On our way to the Sunny South!

Yes, it's 4am. I couldn't sleep. I woke up, thinking about our lovely trip ahead, and just couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd share a bit with you all.

We leave later this morning for lovely, warm weather, quite a bit farther south of here. It's been c-c-c-cold here lately, with temps in the teens and twenties, and lots of snow flurries. My kitchen, which does not have a radiator but does have three walls of very poorly sealed windows, has been literally like an icebox. I left a fruit salad out there on the counter the other night (the kitchen door closed to keep the cold from leaking to the rest of the house), and discovered the next morning that bits of fruit had frozen and then turned to mush as they thawed. Though it is strawberry season here (they're grown in greenhouses), they've been unavailable at our street markets because of the cold--they just freeze too fast. We are thankful for our government-regulated heat which has still done a pretty good job of combatting the cold. Some winters we've felt way too warm in our apartment, but this year has been just about right. One downfall--usually I hang our laundry in a sunporch (also unheated) off the girls' room, but with the cold, we've had to resort to spreading it out over our furniture to get things to dry.

So, we're looking forward to a chance to thaw a bit. We will stop first to see the doctor who assisted me when Clara Anne was born, to check up on the baby and hopefully find out the gender! I keep thinking of this baby as a boy, but we shall see! Then we'll go on even further south to a land of sea, sun and sand, spending a week of vacation with some dear friends and then about 2 weeks of meetings. International travel with very young children is always interesting, but this trip is certainly more low-key than the one we were making (back to the US) last year about this time. My sweet Asianese friends have been concerned about me traveling, being pregnant and with the two children and all (travel with small children is just something they do not do) but I told them it's nothing compared to getting ready to fly across the ocean!

It's been fun to see Clara Anne's reaction to our plans this year. She is SO excited to go swimming, to go to a big toy store (there's a Toys R'Us in our future), and to go swimming. Did I mention the swimming? She was very concerned that we remember to take her swimsuit and her floaties. The pool time will be abundant so that will really be fun for both of the girls.

So, we're packed and ready, only a few details to finish up in the morning. My helper is going to be staying at our house off and on while we're gone, so that will be great. I told her I was going to leave the breakfast dishes for her to finish up! She's really looking forward to the break, too, I know, so it'll be a blessing for her to have some time off.

Well, I guess I should go back to bed and try to catch a few more winks. 4am is way too early to start the day, eager anticipation notwithstanding! Check back in the next day or two--I do hope to put up a post when we find out whether pink or blue is coming our way. Traveling adventures, here we come!