Lisette as Princess Amneris in Aida

Farewell Blog

We're sitting in the Buenos Aires International Airport, waiting to board our airplane back to the States. It's been a rough week but now we're heading to family for the holidays. That's what makes it so much easier when it's not easy at all.

I don't have much time but I wanted to post one more blog while we were actually still in Argentina. It's been quite an adventure - definitely worthy of the 250 blogs I've created here.

There will be one postscript blog...I'll fill you in on our lives since moving out of the house and reminisce on our year in this beautiful country.

Feliz Navidad!
Love,
Shelley

Almost Gone

Well the packers have been doing an outstanding job. John has been working himself to the bone, finding things that I'd completely forgot about...for instance, he rescued my Eiffel Tower from being forgotten in the garden!

My work has been done for the majority of the week - I got myself and Jake packed and the kitchen organized so I'm taking this week off...yesterday I got a pedicure and my hair done. Rough work in the midst of an international move, eh? :-)

Our hotel is gorgeous, John and I move into a suite today...it wasn't available until now so we were in a very nice room but with all of our luggage and boxes to be mailed, the quarters were tight.

As our Argentina Experiment winds down, we're forced to reconsider our time here and reflect on all we've done and seen. I think that will be the subject of my final entry...so stay tuned!

Update - Packers

Great day! They sent four guys, three of which unpacked us almost ten months ago. The kitchen and dining room are completely packed as is the garage and most of the living room.

We've decided to move into the hotel tomorrow night...it gets the kids settled and gives the girls a quiet, tranquil environment to study for their exams. Besides - it's beautiful! John and I zipped over there this afternoon to check it out. If all goes really well, there's a chance we'll splurge for the massages!

I just spent a few hours and a whole lot of dollars buying Christmas gifts over the Internet and arranging for them to be mailed (wrapped!) to John's parents' house. Beats having to find a place for them in our luggage or wrapping and mailing them to ourselves! Now I just have to verify I'm basically done and then I'll be so very happy! I have got some wonderful gifts from here too but the kids want boring stuff like gift cards and Nintendo games.

They said they'd hold off packing up the computer so hopefully I'll be updating daily!

Goodnight!

Packing Masters

We're good. We're very, very good. Comes with experience I suppose. We're so good I'm sitting at the computer a mere 30 minutes before we expect the movers to show up...I'm that secure in how prepared we are. Ha! We'll see about that by tonight.

This weekend was spent on prepping. We also threw in three parties and a babysitting job. Oh, and the girls are getting ready for their finals this week. Stress level should be through the roof but John and I especially put in a lot of hours getting the house ready. So here I sit!

We won't move into the hotel until tomorrow or maybe even Wednesday night. We're keeping the packers limited to the main level and maybe the attic today. The attic scares me as I haven't been up there this weekend - don't know how bad it looks.

Hopefully this computer won't disappear into a box today and I'll update this evening!

Besitos!!

One Down

Our Express Shipment was picked up today. This is the shipment that will be sent air freight, hence arriving at our next home much faster (one month) than our regular household goods shipment. We're limited to 1,000 pounds - and we used up every ounce.

The movers showed up at 8:30 this morning but I was at the Elementary School to watch Jake's performance. He woke up with a fever and he looked like he needed a hug...but was horrified when I told him to go on back to bed. He insisted on going to school for the concert because..."I have a solo!" Great - another performer in the family! So I drove him to school and brought him home after the concert. He did great in his solo and the Tylenol this morning seemed to last all day.

This afternoon I went and did some shopping at an open house at a friend's. The idea was to pick up Christmas gifts but I think I bought more for myself. Oops!

Tonight Lisette had another performance at school, kind of a Talent Show/Showcase thing. Now she's got friends over and Nicole has her "friend" (yup, it better just be friendship!) Matt over. They're all preparing to head out to a party - the girls will only be able to be there for an hour and a half, the party starts at 11:30 and their curfew is 1 AM...I'm tired just thinking about it!

My favourite thing about having kids, well one of them, is listening to their conversations from another room. Lisette's friends are cracking me up! At the moment they're playing with Buddy and smelling him (he got bathed today!)

Goodnight! Hope John'll play taxi tonight!

Truckin' Along

As the move gets closer and closer, John's drinking more wine! Ha! He can see me tensing up so he's retreating to booze. Naw. It certainly hasn't got that bad. He did have a glass of wine with dinner, we decided to go on a date tonight. Our waiter asked us where we've been, why we haven't been by in a while. I should have given him this blog address!

I went to a coffee this morning but just stayed an hour. Organization was calling me home. Jake went to school feeling great...and we got a call at 9:45 to come and get him, he had a fever and a nosebleed! What awful parents we are!! He spent the day on the couch with a fever, just a low-grade but it's sticking. Pain in the rear (the fever, not him!) and he's only got a few weeks of school left. Tomorrow I'm taking him to school if he's feeling okay but bringing him home with me after his chorus concert in the morning. That way, maybe we can get some homework for him.

Well, I'm yawning. Time for me to hit the old pillow. John spent most of his time at the Embassy today and when he was home, he was playing Nintendo DS with Jake. Now he's starting to get his things organized. Good thing he's a night owl!

Building Pressure

Moving is tough. The silver lining is that you tend to toss out a lot of things and then when you get to your destination and unpack - it feels kind of like Christmas. In the meantime, I'm starting to stress. So much to do, so much to remember, so much I could screw up. My desk looks like a hurricane hit it but the kitchen is already pretty much separated.

Tomorrow is when the kids have to separate their clothes and belongings - the very idea makes me hyperventilate a little. I've got to do the same thing which means dragging more of my winter clothes out of the attic and making an absolute mess of my bedroom. Not something to look forward to!

Then there's Christmas shopping for the kids. We're (yes, John helped!) basically done for extended family but we've got lots to do for the kids. I have an idea that will simplify things with the girls but Jake is a whole different story. The Internet is great but I'll be losing my computer much sooner than later...AHHH!

Okay, maybe it's time for some wine. Or maybe I should make another list... :-)

Addresses

Jake's been home from school for the better part of the week now. Very early this morning he came into our room crying and burning up with a fever. He had Tylenol just before bed last night but obviously it didn't last him the night.

I haven't mentioned what happened on Saturday night when we returned from the final performance...only because I didn't take the time. As I backed the car into the garage, both John and I realized the house alarm was sounding. He ran into the house and found we had a flood. Seems the gardener didn't turn off the water pump, just switched the other handle for water to go divert from the pool to the house. If the water pump isn't turned off, the water is sent up into our water tank that provides water to the second story of the house. Unfortunately, there is no safety valve in this tank so once it's full it simply starts overflowing. So for probably close to two hours, there was water spilling into the service area, down through the space between the upstairs floor and the kitchen. The water came up over my feet when I entered the kitchen. Luckily, there's a decent lip of tile between the kitchen and the wood floors of the dining room and study. John and I spent the better part of the next three hours squeegying/toweling/drying it up as best we could.

The reason I now bring up the flood, we're concerned that the humidity in Jake's room may be lending itself to his illness. There have been all sorts of colds running around the school so I'm not entirely convinced he's sick because of mold but we can't disregard it either. Just one more thing to worry about as we start going crazy with a move but then again, we're moving out of here too! Mostly sad, kind of glad.

And along with a move comes...change of address. We've had fourteen addresses in the nineteen years we've been married. I starting keeping a list with a few years ago and only have a couple incomplete addresses in it - mostly house numbers I haven't remembered or found. Now I'm making labels for Christmas cards and find that with all of our moving around, we've made friends with others who also move around too much! Thankfully their emails usually stay the same so I've got half a dozen emails out to request confirmation of addresses. It's nuts! A few people, I don't even know what state they're in anymore!

Don't lose me! :-)

Party was On!

We had a great party yesterday here at the house. It was the final farewell party for John and his classmates. There were about 50 people/children here - the pool was put to good use but there were two highlights...one when the Venezuelans took over the kitchen and the other when the Mariachi Band showed up! It was awesome! The party lasted from 1-11 PM so both John and I totally dropped last night. We crashed onto the couch and had to put our feet up for 30 minutes before we could even think about heading upstairs to bed. Exhausted but happy.

This morning, Jake woke with a fever so he spent the day with me...just working around the house. Lilian worked here all weekend so she had the day off. I pretty much have everything cleaned up from the party, sent a bunch of dirty towels/clothes to the laundry and filled a basket for John to return forgotten items to his classmates. Our moving company came to do our shipment inspection. The days are counting down. :-(

Tonight we all went out for dinner...laughed and teased our way through a good meal.

Grande Finale!

This evening was the finale of Aida. The kids did a great, great job once again! I must say, my girls were the most beautiful people on the stage...and I don't even think I'm biased! :-)

99% of my pictures were fuzzy, hard to get a good shot with an automatic camera without a flash! They were taping tonight again so we weren't allowed to use the flash.

Lisette - center stage, Nicole - far right, Mommy, Daddy and brother Jake - proud!

Take Two

The second performance of Aida was last night. All the kids stepped it up a notch so I'm not sure why Lisette reported that the kids thought Thursday night was better. I'm a brutal critic, I tend to notice any or at least most mistakes and I really thought that overall, last night was even better than the previous.

