The Best Zoo Ever

destination360.com

I started a post yesterday about how much I hate my GPS but it is a beautiful Spring day and so instead I'm going to do a commercial for the Taronga Zoo, which in my completely unqualified and biased opinion is the best zoo in the world.  It has amazing views of Sydney Harbor, is too big and full of animals to see everything in one day and is immaculately maintained.  Almost everyone who visits Sydney visits the zoo (it is a 12 minute ferry ride from downtown) so I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks it is awesome.  But now that I live here, I love it even more.  And it is only 10 minutes from our house.  I've been there several times but this was Sophia and Zachary's first visit and it was so fun to see it through their eyes.  Zachary's favorite part of the zoo was the giraffes and Sophia's favorite part was riding on the train and seeing the bears.  I have no doubt that we'll be getting our money's worth out of our membership!  Sophia brought her camera and took about 200 pictures. . .the one featured here is not one of them.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Big rugby game tonight - Go All Blacks!

French Lessons

Sophia has daily french lessons at her new school.  (Clearly, we aren't in Texas anymore. . .)  Before bed last night, she did a little performance for us.  Enjoy!

Pass the Vitamin C, Please

Our  immunity systems are in no way prepared for the onslaught of Aussie germs and viruses that seem to be assaulting us at every turn. Zachary was the last to fall ill but he has not only been hit the hardest, he has taken me with him.  We are now very acquainted with the nearby medical center and I love that you can set appointments up online in the middle of the night for the following morning.  We took Sophia to school and then headed straight to the doctor, where they eventually realized that they'd better find a room for us as we were scaring people in the waiting area - Zachary was screaming that he wanted to go home and "didn't want to have his equipment checked" (no idea where that came from) and i was just rocking him as I shook with fever. 
We have both been diagnosed with bacterial tonsillitis and are on antibiotics.  I can't remember the last time I was this sick. Fortunately, Andy is on his way home from work and a friend from Sophia's school is going to help with pick-up. . .Z and I are going back to sleep. . . 

Pirates, Pikelets & Playgrounds

We headed down the street to the Kirribilli markets this morning.  We had breakfast at a little cafe and then wandered through the artisan stalls.  We made a few purchases - some local olive oil, fresh bread, a pirate's costume and a floral headpiece.  Then we stopped to play for awhile at a local park.  The photo
probably doesn't do the view justice, but here is Sophia with the Harbor Bridge directly behind her.  We are loving all of the local parks - seems like there is one on nearly every corner and they are all beautifully maintained.  And the views aren't half-bad either. Ha!
We are nearing the end of "spring break" - Sophia heads back to school on Tuesday.  It has been raining off and on for the past two weeks - but the sun always seems to show up at some point and rain is still a bit of a novelty given the drought conditions we've had in Texas for the past several years. 
The Rugby World Cup continues to dominate our weekends but Andy decided to watch the quarter-finals from home so at least he is in town.  (And he has made huge progress on setting up the office and family room so that makes me very happy.)    New Zealand is playing Argentina tonight.  If the All Blacks win, Andy will be in NZ for the semis and the finals.  Australia is still in the tournament, too, so if they both win tonight they will play each other next weekend. . .
Will end this post with a photo of our grouchy pirate, who is digging a giant hole in the backyard as I write.  Had better go save the garden.

Home Sweet Home

It is a rainy Wednesday afternoon in Sydney and I am sitting in our new living room with my left foot propped up on a pillow. It is the Australian equivalent of "Spring Break" so Sophia and Zachary are both at home.  But for the moment, all is quiet and I thought I'd finally get around to updating everyone on the latest developments down under!
The most exciting news is that we have  moved into our house.  It is as fabulous as I hoped it would be and it already feels like home.  In what can only be described as a miracle, nearly all of our furniture fits perfectly and even looks like it was bought with this house in mind.  The only furniture that we aren't using are the kids' dressers and that is only because their rooms have such spacious built-in wardrobes.  (Ok - i did have a major furniture sale before we left Austin - thanks to all of you who bought things! - so that is the real reason everything fits.) 
Despite all of the drama when we moved out, everything arrived in one piece.  Having chatted with some other "ex-pats," I've come to realize how lucky we are that our sea freight made it here so fast.  Nearly everyone I've spoken with has told horror stories of it taking +12 weeks and then having to wash everything because of a strange "stench."  I'm so glad we didn't have those problems!

