Huckleberry One year, 5 months/17 months old When This Was Originally Written

What a sweet little boy this one is. Truly. Even though he has no kisses for his mama:( Gives them all to his Daddy and Sister and says "No" to me. Rotten thang. Sucks in his cheeks like a fish for a big pucker!

What he's up to:

Busy, busy. Loves balls of all sizes. Rolling, throwing, kicking, catching and bouncing them. Sinking them into the toilet or his sisters potty seat. Yes, at the top of his Christmas list is a basketball net!

Still loves to eat and num num nums and yums stuff. Not too much he won't eat. He does not like chicken nuggets, period. That's all so far. In the US, we went thru drive thru CVS to get an Rx and he was Yumm...Yumming, more like "Nummmm"  because he thought he was at McDonald's. I've only seen drive thru fast food and I think a "bottle shop" also known as a Liqour Store" drive thru here. No banks, etc.

He is still into pushing a shopping cart, stroller and riding on the little firetruck but mostly he has evolved into pushing furniture around. Sometimes it has been just been there little kid sized table and chairs, others our chairs...I think the couch (they call it the lounge here in Australia) is a bit too heavy for him!

My pink iPhone is a direct line to Daddy aka The Man in this blog and he hands it to  me when he wants to talk to him so I can dial him. Pretty cute.

Also calls Bo, his grandfather, DaDa when looking at his picture.

Loves to sit on the potty with his sister...Hmmm. Yes, we have two from when we had a two story house and he will drag one beside hers and sit beside her.

Loves playing on the bed, jumping around.

Likes reading books now and will bring them to us  to read. Sometimes sits by himself on  a kid-sized chair or on the hearth to read alone. Love this!

He loves saying Bye Bye and "All done", talks major baby talk with hands moving like we have a little long lost Italian in us...

Sings Itsy Bitsy Spider with hand motions...and Row, Row, Row Your Boat ...but now prefers Itsy Bitsy...

Absolutely can't stay still when he hears music. Loves to dance!

:Loves cars and calls everything that moves a car so far. Trains, planes, tractors, etc.

Sometimes has to sleep with a ball. Has such a strong arm and a good aim! He dribbles and is not afraid of a ball coming at him at all. He catches them!

Loves dogs. Gets so excited to see them.

Has no fear on the playground and loves to slide down the sliding boards.

Not so hot:

He can be a little rough. Umm yeah...used a crab mallet on my head the other day. Ouch...

Must take care to close off kitchen and bathroom doors. Having a kitchen to close off is a pretty cool  vv concept that can't happen in a more modern open plan. Makes me think of my Mom-Moms house with doors to the dining room and the breakfast room.

If my phone goes missing, no telling where it can be. It's been located in the recycling box, in the trash, toy box, and in the fireplace....luckily he has not found it interesting to put in the toilet. Knockin' on wood over here, ya'll. Most of the time my ringer is off and findng it is a challenge. But I'm learning to keep it up high and to get back after he chats with Daddy!

Overall, I am cherishing the moments with him. When he wakes up an hour after I put him down and I am just getting relaxed...I usually take it with stride and just go pick him up and snuggle with him. Likely my last baby. That means, until my nieces and nephews have kids we have a long dry baby run to get through...

Car seat breaker outer! Ahhh. I meant to look for a middle clip when in America, but forgot and never really got to a Babies R Us kind of store. No, the car seats here only snap in at the base and that is it. No 5 point harness. They have no idea what that is. They have some weird thing here that seems to do the trick but what a wreck I was when he pulled out not just one arm, but two, basically negating any car seat safety we had. Now that I see how it works and see it is okay, I am going to get another for the Muffin. Just seems safer.

He is growing so quickly and just a delightful, sweet 'um!

Little Funnies

Warning: If you are under the age of 16, yes,Jack and Anna, I mean you, don't read this. it's nothing terrible, but maybe a little TMI, too much information of an embarrassing sort. Just skip this one. Not about us, or the kids, just Aussie advertising...

My facebook wall has shared some of these funnies, but I thought it would be fun to share some of the Lighter Side of Australia with all of you, some of whom are Facebook Virgins.

1.Underwear Ad. (this on TV)

Talks about wearing your "daggies" for that time of the month...Cracks me up. One of my college roomates used to call them "period underwear" (hi, B., wherever you are!" This is so much better!

BTW, "Bonds" is like the Hanes of Australia. They start with Baby stuff/"bubs" all the way to adult tees and panties, sold everywhere from the grocery to the Kmart to the department stores!

2. Toilet Paper Ad ( see a theme here? oops!, This on a billboard roadside)

"loves your bum!" All I can say is the tp is okay, but they are like little mini-rolls. I miss some of the SuperSize stuff of America...like Diet Cokes and Toilet Paper Rolls! Also, until I found Kirkland brand paper towels at Costco...the Aussie rolls are shorter and left a big gap in the paper towel roller holder thingmajig! Quilton is the name of the TP brand in the ad, btw.

3. Vagina, Vagina, Vaaaagiiiiinnnaaaa!

TV ad says "Vagina!" The Man actually like stopped the tv and replayed it so I could hear that they said VAGINA on TV! No worries. Not that big of a deal, but unheard of in a TV commercial in the States. It also includes the words "Discharge".  The commercial is on all the time now and they have a print equivalent at the movie theater we went to over the weekend with signage up on the walls and stalls. It's for a panty liner...

Commercials are generally just way more liberal. When I can come up with some more, I'll add on to this, but right now, we are pretty restricted in Disney Jr, Nick, Jr CeeBeebee's...

Muffin.3 years, 9 months.

Our Muffin girl is still cute as a button and as precocious as ever.

Here are some things that are recently on her mind:

SANTA CLAUS and her birthday!! Is it too early to put the Elf on the Shelf up? The stockings and the Elf are all we brought with us for Christmas...
Somehow after me singing the Santa Claus is Coming to Town song  in response to her questioning she has decided to sleep in her own room,in her own bed for FOUR straight nights. I sort of miss her, but I also like having a little room to myself...

She is OBSESSED with getting the Barbie Town house with the PINK elevator. Retail price in Aus is $299 (Target), In the US it is about $130, I think (WalMart)! If we are here, Santa may as well ship it, it has to still be less expensive.

She is also very concerned about DEATH. She asks often about Grandma's mom. Why did she die? Etc. Then, she gets very sad and says I don't want you to die, Mama. Who will take care of me? Ahhh...she gets me in tears. I don't want to die either sweet Muffin. Don't want anyone else to take care of you....No, that is not what I say. I tell her that we all hope to live till we get old. Then, she talks about Bo being old (sorry, Dad)  and she worries about him. Believe me, she does too much thinking and I can't even think about how that will be as it will be heartbreaking for me, and then for my daughter who adores him to be heartbroken,too...Let's move on!

