Flora, Fauna and Concrete Lesson

Just wanted to show a few pictures of the different things here in Australia. First of all, the beautiful flower is a vibrant purple that I have never seen in nature before. Don't ask me the name, it starts with a T, and I can never remember it. All I remember is that it sounds Spanish and it confuses the Hell out of me because I can't figure out why someone would give an Austalian flower a Spanish name. It blows me away every time I see it. I'm instantly reminded of that Robin Williams movie, "What Dreams May Come?" The scenes with him in Heaven and the pure colors that are obviously CGI - well they are real here.

The restaurant menus are from one of the restaurants at the Sydney Opera House - gee are things expensive here?

The white birds are called Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. Besides the dreaded frogs found in Queensland, these are probably the most hated creatures in Australia, well, after the English cricket team....and rugby team. They are huge, god-awful loud and they will eat everything. Weather stripping around windows, roof tiles, electrical wires. This picture was taken in my backyard and as you can see, the rotton bird is eating the tree. You can tell in an instant if someone is native or not by watching them watch the birds. Native Aussies swear at them and the rest of us stop and stare in an odd wonder.

The spider is a Golden Orb Weaver. While scary as Hell looking, it's totally benign. That being said, I stay waaaaayyyyy far away from it. The crab in the picture next to the spider is hard to see so look close. It really is purple, I didn't photoshop it.

The weird rock thing is Mrs. MacQuarie's Chair. She was the wife of a governor of Sydney way back in the day. Convicts dug out a chair in the rocks facing the entrance to the Harbour so she could stare back to England - apparently she wasn't too happy here. Now as luck would have it, just on the other end of the point where her chair is happens to be one of the greatest photo ops in Sydney, a shot of both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. On weekends you have to fight the crowds of wedding portraits that are taken there. I included also a close up shot of the Opera House that I took a few months ago. Mainly because most people don't seem to know that the Opera House is actually several buildings and it is also not all white. The tiles are a light beige color - if they were white then the reflection of the sun would be blinding.

Opinion from the Masses Please

I just added this little ticker thing that tells me where all of you are from. I'm looking at it and thinking it's lame, but I will bow to the whims of the people. So let me know, is this neat or lame?
God forbid I make a decision myself.

Reasons why Quilt Projects Take so Long

I started this quilt a few months ago - yes months. It's a quilt of Australiana fabric, it's really going to be gorgeous. However, it's not a complicated. In fact, it should be done. It should have been done several, and I mean SEVERAL weeks ago. I have a lovely friend who has been teaching me and she is always willing and able to get together. But as usual today, on the only day this week we can get together, I'm going to have to cancel but I have too much to do.

Sigh...maybe I'll get it done for a graduation from college present for Tessi. We'll see.

You Say Tomato - I say an Entirely Different Fruit Altogether

I wanted to complie a list of Aussie phrases I hear a lot. These are ones I come accross in daily conversations. I was informed upon arrival here that there was only one person in Australia who said, "Crikey!" and he was now dead. But there are a few doozies here that have kept me on my toes. Another thing they do here is add an "O" to just about anything. Bob becomes Bobbo, let's grab a drink at the BottleO (bottle shop), pretty much any noun can have an "O" added to it. The name Anthony is shortened to Ant, not Tony and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE tries to call Ted - Teddy and Teddy - Ted. Like my life isn't messed up enough.

Here are a few names or terms that the Aussies say one way and Americans say completely different.

Aussie Term American Term
Macca’s Mc Donald’s (although the slang is Mickey D's or Golden Arches)
Have a cuppa Come have a cup of coffee/tea
And Bob’s Your Uncle and there you go
Struth “Isn’t that the truth”
Yobbo redneck/hick
Chook Chicken
Arvo afternoon
Sarvo Saturday Afternoon
Tip - as in Let’s play Tip Tag
Tipping Betting (betting on a game)
Biscuit Cookie
Chuck a wobbly Have a temper tantrum
Chuffed Happy
Doona Down Comforter
Entrée Appetizer
Main Entrée
Jaffle Toasted sandwich – think hot pocket
Jumper jacket, sweatshirt, sweater – NOT a little girls dress
Jelly Jello
Jam Jelly
Lemonade Sprite
Tyre tire
Torch Flashlight
Ta Thank you
She’ll Be Right Everything will be alright
You right? Are you alright?