The settling in part is taking a bit longer than I hoped because I have managed to injure myself.  Zachary had come up to our bedroom for his 6 am visit.  In a desperate bid for a few more minutes of sleep, I agreed to carry him back downstairs to play quietly in his room.  Unfortunately, I miscalculated where I was on the steps, missed my footing and ended up on the landing with a large thud.  Zachary was not hurt but I ended up going to the emergency room because I couldn't move my foot or put any weight on it.  Turned out that I fractured my "fifth phalanges," compacted it into the bone below and badly bruised everything else.  While I still can't move any of my toes, I am able to flex my ankle and put some weight on it.  I am now hobbling around on crutches and have been told it could take up 6 months for the swelling to go down and my foot to heal.  Oh, and my toe is probably going to stay sticking out.  For. Ever. So much for those super-cute sandals I bought last week.  I toyed with taking a picture of my purple and blue foot but then thought better of it.  Here's a diagram instead. 

On the bright side, I now know where the emergency room is and also got my first up-close look at Australia's public healthcare system.  Andy was out of town so i took a taxi to and from the hospital.  (Am I turning into a "city girl" or what?)   A special thanks to the nice cabbie who got a wheelchair for me and wheeled me to admissions.  Don't know what I would have done if Nanna hadn't been here to take care of the kids for the 4+ hours I was gone.  But I guess I'm about to find out how we survive on our own as she is heading home on Saturday.  Things are bound to get a lot more challenging - and the quality of meals, laundry and childcare is definitely going to decline.  So, I guess I'd better enjoy another day or two here on the couch because reality is going to set in before much longer.  Here's hoping I am back on my foot soon as my to do list is growing by the minute.  In the meantime, think I'll see if someone will bring me some bon-bons. . .

What has surprised me about life in Sydney. . .

A lot of people have been asking what has surprised me most (so far) about living in Australia.  I haven’t come up with a good answer.   I wouldn’t say that I’ve been surprised or shocked by anything.  But I have certainly found that things that I would have never given a second thought to before present challenges here.  Some because we are now living in an urban area where space is at a premium and others because we have no history here. 

Here are a few examples:

Getting a mobile phone – With no permanent address and no credit history, Telstra isn’t too keen on having me as a customer.  I am currently on a prepaid plan and I get texts if I need to “top up” my account. This same issue extends to things like arranging utilities, car registration, etc.   We definitely have an advantage given that Andy works at a bank – it would be 100x harder if we didn’t already have local bank accounts and credit/debit cards and people to call if we run into a problem.  To get a driver’s license here without taking the driving test, we will have to get Texas to sign a form confirming when we were issued our driver’s license.  (The RTA - Australian equivalent to the DMV - doesn't accept that it is 10 years prior to the expiration date on our current license.)  And since that is only going to establish 4 years of driving history, it may not be worth the considerable effort likely to be required.  Which leads me to. . .

Driving – I knew this would be a challenge but I didn’t expect to feel like a 15-year-old with a learner’s permit.   Every day I am getting more and more comfortable.  (Although my confidence took a nosedive with the, uh, “incident” that I prefer not to talk about.)  Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to turn on the radio someday soon.  For the moment, I am a very focused, patient and defensive driver.  I drive under the speed limit and am never in a hurry.   Let’s hope I never get “too comfortable” driving here – I suspect the roads would be much safer if everyone maintained the laser-like focus of a new driver.  I honestly can’t believe the “multi-tasking” that I used to do when I was driving around Austin.   No way am I talking on the phone while I drive. 

Parking -  This is somewhat connected to the above, but I think it warrants its own category.  I’m sure my friends who live in San Fran can relate, but I’ve never been so aware of parking – or the lack thereof. Picking up Sophia at school requires significant pre-planning (and often a very long walk) and I find myself selecting grocery stores, dry cleaners, etc. based on the parking options.  A huge selling point for Zachary’s preschool is the fact that they have 5 parking spaces.  You may have to fight 100 people for those 5 spaces, but at least they are there.   Sophia’s has 0 and you must park and come in.  I have never been a huge fan of parallel parking but I have no choice but to do so daily.

