Birthday Break Dancing

They dance like their dad......:)

Mo'vember

Happy Spring! The weather is slowing warming up. Seems a lot like CO or IA weather. Warm one day and cool the next. We've had a few hot days, up to 80 and the next day 60 and rainy.

Time is flying by here in Oz. Luke now only has 3 weeks of school left and then is off for 1.5 months for holiday break. Henry only has 3 more days of preschool as well.

We continue to keep busy with play dates and outings with our friends. Luke has played in a tennis tournament and plays soccer every Friday afternoon. And I just started playing softball on a co-ed league.

Henry continues to expand his interests and surprise us with his own unique observations of day to day life. Oscar is talking up a storm and doing a good job of keeping up with his brother.

At the moment, we are gearing up for Luke's birthday party. The keg is getting delivered in a few hours. I've made cupcakes(with Linda's help), cut up a ton of carrots, made a boat load of pizza dough, cooked the wieners and chicken. This is the biggest birthday party we've ever thrown. Here's hoping all goes well!

New Do

Just got my hair chopped....

Here's a before and after ;)

(Deb, it's kind of like yours, too weird!)

Busy Spring!

We've had a busy October. I'll give a quick summary as to what we've been up to.

1 Birthday party

2 Road trips (Ballarat and Dandenong Range)

2 Halloween parties( a kid one today and an Other Half one coming up)

4 Other Half meet ups (not including the upcoming party)

6 play dates

1 date night

3 days of preschool(Henry LOVES it!)

I can't believe that it's November next week. That will be 3 months we've been here and 1.5 till we return for Christmas. It's feeling just like yesterday and it also feels like it's been forever since we arrived. School keeps Luke busy and I know if he wanted to, could be studying every spare moment. I'm looking forward to when we can have adventures with him!

I'll do my best to update more often in November!

xoxo

kt and boys

I've also added a second album with more pictures.

In the Weeds.....

So with all the rain we have been having, the trees, flowers, grass and of course the weeds have been growing like crazy.

We got a notice from the rental agency saying that they have noticed that we have been neglecting our garden. I had actually been pulling weeds all morning before the notice was received. Anyway, the weeds were pulled, but the front parking still needed to be taken care of.

For the last week, Luke and I have been running outside looking to see where the sound of a distant lawn mower or weed wacker was coming from, hoping to borrow it for 5 minutes to cut the grass.

I finally broke down and spend $12 on a set of lawn tools. I got a hedge trimmer and pruning scissors.

Tonight, we cut the grass.

We also found the key to meeting your neighbors: do something stupid at the front of your house. At one point, there was a guy across the street just staring at us. He then came over to us and stood there and stared some more. Didn't say anything, just stood there watching Luke chop at the grass and me scooping it up. I finally asked if he lived in the neighborhood and his reply was, "No, but my friend lives across the street," and then he walked off.

Here's to hoping that we meet some new friends the next time we trim the lawn......

The final product!

Slacking....

I realized that I haven't posted in awhile. I promise to fill you in on what we've been up to for the last month!

I just added a few pix from the last few weeks. Stories to follow soon.....

Henry quote

Just a funny quote from Henry tonight after dinner.

Henry: Do you know what retire means? It means to take out of service. I think we should retire Oscar.

(Luke and I laughing)

Me: Where did you learn this?

Henry: Thomas the Train

Thanks, Thomas ;)

He starts Kinder (3 yr. old preschool) tomorrow. He keeps talking about how scared he's going to be until he meets his friends. I'm so glad he's so optimistic. I look forward for him to meet new friends and for us to expand out play circle a bit more to include kiddos his age.

I'll add a cute Oscar moment as well.....

I was putting him to bed and usually I sing to him. Twinkle, Twinkle is my song of choice. I started singing to him tonight.

Oscar: No twinkle, twinkle mom. Shhhh.(with his finger over his mouth)

Me: (stopped singing)

Oscar: Kronk-o sing (kronk-o is one of his nicknames)

His song went something like this: chocolate milk, chocolate milk, soy chocolate milk......

I have no idea where this came from, but it was pretty darn cute.