Lon took an amazing picture of Lisette Thursday night but we were unable to download off of his camera chip so he's promised to email it to me. I'll post it when I get it! Lon and Runez departed Buenos Aires last night - we had such an amazing time with them! Runez told me Lon's nickname was the "Energizer Bunny" at the school she works at. I certainly can attest to the energy level of this guy! He really kept us hopping! Pun intended! :-)

The girls went out to dinner last night and got back home just after midnight. So we all slept in this morning until it was time to take the girls to soccer. Yes, soccer. Still! This was their fourth "final" soccer practice/asado (BBQ)...extended farewell or what?? LOL

Our Superstar

Lisette blew me away! To say we were proud parents is such an understatement. She made both of us cry with her performance. At intermission I wanted to dance around and sing "She's my daughter, can you believe how talented she is??" Somehow I managed not to grab everyone by the shoulders and claim mother status.

Obviously the Aida performance was last night. Our visitors arrived back in Buenos Aires from Iguazu yesterday afternoon. I had slept in and then basically hung around the house again. Leisure is my middle name when I can manage it. All three kids came home on the bus for the first time in forever. I taxied both of the girls back to school at separate times for their preparations.

Nicole played a palace girl/museum visitor/slave girl off and on through the play and she looked stunning! She's quite content to be our Soccer-Diva while Lisette lays claim to Actress-Diva. :-)

Directly after the play finished, John and I hustled home with Lon, Runez and Jake then jumped in a waiting remise to go downtown for his class dinner. We arrived at around 10:30 and they hadn't started eating yet. I practiced my Spanish with the wife of one of the students. Unfortunately she's from Brazil and with her Spanish also came a Brazilian accent! Lord help me! We managed though. LOL

Halfway through dinner I had to put on my nurse's cap. An older lady had fainted in the hallway right outside our dining room. At first glance, I started mentally preparing myself to start CPR...she looked terrible. However, she was breathing and her heart rate was steady - she was very pale and clammy. Found out she had a history of triple bypass and stroke. The ambulance took about 20-30 minutes to arrive. In the meantime she became somewhat conscious, answering some questions and giving us some health details. She was able to squeeze my hands on command and move her legs. So basically I just stuck around until the ambulance came, making sure she stayed alive. She did. John exchanged business cards with a gentleman who was a friend of hers...I asked him to let us know how she was. I'll pass it on to you guys when we hear.

Finally arrived home at around 2 AM and fell into bed.

Lazy Daisy

I fully enjoyed my quiet lazy day but I didn't get much done. I spent a great deal of time designing our Christmas card...a GREAT deal of time. Then John had to throw his two cents at it which meant I had to redesign part of it. Finally, finally, it was time to pay for it and - Boom! - they can't send the order down here because it weighs more than a pound. Sigh. I stuck that on a back burner until tomorrow.

The girls had play rehearsal again today and I brought in a big, actually two big, trays of sweets from a neighbourhood bakery. According to Nicole, all of the food was eaten instantaneously. Sounds like teenagers to me!

That's all to report today - the weather has been stunning, trees and plants are blossoming, I saw my first hummingbird of the season...ahhhhhh. :-)

Drawstrings

We've started the process of moving. Yesterday John and I set the dates for our move...we'll complete our Argentina Experiment in the next few weeks. I'm in a bit of a conundrum about it - looking forward to the next adventure but not looking forward to leaving some things and people behind here. Such is our life!

Our visitors headed up to Iguazu Falls yesterday. The house was so quiet last night with the girls at play practice, just John, Jake and I here. This morning all is quiet too - Lilian is taking the day off so it's just Buddy and I. I have the windows open to let the cool air in, the weather has been perfect.

I have to start sorting today. Clothing, toiletries, books, linens, then kitchen items we'll have sent on the Express Shipment which will meet us soon after our arrival in Virginia. The rest of our Household Goods we may not see until March. Obviously that means I need to select wisely. Time for a list! :-)

Ushuaia Continued...

Make sure you read the last one first!

When we returned to the train station, we found Quique Diaz (train owner) had left us a signed copy of the history of the "Fin del Mundo" (end of world) train. So cool.

Dinner was at a much less expensive, less touristy seafood restaurant. More crab for me!

Sunday brought us back to the mountain. It was cold but no rain so up in the ski lift we went. After a 15 minute lift ride, we arrived on the platform and started climbing. Supposedly there was a few different paths but we only found one and for the first half an hour/45 minutes it was easy going. The kids posed in a bog and on a rock and made snow angels. The snow angel episode inspired an older Argentinean woman to make one too - funny! The last ten minutes of hiking were tough. Jake ended up in a fit over his cold, wet feet and a cold, sore throat. So I stayed behind with Runez and Jake to nurse his feet back to warmth and to tell him to suck up his sore throat. The girls and men headed a little farther up the mountain but returned in time to find Jake all warm and snuggled.

It was a shorter trip down the mountain, especially knowing that delicious hot chocolate and chicken stew lunch was waiting for us in the chalet...along with a wood-burning stove.

Back at the hotel, the girls mellowed and the rest of us headed to the nearby beach to look for rocks and shells. We witnessed a Golden Retriever mix enjoying the frigid water to the fullest. It made me shiver just watching him swimming around. It may be Spring but the air temperature was near freezing. We found lots of rocks, some shells and Jake practiced skipping rocks while John showed what a rock-skipping artist he is!

Last night the entire city lost power for about two hours. Shortly after we lost power, we also lost the water in our rooms. It was already bedtime and we'd already brushed our teeth, so it wasn't too bad.

This morning John, Lon and Runez went for a half hour sightseeing flight. I slept in and refused to worry. Well, I tried really hard not to. For no other reason than I knew John needed to, I supported the venture. They all came back alive, we made it to the airport in time and now we're home! One more adventure checked off of our life's list. :-)

The Bottom of the World

We just returned from spending three + days in Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is the southernmost city of the world and it is stunning! I'll add pictures when I've recovered from the trip a little.

Ushuaia was in Spring Heaven when we arrived on Friday. Everyone we met from the time we landed gushed about "the perfect day" - it was sunny and just slightly cool. We only needed a light jacket until later in the evening. We walked around downtown for a bit and had lunch before checking into our hotel for a very quick nap (we had to leave the house at 4:30 AM so desperately needed a power nap) then went back into town to take a boat trip to Penguin Island. I'm not sure if that's the actual name, but it works!

We saw Seal Island first, home to a huge family of sea lions and wanna-be penguins (but they can fly) then on to an island that the catamaran beached onto amongst a huge colony of penguins! Our penguins (chosen carefully among the many who wanted to be named by us, I'm sure!) were named Fatima, Spot and Bob. Our overall favourite was definitely Bob. Dinner was at a Tourist Trap but very yummy! One of the local dishes is a very spiny King Crab - yeah baby!!

Saturday morning was very rainy. We drove up to the ski lift that takes you half way to the glacier but the weather stopped us in our tracks. Instead, we had a hot chocolate at the chalet...smart, huh? We decided to go take the "End of the World Train" which took us around the National Park just outside Ushuaia. To prepare for our two hour trip, it behooved us to have some more hot chocolate (and a sandwich but it was cold, so the hot chocolate was more important!) While waiting on our hot chocolate, John struck up a conversation with a gentleman who sat beside us at the little cafe. They chatted for quite a while then the gentleman got up and brought me back a calendar from the gift shop! Wow! Very nice, I thought. Then John explained that the guy actually owned the railroad. WOW! VERY NICE, I thought! He proceeded to arrange for us to have our own private car on the train and we found more little gifts sitting on the seats within that car. It was exceptionally cool. The train ride was stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, breath-taking...all you would expect from such a wild, wide-open frontier.

I have to take a break and get us fed, be back later with more!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Crazier!!

My Babies...notice Jake is OUTSIDE the enclosure...this is at Lujan Zoo just outside Buenos Aires. There were two tigers and a male lion inside this cage. We all (Jake too!) got to play with two baby pumas and a baby lion. Rode an elephant and a camel. Played with monkeys and ducklings and bunnies. Only in Argentina... :-)

Kinda Crazy

The school bus was 10 minutes early this morning! Ahhhh! Hair straightener was left plugged in, Nicole forgot her iPod and cell phone plus Lisette forgot a pair of flip-flops she needed. Jake's bedhead was barely under control when the Lisette hollered "Bus!" from downstairs. Thankfully, the bus comes by the house a second time so I dressed quickly and met them with the forgotten items when they came back ten minutes later. Whew!

I made the mistake of having a cafe con leche while I had my nails done, then drinking a Diet Coke before stopping for something to eat. My body went into shock. I've been weaning myself off of coffee and switched to tea in the morning. The double dose of caffeine (my tea doesn't seem to have the same caffeine effect on me) overloaded my system.

Lon, Nunez and I did some window shopping but shortly thereafter I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't eat so I propelled us into a cafe and had a basket of rolls delivered ASAP. I had a Lomo (steak) sandwich with a big bottle of water. God Bless the Argentinean beef.

John joined us and a little later on this afternoon we took Lon and Nunez on a tour of the kids' school. They took pictures of the cityscape from the decks overlooking the river. Beautiful views!

Nunez made some incredible spaghetti sauce while I ran some more errands. We all sat down to a great meal with some dear friends...did I mention the awesome spaghetti sauce?? :-)

Recaps

Sunday - birthday party for Jake (Nicole and I also attended) - funny Argentinean magician...
- BBQ at our friends' with Jake, finally some catch up time with Mary and a good beer after I wanted to throttle Lisette for fiddling away four hours instead of cleaning up the kitchen like I asked. :-)

This morning I picked up some new visitors of ours at the airport! Somehow they snuck past me while I waited for them at the one and only entry into the airport from customs. I must have been daydreaming!

We headed home and they had their mandatory two-hour nap. Then we went for the mandatory cafe con leche and sandwiches at the cafe down the street. John met us there after school and joined us for lunch.

We made some plans for the few days when they won't be with us in Ushuaia or on their side trip to Iguazu. Within a few hours, all those plans had changed. Flexibility is key here.

