve read about threats to Special Education and the defunding of education in general. We were especially afraid in February andContinue reading “Our European Adventure Coming to an End?”

Monschau, Germany

This past weekend, for Justin’s birthday, we visited the quaint town of Monschau, Germany, about an hour away from where we live. Out of all the nearby places we traveled to, this was one of our favorites. The city center is dotted with the traditional timber-framed houses with the dark wooden beams and narrow cobblestoneContinue reading “Monschau, Germany”

The 2 Month Netherlands Update

We are about 2 months in, living on the border of Germany and the Netherlands. Since I last wrote, many of our stressors have lessened. We’ve got our bank account and phones set up. We’ve bought a car and are getting a second one in December. The kids are getting involved with school and makingContinue reading “The 2 Month Netherlands Update”

Food in Limburg

We’ve been in the Southern Germany/ Netherlands area called Limburg for about a month now. During our time here, we’ve had the opportunity to try many restaurants through the advice of new friends and sometimes just a good old Google search. The following is a little taste of what we’ve tried. Bon appetit! Schrieversheide LocatedContinue reading “Food in Limburg”

Netherlands Update #1

We’ve been in the Netherlands for a little over 10 days now, but man, it feels longer! We’ve been so busy getting our lives set up and exploring our new area. As expected, we’ve had some ups and downs. It can be stressful starting over in a new country despite the always-smiling faces you seeContinue reading “Netherlands Update #1”