And Just Like That

School began last week.  And just like that, life became normal.

We live in a strict routine, remarkably similar to the strict routine we lived in Arlington and the strict routine we lived in Caracas.  Wake up, go to school, grab some groceries and get something done with Annika, pick up from the school bus, do homework, eat dinner, get ready for bed, start the whole thing over again.

And everyone is happy.  Dave feels confident in his role at work, and enjoys our proximity to the embassy in temporary housing.  Lilly and Sophia are making new friends nearly every day, and enjoying everything about school except the daily language component.  I'm still trying to figure out how to shop so that we can eat a healthy meal every evening, and the girls can bring a healthy (and not outrageously expensive) meal to lunch every day.  Dinner has been simple staples, like pasta and banana pancakes, because my kitchen is still temporary.  But lunch proves to be a challenge, because cheese, lunch meat and peanut butter are all surprisingly expensive.

Little Annika will begin preschool when we move into our new house, so I've begun my research.  And I hope to begin offering music classes soon after we move into our new house, so that is keeping me busy as well.  Hopefully, by the time Annika starts school, I will have become more firmly rooted in school and work.  If she were at school today, I would have been lonely and bored.  But by the end of September, I'll be keeping busy enough to feel comfortable.

It rather amazes me that we have already been here for a month, or close to it.  We stepped on our first airplane on July 28th - 4 weeks ago today.  This has been a fast August!