7 things about me...

I spent some time outdoors this afternoon with the kiddos. Unfortunately there is no pleasing them both. We ended up back here for a late nap. And by that, I don't mean me.

Today I've been honored with the Smile Award from Tammy. I have to laugh, not smile when I read that she has given this to me. Although a Valium is more of what I do need, I will graciously accept this sweet token! Thank you! I am now under the impression that I am to pass on these awards as well, so please be patient with me through this process.

Now on to the random things you didn't know about me.

1. I have been watching Days of Our Lives for 23 years. Not consecutively, not religiously. But enough to be a DOOL junkie. I know all the main characters, how many times they have died (and un-died) and all the silly things that go along with it. I haven't watched it since I've been in Chile. And I miss it.

2. The smallest bone in the human body. Does anyone know what it is? I had mine surgically removed. And then felt the after affects for a month.

3. Procrastination is my middle name. OK, that's a total lie. But it should be. I can totally put off doing anything for any reason whatsoever. Not a lovely trait, but mine nonetheless.

4. I have 3 scars on the back of my left thigh from hopping a fence and landing in a prickly bush (I was 13). One scar on my right elbow from crashing my bike when I was 7. And a fine scar on my lower lip from taking a nasty spill in the tub. All of these involved large amounts of sanguinous drainage.

5. I am terrified of heights. It came on pretty sudden. When I went to Adventure Island in Tampa, FL. as I was climbing up the stairs to go down a water slide I was scared out of my wits. I had never been scared of heights before, it just happened. I was also scared beyond reason as I was climbing flights of stairs inside of the statue of liberty. It doesn't scare me to fly, or to be in a tall building. But if I get too close to the edge (like on a balcony), I feel sick.

6. I have had too many jobs to count. Here are a few: license plate maker, stock girl (Publix), head cashier, Barnes n noble bookseller, licensed Realtor, Dillards salesperson, shot girl @ the Roundup, Chili's hostess, flight attendant, Hooters girl, and leasing consultant at an apartment complex.

7. I love giraffes. I once owned and wore (repeatedly) a hideous pair of giraffe shoes. I thought they were cute. I still remember them. Pointy toes, beige. Flats. They had a giraffe head and neck on each of the outer sides of the shoes. I can still see them now. Not so cute. Maybe if I were 2. But I wasn't. I was 22.

I don't plan on tagging anyone to do this meme. But if you would like to participate, please go right on ahead and knock yourself out. Cheers!

Leslie's review of the Ultralight Joovy Caboose.

I am now a proud owner of this "Sunset" Ultralight Joovy Caboose. However long it took in getting here no longer matters, as I am one satisfied customer. I do realize that the ultralight caboose is a bit more expensive than the regular model. I can say with certainty that it is 100% worth every single penny.

You see, in my current location (Santiago Chile) we were in desperate need of a solution to our crisis. The crisis being my 3 year old's disinterest in walking places, walking long distances, or even keeping up with the pace of a big city. The only stroller I had brought with us when we came was a single umbrella stroller. It soon outlived it's usefulness.

When we took our first walk through the city with our new stroller, my son hopped right on the back and was ecstatic at his new way of getting around. He felt like it was all for him. Mostly, it was, but we get so much more out of it. We are able to walk much faster without worrying about if he is getting tired or bored. He now loves to stand and switch positions all by himself. This has been a lifesaver. I totally love how light weight it is too. It is a breeze to push. Even with 60 lbs of kids, and 21 lbs of stroller it is easy. I do own another brand of double stroller, and I'm not certain that I am going to get much use out of it anymore. This stroller folds down quickly and easily, and takes up much less trunk space than other double strollers.

Another thing that I'd like to mention is how easy it is to tip. You know when you are trying to get up a curb? If you are not in a big city, think in a parking lot of a store. You have an umbrella stroller and you pull back the handles to tilt the front two wheels up on the curb. Well when I went to tip this one back, all I had to do was to put one foot on the platform (where my son can stand up) and I tilt back. Even with both kids on it, it tilts backwards with very little effort.

This has easily been the best child product I have ever purchased! I would absolutely recommend it to anyone with 2 children near the same age, or any mom who has an older child and a baby. The joovy comes with a removable attachment for a baby carrier and fits most popular brands. The stroller has many pluses such as a larger sun visor that can shield both kids from the sun. It also came with a parent organizer and drink holder. I like how easy it can come off if you need to clean it, it holds two drinks, and has two pockets.

Also, a word about the storage underneath. At first glance it doesn't seem like it is all that big. But it actually can hold quite a bit. We use our storage for grocery shopping, since we are walking, we have to put as much as we can in there. Trust me, we have jammed it to the top. And it holds quite a bit. The rear seat moves back and forth, so you can access the storage that way, or pull down on the stretchy sides to get to the bottom. Either way, I don't think I have one thing negative to say about this stroller. I love it!

