We arrived here in Miami yesterday. It's very hot. Very, very hot. Yuck. But it's worth it, the in-laws are awesome. We met John's sister and her kids at a restaurant for Nicole's 16th birthday last night and she ended up taking them all home with her (her husband's away on business) - six kids...brave woman!
I zipped up to Cuqui's house this morning and ended up taking the girls (x4) to see Mamma Mia this afternoon. I shed an awful lot of tears through that movie but it was amazing! Especially impressive was Meryl Streep's performance. Who'da thunk Meryl could sing like that??
Tonight I've been suffering with a headache from lack of caffeine. I'm trying to cut down and paying the price.
Another note regarding my baby girl turning sixteen. She wore a big cloth crown with tall cloth candles on it - the front read "Birthday Princess" - all day yesterday. At the airport in D.C. we were buying some sushi for lunch when a group of teenage boys broke out into "Happy Birthday to You" from the railing above us. Precious moment! :-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
We're In!
The school in La Paz has "conditionally" accepted my wonderful son. I would really love to tell this principal where she can shove her stupid school but first we have to visit the competition and decide if the warm fuzzy feeling would be worth it. Perhaps I should be the one they should have accepted "conditionally"? Nah, that would have taken too much thought processing. They're not too good at that.
So off we go to Bolivia. I promise more regular entries once we're settled.
If you have ever wondered what life might be like at 13,000+ feet, the welcome mat is always at our door!
So off we go to Bolivia. I promise more regular entries once we're settled.
If you have ever wondered what life might be like at 13,000+ feet, the welcome mat is always at our door!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Trip was Great!
The kids and I are back from a week long trip to check out universities. We only looked at three but the other two are in Miami and we'll be there in a few weeks.
First off, FSU. Florida State University is in Tallahassee, FL. None of the three high school kids wanted to stop there but as we were driving right by it, I thought we should. Good idea. Great school, beautiful campus...small campus considering they have 40K students but very nice! We were all very impressed. Coolest thing - a circus class.
Second stop, UCF. University of Central Florida is in Orlando, FL. It's HUGE! 48,000 students and it's spread over a million acres. Well, it surely felt that way after our walking tour. Very nice campus as well but it did feel a little massive. Jake voted for it strictly due to its location...oh, and they have a chocolate lovers club.
Lastly we went to Flagler College in Saint Augustine, FL. We were all very excited about visiting Flagler. An absolutely stunning school...from the outside. It was a big let down. Smelly and old, the classroom we were shown stunk to high heaven and the main hall, while it was architecturally beautiful, was run down and rank. Our tour guide was barely tolerable, not the least bit enthusiastic. Obviously intelligent but it was also obvious he must have been volunteered for the job.
So, it was definitely worth the trip. The kids behaved extremely well. We were able to visit some great friends on the way too. FSU went to the top of the list, a surprise first place finish. The girls have also seen and love Duke University. We gathered a bunch of good information about the application process, scholarships and housing.
Today I took a pile of pictures of our possessions. Then I started packing and separating. I'm done in the living room and halfway through the kitchen. Lisette is about finished in her room and Jake is almost done with sorting through his toys in the basement. Tonight is movie night...I'm finally going to see "Transformers" - oh joy, oh bliss! :-)
First off, FSU. Florida State University is in Tallahassee, FL. None of the three high school kids wanted to stop there but as we were driving right by it, I thought we should. Good idea. Great school, beautiful campus...small campus considering they have 40K students but very nice! We were all very impressed. Coolest thing - a circus class.
Second stop, UCF. University of Central Florida is in Orlando, FL. It's HUGE! 48,000 students and it's spread over a million acres. Well, it surely felt that way after our walking tour. Very nice campus as well but it did feel a little massive. Jake voted for it strictly due to its location...oh, and they have a chocolate lovers club.
Lastly we went to Flagler College in Saint Augustine, FL. We were all very excited about visiting Flagler. An absolutely stunning school...from the outside. It was a big let down. Smelly and old, the classroom we were shown stunk to high heaven and the main hall, while it was architecturally beautiful, was run down and rank. Our tour guide was barely tolerable, not the least bit enthusiastic. Obviously intelligent but it was also obvious he must have been volunteered for the job.
So, it was definitely worth the trip. The kids behaved extremely well. We were able to visit some great friends on the way too. FSU went to the top of the list, a surprise first place finish. The girls have also seen and love Duke University. We gathered a bunch of good information about the application process, scholarships and housing.
