We are finally settled in and just finished with our first visitor this week. My mother-in-law was here for the last two weeks which was a lot of fun. It was nice to show off all of the things that we have been trying to explain to people. And having another set of eyes on the kids didn't hurt either.
We have no babysitters here so we really enjoy when the kids are off at school. We could have a ton of babysitters if we wanted, but of course they all speak Spanish, which probably wouldn't work well when Cadence is hiding behind the chair and refusing to go to bed....
I talked to my music teaching partner at my school yesterday about x-mas concert preparations and it made me realize that I do miss it (a little bit). As crazy as this time of the year is, it is one of my favorites. But I get over the nostalgia quickly by telling myself that I will have plenty more concerts to look forward to in the future. The boys talk about missing tobaganning and we tell them that they will have the rest of their lives to tobaggan so enjoy boogie boarding while you can!
The kids have settled into school and are having a good time. Chase and school have a love/hate relationship unfortunately. He hates being dropped off (severe seperation axiety which is full on panic), but loves school once he gets settled in. I can't imagine trying to get him on the kinder bus if we were in Canada this year. He never would have gone. Cadence is in playschool four mornings a week and is really having fun there too. I spend my mornings puttering around town running errands on my quad (yes, that is what they drive here, I love it. And yes, we fit all five of us on it). We do also have an suv that we use for longer trips or if we have a lot to carry.
Our typical day looks like this. We get up at about 7 am (Colin is usually up by 5 or 6). We have a typical Canadian breakfast of toast and cereal. School starts at 8 and it takes about 15 minutes to get there. The boys do not catch a bus to school, we drive the quad. There is a bus and it is crazy. Things are so wild here that you just have to shake your head at some things. The bus is a rickety rusted 9 passenger van that they squish about 20 kids into. It's like a clown car with them all sitting on each others laps and of course there are no seatbelts ... and the principal rides in the front seat home as well:) A lot of kids go to school and back home on the back of hired motorbike taxis or in the font seat of their parent's SUVs.
Here is the first minute or so of our morning commute ...
At 9, Cadence has school. A couple days a week Colin and I also have Spanish lessons. If we aren't studying then I am usually taking it easy by the pool or out running errands. I pick Cadence up at noon and we head back to the house. The boys finish school at 1:30. We usually have lunch at about 2 pm. After homework the kids usually go in the pool for an hour or so. Our goal is to get to the beach 2 or 3 afternoons each week plus weekends which often depends on Colin's meeting schedules but rarely on the weather -- even when it is overcast, it is still really nice.
It starts to get dark about 6 pm about when we usually have supper. Then there are dishes, showers, a little TV and bed time stories. It is pitch black by 6:30 and we are usually ready to turn in about 8:30 to read, catch-up on email and maybe watch some TV. Some nights we will douse ourselves in DEET and go sit out on the terrace.
I can't believe that there is only six months left of our journey here. Colin and I are taking Spanish lessons and have really improved the last few months. However Colin just told our handy man who was fixing our broken doorknob yesterday that "I am a doorknob", instead of "I buy a doorknob". Our handyman is so patient with us, he just smiles and nods. As are so many people as we practice our Spanish on them.
More adventures are in store with the holidays coming up and more visitors from home.
We have no babysitters here so we really enjoy when the kids are off at school. We could have a ton of babysitters if we wanted, but of course they all speak Spanish, which probably wouldn't work well when Cadence is hiding behind the chair and refusing to go to bed....
I talked to my music teaching partner at my school yesterday about x-mas concert preparations and it made me realize that I do miss it (a little bit). As crazy as this time of the year is, it is one of my favorites. But I get over the nostalgia quickly by telling myself that I will have plenty more concerts to look forward to in the future. The boys talk about missing tobaganning and we tell them that they will have the rest of their lives to tobaggan so enjoy boogie boarding while you can!
The kids have settled into school and are having a good time. Chase and school have a love/hate relationship unfortunately. He hates being dropped off (severe seperation axiety which is full on panic), but loves school once he gets settled in. I can't imagine trying to get him on the kinder bus if we were in Canada this year. He never would have gone. Cadence is in playschool four mornings a week and is really having fun there too. I spend my mornings puttering around town running errands on my quad (yes, that is what they drive here, I love it. And yes, we fit all five of us on it). We do also have an suv that we use for longer trips or if we have a lot to carry.
Our typical day looks like this. We get up at about 7 am (Colin is usually up by 5 or 6). We have a typical Canadian breakfast of toast and cereal. School starts at 8 and it takes about 15 minutes to get there. The boys do not catch a bus to school, we drive the quad. There is a bus and it is crazy. Things are so wild here that you just have to shake your head at some things. The bus is a rickety rusted 9 passenger van that they squish about 20 kids into. It's like a clown car with them all sitting on each others laps and of course there are no seatbelts ... and the principal rides in the front seat home as well:) A lot of kids go to school and back home on the back of hired motorbike taxis or in the font seat of their parent's SUVs.
Here is the first minute or so of our morning commute ...
At 9, Cadence has school. A couple days a week Colin and I also have Spanish lessons. If we aren't studying then I am usually taking it easy by the pool or out running errands. I pick Cadence up at noon and we head back to the house. The boys finish school at 1:30. We usually have lunch at about 2 pm. After homework the kids usually go in the pool for an hour or so. Our goal is to get to the beach 2 or 3 afternoons each week plus weekends which often depends on Colin's meeting schedules but rarely on the weather -- even when it is overcast, it is still really nice.
It starts to get dark about 6 pm about when we usually have supper. Then there are dishes, showers, a little TV and bed time stories. It is pitch black by 6:30 and we are usually ready to turn in about 8:30 to read, catch-up on email and maybe watch some TV. Some nights we will douse ourselves in DEET and go sit out on the terrace.
I can't believe that there is only six months left of our journey here. Colin and I are taking Spanish lessons and have really improved the last few months. However Colin just told our handy man who was fixing our broken doorknob yesterday that "I am a doorknob", instead of "I buy a doorknob". Our handyman is so patient with us, he just smiles and nods. As are so many people as we practice our Spanish on them.
More adventures are in store with the holidays coming up and more visitors from home.
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