Last day in Toowoomba...

We're leaving tomorrow for Lismore - but today we spent a couple of hours at the Japanese Gardens by the university here and had a fun lunch of meat pies and sausage rolls.  

These are the delicacies that I do so miss in the States.  

Alexandra adored both the pie and the sausage roll and had half of each.  She and her cousin, Nikita, complimented each other yet again in this regard, managing to polish off more than their fair share of the meal.  

Yesterday we adventured to Toowoomba's Picnic Point and enjoyed spectacular views, fun playground equipment, and a yummy snack of coffee for the grown ups and ice cream cones for the children. 

What may have been the coolest part of that outing was when we got to the lookout point and I opened my car door.  There, written on the guard rail, was a special message...

I was greeted with love from a perfect stranger!

Playing in Toowoomba

Yesterday the girls (Suzanne, Nikita, Chelle, Alexandra, and myself) had an outing to a production of Cinderella (it was such fun!) while the boys stayed home and apparently bonded over video games.  This followed another walk through the gardens next door and some avocado tree climbing.  

Dinner last night was, I think, the main event of the day.  The four children ate first and then the six adults after the children were put to bed.  I'm getting the hang of that arrangement.  The wine was free flowing from the time we got back from Cinderella really - so there was much discussion of world politics and Abba (who wouldn't group those together??).  

What I think is the best part, though, of the intoxicated evening is watching my father make pancakes with the children after all that wine last night.  

Can We Fix It? Yes We Can!

Yesterday we picked fresh avocados - here are the kids in the avocado tree after picking a backpack full!

Today...

We went to see Bob the Builder, live on stage, this morning.  Unfortunately, some of us overslept (okay, I was part of that guilty party) and we arrived a few minutes late for the show.  As there were seven of us and they'd already filled the theatre with standby, we didn't get to go in - at least, five of us didn't.  Suzanne was able to get herself and Mitchell (the three year old) in to see Bob and the rest of us went to wander the attached mall.  

Cool thing we discovered:  the donut shop here sells dinosaur shaped donuts.  Alexandra, Nikita, and Logan each had one and I got myself and my dad a coffee from Gloria Jean (yes, her franchise is over here as well!).  

We then wandered around for a bit before splitting up by gender.  I took the girls to ogle the children's clothes that were on sale and my father took ten year old Logan to the electronics store to look at video games.  We met back up with Suzanne and Mitchell and we all wandered the mall a bit more before heading home.  

This afternoon we drove out to Meringindan, the town where my aunt has a few houses, another one of my cousins lives, and where I spent time when I was eleven.  It's much changed - and sad to see some things have gone.  The shop and post office that I helped out in as a child is now closed; they've been taken over by a newer shop across the street.  The main house, though, look good and has been improved nicely.  

We then drove down to look at Coby Dam - a beautiful area that is sadly seeing the effects of long term water shortage.  The children enjoyed the playground and I love looking at the gum trees.  No koalas were out in sight today, but we did have an encounter with a couple of wallabies as we were driving back.  

Thing I learned today:  Never take seven people, including four children, grocery shopping if you expect to just go in and out.  

Dinner became a production as well, as the children all helped me bread the chicken and attempted to wrestle the mozzarella cheese from me.  Aside from rather well done garlic cheese bread, it came out decently.  

Thing I was most proud of for this meal:  That I finely diced fresh garlic, and then mixed it up into unsalted butter to spread on the bread before melting cheese over it.

Really, all these children as so wonderful.  Nikita is almost as sensitive as Alexandra, but Alex still has her beat.  She is quite possibly the most sensitive soul in the world.  

Logan is an instigator but so smart and really funny.  I know I keep saying he reminds me of me, but he does.  I think it's because he's a wise ass.

Mitchell announced to the dinner table of eight people that I make the best porridge.  I said no, that I'm sure he loves his mum's porridge, and he shook his head and said mine was better.

He devoured the chicken too...

Did you know there's a rainforest next door to my cousin's house?