Wanting to DANCE (not have babies, you know, I want to be a ballerina like Anna) and play SOCCER and go to a school where MIKEY is not there to BITE her! I can't enroll her in anything with our not knowing where we are going status...but I know where to go for dance now, and told her we would consider schools again, once she's in panties. She is just too mature to hang out for hours with the little ones in diapers...Another school holiday is coming up and it is tricky with enrollments here as we missed the start of everything while we vacay'd in America...

She is making some progress on the potty. Even went on her own at the gym the other day and tried to go while I took a shower yesterday resulting in a Fuh-Fuh- FECAL mess all over her and our couch. The couch part was my fault. I had no idea she had pooped and I usually smell it. I did ask and she played me...Went to change her, as the changing table is in the sleeping bub's room, and didn't know she had sort of pulled off her diaper...and ahhh...no more details needed. It was a mess. And I said "I'm going to lose my mind!" Poor thing responded "You are going to lose your mind everyday". True dat. So, I've been schooled by the Muffin and plan to find a new expression. Open for suggestions. Also, working on just rolling with the punches...just handle it and move on...which I do,after I make a fuss.

She is very excited to see GiGi and Pop Pop next week.

She is very true to her missing her family and cousins and has appreciated all the mail love! Recent I misses included "Kaelyn and her baby sister." (She remembers K's Pirate Bday Party one of our last Richmond events). Also, Myra and Sam our new neighborhood neighbors have been brought up. We have to send them something. The last thing didnn't make it to the Post so maybe this time we will get past our good intentions and make it happen. Just happened to recently pick up a little something for Kaelyn and her sister.

What The Muffin Is Doing!

She won't put a bow or barrette in her hair but she puts them all over her My Little Pony toys for a Pony Show...

She is giving up playing with her Barbie's because they need a house and without one, nothing will do.

We left some of her little princesses in the rental car in Adelaide so she doesn't have them to distract her...Don't ask how? I knew to check, but she had a meltdown at the airport and we were in a crazy time and place and I just did not think to tell Seth to retrieve toys...I understand some are on their way via GiGi and PopPop who will be with us next week.At least they fit in her little doll house.

Playing with Legos and Blocks and was very into Play-Doh but it is now too sticky and messy and she loses her mind and screams...waking Huckleberry. She usually plays with play-doh while he naps otherwise he is all into it and EATING it. "Ummm Nummmm".

Loves TV still and movies. Loves Wizard of Oz and analyzes it and asks questions about it all of the time. She doesn't watch it all the time like you would think from her conversation. Also, still loves Ponyo, which we have already borrowed 3 times from the library! Seems to be off Rapunzel/Tangled a bit for now...

When something is done that should not have been she blames Soren Lorenson, her imaginary friend, based on the story of the Charlie and Lola books and cartoons. He is Lola's BIF!:) Kinda funny.

Since she began deleting my photos from the iPad (yup, iNeed to do something with them, have no idea what I lost, so glad I caught her when I did) she doesn't use it much. We, by that I mean her father, also found an age appropriate you tube alternative called Gube, rated G... that she seems happy with...though I have not checked for Betty Crocker kitchen vidoes. She was obsessed with them....Still enjoys helping prepare meals...

Some of the not so positives:

Writing on everything. Uh-oh Mother's Daughter on this one!  Walls...Photos, toys...(Please send Magic Erasers,someone.They don't sell 'um here.)  I haven't gotten it off the wall yet.

Meltdowns usually once a day but seem to be getting better with the new Santa fixation. Typically around 2:00 if we've been out in the morning and 4:00 if we did not. I'm trying to handle them better. She is tired but won't nap and if she naps she is up until 10 or later...

Insisting on having her Daddy at times when he is not available whether it be in our vicinity or hearing...and I am only trying to help her. Hurts ma feelings big time. Last time, I said, "(Muffin) I know you asked for Daddy, but he didn't hear you, can I help you?" I swear her head must've spun a few times a la the Possessed.  Again, I am working on my reactions to the DD though I can't help being hurt. I don't care how old she is. I don't mind that she wants him. I mind how she freaks out. She just asked me the other day (you know one of those questions from the backseat?) what freaked out means. Goodness, this girl. Daddy is very grounding and refereeing already. Now, gotta work on his hearing/response to help prevent some of these meltdowns.

Did you hear about the elevator at the hotel in Adelaide? The girl was in a mood. I had both kids, The Man was handling something at the car...We walk in and she goes to the elevator, hits the button. This is all fairly typical except that Huckleberry and I were way behind her, though she was always in my sight. That is, until the elevator door opened, my DD walked in and went to our room door ALL BY HERSELF. I know thhis may get a giggle. I know it is no surprise for her to remember our floor number or where our room was, but still good for her age, but the possible dangers of it all...No lectures needed. The Man did not even GET what I was telling him until the next day. He thought she just did what she always does...the buttons for us, etc. I said, why would I have made a deal out of telling you if this weren't different? Solo Muffin in the Elevator. Independent Sprite acting out of SPITE!

There you have a little glimpse in to life with Muffin.

Soon to Come. Huckleberry, 17 months, aka 1 year 5 months.

Back by Popular Demand (yeah, right). Stuff to Know About Australia, just in case yah want to come  for some Fun'da Down 'Unda

The stripes on the road for ROAD CROSSINGS are nicknamed Zebra Crossings . Cute, huh? Be sure to say it Brit/Aus way ZEHBRA! You had better stop for pedestrians because they don't even look. They do have the right of way, but I just can't exude that confidence on American or Aussie soil. Have they not noticed the amount of people with their heads down in their...crack....berries and mobile phones?

If your making a reservation, call it a BOOKING and if you need a HIGHCHAIR, ask them to reserve it for you. They have signs on the tables that say reserved...but booking is the word they use when you call and that high chair thing is the biggest pain in the drain. Seriously? Sydney is so child friendly in so many ways, but you only have two high chairs and I needed to book one? Umkay. I am thinking of keeping a toddler strap on seat in the BOOT for those days when we don't have a booking at all. I guess I'd have to attach it to the stroller for those days that we are mostly on foot. Keeping a hungry boy in a stroller to eat is a PITA and...holding him is nearly impossible because he's kinda like the frog in the song "Tiny Tim". He grabs everything to eat and then he throws stuff...and he is a DISASTER. It's a wonder we ever go out. But truly they are both pretty good when we are in public. Also, consider yourself warned, you may not have a booking and go to a restaurant with lots of empty tables that are "Reserved". They won't work you in or figure it out.They just keep the tables empty and waiting.