After dinner at our friendly family grill restaurant, we came home and ordered ice cream! The weather is perfect so we sat out on our backyard patio and enjoyed delicious Argentinean delivered ice cream. Now I'm exhausted and we still don't have a definitive plan for tomorrow! Tour Guide Shelley is slipping up on her job!

International Day!

It was up early to take the girls to school for a play practice. I woke up and considered getting dressed before checking on the girls but my "Mom Radar" was up...and on target, as usual. They'd slept in. Ten minutes to get ready, no traffic so Momma moved it and got them to the school just a few minutes late.

John, Jake and I returned to the school a few hours later for "International Day" - full of games and country booths from all over the world. I'll try and remember as many as I can - there was Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and the United States. Jake sang with the Elementary school, the girls sang with the Aida cast. We spent about four hours and enjoyed the whole time!

Tonight Nicole went with her friend Matt to a Youth Group gathering. The rest of us went to the best Chinese food restaurant EVER!! It's in Chinatown - yes, I've talked about it before - and it is awesome. I've now made believers out of Lisette and Jake too. :-) My work here is done!

Bazaar!

The Embassy had a shopping bazaar today! Mmm Mmm Good! Found quite a few treasures including quite a few Christmas gifts. Found quite a few treasures for me too! John went with me so it was nice to have him helping with the choices. He has excellent taste in most things and I'm learning to avoid asking him about other things. We're a good team! I also think he appreciates the fact that I really don't like shopping for the most part. :-)

I picked Jake up from school - he had Chess class this afternoon. We ran into his Chess teacher and he told me how well Jake is doing in Chess and offered to give him private lessons when the class is over. Unfortunately, I had to turn him down and explained that we were moving.

It's a quiet night so far but then, I just woke up! I lied down at around 5, almost three hours later....I guess I should have asked John not to let me sleep very long! Jake was on the computer, Lisette is in her room (?) and Nicole was hanging on the coach watching "That 70s Show" - dinner is non-existent. Guess that's my next move!

Ahhhh. Dinner has been determined! Today is "Mc Dia Feliz" - the one day of the year that McDonald's takes every penny paid for a Big Mac and puts it into the Ronald McDonald program. Last year they raised 27 million USD worldwide! Not my favourite sandwich at McD's but tonight I'll go for it. Jake's also going to have a Big Mac - for the first time! I'll let you know how that goes! BTW, being in Buenos Aires means we're having our Big Macs delivered! :-)

Next Place We'll Call "Home"

Closing In

We have a lease in hand...now we just need to sign it! The hold off is just until we can word an addendum for renting the house unseen. That's my job this morning.

I was a work horse yesterday. Between finalizing some things for the new rental house, paperwork for registering the kids at the new schools, registering Jake for Before School Care and starting the process for withdrawing them here, I also did some list making for the moves and did some organizing for our trip to Ushuaia later this month. Overall I was really excited about those duckies lining up!

The weather has been so cold here! Hard to believe it's spring until I stand at our gate and smell the honeysuckle. Talk about stopping and smelling the flowers! John's been uptight lately, lots of school work for him, so when I open the gate to let him in every afternoon I've been making him inhale the scent too! It makes him smile unless he's in a hurry to pee! LOL

Kim's finally home from the hospital!! Now she's off her foot for two months and has very strict instructions to watch out for infection from Nurse Shelley!

My incredibly talented cousin Kyran has her second article in Good Housekeeping Magazine this month (I'm guessing it's actually the December issue) - pick up a copy and read her under "Bloggers We Love" - grab a copy for me!

The Ducks are Back!

I'm still working on getting them in a row. Now I'm starting with the lists. John put some kind of list maker program on my computer but I need to put on my list to find it and learn how to use it. Sigh. :-)

Yesterday was a day of small tasks. Tying up loose ends, making a few phone calls.

Kim is still in the hospital after her surgery. First it was for some excess bleeding from a nicked blood vessel (nothing too great but a tad worrisome) then she had to wait for today (hopefully) for a physical therapy consult before she can head home. They ran out of Percocet on the floor (whaaaaa????) so she was in pain for an excessive amount of time until they could find some. As a nurse, this drives me INSANE. Sigh. :-(

Yesterday afternoon I had a facial - nice! John wasn't answering the house phone when I was done so I decided to walk home. If I'd thought of it before, I would have done it anyway. He thought I was mad because I "had to walk home" but it was a really nice walk and a little bit of exercise too. Bonus! Silly man! He was grumpy from hunger and lack of sleep, while I got to sleep in after the ball...I'd have been grumpy too. LOL

Last night was cuddling with Nicole on the couch watching "House MD" and starting my lists. Oh, and I think we've found our house for next Spring! Once the lease is signed I'll post a picture!

Weekend of Chillin'

I can hardly remember what we did on Saturday - I don't think it was much! Nicole ran around the city with her yearbook class taking pictures of Buenos Aires through the eyes of a 15 yr. old. If she ever decided to become a photographer, she'd be great! She has quite an eye already.

The rest of us just chilled. Sunday was more of the same until mid-afternoon when I had to go to the hairdresser's to get ready for a ball. Not my first ball but it was fun!

Last night John and I attended the US Marine Corps Ball! It was so cool! There were people from all different countries and affiliations. It was held at a Tango Show - dinner and show - down at Puerto Madero, on the water. As it was a ball, everyone was dressed to the T's. Tres elegante!

John had a presentation at school this morning so we had to leave the ball early...how very Cinderellaish, don't you think? :-)

Fast Friday

It went by in a flash! As I signed onto the blog I had to remember what day it was...I was thinking it was Saturday already!

I spoke to Kim this morning before she headed to surgery. It was supposed to be an outpatient procedure but she bled a little too much so they're keeping her overnight for observation. According to Cindy, she's doing fine though. Prayers please!

John spent the day at the Embassy so I fiddled around the house, mostly cruising the Internet for a home! More prayers please!

I did go and get a bunch of groceries, some of which Lilian made into a wonderful lomo (beef) dish. It's our favourite so I had her make a double batch.

The doc (our landlord) came by with some guys to look at some floor swelling we have. The bad news from that was the doc handed me a bill for some city services that we're supposed to pay. It's about $450 so that's an ouch! It's all in Spanish of course, so I'll let John figure this one out.

The girls had a soccer dinner to go to tonight. Now Nicole is heading to a movie/sleepover. John just left to pick up Lisette from the dinner and deliver Nicole's sleepover bag. Her social life makes me sleepy! Jake was cuddling with me on the couch playing his new Nintendo DS. Does he really have to become a teenager??

The Anti-Age War

I'm a guerrilla fighter in this one. Well, I don't have much of an arsenal but I'm doing what I can. Especially because it's cheap here!

Firstly, Jake's birthday day was fantastic! He had a Field Day at school, actually called "Olympics Day" where each class dressed in a shirt of the colour of one of the Olympic rings. Jake's class was in blue. He wore a Hawaiian shirt! He's so cool. It wasn't even what he had on when he left for school. The boy has a sense of style. :-)

**Side story** Nicole was telling me that her friend's little brother was talking about this Olympic Day at home and excitedly told his family he was going to be in the "Special Olympics"!! LOL

After school he had Tae Kwon Do so John and I picked him up with some very lame gifts (two chocolate bars and a pair of PJs.) He didn't fall for it when I tried to tell him that's all he was getting. Wisdom comes at the ripe old age of nine!

Dinner was out with two other families - friends of Jake's and ours. Back home we sang Happy Birthday to him and partook in my homemade Dr. Suess birthday cake. It was a triple layer chocolate masterpiece that just happened to lean a bit too much! Everyone enjoyed it, the other families headed home and we fell onto the couch. Day well done!

Today Nicole and I went to a dermatologist for some laser work. Nicole had a small red spot zapped on her face. She'd gotten it from a wasp bite when she was about 7 and had asked repeatedly to have it removed. Again, it's cheap here! I had some sun spots zapped. I'm not holding my breath but it would be cool if they faded away. Of course, after the laser zapping they're darker than ever! Sigh. LOL

Nothing else exciting today. Cloudy and a little cool. Now it's time for bed! Goodnight!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Jakey!!!!!!
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!

Muchos Besitos for mi nino lindo!!
Tiene nueve anos!!!
Mommy

Time Changes All Things

Including the clock! We're now 2-3 hours ahead of you guys. Argentina doesn't participate in Daylight Savings so don't call too late! And I'll try not to call too early! :-)

Sunday was truly a day of rest. Except I was up at 0430 to take Maria to the school so she could catch the plane back to Ecuador. Not my usual time of day but I did return to bed and sleep until the crack of noon! Okay, not quite that late but close!

Jake has been spending way too many hours playing an online game called "Adventure Quest" and his sleepover friend Manny loves it too. Manny and Jake had to be scooted away from the computer multiple times on Sunday to go and enjoy the beautiful day. By Sunday night, Jake had red, droopy eyes and almost fell asleep on the couch by 6 PM. Too much staring at the screen and too little sleep Saturday night!

The girls chilled. Saturday night at the park had been great and now they barely moved. Nicole's friend Matt (one of the boy soccer victors) came over to watch "Transformers" but otherwise all was perfectly quiet! Yeah!

Yesterday I went to see a doctor about a rash. Yeah, perhaps TMI but it's nothing exciting. He thinks it's eczema gone mad. Seems he's right as his prescription is drying it up. Yeah again! John went with me to the German Hospital (that's where the doc sees patients), which was a very good thing. I definitely would have been lost. The hospital was rather efficient - I was pretty impressed. There was no appointment, just show up and cross your fingers. I was seen after about a 20 minute wait max. He was a nice guy and we were done within another 20 minutes, prescription in hand. And free! Thanks to our insurance mind you! If I need to go back I'm sure I could do it without needing John...or not! :-)

Lose Some, Win Some

What a day!!

