Home Leave

I realize I have been horrible about blogging.  But now that we are in a new city and having lots of transition, I'm going to try to blog more, mainly just to get stuff out of my head!  Because as we all know these times are especially difficult.  So let's go back to home leave.

In between posts we get some vacation time called home leave.  We took 5 weeks back in MD to see family and get a lot of appointments done.  Because our families live so close we split the time evenly between the 2 families.  It works our really well because both have space for us and the boys love spending time with their grandparents!
Before we left, I had been noticing for awhile that Elias was having some trouble hearing.  He also had a constant runny nose.  Oliver had a terrible double ear infection about a month before we left that actually ruptured his ear drum!  So our first appointment was the ENT and audiologist, where we found out that Elias did have significant hearing loss in his left ear due to chronic fluid and Oliver also had chronic fluid and both would need ear tubes before we left.  yay.  That same week while a friend was visiting, Elias somehow fell off a ride on car and fell on his arm, which led to an urgent care visit and then on to a specialist.  Luckily everything turned out to be fine, but it was quite a week!
We also got to spend 2 weeks at the beach with our families.  We spent a week with my side and my brother's family was able to come up, so the boys got a week with their cousins.  Then we had a week with Brian's family at their beach house.
The remaining 2 weeks were spent going to dentist and doctor appointments and getting the ear tubes in.  Both the boys did really well in surgery and by the time we got back to the house they were acting completely normal.
So after a fun filled and super busy 5 weeks, we boarded a plane to Paris.  We were all very excited it was a direct flight!  From Bogota we always had to connect in Miami or Atlanta.  It was also a red eye, so our hope was that the boys would sleep, and they did!!  Luckily the flight was only 1/2 full and especially our section was quite empty.  So each boy got 2 seats to lay across and sleep.  I would say of the 8 hours, they slept about 6-7.  So we were super pleased!  I slept maybe 2 hours.
When we arrived the airport was also quite empty, so we got through immigration very quickly and got our 11 pieces of luggage!
Ok.  So that's the backstory,  I'll do the first days on the next blog :)

Traveling with young kids

A friend of mine posted on Facebook the other day about advice for traveling with kids.  I have gotten emails from friends in the past about this also.  So I thought I would write my advice, or what has worked for me and Brian on our trips.
My kids are no strangers to airplanes.  When Caleb was 17 months we moved from Maryland to Australia ( about 30 hours 7 including layovers) and when he was about 21 months I flew alone with him from Canberra to Bangkok (9 hours).  So here's my first piece of advice.  When yours kids are super young, try to go overnight.  This worked really well for us.  We brought his car seat on the plane and when the lights went out, so did he!  He might not get a full night, but the majority of the flight he will be asleep.  I also took his favorite animal with us and his pacifier.  These really helped him to feel more comfortable.
When Elias was 14 months and Caleb was 3 we moved back to Maryland from Australia.  Flights out of Australia to the States are always morning.  So we had not choice but to fly all day.
By about 3 years old we found that they become better travelers.  But 14 months is probably the worst time to take a super long flight.  So Brian and I did tag team parenting.  Brian sat with Caleb and I sat with Elias.  We packed a carry on for the boys just for the plane.  We brought the laptop to play Caleb's favorite DVDs and of course made sure it was fully charged.  We also brought lots of snacks.  We filled the rest of the space with their favorite animals, one for each, toys, and books.  We had Caleb help us pack the bag so he had a say in what he wanted to play with, cars, paper and markers, etc.  I also went to the dollar store a few days ahead of time and bought a few new toys.  So he had a brand new toy where the novelty had not yet worn off.
As for Elias he was in the super mobile stage.  Again we took his car seat on the plane.  I tried to keep his schedule as normal as possible.  I tried to nap him along the same hours as normal.  When he was awake I asked the stewardesses if he could walk the aisles.  On almost all the flights I have found that as long as you are trying to keep your kids under control other passengers and stewardesses are very understanding.  The other passengers enjoyed watching Elias go up and down and would smile at him or give him high fives.
As far as food, I would order the kids meals ahead of time and we doled out a lot of snacks.  A long flight is not the time to be super health conscience.
When we arrived at the airport for layovers we let our kids run.  Not run free, we gave them limits, but they were allowed to run around a bit to help them free up that pent up energy.
When Caleb was 4, Elias was 2, and Ollie was 7 months we moved from Maryland to Bogotá (7 hours of flying).  This time we brought the laptop and ipad, because of course Elias and Caleb were not going to agree on what to watch.  We did much the same as before.  But now that Caleb was older we brought card games too.  He loves playing "go fish" and "uno".  We sat Ollie by the window in his car seat, then me, then Caleb.  Brian sat across the aisle then Elias.

