So we've moved in and...

Here is what I have to say about it!
-You know what is fun?  Going to the local version of a "superstore" and getting to pick out just about everything you need for the house from dishes to floor mats, towels to mops and brooms and cleaning supplies, kettles and toasters, pots and beer mugs, tupperware and clothes pins.  Only thing, we forgot to get a can opener!  D'oh!  Also, it is kind of a different feeling seeing your total add up to more than 8,000,000 kip!   That is a lot any way you look at it- but in USD it's about $1,000.  Getting everything you need for the house for $1,000 isn't bad either. :)   
-Ants and cockroaches consider this your warning.  You are not welcome in my kitchen (or the rest of my house for that matter).  Please vacate, or prepare to die.  I will do what I have to do.
-Turns out, our tubs in the upstairs bathrooms have not been properly installed. In fact, they've hardly been installed at all!  They've just been shoved into the corner.  Last night, as the water drained from Beni's bath, the floor began to flood.  Unhappy surprise. We're going to have to see what we can do about this!
-So far in the moving in process, I've focused on getting the kitchen set up.  It proves to be true again and again, that I feel at home, when I have my kitchen stocked, and I can fully use it. 
-Speaking of kitchen stuff- WHY OH WHY do manufacturers insist on sticking labels on things with impossible to remove adhesive in totally horrible spots.  For instance- the new wok I bought yesterday- 2 square inch spot of adhesive smack dab in the middle of inside of the dang pan.  I don't know why I haven't learned to check these kinds of things before I buy, because I am almost convinced I am going to simply have to buy a new wok.  Grrr.  (Anyone have any advice?  I tried using nail polish remover, and it didn't do much.)
-On another kitchen note- guess who doesn't have hot water in the kitchen???  Yep, us.  My BIL/SIL don't have hot water in the kitchen either- apparently it's not really standard here because to have hot water you need one of those individual electric water heaters.  Sometimes one might boil hot water for dish washing, but, we're also just going to get used to washing with cold water and plenty of soap.
-I love the feeling of new possibility when moving into a new house.  Getting to choose where to put stuff, buying new stuff, etc. It's fun.
-There are things about this house that I would change, for sure.  But, that said, I love this house.  It feels like home.  It's comfortable.  It doesn't actually feel THAT different from a house that we might have chosen to buy elsewhere in the world...except of course, we'd choose hard wood floors (not just floors that LOOK like wood) and closets! But, I love this house.  I love that it's ours now.  I love the potential it has.  And I'm so very happy we live in it alone! :)
-The last 4 and a half months have really brought to light how lucky we are as a family to have so many people around the world that love us enough to host us for a few days, weeks, or even months.  It is a good feeling to know that you are welcome, and invited, and wanted.  That said, it is SO NICE to have our own space again!  To be in charge of where things go in the kitchen, to be able to leave anything we want in a spot that we deem appropriate, to be able to walk through the whole house naked- if I so wanted... it's just good to have your own space!
-I should go now, because, even though the kitchen is fully unpacked and in place (yes, that includes washing all dishes before putting away, cleaning out cupboards, etc), I haven't unpacked, or hung up ANY of my clothes.  Priorities, I tell ya. :)    

What's behind curtain #1?

I finally took a few pictures tonight in Laos.  They are not of LAOS. They are not even of our house (because we're still living with my BIL/SIL), but I thought I would post them for you and then ramble a bit about a few things. :)

So as you can see in the picture to the left, the bathroom which is currently "ours" has a no-shower-stall shower.  You can see the shower head on the wall back there.  The space where my husband is crouching is the space where we usually stand while we shower.  The water runs toward the spot I stood to take this picture.  There is a drain in the floor there.  Luckily for me, there is also a small step in the floor, which keeps the shower water from running all over the entire bathroom floor- so the floor by the toilet and sink stays dry.  And because we pull that curtain closed when we shower, the toilet stays dry too.  

Now, here you can see what' hiding behind curtain number 1- it's Beni!  She had to have a bath today because 1) it was so hot and at one point her entire head was WET (not damp, not moist, WET) with sweat, and 2) because we had to go house hunting this afternoon, she did not get a second nap, and therefore turned into a holy terror and was only calmed during house hunting by playing with a pen and drawing all over herself.  Nice. So bath it was.  The good thing is, if there is one place this child is happy, it's in the water.  So even if it's only 15 minutes, she's a happy camper while she's in there.

Another little factoid about living in Laos... see the box on the wall by the shower?  That is the water heater. The shower is connected to the water heater. The bath is not.  So to fill Beni's bath, we have to point the shower at the bath (or just hang it down into there) and let it run.  Not really an issue, just takes a lot longer.  The bathroom sink does not have hot water.  Neither does the kitchen sink.  Also the washer is not connected to hot water.

Speaking of which... see all those diapers hanging all over the bathroom??? Yeah. It's been raining almost non-stop since the second day we were here.  That's 4 days now (and yes, it's still raining as I write!).  Since some of the laundry that I washed and hung outside on Saturday is still not fully dry (it's Wednesday!), I decided I had to hang these diapers inside in the hopes that they will dry faster.  We have diapers everywhere.  It'll be interesting to see how this cloth-diapering-in-Laos thing goes... between the no hot water to wash with and the no dryer to dry with through this rainy season...well, we'll just see.  We'll keep on keeping on...but Beni is in a disposable tonight.  We only have so many of the more quickly drying Flip diapers, and the one downside to the BumGenius All-in-ones is that they take FOREVER to dry in good conditions... I  am going to watch them closely to make sure they don't mold here!  Ick.

Our first day house hunting was a total bomb.  We didn't see anything that either of us really liked- and some of the houses we saw were immediate, absolute "no!"s for each of us.  I will go on my own with Beni tomorrow to see some more houses... we've given the agent a bit better idea of what we might be looking for, so, let's see what she comes up with tomorrow.  Wish us luck!    

Now to end on a super happy note: