Well, things are really on the move now.

Cultural training...check!
Visas...check!
Mexican Consulate in Detroit tomorrow morning and Dave heads down to Mexico next Wednesday.

It's time to start packing and panicking! All day long, I walk around the house and think, do we need to take that? Today it was hampers. Do we take hampers? Will there be something there to put our laundry in or do we just throw it on the floor. And while I'm thinking about it, what about laundry baskets? We are only allowed a certain amount of weight to ship down. And that is a difficult thing to fathom, especially for someone who can't live without a LOT of books.

The other frustrating part about packing is that once we are down there, we are stuck with whatever we have until someone comes to visit. We thought we could count on people shipping things, but we were told that the mail delivery service is super unreliable and that they will tax us on anything that is shipped to us! I hope there are a lot of people that are planning on visiting so I can get some of my favorite Trader Joe and Target supplies!

Thankfully, Dave will only be gone for 2 and 1/2 weeks before coming home for Thanksgiving, but the long haul will be from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Then we all head down in January!

Moving Date?

Okay, after months of answering the question, "When are you moving?" with a ridiculous, "I don't know," I can finally say there is progress. Dave spoke with the Mexican HR Department today and they are putting together the contract on house #9. Apparently, houses are now moving quickly in the area and if we don't start moving the paperwork along, we would be put in an apartment -which is not happening. The HR person also said that the Visas should be released by the 2nd week in October. What that means exactly, I don't know, but it is progress.

Dave and I decided though that with the date of departure moving later and later, that I would just stay in the states until January. Otherwise, we would be flying back and forth for Thanksgiving and Christmas and this way, we can save the money for other flights home.

So, house number 12 has been rented out! (Sob, Sob). Although I thought that it was too far away, I loved that house. So cool.

Having a hard time with the housing people on getting some good concrete answers. House number 9 is still available and I think we are going to ask for that one next. Dave asked for a few more options in Chiluca, but the real estate woman sent him apartment options, which is not an option.

Dave is on week two of his language classes. He goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-5pm. I still need to take the first step in signing up, but I will soon, if I have to.

Other than that, no new news. No date as to when we are leaving, nothing is packed, nothing has been signed. I'll keep you updated.

Newest News

Dave found a great website that has a ton of information for people living in Mexico for work. Check it out if you have time. There is a lot to read, but it seems up to date and it is giving me a better sense of what I have to look forward to.

http://www.paguro.net/expat-life/local/mexico/

It looks like we are not moving on September 1st as of right now. We have to wait for our Visa's to be ready so we aren't sure of the exact moving day. We will just have to keep you updated.

Language Classes

Sounds like Dave will be signed up for language classes soon, which makes me very happy. We both need a lot of help in this area. I am not holding out too much hope for me in that area, but I sure hope Dave gets a good refresher so we can get around more easily down there. I'll keep you updated.

Top Pick

Well, we told BASF that our top pick was house #12 on Friday, but now I am not so sure. It is the only one not in a neighborhood and I am starting to think that that is going to be very important. They also said that the owners of #9 are going to put furniture in the house and send pictures to us. That will be helpful in our decision too.

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Top three houses

Dave got the call today that we need to list our top three houses (in order). Any input would be appreciated! We are looking at Houses #9, #10, and #12. I will try to post the map later. I need Dave's help.

Decided?

Not sure if anyone is keeping up with this, but if you are, then you will hear it first. It is (pretty much) decided that we are going. Maybe I am just having a hard time actually coming out and saying it. I realize it is something that will help Dave out and also something that I am not willing to look back on and wonder "what if?".

Now I am buying books on living in Mexico and trying to figure out what REALLY needs to go, what doesn't need to go, and what to do with the crap that stays here.

We still do not know exactly when this adventure will start, but it has been said that September 1st would be the beginning date, which would bring us home February 2011. It seems so far away, but hopefully it goes fast! I have to figure out what to do about school. Hopefully, I can I take online classes through Oakland University. I also have to figure out how to tell work.

I will keep this updated as much as I can for all who care to know. :)

Update

Dave got the new policy from work yesterday for the terms regarding international relocation travel and the new policy established in April states that in order for families to relocate with the employee, the assignment needs to be longer than 12 months! It would've been nice to know that before going down there! That is something new to think about!

I was just settling on the idea of 12 months and now I have to rethink this for 18 months to 2 years. It changes our plans for a second child as well. We were going to wait until we got home to have baby number 2, but that just seems too long to wait.

On another note, it may work out for getting back into the work force though. If I am gone for 18 months, I could come back and substitute for half a year in hopes of landing a job.

