Last 9 months!

I'm so disappointed that I'm not keeping up with this blog! I'm grateful to have the stories that would have otherwise been forgotten, but alas, I've noticed some important milestones are missing!

I'm going to try to recap some here.

I just recently learned that when my boss was researching me prior to offering me the position, he came across this blog. He still hired me. Alls I can say he knew what he was getting!!

We've been on the Gold Coast for nearly a year now. May 30 was our 3 year anniversary here in Australia. Time certainly flies. I realized I never wrote about moving to the Gold Coast and how much things have changed since then. These are some major changes that I don't want to forget.

The project Mark was working on in Melbourne was cancelled early. That was the 2nd time and given it was meant to be a multi-year project, we were a bit gutted. He found a position here on the Gold Coast and as much as I REALLY didn't want to do another big move, we figured we didn't have a choice. A job is a job. There were a lot of positives about moving to Queensland, but I was just so sick of moving.

Mark was offered the job on a Friday; he started on the following Wednesday which was Kessler's birthday! We had a lot of packing to do and got started right away only to have to pack everything up again because Kessler's birthday party was at the house the following weekend. It was tough not having Mark there for so many reasons. Trying to do it all with 2 kids was beyond difficult and we just missed him. It ranks up there as one of the hardest times of my life. A lot happened those weeks which are still too traumatic to discuss. The beginning of the end of the move began when the kids, Merlin and I, picked up Mark from the airport with the car loaded to the gills. He'd just flown from the Gold Coast to Melbourne only to do the long drive back.

Mark drove 18 of the 20 hours that finally brought us to our new home and another chapter of our life. He somehow managed to find us a beautiful house to rent, about 2 kms from his new work location. With the type of work Mark does, it's very difficult to find a house nearby as he's typically working for large companies in large cities. Despite how much I didn't want to move again, things were starting to look up.

Unfortunately, about 6 weeks after we moved here, on Mark's birthday, he was given notice that the project was canceled. He had one week before he was out of work. To describe this as devastating would be an understatement. One of the risks of moving to the Gold Coast was this is not a huge city. There's very little chance of Mark finding another job here. It was a risk we were willing to take given that the project we moved here for was meant to last 3 years. We'd been through a fair amount the last few years... this really seemed unfathomable.

Mark immediately started the daunting task of finding more work. He had quite a few leads, but very little time. The first one that came through was a position in Tasmania, 2200km away. He was the new Project Manager for an SAP deployment with Hydro Tasmania. Given that we had just signed a new lease, just enrolled Makena in a new school along with the fact that only place worse than the Gold Coast for finding SAP work is Tasmania, we decided that rather than move the whole family again, Mark would commute each week. This was such a tough decision, but there was really no other choice.

I'll backtrack just a bit now. Shortly after moving to the Gold Coast, I flew back to Melbourne to help one of Mark's friends, Mustafa. He had started a business and was doing a trade show there. He needed someone to help him man the booth. On my return flight I sat next to a lovely woman on the plane. We got to talking about all kinds of things, but the notable point was that her daughter worked on the Gold Coast in IT. We exchanged details and she put me in touch with her daughter. We met for coffee and finally I got to meet her boss. I interviewed for the position along with 14 other people! Given that I had been out of the IT industry for a bit, I'm glad I only found out how many I was up against recently!

A few LONG weeks later I was offered the job. I started 6 November, which is funny given that was election day. I have been hinged to US politics for the last few years, so starting work the same day as the election was a bit tortuous for me!

So, I started working full time about a month after Mark start commuting to Tassie Monday-Friday. Life suddenly got very hard. I have soooo much respect for all of the single working parents out there, especially those without family around to help! It is tough! It is so nice to be working out in an office working again. I love my boss and enjoy the challenges, well, some of them. It's nice to be a part of something like this again!

We are now coming up on 9 months since Mark started his commute! It feels like years have passed. We miss him so much.. particularly the last few weeks. You see, the first phase of the project is going live this weekend. So, he's had to stay in Tassie 2 out of the last 3 weekends! I miss him (I might have mentioned that), but I am so proud of him for what he's nearly accomplished! Go MARK!! :)

Resusitation

Every so often I make a small effort to revive the blog; it's generally very short lived.

