Keeping Busy

Keeping busy is a good thing for us!

Last week I hosted dinner for the "Other Half" group from MBS. The students had a planned function at school so it was a good opportunity for the rest of us to get together.

I had 7 ladies from all over the world for dinner. Israel, Korea, Singapore, Bangladesh, Finland(had been living in Germany), Poland(had been living in Ireland) and the US. We all brought something to eat and of course there was plenty of wine to be had. Great conversation and laughs were had by all.

The boys were a big hit. Oscar had them all after he said, "hello, ladies" in his soft little voice.

I am by the far the oldest and the only one with kids. There was discussion about how hard it must be to have kids while Luke is in this program. A couple of them said that they had discussed it and are impressed that Luke is doing it. I really don't know what's harder, coming here as a wife/girlfriend with or without kids. I sometimes think I have it easier. The boys keep me busy, motivate me to get out of the house, meet new people and explore new things. I know if I didn't have them, I wouldn't have met some of the friends that I have through mum's groups and play dates.

Thank you Henry and Oscar!

Ok, got to run.......off to the park! I've added more pictures to the Aug/September album.

slacker....

I promise to post soon!

Going wine tasting today! :)

A cart is a cart, right?

I have a complaint.

The grocery carts here do not have "fixed" wheels. All four of them turn every which way, which makes driving them a bit hard. Especially when I'm balancing my bike with a full trailer and walking down hill to the cart return.

Most of the grocery carts here require you to put in a $1 or $2 coin in them to use them. You get the coin back when you return the cart. It's really a great idea. You hardly ever see random carts sitting in the parking lot or parking spaces. Everyone wants their $1/2 back. But I have yet to figure out the best way to return my cart. I might have to leave the boys and groceries locked up while I go and return the cart. At that point, the boys are usually screaming over something, so that would be a great deterrent to taking them......

I've added two more pictures to the Aug/Sept album. One is of the boys swimming at an indoor pool. We had a great time and I'm sure we'll be swimming a lot more as the weather here warms up.

The other photo is a good idea of what I'm pushing or pulling around on a daily basis. I broke down and bought a cheap double umbrella stroller. I just can't take the bike trailer on the trams, so this was the next best option. I have a gallon of milk, 10 library books, my bag packed with everyday outing things, a computer printer and the boys. A great arm workout!

You should still see us getting on and off the trams. It's quite a production. Folding down the stroller while making sure no one is running out into the street and then getting all of us with the stroller on and off the tram is alway a tricky situation. So far, I've had some very helpful people help us. The boys know what to do, but Oscar is showing his independence and like to to get on and off by himself. It's cute to see him trying to take the big steps by himself. I'll have to try and capture some pictures of our tram adventures, with Luke's help of course!

Albert Park Adventure

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and biked to Albert Park. It was a good 5 miles away (8 km, I need to start converting). Our bike route took us right downtown. The bike lanes vary from shared pathway on the sidewalk, on the road in a bike lane, just in the road and copenhagen style. Copenhagen is my favorite. The set up is great: sidewalk, curb, bike lane, small median, parking lane, driving lanes. You are protected on both side with curb and parked cars.

Biking downtown on a Saturday was fun. There where tons of people out shopping, lunching and exploring. I notice that I get a lot of looks here with my bike trailer. I've seen a few, but none as nice as ours. I also get a lot of comments on it as well. I've heard: what a production, wow, so mod, can I have a ride?, just to name a few.

I've been a bit afraid of heading downtown with the boys in tow, but we really didn't have any problems..... until my flat tire. This is my second one since we've been here. I had brought a spare tube but used that one on the first flat. I replace my spare and had it with me but while I was in the middle of changing it, I noticed that it was waaaaaay too long for my tire. Since this being the first flat I'd changed by myself, I asked Luke if it was normal for the tube to be hanging out by 6 inches from the tire. Of course, no it was not, and so we were stuck. Luke headed off to find a bike shop while I played with the boys at the park.

Luke came back without a tube but a funny story. One of the bike shops he stopped at took one look at my tire and tube and asked if it was for a wheelchair! They had never heard of the size of tube that my bike takes and the second store he stopped hadn't heard of it either.

