Vacation Ready

We are getting excited and ready for our 3-week vacation to CR in October. We will be spending 20 days there, relaxing, enjoying our time off and hoping to find our new home for the next year. We have rented a nice house with pool and also have a rental car so that we can make excursions to scoop out different towns and villages. We have 5 or 6 areas in mind that sound very promising to us. Hopefully we can narrow it down while we are there and may get lucky and find a rental house so that when we come back in December we have a place to live.

Our vacation rental is located in Alajuela, which is the second-largest city in Costa Rica after the capital, San José. The climate is tropical, which is typical of the Central Valley, with moderate temperatures, averaging  72-77 F (23–26 C) degrees,  and the city and its surroundings are famed for having "the best weather in the world".

Even though it is still 5 more weeks till our vacation, I started packing and putting stuff aside we want to take with us. We are planning on taking extra luggage (from toys, clothing, books, etc), so that we will have to ship less later. For example, during the 3 weeks vacation, the kids will need some toys, so we will bring some along now but will leave it there in a storage unit until we come back in December. It will be easier to bring things with us in the airplane rather than to ship it as there is an import tax on all goods (toys, household items, etc). And we can avoid some of the taxes when bringing it with us as luggage.

On the other hand, we started very slowly to sort thru stuff at home that will be given away or sold. There is not much to do right now as we still need most of it on a daily basis and can't get rid of it till closer to our moving date. This waiting period can be exhausting and annoying as I'm actually ready to pack up our stuff and leave now.  But in the grand scheme of things, it is not that much longer till December, especially since we are gone for almost all of October and once we are back from vacation, the real moving stress will begin. So, I'm practicing patience and continue to make lists.

Still Sick and Staying Busy

Elliot is still sick. Luckily his fever is down since yesterday morning, but now he has a pretty bad rash, courtesy of the viral infection called Roseola. It is most commonly affecting those between 6 months and 2 years old and is usually marked by several days of high fever, followed by a distinctive rash just as the fever breaks.The high fever often ends abruptly, and at about the same time a pinkish-red flat or raised rash appears on the trunk and spreads over the body.

Even though he was doing ok with the fever, he now is very fussy, irritable, cries a lot (!) and has a decreased appetite (no solid food, just nursing). In short, he is miserable. And so are our nights. I have had never a night like last night. Poor baby screamed most of the night and only napped in between, mostly snuggled in to my arms. And he did say "Ma-Ma" for the first time last night when I picked him up from his crib. I guess, they know who they need most when they don't feel right. :) 

The rash doesn't hurt, but he has a reddish throat, is teething and had pretty bad gas, which caused him to feel very uncomfortable. And there is nothing much I can do at that point, except comfort him and keep my calm. I really hope that this was the worst of it and he gets better from here on. Because we all need some good rest. The entire family is exhausted. My poor husband had to sleep on the couch the last couple of nights in order to get at least some rest.

On the other hand, Amelia is doing just fine. She had Roseola when she was younger and seems to be immune now. But because we can't go out or meet friends right now, we are cooped up inside. It is tough keeping her occupied and happy while taking care of a sick baby. So I try to make extra efforts and keep her busy while Elliot naps. Yesterday, we did Play-Doh and she helped me in the kitchen.

This morning we did painting and then some bubbles outside, She also helped me weeding in the backyard. But hopefully soon, we can return to our normal routine and be out and about again.

A New School Year has Started

This week all children in Florida had to go back to school. Even though Amelia went throughout the entire summer to her preschool (The German School of Ft. Lauderdale), they didn't do their regular curriculum but more like a summer camp. She loves being at school and enjoys learning a lot. She loves her teachers, Angela and Patrizia, and playing with her friends. They always do some kind of arts and crafts, reading and discovering new things.

Because she is so interested in learning, I thought it would be a good time to get her started on reading. So, every day we will be spending approximately 20 minutes together to learn about letters and how to put them together to read.  I will be using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons as a teaching tool.

 

We also will do some fun activities, crafts, writing and counting. It will be fun and based on her interests and enjoyment. So far, she has taught herself the ABC's and she can count 1-20 in English and German. I have not given her any instructions, except when she asked for them. So, I will continue not to push her to learn but rather give her the opportunity and guidance needed and I hope she will enjoy it.

 

The other day, Amelia asked me to write some letters with her. She told me which letter to write and I wrote them out for her. Then we traced a couple of each letter together and after that, she traced them herself. I think this is pretty good for a 3-year old.

 

 

Birthday Party at Preschool

This week, Amelia celebrated her 3rd birthday at preschool, The German School of Ft. Lauderdale. Since a year now, she is going twice a week to this German-based preschool program, which gives children ages 2-5, the opportunity to indulge in the German language in a peaceful Montessori setting. She loves going there, learning and playing with her friends. And she loves her teachers, Angela and Patrizia, too. Her German is almost perfect (for a 3 year old) and she learns about the German culture, customs, and traditions.

Even though it was a few days late, they celebrated her birthday yesterday. Mommy and Amelia baked 24 cupcakes on Tuesday and decorated them with frosting and sprinkles Wednesday morning.