Today we spent the most relaxed day so far of our vacation.  By relaxed, I mean that I learned how to cook porridge this morning after repeated attempts by multiple children to get that Auntie Kylie with the silly thing in her nose out of bed.  

Yes, my nose ring is the object of much fascination with Mitchell, my cousin's three year old son.  Mitchell is a darling, though.  Utterly rambunctious and so not how Alex was at that age, but he has the most charming smile that has completely melted my heart.  

So although Alexandra and Nikita jumped on me more than a few times this morning, I didn't get up until Mitchell came up to the bed, pulled rather insistently on my hand and said "will you make brekky please?"

A pot of porridge later, I had fed all four children, plus my father and was completely proud of myself.  (My cousin had an appointment this morning and so left us with the children for a bit.)

Have I mentioned how much I adore these children?  I can't help but love Nikita - she's so much like Alex, only braver.  If only I could get Alex to be so brave!

Logan is the quietest of the lot, but he's the most like me, I think.  He started off last night with the snappy comebacks and sarcastic (but all in fun!) replies that I love!  The kid is ten years old and has a great great wit!

So, anyway, they all had breakfast, then had breakfast again when Suzanne came home and made boiled eggs and toast.  I had forgotten how much I adore boiled eggs and toast - and Alex also learned how wonderful they are!  I'm always amazed at how often children are hungry...  After our second breakfast, we went for a walk in the public gardens next door to their house.  It's gorgeous - and there's even a rainforest!  After walking through the rainforest, we went up a hill, upon which there were a few trees that looked perfect for climbing.  

The children immediately started climbing them and picking... avocados!  They had a lovely time picking avocados - as did the three adults (Suzanne, my father, and myself) - and they also enjoyed playing in the trees.  I managed to capture some pretty great shots of the four of them in the trees - and discovered that Logan has a new career prospect as model: "Auntie Kylie, here, take a picture of me like this!"

After our walk, I finished up a couple of things I was writing and then accompanied Suzanne to the market, where we picked up a few groceries and I was able to drop some letters in the post.  I learned today that it's very expensive to mail anything from Australia.  Two dollars for a letter to the States.  And I also learned that the woman who works at that particular post office doesn't appreciate good natured joking about the cost of postage.  

Shortly after we got back to the house, another cousin of mine, Gregory, and his wife Chelle came over for dinner.  It was a lovely meal - the children ate first and went to bed and then the adults sat down to eat.  It's a custom that is vaguely familiar to me - I can remember being sent to bed like that when I was a little girl in Sydney while all the grown ups stayed up conversing.  It's not one that I practice, however - I always eat with Alexandra and so am a little thrown (not in a bad way, just a different way) by the whole thing.

In all, it was a relaxing, hanging out with the children, nursing the headache that four children bring on, kind of day - but it's just past nine at night and I'm exhausted and ready to crash.

Unfortunately, I told the girls they could fall asleep in my bed and I'd move them to theirs when I went to sleep - so I have to at least wait until they're asleep, I think!

From Sydney to Toowoomba...

  Okay, I’ve not blogged nearly as much as I’d wanted.  

After our day at the aquarium, we ventured out to Narrabeen, to visit the house where so many people in my family grew up - or at least lived.  It’s no longer in the family, but the house retains the name “Windsor Cottage” - and is located at the end of Windsor Parade - the road named after my grandmother.  

We then rode down to the beach at Narrabeen and walked out around the tidal pools before venturing out to Ku Ring Gai for a visit to some beautiful scenery and a walk up to the aboriginal rock carvings.

The next day we joined Auntie Shane for a church service before venturing out to Sydney on our own.  My father, Alexandra, and myself had a lovely visit at the Opera House and were able to do a tour and learn much more about the building than we’d previously known.  What was also fabulous about that experience was that we were able to see the inside of the building - something that neither my father or myself had done before (obviously, neither had Alex as this was her first visit).  

