Just a Little Shopping

We had another day today that, while fun, doesn’t leave too much to talk about. This will be a short blog tonight with only a couple pictures. We awoke to another major blow-out from Andres. We think we discovered a problem in that his diapers are just a tad too big. We got a different brand last time and while the size is the same, they seem to run a little bigger. So, we awoke with another mess and more dirty laundry.

We had the usual breakfast except that everyone seems to have moved on to French toast. It’s good stuff but after a few weeks here, I don’t think we’ll be having much French toast for a while when we get home. The coffee was good but I am kind of missing my morning interaction with the people at Starbucks. I will probably have to get them all retrained on what I drink (Grande Americano w/ room).

Personally, my biggest adventure this morning was putting Maria’s new ear rings in her ears. She had ear rings when we got her, but they broke on day one or two and we never got her new ones until last night. Not having any extra holes in my own ears, this pierced ears deal is kind of new to me. I don’t know what happened in the couple weeks that she didn’t have ear rings but I had a devil of a time getting those new ones in. After some minor pushing and pulling we finally got them in. I think she was pretty excited and she even posed for a picture.

The weather was typical Bogota (cloudy and cool) and not a good day for Montseratte. So, we decided to get a jump start on our shopping. One thing we knew we had to get was better fitting diapers. Not the type of shopping we had planned on, but a necessity nonetheless. So, we just kind of headed out toward the Exito/Unicentro Mall and looked around at a few of the local shops surrounding that area. Traci and I bought a few things for ourselves, but otherwise the shopping didn’t go all that well. I did get my “ruana” or poncho. Sorry I do not have a picture of me in it to post. As it isn’t exactly poncho weather in Kansas City, it may be a while before any of you get to see me wearing it. I found a picture on the internet that looks pretty close to me in the ruana.

The Unicentro mall has one of those food court areas. In the past, as a family of three, we pretty much just went around these areas and everyone got something they liked. Adding in two more to the mix makes this routine much more difficult. We got Andres some chicken friend rice that took him some getting used to be he seemed to really like it. Maria had chicken fingers from Frisby’s (again!), and Luke got a sandwich from Subway (he was super impressed that his potato chips tasted just like they do in the States). Traci got a ham and cheese crepe from Crepes and Waffles and I ate leftovers. I guess that is something I will have to get used to. I think I had it best though. I got to sample all of the food (Chinese was the best).

After lunch, it was getting close to the ninos nap time. We left the mall and kind of took a long route home to see a few more things. We ran across a cute little church. We would have liked to have seen the inside, but I think they were closed. We didn’t look very hard since we needed to get back and put a couple of little bodies to bed.



Dinner tonight was spaghetti and French bread. Andres walked into the kitchen and saw the baskets of French bread and began to freak out. The kid loves bread and seems to have had all of his cravings immediately gratified in the past. We told him he had to wait until dinner and he began to wail about as hard and as long as he ever has. As for the spaghetti, I believe we have mentioned that the ninos aren’t real fond of pasta. So, we knew we had our work cut out for us. After he ate his piece of bread, Andres pretty much refused to eat anything else. He began to cry again and Traci took him upstairs – threatening him with bed time. After a few minutes, they both came back down and, after a little more coaxing, Andres ate some spaghetti. Maria was reluctant too, but once she realized there would be no fresh fruit for desert without eating her spaghetti, she gave in and ate about half of the glob we put on her plate. Luke, of course, hit the jackpot again and ate everything on his plate. This was probably the best food day for Luke (French toast, Subway sandwich with real potato chips, and Spaghetti).

Tonight was also the last night in Bogota for our new American friend, Kelly, and her daughter, Michelle. They are excited to head back to the States, but they have a long, long trip ahead of them to Spokane. It was nice having another English speaking friend to talk with. The French people are great, but the conversation is just easier with native English speakers. We wish them well and hope they stay in touch.

Tomorrow, we are hoping to go back to the artisan market we visited in our first full day here in Colombia. (I guess you would have to see the post from 5/18). To date, it is some of the nicest stuff we have seen in Colombia. We were a little hesitant to buy much of anything on that first day since we had so many days ahead of us.

We did see Lucia this morning and she said we were definitely going to the US Embassy on Monday but she didn’t know what time yet. We are preparing to spend at least 3-4 hours there. So, that will take up most of our day. On Tuesday, the trip to the embassy to pick up the visa is pretty quick. So, if we want to get in some last minute sightseeing or shopping, it will have to be then.

Traci here: Just a few responses/thoughts that I haven’t yet included. First, I’m amazed at the lack of window security in this country. Many times we have been up at least three stories and there will be windows open. While this normally wouldn’t be a big deal, the windows have no screens and provide large enough holes that children could easily climb out and fall. Our room at El Refugio is no exception. Fortunately, we have bars on our windows but most don’t. Also, there are very few bugs around here. Outside of a few bug bites the first night we were here and the little bitty moth that was flying around our room tonight, I haven’t seen any bugs. I take that back, there were some microscopic ones that crawled around in the Cartegena Hilton rooms but that was it. We’ve received many e-mails asking what we miss the most besides family and friends. Well, I know my dog is my family, but I had to say that anyway. Outside of that, it has to be certain foods like chips, salsa and queso dip, tacos, hamburgers, good hot dogs, COLD milk, good home-style cooking like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans (as I have had none here), corn, steak, I could go on. You get the picture. I do have to say that it has been so nice to have our meals planned and fixed for us. I’m not sure how well I am going to do with three kids and preparing meals at a reasonable hour each night. That’s one of my anxiety points right now. Isn’t that silly? But I desperately want to try to eat healthier when I get home. Matt and I (and Luke, too) have both lost quite a bit of weight. Sometimes we can’t seem to get our belts tight enough. And that is largely due to the healthy food we have eaten. We’ve also had people ask how big the kids are and if they are “normal” size. Well, according to the doctor, Andres is 25 lbs and Maria is 31 lbs. The charts here indicate that that is in the lower half for their ages; however, they are fitting appropriately into 2T and 4T clothing. You will not look at them and think they are small, I don’t think. Oh yeah, speaking of being small. . . Laura and Wendy, I have found the perfect country for you two to shop. All of the sizes are quite small here as the people are so little. You guys would have a selection like you’ve never seen before. Plus, the fashions here are awesome. I absolutely love the Colombian styles! That’s all I will say for tonight’s post since Matt promised it to be short. I miss everyone but am getting a little sad at the thought of leaving the country that brought us our children. When we went to visit Susa (their birthplace) the other day, I couldn’t help but get sad that we were taking them away from it all. But it’s been a great trip that’s far exceeded my expectations, and I hope their life in the US does the same for them! Anyway, I am SOOOO looking forward to seeing everyone. People outside of the family have asked if it would be ok to come to the airport. Absolutely! You can call Matt’s folks at our house and they can give you the details or you can e-mail me and I will forward them to you. We can’t wait to see everyone whether it’s that night or days to follow. It’s been great sharing this journey with all of you!