I'm 'right.

Kessler and I went to the mall today so I could get a haircut and highlights.  I've never taken him with me to get my hair done, but he's such a good boy--I was certain there would be no problems..  Worst case, I'd just give him my phone and he could watch dinosaur things on YouTube.

All was going as planned until he desperately had to go to the bathroom... while I had my hair full of foils.  I tried to convince him to hang on; he did his best to oblige, but mother nature was more convincing.  So, we ran through the mall to the furthest end of Myer (similar to Macy's).  I'm sure people noticed, but I didn't notice them noticing me because I was too busy making it a point to reassure Kessler that we were nearly at the toilet.  Not for his sake, of course.  Anyone within earshot was going to know that I do not accessorize with foils.  

Kessler finished his business and we sauntered back to the salon.  I searched for ways to surreptitiously explain my appearance to those who might have missed the first spectacle.  I drew a blank.  Finally we were safely back at the salon.

About 30 minutes later, nature called again.  At least this time the stylist was nearly finished drying my hair so we made our way to Myer for the second time.  Kessler made a mad dash as soon as the restroom door was in sight.  I arrived just a few seconds after him.  After a few more seconds I stood outside of the only stall with a closed door.  "Are you okay, buddy?"  "Yes."  "Do you need any help?"  "No."  "Okay, let me know if you do."  "Okay."  A few seconds later the lock began to turn.  I gently pushed the door open so I could go in and help him button his pants.  Much to my horror I found an equally horrified woman staring back at me.  In typical Aussie style she says, "I'm 'right; thanks for checking."  

Regaining composure, I quickly scanned the row of stalls once more trying to find the closed door that I previously missed.  There wasn't one.   "Kessler?"  "Yes."  I walked toward his voice and found him 2 stalls down, door wide open.  Just sitting there, resting his chin in his hands, without a care in the world.  

Kessler and Polina

This is a photo of Kessler and his best friend, Polina!

My lovely girl!

Sorry for the orientation of the video.  My phone has lost its bearing; it doesn't matter which way I hold it, it's going to be wrong.

Makena has been taking piano lessons at her school for about 3-4 months.  (It's an external company, but they come to school to do the lessons.)  Every other term they perform a concert.  Makena was supposed to do 2 songs, but I think the teacher forgot.  The laughing you hear in between songs is because of the exchange between Makena and Marcus, her teacher.  She wasn't going to get up until she played her 2nd song!!  Well done, MakNaks!

Makena saved the day!!

You may have read on Facebook that I had to call in an emergency locksmith the other day.  I locked myself and the kids out and Merlin in.  It all started because I was trying to surprise Mark by picking up his bike that had been serviced.  That'll teach me.  

Getting out of the house is always an ordeal.  It's like herding cats while juggling jello jelly.  And considering that I have moved 20 times in the last 19 years, with it being impossible to lock one's self out of many of those places, I think I did well not to need a locksmith at this place within the first week of moving here. 

In an effort to see the positives of every situation (new resolution), I'm very grateful that I did manage not to forget my phone inside so I was able to do a search and find a local locksmith (their office is about 500 meters from the house).  I'm also grateful that I forgot to lock the car the last time I used it.  I was able to chuck the kids in there, you know, to keep them warm and all.  Not so they wouldn't drive me batshit asking questions while I futilely checked every window and door.  I'm also grateful that the locksmith turned up within 15 minutes and was able to unlock the door in less than 10 minutes.  (He did have some trouble, otherwise he would have been done in 2 minutes.)  I'm grateful the locksmith cut a free key for me so I could hide it outside.  I am, however, not grateful that he charged me $180.  $180!?  I have no issues paying a premium for the service given that it was an "emergency", but $180??!?!  It just seems unethical, immoral.  It does cause a big lump in my throat as I ponder whether this would happen in the U.S.  I honestly don't think it would--as an exception perhaps, but not the norm.  I don't need another reason to be homesick.  

