Finally!

October 30, 2008

Photos of the house. Now - these aren't the best photos but will give you the general idea. And we have yet to hang anything. Part of the reason for the bare walls is we are hoping to paint in a week and the other part is we forgot to bring picture hangers and I haven't found them while out and about yet. Well, I haven't looked too hard either!

I suppose the entrance is the most appropriate place to start. We have half of one floor of the building. So our elevator opens to a small foyer with 2 doors. One for the stairwell, fire saftey and for those who forget their elevator card key - not me of course ;o), and the other goes into my apartment. No one can get to my floor without MY elevator key or unless I send the elevator for them. Sounds good but then I can't get to my friends in the building either. NO ONE goes ANYWHERE unannounced!

The foyer with half bath off to the left.

The half bath. Note the marble floor and walls etc. "Well we're moving on up"!

This hallway leads to the bedrooms and a "living room/tv area" for the kids.

The other direction from the foyer opens to the formal living rooms and dining room.




This smaller area is off of the big formal living space but still open to it. For guests we move the sofas. For Mike and I this works better. Sorry for the blurr!

Separating the living and dining rooms is a fireplace that opens in both directions - sweet! Not a good shot of it but that's it to the right of the bar, a half wall too.

The dining room is a little small but that helps keep the head count down for dinner parties :o)

The kitchen is in the middle, right off the foyer and separates the formal areas from our bedrooms etc. Also off the kitchen is the laundry area and maids quarters with full bath. I didn't get a pic of those.

Eat in area with door leading to laundry and maids quarters/bath.

Master - all washed out, sorry!

Nice view from Master

Great walk-in closet.

See Max in the mirror. He's patiently, NOT, waiting in the doorway for me to come play

Master bath. Again all marble. Sounds nice and looks pretty good but boy can it be C.O.L.D. in there!

Kids room

Kids walk-in.

Kids tv area.

Playroom.

Office.

Ok, either blogger is running on slo mo or my computer is. So, hasta luego!

You know it's a good party when...

October 26, 2008

Tonight we went to a Halloween Party at the home of one of the Brits. Now those people know how to party (and speak English :op) ! The place was totally decked out in a ghoulish manner with party games for kids and adults alike. Now those of you with little ones I'm sure will understand this... our kids were really not under much supervision. All the kids were running around playing, watching movies, eating... but really the eating is the important part. I saw Maggie with handfuls of candy. Max on the other hand kept handing me lollipops and juice and telling me he didn't want it anymore and asking for water. But alas when we returned home at nearly midnight Max started puking, then Maggie started puking. I know Liz, are you sitting down? Max did a great job of being nice and orderly about it and getting it all in the potty. Maggie, well Maggie is Maggie so she puked all over the place. Once everyone was cleaned up and in bed Mike gave them a high five for a succesful party. To which Maggie replied, "I don't want to go to any more halloween parties".

Simon Bolivar Park

October 25, 2008

Last weekend we went to Simon Bolivar Park. It is HUGE! We took about a 5 minute walk from the parking area to the kids playground. Along the way we saw ducks, rental boats, food pavillions, signs for athletic fields and even a planetarium! We just went for the park though. Well, and some popsicles. Which, btw, were made from fresh juices like strawberry and maracuya and they were only 1200 pesos which is about $1.25 for two.

Here the fam next to the big lake in the middle of the park. Next time we need to bring food for the ducks.

Maggie trying to touch the ducks and/or water.

Pic of the playground

Seesaws - always a favorite.

My two guys being silly!

Come with me Mommy!

Peek-a-boo!

Sharing cookies.

My monkey boy.

I'm lame, I know

October 23, 2008

I haven't posted much because I rearranged, sort of, the office and lost the cord to the camera. I have SO many pics and stories to tell! I just found the cord but don't have the energy to upload them all so - tomorrow. Today was interesting. We went to the Pewter Factory, we meaning a bunch of the wives with the CLO (community liason officer) and then to lunch. I got some FANTASTIC stuff. Serving platters, bowls, trivets... the prices were great too. I'm gonna have to go back for christmas gifts soon. I was too overwhelmed and pulling stuff for myself to worry about friends and family gifts. I know, all heart. Then we went to Usequen, a cute area near the house that has a big market on the weekends (another great place for x-mas gifts), and had lunch. Food was awesome! Then we had to abruptly go home due to events behind Bogota, you know probably FARC related. But hey who has to worry when you've got bodyguards escorting you around town! I'll post pics of some of my pewter tomorrow along with my other adventures - promise :o)

Handcuffs

October 13, 2008

Maggie has this annoying habit of reaching across the table and taking food off of other people's plates. Sometimes our friends too, not just "the family". And often she knocks over a cup of milk or, at the very least, puts her arm or hair in her food. NOT pleasant and NOT polite. There has been no stopping her. Maggies' typical response is "Oh, I sorry Papa" really cavalier like that too. Then one day in a restaurant Mike was fed-up and said "that's it Maggie hand-cuffs". "What?" she replied. "Hand-cuffs, put your hands behind your back and don't move 'til I tell you uncuff". OMG soooo funny. She could not take it. Not moving is Maggie's worst nightmare, well maybe second to not talking. She isn't cured, yet, but it is working and really, it is HILLARIOUS to watch her reaction while "cuffed".