Also, the check, refill, new drink never comes unless you ask. It is so weird. No wonder you aren't supposed to tip! Service generally sucks. But the tab, also called "ticket" would be much higher with a little attention.

Later, Gators!

Getting Used to Sydney

Seems it's true. Yah read it right, Ok?

So here is a little speculation as to why I may be embracing this place a little better. All or none of it may have anything to do with it!

Is it....

a. I have reached the 6 month mark which is said to be the benchmark time frame to get used to someplace new. So, I am not losing my marbles over the crazy car park to get groceries via an elevator. Don't forget the coin needed to use a "trolley" in the grocery store, not to mention that they are nearly impossible to steer and all the more difficult with one kid in the front where kids usually have a seat, one in the back taking all the grocery room and no undercarriage. I don't get the steering thing, but it's not just me, I see Aussies struggling,too...They could benefit from some consultation with American shopping cart makers ( I know not likely made in America) who make it so much easier and pleasant to do the shopping! I'm even chilling over the busy roads with skinny lanes...I'm over it. I'm just doing it now without getting so stressed by it all.

b. My visit from my Dad, to MD with family and from the Hall's filled me up with Peace, Love and America!

c. I know I am leaving this house NO MATTER WHAT by or before the end of the lease! YES. It is still charming, and I'm sort of used to it, but Spring is upon us and I fear how many bugs and spiders will try to sublet...

d.Just dealing better as so much is unknown...We are most likely leaving Sydney all together which is too funny now that I'm embracing her a bit. We may be moving to South Australia, to Adelaide, which is more low key and easier to get around. Downside: Seth will have to work more hours and travel more. Lots of up sides to all of this though I will post about later...Adelaide has our favorite winery nearby "Molly Dooker" and lots of great wineries in nearby wine country. We couldnt go on our most recent visit because they do not have an official "Cellar Door" aka Tasting Room. They have a tour where you taste and the munchkins can not join. Gotta get back there with a babysitter! Maybe during our visit with the Mac's or maybe if we move there...I can see it now, crushing grapes at Molly Dooker...

e. I am working out. It's new, but I feel great and so far that 40 minutes to myself while kids go to the Kid Zone and are having fun there is wonderful!  It goes by wayyyy too fast and yes, I am saying this about working out! I am doing cardio/treadmill for now just to get going and get to a nice run. I am tweaking a sort of C25K (Couch to 5k) program with interval training and doing great so far. I think (delusional, maybe?) my body remembers being a runner. Haha.

f. There is a slim chance we get a job in the USA. Not likely Richmond if this happens. I am doing pretty well and think I can do wherever for one more year. However, makes planning things hard right now...thought we were going to be US bound for Christmas but if we are moving to Adelaide I think that will be enough of a move. Also, the adjustment is hard and I am not looking forward to doing it again. If we are staying in Aus. I want to go back later to stagger my visit a bit.

g. Mac's are in NZ now and will be coming to stay with us soon...wherever we are!

There you have it, just seven sort of positives. 

Moving is never fun but I am going to try to keep  my chin up, buckeroos, wherever we end up.

Little Miss Opinionated has put her two cents in...Her vote, of course, is America. Unfortunately, we don't really get to choose.

Kisses, darlings!

R-O-C-K in the USA

I swore I wrote this already, but maybe it was just drafted in my head and Goodness knows, my head space is spinning often!

Last you all heard from me, I was having a fantastic visit with my father in Australia. What I couldn't tell you then, was we had a sneaky, surprise plan to return home with him. We told him and one sister so that she could help us coordinate being picked up at the airport with the carseats. We totally blew everyone away and Muffin took great pleasure in popping out from behind a chair at Grandma's everytime someone new would arrive under the pretense (it was late at night) that Bo wanted to see everyone that night! Then, we surprised the other grandparents and that was fun,too. Just showed up at their house and they were expecting my dad with some Aussie packages.

We were there for a month. We enjoyed seeing family and friends and were sad we missed seeing some of our favorites.

Some highlights (in random order!)

4th of July:
Nothing like being home for Independence Day!
 Muffin was so excited to celebrate America's birthday, though noone had any big plans, my mother threw a party together in HER honor.  
We also went to a hometown kinda parade in Galesville with kids in there Fourth Finery and there flags waving. It was hot, but short and they loved it. People were so friendly and I felt so much joy to be in America again!

Maryland Blues (not!)
Had crabs a couple times, not nearly enough! Learned that Huckkleberry is not allergic to shellfish and that he indeed has a "Category 2 Allergy" to nuts.  Love, love. love that our oldest will not eat crab except straight from crab pickin'. She does not like crab cakes or anything compromising her meat! Purist:)

Richmond, VA (two trips: one a few days and another back and forth in one day to MD)

Seems our house is in order with the tenants. Looks no more unloved on the outside than it did prior to our purchase with the exception that the lawn may be a bit better due to some measures we took prior to our move. Hope they are loving life in our Pink House. I went without kids. Worried it would be upsetting to the girl!

Had a nice stay with the Hall Family (who have since visited us here on the other side) to include a get together with other Cougar friends. They were so gracious as I brought my 2 kids, my sister and nephew with me.  Great to be with them in their lovely home. Also enjoyed seeing Raina! Woof! Loved seeing them and knowing they would be Down Under when I got back!

Lunch with Jeannette who has two boy bambinos invading her bod right now! Nice and how I've missed stuff as simple as Panera and eating and talking without kids. If I seemed quiet, ever, it might be 'cause the aforementioned scenario is so unusual. Sad I didn't get to see little Miss Emma  and her daddy, but mostly sweet Emma! Thank Goodness for Facebook and a fellow blogger!

Shopping with Kelly. Love that I met her at Target(nothing like American Target. We have it here but the kids clothes are pretty much crap and all character stuff...sorry, snobby me, I limit that in the kids wardrobes and the womens stuff here is like dept. store prices and some prices I wouldn't pay in the states in a dept store sale since I am a total sale shopper) and we caught up browsing the aisles. Hope those walls don't talk and nice that it isnt my hometown where surely there would be someone who knew me hearing our chatter! She is everyones best friend...and creme de la creme and I am so happy she is in my life and we go long spans and pick up wherever we are at and it is just as comfortable as it was when we were teaching in the 'hood together!