 

We also brought in "Princess" decorations, juice, watermelon and some German chocolate.

They played games, sang, and celebrated my little princess. She had a great time and felt really special. Danke schoen!

My baby is sick for the 1st time

Eventually, it had to happen. Elliot got sick on Sunday night. I know, kids do get sick and it strengthens their immune system but it breaks my heart to see my little baby boy sick. They are so helpless and vulnerable and I feel helpless too since I don't know what hurts him and how to make it go away. Sure, I can try and make him feel more comfortable and give him some medicine, but only time and patience will make the fever go away.

On top of days of teething discomfort and fitful nights of sleep, she is running a fever, and we aren’t sure why. On Sunday night he woke up with a temperature of 101 F (38.3 C) and since the fever only got worse over daytime and I thought his ear may hurt, I decided to take him to the pediatrician on Monday afternoon. He also woke up from his nap feeling very cold and had bluish/ purple lips, which kind of scared me. Luckily, it is not an ear infection but may be a viral infection. Poor little guy is now fighting a fever of 103F (39.4 C) since 3 days and it just doesn't seem to go away. I hope soon he will feel better and he be his normal self again.

So for now, I am up at night, cooling his little head with a cool wash cloths and nursing him as much as he wants. But usually, he only wants to be held and sleep right in my arm. That's ok. We adjusted our busy schedule and taking it more easy, staying in (to the dismay of his active sister), and cuddle and hope that he feels better soon. You sure know that you are a mommy when you can't sleep well because you are too worried about your little sick baby.

 

 

Baby Gymnastics and a Frozen Party

Since a few months now, Elliot and I are attending a Mommy-and-me class once a week. Together with other moms and their babies (ages: 3 months up to a year) we sing songs, do circle time and sensory stimulation/ motions with instructions from a gymnastics teacher. This helps to promote the baby’s cognitive, social, and physical development all while having some fun and meeting other moms. The first couple of weeks were rough, but now Elliot is really enjoying this 45 minute class.

Usually the class is on Wednesdays when Amelia is in preschool , but during the summer break it's on Fridays. Thus, the big sister has been joining us for the past few weeks and I think she enjoys it as much as the babies do.

Though today was special at baby gymnastics because the little ones received their first medal and certificate for completing a 10-week course. Of course, all that tumbling, crawling, singing and rolling is tiring so by the time our instructor, Ms. Elizabeth, handed out the awards, my little guy was fast asleep in my arms.  We are very proud of you, Elliot.

 We also went to a "Frozen" Party today at a local toy store and Amelia was able to meet her favorite characters from the movie "Frozen". Here she is our little princess Amelia with Princess Anna and Queen Elsa.

 Not only did she meet the princesses at the store but also her girlfriends Sofia and Katie. The girls enjoyed crafting a princess crown, eating icy-blue popcorn and playing with all the toys in the store.

And for Amelia's birthday and complementing the Frozen theme, her friends gave her a matching dinnerware set, placemat and water bottle. What a lucky little girl :)

Birthday Weekend Fun

On Sunday we celebrated our little lady's 3rd birthday and had lots of fun. Even though we didn't go anywhere (we planned on going up to Amelia Island but had to cancel last minute) or had a big party, the birthday girl had a great day and enjoyed herself truly. When asked who's birthday it is, she proudly replied: " Mine. I'm three now." 

 

And of course, no birthday is complete without gifts and cake. Amelia loved opening gifts. She got a few books, some German CD's,  a gardening set (she loves to help us in the yard), a princess dress aka nightgown, a memory game, and puzzles. Actually, this was the first birthday that she realized what it means to be the birthday girl and the concept of receiving gifts.

 But her favorite gift was the dolls from the movie "Frozen". Princess Anna, Queen Elsa, Olaf and Sven. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.

We had some yummy birthday cake and sang  a few times "happy birthday" to her.

All she wanted to do on her birthday was play in the pool. So we did:

What a fun day we all had and even though it didn't seem like much, it was enough for us because we were really happy. And that's all that matters!



HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY, AMELIA!

Dear Amelia,

Today, you are turning 3 years old. I can't believe how fast those last 3 years have passed. You were just a tiny infant and now, you are a loving, independent, stubborn little princess.  Almost every day we marvel at how much you have grown and what you can do all by yourself. You make us "coffee" in your play kitchen; you count to 20 and spell your name (kind of). You climb the ladder at the playground and jump in on the deep end of the pool only to swim back to the edge by yourself.  And you talk (a lot!). All day long, you tell us things and what you like and don't like. Lately, your obsession is the weather as you are afraid of thunderstorms, and so you constantly update us on the weather conditions outside. But you also tell us about your friends at school, asked us never-ending questions, sing all kinds of songs by yourself and recite the words of your favorite bedtime stories.

You are fluent in both English and German and you like to draw, dance and dress like a princess. For sure you are a girly girl. You also love playing with your little brother, even though the last few days, he is constantly after your toys and you don't like that too much. You are a very active little girl who loves to run and swim and doesn't wear out easily. You hardly nap anymore but you love sleeping at night in your big-girl bed. Mostly because it fits all of your stuffed animals (sometimes it is hard to see you between all those animals) and mommy and daddy can lay with you in bed when you wake up at night and need extra cuddling.