Started the day by taking the girls to school for their last day of the soccer tournament. Then back to pick up Jake and set up the house for John's return this morning. I won't tell you how I did it but we had to figure a way to get him into the gate/house with no keys. Whew! :-)

Then off to Game #1 - it was against Peru and would decide if the girls played in the final game or just the "Bronze Medal" game. They played brilliantly the first half but just couldn't get the ball in the net. Half-time score was 0-0. John arrived shortly before the half, luggage-free.

Second half, I was wondering if it was the same team. They (in general) stunk. They were sluggish and slow and looked like they'd rather be anywhere else but on a soccer pitch. Needless to say, they lost 2-0. The website says 2-1 so I'll have to verify that but I don't remember anyone scoring. What a bummer!

More tears. At least they were playing Ecuador for third place, they'd already beat them 2-0 earlier this week. Yeah, right!

Just a few hours after their sad defeat, they were back on the field. They hadn't picked up their pace and at the half, they were losing 1-0. I thought when Ecuador scored it would wake them up. I was wrong! Eventually, with some excellent effort from some of the players, the score was tied. The goal was actually scored by an Ecuadorian but it was a great incoming shot from the midfielder. The game ended with the tied score. On to Penalty Kicks. Remember what happened with those yesterday? Scary. This time the girls rocked!!! Our goalie stopped three shots and our girls only missed one. It was awesome! PKs are a tough way to win or lose but it was great for the girls to pull a win out of this one!

This afternoon, we happened to be back at the school for Jake and his friend to play. We timed it to watch the last half of the boys' championship game. We won!! In PKs again too! Two rounds and it was amazing. The game was hard fought and impressive. The celebration was intense. Very cool to be there for.

Now the girls are out celebrating at a local theme park that they booked for just the tournament kids. How cool is that?

Jake's friend is sleeping over too. My bed is already calling. Hope John slept well on the plane!

Honeysuckle Perfume

Here's that wondrously wonderful smelling entry of ours!!

Tears of Frustration

The girls, not me. They lost today in Penalty Kicks.

It was a very well played game with the other team scoring at the very end of the first half. By then it was obvious that the teams were very evenly matched. About two-thirds of the way through the second half, Nicole got taken down inside the box and her team-mate scored the resulting Penalty Kick! Yeah! BTW, Nicole wasn't injured at all, in fact she said "It was fun!" She went flying!

So the end of the game came, tied 1-1. Lisette hadn't got any playing time (Poor Boo!!) and Nicole had been pulled off the field with just five minutes left so neither of my girls were taking the shots (you have to be on the field to take part in the PKs) which helped my nerves. They did rather poorly with the shots, missing 3 out of 4. The other team won 4-2 (3-1 PKs, 1-1 Game) and the tears started.

One more day, two more games. Say a prayer, light a candle, wish them the best!!

More Money for Nicole

She scored again! This time it was their second goal and they won 2-0 so it was just a "goal" meaning I don't owe her extra.
Here's the set up ~
20 Pesos - Goal
30 Pesos - Winning Goal
40 Pesos - Tie-breaking Goal
50 Pesos - Header Goal

She almost got a header goal a few times today. She actually scored first but it was called back because she was offside. Whew!

Lisette got to play for about half of the second half. She did great and saw a lot of action in the mid-field. She was pumped to be out on the field and ended up playing in a pick-up game with a bunch of the boys this evening!

Jake joined me at half-time to watch his sisters and cheer them on. He is an enthusiastic brother!

John passed his physical back in Florida...yeah all round for our family!

I zipped to the Embassy to run errands and follow-up with the doc for a nasty rash I have on my leg. We decided to surrender to a Dermatologist at the hospital...I'll see her next week.

Dinner was "Shepherd's Pie" - very Irish for our Ecuadorian soccer guest. She had two helpings so either she liked it or she was simply famished after playing in two games today!

Soccer Game #1

Won!

The first half was scoreless. We were concerned that the girls had underestimated the other team. The weather was nasty, rainy and a bit of a cool breeze. They started the game with a bang but then started to fizzle out. Neither of the girls started but Nicole was substituted in with about 10 minutes to go. She almost scored with a nice header but it was right to the goalie.

About 15 minutes into the second half there was a flurry of activity in front of the other team's goal and Nicole managed to nudge the ball in!! Go Nicole!!

Unfortunately the other team scored a few minutes later with a long ball that bounced up and over our goalie's head. What I noticed was that instead of losing steam over the set back, our team got aggressive. They were obviously a better team and now they needed to show it with the ball in the net.

They had so many close calls, so many opportunities, they just needed to keep at it. With about five minutes left in the game Nicole found herself one on one with the goalie right in front of the net. My girl popped it right past her! Screaming, cheering, singing arose from the stands around me!! Gotta love a soccer game in front of an Argentinean crowd!!!

Final score: 2-1

W 1 L 0

To be continued...

Getting in Our Groove

John used to travel for work a great deal. Since he's "just a student" here, we've had the pleasure of his company basically since last December. It's been great!! Last night he had to go on a short trip and it's so weird. Finding the groove had been easy but last night I couldn't sleep, mind you the beautiful but voluble nightingale didn't help. Jake welled up when he found out Daddy was leaving for a few days...we're not used to it anymore!

But anyway, Happy Halloween!! Jake is a Transformer/Phantom of the Opera...he wants to wear his Transformer costume at school and be the Phantom for Trick or Treating. We'll see about the Phantom. Although his Transformer costume ended up being too small...I'm not sure if there's a flood in the movie but Jake would be prepared if there was.

Lisette went as a Wench. Hmmmm. Nicole went as herself (she's such a Superstar!) Their soccer tournament starts today and we're hosting a girl from one of the other teams starting tonight. I'll keep you updated!

Ducks

Mine aren't in order. I'm not sure my ducks have what it takes to ever be in order! There are times when I think they're close but then they waddle off in another direction entirely!

Such is life when you live like a gypsy. Have I mentioned how gorgeous Argentina is in the spring? That's the sort of thing that makes dealing with those wacky ducks worthwhile!

Each and every time I open our front gate I am overwhelmed by the smell of the honeysuckle that arches over it. What a great way to greet the person on the other side of that gate! It's a "pick me up" that brings a smile to my face as I open the door to our home. Very cool.

Yesterday I ran errands at the Embassy and had lunch with my dear Mary. We chatted over tostados (Kim - you know what those are!!) and tarta del espinaca (spinach quiche)(sp?) but were unable to solve the world's problems. We didn't care! Our ducks aren't in a row, why should anyone else's be?

Dinner was pork chops and fresh asparagus (parents) and rice (kids) but I forgot to mention the dessert so we skipped it. Oops. What they don't know...will be eaten later today!

Preparations

I'm trying to prepare us for our move in December. Finding a house, finding it in a good school area, figuring out how long it will take to get to work, figuring out where Jake will need to be for before/after school care. It's driving me a little batty. Our "fall back" house has been rented. Say a prayer for us please!!

Nicole is now feeling under the weather, however when I peeked into her room she was too busy listening to whoever was on her cell phone to talk to me. Hmmmm. She looked much better than she did last night. Hopefully this is just a short-term version of what Carmen/John/Kim and I had!!

John and Jake have gone to play tennis - the weather is stunning, sunny and warm!

Last night John, Lisette and I watched "Interview with a Vampire" - according to Spanish Direct TV it was called "Interview whit the Vampire" - either way, it was cool. Halloween doesn't do anything for me but the movie got me more in the mood for ghosts and goblins!

I'm still trying to decide whether to have Jake Trick or Treat in our neighbourhood with the other expats or head to the Embassy...I think the neighbourhood is going to win this important battle - less time consuming! Argentineans don't really celebrate All Hallows Eve so we're dependent on those crazy North Americans!

Yawning

I'm up at 7 AM on a Saturday. Definitely not typical Shelley behaviour! Jake has a friend over and that means Jake had questions at 6:30 AM. Once I'm woken up I have a horrible time falling back asleep. So here I am. However, the sun is shining and the boys are now up in the attic so it's nice and quiet and pretty around here!!

Lilian got worse yesterday so I was sans a maid. I just hope her husband and her little guy escape the wrath of this bug!

Jake was up yesterday morning, tapping me on the shoulder at some God-awful hour because he had a bad nosebleed. I came downstairs and put some ice on the back of his neck (causes a vagal response that stops the bleeding within seconds!) and helped him clean up the amazing amount of blood he loses with these things.

I stayed home yesterday and cleaned the house. John went to the Embassy to get some paperwork done. Mary came over with the boys (mine included) after school and we finally had the time to chat and catch up! Beer was included in our "Mommy time" - we finished off the last bottle of beer Juan and Carmen had grown fond of down here. Good excuse, right? She stuck around with her boys for Chinese food delivery dinner then took little Thaddeus home and let us keep her Jake for the night.

Bedtime for me was right after I tucked the boys in. Unfortunately, John had told them they could stay up until midnight so it was a late night for me too. I managed to convince them to get to bed closer to 11:30 so it wasn't too bad!!

Have a beautiful Saturday!!

New Family Member!

Congratulations to cousin Adam and his beautiful wife Yvonne - this evening they welcomed their first (of many, I hope!) baby, the lovely Miss Avery Lynn into the world! How cool! How exciting! How wonderful!!!! Very best wishes to the new family!!