Seeing my own doctors to include the coolest dentist dude ever, Jeff Friend. He can be found at Patterson Ave. Center for Dental Arts. That name doesn't seem so cool (sorry, Jeff, but I assure you he is a great guy who really knows his stuff). He is as real as they come and I love that he sings throughout the day, tunes from back in our day! (also, EVERYONE in his office is friendly and  nice!) AND the best OB/GYN Dr. Erica Royal. We just love her. Smart, sweet and professional. She is with Virginia Physicians for Women. Muffin loves Dr. Erica and she was just fabulous with her when we took her to our prenatal appts. for Huckleberry! She let her wear her stethoscope and listen to the babies hb herself. Muffin was convinced, she was part of the medical team and said things like she wanted to be a dr. like Dr. Erica. She can be whatever she wants to be, but if she is a person like Erica, we will be happy, without the PhD.

Crabs again with the McLaughlin Crew
We had nice visits with my in laws and the kids got some time to be with there grandparents on their own and have an outing. Muffin loved her time with her cousins, Charley, Nathan and Bailey...

Got to see some of my Stewart cousins at Lauren's NHS graduation. This was a funny one for me and sad. I noted that with the exception of a few older folks like my parents...there weren't any old people. Hmmm...epiphany, "We are the effin old people!" Ahhhh! Kids had a great time playing at Piney Point except poor Jack who got wrapped up in a jellyfish around his belly. A whole new definiton of JELLY BELLY! Ouuuuch! He was a trooper. It looked horrible.

Got to see Cathy Mc, my ole neighbor and BF for a very short visit...wish it had been longer.
Lots of little visits....just nice to be close to the ones we are closest to....

Lots of little stuff...

We loved being in the hot, humid , Maryland summer!

XoXo

Long time No Blog- June 9,2012

It sure has been a while since I have blogged. My goodness, I have slacked. This is just going to be a brief catch up for now. First the good news... My dad came to Australia and is visiting us for a month! Love having him here, makes me less homesick. It's been great having him here! The children are enjoying having Grandbo here. Muffin picked up right where she left off with him...they are close...taken with each other. Huckleberry boy says "Bo" in addition to his ever increasing vocabulary. Some of his words: No (of course), Na na (for night night), book, bird, baby, cup, more, dada, mama, up, gotcha, touchdown...

More on my dad: He is keeping himself pretty busy and has de-spiderized the front verandah, the corners and beyond in the house as well as changing burnt out lightbulbs, (seriously, even lightbulbs are very different...not all twist in like ours)cleaned windows,swept the patio...He just likes to be busy. It is so nice of him, and of course I wish he'd just chill out and relax... Love haviing him here and think he has incited a deeper missing of the rest of our family for Muffin Girl and I.

House Update: More Good News...So and So News... The Possum Man seems to have been successful. I still hear them...but I am pretty sure they are outside and they just like to use our roof to travel and eat the camillas... The handyman came and cleaned the mold or mould as they like to spell it here. He was a Kiwi and basically stated what I know...It'll just keep coming back...So we are very much considering not renewing our lease if it is offered...but we have heard through expat blogs, other friends and such that mold is a big problem here and people just don't take it seriously like we do in the USA. I did do some research and it is enough to allow us to break our lease. The house is poorly vented, without ac and it has been very oust! These problems are common in Sydney and the hubster has informed me that due to all my INSIGHTS on this blog, people think we live in a dump. Let me refresh memories... We chose this house because of its charm, older brick home with beautiful crown molding, nice neighborhood with proximity to public transport and 5k outside of the Central Business District of Sydney, walking distance to park...cabana with private bath for guests. Pool. Bar. Also, there was no yucky carpeting like in many of the other rentals on the market at our time of leasing... The house across the street was auctioned for 1.5 million last weekend. It is about the same size without pool, spa and cabana. This is a sought after area for Sydneysiders.They are just a lot  more tolerant of the wildlife(some) or they live in newer less creepy crawly access in houses.

The possum does seem to be keeping our home his territory but it seems he is no longer inside of the attic. He decided to make an appearance for my father, walking right past his feet on the front porch one night. Dad must've been standing quite quietly. This is good as long as he stays out. I hear him on the roof and I hear him chirping as he eats camillas off the tree...and the mandarins in the back are ripe now... He seems to be enjoying them a bit. (Yes, ripened in the winter, weird, huh?)

The house has no subfloor much like our home in the Fan, and has cracks and much space between the base mouldings at the bottom and the floor, I assume due to settlement. I had never been to the hardware store here until my dad arrived I think we have been 3 times and may need to go once more. I used to love to go to Lowe's when it was up the street from us in our Fan house. Bunnings is the big hardware store here. My dad has filled in the cracks with this styrofoam stuff in most of the house where the cracks were...It is also helping winterize the house as it gets pretty cold and air was seaping in.

Dad has de-spidered the outside of the house, it was beginning to look a little creepy and the inside. Anyway, it's been nice having another adult in the house during the day and some one to hang with. Who better to have a beer at noon with than your dad?

I thini we will likely move once our lease is up. I believe cleaning up the mold is just a stop gap measure to a problem we can't fix without air conditioning and proper ventilation in the house. Perhaps we should go back to one of our first thoughts, small apartment on or near beach to finish out our stay. Why not? I hate the idea of  moving again but I don't want to be fighting physically unhealthy mold and mentally (for me) and possibly physically critters and bugs.

"This is Sydney". I am just glad we aren't further north as they say the farther north you go the bigger the spiders are.

For now, I am in  a bit better of a place. Still a little down, but a bit better about the house and maybe a bit resigned to it as it would be easiest to finish out our lease, which is in December.  We plan to go home to the US for Christmas this year,  but we have a possible move impending and if we go then, it may be a long time before I can go back...Things to ponder at another time!

Dad has another week or so and then our friends will be coming and then Seth's parents will be coming! These visits will def. help make our stay in Australia better.

"I'm Done With Australia" -Muffin Mack

We made a sneak trip back to the States following my dads visit. Yippee!
The quote above is what the Little Miss Three said as we were landing in BWI. "We are here in America. I'm Done With Australia!" Also funny, that our Texas layover was not America in her mind...Not in Texans minds either, huh, ya'll?

Only a few were in on the secret...one sister who was in charge of getting car seats and a second car to the airport and one friend who was planning her families visit to Australia, one other American friend and my two, yup, two American friends in Aus.

