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!