My Cherubs

Here are some portraits taken of the girls at their preschool. I love these shots for the following reasons:

1. They were taken during school and therefore I did not have to be there to help get them to smile for the camera. I still have nightmares over last years unfortunate pictures at Pixie Photo. It was NOT pretty.

2. Their teachers swear that Connor and Tessi were happy to hold hands and did NOT use that as an opportunity to get the other one in a head lock...not sure I buy that.

3. They are gorgeous. Really, this isn't just a mother's love, these are some beautiful girls.

I don't get to enjoy my girls as much as I would like. It's hard to marvel in their wonder when I am trying to keep the veins from exploding in my neck. FYI...use your index finger to push the vein back in. Try to time the pressure with the pulsing, it helps.

I do love you Connor and Tessi, even if you weren't beautiful...but it does help when you two are killing each other.

My Husband is on a Date with Another Woman

Yep, he's out right now. It's their 4th date. If the season wasn't so short I'd swear it was getting serious. Before the comments start rolling in about whether or not I mind let me add this. ..for this last date I suggested to Ted that he go with Sally, I called Sally to set it up, and I drove to the shopping center and got the free tickets (if you spent $80 you got 2 tix cause they couldn't give the damn tickets away) Not to mention that Sally is very, very cautious about making sure that I am alright with this and does her best to try to get me to go to the games and really has been quite lovely about the whole thing. The one really hilarious thing is that Ted has mentioned this at work and some of his co-workers think that I am the coolest wife on the planet. For certain I am...but it's nice to have others acknowledge it.

Teddy and Will, Sally's son go to school together and played rugby together before Teddy nose-dived off the play set. I can't go to the games because the girls just can't handle the loud noises and the late night. I want to go, I really do, but the reality is that it's just not possible. However Sally can go, in fact she loves rugby and really, it is much safer for all of them to travel together than to go separately. Besides Teddy and Will have a special talent for bringing out the stupid in each other. It's amazing. Separately they can each be a gross and disgusting 7 year old boy (good god, it really is the age isn't it?) but together...wow...they join forces to create a stunning display of toxicity. Honestly, I have no trouble with Ted and Sally being out together because they have to deal with the Dynamic Duo of Dufusity. Better them than me.

So let them have their night out in the freezing cold, watching Australia destroy France (woooo, what a victory) while listening to Teddy & Will seeing who can out gross the other. For me, the girls will be in bed in a hour and I can listen to the silence and drink my wine. Yep, I win...I hope it does get serious between them, maybe next year they'll get Season Passes together!

For Better, for Worse, for Stealing Covers

One of things I really love and I mean LOVE about Australia is that it gets cold. Yep, I am that freak of nature that loves the cold and hates the warmth. Coming from the Texas weather seasons of "Hot" and "Damn Hot" it's nice for me to really be able to enjoy the cold. That being said, WOW! It really gets cold at night. The temperature plummets. Me, the one sheet wonder, sleeps under a sheet, blanket and heavy quilt while wearing a heavy sweatshirt over pj's. That is COLD. Ted has a personal space heater next to his side of the bed so it's easier to chip the icicles off of his feet when he gets up in the morning. Unfortunately Ted is NOT handling the cold well. This is a man who pines lovingly for Florida. I hope for his sake his second wife is more accommodating about living there.

Anyway, yesterday morning I awoke even earlier than usual, it was around 4am. I was freezing so I swished my feet around trying to warm the sheets when I hit this warm block and dreamily went thought, "Oh, Ginger is under the sheets again, I'll let her warm my feet up"

pause...pause...pause...

Then it hits me....Ginger is a dog that I had as a kid. Seriously, I haven't seen her since the 7th grade. The damn dog has been dead for more than 20 years. What the Hell?! I sit straight up and low and behold, I have moved all the way accross the King sized bed, in search of any source of heat I can find. In this case, my husband's feet. Why have I done this you ask? Because my rotton, cover stealing husband has pulled off ALL THE DAMN covers and moved them over to his side. Then, and this part confuses me, he wedges them underneath his back so he isn't even being covered by them and he wakes up cold himself.

I gently and lovingly rip the covers from underneath of him, TRYING my best to flip him off the bed. I admit it....I wanted to see him fly. I'm a little vicious when I first wake up. No luck though, I didn't even wake him. Not even when I swore at him. The man can sleep, that's for sure.