Monday we took the ferry to Manly - which was lovely.  Our original plan was to find a place with free wireless and catch up on my blogging, Alex’s webkinz, and my father’s internet puttering.  Ideally, we would sit online and people-watch after visiting Manly’s beach.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find anywhere other than a seedy bar with free wireless - and I didn’t feel all that comfortable bring Alex into there.  We walked down to the beach to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean and Alex had a blast.  She was running in the surf - in her regular clothes as we didn’t bring anything else to the beach - when all of a sudden...

SPLASH!

Alexandra took a header into the water and came out looking like a drowned rat.  We found a shop selling tourist-cheap t-shirts and bought a large adult t-shirt for her to wear as a dress and then we went back to our wandering.  After Manly, we took the ferry back to downtown Sydney and walked around the neighborhood called “The Rocks” - the old part of Sydney.  It was lovely!

Tuesday it was just Alexandra and myself who ventured out into Sydney.  We took the ferry into the city, another ferry across to Luna Park, and yet another ferry to Darling Harbour.  We had a nice lunch at the food court there, then took the monorail to Chinatown.  We walked a bit there, then took off down George Street in search of shopping.  Our search seemed to be a bit in vain, so we hopped on a bus for a bit further before finding a city rail station where we then took the train back to Circular Quay - the main ferry hub.  Another ferry and then a bus brought us back to Auntie Shane’s house where we packed for the next day’s flight.  

Wednesday (yesterday) was a day of travel.  We left the house early and got to Sydney airport for our flight to Brisbane well in advance of our flight time.  The security didn’t make us take off our shoes - which was a nice change from the States - but it did confiscate the small pair of scissors I had in a sewing kit.  Strangely, those scissors were allowed on the plane in the US.  We got to Brisbane earlier than scheduled, I think, but my Aunt Dianne was there to greet us, as were my cousin Marianne, her husband Peter, and their son Angus.  Lots of hugs and bag gathering ensued and then we went for lunch before we got in the Land Rover and headed off to Toowoomba to see my cousin Suzanne and her children, Logan, Nikita, and Mitchell.

Sydney Aquarium

While we had a wonderful time yesterday at Taronga Zoo, we also enjoyed the aquarium this afternoon. I can't wait until I can get my own computer online and post some of the photos I've taken thus far.
While at the aquarium, we witnessed a huge stingray - and by huge, I can't even describe it. I never knew they got so big AND the signage informed us that the animals were actually about 25% larger than they appeared. Seeing that stingray made me understand just how Steve Irwin met his untimely demise. That thing was HUGE.
I may just have to wikipedia the thing...

The other thing that stands out in my mind was the Japanese tourist who asked to have his photo taken with Alexandra. I wasn't sure how to respond so I let him take his photo with her - and then wouldn't let Alex out of my sight... or her hand out of my hand.

Other interesting bits about the aquarium? The playful seals were fun - and the sharks were absolutely hypnotizing.
The sharkray was neat too - Have I mentioned how I can't wait to post the photos???

G'day from Down Under!

Well, that's cheesy. However, it's also apt - we're in Australia and having a wonderful time. We spent the first afternoon here at the zoo - which was a blast! Today, our second day here, we went to the aquarium and saw all manner of fishy folk! So much fun!

Alexandra has been a star through all of this - she's eaten dim sum for lunch, she's done more walking than she's used to, definitely. She had prawns with rice for dinner tonight - -

And tonight, for the second night in a row, she's fallen asleep early, still wearing her jeans and sweater. At least she waited until after dinner today - last night she missed dinner.

I'm fascinated with the little differences as we see more of Sydney. Today, in Chinatown, I realized that while I was getting accustomed to the cars driving on the left and the drivers being on the right, I was continually heading to the right to get on escalators - and was repeatedly discovering that I was heading to the wrong escalator.
There's a fast food place we've driven by a few times now - Hungry Jacks. Fine, just another regional fast food place, right? Except that Hungry Jacks' logo is identical to Burger King at home. Coincidence? I doubt it.
There's still McDonalds and Starbucks... and Alex pointed out a KFC today.
"Thank goodness, Grandpa, they have KFC and Starbucks in Australia too!"

