Our last weekend in Karaganda

It's so hard to believe that after almost 7 weeks here that this was our last weekend, wow the time has flown by.  It's funny that I say it has flown and everyone at home is saying "wow it seems like you have been gone forever", I guess it really does depend on your perspective.    I was flippipng through pictures on my laptop last night looking for a particular one and I saw a picture of my living room and thought "oh right, that's what it looks like!", it was a really odd feeling to see it.

 

It was a weird weather day here, it was cloudy and rained overnight, then the sun started to come out, next thing we knew it was snowing, then the sun came out again, the it got cloudy and snowed again, it went on like this all day long….and windy…holy smokes it gets so windy here.   We walked back from downtown about 5:30 and it was not too cold but it was a bit cold and windy.

 

It was a busy day in our room with now 3 families visiting, but it was not too bad as we just had one visit today, it's getting harder and harder to put Mr. Baby in her crib at the end of our visits.  On the positive side Mr. Baby seemed to be feeling better but her chest still sounds like she is breathing under water, I hope she is sounding better by the time we leave.  Ciera however definitely has a cold now……I did another round of Cold FX so I should be good now!

 

Our friends from the US came to our place for lunch today and it was great to have the kids entertain themselves while I got to have adult talk without too many interruptions. We talked for a good 2 hours, I look forward to having them as friends for life and as part of our every growing Kaz family.  After lunch we headed downtown to Babylon and the kids had fun and spent our hard earned $$'s playing.

 

I took advantage of the 20 minutes in the play centre with P watching Ciera and ran to the babystore to start stocking up on diapers to leave for Mr. Baby while I am gone.  I also had to go to the market to our now favorite baby supply seller to pick up a few outfits to leave for her to wear while we are gone, they requested pants with feet as she always pulls her socks off.  

 

After we left Babylon we went to the Ramstore to pick up some chocolates to bring home (hope they get some new stock in by Wednesday as I need some more!) and some other essentials to carry us over.  Ciera has discovered Kinder bars, she does not normally eat much chocolate so I am glad she found something she likes.  So she asked for some I said ok and she picked up 2 boxes of 8, I reminded her we are only here for 4 more days, she says we can take some home, but Ciera we can get these at home!  I finally convinced her that one package was more than enough.

 

At the market I also started shopping around for an extra bag to bring home, I am leaving stuff here that I brought to leave here and I will be dispensing the "from home" treats that we brought but didn't use…..Mac & Cheese, Lipton Chicken noodle soup, Rice Krispie Squares, Strawberry Quik to the families who will still be here.   So that takes another load off.  I will stat packing on Tuesday night to see what size bag I need.

 

Ciera is going to have a tough time with leaving, we were talking as she went to bed and I told her "4 more sleeps until we go home" and she started to cry.   Both her and I are really going to miss Mr. Baby and being here, it really does feel like home and we are both so comfortable here.    I know that the families who are here now and will be here for the next 4 weeks will keep an eye on her and give her some loving, but I want to be the one doing the loving!!!  I asked Ciera "do you like it here" "yes" she said, "what do you like about it?" "I like playing with R at the babyhouse, playing ball hockey with him here, going to Babylon, having the room full of toys in the back", (we have NO toys at our house in Canada J) I thought it was interesting from her perspective what she liked about Kazakhstan.  I had to remind her that once we are home that's it for the treats, no more getting something every time we go out, no more taxis, no more going to play centres 2-3 times a week.  I have a feeling that the transistion back to daycare'kindergarten is going to be tough on her.

 

Pictures today:

-       with the heat on we now have a fast way to dry our clothes, they are not crunchy and the added bonus is adding some humidity into the air!

-       Ciera riding the horse at Babylon, she loved it and did it twice saying "go Bullseye" (the horse from Toy Story)