The Ooh La La House

Upon entering our permanent residence here in Vilnius for the first time, Evie immediately made her impression clear. "Ooh la la!" she exclaimed, then pulled off her dinosaur rain boots and began running around in socks. From that moment, our home in Lithuania has been dubbed "The Ooh La La House," and every day it feels a like more fitting description. A few rugs, a pair of couch covers, and, as of today, some pictures on the walls, and this place has quickly become a sanctuary for the Roaming Reynolds.

The Ooh La La House sits on a short, quiet block which is bookended by an entrance to the park and a small grocery store. When you come to visit - which I know you will! - you'll walk up the front stairs toward our beautiful white facade into the community entry way. The house is comprised of three apartments, and ours takes up the entire first floor, arranged in a U-shape.

You'll come in through the door to your left, and immediately be sniffed by Moki and Kiro, who are always waiting to greet us, particularly if they have done something bad. (Kiro somehow thinks we haven't picked up on his distraction technique over the past 7 years.) You'll walk into our family living area - a long, open room broken up by furniture into a kids play area (which is to say, where the toys get put away by Mommy every night), the sitting/tv area, and the dining area.

There's one special feature that I especially adore. Nick is a master at executing any brilliant idea I cook up (read: find on the internet), so when I decided that, like so many other Foreign Service dining chairs, ours too needed to be child-proofed, he was on it faster than Zoe can rip out my nose ring. Water-proofed and covered with a new fabric from Ikea (because who doesn't love Ikea), our dining set has been brought into the 21st century.

A door at the end of the dining area will lead you into our kitchen - and what a kitchen it is! We have a rare full-sized refrigerator, two ovens, a dishwasher (*angel choir noises*), and yes, even a wine fridge (BYOB, but you can pick up wine at the shop on our block). Attached to the kitchen is our washer/dryer/dog feeding room, and the back wall of the kitchen is a complicated sliding door onto the deck which leads into our small but well-maintained yard.

When you make a right off the dining area, which you will because you'll be jetlagged, you'll pass a half bath on your right, then come to the end of the short back hallway connecting - as I like to call them - the East and West Wings (think the Eggs from The Great Gatsby, not the White House).

On your left is the master bedroom, complete with en suite and his and hers sinks, thank you very much. Immediately in front of you is the kids' room, which they delight in sharing. You will no doubt want to turn right, however, and make toward the end of the West Corridor.

At the far end of the hall are three doors. The closed door in front of you is a closet we've converted into an office. The door next to it on your right leads back into the community entryway. The door to your left - now that's the one you've been waiting to pass through since partway over the Atlantic Ocean!






Walk through the door to your left and find two twin beds, two dressers, a tv, some lovely full-length windows letting in tons of natural light (and also fitted with black-out shades) and a tv with an Amazon Firestick. Now - NOW - you can finally sleep lying down!

Have a good rest, and when you awaken, we'll begin our adventures (and give you the wi-fi password). A day trip to Trakai Castle? A weekend in Klaipeda? Maybe just a nice jog in Vingus Park? Whatever your plans, they all begin here... at The Ooh La La House.

My Kingdom for a Cuppa

There my boxes of tea sat next to my coffeemaker, nearly undisturbed, for 10 months. Clear in my mind's eye, they taunt me now in my hour of need: jet lag. I know, of course, that to sink heavy and warm into dreamland at 7:43 pm would be a mistake, and that an equally dangerous indulgence would be a cup of coffee at this hour. And so I blinkblinkblink at my screen, wondering if, had I not taken my tea for granted, I might have brought some along to be sipping at this very moment.

My lack of tea... that is the only thing wrong with this picture, and thanks to the presence of the Maxima XXX supermarket a few blocks away from our temporary residence - the U.S. Embassy Vilnius - it is one that is easily remedied.


Once the kids wake up. Which could be tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon, or 2:00 am tonight. You see, tiny kids do not observe the rules for overcoming jet lag. Tiny kids don't push themselves to stay awake until their usual bedtime (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Tiny kids don't set alarms to wake at a decent hour in the morning, or force themselves up from naps after 2 hours so they can get back to sleep at night. No, tiny kids do what tiny kids do best - whatever the heck they want.




Tiny kids waking at 11:00 pm and staying up past 2:00 am notwithstanding (yeah, that's when I remembered she has a Kindle - glorious invention, that), all is quite well with the Roaming Reynolds.

Our permanent residence here in the capital of Lithuania will be ready for occupancy in about a week, which is shockingly quickly considering the work that goes into the preparation. Until then, we're living on the embassy compound itself. Nick's office is down the hall, providing him with the world's shortest commute. We have a view of the Russian Orthodox Church located a block away, which is lovely, and we have air conditioning in our bedroom, which is clutch. Someone very clever packed Evelyn's favorite pillow and blanket from Virginia, so she's happily sleeping in her new bed, and there's a crib set up for Zoe, who didn't even give it a second thought as a safe place to sleep.

Why yes, we do have dogs! Well remembered, you. Moki (MOH-key), our 35 lb. Zimbabwean Jack Russell/something cross, has made her second international journey easily, and is happily lying on the clothes in my open suitcase as we speak. The one report we received of her during our travels was that she was being "extremely cute." Kiro (KEY-roh), our 80 lb. Nepalese Tibetan Mastiff, is, alas, still at doggy summer camp in Virginia. Due to a Lufthansa pets-as-cargo flight embargo during the current heat wave in the DMV area, his arrival had to be delayed until the middle of next week - just in time to adjust to our apartment before moving again.



Truly though, we have had nothing but positive experiences thus far in LT. The embassy staff is efficient and welcoming, the Americans are in high spirits, and the groceries are inexpensive. I even saw hot air balloons out of my kitchen window last night! We have a lot to see, do, and learn, and we're all looking forward to exploring this new world. To quote Evelyn: "We're having an adventure!"