We arrived at BWI and got off the plane in a decent time as our seats were in premium economy. But we had to get the stroller up and H-berry in it. He had a diaper change that was wiggly wormy and just before we landed he basically peed all over me. Knowing his car seat was borrowed and it was a long ride, I changed him completely in the bathroom before we got out of the terminal. In this time, there was virtually no one left around.

We were rounding the corner and our group of people were there. Grandma, Aunt Jan, Cousin Daniel, Aunt Cathy, Uncle Andy, and Cousin Jack. They thought maybe Grandbo missed the plane we took so long to come out. The baby actually had a cooperative change and it didn't seem long to me, but what is long after flying back from Australia with a 3 year old and a 1 year old?  Grandma and Muffin spotted eachother and ran towards eachother, Viv calling out "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma" , both with arms wide open. Total Hallmark moment. I was a bit behind trying to push the stroller and video at the same time!

Janice tells me Cathy went white. Then she couldn't believe I did not tell her I was coming. I had actually slipped on a phone call recently but I guess she didn't think I meant so soon! We all caravan back to my parents house and there is calling and texting to try to get Aunt Jenny and other cousins over even though it is late. Cousin Anna had her dance recital that night. We could not reach her. The Grahame boys were waiting in the driveway...and surprised!

Then as each person came in they had Muffin hide behind a chair and pop out to surprise them. She had so much fun and it was just good for the soul to be with my family again.

Then we had to surprise "The Man's" parents! We had hoped to ambush them Saturday, but the baby was sick and I had to get him to the doctor and so I took care of all that while the little miss went to Anna's dance recital with Auntie Cathy and Grandma. Just hoped that between urgent care and the dance recital we wouldn't be found out first. After the doctor visit, my little man slept the rest of the afternoon until 8:30!

The next day, my father called to ask my inlaws if they would be home. He said he wanted to drop off some packages Seth sent home with him. The kids and I got ready and went over. Knocked on the door and they called out, "Come on in, Bo!" And in we waltzed! I really think they were in complete shock!

Of course, we are only here for a visit and head back in August. So happy to be here and can't wait to enjoy some Maryland  Crabs! UMMM!

Things we have had that we were missing in Australia:

Family and Friends Closeby!
BACON!!
Ledo's Pizza
Thomas' English Muffins
Pepperidge Farm Cinn. Raisin Bread
Good Crab Balls!

Things I Miss About Australia:

Seth
That is All!

Side Note: It seems my most recent posts from Ausgtralia did not post so I will work on getting this updated and corected. The format has changed on blogger and I have been bouncing between our ipad and the laptop...Hopefully I figure it all out soon...

Everyone Loves Sydney 'cept ME!

I am on Round 2 of typing this and it took me days to nearly complete it the first time and lose it...frustrating! Get your beverage of choice ready and read on...Promise all the other positives that got lost in the original version of this will be in next posting. but it's late now and I have had my wine and now my whine. Bear with me, please. The hits keep on coming! I was exploring some blogs of American moms in Sydney that I had read before we left the Pink House in the USA. One universal theme: they all loved it here. Since arriving, I have been mostly reading blogs of Aussie mums and of course, they love it here! The other American women I am friendly with seem to all LOVE it here. There you go. Me and Sydney, not so compatible. But while I am trying, Sydney keeps throwing more stuff in my face. I used to love the name Sydney, thought it cute. Not anymore! I intended to get away from "Possum Talk" today, but allow me a brief update. The Possum Man still has not come to make the repairs. The homeowners have been here and the wife is in denial of their existence despite every person I am talking to in the realty, possum profession, pest control and the internet expertise I have gathered confirming it is possums, indeed. Further, there are rats. Somehow, my internet expertise trumps her living here for years... My friends, my brain is blocking that as I am protecting myself from the asylum, as I do have little ones that I need to be here for...It has been raining a lot which prevents someone from coming to do the nighttime roof work. But I called yesterday with no call back and called today. Brooke called me back and seemed shocked that they had not come out. I have no clue how they run their business...and even went so far as stating that she felt there were several nights that would have been fine. Still no tech called today or came tonight... My Facebook friends are already aware that in this autumn rain we have experienced, I detected a strange looking "Spider" on the IKEA crib that is taking up space since our furniture arrived, in the baby's room. I took its picture and blew it up and then smashed it. It was a freaking SCORPION. Thanks, for that Sydney. In my sons room, no less. I took great pride in showing the owners that picture. I guess I should be grateful that a.) it wasn't on the crib he sleeps in b) I haven't spied anymore c.) they only cause PAIN for 6 or more hours but not DEATH. Can you imagine that with a baby or toddler? That's not all. We have mold or "MOULD" as they spell it here in Australia. I had noticed the discoloration of a wall in our room. The Man thought it was nothing. The Possum Man assured me that it wasn't Possum Pee because that is thick and syrupy in case you wanted to know. He thought that it looked like water damage. Our master bedroom is kind of dark. It is quite infrequently that I even put the curtains up because it is in the front of the house close to the street and I am in there to dress, deposit laundry and sleep. But yesterday, I was putting on fresh sheets and wiping the dust off the bed frame when I noted that behind the bed and another wall altogether was quite messed up. Took a photo, sent to The Man at work. Says call. I knew this was going to be a problem, but I was really hoping to resolve possum issues before I brought another issue to their attention. We had previosuly talked to the owners about the smell of moisture in the bedrooms and we purchased a dehumidifier that we rotate between the rooms. They offered to pay for it and thought it was due to so much unusual rain this summer. Fair enough. We declined payment. We have lived in an old house before. This is water damage due to the house malfunctioning and likely the damn roof... Rain has been regular here in Aus since we arrived. which is what it has done. Our back bedroom in the Fan had some moisture issues,too. Not like this, though. The closet in the baby's room was also emitting an odor and its door does not stay closed (just how some old things are, I get that). It has water spots on the ceiling, which is much lower than the room ceiling) and I prop a Kirkland's baby wipe box against it to keep it shut. I reluctantly call the realtors office and the Property Manager has just left, but the owner answered. She asks to come by to take a look later in the day. Approved. What happens next I can't even state without steam emitting from my pores... and I am so frustrated that I am one of those people who needs processing time. I wanted to call her back and get my response in. She blamed it on us. That I am not opening windows enough and running the fans. Helloooo, it is FALL and chilly. It has been raining all SUMMER long. I do not leave windows open while we are sleeping, despite no air conditioning in the house, nor would I leave windows opened in the front of the house when I am in the back of the house LIVING life. I know that is a little nutty, but that is a whole different topic. They are constructing noisily next door and just outside Huckleberry's window is the carport for that house where they cut wood all day long. So no, I don't open his windows to the mess and noise. If this were a necessary part of maintaining a home here in Sydney, one would think it would be instructed at the beginning before mold took over our room. UGHHH! Feel like going postal. When I use the washer and dryer I must open the window and run the fan. It's nuts. I do it, or the walls get coated with moisture as has happened, on the occasion that I forgot that routine like I am some kind of American who has a vented dryer and a washer and dryer that function so well I could cry...I can't believe it, but I miss my appliances,too. Seriously. The realtor told me to clean it. I said, "With bleach?" and I was thinking, "Get someone out here to clean this. We're paying out the wazz to be here and I didn't create this problem". Oil of clove was her answer. But if the problem is deeper than the surface as it likely is, since it came from somewhere, likely the exterior of the house, how is this going to help or be a permanent solution? Dunno. Haven't done it yet. I am VERY aggravated as this affects the air we all breathe. I have babies and an ASTHMATIC husband and both of us have ALLERGIES and ANYONE is in danger with MOLD for God's Sake. The hubs and I are going to put a bunch of stuff in writing this weekend and get some photos of this mold and perhaps treat it by following her advice, but I think I want an expert. I think I want out of this house. We were thinking it might be easier to just stay here for another year if they renew our lease. Certainly cheaper. They wanted a two year lease. Thank God, The Man, negotiated one with an option. This mold issue takes the cake and putting it on me...maddening. In case you have forgotten, we are in a lovely suburb of Sydney. Charming. Our home was listed for sale for over 1 million dollars (and it is about the size of our first level in Richmond, I'd guesstimate). It is 5km from the Central Business District of Sydney. The Man thinks you, dear readers, may think we are leasing in a less than desirable neighborhood in a dump. Whatever you think, we are paying top dollar to live in a cute older house in a desirable suburb in one of the best school districts (not that we need that yet)and it was the best house available to us in our price range at the time. It did not have icky, stained carpets or room configurations where my kids would be all on different levels (our Chicago friends chose that one, but way impractical for us. Our little people are still waking up wanting mama at all hours) nor doors from every bedroom to the outside (that really creeps me out). As far as set up, I'm cool with our layout especially for bedrooms. Would love a more connected kitchen and living area like we had at home, but this is doable. I give you this just to give you some perspective... Side note: Chicago has fabulous furnishings, brought everything with her and house looks great. She does not even know about this blog so I am not buttering her up. The owners had friends living in it and it just wasn't as appealing as it looks with the touch Jess brought to it. So, whaddya think peeps? What would you do if you were renting a place with so many problems? Got any interesting house rental/ownership stories to distract me from my own life? Do tell! XO Valerie P.S. I promise to accentuate the positive next post and give you all the scoop on what we have been doing outside of the house. We've been exploring a bit.