So I guess here are my tips to summarize.
1.  If the child is super young and it is a long flight, try to go overnight.
2.  Pack a bag just for the plane with their favorite animal or lovey, pacifier, snacks, and toys.  If the child is old enough have them help you pack it.  Also try to include some new inexpensive toys.
3. Tag team parent.  When one parent is starting to get frustrated, switch seats (or kids!)
4. Bring a car seat if the child is under 2.  They understand that their car seat is their seat.  They don't run around the car free, so they understand that the car seat is for them to sit in.
5.  Try to keep their routine semi-normal, ie nap times.  No, they are not going to sleep as much as they normally do, but routine makes kids feel comfortable.
6. Lower your expectations  a little.  Normally we don't let our kids snack all day.  But on a long plane ride, you do what you need to do to keep them and the other passengers happy.
7. Finally remember that most likely it is not as bad as it seems.  After long flights with a young Elias I have apologized to other passengers for noise, etc.  Every time they looked at me a bit crazy and said it was ok.  I think as parents we build it up in our heads, but in reality, they are not bothering anyone.

Good luck to all your traveler with young kids!!  I hope these tips helped!

A Colombian salon experience

Finding a hairstylist when you move a lot is tough. I am not super picky with my hair, but I do like a good haircut.  So, it has been 6 months since I got a haircut.  I got it cut very short before we left Maryland because I knew it would be awhile after the move.
So i asked around and a friend recommended this salon.  It was quite an experience.  So, i planned on getting a manicure and my eyebrows waxed too.  When I left the apartment I told Brian I would probably be gone for a couple of hours since I was getting so much done.
When I checked in, I was shown to the chair to get my hair washed and over walks the manicurist.  So as I am getting my hair washed she was filing my nails.  Then the owner of the salon cuts my hair while the manicurist was working on mu cuticles and doing a hand scrub.  After the owner finished cutting my hair, I had to wait to get it blown out.  As I was waiting the manicurist started painting my nails and over walks the esthetician to wax my eyebrows.  So now my eyebrows and nails are being done at the same time!  When they finished with my eyebrows, I. got my hair blown out by another lady.  So in all I had 5 different people working on me!  Plus because almost everything was done at the same time, I was done in 45 minutes!  But the best part, is all that cost $50!  That is how mush i would pay in the States for just a haircut. It was definitely an experience and I will definitely be going back!  If only everything in Colombia was this efficient!  Here is a pic of the new do :)

Thankful List

I have never taken part in a thankful list before.  But after having such a tough year, I thought it would be the perfect way to reflect on all the wonderful blessings I have in my life.  I will try to update it daily.

1. I am thankful for Jesus and my faith.  I have been saved, enough said!

2. I am thankful for my amazing husband.  Not only is he a great husband, but he is an amazing father.  He loves his family and supports us in any way possible.  He would rather spend time with us than anywhere else.

3. I am thankful for my 3 boys.  God has given us these 3 blessings and we try our best daily to live up to the responsibility he has given us.  Our apartment is insanely loud and crazy and most of the time I feel exhausted.  But each morning I get to wake up to a goofy 4 year old, a silly 2 year old, and a kissable baby!

4. I am thankful for my parents and in-laws.  These 4 people love our family unconditionally and support us anyway they possibly can.  They send us love through care packages, advice, and visits.  We could not ask for better parents!

5.  I am thankful for my brothers sisters in law, and new brother law.  I don't see or talk to them nearly as much as I should but I know they care so much about our family.

6.  I am thankful for the kindness in others.  We are in the rainy season in Bogota right now, which means that most days by 2:30 ish it starts to rain.  Today it started at 12:15, on our way to pick up Caleb from school.  I had the rain cover on the stroller, but it was pouring and Elias' socks and bottom of his pants were soaked.  So I stopped under a covering for  a garage of an apartment for it to lighten up.  But after 10 minutes it was still pouring.  A lady saw me standing there and asked me if I wanted to wait it out in the lobby, so I explained to her I had to pick up Caleb.  So she offered to drive us and then take us home.  It was such a blessing.  Both Elias and Caleb just got over colds and Ollie is battling an infection.  Our van still does not have plates, so we would've been soaked by the time we would've gotten home!  I am so thankful she went out of her way to help us!

7. I am thankful for the US and the US government.  A lot of people have been complaining lately about how it works or does not work.  Colombia is the 3rd country I have lived in outside of the US and I have travelled in Asia and Europe as well.  There is no country like the US.  Plus our government really does take care of us there and abroad.  I am very grateful I am American!

8. I am thankful for my friends.  It is difficult maintaining friendships when you have moved as much as  Brian and I have.  I have a few very close friends in Maryland that I have known for years that I know I will always have a close friendship with wherever I am.  Also an advantage of moving so much is now I have friends all over the world!  I am been blessed by the people brought into my life!

