Weather forecast May2012 - May2013

You should all write this down if you live in Central Texas or Southern Poland. Based on this past year's weather patterns and continuing weather trends for both countries and the fact that we're leaving one and moving to the other...it can only be as I have written.

Central Texas 2012/2013

May will find Central Texas in the wettest Spring/beginning of Summer on record. Foliage will be blooming and bursting with sweet succulent nectar for the bees and birds of the land. Wild-life will be roaming freely in the wet low lying areas and lakes and rivers will be bursting out of their banks.

June/July/August will be mild and warm with the majority of the highs in the mid to high 90's, with a few 100 degree days here and there just for old times sake. Expect an occasional shower every two weeks or so and plenty of fresh water for tubing down the Guadalupe.

September warning, don't put away those shorts just yet! There will be mid to high 80's for the majority of the month with cooler nights beginning in the middle of the month with a cold front in the last week calling for a light sweater in the evenings and perhaps a pair of coolots in the daytime, if you're prone to chilly knees.

October will be crisp and cool with highs in the 60's to low 70's with a cold front right around Halloween causing those kids to have to wear an extra layer over those costumes, but never fear, once the candy hits the bags, no one will even care.

November will be crisp with mostly rainy days and a few swathes of sunshine here and there. Expect a strong cold front the day of Thanksgiving just chilly enough to light that first fire of the year in the hearth while you sit around toasting the big piece of flesh you killed for your feast.

December will be cold and windy with just the right nip in the air to get you in the "holiday spirit" as you prepare for Christmas. Highs in the 50's. Copious amounts of hot cocoa and warm woolen mittens might occasionally be necessary but it will be just warm enough to enjoy a little after noon stroll around the block before it gets too dark around 6pm.

January expect snow! January is the month for snow and 2013 will be no exception. Snow flurries off and on for 2-3 days, perhaps even an ice storm somewhere towards the end of the month. Children will get one or two days off from school to appease that Southern need for something resembling "snow days."  The month will be cold with the average highs in the 40's and 50's and average lows in the 20's and 30's. Remember to cover your plants and wrap your pipes!

February should look roughly the same as January. Cold, and a bit grey, slight chance for a bit of snow and some showers later in the month.

March/April will bring sunshine and warmth. Highs in the 60's and low 70's. Rain off and on every other week, filling lakes and streams. A little soggy and wet all around but lots of sunshine in between. Expect to wear a sweater over your Easter outfit but you can put away the full length down coat. The warmth is returning!


Poland 2012/2013


May/June/July/August/September will be one of the hottest on record with little to no rain. There will be a drought, the longest the country has seen in years. It will be hot out side so crank up the A/C...oh wait...

October/November/December will be the coldest and wettest Fall in history. Expect rainfall as you have never seen, grey skies daily and possibly even some freezing rain as early as October with the first snow right around mid-November. December will have the snow melted just in time for Christmas but it will still be grey, and dark, and rainy.

January/February expect the BIGGEST BLIZZARD IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY. In fact, if you have the option, it might be best just to leave the country completely until it all goes back to normal, which could be well into early March.

March/April will be wet, wet, wet. Put on your rain slickers, get out the umbrellas and try not to get too down. The days are longer now! Of course, that will be hard to see with all the cloud cover and rain in your eye. Chin up, the summer is just on the horizon!

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Stream of Consciousness Monday: Random thoughts, still a way's to go.

Where are all the Catholics?

