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.