I know you are still little. You throw tantrums like every toddler does and cry when you don't get what you want.  You carry "Lammie", your stuffed lamb, with you at all times and get upset if you can't find him.

Amelia, you can be a handful, but then the next moment, you are as sweet as can be. You are very polite and always compliment people. I love when you come over to me, kiss me and say: "I love you, Mommy." It melts my heart.

We wish you all the best, little lady and can't wait to celebrate this special day with you.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

The countdown has begun

We are making it official and decided to cancel our lease and officially leave this country by Elliot's 1st birthday, which will be December 13th. I'm excited about knowing that it is only a few months (18 weeks to be exact) till our departure. This means, we have less than 3 months (since we will be spending 3 weeks in October in CR to check everything out) to sort our stuff, get the donations ready and pack or sell the rest. But believe me, I'm so ready for this adventure and excited to see what CR brings for us.

Some have asked me what we will be doing in CR for the foreseeable future. Well, nothing...except living a simpler lifestyle and spending plenty of time with our kids, explore all those State Parks and Nature Reserves, go to the Farmer's Market together, swim and just relax and be happy. We decided to live of our savings for a couple of years and not to work there, almost like taking a sabbatical journey. We do have a budget and it won't be a fancy lifestyle we will be living, but that's not what we are wanting anyways. And after two years, we will see what the future holds, maybe some job opportunities in Latin or South America or even Europe. We only know that by the time Amelia goes to high school, we want to be back in the U.S. so that she can go to college here. But that's more than 10 years away, so plenty of time for us to explore the world and other cultures.

In CR, we want to live in the Central Valley Region, which is pretty much the area around the capital San Jose. On our vacation, we plan to check-out multiple smaller towns and villages and then decide which will be our hometown. We do not want to live in a big city, where there are too many tourists lots of traffic or hectic, but rather choose a more laid back lifestyle and be closer to nature. Why the Central Valley Region and not the beaches, you may ask. Because this Region has the perfect weather with average annual temperatures ranging from 72°F and 75°F (and these do not vary much throughout the year). The higher you are in elevation, the cooler it gets. Costa Rica does have a dry season (December to March, with April and November being months of transition) and a rainy season (May through November are characterized by less sun and more rain.  But usually, you get at least four hours of sun in the morning before the afternoon storms develop). But we are used to those seasons as it is the same in South Florida.

We definitely will keep you up-to-date on our adventures and hope that you will enjoy reading about us.

Moving Check Lists

Lately, moving preparations and the idea of moving is making me excited and a little nervous too. Sure, I have moved a lot in my lifetime, including from one country to another. But this time around it is different. Maybe because I was very young (18 years old and just finished high school) when I decided to come to the States or a little naïve and/ or thought I will only stay for a year, making it less obvious and strenuous to move and leave friends and family behind.

Nowadays, I'm married with two very young children and my husband has a good paying but very stressful job here that allows me to stay home with our kids and raise them. Relocating to another, unknown country, with a family sure makes it a tough decision because we are leaving our securities such as job, house, cars and standard of living behind and starting over with far fewer possessions and lots of dreams and hopes.

Also, the process of moving is more laborious as there are a lot of things to remember, to prepare and to research. Thus, we started on our moving check lists and reading books and blogs about Costa Rica (CR). Many people before us have taken the leap of faith and moved to CR and have written about it, which will make it easier for us to follow. Those lists are very helpful when preparing for a big move and also remind one of things that we most likely would forget if they wouldn't be listed. For example, when moving out of the country for a few years, you want to make sure that your US driver license, passport, etc. are up-to-date and preferably valid for the next few years. In addition, you will need to get copies of all your (and I mean for the entire family) medical and dental records, and updating your vaccines. I also have to follow up on the airline pet policies for our tabby cat and get her paperwork done by the vet so that she can come with us.

But more importantly we have to decide of what to take with us and start paring down on clothes,  furniture, household items and toys. This means we need to come up with a game plan for storing, selling and giving away items and also contacting companies for quotes on shipping and import duties. Yes, Costa Rica has import duties and they are pretty hefty on electronics and automobiles. Thus, we decided not to take any furniture or cars with us and limit our stuff to the necessities such as clothes, some toys, books, linens, computers etc. But I'm not a foul because I know there still will be plenty of things to pack and ship. And this is just the beginning of things. According to our timeline, we have about 5-7 months before leaving but as we all know, time flies. Thus, I'm making lists of things and starting to prepare. Especially, since we will be going down to CR in October to take a family vacation and see the place we want to call home in the near future and I'm planning on taking some stuff with us that will be stored there till we return. 

Overall so, my excitement about the move is much bigger and anticipated than the nervousness that comes with such a big and bold decision. So far, I feel confident that everything will go smoothly and we will accomplish every task on time. And since this move to CR is our decision and not forced upon us, I think we will be ready to go on time and be very happy once we are there.