Tickets bought, and some good news and bad news

After hours online and on the phone, we are official.  Q-dawg leaves on October 3, and the kids and I follow on October 10, going through Dublin, Ireland, with plenty of time (hopefully!) for layovers.

Who knew it would be so hard to just purchase tickets after months of keeping track of the cheapest places to go for them online?  I didn't realize that most sites have limits that don't allow for 9 people.  I cannot tell you the sinking feeling in my gut when I was faced with this, and the unacceptable option of sending any kids on their own across the globe, no matter how responsible.  (Yes, RaNae, I draw the line somewhere with what I let my kids do on their own :)...even with cell phones in hand.) Lek actually offered to take his brothers and go it alone.  I don't think so!

A few days ago, we finally were able to confirm that we can buy one-way tickets into the country, which gave us the go ahead to purchase Q-dawg's on Monday.  The price went up $150-170 per ticket in the next two days, apparently.  Sigh!  That began the fiasco of finding an airline that would let me schedule all my darling children with me at the same time.  The thought of trying to purchase two sets of tickets popped into my brain, followed by the horrific possibility of filling up that flight with the first purchase, and having the rest of my kids scheduled to go through Poland, while I was going through Ireland.  Ahhhhhhhh!

I don't think this is good on my already-elevated pregnancy blood pressure :)!  It is a relief to get it done, but opens all the finality of doing this, which brings on its own wave of emotion.

I did find out today something to help the blood-pressure (or at least the concern) of the grandparents of our unborn babe: our health coverage actually has participating doctors and hospitals in Hungary...Budapest, to be specific.  Imagine that: in-network providers half a world away!  Now, that's what I call service. I have had to change doctors last minute before, and, while it is not very desirable, at least it is safer than many of the other alternatives that have passed through my mind in the wee hours of the morning.  Now, I just need to make sure that my beloved is near to translate...and hopefully he is up-to-date on medical terminology in Hungarian :).  In the desperation of the moment and the universality of child-birth, however, I am sure communication will happen :).

Final official news for the day...the Goob just checked in after being awakened by Chugger-dude...who was sleep-walking.  His "somniatic" path involved getting to the entrance to the bathroom, promptly turning before entering and facing the wall next to the bathroom door, pulling down his pants and...well, apparently, I have a mess to clean up before I go to bed.  At least when Lek did it when he was a little kid, he aimed for the toilet under the bathroom sink!

Other "quickies" for the day: Chugger-dude had a great piano lesson--apparently, louder is better, but he's having fun, so bring on the banging! (Between him and the Goob, it makes my fingers hurt just watching them...);  Lek began doing Saxon Math again...woohoo!; Avot and I had an awesome history class in our "mommy-censored" history book (blegh, but fortunately, "editing" is not necessary very often, and worth it); Pipalicious and Hava spent hours outside wearing bonnets, playing with blankets, and making mudballs; Papaya has discovered the advantage of dragging around a small bathroom stool to get better access to those "just out of reach" places; I made a slew of cards to send to friends and family while struggling through Pimsleur's Hungarian lesson 15 out of 16...woohoo!; I found two more pieces of a puzzle that we lost 6 pieces to three months ago...only two more to go :); Avot found and showed me a book with beautiful photos of wolves and their surroundings that she wants to recreate in art; Liliputian spent a day full of nurturing and loving, and has recently discovered a talent for drawing horses; Lek, Avot, and the Goob had a great time at the park doing the speed workout segment of Q-dawg's training program...while there, Lek bribed the Goob to climb a tree, the lowest branch of which was 10 feet up--Go, Goob!; I wept a couple times today, imagining those first, challenging moments (and more, I am sure) when my children are in church or other settings, and completely lost and possibly discouraged due to lack of Hungarian speaking skills; Papaya does the "baby sign" for cracker (banging a fist against the opposite elbow) by banging her fist in her armpit...so cute!; Lek and Q-dawg went and played basketball tonight--great male bonding; all but Avot and Liliputian (who was at Activity days) went to the swimming pool where I did laps, and the boys (and man...daddy) tried to drown each other, while Hava insisted she was a mermaid, and Pipalicious enjoyed the freedom  that comes with comfort in the water...going down the huge slide; and the Goob is learning "Ode to Joy" on the guitar, much to his delight.

And that's our Day in a Minute!  Time to go and clean-up...