by Amy | May 18, 2019 | travel
This past week, my kids and I embarked on a journey of a lifetime and flew to Europe. I’ve been wanting to travel internationally with them for years, but our financial situation was prohibitive, our time was limited and to be honest, they weren’t at an age before where they would have been much fun to be around. I really wanted to get past the stage of diapers, bottles and potty training before we made this trek again. And now…we’re past it!
Why was this so important to me?
You see, I studied abroad and traveled quite a bit when I was in my twenties, and subsequently, I met and married a wonderful man from Vienna, Austria where I lived, studied and worked for almost 4 years. As soon as he and I married, however, we decided to move back to the U.S. and settle down in Austin, TX. Don’t ask me why we did this. At the time, it seemed like better opportunities awaited and we were both antsy for a change. Although we never anticipated it being a permanent move for us, as we still loved the place where we met and my husband grew up, we have grown to call Austin, TX our home for the past 15 years. And yet…our heart beckons for travel and adventure and desperately longs to be back in Austria and reconnect with our roots. And here we finally are!
I’d venture to say that once you travel abroad, you never lose the bug. Am I right? I think it stays with you forever, and there’s a part of you that always longs for those places where you discovered who you were and realized that the world around you was so vast and so different than the place you came from. In German, the word Fernweh has an even stronger meaning than Wanderlust. While someone with Wanderlust might think of a place they once traveled fondly and fantasize about going back, Fernweh is a deep sort of longing that won’t let up. It’s less about fantasizing and more about homesickness for another place.
That’s how I feel about Europe. I feel homesick for it. Especially Austria. The sights, the smells, the language, the food…all add up to an experience you can’t even put into words. It’s a part of me, like a limb, calling me back home. While I am a U.S. citizen and grew up in the Midwest doing everything people do there, I have a different kind of citizenship with Austria. In a way, I felt more at home the first time I went there than I ever felt in my hometown. It was as if I finally found where I belonged. And it felt good!
It’s also a huge part of my children’s heritage that they should know about and understand completely. Since my husband is Austrian, my children are half-Austrian. It’s important that they know who they are and where they’re partially from. It’s important that they understand how they might also identify more in some areas with that side of their family and less in others. And I take great responsibility when it comes to showing them who their ancestors are and what this culture is all about — even if they were born in and live in a completely different culture.
So, there ya have it! We are embracing this Austrian culture over the next 5 weeks, and while there will be challenges in doing so, I could not be happier to be here with my 3 children.
Is there somewhere you’d just love to go back to? I’d love to hear about it.
I’m looking forward to sharing our adventures with you one amazing bite and drink and sight and smell at a time, and encouraging YOU to do the same with your children. You won’t regret it!
xo,
Amy
by Amy | May 4, 2019 | travel
When traveling abroad with children, there are some things to consider and plan for.
- Plan ahead. Get as familiarized with where you will be traveling as soon as possible and set your itinerary ahead of time.
- What to look for in accommodations. When booking accommodations, make sure your lodging has a kitchen and a washing machine on the site. This is a must for families! Your wallet will thank you!
- Passports. Getting children’s passports is a relatively easy process if you’re planning in advance. If you have less than 8 weeks before travel time, expediting your passports may be necessary.
- Kid Friendly Cities. There are many kid-friendly European cities to go to. Look ahead at maps and online guides to cities in order to find out where you can go.
- Restaurants. While many European restaurants do not have children’s menus, they are becoming more and more popular. When in doubt, ask the wait staff what they would recommend for children.
- Flight connections. Make sure you book flights with fewer than 5 hour layovers and no less than 2 hours. You don’t want to wait too long in between flights, but you also don’t want to be rushing to the next gate with young children — especially if you have to go through customs.
- Baggage allowance. Check ahead for baggage restrictions and fees pertaining to checked luggage and carry on luggage. THIS IS HUGE!
- Walking shoes. Make sure you have packed REAL walking shoes for your trip for each member of your family. In most U.S. countries, our walking is limited and therefore, we don’t wear shoes that adequately support our feet. In Europe and other countries around the world, however, comfortable shoes are a MUST.
- Grocery shopping. When we travel, I always try and find the discount grocery stores to buy our food. In Austria and Germany, stores like Aldi, Hofer and Lidl offer the best prices and help to stretch your budget.
- Planning for rest. If you are trying to pack a lot in a few days with young children, everyone will be tired and cranky. If possible, build in rest days or parts of the day where you have no agenda and can take it easy and do something low key.
Traveling with children is a fun adventure with many rewards for all involved. Even though it’s a little trickier than traveling as an adult, the challenges of traveling with children can be averted with some careful planning, and of course, flexibility.
