26 January, 2010

Paul's Coming Home

Cost of replacing the car battery (that died while Paul was gone): R$300
Cost of replacing the kids' bedroom rug (that mildewed in the flood while Paul was gone): R$150
Cost of running the fan (to dry the mattress that was soaked while Paul was gone): R$86
Cost of paying the babysitter (for 2 hours of sanity while Paul was gone): R$20
Cost of internet groceries (to avoid the store with two kiddos while Paul was gone): R$250

Paul coming home tomorrow: PRICELESS

So...um, the update from Friday was really optimistic. Things WERE going well. Then Saturday came. During a bad rainstorm (that came on suddenly) the kids and I ended up getting stuck in not one, but two elevators when the power went out. It wasn't for long, but scary nonetheless. When we made it home we found the kids room was flooded with water-Noah's mattress was soaked, his quilt, the floor, even Sophie's clothes in her closet-which had been left open when I came home to fetch bathing suits (see, the rain really did come on suddenly!)-were drenched. Oh, it was a mess! I spent most of the afternoon drying water off the floor and rearranging furniture to let everything dry out. Bedtime couldn't come soon enough!

This morning, our first day back to school with students, I found the car battery dead. I managed to get a ride with friends and make it to school just in time to greet my new students and kiss the sea of parents outside my door. We knew the car was acting funny, but we thought it would make it until Paul returned. Almost...

Anyway, despite the chaos of the last few days we survived. But we're definitely ready for Paul to come home! He'll be home late tomorrow night and we'll all be waiting!

**On a side note, after all of my whining, please pray for my good friend Diane's husband Mark. He is works for the Fairfax County Police Department and they are working in Haiti right now. Last weekend Mark fell onto a pipe sticking out of a wall and broke his rib. He's been on the USS Comfort so they can run tests and rule out any internal injuries. So far, it looks like he'll be able to stay with his team and continue working in Haiti. You can see an great video on the work they are doing here.

22 January, 2010

Paul's adventures

For those interested in keeping up with Paul's adventures in Greece check out Graded Goes Greece

We've heard from Paul a few times via email. Noah's written him a sweet email back while Sophie is content to tell daddy about her ballet leotard in great detail and kindly ask if we can buy yet another next time we're back in Virginia. True to their personalities!

All is well here. I'll be the first to admit I've had Katty here most of the day (I went back to work on Thursday) only leaving me with the 4-8 shift. The kids have been really good, and thankfully, very tired! I'm heading into the difficult stretch now-a 3 day weekend with rain predicted for all three days. I checked out 12 books from our school library this afternoon and I've already started my lists of fun activities to fill the time. I've also made peace with the fact that the kiddos may watch a little more television this weekend.

I am already a little worried about what could happen next year if I am faced with 10 days and three kids! My two seem pretty easy by that comparison. Oh well, I'll start strategizing next year. For now, things are good!

19 January, 2010

Jumping Back on the Blogging Wagon


Well, by now most of you have read my excuses for not posting...mostly horrible morning sickness that kept my in the fetal position October-December. However, it's a new year, a new trimester, and we are safely back in Sao Paulo so I feel ready to begin posting again. I'm sure you all are relieved *wink, wink*.

We had a great visit with family in December. We flew to Bogota, Columbia for two days before heading onto D.C. Bogota is pretty much the half way point between Sao Paulo and D.C. so it broke our ten hour flight more or less into two five hour flights which was way more manageable with the kids. Plus, the Columbia's national airline Avianca is great to fly on! The seats were spacious (by comparison), the flights arrived on time or early, the staff pleasant, and the kids had a touch screen in front of them that played movies, television, and video games-a welcome distraction! While in Columbia we visited The Gold Museum and hired a driver to take us around Bogota. We visited Montserrat via trolley and could see the entire city of Bogota from there and drove through La Candalaria.

It was a fun detour. Sophie enjoyed the drug sniffing dogs that were EVERYWHERE. The people were friendly (minus our friends at the immigration counter) and the hotel was new, clean, and comfortable. We may book this route another time.

We flew into D.C. amazingly just 24 hours after the huge snow storm hit. Another round of applause for Avianca airlines! We even arrived early. It was only after the baggage carousel broke with our luggage down below that we were delayed!

Seeing family and friends was, of course, wonderful. So was speaking English everywhere we went...I felt so smart and capable! Target, too, was no disappointment. It was hard to leave after three weeks. The kids are getting more vocal about wanting to stay in Virginia and visit family in Austin and Colorado...we'll see what the next few years hold.

We arrived back in Sao Paulo last Friday after a one day layover in Bogota. The kids are happy to be back. Their friends have all returned and they are enjoying spending long hours outside in the sunshine-something that was unthinkable in frigid D.C. After five weeks off they head back to school on the 26th. We are getting back into the swing of early bedtimes and household routines.

Paul left for Greece today. He's taking 31 middle schoolers on a 9 day tour of the country...nice job, right?! He's worked hard to make this trip happen and I know he will have a great time.

As for me, I'm approaching my 18th week of pregnancy though I am, for the most part, still wearing my normal clothing. I thought the second I saw the positive line I'd have to move into maternity by baby number three...I think the morning sickness has helped everything fit a bit longer! We believe we are having a girl by the last ultrasound we had, but should know for sure in the next few weeks.

Carnaval is only three short weeks away, but I think we're staying put. Instead of traveling we plan to rest, relax, and continue working on making our new apartment home. I have pictures I want to share, but our computer isn't cooperating and without Paul I'm not sure how to get them onto here any other way. Pictures to follow!

I promise more regular updates from now on!