Over the weekend, I took Simon and Andrew* to the mall in search of carry-on bags. There's a huge sidewalk sale going on this weekend, so I was hoping there were some deals to be found. I found four rolling carry-ons, regular price $440, for $145, but then there was also a "Buy 1, get the 2nd 1/2 off". So I ended up getting all four for $112. Not too shabby seeing as the regular price was over $400! They all have a 10 year warranty, too. 

We made our way out of the mall, me with two of the bags' handles over the handles of the stroller, and Simon pulling the other two behind him. Then this:

Simon: NOOOOW can we go to I-gina (Regina)?

me: No honey, not for about a month. We'll leave for Regina right after we pack up the whole house.

Simon: Are you kidding me??

me: (laughing) No, I'm not kidding.

Simon: (looking back at the bags we'd just bought) We're going to need a really, reeeeeeally big suitcase to pack up the whole house!

He takes everything we say so literally. Sarcasm is completely lost on him. Wrong family to be born into, kid.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

One of the first things Peter did once he accepted this post is Bogota, was to find the name and email of another employee already posted there, who also has a family with young kids. In one of the first few emails he sent, he asked if it would be alright for his wife (that'd be me) to send a list of questions to his (the other employee's) wife.

That's how my correspondence with Patrycja started.

Not long after that, I posted on Twitter that we'd be moving to Colombia (there were several exclamation marks involved), and not long after received a message from Susie (who I "met" on thebabywearer and who runs The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe here in Ottawa) asking if I'd like her to put me in touch with another ex-pat living in Colombia. A lovely lady with two young girls, whose husband is also posted in Bogota.

A few nights later, I received both a message from Susie and an email from Patrycja saying, "Hey you already "know" Patrycja!" and "I'm so excited you're "friends" with Susie!". So both Peter's contact at work and Susie's ex-pat friend are the same person... Patrycja. For some reason, this left a HUGE smile on my face. I walked around the house with a silly grin on my face every time I thought of it.

Not only will our husbands be working together at the embassy, but their girls are just a month or so either side of Simon and Andrew (we're still working on finding some friends Liam's age). We seem to share many of the same views re type/quality of food (and although they're vegetarians, we've decided we can still be friends). She breastfeeds, cloth diapers, babywear... AND BLOGS.

Clearly, we are meant to be friends, Patrycja and I.

(Which just means that expectations are high and I'm bound to be at my most awkward when we do actually meet. Fair warning, Patrycja... I'm a hugger.)


* * * * * * * * * * * * 


So much still to do (SO. MUCH. TO. DO.) so I might start posting some of my to-do lists here for accountability. 


Today's list:

• drop off our broken Tassimo at FedEx (although huge props to Tassimo customer service for the brand new machine! woo hoo!)
• stop somewhere and buy more expresso discs for said Tassimo... I'm going to need them!
• call Mastercard and order new cards since ours will expire not long after we leave
• finalize next year's homeschool curriculum and order all the books I'll need for Liam and Simon
• hopefully find time to edit some more pictures from the two sessions I did the weekend before last (I'd need to have these done this week)
• clean up the DISASTER of a playroom and start the inventory of the toys
• have supper ready before picking Peter up so it's not such a mad dash to get Liam to soccer (like it is every other Tues and Thurs when we get home with Peter at 5:30pm and have to leave for soccer not long after 6pm.)
• tackle the mountain of laundry that is accumulating in every corner of the house

*Peter and Liam were camping this weekend with a group of kids from our church. They had a BLAST and came home full of dirt, mosquito bites and stories.

Sorry if I left you all with a lot of questions after that last post!

To answer a few questions:

• No, our time in Bogota will not be indefinite. The post is only for a year. It's a crazy lot of work and hassle to do this all for only a year, but we decided it will be worth it!

• We do plan to return to Gatineau in Sept '11. The only thing that would change this is if Peter gets offered a cross-post. Meaning we'd go from Bogota to another overseas posting. This isn't super common though. In the off chance that it does happen, we'd still come back here between posts, I imagine.

• Peter is with DFAIT (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade). This particular post is as a political officer in charge of reporting on issues concerning educational links (or some such thing) between Canada and Colombia, and Human Rights issues. After being a desk officer for a year here in Ottawa, this will be much more fulfilling and exciting.

• The Mission in Bogota is responsible for finding us housing. The Crown leases them and we pay essentially the same thing we've been paying for rent/utilities here. While being in the Foreign Service is by no means lucrative (*snort* it is a Public Service job after all), they make sure that you'd never lose money by being posted overseas. Because Colombia is a Level IV (out of five levels) for "hardship", there are actually some surprisingly nice incentives for being posted abroad there. Especially with a family of five.