I went to a spouses' coffee this morning. The fellowship was great and the program was outstanding! We learned about Mate Tea. It's a very Argentinean thing and I thought I already knew a fair bit about it but was I wrong!! I was. In Europe, it's considered "Jesuit Tea" because the Jesuit Missionaries all came back from Argentina drinking it. There's a whole process - physical and traditional - in creating, serving and drinking the tea. Here's some of what I learned today...

1. There is traditionally at least two kinds of Mate cups - one for bitter and one for sweet tea.
2. The servador/servadora is the name of the "Keeper of the Mate" who serves (go figure!) everyone else.
3. You never boil the water for Mate.
4. You add cool water first - this is then sucked up and spit out (they skipped actually doing the spitting today!)
5. There's a whole lot of Mate tea in those cups! They're filled 3/4 full each time!
6. NEVER move the Mate spoon (the Bombilla) - this is highly insulting to the servador/servadora!!
7. Say "Gracias" when you don't want anymore (this shouldn't be done until you've drank at least once though!)

There - now you know what I didn't know. Unfortunately, you may not know what I DID know so...oh well! :-)

My early, early morning started with a flood in the laundry room. Sigh. Thankfully John wasn't at school yet and was able to call the washing machine guy. It was fixed all up this afternoon. Yeah!

Lilian came to work but I encouraged her to chill (like I could actually say "chill" in Spanish but that was basically what I told her!) I ended up driving her to the train station in the middle of the afternoon - sending her home. She seemed to be relatively fine, just looked tired but this bug is nasty and I don't want her getting worse.

This evening I went to the dermatologist and had some spots fried on my face...ouch. Nothing cancerous but John was adamant that I have someone check them out. He's a worry wart!

As I came into the house after picking up the girls, Jake informed me that my sister had called and left a message that I should call my mom. Never a good sign. Just as I picked up the phone, it rang. Kim was in a car accident...on TUESDAY!!!!!!!! Obviously, she's not mortally wounded or this would be much higher on my "report" for the day. Her right foot is badly broken - they initially warned her that she might lose it but it's looking much, much better and appears that amputation is no longer a threat. She will need surgery, most likely next week. She was most happy that they finally let her eat this evening...they'd been holding off in case she needed to go into surgery sooner. Plus the pain is now under control. Assuming (please God) that Kim's going to be just fine (and soon!), I'm now going to make this about me. Why, why, why didn't I get a call until 48+ hours after the fact?????? I'm 43 years old. I'm a big girl. I handle emergencies exceptionally well. Where's the good reason to wait??? Can you tell this totally pisses me off??? What really pisses me off is that I've repeatedly told my family (and John's BTW) - do NOT wait...I don't care if you "don't want me to worry"...I don't care if you think "there's nothing she can do anyway" - CALL ME!!! Can I make it clearer? Honestly, I feel like this is a way to punish us for being so far away. It truly feels that way. Yeah, I'm pissed.

Okay, now I'll go watch something mindless on TV and try to decompress. Stay safe, I love you and call me if someone I love is hurt...grrrrr. :-)

Perfect Weather

Sunny, warm with fragrant cool breezes now and then. It's picture perfect outside and although I completely appreciate it, this bug isn't letting me enjoy it to its fullest.

John and I both woke up with sore throats again. I skipped my appointed time at the gym...shame, shame! I don't dare take this nasty bug straight on - hey, maybe I should. Nope, I'm officially scared of it! Ha!

John did the taxi service for the kids this afternoon while I cooked up that chicken from last night. Roasted chicken, yum yum!

If we're feeling okay, John and I are going to visit some polling stations here on Sunday. The Embassy was looking for volunteers...even poorly Spanish speaking ones. I fit that bill! It's a national election so should be interesting! I've never been to a foreign polling station! Wow! I feel like Jimmy Carter, but not so old and grumpy. Well, maybe grumpy but just lately! LOL

Still Virus-Bound

This bug is nasty!! It's wearing me out. John's exhausted too. Plus it's making us both a little on the grumpy side! :-)

Lilian was off sick today so I cleaned up, did the dishes and then kept up with the laundry all day today. I managed to get some work done on our house hunting too. I was up at 7 with the kids but by 1:30 I needed a nap. It was tough just getting up the stairs. Nasty bug!!

Seems I have an infection in my tear duct too. The wonderful doctor/landlord brought me over a prescription when we found out eye antibiotics are not over the counter like other antibiotics. That made me cranky too. We also picked up some cream for a rash I've had on my leg for a month...yes, I'm falling apart.

I was about to make some baked chicken for dinner when John suggested we go out. Twist my arm!! The girls had soccer and when I picked them up they turned down the dinner invite. Pasta for them!! Jake chose to stay home too but we did bring him home some ribs - just 'cause!

Now I'm going to climb into my pj's and veg in front of the TV for another hour before grumbling my way into bed. Sucks to be John!! :-)

Monday News

Kim arrived home safe and sound!! Under the weather, delayed flights but home safe!

I think we've officially infected poor Lilian. I sent her home with throat lozenges and don't expect to see her tomorrow. :-(

We had a family come and check out the house as possible future renters. Extremely nice couple but we're worried they won't fit into the house...three children plus a set of grandparents. I think I want to sell them on Lilian though!!

Jake had his once a month trip to McDonald's tonight. Actually, it was brought to him by the girls and I but he got his Happy Meal! The American Empire is here and strong!! John always jokes that the sign of the "Empire" is McDonald's. It's all over the world. :-)

The girls have been studying for their math test tomorrow, at least Lisette has been - Nicole has been MIA most of the evening but they were talking math on the way home from McDonald's. Wish them lots of Algebra-luck!!

Homeward Bound

Kim's on her way home. :-( Hopefully we sent her on her way with lots of good memories and a decent taste of Argentina. Unfortunately, we also sent her home with our germs. Good luck with that Hamilton!

I sent Jake to school with some wise words...don't let them get to you. He had his haircut on Friday and he's none too happy about it! As usual, he lost more than he wanted to. We all agree that he looks very handsome but he doesn't have long hair anymore. Poor little guy!

So now the house feels very quiet! Just Buddy and I. I didn't get to bed until almost 1 so I'm considering a return to the sack but not quite sure about that. The quiet is peaceful but a little sad. Relaxing but a little empty. It feels like Monday! :-)

Bad Blogger!

I've been remiss this week big time!! I hit 200 blogs and then fizzled out! Well, I was sick and Kimmy's visiting, good excuse!

We hit La Boca Wednesday, John and I ran off for the night and then last night the high school had an "MTV Night" which starred a live performance (lip-synched) of Lisette working her Pat Benatar moves. Then we went to the mile-high ice cream shop for dinner...kinda dinner.

Today was a day off of school so Kim and I went strolling and shopping with Jake and Nicole. John stayed home to curse at the Internet. Lisette stayed home to chill. She's been so active over the last few weeks, she may crash herself if she doesn't get some down time.

Speaking of, the girls are now at school for a soccer game. Babysitting for Lisette tonight. Kim's already mellowing with Actifed. Poor boo! :-(

Recovering Nicely

Feeling much better this morning!

Happy Birthday to my Knight In Shining Armour!!!! It's the big 40-5 for my sweetheart and he still takes my breath away. Here's to him having a breath-taking day!!

Colds

I've been hit bad. The beauty of cold medicine is it makes you sleep. It dries you up and knocks you out. The problem with cold medicine is it provides rest when you may not necessarily want to sleep, hence I'm wide awake at 1 AM. But at least I'm feeling a little better from all of my sleep!

Kim went with the girls to the big Hippie Fair downtown today while John had some Father/Son time with Jake at an amusement shop at the mall. I slept. Then they all went out for dinner. I slept. First I was all congested, then I had a fever, then I took a cold medicine then I took some Tylenol - boy did I sleep.

The Hippie Fair was a big success, lots of goodies made their way home with the ladies. I was treated to a show and tell when they got back - they really did good.

Now my latest cold medicine is starting to kick in - see you on the flip side!!

We Share Too Much!

John's given me his sore throat. I didn't want it but he insisted! I spent the day mostly in bed yesterday and then watched "Pride and Prejudice" with Kim and Lisette. Yes, we initiated her into our cult. Seems her mind is stronger than ours though, she liked it but didn't LOVE it. Didn't "drink the koolaid" - too bad! :-)

Today I slept in and felt a little better but the virus has ventured into my lungs a bit. I took my Motrin, ate my chicken soup and drank my gallon of water. "Tour guide Shelley" now needs a nap!

Maybe we'll tie Kim to a chair and make her watch the six-hour long A&E version of P&P! For now she's going to go to the Hippie Fair with Lisette when the girls get back from soccer practice.

Baby Steps

I'm so proud of my "Baby" (in Spanish) sister!! She meandered around the shopping district while I had a mani/pedi - even buying a jacket all in Spanish!!! Luckily she also ran into a few shopkeepers who spoke English but she was brave enough to venture out on her own! Yeah Kim!!!

Unfortunately, I'd forgotten I had a pedicure appointment too and wore the wrong shoes. No open toes for me until I get a new paint job! Yup, yup, more of that life of leisure!!

Kim and I had lunch out which she ordered for herself - in Spanish!! Then back home where I finally got my luggage unpacked. I decided I should pack up my winter clothes while I as at it so there was a heap of clothing on my bed when Lilian finished the laundry. That included washing our sheets which she somehow managed to make our bed with - heap of clothing in the way and all!! She blows me away sometimes!! Aside - she's still no Kathy though!!!! ;-) Love ya Kathy!!

I baked up some frozen pizzas for the kids because I had a dinner date invitation for Kim and I. John had texted me that he wanted to go to our favourite Italian place for dinner. Works for me! He's obviously feeling better too. So off we went. It wasn't the chef's best night unfortunately but it was still pretty good.

