The Lederman Kitchen

We started off 2016 with some big changes in our house.  Getting so big Sydney started at a new school, and so far, we all love it.  She is in a class with 12 kids who were all born within the same 4 months, so they are all hitting milestones around the same time and are interested in similar things.  They do all different kinds of art, spend a lot of time outside and the teachers always introduce new ideas and materials for the kids to explore. One of her first days in class...still learning that paint is only for paper coloring with friends climbing Sydney has been learning a lot, and picking up some good habits along the way.  One of my favorites is hand washing.  They wash the kids hands after all diaper changes and before/after meals and snacks, and Sydney loves it.  Now, she insists on washing her hands all the time at home.  I'm actually surprised that there isn't more paint on the wall This must have been one of ...

April 2nd marked 1 year of living in Dublin for us.  So much has happened in this last year, it's been a tough year, and a great year, and most definitely a year we will remember.   St Stephen's Green, Dublin Admittedly, living in Ireland was not been as easy of a transition as I expected.  But, I had formed expectations for living here before I had ever even stepped foot in the country.  I thought, how different could it be?  We were moving to a European capital city where the native language was English.  Turns out, it can be very different. Ha'Penny Bridge in Dublin It was a big decision to start with.  It meant a lot for Brian and I.  Besides the material things like leaving behind all our beautiful wedding gifts we had received only a few months earlier, we were leaving a strong network of friends and family. We left our dog (don’t worry, he is living with family), we left our Nephews when they were not yet 1 & 3....

It's hard to believe that it's only been 100 days since we landed in Dublin.  It's also been about 100 days since my last blog post as Michelle has certainly taken the reins.  Seriously, San Francisco seems like a lifetime ago. Us, in Galway While in no particular order I miss my dog, my family, my friends, warm weather, and all types of food; I can say that I have learned infinitely more in the last 100 days than I would have if I were still back home.  Home will always be the Bay Area, but for the past few months and for several more to come, Michelle and I have been and will continue to try and feel at home here in Dublin.  In California with Morrie  If there is one thing that I know for certain about living abroad is that it does not come without its challenges, but each challenge brings new experiences, memories, and lessons that I imagine will stay with me for the rest of my life. Just a few of my observations: In the first 100 days I h...

Good news, our bags arrived yesterday!  What a treat to walk into our apartment to this: It was like Christmas.  The highlights being our kitchen knives, shoes and jackets!  Our 3 knives were the only kitchen item we brought with us.  We just couldn't live without them. Bags + Brian opening a Bank Account = Gym membership.  This morning I headed to our new gym, in our neighborhood!  I guess I didn't mention that we signed a lease on an apartment on Tuesday, but can't move until the 28th. This is what the front of the gym looks like, not as welcoming as back at home, right?  You have to swipe your credit card, which is connected to your account, to get in - and out! The gym was nice, and much needed after a couple of barefoot jumprope workouts in the apartment.  After the gym, I ate a sandwich and played on my iPhone in the park that is literally 2 minutes from where we will be living.  We can not wait to for the 28th to move in!...

A busy first week for us in Dublin. We made it to our temporary apartment around 3pm on Monday, and Brian started work on Tuesday. I spent my days finding the supermarket, looking for a permanent apartment and searching for a job.  I've basically been spending a lot of time on the Luas, the train that takes us from Sandyford (where Brian's office and our current apartment are) to the City Center and back. We found the perfect neighborhood for us, Ranelagh.  It has everything we like: Supermarket, coffee shops, bars, restaurants and a gym. It's a very nice area of Dublin, so it's safe and most of the people living there are young professionals or families.  It reminds us of our hood in SF. We're both working on understanding the Irish accents, and learning the different words they use over here.  For example, they say "alight" the train, instead of "gett off".  And "top up" instead of "add money".   Brian...