Honey, I'm home..

Today is an irony.  It was a big day for me.  It was completely uneventful.


I got up and took the kids to school.  I came home and talked on the phone to my sister, my mom, and my dad. I got ready for a run, but rain kicked in and I settled on ironing instead.  I cleaned the house.  I got ready and went to pick Hollie up, took her to swim lessons, then picked up Brynn and came home.  FYI - Jax was not forgotten.  He rides the train home.


So why the big day?  Not one time did I think **oh shit, I don't know what I'm doing**.  


And with that, I realize that I am settled.  I can drive on the left side of the road.  I know where things are in the grocery store.  I can finally drive the cart to my car("trolley" it's called here).  I know all of my kids teachers.  We have a doctor, an orthodontist for Jax, and a pharmacist who comes out into the store to greet me when I go (love that!).  I have a favorite music station, a favorite bakery (okay, well any will do, but I really do love the strawberry cake in the Korean one).  I know now that size 8 US is not the same as 8 AUS,  That knowledge came with a slight panic attack as I tried to pull up pants that were not going past my hips, all the while thinking..okay, well I know I did eat that whole strawberry cake from the Korean bakery, but still....


Life is sort of normal.  I think I'm home.  (At least temporarily)

Eating ...and Eating...and Eating...

Any chance I get to eat, I'm in.    I wonder if this lifestyle of eating is going to force me to change my ways, or maybe just my pants?

The days go like this.

7am Brekkie (breakfast, if that wasn't obvious).   My kids have this at home and usually it consists of a bowl of cereal or some sort of bread with butter or jam (toast, bagel, etc)

10am Morning Tea: Coffee for me (also another item on my never-turn-down list), kids have milk or juice and fruit and crackers or something similar.  I've had crumpets a few times as well, and I must say, I really enjoy them. Coffee and crumpets doesn't sound quite proper, does it?

1pm Lunch:  At home, we generally have light lunches.  Sandwich, bowl of leftover dinner, soup, etc. At school there is a variety (I will add a menu from Hollie's school below).

3pm Afternoon Tea: Coffee (duh) for me, Kids have juice/milk and again fruit and crackers, and sometimes a cookie, etc

5pm: Supper / Evening Tea:  At preschool and after school care, "supper" is served at 5 and is a light meal.  These are generally pasta, mixed fruit...sandwiches..soup...etc.

7pm Dinner:  Normal dinner at home (although we're not quite on a normal rotation as far as what we eat here).  We usually have pasta at least one night, pizza one night, and the others are just a range of things. Notice that I say that like I'm an avid chef.  Truth is, if they had Hamburger Helper here, we'd be having that once a week too.

That is a lot of eating for one day.  But I find if I can keep the meals light, I feel pretty good throughout the day and don't get too hungry or too full.  This is also helpful for my kids, as they acclimate to the food differences here at school.  Brynn's teachers have told me that she gets quite cranky (who - Brynn? Really?), when she is hungry (nooo..really??).  But, she doesn't like pumpkin soup, which is wildly popular here, and she doesn't like vegemite, she is not huge on fish...So there are a lot of differences in her meals at school.  She has started to eat watermelon and rockmelon (cantaloupe), and those are quite common with morning tea so this is good progress.  But worst case, if she doesn't like what is being served - it will be time for some form of meal in 2 hours or so, so I think she'll survive.

As for Hollie and Jax, they can buy food at the tuck shop at their school.  Each night, I can go online and order their meals for the next day if I want to.  Of course, Jackson would DIE if he had to go pick up a premade order ("no one does that, Mom"), so he just goes and picks up something.  Hollie is actually having her first go with sushi today, so I'm curious to hear how that goes.

Here is the menu from the tuckshop at Hollie's school

You can click those images to enlarge them, if you can't see them (either because the font is too small or you're blind as a bat, like me).

Now here is something different...

This is one of the biggest changes in Australia

THERE IS NO TIPPING!!

Dinner out.  You get the bill.  You pay the exact amount (even tax is included in prices here - love it) and you leave.  No shame, no guilt...NO TIPPING!

Get your hair done.  Your stylist rings you up.  And you pay the amount, without having to calculate what another 20% will be.  And is 20% enough? is it too little? I really like my hair...I really don't like my hair...Ahhh this whole no tipping thing makes it so much easier!