Now it's raining and we've tucked Jake into bed...I'm going to go join my hubby and my sister to chill in front of the mind-sucking-orb we call a TV.

'Night!

Busy Bees

Kim and I have been getting around! I'm teaching her (Ha!) how to live a life of leisure! Yesterday we had facials and she had her hair coloured and cut - she looks mahvelous darling!

We went downtown and had coffee/tostados (sandwiches) before hitting the Galeria Pacifico for a bit of shopping. She found a few things - me, nothing...again! She bought a jacket (it was freezing and she had short sleeves on!) and a very cool watch. Then we caught up with John at the Embassy and brought him home with us.

She went with me to pick up Jake/check out the school a little. Lilian made us a delicious steak dinner with curried rice....yum, yum! The girls had play rehearsal so we all dug in as soon as they got home.

Tonight we wept through laughing so hard at our ridiculous jokes...we were watching a Discovery Channel program about dam building. We got a lot stupid but (dam) fuuuuunny! John gave up on us finally and headed to bed. We dried our laughter-tears and stopped before Jake picked up some very bad habits. :-)

Besitos!

Blog 200!!

Wow! That's a lot of blogs!

John is sick, sick, sick. He stayed home from school and slept and coughed and then hung out on the coach. Not much fun, for him or us. Poor baby!

Kim and I went out for coffee and spent a few hours walking around the local shopping district. She bought a few things but I didn't find anything I had to have. Bummer.

We made spaghetti with homemade sauce for dinner, Caprese salad and garlic butter for some fresh rolls. Lilian had made a chocolate cake (at Nicole's request) so it was a delicious, full meal!

The expected rain has arrived so our satellite is out just as Kim and I were settling into her first episode of "House"...another bummer. Thankfully we have some good books to turn to.

Off I go to my excellent book "Eat, Pray, Love" (thank you for the suggestion Cuqui!!!) and to cuddle with my poor sick sweetheart!

I'm Back!

We were off to the Virginia house hunting and interviewing last week. Not a whole lot of luck with the house hunting but we're hired! It's official, we're going to Bolivia!

The kids stayed with friends and seemed to have a great time away from us...we missed each other but happily survived the time apart. John has a terrible bout of bronchitis with possibly some strep thrown in too. I took him to a clinic yesterday and got him started on antibiotics.

The really good news is that Kim flew back down here with us!! She's here for a few weeks so my "Tour Guide Shelley" hat is back squarely on my head. :-)

Keep John in your prayers, he's struggling with this illness - it's kicking his butt. It's good to be home at least, easier for him to relax.

Springtime Rain

Yesterday was utterly gorgeous! The honeysuckle was blooming at full blast and the scent was completely intoxicating!! We still didn't have water pressure upstairs so the smell of honeysuckle was a blessing (no showers for anyone!)

Last night the thunderstorms rolled in. I love thunderstorms. After a few days of perfect weather a rainy, stormy day is joyful. My day was spent on the phone organizing our house hunting days. It's time consuming!

Lisette called this morning to tell me she got the part of Amneris in "Aida" - she was really disappointed initially that she didn't get the lead but is already excited about playing this part! I love her attitude!! Supposedly Amneris has more of a fun/sassy personality that Aida...and therefore it's more likely to be fun to play! Works for me! :-)

Dinner was Cuban in style - black beans (home made, thank you), white rice and pork (chops...shhhh) Delicious!!

Spring Cleaning

Today was a perfect Springtime day...warm and sunny. John even got a sunburn!

We slept in a little (the norm whenever possible) then started to work. John power-washed a bunch of the outdoor furniture, we have a pile as we kept the tables, chairs and benches that belong to this house. They're teak so they need attention. He started oiling a few of them but by then, he was burning out on top of being sunburned!

I hit the kitchen cupboards and reorganized the pantry. Lilian won't recognize the place!

The girls had soccer almost all day and Jake helped John a bit before jumping in the swimming pool. Then Jake and I walked over to a friend's house to drop Jake off for a sleepover.

The girls, John and I went out for dinner. It's been a very long time since just the four of us went on a dinner outing together. We went to our favourite date restaurant and introduced the girls to our favourite waiter! :-)

Other than John emptying our water tank with his power washer, it was a picture perfect Spring day!!

Waiting's No Fun

Lisette won't find out about the play until Monday...patience is a virtue though!

John and I went to the Embassy today to get some paperwork completed - like that ever happens! He did get it started though.

Back home we picked up Jake after chess and settled in at home for the night. Nicole has a friend (a boy, much to John's chagrin!) over but the rest of us aren't going anywhere for a change. Yeah!

Right now we're watching "The DaVinci Code" because "National Treasure" is over. If every weekend could start off so relaxingly!!

Spring!!

I'm absolutely singing today!! I love this weather!!

No word on the play part yet...we're hoping not to wait over the weekend! I think I'm more nervous than Lisette is. :-)

Last night John and I zipped out for a late dinner - my head was swimming after working on the computer all day looking for house rentals and checking out schools, making maps and separating the "serious to look at" houses from the "if they don't work out" houses. No wonder real estate agents ask for so much money!!

This morning I met a few friends for breakfast. We decided that from now on we'd "walk and talk" instead of sitting on our butts and eating. Gotta love peer pressure!! Starting next week! Oops! I won't be here! Starting the week after that!! Yeah! LOL

Spring is In the Air!!

It's absolutely gorgeous out - sunny and cool!!

Yesterday I spent the morning devouring the rest of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" - great read, better than "KiteRunner" though I really liked that too. Now I'm bookless again, time to pull up my Booksamillion account!

In the afternoon, Lilian had all the ingredients pulled out to make a cake - except I didn't have any baking powder. Ooops! So off to the store we went. I bought the ingredients I needed for Shepherd's Pie while we were at the grocery store and then John called and asked me to go out for lunch with him. Handy-dandy to have a maid that likes to cook now! I asked Lilian to make the mashed potatoes (nice person that I am, I peeled them while she made the cake!) so it would be a fast meal once I returned from lunch. Done! Presto Magico! Gotta love that!

Last night I vegged, having worked so hard preparing the evening meal. Ha!

Today, Lisette finds out about her spot in the school musical!!! Prayers!! Candles!! Positive thoughts!!!

Love to you all!!

Mellow Mellow Mellow

That's what I feel. Yesterday I met John downtown and we went with Mary to Chinatown for lunch. I was so excited about finally getting back to my favourite, fabulous Chinese restaurant and it was closed (Mondays!) so we settled for another. Not anywhere near as good but it was a nice lunch with fun conversation.

Last night I house hunted some more. Went to bed with a good book.

John slept in this morning and held me hostage with his cuddles (Ahhhhh!) as he's sick. I didn't want to disturb his slumber so I contemplated my mental list for about an hour before I couldn't stay still any longer!

Did more house hunting (can you say "Driven"?) most of the afternoon after John worked on our lame internet connection. I'm also really enjoying the book I'm reading..."A Thousand Splendid Suns" and spent plenty of time reading it today while John cursed at Fibertel.

Lilian made us a wonderful dinner - lomo (beef) with onions and peppers, curried rice and fried potatoes. No, not so dietetic but delicious!!!

Boring Day

The sun was shining when we all finally arose this morning (barely morning!) and I initially wanted to have my coffee outside but the sun was not quite that warming!

Coffee at my desk it was! I spent the day searching for a home for my family next year. Our year in Argentina is starting to wind down so we need a new home! I've got it "narrowed down" to about 15. I'll keep you updated!

John did homework, the girls came and went from their rooms to the kitchen to the livingroom for a few minutes. Jake mostly hung out with John in the livingroom watching movies. We all needed some time to decompress from the last few months!

Jake needs to be chased into bed now...my eyes are tired from the computer but Lisette got me started on a good book so I think I'll bring it down here after I tuck Jake in and do some reading while keeping John company!

Sweet dreams!!

Weekend Day One

John's parents headed home last night. We all went to say our farewells, tears, hugs and pouts by each of us to let them go. I am blessed with wonderful in-laws!!

We slept in but Nicole had to be at volleyball (and then soccer!) so that got everyone moving finally. Then we went to an Embassy Family Picnic which was a lot of fun!

Buddy got his bath, our laundry was delivered (washing machine is fixed but now there's an issue with the city water) and I had a nap. Overall - a nice day.

Now it's midnight and I'm wiped. Good thing we can sleep in again tomorrow!!

Auditions!

Lisette and Nicole are auditioning for "Aida" today!!! Keep them in your prayers please! :-)

Wednesday and Thursday!

Carmen and I have been on a romance kick - we've been watching versions of "Pride and Prejudice" including the six hour A&E version! I'm not sure it's actually six hours but it was a mini-series and wonderful!

She's feeling better but not terrific so the movies were an excellent excuse to hang out and chill. She'd never seen them, I've seen them a dozen times and wouldn't mind seeing them a dozen more.

Lisette had her hair cut last night...she now has bangs! I thought it would make her look younger, remind me of those long ago days but no - she looks older!! :-( She looks beautiful and she's thrilled with her hair!

Today Juan, Carmen and I met John downtown at Cafe Tortoni for lunch then went to Florida Street for a short time. We were home in plenty of time to meet Jake off of the bus and Juan made fried plaintains to go with the delicious batch of lentl beans he'd left simmering when we left this morning. I got a very humorous phone call from a dear, claustrophobic friend of mine back home - seems she was stuck at an Elementary school during an emergency lock-down today and was hustled and locked into a closet for an extended period. Thanks for the good laugh Kathy! Love ya!