Today I took a pile of pictures of our possessions. Then I started packing and separating. I'm done in the living room and halfway through the kitchen. Lisette is about finished in her room and Jake is almost done with sorting through his toys in the basement. Tonight is movie night...I'm finally going to see "Transformers" - oh joy, oh bliss! :-)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
My Computer's Back!
Yeah!
The Geek Squad took care of it...for a hefty price but now it's working just fine!
We're in the "on again - off again" mode. The embassy is working on getting John down to La Paz for a couple of weeks but there's no way to know if it's going to happen. In the meantime, we're looking at bringing him on our university tour next week. Of course, if he has to go to Bolivia, those plans will be moot. I do hate this back and forth nonsense! I'm a planner and it drives me crazy for things to be so up in the air.
The hysteroscopy is tomorrow so I'm packing for our college road trip today...expecting to be a bump on a log for the next 24 hrs. Thursday will be somewhat busier, picking up a rental car and Lisette has a doctor's appointment before her Theater camp production Thursday evening. We're hoping to be on the road Friday but that's still to be determined...depending on how I feel, where John will be. The miracle of it all - my blood pressure was fine at my pre-op appointment. I laughed out loud when one of the questions was "what's your stress level right now?" Hee hee. Where to begin.
Seems Lisette is full-blown teenage "you don't understand me" now. John can't give fashion pointers and we can't possibly understand how much she misses her boyfriend. I know this is nature's way of making our separation easier come next summer but it's incredibly annoying. Shake my head, throw up my hands, or roll my eyes, sometimes all three. I wouldn't be 17 yrs. old again for all the tea in China and this is part of the reason why not. Not being in control of your life, your future is a big question mark and you've got these people bossing you around. Wait a second...my life's still like that!!
The Geek Squad took care of it...for a hefty price but now it's working just fine!
We're in the "on again - off again" mode. The embassy is working on getting John down to La Paz for a couple of weeks but there's no way to know if it's going to happen. In the meantime, we're looking at bringing him on our university tour next week. Of course, if he has to go to Bolivia, those plans will be moot. I do hate this back and forth nonsense! I'm a planner and it drives me crazy for things to be so up in the air.
The hysteroscopy is tomorrow so I'm packing for our college road trip today...expecting to be a bump on a log for the next 24 hrs. Thursday will be somewhat busier, picking up a rental car and Lisette has a doctor's appointment before her Theater camp production Thursday evening. We're hoping to be on the road Friday but that's still to be determined...depending on how I feel, where John will be. The miracle of it all - my blood pressure was fine at my pre-op appointment. I laughed out loud when one of the questions was "what's your stress level right now?" Hee hee. Where to begin.
Seems Lisette is full-blown teenage "you don't understand me" now. John can't give fashion pointers and we can't possibly understand how much she misses her boyfriend. I know this is nature's way of making our separation easier come next summer but it's incredibly annoying. Shake my head, throw up my hands, or roll my eyes, sometimes all three. I wouldn't be 17 yrs. old again for all the tea in China and this is part of the reason why not. Not being in control of your life, your future is a big question mark and you've got these people bossing you around. Wait a second...my life's still like that!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Too Much Squawking
I've been avoiding writing a blog note because it would mean too much venting/complaining but it's time to catch everyone up on what's going on.
The house is nice and quiet although Buddy is snoring behind me. Lisette is at Theater camp (you have to say "Theater" with an upper crust British accent for some reason), John is hopefully picking up his travel orders finally and my lazy youngest two are still sleeping!
While I was back home we were informed by the school in Bolivia that Jake was denied admission due to "serious concerns regarding his behaviour" ...John and I both about had a stroke. Jake had a hard time adjusting when we first arrived in Buenos Aires but he's improved by leaps and bounds since, especially considering we're moved this 8/9 yr. old child twice in the span of a year.
We've received some awesome support from the government and now the school is willing to reconsider his enrollment if he is cleared through a psycho-educational evaluation and emotional/ developmental testing. His testing takes place this Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile our collective breaths are held.
On the job front, I'm to have an interview over the phone tomorrow morning. Just another reason to pop my blood pressure through the roof. However, on the stress scale, it's rather low. I've always interviewed well and this job isn't the most important thing right now.
The icing on the cake? I'm having a hysteroscopy (read that carefully!) on July 2nd. Oh, and John is expecting to depart for Bolivia shortly thereafter. Life does keep us on our toes. If it doesn't kill us... you know.