Gambling at the casino.  You get 3 Jacks in a Three Card Poker game.  You win a lot of money.  The dealer congratulates you  - not for anything he will receive, because he cannot accept a tip.  WHAT!!??  Yes, that's right.  Actually, one dealer told Jeff "We can't accept tips.  But I'll meet you in the car park later..." . She was kidding, and they really don't expect or accept tips.  

All of the people who work in restaurants, hair salons, casinos...they  make a fair wage.  The casino dealer mentioned on Monday that he was making double time for working on a bank holiday, and said $60 an hour was not bad.  So..30 bucks an hour to be a casino dealer.  I'd say they make a pretty good wage.

You may think the flip side would be service that is not as good if tipping is not going on.  Not so.  I've had nothing but good service everywhere we've been.

Love it!

Christmas Shopping??

What's that?  Christmas shopping in July??  This is completely foreign to me, since my official Christmas shopping generally begins around..December!

Anywho, apparently this is the season to shop for kids toys.  The stores are all having big toy sales, and you can Lay-By (layaway) til Christmas, so that you don't have to store the toys in your house.

This is all good and fine, but won't work for me.  My kids will change their minds at least a hundred times before Christmas about what they want.  Today's American Girl wish will be replaced by a Tonka truck or something else I'd never anticipate!

Random Tidbits

I feel like I should write these down before I forget.  My age is catching up to me fast!

A few more random things....

The dates are written here as dd/mm/yy.  This one is so hard for me!  And it can make a world of difference - we almost signed Hollie up for the wrong grade at school by writing the date American style!

Eggs are stored on the shelf, rather than in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.  So far, I've only seen brown eggs here.

At my kids schools, they are giving 2 grades per subject - one grade on performance, and one on effort.  LOVE this.

Metrics- kg instead of Lbs...km instead of miles...cm instead of inches...I'm learning (and I mean I am learning to use the conversion tool on my phone)

A lot of roads are narrow, and cars park on both sides.  So may times you have to drive very slowly to work your way through.  And if there is a car coming from the other direction, only one goes at a time..it takes a while to navigate through some roads, especially in the morning on the way to school when there are lots of people out.

On that note, parallel parking skills are necessary.

Mail boxes only receive mail.  If you want to mail something out, you have to drop it in a Post box.

Masterchef  is THE TV show here.  It is a cooking reality show, and that's as much as I know since I rarely watch TV.

Hourly TV shows start on the half hour instead of the hour.

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

Yesterday we went to a brunch and auction that was hosted by a coworker of Jeff's , as part of Australia's Biggest Morning Tea.  The concept is that people will host morning tea across the country and raise money, which is then donated to cancer research and patient families.

The brunch was great - mimosas (why do I start with this..hmm), sandwiches, fruit, desserts.  The crowd was also really good - a mix of Lenovo employees and the host's friends.  I met many nice people there, and Hollie made a friend as well.

We came home with 2 purchases from the auction.  There was a bag of spa treatments, and as it was presented, Hollie literally gasped and came running and begging to Jeff .  He made her do the work, placing the bids, and she was successful.  Since the other person bidding was her new friend, Hollie shared the contents of the bag with her after winning.  Fabulous of her, even though she gave up the good hair treatment that I was thinking ahead of using ....She also wanted a handmade scarf and of course Jeff cannot say no to her...so she now has a new accessory as well.

The view from the host's apartment was nothing short of spectacular....

A good day, a good cause, and I got "treatments" last night from my girl.  The pumice on my face was just....delightful : )

She'll Be Apples! (ie...It'll be Okay..)

Most people I know love the Australian accent.  It took me a week or so to stop visualizing Chase (from "House") every time I heard a man speaking.  

Side note: His hair is so much better short!   

But back to the topic at hand...

The difference in our words and expressions is quite funny.  I'm still learning them,and probably will be for the entire time I am here, but I wanted to share a few. 

Australian,  in pink:

How ya going?   Hello, How are you doing...

Mate Term of endearment, used by friends.  I've also heard parents use this with their kids "Hey mate, slow down or you're going to fall"..  Interestingly, I've not heard anyone say G'day mate (except for my kids).