Also, if you live in a big city, like I do now, then you would be crazy not to own one of these. It has made getting around a breeze. Having two kids is a task in itself, but if you own this stroller, the kids will love going for a ride. Instead of complaining about being strapped into other strollers, they will actually have fun. And that makes mommy's job a whole lot easier!

My blob of words.

OK, check this out. This is totally cute. And my, how cute stuff travels fast. So I'm doing my nightly blog reading.... and I see that Laural over at Mamasphere happened across another blog, who happened to find another blog who happened to find.... Well you get the picture.

But if you go to wordle.net and enter your blog site, you too can have a fabulous word blob. Try it, it's fun!

our to do list...

Get mad at breakfast time. Throw food onto the floor. Spit on mommy. (Alexa) please keep in mind that we go "up" to breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

When returning from breakfast, let's try to wake up the other guests. Run up and down hallway screaming like we are being chased by dogs. (both)

Stare, point and laugh at the window-washing man. Say, "I can see you. Hi. What are you doing out there?" Over and over again, and laugh hysterically. (both)

Throw all the linens from the bed to the floor. When mommy picks them up, do it again. (Eddie)

Ditto for the pillows on the couch. (both)

Use yogurt to cover the entire glass top table. Then, lick it off. (both)

Tell mommy we want ketchup with our chicken. Then change our minds. And then do it again. (Eddie, then Alexa)

Play fight with older/younger sibling. (both)

Then scream like mad when it turns into a real fight, rolling all over the floor.

Ask 10 times if we are going to new friend Asher's house. (Alexa)

Refuse to take a nap. Also scream loudly enough to wake younger sister who actually is napping. (Eddie)

Make play-doh balls on the table and then throw them on the floor when done. (both)

When entering the elevator, make sure to push all the buttons so that the elevator stops on every floor all the way down. (Alexa)

Ensure mommy gives us a bath tonight, get really dirty. (both)

Love, love, loooove bathtime!

I tell Eddie that I am going to let daddy know that they were misbehaving today.

Feel clean and happy when bathed. Act like Angels when daddy comes home (hotel-home).

Fall promptly to sleep two hours earlier than normal. Wiped out. (Eddie)

Fall asleep one hour earlier than normal. (Alexa)

A Conversation with my mom.

This blog post was originally posted on Sept. 6, 2007. I was re-reading my old blog, and this one made me laugh. I still remember it quite well. It deserves another mention. That and the fact that my kids have me a little tired today. So I'm stealing some old material.

me: Hi mom, I called because I wanted to share what Eddie just did.

mom: Hi baby! What did he do?

me: EDDIE GET DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!!!! Well I'm pretty sure he just made poop on the potty.

mom: Oh my goodness! That's wonderful! But what do you mean you're pretty sure?

me: EDDIE DON'T PLAY WITH THE LIGHTBULB, IT GETS VERY HOT!!! EDDIE, I SAID NO! DON'T STAND UP THERE, YOU ARE GOING TO FALL. Well, I'm pretty sure because I didn't see it happen. Alexa fell into the bathtub after she turned on the faucet. She was leaning in to get some toys and she fell in. I had to rescue her from the trickling faucet and she was screaming and wet, so I didn't actually see him go. I just saw a small poop fall. GET OFF OF YOUR SISTER! YOU ARE HURTING HER, STOP THAT!

mom: that's so great! Maybe me and your dad should have come over to help you out.

me: me? yeah, anytime you want.... PUT THAT DOWN, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH MOMMY'S CAMERA. DO NOT THROW THAT, EDDIE!!!!!!!!!! you know you guys are welcomed here, anytime. DO NOT STAND ON THE DOLLHOUSE!

mom: You let that baby stand on the dollhouse.

me: Mom, it's a toy dollhouse, it's plastic and not meant to hold a two year old child. He could break it and get hurt.

mom: oh.

me: {throwing the phone down} STOP IT. STOP IT. DO NOT, NO. EDDIE. NO. DON'T SCRATCH YOUR SISTER, SHE'S PLAYING WITH YOU, YOU NEED TO SHARE YOUR TOYS. EDDIE, THAT IS NOT NICE. BE NICE TO YOUR BABY SISTER. mom? you ok?

mom: yeah

me: I meant, you still there? ugh.

mom: I think Eddie has a while before he really learns to share.

me: EDDIE? WHAT ARE YOU EATING? NOOOO, DON'T EAT THAT. THAT'S YUCKY. EWW, DON'T WIPE IT ON THE WALL. Mom, he's licking the Desitin. And then he smeared it on the wall. At least it's white. Oh and he's eating the baby lotion.

mom: What was he standing on before?

me: the diaper changer.

mom: ok, is Ed going to be home soon?

me: I think he's on his way.

mom: At least you got dinner out of the way.

me: EDDIE, GO PICK THAT UP. He's throwing legos down the hall, and Alexa is chewing on a diaper.

mom: Do you want us to come over?

me: KNOCK IT OFF. STOP THROWING THE DIRTY CLOTHES AROUND. Oh. thanks, but Ed shouldn't be too much longer. You guys can come over tomorrow.

mom: that sounds good. I'll leave you to your baby wrangling.

me: ok, talk to you soon!

mom: bye!