So now it's 4:15 am, I've rescued the covers and returned them to their rightful side of the bed. Ted, because he's moved around a bit is of course, snoring. So I lay there, organizing my thoughts on where best to hide the body in the yard and I wonder to myself, "What the Hell made me think about the dog?" Now I'm off to peruse animal rescue sites..maybe Karma wants me to look at a dog....hold on, I think Ted just got a shooting pain in his head. THAT will teach him to steal the covers.

2:00 Appoint. with the Specialist Translates to...

...4:10 with the lackey. Seriously, the charming woman I made the appointment with last week was EMPHATIC that I simply MUST see Dr. Little and he only has clinic hours on Wed. Did I see him? NOPE! Did I see the gal who puts the casts on every damn day there? YEP! Sigh...she said she took the x-rays back to Little and he approved it but seriously, that couldn't have been done LAST WEEK when I called? And hospital staff wonder why we parents are combative with them? Hmmmmmmmm

We were seen 3rd last patient of the day. Grrrrr, could have showed up at 3:55 and been fine. Would have been nice since I showed up at 1:30 for a 2 pm appointment and drove in the garage for 38 minutes until I found a parking spot. Yes, my math gurus, that made us 8 minutes late for our appointment.

Anyway, Teddy is ok, or at least he's going to be. His bicep is tightening up so much that his triceps can't move at all. If you feel his arm it feels like it's got a walnut in it. We're going to do some stretching exercises and I'm calling Malcolm, the former physio for the Wallabies (national rugby team for non-Oz) tomorrow to set up sessions. If his arm does not straighten out in 2 weeks when we go back for the check up they will straighten it for him OUCH and cast it in the straight position. WE DO NOT WANT THIS, for obvious reasons. So stretching exercises it is!
Now I'm off to pour cold medicine down Tessi's, Connor's and my throat. Ted gets home in an hour and I plan to be in bed 5 or 6 seconds after that. Wooo Hooo, usually I at least make it until 8pm before I crash...not tonight!

Teddy's Arm - Back to the Looney Bin

The dr called. She's happy with the position of Teddy's arm but because of the lack of movement she wants us to go back to the hospital tomorrow. She thinks he may need another cast but wants an orthopod to see it. I can't fault her for that...and I don't. It's out of her realm of expertise and I'd much rather she do that than have us tough it out for no reason.

So today after school I'll tell Teddy we're going back to the hospital. He's going to be really upset, so I hope I can find a way to ease his mind a bit. Poor kid has been through so much, but we have to get his arm better. I guess it's up to me how to figure out how to select the "No putz" option as we enter the hospital.

Teddy's Arm Part Deaux

Alrighty, here's a quick update. The x-ray looks GOOD! No extraneous bone forming or bone mis-forming. So now I have to talk to the dr by phone today and see if she thinks we can go straight to the physio or keep the appointment with Belluve tomorrow. Yesterday she was leaning to going back to the hospital because Teddy really should be moving his arm better. However after talking to the radiologist, who said, "WOW! That was some break!" when looking at orginal x-rays, she felt that that the bone was coming along nicely. It's just with a break like this, well, we really are greatful the doctor was able to put his elbow back together. I will post more when I talk to the dr today.

Quick Aussieism before I go. Many Aussies refer to nurses as "Sisters". I knew they called scrub nurses scrub sisters because I have a friend who is one. It's a throwback to when nurses were nuns. However I learned yesterday that ALL nurses are called that. Up on the wall in radiology was a sign asking all women to speak up if they might be pregnant. They were told to tell the radiologist or the sister. S ince we were at the SAN - Sydney Adventist Hospital (no, I don't know what the N is for) I was bit confused they would use a term that referred to Catholics. Since I'm me, I asked the radiologist about it - ya know, rather than ask about my kid, and that's when I learned that all nurses are sisters.

Actual Conversation

Another pearl that must be shared. This is an actual conversation I had with Teddy yesterday morning.

I walked in the room to hear:
Ted: Why did you do that? You know better. Don't wipe your nose there.
Teddy: Ok, Daddy, sorry.
Me: Where did you wipe your nose? (!!!!Warning, do not, DO NOT ask this question EVER to ANYONE!!!!)
Ted: He wiped it on his pj's top.
Me: What??!! Why would you do that? (Warning again, please, save yourselves, don't EVER do this!!) Why didn't you use your tissues?
Teddy: They fell down out of bed. Down to the floor.
Me: Why didn't you get out of bed and pick them up? (Dear God, save yourself, please don't do this!)
Teddy: SIGH...I didn't KNOW they were gone! Sheesh!

