Hi folks, we are alive, we are well, we are settling in….and we are still without internet. I haven’t forgotten about all of you and I have 2 months of photos and life to share with you. But internet doesn’t come for a week so I will sneak to Starbucks around the corner when I can but it will likely be a few weeks of catchup! In the meantime….we are loving our new home, our boys are peacefully settling in and SLEEPing again, we miss our dear friends in Switzerland, we are enjoying reuniting with dear friends here in NoVa, we made lots of happy memories (with minimal heat stroke) in Texas and our hands are covered with paint from the endless house projects!! Life is busy and good! More to come! Thanks for bearing with me!

You can find me blogging on World Moms Blog this week….www.worldmomsblog.com. They have a new fancy schmancy website so hop on over if you have time!

This is the last in our mini series on packing! If you missed the first couple of posts you can find them here: Packing Advice?! From us?! {Part 1} and Packing {Part 2} UAB.

Last but not least is a list of food items that I would tuck in the shipment if you can. Again, some people don’t have the space or weight to do this but if you do these these are things I always include when going overseas just in case we can’t find them or in our case now they are out of the budget.

~taco seasoning

~ranch dip packets

~onion soup packets- good for dips and roasts, etc

~lots of spices. Spices are pricey in the US  and can be hard to find or expensive overseas. Take an extra bottle of things  you use often just to give you time to hunt locally or mail them. Add extra of things like Cajun seasonings and Mexican seasonings!

~vanilla extract..and any other extracts you like to bake with.

~chili mixes

~cream of whatever soups….so even if your mom never cooked casseroles with cream of chicken soup there is something about being far from home that will occasionally make you crave an American casserole and somehow the Campbell’s gods have engraved it in our brains that such a casserole might include such a soup.

~salsa. you might be able to find some for a price or some that just doesn’t taste good but you will miss the good stuff! if you have the space bring some along!  We have learned to make different salsas but sometimes it’s nice to have some handy.

~Bisquick/pancake mix

~syrup (or bring some maple extract so you can make something similar!

~peanut butter, again you might not eat it much now but for some crazy reason when you can’t get it you crave it!

~chocolate chips or whatever baking things you like for holiday baking…instant yeast is a good one to take!

~cake mix/brownie mix….even if you normally do it from scratch throw a few in. On days when you are culture shocked by the inconvenience of life you will have a new appreciation for brownies that smell like home and you didn’t have to measure

~crystal light or similar drink mixes…sounds silly but sometimes lemonade or cranberry juice sounds so good and either can’t be found or…you guessed it, is super expensive. The individual packs are light for packing but will brighten a summer day abroad!

~liquid smoke (for all you Texan’s)…pack this one well! can you imagine your entire household smelling permanently like smoked meat?…Seth’s response to that question would be “but I like smoked meat”. Precisely why his involvement in minimal with the ziplocking!

~macaroni and cheese…I have heard you can even just buy the cheese powder now without having to buy the whole box. All you need is the yellow #5 right?!

*Remember to ask for your favorite family recipes! You will miss your mom’s home cooking and you might just have to learn to make all of it since you can’t pop over to moms house!    Even with this big list of things we would take I have to say mostly we have just learned to make most of the things we miss! While I would love to hop out to a restaurant to get a break from cooking I am glad that these 2 years in Switzerland have pushed me to learn so much with cooking. SO if you can’t take food items or if you forget something google what you miss and be brave enough to try something new!

*Don’t whatever you do become a hoarder!!! Share the treats with others you know are missing home! Trust me, they taste better when you share them.

Of course when you go back stateside be prepared to crave things that you learned to love overseas!! I am sure we will be on the hunt for fondue and Swiss chocolate just like we searched for ajiaco and arepas when we left Colombia!

If you aren’t packing and moving or going overseas consider sending a package to a friend abroad with some of these goodies above. you will make their day and give them a taste of home!

Back to our little series that is probably boring some of you to death and hopefully encouraging some of you that might be facing a move soon!  Maybe I will put up some pictures later to suffice for those who are bored.