Parque 93

I know, 2 in one day! I uploaded the photos that I managed to salvage from the weekend. Here is a park near our house that has a great playground and grassy area. Also it is surrounded by restuarants and shops on all sides. Sometimes we have a meal and then let the kids play or visa versa.

Here's Maggie playing in the sand. You can't see her too well because the camera was on the wrong setting. Which, btw, is my one complaint with this camera. Often I hit buttons by accident while setting up a photo or between photos and then the photo is less than optimal.

Here is the grassy side of the park.

This photo gives you and idea of the shops all around and in general what a Bogota street looks like. Not too different from your average city accept the maintenance of the streets and sidewalks suck!

I love this photo of Maggie chasing bubbles. Such a fun childhood photo and then you see "The Beer Lounge" sign in the background, in English no less :o)

A forced hug. Really they love each other, most of the time!

Our apartment building. I need to get one closer to the front door. It's pretty. Small waterfalls on each side with a rought iron fence, stone walkway, and lot's of plants.

Oooh, I almost forgot the swimming. See - we were busy this weekend! We went to my friend Leslies apartment because they have a pool! The kids LOVE to swim. I also found out we may be able to do swim lessons there too. Yeah us!

No Max is not drowning while I take a photo... he's swimming! My little water bug. Maggie, well, she's not so into water on her face yet. She will blow bubbles and she finally stopped screaming about splashes, also known as buckets of water dumped on her head ;o)

Been a few days...

October 6, 2008

So this weekend was busy, busy, busy. We went to Oktoberfest which was tons of fun and I took tons of photos and then.... ERASED THEM!!!! Ugh, I am such an idiot sometimes! We also went to a "gourmet dinner" that reminded me of cooking club only I think cooking club was way more fun. I really miss those days. Funny how I look back on the year my husband was deployed with fond memories but really, we all made it fun didn't we?! Sunday we went to brunch and the playground where I took some fun Bogota photos only to erase them, btw this was the same oops erase NOT 2 days in a row. I'm not that old yet.

Today, well this week, the kids have a break from school. There is a reason with a name and all but I can't remember what it is. Anyway, we had such a fun kid day thanks to Kalyn. I know K., your probably wondering what you did. Well, a while back you posted something about a kids day for Paisley and somewhere, possibly also on your blog, I read about giving kids the option to choose their meals etc. So right after my Spanish class this a.m. we went to the mall and ate pizza for lunch. Then we went to game stop. Which is a much less obnoxious version of Chucky Cheese. Max got SUPER lucky with a game a won 100 tickets, then Maggie and I tried a version of roulet and won 150 tickets. By the time we left we had 450 tickets. Max got a transformer helicopter and Maggie got a new doll. They were beside themselves with joy. The day was going great so why stop there? We went to the candy store, the kind with the bins, and they each picked out waaaay tooo much candy. But it worked out great because they walked about a mile home from the mall NO COMPLAINING. Seriously, my kids HATE to walk. Gotta love a sugar high. We stopped at the park on the way home then played games inside. And now they have a friend over while the Dads watch football. Oh and Mike got Thurs and Fri off of work to play with us... YEAH!!!! And best of all I was told repeatedly, "I really love you Mom". Yes I am a sucker :o)

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!

October 1, 2008

I think you all know how much I LOVE football - NOT! So boring. Guess it's the being raised by a mom, a grandma, and having 2 sisters that kinda killed an athletic inclination. Anyway, the one good thing about football is a party. So on Sunday we had 2 neighbors and their kids come over. We had the 3 year old boy/girl twins Ava and Liam, a 4 year old boy Jacob and my 3 and 4 year old. We could have started our own preschool. The great thing is the kids play soooo well together. No fighting over toys etc.

I set-up the playhouse, thank you Tia Lia, in the playroom. Takes up half the room it is so huge but the kids LOVED it.

Lot's of running in and out. The boys, of course, chasing the girls with guns.

Lot's of bubble blowing too!

And let's not forget the cars. They are ALL boy and the girls are ALL girl. So funny how early that happens and regardless of whether or not you have a sibling of the opposite sex.

The guys watching football while Maggie, surprise surprise, and Ava eat the chips.

The Embassy furniture is not bad. And behind those blinds is a balcony. We blocked it off because, frankly, there are 2 others and whoever designed this room gave no thought to furniture. The couch in front of the blinds is facing a built in entertainment center very obviously made for a t.v.

Maggie in time-out... could she look any more pitiful!