Me to Ted: Whaaaa? I'm not crazy right, that makes no sense whatsoever, right?
Ted: Smiles knowlingly and pretends to see something out the window.
Me: Sigh, where's the tea?

I'll put on my best Sylvia Browne act and go ahead and call this now, "I see many conversations like this in my future" Yeah, you need to be a psychic to guess that one.

Teddy's Arm

I'm a little nervous about Teddy's arm. He seemed to be doing so well and then all of a suddenly he's regressing. A friend of mine mentioned his progress to the physiotherapist we both go to and he said we needed to get Teddy into the specialist. Teddy can't extend his arm the entire way yet and he's not due to go back to the hospital for another two weeks. No one TOLD me that he was supposed to be able to do that by now. All anyone has said was, "Just have him move his arm around and he'll be right (they don't say alright here) soon. We'll see you back in a month" so I don't know what's going on. I'm sure though, when we do get seen I'll get a lecture on not taking care of Teddy properly. Moms are damned if you do and damned if you don't with these people. I'm either too argumentative, and not willing to let them do their job, or I'm an idiot for not knowing the obvious and just bothering them. Honestly, there just has to be a better way for health care systems to work. This is NOT a slam against the Australian medical system, it's a slam against the WORLD'S medical system. I certainly don't think the US does it any better.

We're going to the GP, general practionor today and see if she can write up a plan of action for the physio. I do not, DO NOT want to go back to that hospital if I don't have to. For being a children's hospital, The Children's Hospital at Westmead staff have some of the worst attititudes I've ever seen towards children. My friend Lena, the former Child Life Specialist, would be calling for a flame torch to be taken to this place.

Obviously, I already have the appointment made in a few days at the hospital if the dr doesn't work out. Teddy left that place so terrified that I just want to spare him more fear and pain if I can. But as each day passes, Teddy seems to be moving his arm less and less, I'm afraid we may be in for the long haul afterall. Please any of you that read this, say a kind word to whomever you believe in for a 7 year old boy who is now scared of all doctors and may have to undergo some harsh work.

Anyone Need Any Help with Anything?

Seriously, anyone need me to run any errand ANYWHERE. I have not 1, not 2 but THREE people in this house sick with colds. Ted, Tessi and Teddy - hey, it's the 3T's - yes, I just thought of that. It's 5:30 in the morning, I'm not awake enough to be clever. But it's the 3T's who are sick. Connor and I, hmmmm, the 2 C's are fine. I think I just figured out a way to separate us all in the future.

But back to our story...Ted spent almost the entire day in bed yesterday, Tessi spent the entire day with a death rattle and runny nose and Teddy became instantly sick as soon as we pulled away from Jacob's house after we took him home. First I thought he had a runny nose because he was crying but then I realize you don't get a hacking cough and chills from being sad. Connor and I are using our Girl Power to fight off the bad germs. Connor has been saying, "Hurry Mommy, the bad germs are trying to catch us! Go Girl Power!!" Yeah, like I'm running anywhere, even from bad germs.

Girl power must mean something to Connor though because yesterday she lost and I mean LOST Pink Blanket. It's in the house but it is GONE. I have searched EVERYWHERE. Ted even got out of his death bed to look for it. When it was bed time Connor said, "I know!" and ran to her room and came out with the interloper blanket, the one I bought 3 years ago to keep as a spare that Connor would never touch. "I'll use this one" and went to bed. And then slept through the night. This is huge. Seriously, this is tremendous. Just last month when Teddy was hospitalized, Pink Blanket was left in the car so Ted had it while I was home with Connor. She refused the interloper and stayed up until midnight and sobbed herself to sleep in my bed w/o it. This is a girl who will cry out in the middle of the night if it falls 2 inches from her finger tips and she can't see it. Last night was the first night she willingly slept without it in 3 years. I'm afriad to do a dance for joy yet. Fate is fickle, but at least last night she made it.

Christ...I wonder if her bravery just means she's getting sick too....um...does anyone need anything?

Girls can be Funny on a Saturday Morning..

First and formost, this is hilarious because it happened to Ted. I got to sit and read the paper and drink my tea while this went on. If it had been me...well, not so much. But it was Ted and therefore blog worthy.