Uhmmm.. yeah. Thank goodness...?

We were parked waiting for someone today in the city when Alexandra asked
"Mom, do you do digital photography?"
"Yes Alex. Why?"
"Well, Mom, then Ted's is the place!"

I looked across the street to a discount digital photography store with big bright yellow signs advertising "Ted's Digital Photography"

At least she also enjoys learning about new places and trying new things. She's not wholly based in consumer capitalism. Only about 90% or so...

Counting down the days...

We're leaving for Australia in two days - and I'm so excited!

Our bags are almost all packed; we have a load of laundry to do and go through and then that part's done.  I have a number of errands to run tomorrow morning - nothing like waiting until the day before we leave!  

I was sitting with Alexandra yesterday, waiting for food, and I watched her pull out a small container with toys in it, open it, then play with the toys quietly to herself.  I normally love to watch her amuse herself like that - even if it leaves me alone, watching her.  Her imagination fascinates me continually.  As I watched her yesterday, though, I had a realization.  

As a seven year old child, she needs to have toys.  Okay, it's not a life or death kind of need, but it would be mean to deprive her of any toys for an extended period of time.  While I'm sure she'd make up another game with whatever was around her, letting her have her little animals with her is probably the best idea.

Have I packed any toys?  Have I allowed her to pack any toys for our trip?

Uhm, no.  I've packed her numerous books and activity books (think money math workbooks) - and I told her she could bring one doll and one stuffed animal.

I realized yesterday that I've been pretty mean in that regard.  So - while we're almost done packing, we're going to have to pack some toys that she can bring with her on our journey...

I may even go so crazy as to let her bring a non-educational toy - it'll be WILD.

Scrapping, Swapping, and Flying Away!

My new hobby that I've gotten into this year has been scrapbooking.  I've discovered that it's a lot of fun, relaxing, and helps to preserve memories.  I'm not entirely thrilled with its cost and the fact that it can consume so many hours - but I figure it still balances out in the positive.  

Through scrapbooking, a friend has introduced me to the world of "swap-bot" - where I can swap paper scraps, embellishments, and all sorts of other things.  Another friend who I've introduced to swapping is swapping poetry and mix cds - FUN!

So to get my mind off my many worries, I've been focusing my energies on these two hobbies and having such fun!  

Sadly, they're going to be a bit on hold for the next month as Alexandra and I are about to leave for Australia.  Yes, we're headed to the land down under and are so excited.  We've been packing our bags and arranging our lists (packing, itineraries, etc) and are now to the point where we're just anxiously anticipating...

I'm hoping to relax, reconnect with family, and let this be a vacation.  Alexandra can't wait to meet her Australian cousins - and also see things that she's only seen in books and television.  The Sydney Opera House is on her list, as is the Big Banana (thanks, Disney Channel) - and of course the animals!

So I guess this answers my wondering where my time has gone and why I've not blogged recently.  I've gotten a lot of pages done for my scrapbooks; I've found new hobbies through swapping, and am looking forward to reconnecting with hobbies I've fallen away from; I've been trying to organize a big trip for myself and my daughter.  

My goal for our trip, though, is to keep up blogging as we go and include photos of our adventures.  

Taking a moment...

It's been quite a while since I blogged - I'd like to say it's because I've been so focused on my thesis but in reality, I'm not entirely sure why I haven't blogged.  

I had Alexandra and one of her friends the other day for a while and found myself getting short tempered with them quickly throughout the day.  That evening I took them to dinner with a friend of mine who does not have kids.  Through her eyes and ears, I discovered that these kids are really funny, great people.

There were so many funny things that came out of kids' mouths that evening (in a verbal sense only, thank goodness!) that I decided to change my tune towards them.

Every day since, I've made it a point to tell Alex what a great person she is - and I've made a conscious effort to enjoy her - rather than get frustrated with her.  