If you are in the Foreign Service you know what a UAB shipment is, for those of you that don’t it is our air freight shipment that includes all of our must have’s for the last weeks after our household goods are gone. The UAB shipment requires strategy in order to have what you really want and need.

Things that are great for that essentials shipment…

College kitchen kit. Before our move to Bogota I was shopping in Target and found their “college kitchen kit”. It was made up of a super light weight pot and pan set, a colander, plastic measuring cups and spoons, and a set of cooking spoons. It was perfect for all of those few week time periods when we need something to use but we don’t need anything heavy or fancy.  I looked on their website to link you to what we got and can’t find what it would be called…so as you browse target and walmart type stores (*again not being paid by them*) check out the college sections and score yourself a cheap set. The embassy here, as well as in Bogota provide us with a Welcome Kit that has basics like 4 dishes, forks, basic cooking stuff and linens. This is super helpful on this end but won’t help with when we arrive in DC so we still need those basics in our shipment.

grill pan! (*again, not being paid to advertise* although after typing it 3 times so far in this post it makes me wonder if someone shouldn’t be paying me something to brag on them*) We have one of the Nathan’s Grills. Another Target find. But here it is on Amazon. Look in the “As seen on TV” section….admit it you have always wanted to buy an “as seen on tv” product. Now is your chance. It is a grill on one side and a griddle on the other. During the weeks of transition you have a zillion easy meals you can make when you don’t have a grill and you are missing 90% of your pans. There are obviously fancy grill pans out there but this one is light and fits the bill for being practical but not taking up precious weight.

clothes. Yes there are clothes around the world but if you have favorites stock up. Often they are different enough or expensive enough that you won’t shop much unless you are stateside.  For both Switzerland and Bogota we heard that kids clothes were  expensive so I bought basics for the entire 2 years…knowing that at times I would be off a bit on seasons or sizes but so far for both tours it has worked out.  And it has saved us so much money. For UAB I normally bring enough that if our shipment gets delayed or something else happens that we have enough to get us started in the next season if it is approaching. Also remember to check if you will need coats, snow gear, etc when you arrive.

Toys, if you have kids, of course. With toys we normally save out the things the kids will be crushed without like their teddy for bed. And this time around we saved a box of legos, a pirate ship, coloring books, crayons, a ball, playdough that we can just get rid of when we go and a friend lent us a few toys to borrow.  I focus on bringing a variety because when boredom hits it is more helpful to have different things than lots of the same. The boys love their train set but obviously a wood train set isn’t a practical choice when weight is limited. That goes in the long term shipment along with the rest of the toys. On the plus side it feels like Christmas when the toys arrive at post.

Bedding I normally put our duvet cover and the boys bedding in our UAB. I might be strange but for some reason this makes it look more like home and especially for Jackson it makes him feel like his bed is normal.  I want things, especially with bedtimes to be the least disruptive as possible.

Pictures I add a picture frame or 2 with family pictures or fun memories. When you are transitioning through temporary housing it is sometimes nice to have a few familiar things and to have things that remind you of your former home. You could even just bring a few things to put up on the fridge if you don’t have the weight or space for frames.

Favorite cookbook...although you can find so many recipes online bring along a cookbook for those annoying weeks when the internet isn’t set up and you are tired of borrowing your neighbors computer.

“Must have bag”…we normally have a ziplock with scissors, tape, pens, clothes pins, mini sewing kit….

Holiday specific stuff– we tend to plan out moves around someones birthday, not really but it normally happens that way.  If you have a special banner or some small tradition keep that in your UAB so that the birthday boy or girl will still feel the love and not just feel how different a birthday is during the move! Likewise if you know you are arriving at post during a holiday time and your household goods won’t be there toss in some festive paper plates, etc. When culture shock is setting in and you are missing the holiday with friends and family back home you will have a bright reminder of home.

Car seats- if you aren’t traveling with your car seats remember you will need them when you land!  Same thing goes for travel beds, etc for kids.

Medicine make sure you have the medicines and things you use on a regular basis. Seems each time we travel one of the kids gets sick or we are in need of bandaids, pepto, etc. Make sure you are stocked. If you are going stateside you know you can find a 24 hour pharmacy but overseas it can be tricky to find things quickly when you first arrive.

obviously you will need basic linens like sheets and towels, an extra blanket or two if you are going somewhere cold, pillows, and all of that must have baby stuff but the above are just others in addition to the basics.