Because....

Because mommy thought it was better to have chicken, fruit and yogurt

instead of chocolate cookies.

Because I don't like the flavor, much less the pattern of the carpet.

And I'm not really into the walls either.
And even though mommy says that she is boss, I know it truly is me.

Some things I've learned while staying at a hotel.

1. The little bottles of shampoo and lotion need to be put away. Someplace high. If you don't you will be cleaning up their contents when the children pour them all over the counters.

2. Wallpaper is not child proof.

3. Metal garbage cans can and will be used as helmets. Its perfectly fine. As long as they don't start throwing them onto the glass table.

4. There is a reason that the carpet is multi-colored and ugly.

5. Ditto with the bedspreads.

6. A desk chair with solid wood arms is heavy enough to knock the wind out of a 22 month old, but not heavy enough to crack a rib.

7. If you have more than one bed in a room, (like say 2 full size beds) you may just see your 3 year old (or other small child) fly through the air. It's a requirement, especially for boys.

8. Armed with 6 couch pillows, 4 chairs from the dining table and 4 towels, kids can create and play a numerous amount of imaginary games that can last up to 2 hours.

9. Curtains can double as swings. They can hold 33 lbs easily without being disattached from their rods.

10. A hotel with a heated pool can be a lifesaver. When there is nothing else to do in a rainy, cold city, take the kids up for a swim.

11. Toilets in a hotel can be stopped up just as easily as the ones at home. Watch for kids to feed toilet paper into the bowl for no reason.

12. Toilets are also perfectly good places for bath towels. Just make sure to take it out before actually "taking care of business".

13. The headboards for the beds which are seemingly attached very well to the walls, are not. It is possible to dismantle them. It is also amazing to see how strong your 3 year old is while he is holding one end of it up so that it doesn't come crashing down on him.

14. While standing out in the hall it is possible to hear screaming kids that are inside the room.

15. Quickly set limits for the stove. Kids can easily access the knobs, and will turn them on at least half a dozen times before it sinks in that the stove is on the DO NOT TOUCH list.

16. There is nothing else on the do not touch list.

17. Lamps are fun.

18. Even after you go to the store and buy toys for the kids to play with, lamps are still fun.

19. Make sure to always keep the room keys in your pocket, especially if you have adjoining rooms. Kids will make a game out of closing doors. Even still, you will get locked out of one of the rooms.

20. And finally, balls and lamps do not mix. There can still be plenty of light left in the room, if you turn on all the remaining working lamps.

My nearly catastrophic breakfast.

Now I realize that the word catastrophe is very strong. So please just trust me, I do not use it lightly. Breakfast time, to me is a very pleasant time. It's one of my favorite meals. Silly sounding eh? But really, I do love to eat. And when the food is free, it's even that much better.

Unfortunately and sadly it has become a very stressful time for me. My children have no sense of self control and cannot remain seated for more than 5 minutes. I've tried. My dh has tried. I mean, what is left? Public beatings?

So anyway, the end result is both of my children standing, wandering, climbing the backs of the chairs or playing over by the window. (The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel, so there is a magnificent view.)

This morning my son and daughter spent nearly the greater part of the 30 minutes while we were at breakfast underneath of the table. And it seemed to me that they had royally pissed off some teenagers that sat with their mother at the table next to us. They truly made me want to smack them both for even looking at my kids with such disdain. Who did they think that they were? Not more than a few years ago, it's highly likely that they were just as bratty behaving for their own mother.

During their time under the table Eddie and Alexa both actually laid on the floor. My incessant pleas for them to get up, and even my more demanding tones for such requests went ignored. So yes, I am now the mother that allows her kids to lay all over the ground. It makes my stomach turn to think of it. Serves me right for ever thinking badly of any other parent who had a kid at some point on the floor. My ignorance truly was bliss. To not know how incredibly irritating it is (or was for them) to instruct your child to get off the floor, only for them to disobey. Kind of makes you want to kick them by their pants from here to Timbuktu.

But then that would be wrong. And I am quite certain that the same people who gave me such disapproving looks would be the first people on their cell phones to call Chile's version of child protective services.

So, following their floor time, my son got the brilliant idea of opening and closing the door to the outside patio. I'm not sure the outside temperature had yet reached 50 degrees, so it was a bit chilly when the door was opened. My stern demands for him to stop also went unnoticed. He continued until the male snobby teenager thrust his chair out from underneath of him and walked over to the door and closed it himself. Brat. I thought. I hope you trip.