Sometimes it's so easy to expect perfection from her and get upset when she doesn't live up to those expectations.  But she's a kid - and she does what kids do - and that's perfect in its own way.  

She's seven years old and that's such a cool age - I don't want to look back in twenty years and just remember being stressed out at her; I want to remember the funny, smart, cool person she is!

Little Miss Clean

We spent way too much money this morning at Walmart on cleaning supplies and toiletries. Always a depressing kind of shopping trip - lots of money spent and the end result of the trip is more chores at home.
On top of bathroom cleaner and shampoo, I purchased a Pledge duster. The goal for today was to clean the living room (it's a lot better now than it was, but it still needs work). I figured once we'd gotten rid of the mess, I'd do the floors and I'd introduce Alexandra to the chore that was my constant while I was growing up: dusting. We don't have nearly as many shelves and knick knacks to dust as my parents had (most of our shelves are wire crates), but I figured it would be good for her to have a new constant chore.

She has been chomping at the bit to open the duster. Alexandra didn't really want to help get rid of the clutter, but oh did she want to start dusting. Finally I acquiesced to her demands and allowed her to open the package and dust.
She dusted for two hours before I finally took the thing away from her and locked it in a closet. There is only so much I can take of pointless dusting (that is, dusting the same shelf 10 times).

Alexandra likes to dust. Our furniture is a little less dusty now. I'm in awe of the amount of entertainment that she received from cleaning furniture. Oh, and I've now swayed her attention to sweeping the room.

She's asked a few times when she gets to clean the toilet. That also freaks me out, but I'm putting it off a bit longer.

As I reluctantly get ready to clean out the guinea pig cage, I'm in awe of the child. Were chores so much fun when I was a kid?

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

I have Maurice Chevalier singing in my head at the moment.

My own daughter brings so much joy, so much angst, so much life into my world. I was just perusing photos of friends' little girls and realized how wonderful they all are.

Little girls are temperamental.
Little girls are sweet.
Little girls are made of rocks and rubber.
Little girls are the most fragile beings in the world.
Little girls are smarter than we give them credit.
Little girls make everything around them a little brighter.

Little girls are the world - and my little girl will get a big hug when she gets home from school today!

Translation Gap?

I woke Alexandra this morning with more than a few gentle nudges and belly tickles. I told her that she couldn't be late for the bus because I had to go work on my thesis today - I'm determined that it will be done today while she's at school.

"Then I'm not going to school," she responded.

"I thought you hated me working on this thesis - if I'm done I won't be so preoccupied with it."

"But I want you to get a better job, Mom. You can't finish you thesis!"

The higher the degree in English, the lower the salary for any job prospects. It's a fear I've been developing - but it was completely brought home to me when my seven year old expressed the same sentiment.

Today I will finish my thesis draft. Tomorrow I will apply at Walmart.

Just you and me, kid!

Breaking news that makes me sad to my daughter is never easy. Her face looking so heartbroken is usually enough for me to do anything to make her happy again.

Unfortunately, today, I realized that I can't do that. For nearly two years, I've been trying to conform my needs to the demands of another - making myself repeatedly miserable in order to appease that other.

Even after crying sessions and lots of hugs from close friends today, what made everything pretty crystal was having to explain it to Alex.

"We broke up."

"In real life?"
(now I'm not sure what she meant by that... but I answered the question anyway)

"Yes."

Tears sprang to her eyes.

"Why?"

And here was when it all made sense to me.

"We just have different priorities in life. You can still be friends with him and send him notes on the computer - I'm not going to keep you from doing all that. I just can no longer be in a relationship with him."


Granted, I'm still sad and have constant tears in my eyes. But I also know that I made the right decision. I wish it hadn't been made in anger, but it was and I can't take that back. I know what's important in life and what will keep me strong.
I'm watching Alexandra work on her homework and about to plunge into my thesis. Our work is important, yes. However, the love I have for my daughter, the love she has for me, that's what life is all about.

Thanks, Dad!

