Summer 2010

Day 1 - Picnic

 

Day 2 – Stroller Races

Calling Puerto Rico

If you call a business in Puerto Rico you can expect one of the following to occur....

1. Phone rings 12 times and then disconnects you.

2. Phone answers immediately with loud annoying static filled music and advertisements that repeat incessantly. After listening for 10 - 15 minutes, you are disconnected.

3. Phone answered with a phone tree. Press 2 for English and be disconnected.

4. Phone answered by an actual person. Ask if they speak English. They say a little. You try to communicate in mixed Spanglish and when they get too frustrated or confused you are "disconnected".

5. Phone is answered by a person. Person says they can help, then puts you on hold for 20 minutes. Then you are "disconnected".

6. Phone is answered by a person. They need to transfer you to someone else. During the transfer- "disconnected".

I've been on hold in scenario #5 for the time it has taken me to write this post. One-handed typing. Any guesses what will happen next??

ETA: I was on hold for 18:12 and then.....DISCONNECTED.

WE ARE GEORGIANS!!!!

After seven long months, we are finally back together as a family. It feels so good. I feel like I will never get the house all put together, but just being here is blessing enough. Just to give a quick summary.

We bought this house.....

Which is very close to this....

Friendship Elementary

and this.....

Lake Lanier

and this.....

Mall Of Georgia

and this.....

Atlanta LDS Temple

and this.....

Peach Orchard

and this......

We are so happy to be getting settled in here. Within the first 4 days of moving in, we had met over a dozen neighbors, been given numerous plates of treats and house warming gifts. Everyone stopped by to offer their help, phone numbers and e-mails. They invited the kids over for play dates with their kids. It was awesome. We really feel like we chose wisely, when we chose this neighborhood. All in all we are very happy since moving back to the states. Now, if only Bill could finally be done with his Puerto Rico job responsibilities, the all will be right with the world again.

FINALLY Freedom!

Thanks to all of you who commented on my last post. It's nice to have the support of so many friends. So...the time has FINALLY arrived. After a year of discussion, we're officially in the relocation process. We are headed to Georgia sometime in the next 6 weeks or so. We haven't figured out the exact details but we are putting our house on the market next week. Next we need 2 appraisals on our PR house, a house hunting trip, get our stuff packed, ship 2 cars, etc. etc. I'm frustrated because we probably aren't going to be permanently settled before school starts in GA. It starts on August 10th!! However, I'll just be happy to have my family all under one roof again. YAY!!!! More news as I get it.

It's May

I can't believe that it is May. The fifth month of the year. I have been living a life of limbo for officially one year now. Yep...it's been one year ago that we were told we could expect to be moved out of Puerto Rico in "the next few months". Frustrated does not even begin to express how I feel. We are so ready to move on to the next phase of our lives. I can't really complain too much. So many people have lost their jobs in this economy. I feel blessed that Bill even has a job. Luckily his company has not been affected very much. We are all healthy. Allison is doing well in school and is learning so much. She has an amazing teacher and comes home with new information to share daily. That's the main reason the kids and I are living here in the states and that makes it all worth it. It still sucks though. Slowly but surely things are beginning to change. Our relocation package is supposedly in the works, and we should stop spinning our wheels shortly. Bill was talking to his boss about the move the other day. Bill's boss says"pack your bags"...Bill says "they have been at the curb for weeks". We are so ready. So that's all that is happening here. Here's hoping that we know something SOON!!

Things I Miss About Living in Puerto Rico

Surprisingly, there are things I actually miss about living in Puerto Rico.

1. My husband. (No surprise there.) Whenever we are apart I particularly appreciate all he does for us (and me especially) that much more. Love that man!
2. My friends. I have so many great friends in Puerto Rico. Miss them like crazy. I could really use lunch at Orange Blossom and a movie in Dorado with the girls.
3. My wardrobe. While I enjoy wearing blue jeans again, I do miss wearing the same old cotton capris and T-shirts every day.
4. My swimming pool. The kids love love love the swimming pool. I have to admit that I really enjoyed it as well. I doubt we will ever own another house with a pool so I miss it.
5. Not fixing my hair. In Puerto Rico my hair barely gets brushed every day. I mean what's the point...it's going to be a frizzy sweat drenched mess in two seconds anyway. I just put it up in a knot and call it good. Here...people expect me to fix my hair a bit. Sheesh!
6. Flip Flops. Sandals and Flip Flops are the standard in Puerto Rico. It's so nice to not have to worry about finding socks for myself and three children every day. Don't even get me started on how the sock issue has changed my thoughts on laundry. I hate socks.
7. Saving Money. While most things are more expensive in Puerto Rico, I don't shop as much there. With no Target around and massive crowds everywhere you go the shopping appeal is gone for me in PR. Since I can literally walk to Target from my parents' house, me thinks I spend more money here. Not to mention the layers of clothes necessary for me and the kids to accommodate the ever changing weather. (70 degrees today....19 degrees tomorrow morning) We've saved a bundle over the last 3 years not buying winter boots, coats, mittens, hats, scarves etc.
8. My bed. Oh... how I miss my own bed.

So these are some of the things that I miss most about living in Puerto Rico. I'm sure there are others. I could write another list of reasons why I don't miss living in Puerto Rico, such as... in and out of the ER in less than an hour, banking with no lines, customer service etc. , but I don't think my blog has enough room to contain it all. I am definitely without question a USA girl.

So Far....

Many of you know that the kids and I are staying with my parents for a while. We sent Bill back to Puerto Rico after Christmas to figure out the whole job transfer debacle and we took up residence here in Indiana. It's hard for our family to be separated and we miss Bill and our friends terribly, but Allison is thriving in school here. Blake loves his Preschool class and I'm loving Target. We are hoping this time of transition is short and that we can all be back together soon. So what have we been up to in 2009? Here's a glimpse... We got 10 inches of snow and school was out or delayed for a week. Temperatures were below zero and the kids loved every minute of it. Allison would've played outside all day despite definitely not having the right clothes and equipment for this type of weather. Actually, the kids' main complaint about being here instead of Puerto Rico is how many clothes they have to wear all of the time. They miss the ease of shorts, T-shirts and flip flops everyday. Well..that and they miss the swimming pool.


The boys have discovered video games with a vengeance. Blake could play all day if I let him. Between the Nintendo DS and the Wii it's all I hear about. Carter doesn't really care about the Wii yet, but that Nintendo DS can keep him entertained for quite some time. It's shocking really how good he is at Mario.

Carter loves to call Daddy on the phone.

Allison "loves" to do her homework.

There is lots of silliness to go around, but overall, I think the kids are really happy right now. They miss Daddy and their own rooms but we are hanging in there and look forward to our new adventure....whenever or wherever that may be.