First Day of Kindy

Well, as you know... today was Andrew's first day of Kindy. And boy was he excited. In fact, he was up before 6am. Not sure if it was the excitement or what. But UGH for the parents (or Jim who actually got up with him) We were both awake--- I was thinking about Emme's day before and hoping today would be a better day. Jim was just awake. I was also hoping to fall back asleep!
Andrew decided after a good brekkie to get dressed and walk his sister off to school. Then came the waiting game. The N-Rs had to wait until 10:30 for sign in today. So we went home, played video games, watched a little Wiggles, had a snack, waited some more. Then it was FINALLY time to go back to school.
We stood in line to the gym to get his class assignment and buddy to walk him to class. He met Ms. Donlan, the principal. Katie, his buddy, walked him to his classroom, KJ. It was very cute and grown up. When we got to the building, he went right up to the hook with his name and hung up his backpack and then we met Miss Jowett, his teacher. She seems quite nice. After the intros he didn't even bother with the good-byes, he just went in and sat down to start tracing and coloring. We had to go in and say good-bye and kiss him good-bye. Oh well. Guess we are the sentimental ones!
Met him at 2:45 when they walked the classes out to the quad. It was so cute watching all the kindys walk up. They were still full of energy and Andrew was no different. He said it was lots of fun. He met three new friends for sure -- Brian, Andrew L and Grace. We'll see who it is tomorrow.

A Broken Heart

Picked Emmalee up from school today at 3:10 in the arranged location. Went smoothly and then we went to the park behind the school to play with some classmates, which was nice. Met a few other 'mums' and kids in year 1. Bella's mum, Kimberly, has been especially helpful in introducing me to people and pointing parents and kids out. Had to practically drag the kids away at 4:45 so we could pick up Jim's shirts and make it home in time do throw something together for dinner.
Jim of course was not quite on time for dinner, so we started a weeeee bit later than planned. Made it a few minutes into dinner before the crocodile tears start down Emmalee's face. Everytime he asked a question about school, Andrew would answer it before Emme could and she would just break down even more. Temper was flaring and I could see it getting out of control very fast. She had wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate her 1st day of school, to which I said no for 2 reasons -- 1 dad was going to be late and 2 we would do it on Wed after Andrew started and celebrate both (especially since she had actually started school before and he hadn't). Needless to say, she said this was the "Worst day ever". Our little drama queen!
I got her into the front room and got her talking in between sobs to find out what might be at the root of the problem. Figured it was more than just dinner plans. It was... being the new kid SUCKS. Evidently some boys in class told her she was 'weird' because of her accent. She doesn't have a buddy for lines because there is an odd number in her class and she is the new one. She said she asked all the girls in class to be her friend and play, but they said they already have their friends. UGH! It breaks my heart. SORRY MOM AND DAD ---- I went thru this exact same thing at exactly the same age. Moved from North Carolina to Illinois, transplanted from Zion schools to Winthrop Harbor schools right around Christmas time. Everyone had their friends, their little cliques, I still had a slight southern accent, I was the odd girl out. I vowed NEVER to do that to any of my children. And here I am having my daughter go thru the EXACT same thing I did. No wonder I have been feeling crappy for the last few days. My gut has been knowing what she was going to go thru... I really really really hope it goes better for her tomorrow. She is way more outgoing than I am. These little Aussies just need to give her a chance. I mean Bella befriended her and unfortunately, she is in the next classroom over. That's yet another thing Emme was crying over. "If only Bella was in my class -- then things would be better. Or if she was my buddy. It wouldn't be so bad" tears tears tears