I was talking with a friend this evening about her fear of teaching American culture to international students through football. She worried that the students would be resistant - and that her lack of knowledge on the subject would make the class... interesting.

I suggested that she focus on Joe Montana's tight butt for the girls - that's what sparked my interest in football many years ago.

I then realized that my dad rocks.

Okay - he's not Joe Montana.

But he did expose me to a fair amount of sports as I grew up. I can follow and consider myself knowledgeable about baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, tennis...
There are, of course, sports that I was never really exposed to - I am clueless when it comes to cricket, for example - but on the whole, I'm not an idiot when ESPN comes on. I can watch a game and not need someone to explain to me what's going on (well, okay - and jai-alai - what's going on with that??).

I went golfing with three other women on Saturday - a first grade mom foursome in the St. Andrew's Golf Scramble fundraiser - and was the only one to understand the difference between the fairway and the green. I do understand football and can enjoy watching a game (beyond the quarterbacks' behinds!).
I will again bring up the fact that I won Keegan's NCAA tourney pool. (ROCK CHALK!)

So when I got off the phone with my friend, I called my dad and thanked him for imparting this knowledge to me. I can hang with the guys and talk sports and not confuse a touchdown with a homerun (apparently, some women do this?).

Then I realized that my own daughter doesn't know the difference between a basketball and a football - let alone the games!
I'm sad, I guess that I'm not teaching her to be as well rounded as my own parents did - but then, I'm only the mom. I may enjoy sporting events now and then, but I'm not an avid sports nut.
At least she's learning to be a really good shoe shopper!

Did I just join the Home School Association?

I should be working on my thesis. I'm supposed to be finishing up my Master's degree in Literature this summer - and that thesis needs to be finished.

Instead, I spent yesterday and today volunteering all day at the book fair at Alexandra's school. I also spent these two days learning things about myself and the reality in which I exist.

I discovered that all schools have good kids and bad kids. There will be kids who spend their money buying books for their younger siblings - and there will be kids who swipe toys from the tables. All schools have them.
I discovered that I can say no to frivolous requests for scented highlighters by my first grader and her friends. I may have succumbed to the poster for her bedroom, but I also managed to say no to the toys and the expensive, not-really-a-book, book. Even after the big blue puppy-dog eyes.
I discovered that going out to lunch with mom isn't quite as tempting as the cafeteria's texas toast. Instead, mom can go find a soda and cheeseburger at McDonald's.

Finally, I discovered that I may have joined the Home School Association.

Between all of Alexandra's activities and my studies and work, I realized last semester that I had too much on my plate. I cut back a lot of my own activities - stopped teaching Sunday School, volunteered for only one project at her school last semester, withdrew myself from the conference planning committee in my department. Rather than co-leading one of her two Brownie troops (yes, she's in two troops), I led one meeting this semester and have just helped out occasionally for both troops. Less commitments - that's what I have been going for.
I continued to volunteer at her school on a regular basis, but only for the first half of the year. Then I cut that as well.

Last week, at a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, I was recruited to be on a team of first grade moms for the school's golf scramble. It should be interesting - I've never golfed more than 18 holes of mini-golf.
This week, with the book fair at her school and me looking for a way to procrastinate with finishing the thesis and other responsibilities, I found myself spending a good amount of time selling books to children.
I was wary of the other mothers - after all, it's a small school and a small town - they all know each other. I felt accepted, though, and enjoyed spending the past two days with these women. They're interesting - and different from most of the people with whom I spend my time. I was enthralled with their stories and appreciated these new perspectives.

Then I was sucked in - actually, I think that was precisely the term one of them used when we parted this afternoon: "See you on Tuesday - now that we've sucked you in, we won't let you go!"
I've apparently become part of the committee to put together the Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon on Tuesday. I'm in charge of finding entertainment (a musician who will play for a couple of hours) and I'm also drafted to monitor all the children on the playground for two hours while the luncheon takes place.

I know that my thesis is getting mad at me for not finishing it - but I have more and more sympathy for my own parents whom I always berated for being such "joiners."