I thought about writing a whole post about this, but I don't have the energy right now, and it's not *that* big a deal, but worth mentioning. Poland is a "Catholic country" meaning the majority of it's citizens consider themselves Catholic, whether they are actually practicing or not. Much like America as a whole considers itself a Christian country, whether we are all practicing or not. So, in the course of the last 9 months or so I have contacted, and been contacted by many American ex-pats, Polish Americans living in America, and  Poles, living in Poland...and only one of them has been a church- going Catholic and she is actually living in the U.S. I've got to find some people who are practicing Catholics, that speak English,  live in Krakow and who have young children, is that too much to ask? ;)

So, calling all English speaking Catholics living in Krakow - American, Polish, Japanese, what have you.... some questions...
- Where is the best English mass for us to attend in Krakow? I know St. Giles in the Old Town has an English mass at least twice a month, maybe every weekend...right? (the last time we were there Felix had an "accident" in the narthex, I hope they don't remember us.)
- What about Reconciliation in English...where is the best place to go?
- Have any of you been able to have your children go through Sacraments with an English speaking priest ( a Polish priest is fine but it would be nice if he also spoke English), or is it totally up to your parish?
- What kind of youth groups do the local Parishes have for younger children? Is it easy to join?
- Are there such a thing as women's Bible study groups or faith groups led by lay people? Martin says this is rare to non-existent but maybe he's wrong. And how crazy would I seem for wanting to start one? "Excommunicated crazy" or just "don't invite her in for tea" crazy. I can't really afford either.
- I have so many more questions just about Church/faith life/parish activities/Sacrament preparation in general...please contact me!
    p.s. We have lots of family in Poland who are Catholic and have been through all of these things themselves. I am looking for people who have come from outside the country so they can give me a bit of perspective on the similarities and differences between, say, America, and Poland, in these areas.


Grocery shopping...

Martin actually said that we could use the grocery delivery available in Krakow. Grocery DELIVERY? Are you kidding me? This, and this alone is a good reason to move to Europe (or any other city in the US that has grocery delivery, a.k.a. not Austin suburbs). Grocery shopping with 4 children, while fun sometimes, is also one of those things that I have to "gear up" for. If we go grocery shopping it usually takes anywhere from 1-2 hours, because we go slowly and take our time and try to enjoy it. It also means a lot of running after Hejjo and Felix as they "explore" in and out of the towers of toilet paper and diapers while keeping Lina from climbing out of the cart to go look at the live lobsters. It is the only thing we do that day because at the end of it I am wiped out. Groceries, delivered to my doorstep (some places even deliver certain items 24 hours a day)?   Yes, please!
   p.s Do Poles actually use this service very often? Is it wicked expensive? Between this and home-schooling will I ever have to leave the house?


The language.

I'm mad at the Polish language. Mad at it. It's hard and it's complicated. And every time I think I've got something figured out, it's wrong. And I'm mad at it. I resent it and I am avoiding it. I'll get over it. But it's going to take some time. There are so many things I want to do in Poland. So many big and wonderful things for our family. I have to speak the language. I have to! But just imagine if someone were to walk up to you and tell you that for everything that you ever dreamed about doing, you could do it, it's right there in front of you.... but first, you have to learn Chinese, or Swahili, or Khoisan (the language of sounds similar to pops and clicks). You would do it, right? Of course you would. And so will I. But I might have a mean face, like this...

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..the whole time.  That will make it better, and easier,  right? ;)



Plane Tickets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Purchasing them this week!
Time to "put a  stake in the ground" as Martin says. Woo hoo! A real honest to goodness departure date...finally...and for all of you wondering about Visas, etc. Martin contacted the Polish Consulate and he says to just take care of everything over there. AWESOME! So, no special paperwork or extra documents needed other than the few we have to be translated that we have in the works. Such a relief! One more little speed bump removed from our path.

Speaking of smoother paths...

Our Polish home-schooling contact just texted Martin this morning that we will take care of all the paperwork and curriculum and registration when we get there and he will help us the whole way, and it will be done before the beginning of the school year in September, no worries. Amazing! Thank you, Holy Spirit!

Until tomorrow..I hope your Monday is filled with energy and excitement for the week to come!

A tale involving 2x4's and The Red Hot Chili Peppers (sort of)

I have seen Maryla Rodowicz in concert.

She sang the opening song at the 1974  World Cup in Munich.