Gigi(my bike) is small, but not THAT small. Luckily, Luke remembered that he had a patch kit in his bike bag. I'm glad to say that his handy work held all the way home and was still holding Sunday afternoon. I think I have a few tubes on the way, but if you happen to see a 650x23c at your local bike shop, make a note and let me know!

I'm not sure what I'll do without my wheels. I bike everyday, everywhere. It's really the only way I can get around with the boys without having to book a car. Fingers crossed that my patch will hold!

Albert park was lovely. I really wish we would have been able to see more. Playgrounds, jogging paths, cafes, lake with people sailing around the island. I'm sure we'll make it back and be able to explore the park some more.

Happenings

I realized that I haven't posted in over a week! My goal is to post once a week, now that we are starting to get into a schedule and routine. I'll do my best...

We've had several outings since Luke is off at school. It's better for us to stay busy and get out an about as much as possible. Just in the last week we've been to 2 mum's groups, 2 meet ups with with Linda (my new friend from the states), a girls night and a birthday dinner. Can't say I'm not keeping us busy.

One of the outing with Linda was driving to Chadstone, a very high end mall, that also had Target and Kmart attached. We have joined a car share program here. It's a great way to have access to a car without having to buy one ourselves. It was my first time driving and I didn't do too bad. My phone here has GPS and it worked great. I think the only hassle of using the car share program here is when I return the car, I have to lock out at my return time. It's hard to get the kids and car seats out in a hurry while still trying to keep an eye on the kids. I will have to give myself extra time at the end of my bookings, just to have time to get everyone and everything out! I already have the car booked for next week for another play date to take the boys swimming. I'll be driving farther this time and I won't have Linda with me to be my cheerleader.

I've actually had 2 girl's nights since we've been here. The first was dinner with Linda and the second was drinks with Angie. Both ladies are friends of friends back in Denver, what a small world! And I have more friend of a friend that I'm meeting next week. What are the chances?

Anyway, for drinks w/ Angie, I got to go out at night by myself, take the tram and find my way. It was so nice to get out and just relax and chat without having to referee the boys. I hope I have more girl's nights in the near future :)

I've met two mom's this week that I think we'll be seeing more of. One mom lives in my neighborhood. She has a 18 mo. old and she's crafty. All the things that I enjoy. I can't wait to have a meet up to see all her fun crafts and show me where all the hot spots for crafts are.

The other mom that I met this week is new to Mel as well. She moved here from the UK with her boys in March. The boys are almost the same age as H & O. We met up at a playground and by the end of the playdate, they were good buddies. It was so nice to see H have a friend to play with.

I've attached new photos off to the right as a slideshow. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Thanks Debra for the tutorial!

Spring

Spring is here.

Today was the first day of spring and it was chilly and raining all day. I look forward to seeing our rose trees bloom. I call them trees because they have been trimmed to look like they have a trunk. We'll see what color they bloom.

The boys and I have been keeping busy while Luke is at school. This week we met up with a US friend of a friend. I think we hit it off right away and I look forward to our girls night tomorrow:)

I have a few more mom's meet up dates planned for next week and I'm hoping the weather holds out for us. I've been biking everywhere. One, it's faster and two, I could take the tram, but trying to carry Oscar and keep track of Henry scares me. I can just see us dropping something getting on or off, or H getting excited and hopping off the tram before it's time. I'm sure I'll get more comfortable over time. This is just the biggest city I've ever lived in(maybe Cairo was this big, but only had to worry about me and I always had someone with me).

I've started the process of getting Henry into the 4 year old Kinder program that starts in January. He just missing the cut off for going to primary by 2 weeks. Registration started back in March, so I'm way behind and I'm keeping my finger crossed! I think we BOTH need him to go to kinder asap!

I did babysit last week for two girls Henry's age and a little boy Oscar's age. The boys had a great time and I'm hoping to get my name out there as a stay-at-home mom/babysitter. Another option right now is that I become a Kinder school cook. The boys would be able to attend at half price while I'm there working and I'd get a (small) paycheck. I'd never thought I'd be a 'lunch lady', but it'd be great to get the boys in some sort of play group. I'll keep you posted as to whether or not I'll be wearing a hairnet in the near future!

xoxo