• We will be homeschooling. Yeah! Originally, Peter was adamant that we take advantage of the Government-paid private education that is offered to all overseas employees. In Bogota, there are actually some really highly rated bilingual schools. Unfortunately (I'mnotreallysadaboutthis), the school year starts before we'd arrive and it's far too late to enrol in any of the approved private schools. Nuts. So I've already started a list of all the materials I'll need for Liam and will likely look for some fun, simple workbooks for Simon as well. We will be eligible for a gov-paid French tutor (to keep up with both of Canada's official languages) and may try to find a Spanish tutor as well. Clearly -CLEARLY!- this whole homeschooling thing was meant to be.  *grin*

• We're still undecided about what to do with the house. This is definitely our biggest stressor right now. Neither renting it out nor selling it are great options. Not with such a short time frame. Not will all the unfinished projects scattered throughout. Projects we assumed we'd have the summer to finish. I just know it wouldn't show well right now. There are pieces of drywall and stucco missing (where we took out a window and installed a door), painting that needs to be done, some x-small gaps in the flooring since the earthquake last month. Things that we live with, but wouldn't inspire anyone to fall in love with the house on initial viewing. *sigh* This is the biggest decision we have to make.

• And we still don't know when we're leaving! I know when I'm leaving for Regina with the boys, but not when Peter needs to be down there. Without a start date, we can't schedule packing/moving/loading dates. We can't make travel arrangements. We can't do a lot of the STUFF we have to do. I'm really hoping the decide this soon. I know what would be easiest for us, but ultimately it's not our decision.

So lots of decisions to make. So much is still unknown or still up in the air. We did have a good meeting with our trip/move/FSD (Foreign Service Directives) Client Advisor and she was able to answer a lot of the questions we had, so that was helpful. We also have some workshop/briefings scheduled for this week that will give us even more information.

But still...

SO. MUCH. TO. DO.

And less than a month (likely) to do it in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

Since my last few posts have been picture-less (even after promising picture-heavy posts... I'm such a liar!), I'll share a couple of pictures from when Peter's parents -Papa and Nana, to the boys- were here in May. We had lots of fun with them, riding bikes, going to the Aviation Museum and the Museum of Agriculture, and jumping in puddles. And worked them like dogs. But even with the amazing (and yet-to-be-blogged) deck (THAT NOW WE'LL HARDLY HAVE HAD THE CHANCE TO USE! *sniff* ) and the house full of clean, freshly folded laundry THAT WAS ACTUALLY PUT AWAY, these pictures are my favourite thing about their time here,

(except that I look a little pregnant here...)

This one is also a huge -HUGE!- favourite. I love how Liam and Simon are laughing and I love Andrew's little tongue sticking out. Man, my kids are cute!


Their flights out of Ottawa were very early morning flights, so they were up and gone by 5am. When Simon woke up and found them gone, he asked us where they were. After hearing that Peter had taken them to the airport, he yelled at us, "WHY DID YOU LET THEM LEAVE?!!" Poor little guy.

We miss you Papa and Nana!

will you still like me...

If I'm blogging/tweeting/Facebook-ing FROM BOGOTA, COLOMBIA??

We're still a bit in a daze, but it appears that we will be moving to Colombia... and SOON! I have a trip already planned to head back west to see my family in August until early September (which I'm glad to have already booked because as it sits it's going to be such a crazy month that I'd easily have talked myself out of it if we didn't already have tickets). Because of the urgent nature of this post, Peter may have to leave before we even get back and we'll follow once we get back to Gatineau. I still don't know how it's all going to work out and my head is spinning thinking of everything we have to do to get ready to move (what to do with the house, the van, what to take and what to put in storage, etc, etc, ETC).

Hopefully we'll maintain our sanity through it all.

And hopefully you'll stick around for the ride!

bits and pieces

Last night we took Liam and Simon to see Toy Story 3. It was only Simon's second movie in a theatre (the first being "How to Train Your Dragon"), and it was both boys' first 3D movie experience. To say they enjoyed it would be an understatement (except for the part where the toys are facing a fiery death in the bellies of the landfill... although Liam assures us that he knew they'd be okay). 

Simon loves the three little green aliens and can often be heard repeating the word "Da-ddeeeeeee" in the same kind of creepy monotone they use. It's funny though.