Tessi walked towards the kitchen teary-eyed and carrying 2 heavy books. She dropped them and of course with our family's luck, both hit her feet and she started to cry. Ted came over saying, "Oh Sweetie, let me help" in a very fatherly-like manner, sounding very, very concerned. I just sat and continued drinking my tea in a very motherly, non-sympathetic way as I had just told her 2 minutes earlier that her feet would stop hurting if she stopped dropping the books on her feet. But that's just me...

Anyway, Ted very lovingly bent down and helped Tessi pick up her books and then she gently gave them to her dad to hold. Ted said, "Ok, Sweetie, where you do want the books?" Choking back a sniffle and having a tear on the edge of her eye she says, "Um, there...on the floor" and walks off leaving Ted stunned and standing there holding the books.

I laughed...OUTLOUD. One of those "cackle from the soul" type laughs. Not too long though, after all Ted was standing right next to me holding the books. Hell, I didn't want them dropped on MY feet.

Then Connor found her pink "lover heart" sunglasses leftover from her birthday party. She had popped the lenses out because a friend of hers had done that only now Connor puts them on OVER her normal glasses. She at least has the good grace to giggle about how silly she looks. That's something.

I would post something funny that Teddy is doing but he and Jacob haven't left the Playstation long enough to be humorous. I consider that a blessing.

Kung Fu Panda Replaces Indiana Jones

Ahhhhh, the heart of a 7 year old boy is a fickle one. Teddy came home last night announcing that Kung Fu Panda was the greatest movie...ever...of all time....just the best. Of course he went with his best friend Jacob (who spent the night here by the way) and Ted (which means Connor & Tessi were home and nowhere near in sight), had popcorn, lemonade (remember, that's actually Sprite here) and a choc top (that's a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate) and got to stay up until 10pm (bedtime is usually 8) Alright! Enough with the parenthesis!!

I think Ted could have taken him to see My Little Pony and he would have had fun under those circumstances.

Ted walked in behind the boys with a bit of glazed eyes but he did say that they were well-behaved...they were 7 year old boys, but well-behaved. I have to chortle a bit though. Ted has always had stories about him as a boy and generally just about how he has behaved as a "guy" through out his life and wow...sometimes even he looks at Teddy and just shakes his head in bewilderment. For example, apparently one of the funniest scenes ever put on film was when the panda's butt landed on his opponent's head...in super slow motion. Teddy and Jacob nearly wept with glee over that one. I have visions of them play acting that scene out all night. Fortunately I went to bed so I could ignore them. Parenting-schmarenting, these boys are WEIRD!

This is Jacob's last week with us. Next week his family is moving out of the country for 4 years. Goodbye Jacob! You've been a great friend to Teddy and he will miss you terribly. I bet though when you come back at age 11, Teddy will still be willing to have his butt land on your head...by then he might be better at the super slow mo.

Flashbacks

I wrote on a friend's Facebook page the other day that I haven't written anything in a few days because I'm not feeling very witty. I then realized that this is a perfect opportunity to write about things that have already happened. My own little flashback. Since I'm actually not all that clever I will call them Flashback Fridays, or Setting the Way Back Machine - or anything other idea I can steal from radio advertising or childhood tv shows.

Here goes, today the Tardis will take us to early 2005...

About 2 weeks before this story starts I found out I was pregnant with Tess....at 24 weeks. Yep, that's ANOTHER Flashback story, you'll just have to wait. Anyway, a friend of mine went out scrapbooking and went to this small store that wasn't our regular scrapbooking haunt. She sat down and picked up a conversation with the lady sitting next to her. Nothing serious, just the usual. "How's the weather, does you husband follow the spurs, are you military" Common questions in San Antonio, I assure you.

Anyway, she and her new friend start chatting away and conversation turns to odd things that have happened in life. WELL, obviously this is where I enter the picture. My friend says something along the lines of, "If you think that's odd, wait until you hear this! I have a friend who had to have in vitro twice and now just found out she's pregnant AND she's 24 weeks along!" Suddenly, from 2 tables over a voice pops up, "Are you talking about Cecelia Tencza?" See, all along another friend of mine who had recently moved to San Antonio from Houston, was at the same crop and hearing this story she couldn't believe there were 2 people on the planet were too stupid not to realize they were pregnant until 24 weeks. So now a room of about 30 women, 2 of which I know, are now discussing my life and how anyone can be so stupid as to not know they are pregnant at 24 weeks. Yes, I will tell that story sometime, it really is a good one.

