It's in the mail

Today's the day! We have our FBI background checks - not the original ones - but that's another story. And Erik got the last medical signatures on the health forms today. At this moment all that paperwork is in a FedEx envelope on its way to the New Zealand consulate in Los Angeles. We expect NZ to take about three weeks to get us our visas. Assuming we wrote legibly in all capital letters, didn't miss any check boxes, attachments, initials, signatures or get any dates backwards (they do day/month/year and it's crazy-making to try to remember that).

This is the stack of paperwork we completed and sent in.

We can't get a Yes or No answer out of our immigration adviser - just vague, unhelpful answers, in not so good English. She's Chinese so between her English with a NZ twist, and our American, we're not even sure she understands the questions we email. So, Erik called the consulate last week to ask a question about the health forms. He got the answer and then the helpful lady at the consulate (with excellent spoken NZ English) also told Erik that they had just changed the acceptable form of FBI background checks. They no longer need an official copy of FBI background checks. There is a third party company you can go through and for US$90 and a stamp you can get this coveted piece of documentation in THREE DAYS. Yep, three days. We've been waiting (and still are) since mid-August for the over-worked, under-staffed, crack team of elite FBI agents to send us this:

"A search of the fingerprints on the above individual has revealed no prior arrest."


I can't even tell you how disgusted I am about this situation. I would gladly have sent the FBI the 90 bucks (or more) for each of us in August and we'd be in NZ already. Not to mention the fact that our paid immigration adviser had no knowledge of this new development.

We're so excited to get going but even more excited for us to have an income again. Erik is still unemployed (for 4 months already) because his new company can't pay him until he has a NZ tax ID number. And that can't happen until we are actually in the country. So, no job, no income, just more waiting.

Things to do (in no particular order):

• Figure out the huge stack of papers the moving company sent us
• Find Scooby a home or find more than $10,000 to pay to move him 
• Sell Baby Bloomers business to the O'Briens
• Final Yard Sale
• Sell both vehicles
• Sell house
• Buy the biggest suitcases made
• Shake-off feeling of frustration and helplessness

Odds and Ends

Well, we're getting very close. The FBI background check that we've been waiting for should be here this week. I say should because it's been 8 weeks since our request was made and that was the original estimate. However, the NZ consulate in Los Angeles told us today that they have just authorized a third party company to do the FBI background checks and they can be obtained from this company in just a few days. AAARRRGGGHHH! I really wish they had approved this back in August. We would have been there already. C'est la vie...

We have downsized a great deal around the house and even have a big pile of stuff sitting in the carport ready for the next yard sale. Including the kitchen sink. Quite literally. Our last kitchen sink is out there. Don't know why we kept that...?

Meanwhile, life goes on around the house. I met with Caty's teacher for a very nice parent-teacher conference and heard lots of great things about how she's doing. I'm very happy that changing schools this Fall has worked out so well for her. And she has a great teacher, who really cares about Caty. Last week was Fall Break and we spent time with Caty around the house and outdoors. It's so nice to have cool weather again. It's in the high 90's during the afternoons now.

Two weeks ago Erik's mom, Sue, and her sister Val (aka Tia to the kids), came for a visit. We had lots of fun and they took Caty to the Aquarium for some special time together since she was in school that week. This week Erik's dad, Jim, is visiting and playing in a bridge tournament too. We've been having a great visit with him and Caty said she likes his stories. We even managed to take a couple group photos of the visits.

Last Saturday I took the two little ones to the downtown Phoenix Public Market to pick up some veggies and fresh bread. It was nice to get outdoors and I even bumped into one of my Baby Bloomers customers who was also there shopping with her son.

That same day, I also started scrubbing out the few outdoor items of mine that we'll be taking. It was an odd thing do, sitting down in the driveway with a bucket of Lysol and a scrub brush to clean a garden planters. Never in my life have I scrubbed out a planter with detergent. And I really put my back into it. Those planters have never been so clean. When you transport stuff to NZ, they don't allow any dirt, mold, animal hair, fungus, insects, or other icky things to come in with it. The purpose is to keep non-native nasties out of NZ. So we are supposed to scrub and sterilize things like planters, golf clubs, boots, golf shoes, shovels - basically anything that has come into contact with dirt here - with germ- and bacteria-killing detergent.