![Part 1: Getting Clear on what you {really} want]()
by Amy | Apr 4, 2019 | Mom on the Fringe
Whether it’s on the playground, at a birthday party or over a glass of wine with a good friend, there always seems to be a common theme in our conversation: Time. Or the lack thereof.
Everyone is pressed for time. But Moms seem to be pressed for time about a billion times more than anyone else I know. I mean, I didn’t do any scientific research there, but I’m pretty sure my estimate is accurate. No offense if you’re super busy and you’re NOT a Mom. Really. Are you offended that I said this? Sorry.
But here’s the deal, for many of us Moms, our goals and dreams don’t go away just because we have umpteen kids we have to feed. Again, that’s an exaggeration. I just have 3. THREEEEEEEE!!! They are beautiful children who I adore and love spending time with. But let’s face it, when they’re around, it’s not like I can just go work on my blog, paint, journal, learn a new skill or achieve tasks that require concentration. Actually, I’m happy if I can go to the bathroom for one minute without hearing someone try to murder someone else in the next room.
However, even though the odds tend to be against us, we see more and more Moms getting &h!t done and achieving their dreams than ever before. “How in the actual world is this possible????” you ask?
Well, while I don’t have all the answers, I think there are some pretty tried and true commonalities among Moms who are able to make their lives work really well for themselves and their families on the fringe of their hectic, busy days, and I want to share those with you here today on the blog and talk about them next week on our upcoming podcast series entitled “Mom on the Fringe”.
brainstorming sesh
But before we get started, I want you to think about who you admire and what they are doing. Now, you might admire a lot of people for different reasons, but as you read this, I want you to think of someone in your life who seems to have it all sort of figured out. I mean, this person might not be perfect. Who is? But she seems to have found her niche, her passion, her higher purpose, and she is making it work for herself and her family. Can you get a visual? Now, before you go off dreaming this person up, I want you to actually know her and not just follow her on social media platforms. I want you to know her struggles as well as her successes. Do you know this person really well? Is she someone you could call up and ask about how she does it all? Because if you don’t know her, you might have a preconceived idea of who she is and not really have the back end of how her life is actually going. The point is, I want this to be a real person.
OK! So now we have her. Is she doing something you think you might like to do? What is it about her life that makes you admire her or even want to emulate her? Try not to just think about outward appearance, although, it’s not wrong to admire another woman’s beauty or style. But I want you to think a little deeper about what makes this person so special.
Is she in really good shape?
Does she seem to be organized?
Does she cook delicious, fancy meals?
Is she outgoing, prolific or talented in some way?
Is she successful at her business?
Is she great at decorating her home?
Does she seem to be really spiritual and have a good handle on her beliefs and how she lives those beliefs out in her daily life?
Does she have a thriving marriage?
Now, I’ll post about this topic and speak about it on my podcast as we go through this series, but I want you to think in terms of admiration and not jealousy. We are specifically talking about traits you admire, K?
What stands out to you?
Now I want you to do a little digging. I want you to get out a piece of blank paper and your favorite pen (doesn’t everyone have a favorite pen?) and write down anything that comes to mind about whatever it is you would like to be more of or have in your life. If you’ve never created a dream board or brainstormed, this exercise might feel silly, but bear with me…your dreams are not a waste of time. And this process will eventually get us somewhere. I promise.
Did you do it? If you didn’t, don’t read another line of this blog post!!!
Did you do it now?
OK. What did your brainstorming paper say? Were you honest with yourself? No answer on that paper is wrong. What are the things that stand out to you?? I want you to circle them. I want you to focus on them. I want you to think about them. A lot.
What would your life look like if you were able to incorporate the top 5 things you wrote down in your life THIS YEAR?! What would your life look like if you were even able to make ONE of these things happen?
It’s completely doable, Friend. It’s just a matter of putting all the steps in place to get there.
Ya ready?
xo,
Amy
by Amy | Apr 4, 2019 | Mom on the Fringe
Whether it’s on the playground, at a birthday party or over a glass of wine with a good friend, there always seems to be a common theme in our conversation: Time. Or the lack thereof.
Everyone is pressed for time. But Moms seem to be pressed for time about a billion times more than anyone else I know. I mean, I didn’t do any scientific research there, but I’m pretty sure my estimate is accurate. No offense if you’re super busy and you’re NOT a Mom. Really. Are you offended that I said this? Sorry.
