And the "Bad Blogger Award" goes to...

ME!

And as much as I hate them, I DO have some really great excuses: I have another, private blog for friends and family that I am also a little behind on (!), shopping out the ying-yang, trying to see as many friends as I can, get in as many appointments as I can with MDs, carpet cleaners, hair stylist, A/C guy, painter, carpenter, etc., a last minute trip to Brasil,  more shopping and A LOT of naps! 

So, that's basically what I've been up to as we are T-Minus 12 days until the movers come and pack up our house! I do hope to be a bit better at keeping this blog up to date once we are finally settled again, but I seriously doubt anyone has really missed me! ;)

What's that? What all I have we been shopping for, you ask?  Excellent question...in the last 2 weeks, we have bought a table and chairs, a rug, patio furniture and I think ALL of the dresses in sizes NB to 12 months at BabyGap, since we found out we are having a little GIRL in September! :) We are thrilled and though this news deserves a post of it's own, this will have to do for now! But as a proud mama, I will force, I mean, SHOW, you all of the 3D images and movies that we got of our little menina swimming around and breathing amniotic fluid at 16 weeks! AH-MAY-ZING, let me tell you! I hope we get to go back before we leave at around 2o weeks! 

And, because I really can't stop now (!), I just started really showing this past week, have felt her move and KICK, and just yesterday, she kicked Bond's hand when it was on my tummy! So, so cool and I have to admit, I do push my tummy around "just" a little bit sometimes if I haven't felt her in awhile! So bad, I know, but now that I have felt her, the worrywart in me has come out full force! How my mother let me out of the womb, I'll never know because as much as I want to meet her, I just want her to be safe in there for as long as possible! Okay, enough baby stuff, though I really could go on...!

Other exciting news...we got our visas approved in Brasil on Monday and if the stars align, we're going to submit our passports at the Embassy back home on Friday and then 5-8 days later, we should be officially, official expats! Bond will be back down early May, but I'm spending the week with my mom and family in Nebraska over Mother's Day and then I'll be down here permanently in mid-May! I hate that we're not coming down together on our ONE-WAY tickets (gulp!), but this trip had already been planned before we knew when our visas were going to be submitted, so it is what it is and then no more traveling apart for a LONG time! Our one year anniversary is on April 25th, and I think we've spent about half of our first year apart! No fun...and no more! ;)

Speaking of here...I am in Brasil and have been the past week, but heading back tomorrow morning on the DAY flight this time! No more overnights for me while preggo if I can manage it. WAY to hard on my body if/when I can't sleep. It was a quick trip that wasn't going to happen originally, but there's just way too much going on for Bond and I to be apart for 2 weeks. When he's gone, we barely get to talk for more than 30 minutes/day because of his job and the time difference, so trying to make big decisions, catch up on day to day, etc. just doesn't happen and we end up getting into "discussions" that just make everything else worse..especially over the phone! It was a great trip though and once again, really looking forward to coming back...even if I do get quite homesick the second we land back home!

Since it was a holiday weekend, we went to Tabatinga Beach and to Ihlabela. Great weather and nice to relax a little bit before more craziness ensues! The expat group here also had a lunch today and there were probably 20 women there from all over...Spain, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, and of course, the US, so it was great to see several women I had met before, as well as some new friends! Everyone is just so helpful and I love hearing where everyone has been/where they're going and it's so nice to have such a great support system already in place. The group is really getting up and running now and there are a bunch of different committees. I am also really look forward to getting involved with the different charities that one of the mission groups works with down here since my last day with the Junior League was last week! Sad, but they'll be there when I get back!

As for the group, I was a little worried at first that it would be overwhelming to be in such a "small" group and kind of get stuck with the same group of friends and not really branch out, but that is not the case at all! There are over 70 members so far, and I just met a German family in our hotel this morning that is moving to a nearby town, so new people are always coming and going!

We also got to see our house again today and though it's definitely bigger than our condo at home, it's not as big as we remembered. It will feel a lot more cozy with all of our stuff in it, so that was a big relief! I also still love it, which I was worried about since when we first saw it, we were in and out in about 20 minutes!  

Okay, I better wrap this up since Bond should be back any minute and we are driving to Sao Paulo tonight so I can catch my flight back home in the morning! He comes back tomorrow night and then, well...I hope to update in between, but I imagine it will be more of the same this past month! So, that's my disclaimer and I refuse to feel guilty about it in between! ;)