1) The  Marine Corps has come through and we have tickets reserved, they are even the UPGRADABLE type. 

2) We have enough miles to upgrade all 4 of us both ways

3) The stars aligned and my brother is going to fly back with me and the kiddos (PC isn’t coming until later). This alone feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders….no more stressing about how Im going to manage two kids, carseats, suitcases, stroller, food bag, toy bag, potty stops, custom lines etc. all on my own. Stephen– you are my HERO.

4) Nathan has been perfect today. I dont know what is wrong with him, and it probably will be short lived but Im talking listens the first time, no whining, no complaining, happy, laughing– I dont know who this kid is but I like him.

5) Kimi came yesterday and there is NOTHING like having a spotless house that you did not have to clean. I asked PC how he might maybe possibly feel about having her come more often and he was all, sure, whatever you want. Yesterday I just felt like I was free as a bird because I had TIME to do LOTS of THINGs- even things I wanted to do. Because I didn’t have to load dishes. I didn’t have to empty trash. I didn’t have a mountain of laundry. I didn’t have to vacuum or scrub toilets or mop floors or wipe off counters. I did nothing yesterday and that is worth every penny I pay to have a mama-san. This is the one luxury we have over here that is going to be really really really hard to give up.

6) The house is still spotless today and its so serene to be surrounded by clean.

7) Im very excited to go back to the states. I think my brother and I will spend the majority of the looooong flight across the ocean talking about what we want to eat (he lives in China and is waaay more deprived than I am, I mean, at least I get oreos here). 

8 ) We also booked our tickets to St. Maarten….Im thinking of umbrella drinks already.

9) This may be my favorite: Nathan begged me for a little itty-bitty broom and dustpan from the 100Y store. That child has been sweeping dirt for two days straight. Its the best $1.10 I’ve spent in awhile (next to Kimi of course). What other “jobs” can I give to the 3yr old and pawn them off as fun! activities! ?? He already has his own little Dyson, but the suction power isn’t enough to do much real vacuuming (dangit!) He has a Fisher Price mower that blows bubbles instead of whacking grass which, I understand the safety issue there, but just imagine– what if they made kid size things that actually worked? Sure the yard would probably look all spotty and patchy but, you know, with a little training……there’s potential I think. You know, like kid safety scissors but in a lawnmower.

10) The house closes in about two weeks. A. Men. Of course none of this is before we had to spend another $10,000 on a new roof, $300 to fix the fireplace, $2500 for some issues in the basement. I cannot wait to offload what has turned into the worlds biggest money pit (and a large financial misstep, but you know, hindsight 20/20 and all). There probably are many pieces of property that make good rentals/investments, big houses are not one of them. Because there’s so much more to FIX , so much more to go WRONG and everything costs so damn MUCH.

11) We’re having coconut pineapple chicken skewers for dinner, and Im a bit leery of starting the grill…..not interested in smokey rodent flavor, mostly just the coconut.

Filed under: This Is My Life, Travel