The girls had soccer so they needed a pick up but otherwise we stuck close to home this evening. Juan had a business acquaintance drop by but that was right around the time Buddy got covered with a very foul smelling substance. I spent an hour bathing and drying him but I think we'll still have him professionally cleaned tomorrow! We're still not sure what or even how it happened but he wasn't really dirty, more wet on spots around his head that smelled of his backyard deposits. ???? Who knows? It's Buddy we're talking about.

It's late, I've showered and I'm tired! Goodnight!!

Downtown

I took Juan and Carmen downtown for a meeting this morning. We were late because traffic was horrendous! It was rainy so nobody walks or bikes to work. There was some kind of strike that affected public transit too. It was a mess.

After I dropped them off, I went to the Embassy to complete some of my own business and buy some goodies at the Commissary (grocery store) there.

John was planning on meeting us for lunch at 12:30 but Juan and Carmen weren't ready. As luck would have it...I was! So John and I had a cozy lunch then were joined by Juan and Carmen a little later.

We returned the baskets we rented from the lady that made chocolate hearts for Nicole's Quince. Traffic was still brutal so we didn't make it back home until 4.

Jake had tennis after school, the girls had soccer so we played taxi service before dinner. Leftovers ruled tonight although the girls had pleaded for sushi. :-)

Now I'm going to curl up with my new book and enjoy some quiet time!

Still Windy

Now it's raining too.

Carmen, Juan and I went to the mall today. We got Carmen some antibiotics (over the counter here) then picked up some groceries and had them delivered. Score!

We ate a leisurely lunch at a restaurant in the mall and talked and talked and talked. It was wonderful.

Back home I found an email from Cuqui. Michael had sat beside a gentleman on a plane who ended up knowing John. Very cool story! He was blown away that Michael was John's brother, this was shortly after having a philosophical discussion about how he didn't believe that some things were meant to be. LOL Don't you love that?

Dinner was chili with rice and an apple pie (thank you Lilian!) for dessert. Content family, full bellies and now it's bedtime!

Windy Monday

It rained on Friday then it rained on Saturday then it got really, really windy. No more rain on Sunday but it's still windy this morning.

John and I got back from a lovely weekend in the city yesterday afternoon. Jake had called in the morning, just to check to see when we'd be back...John told him we'd be back in the afternoon, Jake said, "Okay. Bye." All he needed to know, though no one can say Jake is a man of few words, usually!

Carmen seems to have bronchitis so our job today is to get her some antibiotics. The house was really cold when we got back yesterday so John revved up the heater. Hopefully that helped her feel less chilled but she's been sick over a week now - time to bring in the big guns!

Jake couldn't find his jacket when the bus got here this morning so I sent him off into the cold without one! Cruel heartless mom, I know. However, since I know the bus comes around one more time before heading to the school, I threw on some jeans and met it with a coat for him. Poor little guy!

Time for cafe con leche!! Have an awesome day!!!

Ciao Baby!

I'm off to spend the weekend with my sweetheart!

Say a prayer for my in-laws as they care for my munchkins and all their activities for the next two days!! :-)

Besos!
Shelley

Sickos

My house is full of sickos. It's only Lisette and Carmen but the rest of us are strange so we count too.

Carmen started feeling bad last night. She went to bed after taking medicine for a fever, chills and a nasty sounding cough. The house was quiet today so she slept a great deal, fever free but woke up without a voice. She swears she feels much better but she doesn't sound healthy!

Lisette had a fever this morning so I sent her back to bed with some Motrin. Then I ordered some Tylenol over the internet (it's better on fevers than Motrin) along with a million other medicines. She had to go back to school (her decision not mine) for a history test and she was worried about missing trig. Tonight I found out she's having a real hard time with it...off to see the tutor tomorrow for her!

I spent the day catching up on household stuff. Paying bills. Buying groceries. Ordering drugs. Ordering a refill for my Day-Timer. My eyes are crossing from spending too much time in front of the computer.

Lilian went with me to get groceries. She bought all that she needed to make us Milanesa and mashed potatoes for dinner. Yummmmmmy!

The laundry was picked up to go get washed - have I mentioned our washer is kaput? John spoke to our landlord this evening but he never gave me a straight answer on what he said. Hmmmm. Must go hunt him down for that! First things first, the dishwasher needs to be run - I may not have made dinner but there's always the clean-up!

Happy Birthdays!!

It's John's grandmother's 92nd birthday!! Woo hoo!!

It's official!! Molly is a teenager!!! Congratulations Molly!! We miss and love you Sweetie!!

We were running the wet and slippery roads today. Actually, it looked like it was going to rain this morning but we braved it and had coffee at a cafe down the way. We spent a few hours just chatting and munching and sipping. I took Juan down the street to pick up some blank DVDs to copy the Quinceneara clips onto.

Back home for a few hours and watched the rain come pouring down. It rained then rained some more. Spring is definitely springing. Buddy stuck close for the thunder.

Cuqui packed up and we stopped at one of our favourite local restaurants for lunch/dinner before heading into the city to pick up John on our way to the airport. We drove by the Pink House (Argentina's version of the White House) then hit nasty traffic before finally getting on the highway. Huge, black, ominous clouds hovered over the highway leading to the airport and poor Cuqui who doesn't like to fly anyway had to reach down deep to stay cool!

We arrived in plenty of time to get Cuqui checked in, grab a drink (John had dinner) and hang out. Cuqui went through security about an hour before her flight, hugs and kisses were exchanged, it's good to know we'll see her again in a few months! The rain had hit while we were chatting so it was only drizzling by the time her plane took off. Yeah! God Speed Cuqui!!

More Tango!!!

Juan, Carmen, Cuqui and I went down to Florida Street this morning. It's a shopping district in downtown. Juan and Carmen had a business meeting so while they did that, Cuqui and I had breakfast and chatted.

Shopped most of the day, I bought a cool T-shirt for Jake, some beautiful costume jewelry for me and a few things for Cuqui to take home to her kids from us. Carmen and Juan joined us after a little while and we finished our shopping together. Then we wandered over to the nearby park - it's close to our hotel from when we arrived here.

John met us at our favourite little Italian restaurant near the park for a snack and a drink. There was a big Argentinean rugby game on, it was weird to be in a full restaurant that was quiet as can be - until Argentina scored or almost scored!

We hurried home as best we could because we had reservations - back in the middle of the city - for a Tango Show!! Woo hoo!

Great show! We took Lisette too because I couldn't bear to go without her! We had a tango lesson first, then dinner, then the tango show. It was awesome! Tango lesson #2...check!

Tango Baby!

Cuqui, Carmen, Juan and I weren't too sure about doing the touristy thing today. There were menacing black clouds and rolling thunder on the horizon. The weather channel screamed "80% chance of precipitation!" so we stuck close to home for the first few hours this morning.

Miraculously, the clouds lightened up. The weather channel changed its mind and mentioned "30% chance of precipitation" - who'd of thought the weather channel was a woman?

Off to La Boca - Caminita we went. We just played the tourist game, getting a picture with the tango guy (Cuqui) and checking out what I call "Made in China-Argentina" shops. Then it was time for a coffee (me) and a few bottles of beer (them) and we chose a little hole-in-the-wall cafe where two young tango dancers were performing outside by the tables. After most of one beer, Cuqui was enticed to tango with the guy (feather boa provided) then Juan with the girl. Carmen and I laughed but refused to dance. After again performing together, the guy then headed back to our table, smiling, with the boa in hand. I thought he was back for Cuqui...silly me! This time he wouldn't take no for an answer and off to tango I went. At least I didn't step on his feet! He was very sweet and quietly gave me instructions - which helped greatly but not enough! LOL There you go, my first tango lesson in Argentina, it's about time! Carmen was his next partner and we bonded with both him and the young lady. We laughed, clapped and encouraged the other diners to go the way of the dance! Bailar! Bailar!

Gorgeous Sunday

What a beautiful day! Warm and sunny.

Spent the first half of the day at the house. Visiting, drinking coffee and picking up some from the two insane days prior.

John's mom was feeling terrible yesterday and literally slept for 24 hours. Today she was feeling much better but we wanted to take it easy this morning to be sure.

This afternoon Juan, Carmen, Cuqui, Lisette and I headed to the hippie fair. Juan and I were the only two non-hippies in the bunch so it seemed the perfect place to go. The park was packed, it being a gorgeous day and all! We found lots of treasures, plenty of souvenirs to choose from. We had a nice lunch/early dinner at an Irish pub plus Carmen rested on a bench for a bit so she seemed to do fine.

Back home John was writing a paper for school, Nicole wasn't feeling really well and Jake stayed in his PJs all day!! Sigh. They need their mother, don't they?

Now it's bedtime.

P.S. - I posted 60 pictures of the Quinceneara on my Facebook page!

Party Recovery

Great party! Home at 4:30. Slept well. Party pictures to follow shortly!!!

Missing Naptime

I am sooo tired. John sent the kids off to school so I even got to sleep in a little. Then my mean (wonderful) friend Mary woke me up at 8:45 with a reminder that I was to meet her at the gym at 9:30. Grrrrrr. Up I got.

It kicked my butt a little less today but my gluteus maximus is still hurting! And still not the good hurt!

John slept until just before I got back then went to his gym down the street. I showered then huddled around a cup of coffee and avoided using our stairs as much as possible. Good thing there's a bathroom on the main floor. My legs of steel feel more like molten lava.

This afternoon John and I went shopping. Found some items for the Quince then picked up the kids from their various after school activities. Stopped at the house for a few minutes then everyone but Lisette headed back to the shops. John took Jake to pick up his suit for the party from the tailor's while I took Nicole shoe shopping before her dress fitting.

