The 6th day of Christmas...

Wait..is that right?  I suddenly don't understand the days of Christmas.  Is it days leading up to, or after?  Sometimes I amaze myself at the amount of knowledge that I do not possess.  My kids ask me questions all the time that I don't know the answers to...All I can say is, thank goodness for Google.  


And once again, thank you Google.  Again, you do not disappoint:

While these verses are what most of us associate with the "Twelve Days of Christmas," the phrase refers to an actual 12-day period. The 12 days of Christmas, in fa­ct, are the days from Dec. 25, celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ, to the Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6 as the day when the manifestation of Christ's glory was realized.


Whew, now I can move on.


We have been slowly but steadily getting ready for Christmas.  We are headed to the Central Coast on Saturday and will stay there until the following Thursday.  I've never travelled for Christmas since having children, so packing up the car should be interesting.  Hollie and Jeff like to bring along everything they own, so we usually battle on any trip when it comes to what we are taking / have space for.  


We spent the day yesterday with the family of one of Hollie's friends.  They have a holiday home at one of the Central Coast beaches, and invited us there.  We had lunch at the cafe just three doors down from their house, and the kids played on the playground across the street while we waited for food, and then chatted afterward.  I love that they were especially cautious with their five year old boy, since it's always good for a completely-psychotic-level-paranoid-mother to see other parents who are cautious (maybe not to my level, but any will do).   


Side note:  I don't think I've mentioned BYO yet.  In the restaurants (generally called cafes here), you may bring wine or beer with you, and the staff will hold it, refrigerate, etc.  We had champagne at lunch.  Champagne seems to be preferred over white wine, from what I can tell.  

Anyway, the kids played and swam, and it was a really nice day.  The drive was gorgeous, with lots of mountains and beautiful views.  

Is it just me or does this sound like a Denny's breakfast plate?

And Hollie managed to bring home a little something-something.  

That's right.  My child, who is afraid of all animals...brought home a jellyfish.  Isn't that nice.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas (Tree)

I managed to find a tree within Jeff's budget - I spent $27 on the tree.  Side note: That is approximately equal in cost to 1.5 packs of cigarettes here, but since I'm a good wife (hey, I cook at least once per week) , I won't say that to my husband.   So, on to our Charlie Brown tree....quite pitiful , really.  It's not very full and it's not very tall.  But - it's a tree that we can put all of our ornaments on.


Here we go, from the ugly beginning....Wow, it looks even worse in this picture than I thought it did!  


Jackson is putting the first ornament on.

I am not much of a sentimental person.  My mom and sister think I'm missing some gene because they are extremely sentimental.  I have a box of things that my kids have made me, and things that they may want to see one day.  And, I keep a box for each of my kids (and one for Jeff) that I write quick notes in and drop in (usually one liners - Jax, you made me so proud today...Hollie, you told your class that you saw a penis at the nude beach we walked past today...).  But that's about as sentimental as I go normally.


Anyway,  the point is this.  I'm not sentimental about most things, but I am very sentimental about Christmas ornaments.  The kids pick one out each year, and we add it to the tree.  So every year, when we get the ornament box out, the kids ask "where are mine?  oh that's it!  remember I got this one because..."  It's a fun time, when we all find our favorites, as well as the ones we've forgotten we had, and remember when we got them.  You can pretty well look at our tree and tell who each ornament belongs to..


Sparkly shoes, boots, and hats..that'd be me.  Jeff continues to ask each year if he can hang beer cans and newport boxes on it, and I continue to tell him no.


And here's Hollie hanging her first one this year..

And of course, our Brynn Boo, who was singing Aussie Jingle Bells throughout...

She was mesmerized by the tree, and continued with decorating all night, even after the others had stopped.

And so, here it is..our first tree here...

Maybe not the biggest or most beautiful..but it's filled with lots of memories and love.  

The most wonderful time of the year..........