It is what it is, I suppose.  Putting it behind me, I chucked Merlin outside and buckled up the kiddos and off to the bike store we went.   (These are kind of mundane details but I feel they are necessary.  Someday I may think I want to have more kids.  I can't imagine that, but stranger things have happened.  If being too old doesn't make me feel better, perhaps a reminder of a day in my life with 2 young kids will snap me back to my senses.)  I find the bike store, but have to drive by it.  You see, I missed the entrance to the access road.  The access roads are always one way here.. which inevitably is never my way given you have to enter them before you find the place where you're trying to go.  So, I passed it.  A series of left turns entwined with constant commentary:  "Mom, you just went past the bike store." " Mom, why are you going past the bike store?"  "Are we going home?"  "Where are we going now?"  "Is forty-seven-fifty-six-one-million more than 5?"  "Can I have ice cream?" eventually lead us back to our destination.  I parked the car behind the store.  I'm grateful for the perpendicular parking spaces parks as I hate parallel parking particularly while being talked at.  The only problem is the parking lot is a bit of a hike from the entrance to the store, but no big deal.  I explained to the sales guy why I'm there.  He retrieves the bike and tells me how much I owe.  I promptly realize my debit card is not in my wallet.  Damn.  

I just had it to pay the criminal locksmith.  The kids and I schlepped back to the car and found it on the center console.  I'm grateful I didn't leave it at the house.

Back at the store, I pay for the service.  The sales guys then shows me the massive crack in the frame of the bike.  This is Mark's commuter bike.  When he doesn't run the 9 miles to work, he rides his bike.   (It saves $7 a day in train fares, 30 extra minutes commuting (each way), $100 a month gym membership.)

Let me recap.  I just locked myself and the kids out of the house, wasted $180 to get back in, frustrated the hell out of myself trying to get the damn bike, paid $85 for the service on said bike -- only to find out the bike is on its deathbed. 

THEN, I had to put the godforsaken thing in the car (while being talked at.)   I had to call Mark and ruin the surprise because I wasn't sure how to get the back wheel off.  By the time I got it in the damn car it needed to be serviced again.  .

Needless to say I couldn't wait for nightfall so I could say good riddance to this day.  While all good things must come to an end, apparently bad things can linger as long as they damn well please.  The following day, I attempted to unlock the door after going to the supermarket.  I was surprised that I couldn't turn the lock immediately, but thankfully, I was able to get it in a few seconds. The day after it took even longer.  Each subsequent attempt was worse than the time before until a few days ago when I just could not get the lock to turn.  I had just dropped Kessler off at preschool.  This time I did forget my phone inside.  For more than 15 minutes I wiggled, jiggled, shook, twisted and turned the key and handle.. trying to get the lock to open (while being talked at).  I had my keys and the spare key, a lot of good that did me!  And, the front door has a lock (similar to a chain) that cannot be unlocked from outside.  Shit.  I could have gone down the street to the locksmith that gouged me just days earlier; the one that caused this problem in the first place, but I couldn't bear the thought of being charged another $180 in case they didn't see it that way.  I was just about to give up and head to a friend's house where I could ponder my options when I decided to let Makena have a try.  Even though I wiggled it every possible directions, perhaps she'd get just the right angle.  

Makena beamed when I told her to have a go.  (She lives for moments like this.  If I can't get a jar open, she always asks if she can try.)  She grabbed the keys with determination.  "What do I need to do?" she said as I watched the key turn 45 degrees.  She nearly jumped from her skin when I grabbed her hand/keys before she could turn it back.  And we were in on Makena's first go.  We celebrated with high fives and hugs!  I'm grateful that Makena was able to unlock the door.  I'm a little less than thrilled that my beautiful little girl thinks her mom is an incompetent boob that cannot unlock a simple door.  

In case you come for a visit, you now know why there is red tap affixed to the lock.  

Happy Birthday, Kessler!

To honor Kessler on his birthday, I'll quickly share some current Kesslerisms.