Last Day of Freedom

Today is the last day of freedom for Andrew so we decided to spend it doing just mom and son stuff. I let him pick what he wanted to do and he chose to go out to lunch and a movie. OK, his first choice was to sit on the couch and play video games, but I vetoed that. So that was his second choice.
So, off to the mall we went. First stop, McDonalds for their ZooPals Happy Meal. Here they have a pasta happy meal with zoo goo (tomato sauce) for dipping. A little healthier than fried food. After that we headed over to the theater for a viewing of Happy Feet. The line was enormous due to the fact that only ONE PERSON was working the ticket counter. Still made it in during previews luckily. Then of course when the movie actually started was when Andrew decided he wanted snacks. It's his day, so I said OK and we went out to the snack counter where ONE PERSON again was working an enormous line. UGH! Missed about 15 minutes of the movie, but he got his sour gummie worms and Maltesers. They are basically malted milk balls I think. Sitting next to him in the theater, smelling him eat them I was totally reminded of sitting by my grandpa Bob watching movies on summer break while he had malted milk balls or drank malted milk shakes. Was kinda a blast from the past...
Well, off to go pick up Emmalee!

Emmalee's First Day of School

Well, the day is FINALLY here. Emmalee's first day of school. She was up by 6:30am excited to go. Had her uniform on -- even her shoes and hat before 7am. Quite cute. She was very very excited. Giggly, even. Managed to get a little breakfast into her. Since Jim was staying home to walk her to school she got to play hide and seek a little before the walk to school which made the morning even better.
We got "Nikki" doll dressed in the matching uniform. And everyone was set to go to school. We set off at 8:35am to join in at playtime in the quadrangle. Whenever we passed someone and they noticed "Nikki" they would just smile or comment about how cute she was and how she should be the ambassador or something! Sure made Emmalee proud.
Emmalee didn't seem too hesitant. Andrew on the other hand took off running to play with some boys. No hesitancy at all. Hopefully it will be the same way tomorrow. She had met a couple of girls yesterday when we got uniforms so maybe or two will be in her class or be her buddy.
Made the plan to meet at the brick wall at 3:10 and will find all the details later!

Uniform Time

Today is the day that we got to go to school to buy our uniforms for school since Tuesday is the official start of school for Emmalee. Wednesday for Andrew. YEA! Canteen/Uniform shop was open from 9-10am, so we hustled over at 9:30 and joined the chaos.

Since I had no idea what we needed I was at the mercy of the shop moms. I let them tell me what we needed. In the end we walked out with:

• 2 dresses for Emme
• 2 jumpers (sweatshirts) one for each kid
• 2 bomber jackets for cold days - one for each kid
• 2 hats
• 3 pairs of shorts for Andrew
• 2 button up shirts for Andrew
• 2 white polo 'sport day' shirts for Andrew
• 1 head band, 1 scrunchie for Emme
• 2 backpacks -- on backorder
• 2 library bags -- on backorder

UGH! And this is just the summer uniforms. They have a winter uniform, too. Unbelievable. I know I will have to get more for Emme, just have to see what the other kids in the class wear -- whether its a skort and polo shirt or 2 more dresses. And then to see what the sport clothes are for her. I don't think we got that for her either. Will post the photos of them dressed up tomorrow and Wednesday. Had to wash the crispy clothes today!

Lazy Sunday

Today was quite the lazy day. Couldn't really get up the energy to do much. Went to church. It was made official that I am going to be helping out in Year 1 for Religious Ed teaching at the public school (Northbridge Public) -- It was posted in the bulletin. So I guess I am committed. Then again, it was printed as Nikki Rhombert, so maybe not?!
The weather was beautiful, but we just felt like not doing much. Hung around the house, did lunch and then around 1:30 rallied the troups for a late visit to the Taronga Zoo. Thought we could catch the Seal show and the Free Flight Bird show. They are quite spectacular and the skies were clear so what a way to end the 'holidays' before school started.
Evidently alot of other people thought so too, because the Seal show was packed. Had to put the kids on our shoulders so they could see. Made it to the bird show in plenty of time so we got seats. No problems there. It is amazing seeing those birds swoop in. It is open air and they just fly in and out over the Harbour and everything. And barely graze your heads sometimes. Amazing... Next time I'll take the camera!

Emmalee and Nikki's Day Out

Emmalee has been asking and asking for a mommy and daughter day out. Guess she has had enough of her brother for a while and wanted just 'girl time'. So, today was decided to be the day. We turned down offers of the beach and headed off to the Kiribilli Markets in North Sydney for a little shopping. Emmalee packed her purse and her money. She has been saving up and that money is burning a huge hole in her pocket (unlike her brother who tends to be a saver, not a spender!).
Punched in the address, which was actually a junction of streets, not an address and headed off. For some reason, the navigation didn't keep up with me so I missed a turn and ended up in the wrong lane or something. Not really sure -- all I know is all of a sudden we are heading over the Bridge! $3 later and a couple of turns, we have to come back over the Bridge. Luckily there is only a charge going one direction. UGH!
Managed to get there, then parking of course was at a premium. Found a spot, paid for two hours and headed up the hill to the market. Was quite windy, but a very sunny day. Maybe 23-24 degrees Celsius. As soon as we got to the stalls I had a quick talk with Emme about how:

1. She can't buy everything she sees
2. There may be the same thing for less at a different stall, she just has to look
3. Be prepared to walk away and they may lower the price, and finally...
   
4. She only has so much money in her wallet to spend and then she is OUT OF MONEY!!!!

So, we wandered around. The purses and wallets seemed to catch her eye first. Then the jewelery. She really wanted a ring but they didn't have any children's sizes at all. I was hoping this would be a more artisan market, but in reality it was closer to a flea market than anything. Not quite that UCK, but close. Not alot of hand made items or artsy stuff. But she had a blast picking thru things. There was alot of hard decisions to be made around there. But it finally came down to a stall that had purses marked down. She managed to get a mini Burberry type purse for $1 and a straw purse for the beach for $5. Then we found a pretty beaded necklace that she somehow convinced ME to buy for her. HMMMM funny how that works, eh?
Just before we were leaving she found a stall with fans for $3. She had about $6 left so I explained to her if she spent that much, how little she would have left and to REALLY thing about how much she wanted that fan. So she thought and thought and decided it really wasn't what she truly wanted and was prepared to walk away. At that point the man asked her how much she wanted to spend. Oh, let the bargaining begin... He offered $2, so I explained that she could buy that fan for $2 an have $4 left. She thought and still chose to walk away. You should have seen the look on that man's face!
After the markets we went up to Chatswood Mall to grab lunch. Still don't know alot of places around for food and that is where Emme chose, so off we went. Had a nice lunch together and introduced her to Chocolate and Strawberry Crepes for dessert. Yummy.

Celebrating Australia Day

It was another beautiful day in Sydney today. Australia Day is a national holiday, much like the 4th of July back in the states, so there was no work for Jim. We decided to hang out with the Young's and their friends, the Pullmans (who we met at the beach last weekend) and go down to the Harbour to check out the festivities.
The best way to get there was undoubtedly the train, so off to St. Leonard's Station we went to catch the 11:15am train. Was the 1st train ride in Australia for us. Was very good and easy to get downtown -- quick too! Kids had a blast.Made our way down to Circular Quay, with a short pit stop into a souvenir shop for t-shirts and flags. Gotta get geared up for Australia Day. Now all the kids (and mom and dad) have matching t-shirts. Yes, how geeky, but awwww how cute???? Had to drag Julie out though. Boy does she like shopping!!! Oh, had to stop off for a sausage sizzle too -- kids were hungry. Go figure!The Harbour was buzzing with people. And boats. There were boats decorated like floats for the parade of boats. Kinda neat. We made it down for a fly-over by F-18's, which was mostly a BOOM since they were so fast. But cool to see them zoom over the Opera House. Watched the Navy Rescue Team Helicopters fly over and do maneuvers. Saw the ARMY Red Berets do a parachute drop into Circular Quay/Harbour. And then finished it off watching the Tall Ships race under the Harbour Bridge. Was alot of fun, but really tired the kids out. They were troupers, but making our way back to the train, you could see the gas tanks sputtering out.
Enjoy the photo show on the right. Not quite the same as being there, but hopefully you can get an idea of what we saw today!

Happy Australia Day!

A rude awakening

Anyone who knows me knows I don't like to get up early. Or unexpectedly... So this morning when I felt a tickle across my left cheek, my eyes popped open to see a non-invited 'guest' in bed.

Luckily I didn't scream and wake up the kids. Made Jim get up and kill the bugger. He said non-chalantly, "Oh, I thought it was one of the kids tapping me on the head." That is how big and strong they are! EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Jump n Jive Pirates Performance

Today was the 3:30 performance to show what the kids learned after three days at camp. All we had learned so far was "Yo Ho Ho, A Pirates Life For Me". So, Jim took off from work (miracle of miracles -- he was even on time) and we went over there together. We managed to get flowers for Emmalee (at her request) and got into the front row for a seat before the performance started.
As you can see, it was a Pirate Theme. Enjoy the two little pirates of Northbridge.


P.S. We have to say, for all of Andrew's hemming and hawing about not wanting to go to camp, once he got up on stage, he became quite a ham. In fact, once the stage cleared between the numbers between the orange and red group, he danced his way out, did a little jig, then danced right off the stage. Totally impromptu -- a one man show. The people next to us even commented about how cute he was, to which Jim had to own up and say he was ours!!!

You should see the construction workers here...

Oh the things kids say...

As we were pulling up to camp this morning. I parked the car and just as we were all getting out of the car, the kids, almost in unison, yell out, "Look mom, there are naked men building a roof up there!" Of course, I HAVE TO look. For all the obvious reasons and more. But, they weren't actually naked. They were pretty darn close. The construction workers in the US don't hold a candle to the way these men were dressed. Let me tell you -- if I had a camera with me, it would have been easier to explain, but basically all the had on were work boots, a tool belt and those tiny little gym type shorts. Not the cargo shorts that we are all used to seeing workers work in. No wonder the kids thought they were naked.

So tonight when they explained it to Jim, they amended the story from 'naked' to 'in their underwear'. Was still quite funny to see his eyeballs kinda pop out. Until I explained...

Jump n Jive Part 2

After Andrew came home from camp yesterday he proclaimed there was NO WAY he was going back. He missed me too much and it was too boring. He told me. He told Jim. He wasn't going. He stayed up until 9pm to tell us. And then first thing this morning he woke up telling me he wasn't going. So, I put on my game face and kept telling him, we'll see. By this time, Emmalee had decided that if Andrew wasn't going, then she wasn't going to go because she was going to be lonely. This was not going to be good. Plus, I had already paid for them to attend! Was also hoping this would be a good prep for kindergarten for him. Fingers crossed...
I played along, making lunches this morning. Then I pulled out the bribery card. Told him if he went, I would have a surprise waiting for him when he was done. Then I also made him a little note and waited until he was dropped off. Told him that if he was sad and missing me, all he had to do was look at the note and know he had extra hugs and kisses from me with him in his pocket. No tears when I left him, so I felt better and hopefully he did too.
Must have been a good thing because when I picked them up, they were all smiles. Although one of the first questions was, "So, what is my surprise?" And then when I asked what the best part of the day was, he answered, my Cars story CD you gave me. So much for camp activities being the best part of the day. But it WAS progress!

Jump n Jive

Today I have finally let go of my kids. I signed them up for a three day camp here. Its called Jump n Jive camp and runs Monday thru Wednesday from 10-4. Its a vacation camp for Kindy, Year 1 & 2 kids that includes crafts, drama, sports, acting, modeling, gymnastics and a whole lot more. It sounded like just what the kids needed. And I thought they might get to meet some kids that would be fun AND it was one of the only things there were still openings for (they opened a second group it was so popular!) so I signed both of them up.Made them both a lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea (again an Aussie thing which basically mean, SNACK!) and packed a bag with an art shirt and hat so they can craft and play outside for breaks and we headed off for the camp. They were excited. We'll see how it goes at pick up time!

Snacks at the Youngs

I'm starting to think it may not be a Saturday night if we don't have snacks and drinks at the Youngs house after the beach or swimming. After the beach we decided to meet up for snacks and drinks at their house. I whipped up some guacamole and fruit salad and we fed the kids some fish sticks quickly and headed over to their house.
Kids hopped right in the pool. Andrew sure is alot more comfortable. They still wear their life jackets eventually, but I am happy about that. They can stay in alot longer... they don't tire out as easily. Sometimes they get a little over confident, especially with friends.
Tried out a new drink tonight. Jim and I actually had it on the house hunting trip over here. It is a version of a mojito or caiparina. Here it is called a cahaca. Basically is a rum based drink with muddled limes and sugar. Very yummy. Found Bundaburg Rum, a famous Australia rum and cut up a bunch of limes and took them over with us. Steve, Jim and I throughly enjoyed them. Julie is just coming off her 14 day cleanse, so she just drank wine. We'll get her next time!
You should see the stars here. It definitely gets dark enough around here to see them. I can't get used to the upside down sky. Or right side up -- depending on how you look at it. But you can see the Southern Cross. And I am sure alot of other things too. Really pretty. I will have to find a book on constellations. And maybe we'll get a telescope too!
This time the kids went thru two bags of microwave pop corn and one popper of homemade butter pop corn and watched Over the Hedge. They all get along so well. Knock Wood. (Another one of the Famous Australian sayings). I sure hope this continues for a long long time! Emmalee passed out on my lap around 10 something and we found Andrew passed out on the bed in front of the movie before it was finished so we brought him out the couch to sleep till we left.
Jim & I could only make it till 11:30. These late nights are killing me!

Saturday at Manly

Saturday we decided to hang out with the Northbridge Young family and go to Manly Beach. We followed them again and took the back roads. Thank goodness we did because even though we were listening to the radio, we didn't hear about a leak on the major road leading to the Spit Bridge which would have left us in ALOT of terrible traffic. You see, often if you end up on roads like Military Road and there is a problem, you are just STUCK. Ugh. So, they heard about it and were smart enough to avoid it.

Manly is the beach across the water from Shelly Beach where we went last weekend. This one ended up being much nicer than Shelly. The sand was soooo much softer and the waves were bigger so the kids could body surf a little. Actually the water seemed to be a little bit warmer too. Or maybe it was hotter so I just thought it felt that way -- or maybe I am possibly getting used to things a little bit here???

The Youngs had arranged to meet another family that Steve worked with here in Sydney at the beach, so they already had a spot set up. Coincidently, even though they moved here from New Mexico, as we were talking I found out they were originally way back when, were from Cedar Rapids, IA. What a small world. So here we all are, three American families, newly transplanted in Sydney all within the last 6 months and swapping stories and watching our families make the best of it. The hubbies are all out body boarding in the waves. Kids are building sand castles. It was amazing. And I can truly say that back at home, there was no way I would have been doing that on January 20th. Unless it was in my dreams. And even then, don't think I would have quite dreamed this one up!

Kids played and played. Sam and Emmalee body surfed with the dads for a while. Sam was getting really good. Quite brave! Andrew is definitely getting the hang of the beach thing too. Still doesn't like the sand or salt in his eyes. Insists that he is wearing eye protection at all times and if something gets in them, watch out -- he will squeal like a baby until they are all clean.

I have two photos of the Surf Life Savers (in the yellow and red) and the helicopter doing a shark fly-over. That is routine here. They fly over the beaches looking for sharks in the water. The lifesavers have a walkietalkie that must keep them in touch with who ever is in the helicopter. I didn't have the telephoto lens on at the time, but Julie did. With hers, you could actually see the person hanging out of the helicopter doing the spotting!

Time just flew by and next thing we knew it was 4:30 and we knew it was time to pack it up and head home. Didn't want to overstay our time at the beach and make it too long of a ride home for the kids...

Freaky Friday

Last night was Emmalee's first official sleep over in the land down under. She had Ali Young, a friend from Cammeray, (one of Jim's co-workers daughters -- the Libertyville Youngs) spend the night. Emmalee had spent the entire day Friday planning what she and Ali were going to do Friday night. Well actually, she had spent the better part of the week planning. And telling Andrew what he was NOT going to be doing. Like staying up, or playing with them or doing girl things or this or that. Very big sisterly...

Every day it was a count down until Friday. I don't know what would have happened if Ali had gotten sick or worse, if Emmalee had gotten sick and we had to cancel or postpone. I think you may have heard the screams or tantrums from whereever you are reading this right now!

But, from the time we picked Ali up for the Noodle Market they were glued together like best friends. Holding hands and skipping along. It was so cute. Emme would tell Ali, first we are going to do this with our dolls, then we will do that. Jim and I were a little afraid that Ali would be a little over the AG doll stuff since she is almost 2 years older than Emmalee, but evidently not because they got along swimmingly!

After the Noodle Market, we came home and while I had Andrew watch the Incredibles to fall asleep, the girls got their dolls all ready for bed, complete with pajamas and hair dos and who knows what else. Had to get the girls in pj's but their dolls... no problems!

Once little brother had nodded off, we set the girls up on their own love seats and popped in "Freaky Friday" (Emmalee thinks its a grown up movie!), made some popcorn and let the girls enjoy a grown up evening. They even stayed up later than daddy!

Noodle Market Part III

Friday night the weather was beautiful so we decided to try the noodle market once again with the Youngs. Set up to meet after 6:15 or so. Not a cloud in the sky so we packed our bags, BYO and headed out. Had to stop off and pick up Ali Young since it also was going to be the first sleep over for Emmalee here in Australia (But more about that in a later post).

Made it to North Sydney with no problems. Found a great spot, close to the market. Music was playing, grass was full of people. Looked great. But you should have seen the lines for food. I guess everyone who didn't get food last week when it was closed down for 'threat of bad weather' was out in full force to get their share this time. I would say the lines were double what they were last time.

Of course the kids hit the park (the exercise equipment) right away. And after a quick bathroom break, we headed off to brave the lines. First stop, the dumplings. Had to get more chicken dumplings for the kids. Jim got one plate $5 for 4 (I personally would have doubled that with 3 hungry kids -- but oh well). I walked the girls thru the lines to see what they wanted. I was told spring rolls for Ali and rice for Emme. Lines were enormous, so I went back for more dumplings the was going to hit the noodles next. I wanted prawn dumplings and I could get spring rolls at least to satisfy Ali. Took those back and headed back for the noodles and rice. By the time I got back with the noodles and rice, ALL OF MY PRAWN DUMPLINGS WERE GONE!!!! Second time in a row, I had no dumplings. This sucks. Next time, I am ordering and eating them at the stand myself.

After dinner the kids all climbed trees and played a fun game of touch football and ran and ran. It was great but, you should have seen how dirty they came home. Ahhhh.... the glory days of childhood.

What a Way to Start the Day!

I know it's pathetic, but every morning I start the day by looking out the front window to the porch to see if there is a package on the front porch. You see the POST here delivers packages first thing in the morning. Usually they are there before you wake up. Usually before 7am. Its quite nice if you are expecting something. Especially for those of us who really really are looking for Care Packages from home. We have been not so patiently waiting for a box from mom and dad in Illinois with supplies that we can't find here like drink mix, band-aids for the kids with american characters, hershey's kisses, peanut butter cups and mini dvd's for the video camera. They were throwing in some movies for the kids, too.

Every morning I would open the shutters and look out to be dissapointed. First it was the wine we ordered. Red wine for Jim -- no good for me. Then it was some eBay stuff. Yeah, I bought it, but not the care package. Then nothing, nothing, nothing. Then today, at 6:30 I look out and there it is.... The wonderful package from mom and dad!!!! Opening it was like opening a present on Christmas morning, but even better.

THANKS!!!!!

On the Road Again

In case I was convinced that I didn't have my driving skills perfected, I decided to put them to the test today. You see, the power windows that I had installed my car before I bought it decided they didn't want to work last week. That wouldn't be that big of a problem EXCEPT the back drivers' side window (passenger to you guys) is still down AND the power locks don't work. So, every day when we go to get into the car we have to do a mad dash down the driveway to the sunshine and then spend 5 minutes swatting all the mozzies (mosquitoes) dead in the car who have taken up residence since we last drove. Not alot of fun. Especially since they like American blood.
So, we hopped in the car at 8:45, set the navigation Road Angel to the dealership, with it avoiding toll roads -- again since I can't roll down my window to pay tolls -- and headed off in search of the dealer to fix the problem. We were told that the service department would take a look at it and fix it straight away. So, after nearly an hour of smooth driving. The kids even were great in the car! We arrived safe and sound. To be told the service department really couldn't help. The aftermarket company would have to warrant and deal with the problem they created. So, the dealership principal got on the phone and arranged for them to come to the house tomorrow. Unfortunately not today, but tomorrow. So, back into the car we went.
Reset the navigation to home and off we went. This time we got the same route we took when I brought the car home. So I drove over the Anzac Bridge AND the Syndey Bridge. Yeah for me. No tolls when you head to the north I guess.

Lunch with Tiffany

Today we had a busy schedule planned. First it was clean the house up. Yeah, even here in the beautiful weather, we still have to clean the house. Imagine that!!!
Then we planned to meet another ex-pat Abbott wife, Tiffany, who moved here in late April. They live in McMahon's Point, which is about a 10 minute drive from our house. She and her husband, James, are still newlyweds, so no kiddos yet, but she watches a neighbor's 10 month-old, Charlie. He's a cutie, we came to figure out. We made plans to meet at her place at 11:30 and to walk to lunch in her neighborhood and then hang out for a bit before Charlie's nap. Thought that would be a good time to head home and give the kids a break.
Lunch was good. Emme and I decided to split an order of gnocchi and Andrew went for the grilled cheese. In reality, Emme and Andrew ate the gnocchi and I got a bite of each the gnocchi and the sandwich. So much for lunch for me. Oh well... At least the kids like grown-up food!
Went back and the kids played while us big girls talked. Was nice to chat with another person who has gone thru the same things I am going through. Makes everything feel not so foreign.
Made plans for a bbq at their house on Sunday when James' brother and girlfriend come into town. Kids are very excited. They sure love bbqs.
Came home and went over to the MN Youngs. Kids went swimming and then played for a couple of hours. Julie watched them for a while and I ran out to Woolies so I could get a few things done without the whirling dervishes at my side. WHEW. Much easier. Thanks, Julie. It is great the kids get along so well... They are always asking to play over there or have them over here.

Blooming Artists

It was a beautiful Tuesday here. The kids woke up nice and sunny and smiley. They borrowed some window art crayons from Ali Young yesterday and were primed to use them first thing this morning. And when I say first thing, I mean 6:30 am first thing. I made them wait until at least 8 am when they were dressed and fed before I let them at the windows. Wanted to see how hot and sunny the windows were going to get. Didn't seem too bad off, so I let them at them...