I know you're all jealous. I can feel the vibes coming through the computer. It's ok. She's still alive. You might be so lucky someday. But this story isn't about "Maryla" although it was a great concert. I had absolutely no idea what she was singing, and it was in the middle of the Błonia...

Sort of like Krakow's Central Park. Huge. Beautiful. Celine Dion has performed there as well.woo. hoo.

..., and it was dark, and there were a lot of people. But there were also fireworks and good food and good drinks, and good friends. A good time. But no, this story is about *after* the concert. The walk home.

Now, before we move on I would like to state one thing. I like walking. I don't like running much, really not at all, but I like walking. And, as with most European cities, you find yourself walking a lot in Krakow. It's great because it forces you to slow down and take in the sights and really see where you are going. I like that about Europe, and especially Krakow.

But, we were walking home, from the Błonia, all the way to to the Martin's family home in Nowa Huta...

A ---> B = Błonia (where we were) to Nowa Huta (where we slept)

Now, *that's* a long walk.

I know what you're thinking. "Oh you poor girl, never in the whole world did you have to walk all that way in the middle of the night after an entire day of food and fun!"

Never fear! There were taxi's!

But, we didn't take one. "Why not," you ask? "Because, taxi's cost money, yo. Not everybody got no platinum card." 

Ah ha, but what about the night trams and night buses? Yes! That was the answer. Cheap, quick and available... sort of. (I think we estimated that we could wait for the night bus, but it would come in about an hour from the time we were ready to leave and an hour back then was like 2 days...forget that)!

So, we hopped on the next tram that took us in the right direction and hoped for the best. It was a good decision.

On that night tram there were very few people. I suppose most people who had attended the concert had found other means by which to return home or saved some of their money for taxi's. We were the only ones on that tram, except for one other young gentleman, and his incredibly embarrassed girlfriend. To add to our enjoyment, he was singing, as loud as possible...

"Sometimes I feel like I dont have a partner,

sometimes I feel like my only friend is the beer that I'm drinking

the bee-eer of Zywiec

lonely as I am, together we're drunk."

Over, and over, and over. In English.

 Awesome.

 I can't imagine why his girlfriend looked so embarrassed. 

They got off the tram in a fairly respectable location, possibly looking to find some  food to sop up his beer and loneliness, at which point we found ourselves alone on the tram. Alone, because the tram ride was coming to the end of the line. And that is the big letter "C" up there on the map. See that letter C? See it down there, about 6.3km/3.8 miles from our destination?  That's where the tram stopped, the driver made us get off, and we walked. 

I remember some railroad tracks. Some very dark woods. I think we might have crossed paths with some other forlorn youths. An then we found some 2x4's. Long lengths of abandoned wood, which of course must be picked up, *named,* and dragged behind us (and by "us" I mean the males) for the rest of our trip. There were some photo ops. and lots of funny stuff said in Polish that I didn't catch. And eventually we made it back to our dwelling, completely safe and unharmed, some 2-3 hours later than when we started out.

I know that if we had driven our own car we could have avoided our long journey home. I'm pretty sure someone in our company had one they could drive. And nowadays, if you've been out and you've had a little too much to drink you can even hire someone to drive you home, in your own car, like this guy...

...but then we would have missed the "Red Hot Chili Peppers Guy." And we never would have gotten to take this picture...

So long ago, the world was still in black and white.  (2x4 and Zywiec!! RHCPG would have been proud)

...and I wouldn't be able to tell you this completely worthless story.

See. Everyone wins. 

Two cool things!

1)  In Krakow:

A city program that teams up with local restaurants, museums, etc. and offers discounts to families with 4 + children! That's us! The program is officially called the "4+ Program."

You get a special card to carry and everything...