1.  "No, I love you more.  I love you fifty-six-thousand-million dinosaurs.  Is that more than 3?"
2. " Is 56 more than 7?"
3.  "Dad, you're a disgusting man head."  He says this when he's particular mad at Mark and he's as serious as can be.
4.  "What comes after 39?"
5.  "I'm going to give you the biggest hug ever."  As he strangles the crap out of you.
6.  "Who let the dogs out? Woof Woof Woof."
7.  "Who let the cats out? Meow Meow Meow."
8.  "Who let the dogs and cats out?  Woof Meow Woof Meow Woof Meow."
9.  "Slimey did it; he's an herbivore."  When asked about why he'd ripped the leaves off of my house plant.
10.  "Slimey's sister died because she touched a red back spider."
11.  "Oh no, I made a big mistake."   In a voice like the Cookie Monster.
12.  "I'm dooooone." In the voice of the Cookie Monster, Opera Singer, Dinosaur, mouse and whatever else comes to mind when he's ready to have his bum wiped after a pooh.
13.  "I loooove Salmon."

I wish I had words to describe his big brown eyes right when he realizes we're watching him.  Not looking at him, but watching him in amazement.  It happens a lot.  He's a hilarious little boy.  The stuff he comes up with is pretty amazing and it's all delivered with a straight face.

I could write a book about him, but I'll just stick with some simple facts I hope to never to forget.  He's still all about dinosaurs.  He prefers carnivores to herbivores.  He goes to Rainbow 2 days a week where his best friends are Polina, Chile and Kiara.  He also goes to St. Mary's 2 days a week where his best friend is Edie.  He's quite the ladies man.  His favorite colors are pink, purple and brown.  His favorite food is chicken nuggets -- so he says, but I think it's Salmon.  He'll pretty much eat anything.  He loves to color and paint but nothing compares to going to the museum to see the Dinosaur exhibit.  He often asks, "what's today?"  If the answer is a weekend day, he'll ask if we can go to the museum.  I know I'm slightly biased, but he really is an amazing kid.

We love you, Kessman!!

It's been a year..

It's been just over a year since we arrived in Australia! It's very hard to believe it's been that long though, at times it seems like it's been a lifetime since I was back in the States.

Things feel mostly normal with the occasional uprising of trepidation. It's quite unsettling to be able to take nothing for granted. Like, for example, I still can't trust that one day I won't look up and find myself driving on the wrong side of the road. It's only happened once in a year and just as Mark warned, it happened when there were no cars around, thank goodness.

It's tough having to think about how much something weighs or how far away a place is or what 17 degrees will feel like. Mailing a letter means going to the post office because I haven't bought a book of stamps yet. I don't know if they sell books of stamps nor do I know how much postage is required for a simple letter.

My wallet still weighs 100 pounds (50 kilograms) because there are no notes smaller than a $5. I end up with a bunch of $1 and $2 coins in my purse because I don't want to have to inspect each one to determine the denomination before I start to count. It goes something like this.. "okay, that one is $1.. this is $2, that makes $3.. here's $.50.. shit, how much do I have now? $2.50? Alright, that one is $1 and this is $2. Don't forget to go to the post office to mail that letter.  This one is $.20.. no $.50...."   "I know it's only $4, but can I pay with my debit card, I mean EFTOS?"  (whatever the hell that is.) 

A new boy joined Makena's class a few weeks ago. He and his family are from Canada. I instantly befriended the mom; it's amazing how much you can have in common with a complete stranger. I picked her up one night to meet some of the moms for a drink at a local restaurant. When the time came to order drinks from the bar she deferred to me because she wasn't sure how to do it. It's exactly the same, well except for the inevitable miscommunication caused by the conflicting accents. But, I knew what she was feeling. It's almost as though for months on end you haven't taken a deep breath. Because, taking a deep breath means you will switch off for that split second while you inhale just a bit deeper. Switching off isn't allowed because you might be forced to think right at that exact moment! The last thing you want is to look like an idiot doing something that is mundane to everyone else; how uncool.

That's a look into the emotional side of being here a year.. I'll post something about the tangibles later.  

Kiddos

Here are some photos of the kiddos. The ones of Kess were taken at St. Mary's. That's where he goes to "kinder". I can't remember if I have written about it before or not, but it's a council (government) provided preschool program. It's just 2 days a week, 3 hours each day. It's about 2 blocks away from where we live currently. Kessler loves it!!! He skips all the way there and exclaims with glee, "I'm so excited!" as he bounds down the sidewalk.

Makena's are through Brighton Primary. She's doing really well. Some of her friends call her Mrs. No. Hopefully she remembers this for the boys when she's a teenager!