My Lasik eyes are doing great. My kids are wonderful and I have the best friend/husband in the universe to lean on when life is totally una vida loca.
Now Jake is up and eating his scrambled eggs. He gave me a big good morning hug. Now I really don't have anything to squawk about. It's a beautiful day! Hope the sun is shining where you are too!
The house is nice and quiet although Buddy is snoring behind me. Lisette is at Theater camp (you have to say "Theater" with an upper crust British accent for some reason), John is hopefully picking up his travel orders finally and my lazy youngest two are still sleeping!
While I was back home we were informed by the school in Bolivia that Jake was denied admission due to "serious concerns regarding his behaviour" ...John and I both about had a stroke. Jake had a hard time adjusting when we first arrived in Buenos Aires but he's improved by leaps and bounds since, especially considering we're moved this 8/9 yr. old child twice in the span of a year.
We've received some awesome support from the government and now the school is willing to reconsider his enrollment if he is cleared through a psycho-educational evaluation and emotional/ developmental testing. His testing takes place this Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile our collective breaths are held.
On the job front, I'm to have an interview over the phone tomorrow morning. Just another reason to pop my blood pressure through the roof. However, on the stress scale, it's rather low. I've always interviewed well and this job isn't the most important thing right now.
The icing on the cake? I'm having a hysteroscopy (read that carefully!) on July 2nd. Oh, and John is expecting to depart for Bolivia shortly thereafter. Life does keep us on our toes. If it doesn't kill us... you know.
My Lasik eyes are doing great. My kids are wonderful and I have the best friend/husband in the universe to lean on when life is totally una vida loca.
Now Jake is up and eating his scrambled eggs. He gave me a big good morning hug. Now I really don't have anything to squawk about. It's a beautiful day! Hope the sun is shining where you are too!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Plugging Along
I can see! Thanks to Lasik surgery last Saturday...it's amazing! It also happens to be 1/2 the price back home in Ontario so I stuck through feeling very unsure, did some research and went ahead with it. My vision is now about 20/15...this after being legally blind without correction. I heard the horror stories (actually, not really horror, just disappointment) and I heard the "it's so fabulous!" stories. I'm presently in the "it's so fabulous" category. :-)
We're waiting to hear if we're still going to Bolivia. There's been a big glitch in the plan but since I seem to be grumpy about one thing or another in this blog lately, I'll keep that story quiet until I can let you know the final outcome. Just say a prayer that things work out well...one way or another, but as long as it works out well!
It was great to see my family. I miss them so much and feel so isolated so much of the time. Always a billion miles away. Don't get me wrong, I love the adventure in our life but it doesn't stop me missing my friends and family. Eight days wasn't enough! Somehow I think John feels I was away longer than he'd have liked! He did just fine with the kids - even attended quite a few end of year events with the schools!
There was a murder on our street while I was away, a young man was shot in the driveway. That was freaky! They've had a memorial every night since, including last night. They aren't too loud but Jake needed to move into our bed to fall asleep...it's horribly sad. It's a Muslim family, I wish I knew an appropriate response to send/bring over there. Not sure if flowers or a meal or a plant would be okay... we certainly don't want to somehow offend at a time like this.
Today is the kids' last day of school. Happy day for them! Pseudo-happy day for mom and dad! :-)
We're waiting to hear if we're still going to Bolivia. There's been a big glitch in the plan but since I seem to be grumpy about one thing or another in this blog lately, I'll keep that story quiet until I can let you know the final outcome. Just say a prayer that things work out well...one way or another, but as long as it works out well!
It was great to see my family. I miss them so much and feel so isolated so much of the time. Always a billion miles away. Don't get me wrong, I love the adventure in our life but it doesn't stop me missing my friends and family. Eight days wasn't enough! Somehow I think John feels I was away longer than he'd have liked! He did just fine with the kids - even attended quite a few end of year events with the schools!
There was a murder on our street while I was away, a young man was shot in the driveway. That was freaky! They've had a memorial every night since, including last night. They aren't too loud but Jake needed to move into our bed to fall asleep...it's horribly sad. It's a Muslim family, I wish I knew an appropriate response to send/bring over there. Not sure if flowers or a meal or a plant would be okay... we certainly don't want to somehow offend at a time like this.
Today is the kids' last day of school. Happy day for them! Pseudo-happy day for mom and dad! :-)
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