Well...It's Made Out of Concrete

So when someone asks how we are liking our assigned home the above is one of several answers we give them. Some others are "Well it's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there", "It's not the dream house" or "Thank goodness we only have to live here for 17 more months".

Several security issues should have been taken care of before we even moved in and they had more than enough time to get that done. Also we found out today that the electrician who was supposed to be getting the electrical system up to US code walked off the job and the GSO never replaced him so the work went undone which is why several of the outlets and fixtures are not grounded (did you know that if you get shocked when you are pregnant it makes you wet your pants? Yea, pretty freaking hilarious!).

We are focusing on getting the more serious security issues taken care of since we had an attempted break in today. Weston was home from school sick and in the living room playing with Jamison. I went downstairs to take clothes into the boys' room when out of the corner of my eye I saw something out the window. It was a guy crouching under the stairs that go down to the lower yard right outside of the downstairs window. Now, there is no way someone could get into our property unless we open the gate for them. We have walls that are topped with electrical fence. I ran upstairs, looked out the window that was above him only to see that he was searching for a way in and so I ran to the phone to call Kris to ask "Where the heck is the gun?". Kris told me he wasn't allowed to leave the gun at the house and it was with him. EXCUEEZE ME? I started having a minor panic attack but was able to get control when I remembered that all of the doors and windows were locked (out of habit of course) so I told the boys to come into the living room with me until the cops, Kris and the RSO (Regional Security Office from the embassy) got there. I hate being a sitting duck. Weston had grabbed a baseball bat and I must admit I thought he was pretty cute pacing around smacking it in his hand and carrying it over his shoulder.

I wanted to keep an eye on the stairs outside so I knew if he was still in the backyard or had run up to the front yard. We sat and watched until the embassy cops got there. When I let them into the property they were carrying sub-machine guns which was pretty nice to see. I motioned to the backyard and they went to work. They thought he might have jumped the back fence so several got into their cars to see if they could find him. They did bring a guy back who matched the description I gave except that the guy they had in the back of the car had pretty scruffy facial hair and I knew without a doubt that the guy I saw was baby faced clean shaven and pretty young looking.

Kris got home with some guys from the RSO right behind him. They were pretty upset that our electrical fence had been shut off by the GSO (housing office) as a solution to the problems we were having with it rather than fixing it the right way. The RSO was also ticked that the alarm system that was supposed to be installed before we moved in wasn't and that our phone problem wasn't fixed which kept me from being able to call Kris' cell phone (I had to call one of his co-workers to get him).

As for the other problems, those have taken a back row seat for now but suffice it to say, more things don't work than do. The issue about flooding with sewage isn't something we have to worry about until the next rainy season and we have been assured (by the GSO) that when there are serious rainstorms to make sure Kris or I keep an eye on the drains and keep them clear and that should solve the flooding with sewage problem. HA HA HA HA HA HA! So no going out of town during the rainy season for us!

So with that being said, here are the pictures. It's actually a very large and pretty, but dated, home with lots of room for us and guests! (We promise to have most of these issues taken care of before our first guests arrive!) Since most of you know Kris and I, you know we will probably end up fixing a majority of the issues ourselves (like the dishwasher that spews the dirty soapy water all over the patio because the hose was connected using masking tape...stupid GSO, it's DUCT TAPE you are supposed to use not MASKING TAPE!...but we'll actually fix it the right way.)



And after we fix everything we can, we'll end up making it a very comfortable home.


The Front of the Home:



Front Door, Entry into hall and to the right you have a guest bathroom, to the left is the Master Bedroom



Master Bedroom



Master Bath, brown door in the middle picture is the sauna (doesn't work so we use it to store paper towels, TP, diapers, wipes, the year supply
of paper stuff we bought for Venezuela fits quite nicely in here),
Jacuzzi tub (sort of works but not enough hot water to fill it
so we boil a HUGE pot of water on the stove in order to cover
the jets with enough water so they work)



Another reason why we don't use the tub, don't even ask, I have no idea. No other shower/faucet in the house does this but it's something else we will be fixing right away. We have run the jets and tried to flush the system but this is still the result. Jamison was upset I wouldn't let him get in so he decided that his toys would go for a swim instead.



Family room goes into the dinning room (I love the built in china cabinet since I don't have one)



Living room and living room looking into the dining room. The shot with the painted glass is what we are using as the office but it's an informal eating area actually.



Ummmm, I'm going to figure out a way to update this. Cover the flower tiles with some Mexican Talavera tiles and have coordinating shelf covers (since the ones they have on the shelves now are beyond gross and make the cabinets smell funny), new curtains, etc...



There is TONS of storage in the kitchen. The laundry room is pretty big



The maid's quarters if we were to have a live-in maid but we aren't so this is my crap room complete with its own bathroom that doesn't work.



Downstairs coming from the front hallway and to the left is the toy room/game room/slumber party room



Complete with another fireplace and security bars that Jamison likes to climb. Back towards the stairs you see our guest room on the left and boys room straight ahead.



Guest room (well it will also be Jamison's room if he's ever brave enough to sleep in it while we are here) complete with large private bathroom and walk-in closet.



Weston and Braedon's room also with very large private bath (3x bigger than ours in VA!) and large walk-in closet as well.



Walkway from the front that wraps around the house to a staircase that leads to the backyard.






And our view from the backyard, on clear days you can see the mountains really well but that won't happen again until the rainy season I am told.