But here’s the deal, for many of us Moms, our goals and dreams don’t go away just because we have umpteen kids we have to feed. Again, that’s an exaggeration. I just have 3. THREEEEEEEE!!! They are beautiful children who I adore and love spending time with. But let’s face it, when they’re around, it’s not like I can just go work on my blog, paint, journal, learn a new skill or achieve tasks that require concentration. Actually, I’m happy if I can go to the bathroom for one minute without hearing someone try to murder someone else in the next room.
However, even though the odds tend to be against us, we see more and more Moms getting &h!t done and achieving their dreams than ever before. “How in the actual world is this possible????” you ask?
Well, while I don’t have all the answers, I think there are some pretty tried and true commonalities among Moms who are able to make their lives work really well for themselves and their families on the fringe of their hectic, busy days, and I want to share those with you here today on the blog and talk about them next week on our upcoming podcast series entitled “Mom on the Fringe”.
brainstorming sesh
But before we get started, I want you to think about who you admire and what they are doing. Now, you might admire a lot of people for different reasons, but as you read this, I want you to think of someone in your life who seems to have it all sort of figured out. I mean, this person might not be perfect. Who is? But she seems to have found her niche, her passion, her higher purpose, and she is making it work for herself and her family. Can you get a visual? Now, before you go off dreaming this person up, I want you to actually know her and not just follow her on social media platforms. I want you to know her struggles as well as her successes. Do you know this person really well? Is she someone you could call up and ask about how she does it all? Because if you don’t know her, you might have a preconceived idea of who she is and not really have the back end of how her life is actually going. The point is, I want this to be a real person.
OK! So now we have her. Is she doing something you think you might like to do? What is it about her life that makes you admire her or even want to emulate her? Try not to just think about outward appearance, although, it’s not wrong to admire another woman’s beauty or style. But I want you to think a little deeper about what makes this person so special.
Is she in really good shape?
Does she seem to be organized?
Does she cook delicious, fancy meals?
Is she outgoing, prolific or talented in some way?
Is she successful at her business?
Is she great at decorating her home?
Does she seem to be really spiritual and have a good handle on her beliefs and how she lives those beliefs out in her daily life?
Does she have a thriving marriage?
Now, I’ll post about this topic and speak about it on my podcast as we go through this series, but I want you to think in terms of admiration and not jealousy. We are specifically talking about traits you admire, K?
What stands out to you?
Now I want you to do a little digging. I want you to get out a piece of blank paper and your favorite pen (doesn’t everyone have a favorite pen?) and write down anything that comes to mind about whatever it is you would like to be more of or have in your life. If you’ve never created a dream board or brainstormed, this exercise might feel silly, but bear with me…your dreams are not a waste of time. And this process will eventually get us somewhere. I promise.
Did you do it? If you didn’t, don’t read another line of this blog post!!!
Did you do it now?
OK. What did your brainstorming paper say? Were you honest with yourself? No answer on that paper is wrong. What are the things that stand out to you?? I want you to circle them. I want you to focus on them. I want you to think about them. A lot.
What would your life look like if you were able to incorporate the top 5 things you wrote down in your life THIS YEAR?! What would your life look like if you were even able to make ONE of these things happen?
It’s completely doable, Friend. It’s just a matter of putting all the steps in place to get there.
Ya ready?
xo,
Amy
by Amy | Mar 8, 2019 | Uncategorized
Last week, I decided I wanted to get really serious about working on this blog. I’ve blogged off and on for years and years since 2011, but I’ve always struggled to be consistent and put out content on a regular basis.
Well, now I am seeing why this struggle is so real and how hard it is to dedicate the time to do something like this consistently. Life just happens. Kids get sick and you have to go pick them up at school. And then, you find out they weren’t really that sick, but probably “just needed to poop.” I kid you not. This happened yesterday. My daughter’s preschool teacher called me and said, “Georgia isn’t playing like she normally does, and she’s complaining about a tummy ache. Maybe you should come get her.” So I did. But once we got home, she just had to poop and her tummy was all better. Next week, I’m sending her to school with a bottle of Tums or a coffee from Starbucks.
Committing to something and doing it regularly is a challenge for anyone. But committing to something and doing it regularly as a parent of young children feels like the tallest of orders. Life with kids is just so unpredictable. And let’s not even discuss how tired we are!
The struggle is real.
As I sit here, on this Friday morning at 6:35am, I’m realizing, once again, how this blog is going to take some Herculean effort on my part to see through. And I love that challenge. But I also know it’s going to take more than me waking up a mere 40 minutes before the kids do. It’s going to take me waking up at least 2 hours before they do and clocking in those hours daily in order for me to produce something that’s worthwhile for my readers.
So, here’s my attempt at something today. I promise to continue and make this a top priority. I promise to not only do that, but to fight for this blog and make it a reality.
xoxo,
Amy
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