After only one experience with movers (from Providence to Arlington), I’ve learned that if you don’t institute some sort of organization before they arrive, you’re going to end up with boxes of random things packed together. Well, there’s really no way around it, you’re always going to end up with some random things in boxes, but I decided this time I would do my best to control the chaos. And after more than 12 hours of preparation, I think it went rather well. I did see them pack the bulk vitamins I bought at Sam’s Club with my new Singer dress form, but what are you going to do? It’s not going to hurt anything…it will just enhance the excitement of opening all our boxes when they arrive in Kyiv in a few months.

Here are some “before” and “after” photos:

And the “after-after” photos:

That’s right, all that’s left is our rental furniture. They’re coming to get that today and then we’re off to the airport Sheraton to spend our last night in the US. It’s been a crazy week and I’m just ready to get going. Peema, on the other hand, is not looking forward to the trip.

I spent most of the past week in Indiana with my family. It was a good, relaxing time, but a little disappointing that it snowed every day I was there! I started my trip by spending a couple days with my brother. I got to see his new house and he got to drag me all around downtown Indianapolis in the freezing weather. We also got in quite a few hours of Lego Star Wars II on the Playstation. It’s easier for me to play with him than with Shawn - I think it’s because I get some respect for being the big sister.

Then my mom and I spent a few days in Brown County, Indiana. When I was younger, we made a yearly trip there, but it had been several years since we’d been able to do that. So it was nice to visit some of the shops we have always loved. (My personal favorite is For Bare Feet, but I have a serious sock obsession.)

And today was back to the reality of moving overseas. I feel like I spent most of the day on the phone canceling utilities and making other arrangements. There will be another big shopping trip (or two) this week, we’ll sell the car, and then the movers will come to take our stuff away on Monday!

Of course, this is the first international move we’ve done. And because there’s no Target in Kyiv, I’m feeling the need to purchase a lot of things before we go. In fact, that was a big part of this week’s crisis. How many rolls of toilet paper do we need to buy? We have to get another set of towels. And there’s no way they’re going to have shoes that I like there…better get a pair of dress and casual in black, brown, and navy. You can see how this can get out of hand really quickly. I’m currently working on taking deep breaths and telling myself that it’s okay if I don’t get everything on my endless list.

On the upside, this week was my first without Russian class. I had originally planned to stick it out a little longer, but I was just tired day after day and, besides, I needed to get to work on my lengthy “to do” list. I did force myself to study on my own for an hour or two each morning this week and Shawn and I try to converse in Russian in the evenings. And I’ve always got my trusty flashcards to help enhance my vocabulary.

By the way, some of you eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that I added another blog link to the side of my homepage. Carolyn was in my original Russian class and she and her husband are currently in Moscow. We always joked that we made a good team in class (her strength was vocab and my strength was grammar), and we’re going to get to test that theory out in a few months when she’s coming to Kyiv for a visit! I’ll let you know how it goes.