Manic Monday

It was another normal Monday in the home down under. Normal bickering between kids. Andrew had a personal boy problem that had to be looked at by a doctor, so I scheduled him in at 2pm. Decided since we were going in I should just plan to have them both get their Meningitis C vaccination at the same time. Evidently, the school children here get it done at age 2, so our kids were missing that in their immunizations. And after telling them we needed no shots to move, I am having to eat my words. Needless to say, there would be NO FOREWARNING.
Made it to the Cremorne Medical Practice all on my own with no problems. Got the kids upstairs and all set. (Still strange to have to park in a car park at a mini-mall to go to the doctor.) Waited less than 10 minutes and went in. Andrew hopped right up on the table and let the doctor have a look-see. Diagnosis was a rash-like spot and told us to use a cream 2x a day for two weeks. What fun. Then as the kids were ready to pack up and go, I said, "Wait, we have one more thing left to do here" and their eyes got a little too big. I think they were on to me.
The doctor actually does the innoculations here. Andrew went first -- thought he would be brave. Decided half way through the shot that he actually wasn't that much and it kinda hurt. OK, it really hurt. So, Emme decided she was going to have NOTHING to do with the shot. Basically had to hold her in my lap for the shot. But according to her, she only cried a couple of tears during her shot. So, you should listen to her story I guess!
Anyway, I would say we are all caught up on shots I hope now and the kids hopefully are going to stay healthy for a while!!!

Stop in and Say Hello

Hi there. I know you are out there... I hear from my mom or Jim's mom that you read this... or you might even tell me on the phone you read this. So, if you do, please, pretty please take a minute or two and add a comment or drop an email if you don't feel comfortable posting a public comment on the blog. You don't have to join anything. Just click the little comment hyperlink and fill in the box. That's all... You don't need to be witty -- we just want to know you are out there and would LOVE to have you say hi.

Remember, I'll keep writing, but it's better if you all keep dropping in and writing back :)

BBQ & Pool Party

Due to the lack of heat, we decided to go to the Young's for a BBQ and swim instead of the beach on Saturday. At 4:30, the family wandered down the block to the Young casa. How nice it is to walk rather than drive somewhere. Within 5 minutes, the kids were all in the pool doing cannonballs and splashing away like little fish and dolphins. Was wonderful.Julie cooked up a great meal of pulled chicken sandwiches, while Steve grilled burgers and the kids had hot dogs. There was an awesome strawberry, spinach and pistachio with champagne vinegar salad and also roasted potatoes for dinner too. YUMMY!!! I would say everyone enjoyed dinner quite a bit. And then to top off the meal, she pulled out ice cream for sundaes. You should have seen the kids... They created a picnic on the patio and all dug in until it was GONE! Grampa Rhomberg would be proud.
It was a gorgeous evening. The kids played and played. Eventually they threw in a movie for the girls and CARS for the boys. Us grown ups sat out and drank wine and just enjoyed the company watching the possums chasing each other on the fence in the back yard. We even saw an owl on roof next door. Around 10:30 the last of the kids passed out, so we just decided to hang out and keep talking. By 11 it started to mist and didn't know if it was actually going to rain... We ran out the shade and went through another bottle or two of wine. I think it was almost 1am by the time we actually cleared out of there.

Vote for Pedro Dance

They'd Vote for Pedro

It's Not MY Fault... :)

Saturday afternoon we went to dinner at the neighbors... so you can blame them for this posting being so late. Actually they are the reason the last two postings are late. We were going to meet them at the Noodle Market on Friday so the men could meet for the first time after work. Julie and I made great plans to get the families together -- we had it all arranged, she got our mobile numbers and we were to meet at the North Sydney Noodle Market at 6:15 or shortly there after. So, we got there basically on time and realized there was NO NOODLE MARKET due to the .05% chance of rain. Unfortunately, I forgot to get Julie's mobile number and I didn't bring her home number. Wasn't thinking that one thru. We waited until 6:45 and they still weren't there, so we decided to bail and headed over to the North Sydney Hotel (which the kids thought meant they could swim after dinner!!!) for some grub.
Five minutes after we ordered, both our phones buzzed with voice mails saying Julie called. Steve got stuck in traffic and they were late. Go figure. We explained where we were and they decided to join us. Grabbed another table, five more chairs and made more room. Kids were very excited!
Food was quite good for a pub/sporting sort of place. Was a really fun night. We all sat around and chatted and talked until the kids got quite loud. Were a little afraid the kids were going to get us adults asked to leave so we decided to head out a little before nine and made plans for the beach if it was nice on Saturday or the pool at their house if not.