When my children felt that their floor time was complete, and door opening and closing no longer felt "fun" they moved on to musical chairs. While I gulped down my scrambled eggs, my sweet Alexa climbed the back of my chair, to get to the side arm of hers, to stand on her seat only to grab a tiny bite of the food I had cut up for her. Eddie just jumped on the back of my chair and stood for a bit.

I don't remember why I had to stand up, but I did. While I turned around I noticed the partition. In between some of the tables in the restaurant there is this 4 foot tall (roughly estimating)wood partition. On top of the wood are some short brass cylinders that hold up a rectangular frosted piece of glass. Looking at this partition I happened to notice that it wasn't quite right. In fact, it was in a state of movement. It was falling. Towards the floor, towards the other glass topped table nicely set with fine Chilean dishware. My body moved at speeds only reserved for Olympic athletes. I jumped towards the falling wood and grabbed it. To my utter surprise and complete relief, I actually caught it. I have never been more happy for a save than this one. I looked up to see who might have witnessed this as it occurred. A cute young waiter smiled at me. I couldn't think nor stand to be there for one minute more. I grabbed my children and scurried to the elevator.

You want to know what I did?

For the very first time ever, I cut my son's hair! Before I left the states, I bought myself a nice pair of cutting shears, and borrowed my mom's kid sized hair cutting apron. I had big plans to cut Eddie's hair. Why? Because I can. And I figured that it might be less painful than trying to tell someone in English who only speaks Spanish, how I want his hair to be cut. I figured I would spare myself the agony. I'm not yet fluent.

So, I got out my scissors and the apron and took the kid into the bathroom. I cut and cut. Man is it hard to cut hair on a child! For those of you out there who know this personally, you know what I'm talking about. (wink wink at my mom)

Well, even if I do say so myself, the kiddo looks rather handsome! I think I actually did a good job! I don't own a trimmer, so that might have shaped up the edges and the bottom a bit better. But I still say it looks pretty good.

After the work was done, I got out the camera to document my first hair cut.

Here is Mr. Personality himself. This was a couple of days ago. You can see how long his hair is.

And here he is after the cut. I was trying to get him to be natural. Yeah, you try telling that to my kid.

Same kid. Just all kinds of cheesy happy! Cute cut, no?

I can't even explain this photo, except to say that he is all boy. I ask him to smile and look nice for the camera and this is what he does. {{mommy totally rolling her eyes with this one}} And by the way, it landed on his arm. He's only 3, he hasn't learned how to suck it back in. Yet. {{Side note to my mother: Yes, that is spit.}}

A couple things I forgot to mention.

So these things I am referring to have already happened. Like maybe yesterday, maybe the day before. I just didn't share it with you. And I can't understand why, as my head is perfectly clear. My judgement is not clouded and I am calmer than I have ever been. The kids are both behaving wonderfully, they are like little angels. Yeah? No.

Come to think of it, maybe I didn't blog about it because I buried it deep within my subconscious. OK, not too deep. I just couldn't think about it right then. Maybe I'm scarred just a little bit. That could be it.

So, um, Eddie. Potty training. Right? It's been really hit or miss since we've gotten here. And mostly misses. But there have been a few times that he's pleasantly surprised us. Maybe too few, but still. The other day he comes to me and says, "Mom, I need to go potty." I took him, helped him get into position and left him there to do his business. The kid likes privacy. So what do you do? Alexa was tormenting him and stealing his digger book while he's trying to take care of things and he's complaining to me. I pull her away a few times before I hear him lock the door. After a few more minutes I then go in to check on him. My sweet little guy opened the door for me and when I walked in I found the present. Only his present wasn't in the toilet. He left a rather impressive pile in the corner near the door. And a little bit of pee too. I'm like, what the........??? How on earth did he do that? Well, I know how. But how did it get over there?? He told me that he didn't mean to do that, it was an accident. What I am wondering is, how do you have an accident in the bathroom when you are already sitting on the toilet?? Just speechless.

OK. Breakfast time. I am now taking my two kids alone to the free buffet due to daddy returning to work. I have to manage 2 bowls of cereal along with my plate. Eddie and Alexa both take turns grabbing at the yogurt selection. They make a decision and change their minds at least two times. The roaming hands love to grab one pod of butter each. They don't eat the butter, they just like to grab it. It's small, it's fun, why not? They ask for all kinds of fruit and then sometimes muffins. The fruit is not easily accessible to them, so I don't worry about them getting into the bowls themselves. The muffins however are within arms reach. Often times they snag one before heading to the table. I get them both situated and head back for anything I might have missed, including freshly squeezed juices!

Well during our selection of food one morning I hear Eddie say something about the muffins. Something about them not being good today. I heard him, but did not visualize him at that moment. Alexa was busy spilling some juice all over herself, and all over the floor. (She is the reason that I now wait until they are seated before getting the juice.) We sat down that day and ate. Alexa had an accident at the table. Not the bad kind. But she had spilled her newly opened container of yogurt onto the chair, her jeans, and the floor. And she began to scream. Lovely! And I only had 2 napkins.