I am having my annual "Oh shit, it's December and I have not done a thing for Christmas" moment.  We have no tree and no wreath, but this all changes today.  I am headed out in a bit to shop for the perfect tree and trimmings.  And by that, I mean a plastic tree that is under $100 and a tinsel wreath from the Hot Dollar.  Okay, I said that for my husband's benefit.  I know that we should not spend a lot on a tree since we already have one at home.  However, I love a gorgeous Christmas tree.  Flashback to my mom wanting to stop at the Christmas House in July and Kim and I whining noooooooooooo, please noooooooo........And now Kim and I both love Christmas decorations.  Hmmm...maybe if I say "let's stop by the Chase" to Jeff enough, he'll start to like it eventually?  (The Chase is a shopping mall that is filled with designer stores, with the exception of Kmart.  And on a Kmart note - anyone ever noticed how every Kmart smells the same?  It's not a stink smell, just a smell..anyway, they smell the same here!)


So, I am decorating my house today, and this weekend we make ornaments.  Hollie is going to invite her friends from the street (her "friends" are teenage girls, but they love Hollie so I guess that counts) to come make ornaments with her.    I am thinking we'll make some of these - love them, and they will be easy for the girls.  

Instructions here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/268828/button-wreath-ornament

And for the first time, we won't be home for Christmas.  We won't be home in America, or home in Sydney.  We've decided to take the kids on a Christmas vacation (I'm hearing my sister say "shitters full" as I write this).  


We are going to Umina Beach, about an hour and a half from Sydney. We'll  be  in straight up chill mode for the week.  We are staying a place with lots of kid activities for the girls, and a huge  BMX park for Jax.  Fun, fun, fun.  


Off to get our tree!

Underwear talk

Just learned this one at Brynn's preschool this morning.  Sage, one of the teachers, tells me that they laugh every time Brynn says "panties".  Apparently here, the term is "undies".  I'm sure it won't be long until Brynn uses the word undies exclusively, as she is picking up the lingo here far faster than any of the rest of us.  She tells me when she "does a wee"...


It appears that Bonds is the big name in undies here.  I mean that in the sense that they are sold in most places.  A girls pair is about 13 dollars.  Jacksons are 24. Unreal!


Is it weird that I'm blogging about underwear?????


Anyway, here's a Bonds Christmas ad.  Cute stuff.

More Aussie-isms

I'm still learning new things every day....


A minivan is not a minivan...it's a ..People Carrier!  


And bathroom are called Toilets.  Just Toilets.  And let me tell you, a public one is a precious commodity to someone who drinks a lot of water.  Accessible restrooms are one of the things I miss most from home.  Even restaurants here don't necessarily have public toilets - many times they direct you to the public one in the suburb, which could be a good walk away, and upon entering you might decide you'd rather pee your pants than use it.  (Side note - I have not done this yet, at least not that I'm admitting...)

The mall is called "the shops"...Ex:  I won't take my crazy three year old to the shops with me because she spirals out of control when she can't have a milkshake at 9am.  This is just an example, mind you.  Parking at the mall is quite different as well.  You enter a car park (garage) and take a ticket.  

Generally there are signs that will tell you how many spots are open on each level, and then there are small lights having over each spot so you can take a quick look for green lights (open).  Red lights means a car is there, and blue is an available handicapped spot.


Or you can park valet- 

See that Range Rover up front - love it! Want it!  Anyway!  There are pay machines outside the mall so  you just insert your ticket, pay at the machine, and then use your ticket to get out of the garage.  Under 3 hours is free, and then it's like 7 dollars for up to 4 hours, 10 dollars for 5, etc..


Swimsuits are "swimmers", "bathers", or "swim costumes".


Sneakers are "joggers" or "runners".


Mosquitos are "mozzies".  I'm still learning about this whole bug population here, but I know one thing.  There are a lot of them.  We are constantly getting bitten by things we can't see.  It's been almost 2 months since my tick bite and I still have the mark and knot from it. And we've been instructed to check the pool before entering every single time to look for the funnel web spiders.  Apparently they play dead, and attack in the water, where they can live for something like 3 days.  Fantastic.  I have learned that while there is a lot of hype about these spiders, no one has died from their bite in like 30 years, since the antivenom was developed.  But, their teeth are strong enough to penetrate a toenail - youch!!  


