10 Days to Go!

It's funny how slowly time passes when you are waiting for something....then how quickly time flies when you have a lot to do!  It seems like our departure date for Ecuador is racing up on us, and I sure hope that I am ready when we have to leave in 10 days. Being a single mom preparing to leave the country for the winter is a huge job! Seems to get more difficult every time. I've started packing our bags....and by "started" I mean that I've hauled the suitcases out of storage. I cannot even start to think of what to pack this time around. Last time we went to Ecuador Lil' L was 2 months old. He didn't do a whole lot of anything other than sleep, eat and poop. Now, the little guy goes non stop. He doesn't believe in napping anymore, and just LOVES his toys, ALL of them! So, how do I choose what to bring and what to leave behind?  Last time we went, I took two huge suitcases with us, my stuff taking up only one quarter of the space in one suitcase....you really don't realize just how much "stuff" a little baby needs until you try to pack it all into one bag and end up coming to the conclusion that it just isn't possible. This time I have to try to predict what we will need in the next 6 months that we cannot get in Ecuador, and what things we can leave behind. At this point I am reserving one suitcase for clothing and necessities, and the other for cloth diapers and toys.
10 days....only 10 days!!! AHHHHHHH! :)

Chores to do before we leave:

• Put insulating plastic on all of the windows in my home. I started this almost 2 weeks ago, and am averaging one window a day....seems to be all I can manage before Lil' L gets impatient and wants to play. Still have 8 windows to go.
• Finish staining my front deck. 
• Plug in the heat tape to prevent my pipes from freezing when I'm in tropical paradise.
• Eat as much food as possible....I'm not going grocery shopping again until we leave. Have to make sure my fridge is empty by the time we go!
• Mow my lawn one last time.
• Prep our new prefold cloth diapers....Washing and drying at least 5 times takes more time than you would expect!
• Cancel my cable and internet services. No sense in paying for something that I will not be using. 
• Clean my house. Like.....REALLY clean it! Haha!
• Pack our suitcases.... Seems this is always last, infact I usually find myself rushing to get the darn things zipped up just in time to be on our way to the airport.

Lil' B is almost 7 months old. We will be in Ecuador for between 4- 6 months this time around. If anybody has any advice they can give on the "necessities"  that I should bring with me to South America I would greatly appreciate it. Being a first time momma, the best I can do is take a wild guess. What are the things we just won't be able to live without?

Every day it gets colder here.....brrrrrrr....summer is certainly gone for at least another 8 months. I can't wait to be on the beach!

xo
Erin