After the cleanup was taken care of, I started to think about that muffin. The one that Eddie had said wasn't very good. And it was nowhere to be found on the table. I looked on the floor. Wouldn't you? It's a perfectly legitimate place to put something if it wasn't any good. It wasn't there either. I asked Eddie where it was. He said, "I don't know." Because that's how 3 year old minds work. Only when they want to.

We quickly finished up breakfast, and got the heck out of there. As we were walking out, I decided to take a peek at the muffin basket on the buffet table. Most of the muffins looked enticing enough, all except for one. One muffin had a few little pint size bites taken out of it, and it was neatly placed back there with the rest of them. OMG! I felt like all eyes were on us, yet I knew that they weren't. Thankfully they weren't! I went over and yanked that muffin right out of the basket turned and quickly left the restaurant. Thanks Eddie, that was a good one.

I'm sure there was another one that I wanted to share. But I can't remember it right now. That and the fact that I have had to stop writing this blog post several times. Change diaper, check, Get water for kid, check. Clean up spilled ice cream on the bed covers, check. Threaten my eldest child because he seems to have an inability to stop his high pitched scream. Check. Brush teeth, check. Place pillows on the floor for son in case he rolls off the bed, check. Finish blog post?? What was I saying?? Aw, gee. I don't know. I'm tired. I've never had kids like this before.

These two, Eddie and Alexa, they blow the other two out of the water. And by that, I mean that I have never experienced "badness" of this caliber. They take misbehaving to a whole new level. My step-kids never behaved like this a day in their lives. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't say that. Knocking on wood now...

It's been 1 month.

Since we arrived here in Santiago. 1 month that we've been terrorizing other guests at this hotel. And I don't mean me, rather my children. They make so much noise. They scream and run and cry at the most inappropriate times. It makes me cringe too. But what can I do? Nothing. Just waiting patiently for the ship to arrive with our stuff.

Some moron just turned around my "do not disturb" sign to read "please make up the room". And the cleaning lady snuck in and nearly scared me to death. Nice. From now on, any sign I see that says "do not disturb" will nicely be flipped around. It was probably some moron kid. Probably a boy. Because that's the way I picture it. So.

Today I had a dumb moment. We went up to the 17th floor for breakfast. When we were done, we pressed the button to call for the elevator. It came. We got in. And I pressed the button for our floor. No other buttons were pressed. But the elevator stopped on another floor. Not our floor.(and there wasn't anybody there to get on the elevator at that floor either, so I don't know why it stopped) But we got out and went down the hall and tried to open the door to our room. Only, it was not our room. And there was a cleaning lady there. Nicely trying to explain in Spanish that my key wouldn't work. No matter how many times I tried it. Because I was stupid. And we got off on the wrong floor. When I realized what I had done. I already tried both of the keys I had in my pocket like 5 times each. I glanced over to the other door and noticed there was a "10" on them. Which is a clear indicator that we were on the wrong floor. Especially since we aren't staying on the 10th floor. I felt so dumb. We went back to the elevator and went to the correct floor.

Two posts in one day? Here's why.....

I hit the jackpot at the post office!!!!!
I got my joovy caboose, diapers, wipes, crayons, chocolates, and well we can stop right there!!!! Chocolates! Woot! Woot! I'm so happy! I can barely stand it. I won't even complain that it (being the stroller that I ordered nearly 1 month ago) actually got here last Tuesday. Last Tuesday, and they failed to notify us. After I had been to see them and let them know that I was expecting it. No, I won't complain. I'm just so happy to finally have it. And wouldn't you know it, it came on a day that I had to manage my two little ones myself, walking down busy streets with a stray dog and Eddie thinking that he is a power ranger and Buzz Lightyear talking into his wrist and acting like he was going to karate chop the stray dog. No, I'm not going to complain that they ripped up the only sidewalk that there was to walk on to get to the embassy to check our mail. Yes. It's true. And that was when the stray dog decided to follow us, because we looked nice. Yeah and at that point when we actually had to walk IN THE STREET. I nearly had a heart attack at that moment. And then Eddie thought it would be a perfect time to run a little bit. Can you even imagine my panic???? IN THE STREET, WITH A MANGY DOG, TRAFFIC AND NO SIDEWALK. He screams, pretends to karate chop the dog, and then runs. I died a little bit right there. How dare those morons rip up my sidewalk??? I could shoot them in their sleep. I really could.

But back to my extreme pleasure. I have the best family ever!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I received clothes for my kiddos, crayons and coloring books! If you happened to find my blog by accident, we just moved here to Santiago, but packed for another city. A warmer city. And the Air Force told us quite literally, two days before we left the states, that we were going to this city instead. I'm not upset about it, but we just weren't prepared. So my loving family sent us these clothes to help out! We love you!!!

Oh and if you aren't brain dead, then you've probably noticed my hot new digs. This blog just got a makeover. And I hope you like it! Probably not as much as I do, since I'm kind of partial to the baby mugs at the top. But it's still cool, nonetheless! A big high fives to Ragan over at http://bloggerboutique.com/ She did an awesome job! Thank you!
Well guys, after managing to get this stuff home, as you can see, I put the stroller together and the kids are playing on it like it's some sort of new playground equipment. I have to go and make some dinner. It is 6:35 pm here. Dh still is not home from his 1st day of work. I'm hoping that this was just a fluke.

Daddy went back to work.

So my day started off much like any other, except for the fact that dh had to leave us today. He started his job. Yes. He has been off since about the end of May. And if you don't really know us, then let me tell you. Even I think that he deserved this break. He used to work such long and hard hours. He would leave the house at 6 maybe 6:30. And I wouldn't see him again until nearly 7 pm, and so many days it was a lot later than that. Some months they would require that he work a mid shift (of sorts) and he would go in at 10 am and then I wouldn't see him again until midnight. Oh and he also got to enjoy working on the weekends too. But not always.

That really stunk for me. I missed my dh, and he was a big fat zero in the helping department. No help for dinner, baths or getting the kids to bed. Forget morning times, he was totally exhausted from his job. So mainly, I had to do a lot of work. It has been nice having him around more. But our focus has been a little bit blurred with all of the details that this overseas move has piled upon us.

We are in a hotel. We have two small kids. Uprooted from their routines and everything that they know. We have a potty training son, who has skidded into the depths of regression. We are scouring every available listing and have sought the help of at least 8 Realtors in our search for a new home. We have seen 25 houses and about 8 apartments. (Also as a sidebar, I wanted to throw in there that there is no MLS system like in the states. Each listing can only be shown by the realtor who is signed up with the owner. And each owner can list it with more than one realtor. Fun, eh?)

So, while it's been nice to have dh here with the family, we have been busy. And the kids are ready for their toys back. Eddie asks about them every day. He tells me some days that he doesn't want to live here in this hotel anymore. And then he asks when the movers are coming.

Well folks, I have some news. We found a place. It's an apartment. And although I wasn't exactly excited about the possibility of us living in an apartment, it grew on me. After making lists and weighing out the pros and cons, it grew on me a lot more. And it grew on me so much that I am actually excited about it. Let's take this one con: gas prices are at 660 per liter. And it takes 3.78 liters to make a gallon. That comes out to 2494.80 pesos. Let's use the exchange rate of $1 USD for 500 pesos (although it changes every day). And then that works out to be: $4.98 for 1 gallon of gas. $80 dollars to fill up your gas tank will make you rethink where you want to live. Especially when you are about to choose a place that is very far away from everything. You just don't want to do that.

So. Our apartment is centrally located. And it's within walking distance to the mall, and one of the nicest grocery stores ever! So I'm pretty excited about that. There is a military bus that picks up the Chilean military people about 1 mile down the road from where we will be living. And dh can ride that bus. Pretty cool that he wouldn't even have to drive. And as for me, I don't think I've mentioned anything before about it, but driving is a scary prospect here. And I am not looking forward to it. A taxi driver nearly crashed us into some parked cars. And everyone drives like they are racing. Yet the traffic is thick and people jam and cram their cars into every available inch of road that exists. All the cars are small, so it's pretty strange to see 4 cars jammed into what should be two lanes. Forget rules. There are no rules. Or maybe there are, but nobody cares. Just as long as you aren't crashing into anybody, it seems that anything goes. People stop their cars in the streets. Taxi's will stop anywhere too. So don't follow too closely!
OK, that's about all I have to say about that.

And about the other house that we looked at, again like I said. It's really far away. And gas prices are more hideous here than in the states. So we decided to start seeing apartments. And then found one that we loved! So there. We still have to stay here until our stuff arrives. We have no updated news as to it's whereabouts. At least we are staying someplace nice!

OK, off to enjoy this peace and quiet. Yes, you heard right folks. It's quiet here right now. I've got Alexa down for a nap and Eddie is having some quiet time in the other room. Score 1 for mommy!

Saturday's Silly things I Said this week!

So lately I've been listening to myself talk. And I am saying some really crazy stuff. So I just thought I would share a few of them today.

Stop licking my ankles.

It's time to get in bed, now get out of those trash cans!

Your sister is not a horse!

And this one, heard from my dh's mouth: "No, no that's dirty water. No. Ca-ca water. Yuck, get out of there!" You can guess what they were playing in.


On another note, my children have discovered the water valves in the bathroom. Now I'm going to say they because I'm not sure which one of them did this, but if I had to guess, I would say that it was Eddie. He shut off the cold water in the bathroom. How did we discover that this had happened? Well, simple really. The toilet would not flush, and we were only able to get hot water out of the faucet. The cold water just wouldn't run. So dh turned it back on. Nice. What other fun things are they going to do while we are in this hotel???