Ta = Thank you


Lollies - Candy


Lolly bags - Goody bags for after the birthday party


Pass the parcel:  A game that is played at birthday parties for kids.   From wiki:

Pass the parcel is a popular British children's party game in which a parcel is passed from person to person around a circle, somewhat similar in its logistics to musical chairs.

In preparation for the game, a prize (or "gift") is wrapped in a large number of layers of wrapping paper. Usually, each layer is of a different design so they can be easily distinguished. Smaller prizes or mottos may be placed between some or all other layers of wrapping.

During the game, music is played as the parcel is passed around. Whoever is holding the parcel when the music is stopped removes one layer of wrapping and claims any prize found under that layer. The music is then restarted and the game continues until every layer is removed and the main prize claimed.

Markers are called "textas".


Erasers are called "rubbers".  Imagine the feeling I had upon Brynn running up to me with a lolly bag shouting "LOOK MOM!!  I GOT RUBBERS!!!".  My girls love the animal shaped ones:

 And this is their favorite store - Smiggle.  It's a store that has all kinds of paper, pens, pencils, textas and rubbers(when in rome..), etc.  I would have loved this store as a kid, too.  I remember going to Disneyworld and going in the gift shop at the end of the day and picking out a pencil and paper.  Mom and Dad said are you sure?  This is what you want from Disney?  Yep.  That's what I got.

More to come.....

Life is Busy (and Good)

We've been here almost eight months now.  It's so hard to believe!  I am super excited that some of our family is coming here in January.  Jeff's dad and brother, our nephews Trey and Cam, and my parents will all be coming.  I can hardly wait to see them all!  

The kids have been busy with activities and I think it only bets more crazy from here, at least through Christmas.  Everything is decorated here already. I guess there is no Thanksgiving threshold like there is back home.  Christmas songs playing, the whole nine. Brynn has been practicing for her school Christmas program and is constantly singing carols these days.  We have an artificial tree back home, but were not able to bring it with us due to government regulations. We packed our wreath, but it was pulled in customs and were were going to have to pay some ridiculous amount to get it back, so we let it go.  Sad...I spent a lot of time making it.  But, since I like to believe that I am crafty like Martha (although I'm not), I'm sure I won't mind to make another.  I've started to buy ornaments already, because I'd like to have a good collection from our time here.  We have a tradition with our kids in which we all go shopping and pick one ornament each year.  The kids are then marked with their name and the year, and one day they can take their collection of ornaments when they have their own trees (I wonder what Jackson's wife is going to think about the 6 inch purple ball or the disco ball.  Hmm...).  I am excited to see what they will pick out here.  

The kids finish school on December 7 and are out until the beginning of February.  The end of year activities are starting.  Last Friday was the annual Swim Carnival at Hollie's school. She only really learned to swim last summer, so she is still quite new at it.  But, she's been taking lessons since we moved here, and the progress she has made is really pretty amazing.  Some of the girls at her school are rock star swimmers, and Hollie has decided she needs a lot more practice.  I do love her can-do attitude.  She is actually at the school swimming right now with Jeff. She has also picked a whole lot of other extracurricular activities to get into next year.  The school offers a lot of programs after school, and some during lunch as well.  She has picked an art program , hip hop dance, drama (yes, imagine..), yoga (haha), tennis and then she'll also be swimming and playing her instruments (piano and trumpet).  That is an exhaustive list, I think, but she really likes to be involved in everything. And as long as she's not worn out by it all, I don't mind.  

From before the swim carnival:  Eat that Krispy Kreme girl, you got swimming to do!