It truly is a small world. I haven't met anyone here in Australia who knows someone who was at that crop but if I did, I can't say it would shock me.

Major Whine

Sorry, I should say whinge since I'm on Oz. I'm still working on picking up the lingo. Just came home from Lifestart Open Playgroup. Both of my daughters are on the Autistic Spectrum and we go to this playgroup because we are waitlisted to get Connor in the actual program. We've been coming since November, they won't even discuss Tess because she's getting services elsewhere. But today the 2 new directors of Lifestart were there and wanted to hear the pros and cons of the place. So it starts, everyone goes around listing how fabulous Lifestart has been, what wonders it has performed for their children. All I could think was, great, I'm so thrilled for you - when can I get my daughters in? 7 months of being on the backburner is long enough.

I'm not even saying it's Lifestart's fault, I don't know anymore who's fault it is. All I want to do is have Connor and Tess get what they need so they can get through Life alright. And I'll admit it. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm tired of every aspect of their life's being an ordeal. There is no just getting up and doing something. Every action must be planned and all possible contingencies must have plans for them. And I'm tired of it. I just want them to be ok, so I don't have to worry anymore.

But we won't be getting that from Lifestart apparently. It's only taken me 7 months to figure out that we're SOL there - gosh, I'm quick aren't I? I guess in the end, it's my fault. I should never have counted on them to get us in. No more of that. No more of relying on other people to take care of things for me. So, first and last whine, fine damnit, whinge...about them. I think I'll put the girls in swimming lessons instead on Wed morning. At least then they'll get to fight over who gets to wear the Ariel swimsuit...damn...I mean cozzie. I'm learning.....

And the Drought Starts Again

My whole family calls rain drought here. The joke is that since there are so many words they use differently here, Australians must mean rain when they talk about the drought. We just had about 8-9 days in a row when it rained somewhat. Yesterday was the only day it didn't rain. Today it's supposed to start up again. I have laundry up out on the line that got caught a few days ago when I THOUGHT I was between rain showers. I've just left it. I know, I know, I should go get it but all I can think is what's the point? Everything is soaked, it's not like I can rescue any of it. Yesterday it didn't rain but the sun wasn't strong enough to dry it. So there it all sits, a monument to my family being caught by the drought...er um...rain.

Seriously, we've been here 14 months now. WHEN DOESN'T IT RAIN HERE? I understand that areas west and north of here have really suffered, some parts have gone years without a drop. Those people, well my heart goes out to them and we should all be scrambling to find ways to get water to them. But Sydney? Nope, sorry. Everything is green and I mean GREEN. Except for the mud, that's a very rich shade of brown. I know that because I see it everywhere in my house because I was lucky enough to get a house mostly covered in white tiles.

I think the next person who says it's good that it's raining I'm going to hit them with my umbrella. I'll just say, "Sorry Mate, I'm the Crazy Yank" I bet I get away with it...but to be safe I think I'll go hide behind my wet laundry.

Not One Single In-Law Joke

Nope, not a one. I have no material to work with. I have the single greatest in-laws in the world. I called my mother-in-law and asked her to mail me some throat lozenge lollipops for the kids as they don't sell them here. Well she did. She then also threw in about 6 books for Teddy, his new LEGO magazine which is of course, about Indiana Jones, the commemorative coin set for the San Antonio Spurs, about 4 pairs of pants and tops EACH for the girls, a gorgeous and I mean GORGEOUS dress for Tess, 3 movies for Ted and me and some mail. Then she spent $54 to mail it here!!!
Thank you Mom and Dad. You are both too generous for words. We are lucky to have you. Please come visit soon. The money you'll save in shipping things to us will by FAR pay for the plane tickets.

Are You shugaka?

This is a little too hilarious not to post. Well, it is to me at least. Connor has picked up a new phrase the past few days. She will turn to you and say, " Are you shugaka?" At first Ted and I just looked at her with our normal what the hell is she talking about looks and then it dawned on us. "Are you meshuggina?" A phrase I have been throwing around for YEARS. It comes from my formative years in New Jersey. So my shayner Texan shiksa, who lives in Australia is throwing around Yiddish. A Bi Gezunt!

