Family Picnic

Oh boy! What a crazy, busy week! I spent my morning at school running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I taught my regular classes and then had lots of grades to enter, so I'd arranged with the nanny to come home a little later than normal. Then, I tried working in my classroom, but there was another (chatty) teacher in there. Then, I made a beeline for the staff lounge to work in order to avoid my former homeroom class. After another race back to the room to get the rest of my papers, I finally managed to get everything entered. Since I was starving, I decided to walk to get some lunch to bring home, and my favorite restaurant was closed! By the time I reached home, I was in a frenzy.
I walked in the door, and my normally chaotic house was quiet. Totally quiet. I was stunned. The nanny had done all of the laundry, cleaned the entire house, and both of my children were napping!!! I had serenity for an entire 5 minutes. And I was so incredibly grateful for it!

This past weekend we had our YISS staff and family picnic.

It was fully catered by Outback Steakhouse--I mean a ton of food. Chicken, sausages, and ribs. All on one plate. So. much. food.

The kids had a great time playing on the soccer field. Strangely, I think that Cade is the only 3 year old, but he doesn't mind. The kid gets along with everybody!

It was pretty entertaining watching these boys try to play catch!

The adult boys put together a softball game--Eric was in heaven!

After the adult game ended, they threw a few pitches for the kids. Kennedy is doing a really great job with a bat already. Far better than I ever was!

The weather was a beautiful, mild 75 degrees. It was a nice, relaxing day for the whole family. A very enjoyable "company picnic".

We have 10 days until we leave for the States! So excited! and so much to do!!!!

Thankful

This past week I have been so thankful for ordinary things. I'm so thankful that Cade is finally doing really well with potty training. I'm so thankful that he's started taking naps again. It was so nice to be able to go back to work and know that our kids are in good hands. They were so excited to see Miss V last Monday, that they both woke up at 6:30 in the morning when she got to the house!

I have been doing my best to enjoy every last minute of the next few weeks before I start working full time (with actual responsibilities and stuff...). I have really been enjoying not having to do the laundry anymore!

Do you know that I have never cleaned our bathrooms?! My amazing husband cleaned both toilets a couple of times over the break, but our nanny cleans the bathrooms from floor to ceiling, and while we have to buy her a bottle of bathroom cleaner about twice a month, I have yet to use it! How blessed am I?

I love the fact that on my days off, I only have to worry about the kids...you know that whole 3 meals a day thing...well, for them it's more like 5 or 6, but that's it. I sweep the floor once or twice a day (sometimes Kennedy does it), we clean up toys, cook, and do dishes. That's it. No vacuuming, no dusting, no mopping, no laundry (not even sheets or towels), nothing. Hmm. I might not ever move back to the States! (just kidding, of course!)

Just playing. Just pretending that the "picnic blanket" is a swimming pool. Pretending that the stools are horses or that "we're on TV!" as in the pictures above. Playing with cars. Doing crafts. Being kids. I'm so thankful! 

(well, for two more weeks anyway...)

Making a House a Home

I had originally titled this post "Household Improvements", but I just wasn't sure that the few things that we've done around the house can be classified as "improvements". I know that the things I've done here I never would have classified that way in the States, but here where we have white wallpapered walls that we can't really do anything with, anything we do seems to be an improvement, just with a different definition.

To start, a few weeks ago our nanny brought some stickers for the kids to put on their walls. Now, I will admit this may be the reason I had to change the title of the post. Because while the kids were thrilled with the new additions to their rooms, I can't help but think they are absolutely hideous! They are so excited about them, though! It was a cheap addition (that we don't have to worry about bring back with us!) that made them feel a little more at home in their rooms. That's really all that matters.

Last week, she brought some materials to make them mobiles out of an art show program we had laying around. She let the kids pick out the pictures and then strung them up in their rooms. Again, they love it and it was really cheap. Me? I could take it or leave it.

This weekend, we were finally able to get a shelf for our kitchen to put the microwave on. We have two little countertops in the kitchen and one of them was nearly completely covered with the microwave. It was driving me crazy. So, we got this ridiculously plain metal shelf that looks like it belongs behind closed doors in a pantry or garage or something, but instead it's front and center in our kitchen with cords shooting out the side. But, I have now doubled my counter space and honestly that is all I care about! Well, that and not spending too much money on making life just a little bit easier.

It is extremely hard to try and make this little apartment a home we have found. A part of me just wants to dive in and buy window coverings, toy bins, bookshelves, and picture frames. I know that someone could be blessed by inheriting some things to make their place a little more homey when we leave here in a few years. But the other part of me, doesn't want to pay outrageous prices for things that we're just going to be giving away sometime soon. So I'm trying to balance. The good news is, the other day Kennedy ran into the house and said, "I love our apartment!" I was so happy to hear it; she's come so far in the last few months!

Things are Looking Up!

Just to give you an update after our rough week last week...Eric went to the doctor yesterday where they did his second x-ray. The doctor confirmed the pneumonia, but said things still looked strange in there (his chest), so she scheduled a CT scan for this morning. She only gave him two pills to treat the pneumonia so that he would have to come back! When he asked why he needed a CT scan, she said that she worried he may have TB! Oh brother! He told them he'd been vaccinated for TB. They asked when he was last checked. He told them, "in July when I got here!" They said they just wanted to check to make sure. Needless to say, he does not have TB. He does have a pretty severe case of pneumonia. There's a large pocket on his left lung and a small one on his right lung. He gets to go back again in a week to check his status. He's not too pleased about it. Anyway, his cough is improving slightly. He still can't breathe deeply and gets winded when he walks a lot, but we are sleeping slightly more. 

The kids' colds haven't gotten too bad. They still have stuffy noses, but not awful. Honestly, it's just really nice to have Cade at an age where he doesn't scream and run the other direction when I want to wipe his nose. He finally understands the benefit of blowing his nose!

In addition, yesterday we had a meeting with our HR director, and while the situation with our nanny is not the best it could possibly be, I think it's livable. Sorry I can't publicly post the details of the situation, but just know it added a lot of stress to an already stressful week.

Last night, one of the couples that lives in our apartment complex took us out to dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant. They had their teenage daughters watch the kids and make them dinner, too! They knew we'd been stressed and it was great to have a night to relax and talk with adults...on a Monday, no less! So, I'm happy to report that things are looking up!

Found a Nanny!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! We found a nanny!! We felt like the woman that we interviewed last month would work, but she was not our best option. So we left the ad on Craigslist and let her know that we were keeping our options open. Last week a woman replied to my ad and even supplied several email addresses for references. I emailed her references early this week, and all three of them had raves for her! We were so excited, we wanted to offer her the job without even speaking to her! Tonight we talked with her on Skype, and she is so sweet and so excited to take care of our kids! She has raised five kids of her own in addition to the children that she has nannied for the past several years in Seoul. She and her family have been in Seoul for the past eight years and plan to be there for the next four years before returning to the Philippines. She had to quit her last full time job (12 hour days) because of the high stress level, so we're hoping that part-time work is exactly what she's looking for!