Jackson is wanting to get into BMX, so he's been doing some research on that and we've lined up some coaching at the Sydney Olympic Park.  It's harder for teens to get involved, because the programs are not quite as available at their age.  He's playing  basketball as well, and has really improved so much this year.  He says he's going to play rugby next year as well.  That should be interesting.   I've just had my first exposure to cricket this year.  Those games are LONG!  I can't believe some of them going upwards of five hours!  I'm so glad Jax didn't pick this sport.  The uniforms are hideous. 

Brynn will be starting the 4 year old program at her school, but it is a different location than the other ages.  We went to visit for morning tea last week, and she had so much fun.  There are 40 kids there, and it's two buildings (each is a classroom), and then a huge playground.  The playground has a garden that the kids have planted and care for, a big sand pit (it will be her favorite I'm sure), and this was my favorite thing - there is a hill and there are big pieces of cardboard cut up , so the kids can ski, ride, surf, etc down the hill.  How fun and simple!  The kids are encouraged to go barefoot while on the playground.  I am not sure about this, but the other parents there loved the idea.  I will also have to pack her food every day in three different containers: morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea.  Once I get all this figured out, we'll be moving back home.   There is a bird at the sunscreen table (you have to put it on your child each  morning and then give them a sunscreen stamp) that Brynn loves:

She is also going to continue swimming lessons and will also start tennis.  She has decided that she wants to go to Knox for school.  I explained that Knox is a boys school, and she said ok, I'll be a boy then.  And I said Chaz Brynn, you are a trip!  But she does love the construction site (we stop by every day so she can see what is new for the day) and she took the pipes apart in the bathroom (I should have listened when she told me that, instead of walking in to find a floor full of water later...)

First thing, I gotta give a special shout out to Miss Lisa for keeping me straight about posting (or not, as it might be).  So Miss Lisa, I promise to do better, and here's a little something-something for ya.

This week, I've been thinking about lifeguards in speedos  a story I read in the news.  The story goes something like this - a couple was driving in their car, something happened with another driver, road rage ensued, and then the other driver pointed a gun at them and threatened them.  The couple called the police, and the next day a 19 year boy/man was arrested.  It turns out that the gun was a toy.  Not surprising given that there are not many guns around here.  Guns are not illegal here, but are heavily restricted. From what I understand, it is very tedious and expensive to keep up the registrations, etc. 


 Anywho - I read the comments below this story, and over and over, I saw the same type of comment.  "What is happening to us? We are turning into Americans".  


I am proud to be an American. I love all of the things that our country represents.  But, I can't help but notice that the news here is not filled with violence.  Politics, entertainment, social issues are the news here.  And Miranda Kerr.  She is in the news every day here for something.  Sydney LOVES her.  I have seen her before, in Victoria's Secret ads, but here she is the face of David Jones, a major retailer.  Visual reference:

Sorry for my driftabout there.  My point in all this is, it's very interesting that with a population of 4.5 million, there are not more violent stories out there.  I'm going to do some more research on this.  I need to understand why it's so different.

Come to my window

Crawl inside, wait by the light of the moon...Come to my window, I'll be home soon... This song is going to be on my mind now for the rest of the day.  


Random photos from the week:

Signs that promote safe driving are hung on the bridge that crosses Pacific in Wahroonga, where the kids go to school.

Cool police van, eh?  Wonder what is inside there.  I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want their picture taken by me with my iphone since it is illegal to use a cell phone while driving.  Of course, I could argue that my iphone doesn't work here, thanks to AT&T. 

That is one tall Coke truck.  

Bored at the stoplight.  I'm still not used to temps in celsius.  I don't take the time to convert it - I just have to get used to it.  I've got a system that is working.  17 to me means jeans or pants, can probably get by with my spring jacket, and possible open toed shoes.  23 and up means I can probably wear short sleeves and definitely open toed shoes.  30 is singlet and thongs! (tank tops and flip flops).

Same stoplight.  This genius is just about to get a huge hornblowing from someone coming around the corner. He definitely deserves a spot on didntyourmamateachyoubetter.com  

Friday afternoon traffic on Pacific Highway (out of Sydney, up the North Shore).  Glad I'm going the other way!