If all of this talk about packing makes your blood pressure rise, just do what Owen does when he needs a break.  Seems to work like a charm…

Our friends Allison and Andrew Redmon are  about to move to Saudi Arabia in a couple of months and asked for some packing tips! (You can follow their adventure here.) I felt a little silly when Allison asked for advice but I realized after 5 moves in 5 1/2 yrs it’s probably legit to give some ideas. When she asked I couldn’t even think clearly with my house full of packers. But now the dust has settled, quite literally.  After this bit I am going to take a long break from even thinking about packing.  {I broke this into 3 posts so you don’t fall asleep while reading}

I sat down today to think through what I would even recommend and I thought I would share it with all of you as well….

*Big disclaimer, many of you have done this a million more times than us. I don’t in any way feel like an expert so feel free to chime in. I think we all find our packing groove and what works for our families but I always love new ideas to make it easier. And…obviously these recs are assuming you have a shipping allowance and that you aren’t just taking the essentials in suitcases. Coming from a missionary family background I am stunned every time our stuff gets moved around the world. It is no doubt a perk of the job, but not one we take for granted.  So, if you have some space and weight and need some ideas, read on. If not, make friends with an Embassy family and beg them to share their peanut butter on occasion!*

Here’s kind of our system when we approach packout:

~START EARLY, if you work gradually the days before packing won’t feel so stressful! Our first move we were both up until 2 AM the night before finishing getting everything sorted into “DC”, “Storage”, “Overseas”, “UAB”, etc. It was so much work but we should have started earlier (the fact that we had a month to pack and be gone while working our last weeks gave us a time crunch too)

~Give stuff away!! Go through your house with an empty laundry basket or box and fill it with all of the things you don’t use or don’t need. You will accumulate a lot and it makes it so much easier to do a quick purge before you begin thinking about packing.

~Pick a room for each category “UAB”, Storage, Suitcases, etc. That way you aren’t have to keep track constantly and the packers know exactly where everything goes. Each time you see something that goes in that category drop it off in the designated room. I find this saves time in the end scrambling for what shouldn’t be packed where.

~Wrap all linens, clothes, pillows, etc in plastic bags!  You will need Ziplock bags!!! Like a million of them. A few moves back we discovered that ziplock makes giant bags. *ziplock isn’t paying me to advertise for them, we just wanted to recommend them based on our own experience*. The giant bags have been perfect for linens, clothes…you name it, it will fit. We also use the small bags to double wrap toiletries, pantry items and other loose things. When you arrive then you also have your supply of bags to use. If your stuff is just put into boxes it will arrive smelling like cardboard. And some things like quilts and bedding are tough to get smelling really fresh again, assuming your things are going by boat like ours, that is 2 months or so of box smell!

~Categorize! We typically gather all of the linens to pack together, all of the bathroom stuff, etc.  I find we rarely go somewhere with the same number of rooms, etc so it is easier having everything together instead of getting 4 boxes of towels, linens.

~Double bag spices and pantry items. Put the first bag in upside down so that the opening faces the bottom of the first bag. That way if it pops open it is much harder to makes its way up to the opening.

~Take pictures of each room to get a visual list of your belongings for insurance purposes if needed.

~On packing day pick up donuts for the packers!! Or something to inspire them! It never hurts. This time around Seth took around ice cream bars in the afternoon to perk everyone up. And on another day Jackson and I had made some cookies so he took those around and offered them to the packers.

~Realize that things are just things and that passing each and every of your earthly belongings to men tossing boxes can be a bit unnerving. (I often find though that when the truck drives away I am so relieved to no longer be responsible!)

~Lock your kids in the atrium to keep them safe during the loading…

kidding, even when they are with their dad and given snacks and capri suns they will realize your intent to keep them out and will bang and shriek on the glass forcing you to let them in. Never hurts to try!

~Go out for dinner to celebrate surviving!! Or at least have a fun drink.