For the 2 or 3 of you on the planet who've never heard me say these words or have no idea what they mean.."Are you meshuggina?" means "Are you crazy?" Any of you who have met any of my family understands why my children might be copying me saying that. Hey, trust me, it could be worse. One of Connor's first multiple word sentences was, "God damnit Tess!" Obviously, she heard that from the neighbor kid. Damn kids...

English Comes in Many Forms

Had a humorous misunderstanding with a friend today. You see, last month we were in Toys R Us together and I was shopping for Connor's birthday. Her daughter Zoe's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and we were talking about what Zoe likes. We saw some strollers and Penny said, "There you go, that's all you'd need for her" I made a mental note to self to get Zoe the stroller and was happy that I had an idea for her. Fast forward until today. Penny and Zoe are here at the house and have a birthday present for Tessi, which I wasn't expecting so it was a wonderful surprise. Well, Penny starts talking about Zoe's presents and how she finally found a pram (I still call it a stroller and will until I die, that's just all I have to say about that) that she thinks Zoe will like. I made a face and she realized that I had bought one for Zoe also. No big deal, we just laughed about it and I showed her the stroller and made sure that it's different enough for Zoe to like both.

Here's the rub though, I said,"Why did you buy her a stroller when you told me to get one?" To which Penny gets a horrified look on her face and said,' I DID NOT!" I reminded her of our Toys R Us adventure and she said, "Oh, I meant the general YOU and not specifically YOU" I asked in my most polite and diplomatic way, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Again, I got the "You Crazy Yank" look and she smiled politely at me. I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes as she tries to figure out how to explain the obvious to me without actually calling me a dumb ass. I know that look because I have the same one on my face. Fortunately we've become good enough friends that I think we can accept that sometimes, we have no damn clue what the other is saying.

I think for me, this is true friendship. It's the same here in Australia as it was back in the States. I associate with people who like me but don't always understand me. They become my friend though, when they're willing to not understand me and still like me. Nice to see that some things are the same, no matter where you are. But I still say I was right in thinking she wanted me to buy the damn stroller.

Tessi is now 3!

Tessi is 3 today. We had a tea party for her at T2 where she got to have her big girl tea. We did presents in the afternoon rather than after dinner because, well she's 3 and we needed stuff her to do. That simple. We'll follow the birthday rules next year. This picture of her new shirt suits her to a tee. As you can see by the amount of presents (not including the breakfast and lunchtime presents) Tessi is a very underprivileged child and gets nothing. There is a whole slew of new toys for her and Connor to fight over...er um...play with.

Tessi is a grateful child though - she kept saying to us, "Thank you Guys!" Of course Connor kept pointing out that the present she gave Tessi was "Very Nice!" I guess that was in case Tessi needed to be reminded to be grateful to her. Now Teddy tried his best to be interested but as the display of My Little Pony, hair bands and Disney Princess grew so did his discontent. Truth be told if it's not his new IJ LEGO game he could care less. At least he sang Happy Birthday. That's something. This years find me trying to make birthday cakes and here is my attempt for Tessi's birthday. I won't be turning this into a new obsession like scarbooking, sewing and quilting...but hey at least this looks like a butterfly. I can not for the life of me figure out how to make pastel colors so we decided to pretend that I wanted a brightly colored one. Good enough!

Happy Birthday Tessi. I love you.

Oceanworld or Bust!

It didn't rain today! For the first time in over a weeK! So of course we celebrated by going to Oceanworld in Manly, which is indoors....which could have been done while it was raining. It made sense to us at the time.

Anyway, here is a picture of the kids holding a 5 year old baby saltwater croc. Yep, that's CONNOR touching the "oooky" thing. Miss Thang who has been terrified of most living creatures (except her brother) for more than a year was willing to touch the crocodile. Ted and I were shocked and thrilled. So shocked and thrilled that we decided to find it amusing that Tessi was a bit of a whiny snot while the picture was being taken. In her defense, we had skipped her nap so she was an hour overdue for sleeping. However I don't think the crocodile cared about that so much as Tessi kept grabbing and pulling on it's tail. But then again, he would have gotten Connor and Teddy so I don't think Tessi had a problem with that.