The Krakow "Family Card"

Pretty Snazzy. I knew having all those kids would pay off.  ( I am especially interested in the one along the bottom called "Body Paradise." I am imagining discounts on mani/pedi, facials, massages, you know, things that speak of a "body" in "paradise" and people with 4 or more children obviously *need* those things. Never mind the small print that may or may not say the word "fitness." Never mind that.)

2) Martin just found his new favorite thing on the web... Krakow... in real time. (there is a whole list to the left of the live feed with other options of places to watch under "Multimedia"...I especially invite those who will never go to Poland or who plan on visiting but not for some time...ahem... mom and dad... you get a better idea of some of the hustle and bustle of the city and some of the sights).

 Get your voyeurism on.

     I have elaborate plans to have us stand outside this camera a year from now and wave to all my faithful blog readers... in real time! (since there is no other, easier way, on earth, to communicate, in real time, face to face, with people on the other side of the ocean). Ahhh, technology.

(seriously folks, it's 5:30am in Krakow right now. Martin is glued to a screen of people dragging themselves out of a club to eat kebabs and the occasional tram rolling by... *oohs* and *ahhs* every 5 seconds... weirdo.)

Nuts and Bolts: Documents - Part 1

In the midst of schooling, wiping noses (we are all sick over here, again), and just general daily chores we are slowly moving forward with more of the technical details pertaining to the move, One of those big details is documents, legal ones, the kind that allow you to not get exported right back to the land from which you came the first time you get pulled over for zooming through one of these...

The girl with the lollipoop! 

...I don't know what they expect when the street signs are so funny that you can't help but laugh instead of slow down to let pedestrians cross. I certainly cant brake and laugh at the same time.

Documents. Today I would like to discuss what kind of documents we will have and why we have chosen said route. There are a few options but they will differ for every family depending on your situation. We have a particularly unique situation because we will be moving to Poland, not just visiting for an extended period. And as I mentioned in my last post, we will be purchasing one-way tickets. As this always sends up red flags at the airport security counter, we have been discussing lately what we need to get to Poland without too much hassle.

Here are our options.

1) Simply go to Poland with just our passports. Martin has an American and Polish passport, the rest of us have American
            - this would work if we had round trip tickets for less than 90 days. But we won't have those. We could purchase them to make the whole move MUCH easier. We could just buy the tickets, get to Poland and then tell the world that we changed our plans and are staying and get the proper documents in Poland. It would be much easier, a little more expensive but it could be worth it. The problem is, I'm not sure how easy  it is to just get "extending your stay" documents over there. Probably not hard. I just don't know. But the other thing is, it's a little dishonest to lie about your intent. So there's that.

2) Visa for me that allows me to stay longer than 90 days and up to one year. Polish passports for the children which means they can stay as long as they want.  With a one-way ticket this is the most "right" way to go. Everyone at border control will understand that we are going to be in Poland for an extended stay and that at some point I will just renew my Visa to stay longer or get a resident alien card in Poland. The children can stay as long as they want since they are citizens. The one catch... getting Passports for the kids... not so easy. It can take up to 6 months to get the Passports AFTER you get all the proper documents. These documents require translation of birth certificates (which we already have in the works) and an Apostille.

Apostille- a document that certifies that the notarized document contained herein (i.e. birth certificate) is indeed an official document. You have to have one Apostille for each document, attached to the document and then all have to be sent in to the proper authorities.

That would mean 4 Apostille's (which also have to be translated into Polish) attached to the Birth Certificates (also translated into Polish). And you have to get the Apostille to start with, and that takes time. SO all of that, plus a 6 month possible waiting period before we could get the Passports in our hands... that has us leaving sometime next Fall... and that just won't do.