Nicole loves to shop. I hate to shop. Nicole is the pickiest shopper in the world. Grrrrrrr. Actually, I just told her she could shop for shoes with her aunt who's arriving tomorrow. Cuqui loves to shop! BTW, the dress is looking awesome!!

Back home, nap-free and ready to climb into bed at 9 PM. Goodnight!

Dentistry

It was dentist day around here but that didn't start until the afternoon.

This morning the kids' bus broke down so I took them to school. Good way to get moving in the morning. The bus did finally show and the poor bus monitor was stressed completely out. I smiled and told her I'd taken the kids to school already but she was too upset to react much, just hurried back to the bus. Poor thing!

Then I took a needless drive to the doctor's for my "refund" - seems she gave it to a friend of mine yesterday to deliver to me. Ooops. Found an email sent from said friend this morning, after I'd already left for the doc's. She and I finally connected this afternoon.

I had a remise (taxi) come take me to my dentist appointment, it's in a very congested part of town - hard to find parking for our bohemeth vehicle. I arrived half an hour early but didn't get seen for almost an hour. Had a headache the whole time too. Not a good time. Thankfully the dentist is a sweetheart and it was all done within 20-25 minutes. No cavities per usual!

John picked me up with his remise on the way home from school. We stopped for a quick lunch then home to start the afternoon insanity.

I dropped John and the girls off at their dentist (closer to home) then headed to the bank ATM. From there, I picked up Jake and his friend from tennis - brought his friend home then took Jake to the dentist. Dropped him with Nicole and the front door before taking off to the grocery store - figured I may as well do something as parking was horrible around the dental office.

The timing was excellent as all was basically done by the time I came back from the grocery store and John arrived outside with the kids a couple of minutes after I pulled up.

Dropped off the kids, put away the groceries and we were back to the party hall to finalize more of the arrangements for the Quince. At this point, it was determined that a glass of wine was needed to take the edge off of the day. Dinner was delicious! The wine was even better.

Hurts So Good

Okay, maybe not so much. I went to the gym today for the first time in a long time. Took a cardio class for the first time in a very long time. Owwww! Motrin is my very best friend.

It was in Spanish too - that was a good excuse for slowing down from time to time - I just didn't understand! :-) Works!

Then I paid bills, met with Jake's school counselor (nothing new, just wanted to touch base after last year's issues), picked up John and we had a late lunch/early dinner.

I lied down when we got home, my stomach was a little upset and my legs were killing me. The Motrin had kicked in but didn't have the staying power (kind of like me in the cardio class!) that I was hoping for.

Made the kids dinner, the girls had soccer/volleyball today. Jake read his Spanish book for homework. Basically a quiet evening.

Now John's on the stationary bike, seems I've inspired him! Yeah!

An Ahhhhhh Day

I love these days. Sit back and say "Ahhhhhhh." Well, the majority of the day was like that.

First - we slept in. We LOVE to sleep in. Lisette was up first but I was up shortly thereafter and made French toast again. Worked yesterday and had a hankering for it again this morning. John was up in time to make coffee (God bless him) and a heaping pile of bacon (I passed) for my manly men and Nicole.

John started working on his paper for school and I started organizing seating for the Quince. Hours later, we both kind of flopped onto the couch to regroup. Nicole came in to ask about going to a movie which I initially thought was a good idea until John reminded me we were supposed to go and talk to the caterer. Nicole got into a snit when John nixed her movie idea and I voiced my opinion of her attitude. Hmmmm...if you get my drift.

John and I went alone to see the caterer which gave me time to contemplate liking my fifteen year old again. Love her to death (might be a poor choice of words) but not so happy with her right now. The meeting with the caterer went very well, some clarifications were made and he had some great ideas for the room that made me all excited about the party again.

Off to dinner with the rest of the Argentineans at 8:00 - the place was just getting crowded. Some lady tried to cut in line to get a table, that on top of fighting traffic and John needed a nice glass of wine. I drove home - he's such a light-weight! :-)

Now I'm going to go finish "The Hobbit" for the second time in my life. Well worth the do-over.

The Second Half

The migraine came back with a vengeance. Right after I blogged, I took some Aleve as my head was starting to hurt again...by the time I hit the top of the stairs after I downed the medicine, I was holding my head - kind of freaky, how hard it came on. Now I'm wondering if it's been virus induced, it's happened before and it's the only time I've had more than one in a row. Feeling better again so here's hoping.

John did the dropping off/picking up of the girls this afternoon while Jake spent some time at the school playground with a buddy thanks to said buddy's mom. I just lied in bed with a T-shirt over my head.

I crawled out of the hole and had John cancel our dinner plans for the evening...bummer, I was really looking forward to it. John felt properly sorry for me and let me pout while he rubbed my head.

The girls and I had our makeup done late this afternoon by the lady who will be doing our makeup for Nicole's Quince. She came by to test it all out with Nicole and ended up doing all three of us. Freebies! Cool!

Tonight John, Nicole and I went to the hall to see how it looks at night. My head still hurts some so I'm feeling rather grumpy but the place looked very pretty. It wasn't decorated as much as it will be for Nicole's but it still looked good.

Nicole's having some friends over to watch a movie but I think I'll be heading to bed early again. Poor John's stuck with playing chaperone (his word for it - "Bouncer") for the rest of the night without me. Maybe Jake will stay up for it too. They make a formidable pair!

Half Time on a Saturday

Yesterday I ran around like crazy until around 2 o'clock and then came home with a migraine. Slept/suffered until 6, then it was just a buzz in my head.

The girls all went out with the soccer team last night. John, Jake and I ordered Chinese for dinner then I went to bed around 10 again - definitely not feeling terrific.

This morning I felt much, much better. Got the girls to soccer at 8 then woke the boys up to go to the game at 9:10. We were late because I foolishly told Jake I'd make him French toast and that took longer than we had. Thankfully, the soccer game was on Argentinean time and hadn't even started yet when we rolled in around 9:30.

The girls won! Yeah! It's nice for them to play someone other than adult women, whom they usually get their butts beaten by. They also won their two games yesterday which we missed and Nicole scored in both of those games...today, no goal by our girl.

Now we're home for brunch/lunch and then we'll head back this afternoon to watch Lisette play as Nicole will be at volleyball practice.

Typical Saturday for us - not much rest for the wicked!

Balancing

Buddy's depressed, people are laughing at him.

I can't imagine why!

I normally have very mellow mornings, lots of time to chill out, sleep in, veg in front of the TV. My afternoons start to get busy with grocery runs, trips to the Embassy, functions or John needing something as he's home by 3. Then the kids come home and life pops into high gear until bedtime at 10 or 11. My problem is, I feel guilty about the quiet time in the morning. Especially because I have a maid. It's hard to enjoy a lazy morning when someone is working hard around you. I feel like I need to explain that this is the only time I have to recharge. If she read English, I could get her to read my blog! :-)

The girls are in a soccer tournament this weekend. We're hosting a player at the house, she arrived late last night - a lovely girl from Montreal! So between Quince preparations and soccer stuff, it'll be a very busy weekend indeed. I think I need a nap!

It's All About the Hair

Buddy got his shaved, I had mine coloured and Nicole had hers cut. Buddy looks the worst. Nicole and I are gorgeous, dahling!

Poor Buddy got bit by a friend...nice friend, eh? It happened on Thursday and it's seemed to be doing fine until the dog walker decided it needed iodine on it yesterday. Burned his little head! By the time he was home from his walk and I cleaned off the iodine, it had removed a nice circle of hair around the bite. Today, the vet shaved off more, trimmed the skin-flap from where some snag-toothed monster had nabbed him, gave him a shot of antibiotic and away he went! Unfortunately, it's now itching him and he scratched it pretty badly. Tomorrow we're hitting the vet up for a goofy collar to keep him off of his head - plus we kind of forgot to pay the vet when we picked Buddy up. Oh, and he's skipping the dog walks for a bit too. :-)

Lilian spent the day at my friend's cooking us dinner and helping her maid with their floors. Dinner was yummy but no chocolate in the cake - horrors!!

Missed out on two things from my list...one of which is the money from the doc. Top of the list for tomorrow!

Completed My List

At least for today! It's been a busy two days of ticking off entries on my daily lists. I've already got a half dozen things for tomorrow including a vet trip for Buddy, haircuts for Nicole and I, tailor visit for John and Jake, pick up from the doctor's office (money - cool!) and shuffling Lilian to and from my friend's house where she's going to have a cooking lesson!

Today I photocopied our bills from the last 7 months as we just found out we can claim them for an Argentinean tax refund! Score! However, photocopying them took me the better part of four hours!!! My copier's not super fast obviously. I spent the time cleaning up my desk (read piles of paper comment from previous entry) so that was extremely productive!

I then took said photocopies to the Embassy to file them, met John who was paying our bill at the grocery store at the Embassy, picked up our mail and headed to a nearby confectioner's to order some chocolate hearts for party favours! John was our designated chocolate sampler and I finally had to cut him off!! According to him (and his appetite seemed to agree!) the chocolate is excellent. They're very pretty and very affordable - score again!

Zipped back home though it was very slow going through traffic from the middle of town, dropped off John and went to pick up the girls from soccer/volleyball practice. Took them to the doctor's for their sports physicals. This was only the second time we'd been to the doctor's so when she asked for a payment, I was surprised but didn't question it (my bad) and just paid. Shortly after we got home, she called and said she owed me a refund for my payment...she hadn't received the email from our insurance showing we were covered! On my list for tomorrow she went!

John had picked up Nicole's invitations from the printer while we were gone, Lisette made us a pasta dinner and now Jake just finished his shower. Bedtime - soon for me too!