A little catch up session... grab a cup of coffee....and cake, if you wish.
We are a week short of 3 months in the USA and life is starting to become routine. A lot of the issues we experienced along the way are starting to iron themselves out. So some +'s for us.
The Routine, a day in the life of the Jardim's: wake up, run, breakfast, get dressed, work, school, admin, dinner, bed. Nothing to extravagant or different.
The issues:
Medical insurance: we managed to nail down how the system works and now have medical insurance *yay*. Its law in Mas that everyone has insurance, however new contracts can only be opened during the open enrollment period, July - August. As we fall within the "special circumstances" they were able to open up a short-term contract till July 2012. This last part took lots of research, on-line and telephone calls, to figure out but thankfully we did. Now we can rest at ease.
Cars: we managed to get our drivers license and after plenty searching, found good deals on a car and a man truck. So both Ili and I are mobile and independent.
Work: Work is going well. Its all a bit overwhelming but incredibly thrilling when I learn and apply it practically.
Running: Im back into gear with my running. Lucky, we in a really good neighbourhood so I get to go running on my own before work. I'm into a 3 days-a-week routine. Think I need to increase my km's though, as these American cookies are just to dam tempting and are now causing a weight issue!
Cleaning: Thank God we have a small place and the dust is minimal. This topic we thought would be alot more difficult but it seems as if we coping with the daily cleaning. The only issue we have is the laundry, Ili keeps shrinking my clothes, this is fact, my pants which I had hemmed to just above the ground are now just above my ankles. The waist I cannot close. He is learning, as am I, with what clothes to wear more than once before washing lol
Not quite an "issue" but always a concern, Jaime. Jaime is loving school, the American accent is coming on. He is learning so much and is constantly changing. All of his clothes from SA are officially to small and a new wardrobe is in order ( Thank God for Black Friday). He is eating up a storm - really enjoying this part. His favourite snack, among others, is a bangle (bagel) with cream cheese. Other snacks include PB&J dinosaur sandwiches, pineapple, McQueen Pretzels, strawberries and Goldfish.
With the new place, we were able to give Jaime his own room. Before this stage of our lives, the amount of times Jaime has slept alone in a bed, in a room separate to ours is minimal. This change has been coming for a while and I think Jaime was wanting it too. Bed time routine of dinner, bath and story is really working and temper free (most nights). We do still however get the night time, sorry, early morning, visits. Luck our bed is huge so it fits all 3 of us, plus the Rhino, a turtle, McQueen, Francesco Bernoulli and the school bus. Yes they all make the journey to our bed at 3 in the morning!
Potty training: Oi a contentious issue! As you know we have no.1 down and now the no.2 is under control. We have managed to time his movements to early morning or just before bed time. In addition Jaime is now asking for a nappy when he feels the urge to go. Much better!
Jaime and Robby are becoming great friends - is cool to see them together.
Otherwise, we carrying on. Enjoying every moment and looking forward to new adventures still to come.