3) Our chosen option(at this date in time...it could definitely change)  Visas for all of us "non- Poles." So, the children and I will all have to apply for Visas.
              - this is the best option for us at this time. Visas don't take that long to get, at least when you're *leaving* America. These will ensure that we can be out of the country for up to a year with the proper documents, and within that time period we will be taking all our translated documents and getting Passports for the children in Poland (so, in effect, establishing, on paper, their Polish citizenship), and then at some point taking out translated Marriage Certificate over to the proper authorities and proving that Martin is in fact married to me (Poland has no idea about this yet...isn't that special?). We have been assured that we don not need an Apostille for this process in Poland. The only catch here might be the fact that at border control, into Poland, they will see that we have Visas for a year, but no return trip planned because our tickets are one-way. We talked about this a lot last night and came to the conclusion that we don't think it will be that difficult to just explain the situation. And, in the end, it's not illegal to buy one-way tickets. Maybe we just like to purchase one-way tickets. And we do in fact have the proper documentation for an extended stay. I'm sure it'll work out. ;)

So there you have it, friends. The quick run down of how we plan to legally enter and stay in Poland. Now I just need to get started on those Visas... I'm sure that will be a piece of cake, right?


I apologize for the dry and mundane posts lately. I'm sick, again. And right now the children are painting with watercolors and stamps while I write this. I think they have now brought stuffed animals and some spinning (as in standing in one place and spinning around) into the mix. Probably gonna end a little like this...

NOT my children.

... if I don't wrap it up.


And I kindly ask that an other American ex-pats (or soon to be...Heather, I'm lookin' at you here) who have been through a similar process please share your experience and what road you took to get there, legally speaking. Are we forgetting anything?

My New Year's Resolution: It's just a blip!

Earlier this week I had a conversation with my mom. I was kind of feeling frazzled about some recent conversations Martin and I have been having which include some pretty big changes to the "master plan."  When you first begin an endeavor like this the frazzles come from just saying "yes" to the idea and along the way your frazzles get much more detail oriented. We're there, at the details. I was frazzled.

The conversation went something like this...

Me: (said with a big sigh and a slightly...you guessed it...frazzled! tone)So, we've been talking a lot lately and a lot of the big things have changed.

Mom: Like what?

Me: Well, we're still unsure about selling the house versus renting it out but either way it will probably be later than we thought because Martin's job is still unclear and so we have to wait to sell the house. Plus, it will just be easier to get to Poland and move directly into our flat which won't be available until July anyway, so we can't sell before late June, so that way we don't have to rent somewhere between moves for too long.

Mom: That makes sense.

Me: Yeah, but that also means that we won't need to come to America for Christmas to be in the country for 6 months this year for tax stuff... so we will be buying a one way ticket instead of a round trip. Which means we won't be back next Christmas, or you know, ever, until we can afford it.

Mom: Are you really worried about that? Is that a big deal?

Me: Well, actually, I'm relieved, I think once we get there and get settled and visit with family and finally sort of start "living" on our own, it would be way more stressful to turn right back around and pack up the kids and come back for Christmas. Confusing for them, and time-zone changes, and complete disruption of any routine... I'm kind of looking forward to living with just us in Poland, and being restful...you know? But, that also means we won't be here next Christmas. What do you think about that?

(this is where it gets good)

Mom: Olivia. Do what is best for *your* family. Do what gives you peace and what is best for *you*. Don't worry about anyone else. We'll miss you and wish you were here, but that's just the way things will be. Do what you need to do. Sounds like you have it all figured out, you've thought it out, you're on top of it. What's the problem?

Do I have a kick-ass mom or what?

On the day I was born. Me and my mom. I have no idea who that little boy is on the bed with us.

And I learned something. I gleaned some wisdom from the chat.

There is no problem!

 This year is such a  blip in our lives. Our long, full, blessed, lives, to date, and God-willing, after.

 It's stressful. It's money sucking. It will be full of highs and lots of lows, but dude, what is the point of stressing over every little aspect, especially the one's we can't control?  I can choose to dissect it and try to control it, or I can just be positive and go with the flow while at the same time working hard to do what is right and good for our family. And I can pray. I can do that.

 No problem.



“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be..."
                                                                                                                                      - Mother Teresa