More for my brain to process. I'm open to comments, so let me know what you think!

Thoughts

Well, all the houses are posted. Now it is just a waiting, question, and decision game. Yuck. I think this will be the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life. I used to do a lot of daring adventures - going to Washington DC in middle school, moving away to college without knowing anyone, going to France for our honeymoon, but this feels different and I think it is because of the long length of time that I will be gone. I have, obviously, never been away from all my family and friends for so long and I do not look forward to it. I am a somewhat introverted person, but I still love having people around to hang out with. Ugh.

House #12 - The Basement and Maid's Quarters

House #12 - Last Pictures!

House #12 - Last One!

This is the last house and it is tied with house #9 as my favorite. The only thing I do not love about this house is the location. It is on a street that seemed a little busy and it is a little bit farther away than all the other houses.

There are a lot of pictures for this house because there were so many awesome things about it so here we go...

The first thing that you notice about this house is the massive front door. This house had a ton of beautiful wood and the front door was just the beginning. When you enter the house, straight ahead you see a fish tank built into the wall that separates the living room from the dining room. You walk into a small foyer that has stairs that lead up and down. Let's start upstairs...

Upstairs there are three bedrooms with unbelievable views. Two out of the three bedrooms have window seats and they all have their own bathrooms, which was obviously a trend with the houses we saw. Also upstairs was a loft area with HUGE built in bookcases, which would be an awesome office. If only I could drag all my books down there. Those bookcases are going to be very lonely and just calling for my books!

Going down the stairs, to the right is a spacious living room and the dining room is straight ahead. I almost forgot to mention the most important part - the bar! It is in the living room, tucked away under the stairs. To the left is a bathroom, a dinette area and the kitchen. There is also a patio off the kitchen and dining room where you can sit and overlook the great view. The patio has stairs that lead down to the back yard and lowest level - the playroom. The playroom is a spacious room in the basement with another bathroom and maid's quarters. The backyard is a decent size and there is an outdoor grill there too.

The things I liked best about this house was the view, the wood, and the layout of the house. I hope the pictures showcase how cool this house was.

House #11 - More Pictures

Here is the upstairs pictures for house #11...

House #11

On Saturday morning we heard the goods news that we would only see two more houses! After such a long Friday, I was very excited to hear that we would be done early, little did I know that the rest of my afternoon would be spent sitting in the car in horrendous traffic.

House #11, Vista Esmeralda, is located in a new area that they are developing. In fact, this house was only a year old. This really wasn't a house thought, more of a townhome. It was in a gated sub division where the homes all looked the same. The only one we saw of it's kind. A Colombian family with a one year old lives there currently and we were told that they needed to move closer to the city and that was why they were moving out. I didn't exactly buy that story though, don't ask me why, but it just seemed like a line they were feeding us.

This house had all the features of a new home - built in lights on the stairs and in the doorways, new appliances, and no grass in the backyard! It was a little smaller than the other houses, but all the furniture was contemporary and the women living there said that there were four schools in the area for children who spoke English.

When walking into the front door, the bar area was to the left, along with a guest bathroom. To the right was the living room, followed by the dining room, that was separated by a free standing fireplace. You can get to the backyard through the dining room. Straight ahead from the front door is the kitchen and the stairs leading to the second level.

Upstairs, there was three bedrooms, again, each with a bathroom and a bathtub in the master bathroom, and one had a loft. There was also another living room area upstairs.

House #10

Almost there! This was the last house that we saw on Friday night. It too is at the end of a cul-de-sac and VERY close to a little playground with a play structure, track for bikes, and see saw. This house was not furnished and we aren't sure if that is good or bad. We did like all the work that the owner recently did to the house and the spacious rooms. Dave did not get as many pictures as we wanted because the camera battery was dying after a long day of snapshots.

When you walk into this house, it opens up to a large living room. In this area, there was a lot of plant life. There was a few plants that separated the living room from the dining room and there were plants (very tall ones) leading up the stairs. It had a huge kitchen and pantry and, we think, another family room in the back of the house.

Upstairs, there was a sitting area right at the top of the stairs, kind of like a loft. There is three bedrooms, each with a bathroom. This one has a jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom. It also has two other half baths downstairs and, of course, the maid's quarters.

There isn't too much more to say about this house. It didn't have the unique twists and turns that a lot of the other houses had, but it was open, clean, and in a great area, which was the appeal. I love the fact that the park was literally next door and there is a shopping area that is nearby. (I think walking distance.) And it was in Chiluca, the area that I liked best.