9.  I am thankful that Brian has a secure job that supports our family with an added bonus of helping us see the world!

10.  On that note, I am thankful I have the opportunity to stay at home with my boys right now.  We can only afford this when we are abroad.  I love spending my days watching them learn and grow!

11.  I can't believe it has not come up earlier, I am thankful for coffee!  Plus now I live in the coffee capital, seriously the coffee here is amazing!

12.  I am thankful for the opportunity to improve my Spanish while living here in Colombia.  I am starting class once a week for 3 hours.   Yay!!

13.  I am thankful that I had the opportunity to have a relationship with all 4 of my grandparents.  Both my grandfathers died when I was in my mid-20's and my grandmothers are still living.

14.  I am thankful for the sunny days in Bogota.  We are in the rainy season now, so having a sunny day is wonderful and means we can get out and go to the park!

15.  I am thankful for the friendship that is growing between Caleb and Elias.  Elias adores Caleb and Caleb is learning that it is handy to have a little brother who will play with you!

16.  I am thankful for the teachers Caleb has had so far.  They have been very loving and patient with Caleb.  I am thankful there are teachers who love this age!

17.  I am thankful for the health of my family.  Oliver has had some issues this first year, but in all, I have healthy kids and a healthy husband!

18.  I am thankful for the growing friendships I have here in Bogota.  It is tough always having to make new friends on moves.  So I am thankful for the ones that are starting here!  Now one just needs to come back from R&R, you know who you are!!  We miss you!

19.  I am thankful for books!  I love to read and getting lost in a book!  Now that I am a stay at home mom, I love spending my evenings reading after the kids are in bed instead of grading papers!

20.  I am thankful for the silliness of my kids.  I know it is similar to #3, but it is an adjective now, not the noun :)  They make me laugh everyday!

21.  I am thankful for the technology that we have now.  We skype every week with my parents and Brian's parents.  It is so nice to be able to "see" them!

22.  I am thankful that we have been able to find a church family wherever we have lived.  Each has been perfect for our stage of life and has blessed us in so many ways!

23.  This was my Dad's birthday.  So I am thankful for my Dad!  He has been and still is an amazing father and has been a wonderful grandfather (Gramp) to my boys!

24.  The 23rd was also Oliver's 11 month birthday!  I am thankful for my baby boy who soon will not be a baby!  He has improved so much over the past month and is sleeping almost through the night!  He also took his first steps on Friday, so he seriously is not a baby, now he is my toddler!

25.  I am thankful that we have been able to find a good empleada here.  She is such a huge help and my boys love her!

26.  I am thankful that the plates for our car finally came.  Hopefully now we will not be caught in the rain picking up Caleb from school!  

Tricky tricky Halloween

It is always interesting navigating holidays in another country.  Halloween was the first big one for us here.  Last Friday the embassy had a Halloween celebration.  We attended the ones in Canberra when we were stationed there and they were lots of fun.  It was a bit of America while abroad since Halloween is not really celebrated in Australia.

My empleada helped me dress the boys and I hired a driver to get us to the embassy.  We have our car but no plates yet.  The embassy did a great job of decorating.  Every section did something different and had different levels of scary so we knew where to go trick or treating with our little ones.  One section was Disney, one was candy themed, one had a little box maze foe them to crawl through.  They also had a little train ride.  It was a lot of fun.  Very different from Canberra which was a small affair.  This one estimated 700+ kids, all of the Colombia and American employees were able to bring their families.

So Colombians love Halloween, well at least Bogotanos.  A lot of the stores and restaurants have been decorated for weeks.  Caleb's preschool did something special for it all week.  Monday was crazy shoe day, so we decorated Caleb's rain boots with stickers.  Tuesday was crazy hat day, so I let him choose whatever hat he wanted to wear (I know, not so crazy, but still fun).  Wednesday was crazy hair/painted face day.  Caleb did not want to do anything with his hair and I don't have face paint, so we put temporary tattoos on his cheeks.  On Thursday he got to wear his costume to school. He had a lot of fun!

On Wednesday, Elias, Ollie and I went to the playgroup Halloween party.  It is an English speaking playgroup we have just started attending.  It rotates locations.  All the kids dressed up, played, had treats, and they hired a photographer.  It was lots of fun.