Less funny (or more funny depending on if you're me or Peter) is when he shouts, "GET OUT OF MY BUTT!" For those who haven't seen the movie, it's a line spoken by Mr Potato Head (you know how they open up to store all their accessories?) near the end of the movie. Of course my kid had to latch on to that particular sound bite.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Because of the recent smokin' hot, 100+ degree, swimsuit/pool weather I decided earlier this week to do some not-as-routine-as-it-should-be swimsuit/pool-type hair removal-type maintenance. You follow? Good. So with six kids here this week, personal care time has been at a total premium and thus my need for speed and efficiency... and my unfortunate decision to use a new razor. 

Being an adult woman, and having been at this type of grooming for a few years now, you'd think I'd know better. You'd think I'd know how my skin -that sensitive skin- would react to a new razor. But no. I was blinded by the shiny packaging and the promise of a sharp, exacting blade.

(sigh)

I don't know if it is all the blade's fault or some combination of heat, humidity, and the friction caused by the elastic on certain unmentionables... All I know is what I have now is not so swimsuit/pool ready. Not so pretty. 

And this is certainly one "area" of my life (double entendre) that I will not be photographing.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

There was so much that we did in May, June, and now the beginning of July that I haven't blogged... not even Liam's birthday! I might just have to accept the fact that I don't have enough time to type out a long/thoughtful/funny/sentimental/informative post for every moment of our lives. Pictures alone might have to do. 

So expect some picture heavy, light-on-words posts in the near future.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

As I type this, Peter is likely on the phone for a final interview/conversation/question period for a new job that will mean some huge, HUGE changes around here. Like uprooting-our-whole-family-and-home-and-moving-to-another-continent kind of huge. 

When this opportunity came up, it kind of freaked me out, but seemed like the chances of Peter being offered the job were relatively remote. When, after the interview, it appeared that his chances might be better than we thought, we started reading up on the country in questions and became more and more intrigued and excited. Now if he doesn't get it we'll be a bit disappointed.

Not too disappointed though. Or at

We love our friends here and our life and our new life-changing deck (that I've alluded too, but still need to properly photograph).

Now Peter just needs to wrap up the conversation AND CALL ME ALREADY!

(They'd better not just be sitting there talking about soccer and the World Cup final... speaking of which, what a boring game, eh? Neither Spain nor the Netherlands seemed good enough to be there. Super anti-climatic end to the tournament. *yawn*)

one way to stay cool in a heat wave

These help effective, easy for even little kids to use, and only-cost-$5- from-Toys-R-Us spray guns help:







It also helps to have a husband who's a great sport:

his eyes were super red that night... wonder why...

(Valerie, your girls are having a terrible time...)

Marilou? The water fight was a bit too intense for the babies, so they ate frozen blueberries and frozen mangoes to help beat the heat (not pictured: a purple-stained Andrew).




Isn't Peter a great multitasker? Having a water fight while protecting his beer!








I think everyone would've loved it had Peter been able to stay home with us the whole week! The kids, obviously (because he's WAY more fun than me!), and me (because, let's face it, sic kids are a lot of work and, well, because he's way more fun than me!).

a crazy week it will be

My good friend, Valérie, is in France this week with her dad. Her kids and their dad stayed here. He'll be working, and I'll be watching their three girls...

So that means, two 7 year olds, a 4 year old, a 3 1/2 year old, 18 months, and a just-turned-one year old.

DURING THE HOTTEST WEEK OF THE YEAR (so far).

I wanted to head to the park early this morning to get some running around in before it got too blazing hot, but by 9:30am it was already 26C (almost 80F). We went anyways.

And stayed for all of 15 minutes. Just long enough to snap a few pictures to prove we were there.

Then we came back home and raced to get into our swim suits to cool off. Peter had just filled the pool this morning, so it was COLD. But I still made them lay down in the water for this picture... Doesn't Liam look like he's enjoying it??

(not pictured: Liam, who inhaled his popsicle then went back in the pool)

Marilou sat for most of 45 minutes, savouring every bite of her blueberry/banana/spinach popsicle. Who wouldn't?? But seriously, Val, she was happy as a clam, sitting in her highchair in the shade watching the water war going on below.

After a quick lunch outside (dining al fresco) it was time for naps... Have you ever tried to put four kids to bed in three different rooms ALL AT THE SAME TIME?? Doesn't work so well. Must figure out plan for tomorrow's naps. Léa and Liam did a great job entertaining Marilou will I put the other three to bed, but I don't know if that will work every day.

And the plan for this afternoon? TRY NOT TO MELT.

And make more popsicles.