2

Can't believe it's only been two months since we arrived in Oz. Seems like ages ago that we arrived with all our luggage.

I really feel like we are getting settled now. I've made several new friends and see them weekly, if not more. I really think that has made the difference for the kids and I. Even though it's hard sometimes to get out the door and go meet someone new or bike down a new road, it always ends up being good and I'm happy I forced us on that new adventure.

Luke continues to have loads of homework as well as study group meetings, tutorials (on Saturday and Sunday), clubs and social activities. I know it's hard for him juggling all these things, but he makes it look so effortless. These are stressful times, but I know in the long run we'll be grateful for the experience and opportunity coming to Oz will give us.

I can't say that I don't miss our friends and neighborhood back at home. It's just different here, not bad, just different and I think we have been accepting it well. We don't have that same neighborhood dynamic here, but we are making due and adjusting to city life. It makes me appreciate the old hood and what we had there even more. It is truly a great place to live and raise kids. Henry still asks to go back to his orange house and to go back to his old school. We tell him it's just not time to go yet and that we'll be back there before he knows it.

Henry will start 3 year old kinder on Friday afternoons. We have been talking about it and today he said that he'll be scared to go on the first day, but after he meets his friends, he won't be scared at all. I'm looking forward for him to make some new friends and get to play with some kids his own age. We've really only met one other little boy that is his age and we've only been able to meet up twice, so he is VERY ready for kinder and all the fun they have planned for him.

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

First Outings

We are almost at the end of Luke's first week of school. I was dreading this week, but we've actually been so busy that's it's flown by.

On Tuesday, I biked to the Collingwood Children's Farm. I had no idea where I was going and had to stop to ask directions several times. I got a bit lost, but we found our way. It was only about 4.5 miles, good exercise for me:).

The farm was really cute. We arrived just in time to milk Patsy the cow. Henry did great and Oscar got scared. We held guinea pigs, chased chickens, gazed at goats, baaaa-ed at the sheep and walked with the lambs. They were so cute and not very old. They still had their wobbly legs, too cute.

After our picnic lunch we headed home. My plan was to try and stay on the bike trail all the way home and not get lost. I did both, but it look me a lot longer and it was VERY hilly. So hilly that I had to get off my bike and push us up the hills. These hills were big and steep and pulling the boys is heavy. 40 lbs(H) + 30 lbs(O) + 33 lbs (trailer)=way too heavy to ride up those hills.

I think I did this about 6 times, so by the time I got home I was pooped. At one point, I had to cross under the train tracks at a train station. The path was clearly marked with a "NO BIKES" sign, and had barricades that I had to maneuver around, but I did it anyway. Some nice man helped me up the exit ramp and then made sure I knew where I was going.

There were several times on this adventure I almost turned around, but I kept going and we survived. I'm glad we went and I'm sure we'll be back again......... hills here I come!

Today and tomorrow are filled up as well. Today we go to the library for Spot's birthday party and then a tour of a local school for Henry. Tomorrow we meet up with a mom's group at the Melbourne Museum and then I am babysitting some local kids while their mom is out.

Old Lady

Today was Oscar's birthday. We had a very full day. Headed off to the Melbourne Zoo in the morning. We live very close(closer than we were in Denver) and so it was a nice sunny walk through the Royal Park. They both were very excited to be there. Henry was running from animal to animal and Oscar would say, "WOW!", at everything. We saw 3/4 of the zoo and then we headed home. On the walk home, both boys fell asleep, so Luke and I decided to do our grocery shopping for tomorrow's party.

There were a few things that we couldn't find, one of them being canned black beans. Simple, right? None to be found in two different stores. Luke knew of a mexican grocer so when we got home we looked them up online. According to their site, the store had closed an hour earlier. We called anyway just to see and they said they were closed. Luke hung up and then we called back to see if they knew of anywhere else to buy black beans. The lady asked what we wanted and said come on down, just have exact change. So out the door we went to get our beans. We really lucked out! The lady was there with our stuff in a bag waiting for us(2 cans of black beans and big can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce). So nice of her. I can't wait to go back and actually look around.