For Halloween day we got together with another family and decided to have a picnic in the park.  I had heard that the businesses might do some trick or treating.  So after naps I dressed up the kids, got some sandwiches and juice boxes together and we headed to the park.  We figured even if there was no trick or treating the kids would have fun playing in their costumes.  Both Brian and the husband of my friend were working late, so it was nice to get the kids out for a bit!  The kids played for a bit and then we had the picnic with our friends.  Then we went to a restaurant for ice cream.  After ice cream we saw a restaurant very decorated and kids with bags going in, so we thought we would give it a shot.  They were giving out candy.  So we went around to other restaurants, we were passing a pub and some people were shouting for Woody to come over and then saying, "canta, canta".  Apparently there is a song that kids sing to get the candy.  I apologized and said we were American and didn't know the song.  I asked my empleada today and she said it is "tricky tricky Halloween, quiero dulces para mi, y si no me das se te crece la nariz"  Which means, I want candy and if you don't give me some, your nose will grow.  haha!  Next year I will teach them to sing it :)  Anyway, we went to about 10 places and then headed home.  In all it was a really fun night!    Here are some pics of our fun Halloween!

Woody, a frog, and cookie monster

posing for a picture at the embassy Halloween party

Mounted police that did very little work, but the boys got to sit on the horse!

Later in the night I saw them giving horseback rides to kids, I really doubt these police officers did any work that night!

He climbed the 5 stairs to get up there.  He is alllll over the place and going to be walking VERY soon!

trick or treating in the drogueria!! haha! 

Futbol

Yesterday was a big day for Colombian soccer.  Next year the World Cup will take place in Brazil.  Soccer is of course the biggest sport here and every Colombian wants their team in the world cup.  Right now the qualifying games are being played in order to get a bid into the World Cup.   We have been here for 3 of these games for Colombia. When we arrived their team needed 2 more points, which meant they either needed to tie or win 2 more games.  The first game they won against Ecuador and the second they lost against Uruguay.  Sot it came down to yesterday's game against Chile.   They have not made it into the World Cup since 1994.   Here is a little tidbit I got from ESPN about the 1994 World Cup;  Colombian defender Andrés Escobar scored an own goal against USA that helped knock his team out of the competition. A few days after he and his team-mates returned to Colombia, Escobar was shot dead by gangsters amid speculation his error had cost drug barons millions in gambling losses.

We live very close to a park surrounded by a lot of restaurants.  When Colombia has a game, they put up an enormous screen in the middle of the park.  In front of the screen there are a bunch of bean bag chairs.  Every restaurant has a huge Colombian flag or balloons in red, yellow and blue.  Almost everyone you see is wearing a Colombian jersey, yellow with blue stripes going down the sleeves.   There will be vendors on every corner selling jerseys, flags, and horns.  In the park there were 2 people decked out in Colombian colors on stilts with their faces painted.  All the cars are rushing home or to a place to watch the game.  (which was awesome for us because there is no traffic during game time so Brian got home a little early)  You can feel the excitement in the air!  

Caleb loves all sports.  He will watch any sport, baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, seriously any sport!  So since the game came on at 4pm, I put the game on for him (us) to watch.  He watched and played his own game as well, by bringing in his soccer ball and goal.  When Colombia was losing, in his game, Colombia won 24-3 :)  We of course were cheering for Colombia.  But don't worry, Caleb is very clear that the United States is his favorite team!

The game started off badly and by halftime Colombia was losing 3-0.  It was completely silent outside! But they came back in the second half and with only a couple minutes left tied it up.  Colombia only needed 1 more point so a tie would get them in.  When they scored the last goal to tie it up it was so loud!  Everyone was screaming and blowing their horns!  

The entire night you could hear random people celebrating, screaming in the streets, blowing their horns, or honking incessantly!  Even when we went to bed around 10pm, people were still honking and blowing horns.  

We are really happy Colombia won and will be in the World Cup!  I am sure I will have more crazy soccer stories as it gets closer to the World Cup!  Vamos Colombia!!

Ollie getting into the soccer spirit!

The shutdown

So the federal government shutdown today.  I will not get into how I really feel about it, but it is affecting a lot of family and friends of ours and of course us as well.  So here is how it is affecting us.  Obviously Brian is a federal employee as he works for the State Department.  He was told yesterday that if the government shut down he was to report to work as usual.  But we have no idea if he will be paid for the work he is doing.  The embassy in Bogota is the largest in South America and 3rd largest in the world.  So it takes a lot to keep it running.  So Brian is working as normal today and will continue to, we just don't know if his work will be compensated.  We are of course praying that he will be paid retroactively.  But luckily if we lose out we will be ok.  Having a financial officer as a husband means that we have enough in savings to get by for awhile.
The boys and I are having a normal day as well.  Caleb was happy to go to school today since he stays late on Tuesdays to go swimming.  I had to run after him to say good-bye.  Elias is feeling a bit under the weather.  His tummy is bothering him.  Ollie had a good night last night and therefore has been in good spirits.  That is the wonderful thing about their ages, they have no idea what is going on at their daddy's work.
We have and will continue to pray for our government and those who are harder hit by this shut down.