See the P sticker on the car?  There are levels of drivers licenses, starting with L (learner), P (provisional) stage 1 (the P is red) , P (provisional) stage 2 (like the one in the picture), and then full, unrestricted.  

Interesting that we were not required to get any type of license here, since we hold one in the US. Probably a good thing, since the person testing me might not appreciate my photo snapping while driving. 

Smash = Wreck , Crash...

The Hussy Label (no, not me..)

Remember when I said there are words that mean something different here?  Think I've stumbled upon another.

There is even a  "Little Hussy"  line for girls.  Not sure I'm going to be able to cross this cultural hurdle.

And it's back to school..

The break is over and Term 4 is here.  This is a shorter term (8 weeks) and then the kids will be out of school for almost 2 months.  We are all excited to see our first Aussie summer.   I am fascinated by the idea of Christmas in summer.  

This is not my photo - it's one that I found on the internet when I looked up Christmas in Australia.  Those boys look like they are struggling to hold the girls up.  (Are they trying to be Chippendales or what?)

I get sidetracked so easily...

So back to school today for Hollie and Brynn.  Jax starts back tomorrow.  Summer uniforms for Term 4, and I am so happy to see those back.  One simple dress with a zipper in the back.  No button up shirts and dresses and tights.  Hollie needs about 15 minute per article of clothing, so I can get irritated (aka ranting, yelling, stomping, etc) in the morning before school.  This morning, however, was quite pleasant. She was dressed, had breakfast, and even helped Brynn to get ready (pink sequin shirts go with purple sweatpants don't they?).  She'll be starting piano lessons again this week, which she hasn't taken since our move, so she is excited about that.  

Jackson has not worn summer uniforms yet, because he didn't start school until Term 2, where Hollie started at the end of Term 1.  His uniform is very Boy-Scoutish.  Khaki button up shirt with tie, long khaki shorts, tall khaki socks.  The socks throw me, but once you see all of the other boys with the same clothes, you get used to it quickly.

Brynn will finish up the term at her current preschool , and will then move to the 4 year old center where the kids are prepped for kindy.  She will go there for a year and then she'll be off to Abbotsleigh with Hollie.  

Holidays are full of fun things for kids, but there has been a rash of accidents with kids over this break. A two year old girl was run over and killed by her father in our neighborhood.  We don't know the family, but my heart hurts for them and what they must be going through right now.  There's actually been four toddlers killed in the last several weeks by this happening.  I cannot imagine a worse thing as a parent, and I pray that these families are surrounded by people who love them right now.

Bring on the Crazy...

I like to keep my kids busy during the holidays.  I get very anxious when we sit around and do nothing (aka relax).  I just feel like they need to be doing something other than watching TV or playing on a computer or xbox.  
With that in mind, we took the girls to Wizzie World (Wizzie is short for Wizard, best I could tell).


Wizzie World is a big indoor playground where every kid can unleash their inner crackhead have fun and get some exercise.  There is a cafe inside with lots of tables so parents can kick back and have a sandwich and coffee (they don't offer yager shots, although I'm convinced they would sell out in minutes).  Of course, they also sell hot chips (fries) and chicken nuggets for the kids (and Jeff). 


Brynn, who I think we might see in the X games in another 15 years, went right to the big slide on the "big" playground (versus the "under 4" area).  She took off down the slide, came up off of the slide midway, fell back on the slide, and got a massive scrape on her arm and elbow.  She cried for about 2 seconds , but quickly saw another slide and was off and going again. 


Jeff and I were at a table beside some kids, where one of the boys was being horribly  mean - kicking , spitting, hitting - and encouraging other kids to do the same.  Brynn came over for a minute and was playing, when the little boy kicked her - lightly at first, but then drew his foot back - when Jeff and I went all American on him, me being a little more polite "No kicking!" than Jeff "DON'T YOU KICK HER!".   The kids dad rushed over, but didn't say anything other than "are you having a good time?"  .. Uh yeah, if beating the shit out of other kids constitutes a good time. 


