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!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
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... :-)
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! :-)
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! :-)
Monday, December 3, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
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
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
Friday, November 30, 2007
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.
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.
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