Partner: Husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend...

Good Onya:  Good job, good for you

She'll be apples :  It'll be ok!

Nappy : Diaper

Dummy: Pacifier

Pram: Stroller

Bloke: Man

Jumper: Sweater

Chips: French fries

Lollies: Sweets (candy)

Nursing a baby: Holding a baby.  When I first met our new doctor, he told me to not fret if someone asked me to nurse their baby...

Barrack: Support a team.  We should not use "root for"...as root is a "vulgar term for sex".  


And then last but not least, the one that makes me feel most at home....


I reckon:  I reckon!

That cost HOW much???

Loreal Foundation is $30?    Eye shadow $18?  Seriously?  

Australia is expensive.  Either that, or the US is way cheap.  Either way, it's a big adjustment.  A lunch at Mackers wil knock us back $50.  And the exchange rate is close to even, so it's not as though I'm saying this in Australian dollars, but it's like $20 in the US.  Nope. it's about $50 in US dollars, too.

Here are a few examples...

24 pack of soda: $32
Soda from Vending Machine : $3.50
Pack of Chips from Vending Machine: $3.80
Cigarettes: $17 per pack (Jeff told me to add this)
Bag of Shredded Cheese: $7
Video Game: $120 (each)
Gas: $1.49/liter (I think that is 5.96/gallon)= our Toyota Camry to fill: $80
Movie Ticket: $17 per ticket
Children Paperback book: $18

My initial trips to the mall were interesting.  First of all, it's more tall than long.  There are a lot of escalators, and lifts (elevators).

 I don't know most of the stores.  Exceptions to that are Aldo,Guess, Target and Sunglass Hut.  Last week, I bought Brynn five pieces of clothingat Target (one dress, one pair of pants, one pair of leggings and two tops) and that was over 100 dollars.  I gotta start cutting back on her food intake.  

The styles are different.  Maybe I should save fashion for another post, but I'll go ahead with a bit.  I've noticed a lot of women wearing very fitted cargo pants. They are cute.  I've never seen those back home.  I've also seen a lot of spandex with short shirts in my neighborhood.  It may just be my neighborhood, not really sure.  I can't see myself following that trend.

Jackson wore mid calf black socks back home with his shorts.  Here, he has quickly switched to short socks, since he was told that the fashion police at school (aka the gay kid with all the style) would quickly call him out on those tall socks.

Back to prices....

One of the great joys in my life is shopping.  Thankfully, I read an article in the newspaper last week about a website that was a portal for US stores that will ship to Autralia.  (((And the angels sang)))

Medical Care

This morning, I had to take Jackson to the doctor.  He's has been having headaches for the past several weeks, and they are so intense that they cause him to get sick.  I finally decided a few weeks of it warranted a visit to see the doctor.

When I called for the appointment, they did not ask why I needed bring Jackson in.  I thought it was odd, but then I thought..well, that makes sense.  Why DO we have to go into detail on the reason we are coming in?  It's not as though when I call the kids doctor back home and tell them they have a sore throat, the strep test is out and waiting in the room when we get there.

The doctors here don't use their title with their name.  This morning, the doctor introduced herself as Caroline Jenner.  Same with the orthodontist.  "Hi, I'm Derek"...and I was flashing to Grey's because he actually looked like McDreamy...

The doctors come out and get you themselves.  I didn't see any nurses there.  Maybe this is specific to the practice, I'm not sure.  But there were about 8 doctors and no nurses.

The family doctors see everyone - kids and adults.

Caroline turned out to be great.  She spent a lot of time looking him over, and gave him various neurological tests.  She said that he showed no signs of tumors, but all signs of migraines.  My poor boy, I hate that he is going to have to deal with that.

It's the little things

A lot of people have asked me what it's like to live in Australia.  I'll give you my initial observations, but keep in mind that I am new here so my knowledge is limited. 

People don't really say "Good day, mate".  Matter of fact, the only people I've heard say that are Hollie and Brynn.

Things are the same, and different. 