I find that people are much more lenient on their kids here.  Kids running around restaurants is common.  I don't know if I will ever get used to that.  Time out is a last resort.  Definitely not getting used to that.  


Here is the Crazy House, er..Wizzie World. 

Two Little Fishies...

The kids are on a two week holiday from school.  This holiday period between terms is shorter than the last (which was almost 4 weeks).  A lot of people here travel out of the country during these breaks.  One of Hollie's friends from school is in New York at the moment, and of course MeanGirl had to tell Hollie that she was headed to Raleigh.  She mentioned this multiple times to Hollie, once in front of Jeff, who asked what she was planning to do there.  She said "I don't know".  Now don't get me wrong, I love Raleigh.  But if I were an Aussie travelling from Australia to the US - would Raleigh really be the place I would go?  


I thought of taking the kids on a short trip somewhere in Australia during this break (Jeff is buried at work) but decided that we needed to focus on swimming instead.  The girls have been taking swim classes once per week, but I signed them up for daily classes during the holidays.  Hollie had grown timid again around the water, while Brynn is the polar opposite and is not afraid at all (and yet she cannot swim).  So, both could benefit from the classes.


Hollie had not swam the length of the pool since beginning classes - rather, she would swim the width since it was a shorter distance.  On her second day of class last week, her teacher said "You can do this, come on Hollie, you can do this..." and Hollie told me later that she felt like it would have been rude to say "Back off lady..." so she gave it a go (insert Jackson rolling eyes at me with my Aussie phrase there).  

And she did it!  I have never seen her so proud of herself.  It doesn't matter that the pool is small, because it was such a big deal to her.  She could not stop talking about it, and couldn't wait to do it again the next day.  


And Brynn was just as excited. She doesn't stop smiling from the time her class starts.  She swims with a bubble on her back, but hopefully she'll be off on her own before too long.

I love the swim school.  The owners are fantastic, and I've met a lot of nice people there - I dare say I've got a couple of friends there!

Say Cheese!

Jeff and I went to Costco yesterday for some essentials - Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough and bagels.  Is it worth the craziness of the crowd there?  My family seems to think so - and I must say, those cookies are pretty good. 

We were there along with 10,000 other people, trying to navigate the trolley (buggy) and getting run into by countless others.  And only to find...that there were no cookies!!  WHAT!?!  No Otis Spunkmeyers?????  Tragic.  Of course we did manage to find a lot of other things that we needed  (hey, we ALL need 10 pound box of Twizzlers).  

Here's the crazy thing.  The lines to check out go to the back of the store.  As you get closer to the front, the lines on each side form into two lines.  So, as I'm in line, I go to the right as the line splits.  The people behind me were apparently not paying attention, because low and behold, I saw two people approach that line from the side , check to see if anyone was looking, and then turn around and join that line.  And I'm thinking, I'm not in a big hurry, so if you really gotta get in line that bad to pay for your Twizzlers and 50pk of toilet paper, then whatever.  Of course, had I been in a hurry, I would have been completely ticked.  But in this instance, I was just amused, and so I did what any normal person would do.  I took their picture.

Perpetrators #1 and #2:

Perps 1 and 2 proceeded to get all cuddly and display all kinds of PDA, so I'm giving them a double violation.  Get a room, and wait your turn for it.

Perpetrator #3:

And Perp #3s partner, Perpetrator #4, as they had to take turns standing with the trolley while going for other things.  

I think I'm going to take pictures every time I see something like this happen and post them to a website.  Didntyourmamateachyoubetter.com, , here I come. 

Tick Season is officially on us (Pun intended)

I am officially changing my position on critter hating in Australia.  When we first moved here, so many people made comments about the spiders, snakes and bugs.  My thoughts were yes, it's true, there are some nasty things here, but we've got our own nasty things back in NC - black widows, copperheads, fat women in spandex (I swear I won't do it again)...


Today I am a changed woman, at least from an animal fearing perspective.  All of this thanks to one little tick.