P-o-s...possums!

P is for the possum that looked at me.
O is for the outrage that is inside of me.
S is for the skibbies they give to me.
S is for this is living in Sydney!
O is for ordinary, but not to me...
M is for marsupial, one of Aussies many.
P-O-S you know what that stands for,
S-O-M stay over me, and don't come down further!

So another week begins and we continue to cohabit with the possums as it has been too rainy for The Possum Man to come do the roof work at night. I can bend my mind around the possums, at least they are just here to sleep and I hear them sneaking in like teenagers at 315, 430 and sometimes 5 something each morning.

It's the rats..Drat. I honestly have put myself on a mental block on that one because it will just not be good if I go there. The roof work will help with both issues, thankfully.

The owners came last Thursday as the wife was insistent she wanted to see what was going on in the attic for herself. I should have said no. For whatever reason she thinks she can detect them and she thinks she would see them. But they hide and as I may have already mentioned, it is not likely for them to be seen, even by the expert. I am an internet possum expert and it didn't take much to be more schooled on possums than soemone who has lived here for some time and seems not to mind that they are living in her home. Let me try to make a long story short...

The owners are leaving and I am walking them out. John looks up to this spot on the front of the house where a wood shingle is askew and states, "That wasn't a rat!" I do believe he believes me, but not the wife. Even though their own exterminator would not come based on my description, the property manager, The Possum Man staff, my inter webs research all pretty much concur that what I hear are possums. Could they be using our rooftop as a landing strip and lift off? Yes! But seems they are inside,too. I can't control their outdoor shenanigans and really don't care about it, but the indoor stuff must end. Soon. Very soon!

FYI-
-Possums are protected in New South Wales and a fine of up to $5000 is given if you are caught killing or relocating them.
When relocating, these terrorial marsupials do not allow the other possums to live in their 'hood. They usually die in a short period of time. Ummm...not sure if I care. We are not supposed to share a house with a possum or possum family, whatever it may be.
-NSW suggests providing "possum boxes" for them to live in in a tree in your yard rather than in your roof. I had intended to state to the owners that they could erect one if they wished but I never sent that email after they found out from the realty that I called crying and upset. Hellooooo??? Anyone? This has been weeks. I have been wayyy patient, IMO!!
-Although we are a mere 5k from the Central Business District(CBD) we have much Bush land around us and we are near Lane Cove River and Park.
-Don't forget we saw the biggest bats ever in the city, Hyde Park, and sleeping in the neighboring Botanical Garden by day. Also, rats in the evening. Big, nasty ones.
-One good thing is rabies does not exist in Australia, thus the reason they are stringent in pet quarantine when bringing your pet to live with you...Dear Zeus would never have survived all that...but I have heard of someone borrowing their neighbours dog to yap it up in the attic by day to scare them away every 3 months or so. Also, leaving a light on in the attic and placing moth balls inside.
-Driving around looking at houses, it seems we are unique in not having a tile roof. Though the spot in front that the owner saw (I had already discovered it) is just one entry point...


P.S. Parenting and blogging is not recommended simultaneously. Muffin hit buttons several times and sent this to publish several times while it was being drafted. My apologies. I got a few free minutes when I gave them both cookies and milk put Huckleberry in his saucer and put on an episode of Sesame Street. Parenting at its finest, indeed.

Poss-um-bilities

The Possum Story Part II

Special thanks to my mom and sisters that called and when I had to put the possum stuff into words, I broke down and cried. Sorry. Didn't know those tears were waiting there for you. Some of you got this by email but the end is added onto so fast forward:) I did not know critters would freak me out so much, but I do know, that this is Australia, baby. I also know, I never really went camping before and suspect I probably should stick to that...