The Metric System – I am going to have to find an online tutorial or class because I can no longer fake it.  It means nothing to me when someone says something is “200 centimeters” or weighs “50 kilos.”  Same goes for temperature.  I have my iPhone weather set for Fahrenheit but that is just a crutch.   I have long depended on my mother’s rule that we could wear shorts to school if it was 75 degrees. . .guess I’ll have to change that to 24C for my kids.   

On the flip side, there have been just as many things (if not more) that have been much easier than I expected, including:

Making friends – We have definitely been welcomed with open arms.  From Sophia’s school to Andy’s work to “friends of friends,” we have been surrounded by new “mates.”  Add those to the few people we already knew and loved, and we already have a personal network that is sure to grow over time. 

Finding good food, coffee, wine – Everywhere you go, there are fabulous cafes, shops and more.  The food is so fresh and so delicious – thank goodness I’ve already found a gym to fight off the extra kilos!

Skyping with Home – It has been great to be able to not only talk to but see my mom and dad.  Same goes for friends.  And I can’t wait to meet my new niece and nephew over the computer.  Even Sophia has had a few “skype playdates.”  I’ve found that the best time for us is first thing in the morning (between 6 and 7 am), which is mid to late afternoon in the US.  Would love to connect with more of you – my skype handle is kris10lark. . .

Public Transportation – I know I’ve mentioned this before, but we are loving public transportation.  It is an excellent solution to both the driving and parking challenges.  I’ve taken Sophia to school on the bus and we all took the bus to her school fair last weekend.  I’ve even taken the bus home for the grocery store.  And the ferry down the end of the street makes it so easy to say yes when Zachary asks “is it a boat day?” 

I know many of you have moved to a new place in the not so distant past.  Whether it was across town, the other side of the country or around the world, what has surprised YOU about your new hometown?

Breaking My Own Rules

I'll admit it.  I've had to break a few of my own rules to make this time of "transition" a little easier on all of us.  Ok, if I'm being honest, i've broken my own rules to make things easier on me.  I'm not proud of it and I know it will be difficult to reinstate a few of them, but a moms gotta do what a moms gotta do. 

1.  One hour of TV a Day.   I'm finding this one impossible to stick with.  Our temporary apartment has one living space (includes kitchen/dining/family) and the only way i can keep my sanity is to let the TV be on far more than I would like.  I can't wait until we have more space and a backyard where I can send the kids when they need to release some energy or I simply need a break from being a human jungle gym. 
2.  No Sponge Bob Squarepants.  Ever.   Well, maybe just once.  Many of you know I have a major, probably irrational dislike for this program.  But I actually put it on for the kids last week when they couldn't stop antagonizing each other. It worked like a charm. This leads me to another broken rule. .
3.  No rewarding bad behavior.  I think the above illustrates how this rule is broken far too regularly. 
4.  Everyone sleeps in their own bed.  I have always been maniacal about this rule.  If Sophia appears in our bedroom in the middle of the night, I walk her back to her room.  And if that doesn't work, I make a pallet on the floor for her.  And I've held pretty tough with Zachary, even in the face of his seemingly endless sleeping challenges.  But no more.  I don't know how many nights I've fallen asleep with him in the past few weeks.  And when he wakes up in the night, 9 times out of 10 I wake up in his room.  Perhaps I can chalk this up to exhaustion?  I simply can't keep myself awake long enough to "sneak" out.  Of course, I shoudn't be sneaking out at all.  He should be going to sleep on his own.  But I can't risk a full-scale tantrum - the neighbors are sympathetic but no one wants to listen to a 3 year old scream bloody murder at 4 am.  If there is one thing Zachary can do, it is scream until he gets what he wants.   Here's hoping that the arrival of his beloved race car bed - which thank goodness is a twin! - will help me remedy this situation.
5.  No more than one sweet treat a day aka food is not a reward.  Its amazing what a distraction (and incentive) a cookie can be.  And I've been using that to its full advantage.  It has allowed me to sit quietly at a cafe, to have a peaceful 3 minutes in the afternoon and pass time on a rainy afternoon. 
If nothing else, I hope all of this illustrates how excited and happy I will be to move out of our apartment and into our house.  But that's not to say that everything about apartment life is terrible. The location couldn't be better.  It beats a serviced apartment in the city by a mile (or should I say a kilometer!)  And then there is a view.  Hard to complain about my 5:30 am wake up call when I get to watch the sun rise over the water.  I shall leave you with a photo from our living area (it is cloudy this AM so it really doesn't do it justice but. . .)