Really laughing out loud today!

So I wake up at around 3 am this morning. Sometimes this happens, and totally not surprising after sharing a pitcher of beer with my spouse at pizza hut earlier that night. I get up to take care of some business. Only what do I find in the bathroom? There is a towel shoved into the toilet. Sadly. I have to admit that I had already taken care of business. On the towel. It wasn't until I turned around that I had even noticed it was there.

My first thought was shock. Then it was, "How in the heck did that get there?" And then I knew. It was either thing#1 or thing #2. And then it went to, "eww...gross, now I gotta pull that thing out of there." ugh.

Laughing, and then not. I reached in and pulled it out. Yes, we are all totally thankful that I only peed on that towel! So I threw it into the shower and ran the water on it. I can't believe I had to do that. But then again I can. It's just typical.

Seriously laughing out loud, especially now as I retype it and share it with the world! So when I woke up this morning, I asked the kids who put the towel into the toilet. And sweet little Lacka pipes up and with a huge grin on her face she says, "I did it. I pud it, in'a tah-let." And she smiled so proud of herself. She wanted to make sure that she got the proper credit for her act so she told me again, "I pud it in dere mommy." So there you have it. It was thing #2. I'll be checking the bowl from now on.

Speaking of thing #2, I was giving the kids a bath this evening and was noticing how long her hair has gotten. I absolutely can never tell. Especially with her, miss curly-Q. Her long hair is totally hidden in a mass of curls atop her gorgeous little head. So when I washed it, the truth was told. I yelled at dh to bring the camera. Here are a few pics of sweet sneaky towel stuffing Alexa.

OK, mom. No lectures. I tried to get more of Eddie, but he kept doing this. So I posted this one as proof. He's already practicing to be a man. Uncooperative. Bravo. He's got that one down pat. Have to go and supervise. Or was it referee? The kids are making noise again.

I think I might go a little bit crazy.

Now those of you who know me, know I'm already in dire need of a heavy prescription. And a truck load of some calgon to "take me away". But since I can neither hide in a closet and drift into a semi-conscious stupor with drool running down my lips, nor can I shrivel up like a prune in a luxurious bubble bath of nearly scalding water. I must face my reality.

I am being forced to pretend to eat birthday cake and blow out the candles. But it's really a ball shoved into a plastic container. And I've already aged like 20 years, according to how many times the kids have brought me a birthday cake.

Today has been busy. Not because we were looking at potential new homes for ourselves, but because we went to check our mail. We received a package. Actually two packages. Not the ones that I really wanted, but we were happy to receive them just the same. You see, we ordered a stroller and a rather large package of diapers nearly 20 days ago. And we are still waiting on them. And then my mother had sent a package to us and we received it in 4 days flat! I was astounded, and irritated all at the same time. Because we really need that stroller. And every day that I don't receive it, I am spitting mad. How can it take this incredibly long to get here? And will I ever see it?

So whatever. I simmer about that all day. But am glad to have gotten another package from my mother as it has peanut butter in it. And you can't get that stuff here. Also as a bonus, she has included some much needed TOYS!!!! The kids are a little slim on toys here. If you've read before, then you know that we are low in that department and the kids have taken to peeling off the wallpaper here in the hotel just for fun.

So where was I? Oh yeah, we checked our mail and then had lunch at the embassy. Nice and sweet. And then we came back to the hotel. Tried to find some new places to look at, but either we couldn't find a realtor, or there were no new places intriguing enough to capture our attention and lure us in. So we decided to go for a walk. And we walked and walked. Dh and I took turns carrying Eddie on our backs (piggyback style) and he really liked that part. We walked for a really long time and ended up going over to the place where dh is to catch the bus to go to work. We found that location and then headed back.

By the time we got back it was dark and the kids were getting hungry. So we stopped at Pizza Hut and got a pizza. Want to hear something cool? We got a pitcher of beer with our pizza. In the states you can't do that! They even serve a variety of wines too. And all the dishes are not made of plastic either! You get full on homemade Chilean China to eat from and glasses. Not plastic cups, but wine glasses are set out on the tables for you! It's really a shock to see this in a pizza hut, but pretty cool too. So we slammed down a pitcher. It made the kids a little more tolerable, and their running around the crowded restaurant a bit less painful. lol~ We strolled back to our hotel and the kids were stuffed with pizza and were in a happy mood.

Want to hear and exchange between my kiddos??? This happened just now.... "I love you too Lacka." and miss thing replies, "I love you too Eddie." And then Alexa just jumped off the bed onto the floor where I have pillows piled up just in case Eddie rolls off the bed. Instead it broke her fall. Which otherwise might have been very nasty.

Oh and earlier the Muppet's were on the Disney channel. I don't know the movie, but I noticed miss piggy and some other characters too. Eddie watched it for a moment. He's never seen them before. And do you know what his response was to the Muppet's? "Mommy, this is a little bit weird." Now that was funny. I changed the channel after I stopped laughing.