For dinner we went to the pub on the corner of our street. It was early enough that it wasn't crowded or too loud. Dinner was nice and then we headed down the street to a gelato shop. Henry has developed a taste for chocolate(wonder where that comes from?) He had all over his face by the time he was done.

All in all a good day. Luke and I have been doing a little prep work this evening to prepare for our mexican feast tomorrow. Should be fun and nice to entertain the people who have helped us out so much since we have been here.

A side story from today. Here's how it went:

Henry: Mom, look, zebras!

Me: Yes, zebras.

A random little boy about Henry's age: No, they're ZEDbras, you old lady! (they say zed for z)

It still makes me laugh. His mom didn't quite hear what he said so I told her as I was laughing. I think she was embarrassed and then explained to her son how we both were right. Just love that he called me an old lady, too funny.

My little parrot

Oscar has started talking a lot more since we have been here. He's like a little parrot and will repeat the last word of whatever you are saying. Kind of cute.

He also has a nick name for Henry, its bum-bum. I'm not sure where this comes from, but it's pretty funny. I hear, "that's bum-bum's" or "no, bum-bum".

Another one of his favorite words right now is Carlo. Carlo is our landlord and he's been over a few time to fix things. Oscar always says it in a sweet high-pitched voice. And when we are out and he sees a ladder or tools he says, "that's Carlo's".

With him talking it's been much easier to figure out what he wants. I am hoping the fits will now die down, but he turns 2 tomorrow. We'll see..........

Boys at the Bank

We took the boys to the bank today to open an account. We went prepared: a movie and a few snacks. They were so quiet and good. I know it seems a bit silly, but we didn't take either to the mobile phone store last week and it was a complete opposite picture. Oscar and Henry destroyed the place......signs pulled down for the ceiling, floor displays smashed, sample cell phones pulled off the wall-just to mention a few.... Today was a success!

The boys even earned themselves each a bank, not a piggy bank, but a platypus bank!

Melbourne Museum

Waiting for the tram to the museum. You can see down town (CBD) in the background.
One of the exhibits at the museum. Cool interactive screens to tell you what each animal was.
Italian butch shop, with a great butch block.

Today we went to the Melbourne Museum. I would say it is very similar to the Nature and Science Museum of Denver. The boys were both free(5 and under is free) and Luke and I were each 8, so not a bad deal. I'm sure I'll be back with the boys soon.

They had dinosaurs, a room with a whole bunch of animals and interactive screens that told you what they were and a large children's area. Another bonus was that our tickets are good for 4 days, so we could go back this weekend. There is a lot more that we could have explored, but we had to leave for lunch.

We found a nice hamburger place for lunch. And then wandered through some shops on our way to the tram. We stopped in a great spice store. Tons of spices, a lot of asian ones that I had never heard of and then all the standards. We didn't bring any spices with us, so we are anxious to restock. We also stopped into an Italian butcher shop to pick up some meat for Oscar's party on Sunday. They had a really cool butcher block that had at least two guys at it while we were there, cutting away.

All in all a pretty good day.

Tour 2

Here's our back yard and our dryer/clothes line :). I really have to keep an eye on the weather so they don't get rained on! Our garage is huge and has a ton of storage cabinets. It makes it easy to just ride right in on our bikes. This is a view of our backdoor looking out to the back yard. More stained glass. The bathroom is the door on the right.
The family room/dinning area. The windows behind Luke are huge and have stained glass. They are also not clear(lets in light, but people from the street can't see in).
Kitchen window. Nice? From the outside the birds look iridescent. This glass, totally clear, I want to find some spring loaded curtain rods to put in the lower half of the window for a little bit more privacy.
Full view of the kitchen. Range is old, but works. Tons of cabinet space, most of them empty for now....
That's the house, minus the bathroom and laundry room. I'll try to post the pix of those soon.

We are enjoying exploring our neighborhood and all the shops. We live near a lot of "junk shops" as Luke calls them. I would compare them to the Dollar store, which has been very helpful for stocking the house. I've also found 2 consignment shops nearby :) One of our favorite shops is the bottle shop, we've been sampling the $5 wine selection. We've only had one so far that was un-drinkable, but is was only $3. May have to stick to the pricier $5 ones :)