Meet   Ixodes holocyclus, more commonly known as the Paralysis Tick.  Sounds so nice, doesn't it?

It started yesterday after Brynn's swim class.  She came out of the pool and as I was putting dry clothes on her, I noticed something on her neck but thought it was fuzz from her towel.  A few minutes later, one of the moms said Hey - I think there is a tick on Brynn.  I grabbed her towel to put over my hand and pulled it out.  The mom that had told me about the tick took it and was going to smash it, but dropped it by accident.  Everyone at the pool was on the floor looking for the tick and through their conversations, I had my first pang of worry.  Now, I don't like ticks, and I know that they can carry Lyme disease, but I don't get overly worried by a tick.  Wait, let me change that - I used to not get overly worried by a tick.  The people are talking about this specific tick and how it causes paralysis and all kinds of awful things.  After at least 15 minutes of everyone looking for the tick, we give up and everyone checks their little ones and all is good.  

One of the other moms says Pop in over at the pharmacy next door and have her checked out.  Wait - what??  A pharmacist will check out my kid?  This is a new one.  We go next door, and I tell the pharmacist the situation and ask her if she might take a look?  She says Sure, pop her up here and let me see.  Yep, tick is completely out, all looks okay, but get some Claritin just in case she starts to have a lot of itching.   We leave and head over to pick up Hollie.  I am continuously feeling something on my leg, and I am laughing at myself thinking about the psychosomatics of this, and wonder how long I'm going to feel like there is something crawling on me!

Just before we get to Hollie's school, I pull over to drop something in a mail box (since you can't mail out from your house here).  I get back in the car and I start to feel the same sensation on my stomach, but it's more of a painful feeling.  I lift up my shirt, and the psychosomatic theory goes out the window. There it is.   I hiked my shirt up, and went to trying to pull it out.  Never mind that there are people walking by the car - take a look, I don't care, I just need this THING OFF OF ME!  It was seriously attached, and I had a hard time getting it off but after about 7 attempts I finally got it.  By the time I got home, I had welts all over my stomach and neck, but Brynn was fine.

I got home and immediately googled this thing .  Very regional (lucky us).  Delayed reaction.  18-36 hours to onset of symptoms of toxicity.  But I also read that that it would have to be on the host for 3-4 days for a full on release of the neurotoxin (that word alone gives me the heebie jeebies).  This morning I woke to awful itching and lumps in my  neck.  Brynn has a rash on her face.  But otherwise, we both feel fine.  I've scheduled a doctor's appointment for us later this afternoon.  I am not sure I got the whole tick out of me (ew, I know), and I want to have Brynn checked out, just to be safe.

And we are just in the beginning of tick season.  Great!

Life as we know it

Here it is, September already.  I can hardly believe that almost six months have passed since we moved to Sydney.  Another school term has passed, as Jax and Hollie finish up term 3 this week.  A two week holiday will ensue for them and for Brynn, since most kid activities stop during holidays.  Both girls will be taking swim classes each day during the break.  It's not quite warm enough to swim in our pool yet, but it won't be long.  Once Brynn can at least get herself to the side of the pool without help, I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief.  We just received a package from Joey that contained some orders that I had placed online.  I can appreciate the opposite seasons when it comes to shopping - end of season sales just as the season starts here.  I'm getting sidetracked talking about shopping (imagine) - my point is that Brynn got a new swimsuit that she is positively loving.  (Side note - swimsuits are called "swimmers" or "costumes" here).  I am not sure about this pose.  I think Hollie must have taught Brynn this stance!

This past Friday night, Hollie's school held their annual infant musical.  Infant = K-2.  The show was fantastic, and I was amazed at how talented some of the girls are.  Hollie was picked to read a poem, and she was so nervous but did really well.  Brynn was loud during the concert, clapping as hard as possible and shouting "BRAVO!".  She was in and out of her seat, standing, sitting, rolling...And as it always happens in these situations, there was a family sitting next to us with 2 girls around Brynn's age.  They sat quietly and stayed in their seats the entire time.  I made myself feel better by convincing myself that the parents must have fed the girls Benadryl prior to the concert, and the girls had some superhero ability to stay awake through it.  