We still have to scrub and oil the patio furniture and clean the few gardening things we will be bringing but we're making headway there. Erik washed and Lysol'ed the two tents we're taking. They are big campers/hikers in NZ and we're looking forward to getting out and doing some too. Although we are more the car-camper types with little ones. No hiking-in with our stuff. Not 'til Maggie can carry her own weight!

Speaking of carrying Maggie... I picked up a great Kelty Kids baby backpack with metal frame etc... at our store, Baby Bloomers, for toting Maggie around the beach and wilderness in NZ. We had a simple one but since she's getting bigger, we upgraded. Ben is very rugged and can already keep up on our 1.3 mile neighborhood walks in the evening. But it will be a while before Maggie is in his league. :)

Also, Erik painted my hutch. I'm so glad to be taking it with us. My mom bought it somewhere (flea market?) in Tennessee when I was a little girl (Kindergarten?). I remember her painting it and shoo'ing us away from the wet paint. Erik updated it for me by painting it chocolate brown and a brown-black accent color. It looks really nice now. I need to get a photo of it.

Honestly, as itchy as I am to get going and move, if it happened much faster, I'm not sure how we would do it. I'm not working at the store any more and I'm busy every day with something. Although I did take a couple hours out and Maggie had a photo shoot with Marcia at the Desert Botanical Gardens (where Erik and I got married nearly 11 years ago).

There's bad news on the Scooby front. Our neighbors were going to take him for us but after some play dates with their dogs, one of their dogs is not liking Scooby. So we're back to the drawing board on what to do with him. Anybody want a super-sweet, completely healthy, 6 year-old dog? I can't stand the thought of taking him to the pound and not knowing if he winds up as a guard dog chained in someone's dusty, hot yard for the rest of his days.

Yard Sale Day

 What a day! It started at 4:30am and went really quickly. We sold a lot of stuff and got to have some long chats with neighbors and friends. It was cool today, in the low 90's, and cloudy so it didn't seem as hot

There was a moment when Ben's ride-on horse, Peanut, went home with some strangers on top of their car that Ben was very sad "his" horsey was going away. It just plain broke my heart. Things like this make the move so painful for me. I can't explain what's going on in a way that he'll understand. He just thinks I gave away Peanut. He did get to kiss his horse one last time and wave to it but I swear I'm getting him another one as soon as we find a house in NZ. Later he was smiles and energy but in that moment, I had a really hard time keeping it together.

Yard sale toward the end of the day

Ben's sweet grin

Cate made $12 on Kool Aid and cookie sales

Catherine had fun selling Kool Aid at fifty cents a glass and cookies for twenty five cents each. She earned $12 for her work even though she took a time out to go with Ben to Wendy Sue's for a playdate with Nathaniel. Ben and Nathaniel are best buddies and neighbors. Another reason to stay here. :(

Maggie crawled, and walked, all over the driveway and yard checking out all the cool stuff and enjoying the new setting with all the action.

I'm glad the day is over. Some of it was painful and some was a relief to see gone, but the good part is that it's over. One more task completed.

Speaking of tasks, you should see the list of things we have to do. I mean, even though we still have a month or 6 weeks left here, we have work to do every day. Tomorrow we are selling the swing set and I need to get the paperwork together for the visa that "proves" Erik and I are really married. Seriously?? Right, we secretly conspired to get married nearly 11 years ago on the off chance Erik would get a job in NZ and we could live there in our sham of a marriage with our three children. At some point, isn't this just paperwork for it's own sake? But we WILL get the forms (marriage certificate, mortgage, car titles, joint bank accounts, etc...) and send them to Big Brother down under.

Before I go, I have to thank some special people for helping us with our yard sale today. A big thanks to Kristen for showing up at 6 am with doughnuts and helping drag everything out to the lawn and driveway and then holding Maggie and selling stuff all morning. Also thanks to Darnell, and Kay and Cheryl for loaning us tables to hold our things. It would have been a mess without those tables! And a thank you to Steven for holding Maggie a lot, selling stuff, posting to Craig's List for us, and helping with clean up. And last but not least, thanks to Wendy Sue for taking Ben and Cate to her house for a break. It was much appreciated! We have such great friends! :)