In case you were wondering what was in the second package that we received, it was from LL Bean. Shipping was like lightning speed from the states to Santiago. Holy quickness and super high fives to them! Dh couldn't be more pleased with his two fleece pullovers and socks that we ordered only 4 days ago! I would say that we would order from them again!

OK, that's all for now. I'm worn out and need to get some rest before the sun creeps up and forces me to peel back my eyelids yet again. The kids need to go to bed and are not yet cooperating with the ritual that is what we do here. In this place, this hotel, that we call home. For now.

Ciao

Happy 4th USA!

Happy 4th of July from far away! Today has been a good day for us. We got to see an apartment. And since I haven't mentioned it, we have now switched gears and are looking at apartments. We've come to the conclusion that it will be best for us right now. One of the major reasons is that we would save a ton of money on gas. The area that we have concentrated our efforts looking at houses is far enough away that it would cost us time on the road and plenty of headaches in that department. We've also recently moved from an city that we swore we would never live far away from anything ever again. So. Another vote for us to live in an apartment. Not to mention that most of the houses we looked at would require us to buy all new appliances. And the apartments come with some. The ones we have looked at so far are pretty large. And we are happy with that.

Now here are two things about 4th of July in another country..... we are able to carry on "business as usual" with viewing apartments. As today is just another day for Chileans. And when we checked our mail today and saw that we received a package, the mail room was closed due to the holiday. (US embassy) Go figure, you can't win them all!

Keeping this post short but sweet. It's late and I am tired. The kids were quite the handful and we ran a lot of errands, did a lot of walking and I must say.... it's cold outside!!!

Will it ever come together???

Well folks, it seems that we have successfully found a house that will work for us. We like it, it's nice and well, it's nice. What more can you ask for? Forget the fact that it has ZERO major appliances. We also don't care that the owner seemed to be so cheap that they stripped most of the light fixtures. That too is not such a huge thing. Really. When you take into consideration the fact that we have seen one ugly house after another. After another. I don't know how people can consider living in some of these places. I don't think I'm acting on the snobby side either, but they are just totally unacceptable.

Some of the houses were downright deathtraps. I could see so much hideous potential for accidents. In one of the homes that had to be older than my grandparents, it had a wrought iron spiral stairwell with openings between each stair and also openings on the railings wide enough for my 3 year old son to fit through. Scary!

Some of the pools were black or dark green. Many of the houses were overgrown with brush that had not been trimmed for what might have been a year. One might suspect that there were a forest attached to the backside of some of these houses. Most were very very old. The appliances seemed ancient and I would have to consult an "elder" to learn to use them.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that when we found this house that looked great and had a nice overall appearance and layout. We pretty much fell in love with it. Unfortunately renting a house in a foreign country, and for us on this particular assignment is not going to be an easy task. The government is putting all kinds of safety and security stipulations on everything and we cannot even sign a lease until these things are complete.

In the meantime, knowing what is out there and available ( a lot of ugly dog houses) we are worried that someone else might come along and like and rent the house that is meant for us. All during this time that we are trying to make the modifications necessary for the house to be livable, per standards for the US govt. Wow, try saying that three times really fast. It's giving us a headache. I don't want to look at more houses.

For another thing, they have this weird law here. There is a lot of air pollution in Santiago and on certain days, people who own cars without catalytic converters are not allowed to drive on certain days when the pollution is too bad. So, some of our Realtors have cars that cannot be driven and we are having a hard time getting around. Especially depending on another person to come and chauffeur us around. That too is a hassle.

But it sure would be nice to say that we at least have a house lined up to move into. We can deal with getting appliances, repainting the green and blue walls in 4 of the bedrooms, and adding light fixtures. But what we don't want is to go and live in a scary ugly house. We don't want the hassle of being drug around town to see the silly things either. Sometimes from the pictures the houses can deceptively look nice. And when you walk inside it's like a freak show. You have no idea what you just entered into. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. I keep thinking that the next one has to be better. It just has to. I mean, it can't get any worse. Right?

I will let you know if anything wonderful happens. Right now, we are waiting for some happy news. Which means that the owner would pay for the raising of the back wall and installing an electric shocker fence to the perimeter. (Yeah, and why would he say no to that???) Or we are waiting for some really bad news. (Owner says, "Go jump in front of a bus. I've got a house to rent here.") Waiting on pins and needles. All the other 67 items on the safety and security check of the property seemed pretty minor and we could handle all of those ourselves. And would do this willingly.

Hey, you get a little desperate living in a hotel room with two active toddler/preschoolers. They make you think that you can accomplish anything under the sun. Just give us our house already!! The babies need their own space, their own rooms, and mommy needs them to have a regular schedule already! This is getting a little nuts up in here.

It's much too late for blogging, I have to run now. Bed is calling and so is an early breakfast. We are going to go see another ugly house in the morning.

Ciao~