Casa doce casa!

(Home sweet home!)

After almost 3 months of negotiating our the contract for our house, we finally got the keys to our house this weekend! We are homeless no more and after 4 weeks of hotel living, we hope next week will be the end of it! We met the owners on Saturday who were surprisingly sweet and lovely after 3 months of sometimes not so nice negotiation discussions -- between lawyers, of course! We have a list of things that still need to be done before we can move out of the hotel and start camping out for the next month before our sea shipment arrives...hopefully at the end of June! Our air shipment arrives on Wednesday and instead of dealing with the 15 days it would take to clear customs, we are just paying the taxes so we can get it (hopefully!) in about 5 business days. Much more economical than paying for (or living through!!) another 15 days in the hotel! 

I will definitely miss having breakfast and our bed made everyday, but I am just itching to get into the kitchen and make dinner! I normally eat really well ("everything in moderation" is my motto!) and especially now since I'm supporting another human life and all, but it has been really difficult since we eat out all the time. I do take my prenatal vitamins everyday and calcium supplements when needed, but the mini-fridge in our hotel room only holds so much fruits and vegetables! The baby is growing ahead of schedule (more on that below!) so I guess I'm doing something right! Oh the mommy guilt! Starting already! :) 

I'm also really looking forward to getting into the house and our new neighborhood ( condominio fechado) and getting into a routine (which is arguably the LAST thing we should do, per our security briefing today at Bond's office...another post on this to come!) and getting to know our new neighbors better. Being an only child, I'm definitely not lonely as a good book has always been more than enough company, "but no man is an island" and I miss having my  girlfriends around. Combine that with the fact that I'm going to be in a house all day with nothing to do but take care of a newborn (thanks to hiring a maid 3x/week...again, another post coming soon!) and email and Skype can only help so much! 

Luckily, I've met a bunch of great women down here so I know they won't let me go crazy, but this weekend I met another gal who I just knew we'd be instant friends when she showed me the scars from her c-section and shared some pretty personal info within an hour of meeting me! Also a midwesterner, it was great to be able to relate to her AND to have her (and her experience!) close by in those early months when the baby's here, I know will be a Godsend! 

So, basically, we are getting closer everyday to getting settled and finding our ground here...and I have a lot more to post about than I thought ::sound of whip cracking::!

As for the baby, she is growing like a weed in there! I am 25 weeks pregnant today, but as of our last ultrasound on Friday, she is measuring where she should be at around 26 weeks! Bond is 6'4" and I'm 5'(almost, so close!)7", so I don't think she'll be a gymnast one day, but I'm already regretting not buying more 3-6 month clothes since I was thinking I could get more when we're home for the holidays in December! Oh well, more shopping when we return in July, I guess! 

I think I mentioned that our ultrasounds (yes, plural...as in we will have 3 more that are already scheduled before our bebe arrives!) are performed by an MD and not a tech! Healthcare here is another thing that is great...if you have private insurance, I should say (again, very grateful!) The MD was lovely and spoke English enough to point out that our baby is developing perfectly, but I had a little breakdown on the table, which she thankfully thought were just tears of joy! There was a lot that she was saying in Portuguese, of course, and Bond was talking to her and responding to her questions, but he wasn't telling me every word, (much less every comma!) of what she was saying, he was just summarizing it and I got really upset, even though nothing was wrong with the baby and that much I knew. (Just another reason to get back to my flashcards and study, study, study!!)

At any rate, I quickly recovered when she switched over to the 3D/4D images on her ultrasound machine! The last time we saw her this way, you could only make out her appendages clearly and if you squinted, you could see her eyes, nose, mouth, etc. But this time, we can tell that she has Bond's nose (thankfully!) and I think my cheeks (poor girl! I still get them pinched every now and again!) and possibly my lips, but they look a little fuller, so she's a lucky girl! :) We can't wait to meet her and I think our sea shipment should arrive just about the time my "nesting" instinct is supposed to kick in, so we have much to look forward to! 

So excited, I just had to post!

Congratulations, Eric and Emily!

I have been reading about their adventures for well over a year now and their blog (and several others!) is one of the main reasons I came around to the idea of moving to Brasil in the first place! It's really crazy how you feel like you get to know someone over the internet, isn't it?! So excited for them and Miss Gabriela and can't wait to read about what's next for them...and us, too! :)

And since I'm here and posting, a quick update on our end...

Visas have been submitted and we pick them up TOMORROW, baby shower and going away party on Saturday (and our 1 year anniversary, though, I think our gift to each other is going to be a babymoon in June...or a puppy, but I think that's a bit too much change in one year, so we'll see!) and then on Monday and Tuesday the movers come to pack up all of our stuff and the "Babies R Us" store that has opened up in our living room these past few weeks! No joke, we have bought EVERYTHING this little girl is going to need for the first 3 months of life, but I still feel like I'm forgetting something. We ordered most everything online to get better deals and to avoid sales tax, so when we went to Target yesterday to get some other last minute things, I almost started crying when I walked down one of the baby aisles! It is just so overwhelming to see all of that "stuff" in one place...and SO MANY options! Immediately, I felt like grabbing a cart and walking down the aisle with my arm out to push as much stuff in as possible to make sure we have everything! Thinking that would be awkward, I grabbed Bond and was like, "get me out of here before I make you question why you married me!"

So, I'm now banned from mega box stores before we leave and that is fine with me! The only things left to shop for are clothes for me and the bump, which almost brings on another bout of tears! I swear, slap the word "wedding" or "baby" on something and it goes up at least 50%! I fear that Bond is going to have a stroke as more boxes come from UPS and FedEx everyday and though I never thought I'd say this, I am TIRED of shopping! And now, shopping for myself when I'm getting bigger is the last thing I want to do, especially when I've seen maternity jeans for $200 (!) so...I'm thinking mumu's. 

Okay, gotta run and finish crossing things off my 5 page list! 

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! ;)

Sign of the times

Never in my life did I think I'd get laid off...and actually be happy about it! I went in today to clean out my desk and handle loose ends and since no one knows yet that we're moving (!), everyone was surprised at how chipper I was! Next Wednesday will be my last official day in the office, but that's purely to have lunch with my boss at our favorite Mexican place! I'm hoping to join Bond in Brasil a few days early, too, so hopefully I will fly out that night and be able to enjoy some sunshine and warm weather for a few days before we go house-hunting.

As for the economy, we are doing our part to help get it going! We power shopped this weekend when we went to my mom's house to share our big news and we are now done with all of the big items for the baby. Since the movers are packing up our house in mid-April, everything has to be delivered ASAP so that it makes it here in time to get in the container. 

It's funny to see how people react to us moving to Brasil, but even more entertaining when we share we're having a (gasp!) baby down there! It will be different of course, but different is not bad (a favorite mantra!) and we figure that nature's pretty much going to take care of 99% of everything, so what is there to worry about?! (Ha! I say that now, but it was a long road to get to this place!) The best part was shopping for maternity clothes even though my pre-pregnancy clothes still fit! Gap Maternity has a fake bump that you can use to try things on and it was fun to surprise Bond with a sneak preview, until he asked, "Ohmygosh! Is that how big you're going to get?!" Sadly, the fake bump is only an estimate for how big most women are at 6-7 months. Nice.