Stinky apartments and jet-lagged Barretts

I've been sending lots of fun pictures home and posting them to Facebook. And we are having fun as much as we can. The problem is there is just too much we have to do, and that definitely cuts into the fun.

See, we need to get out of this corporate apartment. We are on the eighth floor, and the lift closest to our apartment doesn't work. So we take the one across the building, which only goes to the 7th floor, and then walk across the building and up the last flight of stairs. You can imagine the fun when everyone is tired at the end of the day. Steve and I need to find a chiropractor here from all of the carrying we are doing.

Then there is the space, or lack there of. We knew space would be tight; we knew it was only a two-bedroom. However, the lack of space for over a week is taking its toll on all of us. The boys are great about sharing a room. The bathrooms are very nice. But there is nowhere to put our suitcases and other bits. So we are constantly moving things around to do whatever we need to do next. Dinner time? Move the stack of papers that is our life to the couch. Bedtime? Move the stacks of clothes that need to be washed. Kids in bed? Pull out the computers and papers and try to get something done. I can't wait to have designated places for our things.

Of course, there's also the smell (hence the title of this blog). Steve cleaned out a pipe under the sink the other night trying to get rid of it. It's a mildewy, musty smell that permeates the kitchen. It made me a little nervous to do the laundry (the washer is in the kitchen), but that turned out not to be the issue with the laundry. So every time we return to the apartment, the boys walk in and say "It smells". Yep, it does.

Okay, I think that is enough "Woe is me" for tonight. The bright side of the last few days has been the parks and the treats. The boys love the old school parks here with the metal slides and wooden obstacles. We actually saw a kid get a bloody nose today. That's how playgrounds should be done. We also love the chocolates and treats. It's pretty fun to go into the store and pick out a new chocolate to try; they are all so great. Yesterday, I found a Cadbury Oreo chocolate bar and it was as good as it sounds. The boys had a great time at a restaurant chain called Pizza Express. The food was good and the waiter even taught the boys how to throw pizza dough and let them try it out.

So there you go, while we are having fun and it's a little like vacation (or holiday as I need to learn), moving across the ocean isn't exactly easy. We're making the best of it. Now, I need to get some sleep because I have some serious roundabouts to drive through tomorrow and we have to find a house and a car.

Since we miss our family and friends terribly, here are a few pictures that we like to look at when we are feeling sad.