Hopefully not this time.

Last week I received a letter from the school indicating that Kessler was selected for the gifted and talented program. There was a questionnaire about various milestones--when he started walking, talking.. I had to refer to my blog to answer some of them. Wow, I'm just so incredibly happy that I have video/photos/stories to help me remember those years!! I suspect that 5 years from now, I'll appreciate that I brought m2k2 back to life!

Back to my gifted and talented boy. He is. There's no doubt about it. The fact that he knew 40 different species of dinosaurs when he was 3... what they ate, how fast and tall they were. Mark and I had to work really hard to learn the names just so we didn't feel inadequate when he'd quizzed us. We were still wrong. Often. The one thing I hope never to forget is his pronunciation. Seriously. 4-6 syllable names he'd repeat after only hearing it once or twice. Watching him concentrate as he listened, then repeated.. Just amazing.

One of the questions that was interesting was about when he first began to talk. He didn't speak early, but when he spoke, it was in complete sentences. I'm so happy to have a video posted of him "talking".

Another question that I found interesting was about his sense of humor, whether it appeared to be more mature than his age. Mark and I have always noted how funny he is. His delivery is far better than mine. He often says something funny, without ever cracking a smile. He can be silly like a 5 year old too, but there are those moments where you know there's so much going on in his head, you can't help but marvel.

Anyway, I'm not sure how the program will go. I'm very proud of him for being selected, but a little sad for Makena. She's not quite as focused, but she's a smart cookie too. She's a bit more laid back, and happy-go-lucky which definitely has its merits. When she makes her mind up about something, you'd be hard-pressed to stop her.

One thing is for sure, they are two beautiful kids. I'm so lucky to have them!

What does identical mean?

I was reading news online; Mark and Kessler were reading a book. I heard Kessler ask, "What's identical?" "It means the same. Like my butt and your face." Gawd that sounds awful. While it probably is, Mark says things like this in a very conversational tone which generally causes the kids to do a double take then say something like, "Silly daddy!" Or something along those lines. Not this time. Kess responded, "Hmm.. kinda.. except your crack is bigger and it goes the other way." Mark's antics are failing as Kessler is very analytical.

Give that girl a raise!

A few weeks ago Makena said I look like the girl from Modern Family when I straighten my hair.  I wasn't sure who she was referring to.  She clarified last night:

She will receive an increase in her allowance and perhaps a trip to the optometrist.

November? Really?

This is going to be a spastic post.  I managed to get Kessler off playing in his room while I applied for some jobs.  He came in said, "I spelled your name, but I can't do the "d"."  Given that unless he's spelling my middle name, Denise, he's not spelling my name.  I went to his room to find this: 

I told him him he wrote dad.  He said, "Oh."  And asked if I could help him spell "mom".  He was quite proud of himself either way.  He's such a wonderful kid.

Anyway, I took the photo and texted it to Mark and realized that texting is not great for posterity's sake so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update my blog.  (November was the last time I updated it!!)  Which reminded me that I should write about how Kessler lost his first tooth today!  It's been a source of much angst for him the last week or two.  It's exciting for him to partake in some of the big kid stuff like his big sister.  But, he didn't seem to like having a loose tooth.  He didn't want anyone to touch it because it would hurt.  A few days ago he and Makena both started screaming because, "Kessler's bleeding!!!"  We thought he must have cut himself badly so Mark and I both dropped what we were doing and ran to the bathroom only to find it was from his almost totally detached tooth.  It's been overdue to come out for several days.  This morning, after finishing up their morning routine Makena came barreling down the hallway announcing that Kessler had lost his tooth!  The only problem is he actually lost his tooth!  He's not even sure when it fell out.. he only noticed it when he was brushing his teeth. His first idea was to go check the bed.  He'd been up for at least 45 minutes.  So... I'm guessing the tooth fairy will just have to trust us on this one.  The funny thing is, that is SO unlike Kessler.  He's so switched on normally. 

There's so much more to write about, but this will have to do for now.

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!