Here we go:

Hey people,

Part A

I called the pest control guy myself, because this erradication process was not speedy enough for me! Supposedly has been trying to reach me. Now that the realty finally gave me the info. to contact him, I did. I do think I've been in every evening...He is the same guy that did spraying outside and roach stuff but I did not know this was the guy until today when the realty finally gave me his number. He calls back and says he deals with rats but not possums...like I really know what the hell it is...I don't want it to be anything!! Oh and he informs me that they have had rats in the past. Nice. He doesn't think it's rats. I guess based on my description. Stampede over my head...

Part B

Last week the son in law of the owners, Niko, was here dealing with some wood delivered to repair the fence...I'm out in the driveway talking to him and look up...and what do i see? A freaking possum looking down at me from the top of the roof. So glad he saw it....so he can tell his in laws. That possum seriously stared for a while. Umm yeah and they are supposed to be nocturnal.

Part C

I call realty after pest guy calls at 5 of 5 and tells me he's not the man for the job, I need "The Possum Man". Yes, this is the name of the BIDNESS. Asks me to apologize to realtor and it is Thurs. Australia is in full blown vacay and party mode for the three week Easter break for schools and Good Friday, Holy Monday long weekend for the rest.) Stuff shuts down here on Good Friday. Remember we live in way back land...not just outback.. I called with my report on MONDAY!

Get voicemail and leave a sweet sounding message expressing my disappointment that this is taking so long and understand it is now a holiday but I want this resolved by the beginning of the next week...and though I don't sound upset..I am really not happy about this...didn't expect to hear back so soon, but Bernadette(Irish married to Aussie and principal of realty,  but not the prop. Manager and not living in Sydney so long herself I get the impression) calls  me.

Should have known all along it was the freaking property owners and their reluctance...and insistence that they have had rats before but not possums...(yeh, right) and I've spoken to Liz the owner on two occasions this week, she never asked about it or anything so I didn't either since I decided to handle business with the realty as I don't know there travel schedule and Liz particularly seems annoyed by my complaints regarding the cockroaches. But she knew I called both times we talked.

You can see where the shingle has been moved, right in front of the house nearest my bedroom...I dont think they are always in there, but they have been visiting, maybe it's a love shack or a hotel...but they 've been here. And it's possible they are just on the roof and not under it. Oh, now I wish!

So this is what she tells me, the possum man will come and look at the roof and inspect the point of entry. He will be able to tell if it is possum from the fur and smell. Then he will come back at 1000 at night and cover the hole so that they can't reenter. Since they are supposedly nocturnal. Yah, that little guy today wasn't so damn nocturnal. Wide awake having a staring contest with me. The ones I heard Sunday morning...were they sneaking in or out??? Possibly on top of the roof...they say they use the rooftops as landing strips as they run from tree to tree. They sound like people running.

All of this, my friends, is typical Sydney.

Let you all know who we share this charming home with...soon as I know for sure"(

Part D

Tuesday comes and no call for me. I talked to realty they sent an email that The Possum Man will be in touch. I think I am on week 3 and this has been going on for a while I was just too ignorant or in need of it to not to be something so I wouldn't lose my mind or some combination of these two...Tuesday goes. Today I call him. Leave a message. Email realty and tell them no word from the Possum Man yet. PM office calls. Email realty that we are on schedule for tomorrow. Alleluia. She confirms for me that they do have multiple homes so I am right, they aren't here all the time. Lovely. Multiple homeowners, real estate moguls...offers. Get outta my heaaaddd, I mean house.


P.S. My Sanity

It indeed was getting scary. But I feel better since I convinced myself they weren't permanent residents and I was right. Also, they just removed the old roof next door and replaced it with new to match the new addition. So they may have house hopped for a bit. Some days are better than others. I am trying to move my mind into a more positive direction, this is once in a lifetime, one day we will laugh about it, right? Or at the very least, this too shall pass.

So glad to know that my bionic ears detected them a while ago and that I've heard it a few times, but not everyday or night. I am going to be okay. Maybe I can catch a break on the critters for the fall. I never knew I was so skittish, and SOMEONE thinks I may be overblowing all of this...but I am just giving it to you the way it is being experienced by me. So what if I am a big baby. I am not just thinking of me but my children. So there!

The Baby's First Birthday!

Started this Before Huckleberry's Bday...Finished it After...



I can hardly believe that this baby of mine is one or that he is celebrating his first bday in Australia!

F.S.M. You are so loved. You are the sweetest baby. I love you so much!

Some things I just adore about the little boy:

When he does the little satisfied happy giggle when I pick him up from his crib. He doesn't do it as much as he used to these days, so I especially love it when he does.

His adventure. He just enjoys crawl-scooting everywhere and though he has two toys to help him learn to walk by pushing..he has chosen to use a children's chair, that goes at his pace and doesn't get away from him like those wheeled things they design for kids. He is so smart! Oh and recently seems to have gotten a real crawl going though still does the army crawl at times.

When he just starts dancing to music and humming along to it. Just puts a little song in my heart. Love it, love it, love it.

When he screams DADA happily when The Man comes home from work.

When he gives kisses. To me, big "stista's" baby dolls..

He is a handful, my favorite being that lovely big leg...but it is nearly an Olympic event to change his diaper or his clothes anymore and I have to do most of it while he is standing. BUSY!!!

That he SCREAMS not so happily when I'm not getting it on his plate fast enough...and sometimes butts his head on the high chair...well the second part I really don't like...but wanted ya'll to get the full picture of the little fella in action.


Can't wait till he has his ice cream and cake.

Happy Birthday, beautiful boy. You are a treasure beyond measure.



The After

He loved his bday. He started by waking up at 4 am! So glad we had some friends celebrate with us on his real bday. With the holiday coming and my recent overwhelmedness (is that a word?...it is now!) We had everyone just for dessert. H-berry was coming off a cold and kinda sedate but clearly loved his cake. Will try to add pics later. We had a cheese platter to munch on, booze for adults, bday cake they called sponge cake, not that good, a pavlova and ice cream. All of the kids had fun and the adults seemed to have fun,too. I felt happy to have people here to help us celebrate though I didn't have many real conversations...as can be hard when you are trying to play hostess even at the simplest affair and believe me this was simple and The Man did well at tending the bar and then found someone who had some shared musical taste and he was lost to us:)

We asked for no presents but both families brought him something, we got him a race track and GiGi and Pop-Pop and Grandma and Bo had presents here. He still has one to unwrap and two that we haven't taken out of the boxes yet. The Man is going to die as this play land keeps expanding. Oh well, they have a grand time playing and they are home to play with the stuff.