Here are the girls during the concert.

Saturday, both girls had birthday parties to attend, and Jax went to a friends house to hang out.  It was a very "normal" sort of day.  The party that I took Brynn to was outside, and the weather was gorgeous!  Sunny and 20 - something or another.  It felt like 80 degrees to me, but I don't know.  There was a fairy who hosted the party, and she painted faces and played games with the girls for hours. I met a lot of people there, and it was a pretty fun afternoon.  As we left, the mom asked Brynn if she'd like to take a piece of cake home and Brynn said "yes, my dad loves cake".  Aww how sweet...until we were to the car and she said "I'm not giving this to dad, I'm eating it myself!" , even though she had already had one piece of cake plus a cupcake.  Hey, don't mess with that girl's food.  She fell asleep on the way home (around 4:30-ish).  I woke her up when we got home and she walked in the door, and then this...I thought that benadryl trick might work for the party....nah, not really.

I could not get the kid to wake up!  She ended up sleeping until Sunday morning.  I guess a fairy party wears a girl out.

Jax had a good time with the boys Saturday night.  The friend who invited him over is from South Africa and is into mountain biking.  Jax has gone with him riding, but has decided he needs a new bike.  So he is saving money and trying to decide which bike to get.

Jeff and I went to see Change Up on Sunday night.  It's so nice that Jax is old enough to watch the girls for us so we can get out once in a while!

Life has been busy lately!  I say this in a very positive way, because I am completely uncomfortable and anxious if I have nothing to do.   So, busy is good.

Brynn is taking dance classes, which she loves.  The girls are not required to wear traditional dance clothing, so a whole slew of princesses burst through the door every Tuesday.  Sometimes Brynn wears her princess costume, and sometimes she wears Hollie's old dance costumes..and sometimes she wears a wide array of thngs that do not match or go together in any sort of way.

She is also taking swim classes.  It reminds me of Florida here, where a lot of the houses have pools, and there is water everywhere.  So it is essential that children learn to swim early on.  Hollie is taking swim classes as well.  She can swim already but is getting lots of good practice, and learning the proper techniques.  They both take classes at a swim school nearby.  I thoroughly enjoy my time there - parents sit in a room looking into the pool, so I can see what my girls are doing throughout the classes, but I also enjoy all of the parents.  It's a really nice group of people. 

We have a pool at our house, and I will fully confess that I have lied to Brynn and told her that we have a shark who lives in our pool, who only goes away when moms and dads are around.  She is duly frightened , and I wonder if I'm a bad parent for telling such a horrible lie to keep my kid away from the pool.  There is a gate, with locks (key locks at that), so it's unlikely that she would ever even reach the pool alone, but my paranoia gets the best of me sometimes!  We haven't actually used our pool yet, but the weather is getting pretty warm and I think it won't be long...

We've just received notice that Brynn has a spot for kindergarten ("kindy" here) at the school Hollie attends.  She will be starting there in February 2013.  I can hardly believe I'm thinking about kindergarten for her!  
Hollie is doing really well with school.  She is really enthusiastic to learn the things that are new to her, like violin and French.

This is Hollie entertaining herself on the way to school (aka, learn French at Home)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGufFiR4APU


Jackson is doing really well in school as well.  We just received his scores from Naplan (standardized test here).  The yearmaster called me prior to the test  to say that we should not worry about the test or the scores.  But I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jackson scored well above the national average and his school average in all categories.  I was also impressed to see the detail that goes into the results, down the level of questions that were missed.  Really good stuff.

Term 3 ends next week and the kids will be out of school for two weeks.  Term 4 means new sport for Jax (basketball) and summer uniforms again.  Let me just say that I love uniforms.  I wish all schools required them.  We all talk about how great they are as far as no kids being judged by their clothes.  But let me tell you why I really love them.  There is no drama about what to wear in the morning and they are as wrinkle resistent as you can get!