This is Jackson's favorite, and he asked daily to go eat at Hungry Jack's until we finally took him, about a week in.  He says it tastes just like Burger King back home.  There are also plenty of McDonalds (or "Mackers" as they call it here) around and I was surprised to find that the burgers really do taste the same.   Food overall is really good here.  There is a lot of Asian food (love), seafood (love) and fresh fruits and vegetables (love).  There are a lot of markets in Chatswood (where Lenovo is located).  Last week I had a veggie panini from a coffee shop there that was comprised of pumpkin slices, capsicum, and sprouts.  It was interesting, and delicious!  It's unfortunate, especially at times like this, that Jeff is so picky about food.  I am encouraging my  kids to immerse themselves in the culture, since they have a limited time here, and can eat plenty of chicken nuggets upon return to the US and thereafter.  

The grocery store is an experience.  Almost nothing is the same, brand wise, so we are trying to figure out what we like and what we don't. We do have Diet Coke, thank goodness, and Rice Krispies (Rice Bubbles here).  We're also adjusting to the price differences. The price is at least double for most of the items we normally use.  My kids are having to do without bananas at the moment.  Due to the floods in Queensland, supply is low...and thus, the price is about $13/kg.  That equates to around $3.50 USD per banana.  So for now..banana pops (at $6 a box) will have to do.    And the shopping carts...ohhhh how I despised the shopping carts for the first few weeks here.  All four wheels turn on the "trolleys", where back home only the front two turn.  It's so hard to steer a cart!  So, I am pushing my cart out to the car , going uphill, and my cart/ trolley/ posessed demon took me for a ride.  Jeff and the kids thought it was funny.  I did not.

The last thing I will add on grocery shopping is that the stores here do not sell Newports.  Jeff has a limited number of cigarettes left.  He smokes about half a pack per day now, compared to a pack a day before we moved.  He is well on his way  to quitting, and I am super proud of him. 

Speaking of smoking, the public service announcements are no joke here.  There is a commercial  that shows a man who iscoughing a lot, and the camera goes to the tissue he's coughing in to show blood.  He then looks over at his wife and kids in the next room, while the announcement says "every cigarette brings you one step closer to cancer".    I believe that the cigarettes are going to be sold here with plain packaging soon, also. I am honestly not sure that people buy cigarettes based on what the packaging looks like, but hey, if it stops someone from smoking, well then it doesn't really matter what I think.

Public transportation here is great, and we take the train quite a bit.  Our house is a 5-10 minute walk (depending on how cooperative the girls want to be) to the train station.  We initially took the train every day to and from school.  That all changed on Jackson's first day of school.  I walked in the rain, let me rephrase..the POURING rain, to the train station pushing Brynn in a stroller, carrying Brynn's backpack, one of Hollie's endless bags and an umbrella.  Same thing from train to Hollie's school, back to train, to Jackson's school, and back to train.  All before 8am.  And I swore (in more ways than one) that I would drive going forward.  And I did.  The kids and I have survived.  The Sydneysiders have survived.  And mostly, drivers here are quite considerate.  There's not a lot of horn blowing or aggressive driving, at least that I've seen.

Other tidbits:

Doors lock by key from inside, so if you use your key to come inside and forget to bring it in with you, you're essentially locked into your house.  At first I hated the idea, but now I'm actually pleased with it, since Brynn likes to wander and this way, she can't wander outside to the pool.  

Recycling is hard core here.  We have a garbage can that holds about 2 bags of garbage, and that is collected weekly.  And then there are 4-5 other bins for the different types of recycling.  For those of you that recycle quite a bit, you may think this sounds about right.  But for us, it was hard to get used to.  We recycled aluminum cans back in Raleigh, and that was pretty much it.

Possums in the attic are common here.  

There are a lot of spiders, and they are big.  They are like, eat your sandwich while you look the other way kind of big.  Jeff told the realtor that he was going to keep a can of bug spray close by.  She laughed and said "It won't do any good. They'll just keep coming back.".

There are lots of parrots!

Everyone has a clothes line / rack.  We hear that most people don't use dryers at all unless it is raining.  

Most of the houses around us don't have air conditioning.  

Shopping stops at 5:30 every day (even weekends), except for Thursday, when stores are open until 9.

  

A lot of toddlers ride these super snazzy little trikes, instead of riding in strollers ("prams")

More later..