We actually decided to go all the way out to Manly because Teddy was a little dejected that his friend Jacob had to go home after spending the night. It was about 18 hours of sheer heaven for Teddy with Jacob. They played Indiana Jones LEGO on the playstation, ate pizza and drank lemonade - which here in Oz is actually Sprite, played more IJ LEGO on the playstation, fought with swords, watched Alvin and the Chipmonks, slept a few seconds, played IJ LEGO again on the playstation, then ate breakfast, played with actual IJ LEGOS and then of course, played the playstation. Never had so little been so entertaining. It was amazing to watch them together because they were incredible at coming up with stupid things to say and do. Personally, I had no idea that just sitting next to each other could become the funniest comedic performance ever. I take my hat off to parents of multiples, I don't know if I could handle 2 seven year old boys together for so long. I think I gave myself a headache from just shaking my head at them.

Up You Get!

A new Aussieism today. I picked up the girls at school today and Connor's class was in the middle of a very cool game involving laying on the floor, being very still and silent. I stood in awe of her teachers getting 12 kids ages 3-5 to do this. Made a mental note to hire both of them to come do this at my house. As Anna, Connor's teacher, saw me she turned to Connor and said, "Connor, Mum's here, up you get!" Too tired to be clever, I responded with a witty, "What in God's name is that supposed to mean?" But Connor jumped up and ran to me so I was able to translate that to "Up you go" When I explained the phrase I knew to the teachers they gave me the usual "Crazy Yank" look. I'm getting used to that look - I see it a lot. This one is funny though because 1. I'm a parent so they don't want to be openly rude and make me angry and 2. One of them is MAYBE 24 and the other one is 18 only in her dreams, so to them I am older than dirt and they want to be respectful of their elders.
That last sentence was the most painful and depressing thing I've ever written. I'm going to do the geriatric crawl out of here now and regain my youth by helping Teddy play the new LEGO Indiana Jones PS2 game. Up I get!

Spotlight on Connor

I don't get to do this often so when I can it makes my day. Connor had a great day today. Her session at occupational therapy was so good her therapist gave her some lollies. As many of you know we have been battling Sensory Integration Disorder with Connor and have had some rough times. But today she was able to be spun around in a chair 3 times one way and 3 times the other and then stand up and lace a string through some holes. She followed directions and was able to understand that she was too much like a rabbit (running wild and fast) and make herself slow down to a turtle (calm and easy going) Regulating Self has been a huge issue for Connor and to hear that she has been able to do that, even for a few moments was wonderful news. She is also coloring pictures now and can draw faces and even draw a picture of Ted with his watch on his arm. She is now able to get on an escalator without crying - before she was just too scared. Above is a picture of her at a bowling alley, which would have been impossible for her last year, she just couldn't have handled the noise. Now, while she doesn't like it, she can survive in noisy situations.

I know Connor still has a lot to overcome but it was so wonderful to hear something positive about her. Congratulations Gorgeous Girl, I love you and I'm so proud of you.

Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.

This is Teddy's favorite line from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Truth be told it's mine too. Actually, I don't know if I've ever met anyone who didn't like that line. I type this in honor of Teddy completing his Indiana Jones Lego sets. All of them. Yep, he has them all - not the ones from the new movie - just the ones that count - the ORIGINAL ONES. He's been working on the really big one, the Temple Escape, but kept complaining that he couldn't finish it because it was too hard. Then we had the arm breaking incident and then he just refused to work on it at all. I finally figured out that my son had become a "guy" and realized that he didn't want help, he got mad when he realized that he couldn't do it on his own and he'd rather sit and stew about it rather than ask for help. Also admiting that he couldn't do it would by proxy acknowledge, that MAYBE Mommy was right and that leaving 500 lego pieces on the floor MIGHT lead to some of them end up missing. Just maybe.

Being the loving, caring mother that I am I delved deep and came up with true poetry to encourage him to finish the project. "Teddy", I said in my best Donna Reed calming & soothing voice, "I'm not going to buy you another dammed lego piece until you finish this one!" Since he's seen the new Cyrstal Skull sets and covets them he decided to give it another go. Voila! Once again where there is a will, there is a way. Or where there is an annoyed mother, there is a way.

Connor decided also that she would help and as usual that is loads of fun. Teddy and I were finally able to convince her to stop ripping off the Marian's head so she could change the expression - it was just getting creepy. Both, however, loved setting up poor Sapito to get hit by the boulder. Hours of entertainment I tell you. I'm waiting for Connor to try to get the My Little Pony pummeled by the boulder, now that is something Teddy could get behind!