Bittersweet that my baby is getting grown, on the cusp of walking and talking...jabbers so much! Happy Birthday, dear boy, ONE is going to be so much fun!

Stuck In Sydney, Australia Song!

It's been a while. I keep saying I am going to blog once a week and I should, it would be a great outlet for me...

So here is a little jingle I wrote just to give you some sense of my ever slipping sanity....in the tune of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison.(Sorry JC, RIP) Sing along. It'll be more fun and maybe I can have company in the loony bin. Here we go. 1. 2. 1.2.3!

I hear the cockroaches coming..
They're going clickety clack
And they are making me so crazy
AMERICA might not let me back...
Oh I am stuck in Australia
How overrated is Sydney...
'cause if I see one more roach on the counter
or even on the floor,
I might have to make a dash out
of this overpriced houses door...

When I was just a little girl
I loved my koala bear
I thought Australia would be so fun
But there's cockroaches everywhere
And if that weren't enough to put me over the edge
I may never get over that spider, the big huntsman...
But at least he's come back no more
Australia has it's beauty and its laid back-ness, but ain't nothing in the world like t he great U-S!

Well you think you've heard it all from me
But I am not done, 'cause once I start pulling myself together
Along comes something new...
Got another critter to add to my list, I thinks its possums!
I heard these feet a running some time ago.
I thought the house next door was being robbed and it was hoodlums, you know.
I've heard it a few times. I just couldn't accept it, alright,
That it might be those damn creatures of the night.

We're living where it's supposed to be nice to be living
I can hardly believe its true
Because no one in America would have to think this one through!
These critters are what they are, we are all living things....but some of these darn critters should not live in your house with you
Here we are in Sydney, Australia
And I want to go away.

A lizard called a skink,
we now have had a few.
Didn't bother me much because they were lost, I knew.
But when one scurried on my nightstand
My head almost blew
It scared the daylights out of me, wasn't expecting something to move.
Oh, if I can't make it in Sydney ,Australia
Maybe we can come and live with YOU!

About The Girl

Little Miss Muffin is still our fun loving little girl with some twists! She is keeping us on our toes.

She LOVES sleeping in her big queen bed (our guest room bed...as the cabana came furnished). It is great for us,too as we can relax and read books with her much more comfortably than on the floor or squeezed into a toddler bed that really is only suited for one toddler! She manages to fill it up with lots of company each night...dolls, Barbies, teddy bears.

She is still not potty trained but is feeling a bit more motivated as she really wants to be rewarded with Dora Magic Fairy (saw it here at Myer Dept Store which is like a Macy's for $80 Aus, saw it on Walmart USA for $29.99!) She can not wee all night so I do think it is a matter of will for her. I can't even do that. Seems she has Daddy's big bladder, not my teeny one:)

Muffin plays very well on her own, loves playing with blocks, puzzles, all those lovely Happy Meal ponies and people (Strawberry Shortcake collection), and the Chipmunks...

Preschool. Little Miss so desperately wanted to go and loved it for a while. Like a week or two despite darling little Mikey biting her. Believe me, she is still talking about it and when I go to pick her up it is the first thing she reports to me "Mikey didn't bit me today, Mama!" She has been so dramatic about attending it has been hard for me to want to do this since it is not a necessity in anyway. Wakes up on non-school days saying "I don't want to go to school!" We reduced her to one day a week. I am not sure what she envisioned school to be, but I think this is not it! She has a hang up about not taking her backpack and water bottle so we don't. The one day she does go, she participates in a special "KindaDance" class that I observed once, and is great. Last week she was clinging a bit. I was there for about a half hour or 45 minutes, lugging the big little brother around...then she said "You can go now Mommy." So, I did! Dismissed. I am pretty sure we are going to give this up. I am going to go to a playgroup with both kids, story time at the library and find a music class. Then, I will get a babysitter a few times a month for both of them. It will be less expensive than preschool and less teary...and will allow me a few hours without them both:) Though I admittedly feel a little lost without them!

I am sure some of you(aunties and grandma's) have some strong opinions on this matter. I can only say, we all know she doesn't need it for intellectual growth as I think she really is not being that stimulated there in that way. I recognize playing with her peers is a good thing, but you know,she has a little bit of her mama in her. She is used to being around older kids because of all of her cousins and she is challenged socially with her peers. I can work on that with interactions in playgroup etc. Anyway, we are in until I give notice. I think I am going to do that this week and then we will have two more weeks to go.

What I have not mentioned yet is some nasty little habits she has picked up since going to school...fortunately she was so put off by the biting she is not doing that. But she is spitting (ughh!) and she is hitting. More aggressive in general. The little fellow who bit her, I've witnessed hitting and pushing, but not spitting. When I've mentioned he is adorable, I mean it. Blonde, blue-eyed, cute little nose (we Stewart's really like cute little noses, perhaps because we have them...but little noses are just cute in general, no?) not very verbal...and though she talks a talk. The two of 'um have a natural attraction to one another:) She would do better downstairs with the 3 and 4 year olds, but that potty thing has her stuck upstairs. The attention she gets for spitting has only made it worse,s o now I just tell her it is disgusting and if she would like to do it she can go do it in her room. She doesn't want to go play by herself in her room so it usually stops the behavior. The hitting is another story. The Man saw her hit the new American girl with her Barbie, and she has hit us. Not hard. But it is the idea and the intent and she has hit sweet "baby brova". Hot tempered mama wants to spank her but I know that is not the solution to teach her by striking her. So, I resist and I haven't come up with something that works as effectively as going to to her room to spit! Send me your ideas!

So we are dropping out of "kindy" soon.I think. Try a new routine.

Muffin hs been talking a lot about how much she misses her cousins and has been a better chatter on the phone, FaceTime and Skype recently. Of course, she has talked the most to the special men in her life...her grandfathers. She is still smitten with boys.

When Jake came from the US was visiting,she gave up her room a couple nights. No big deal. She loves sleeping in "the middle" with us. But one night she was wanted to sleep in there with him. And she held his hand at Darling Harbour.

Muffin has enjoyed the company of The Man's coworkers 3 boys, but honestly, I do not think she knows what to make of them since they don't really make over her like she is used to from her cousins. One is older and two are younger than she is, I believe. She hides stuff in her room when they come over. That is funny. Strange stuff! We had a cookout with them over the weekend at the park across the street from them (it has gas grills!). When walking back to the house I told her to hold someone's hand and she gravitated right to the eldest boy. My three year old and the first grader! Note: got her feelings hurt at the park by some older girls (it starts already?!) They told her she wasn't a big "stister" or something. She was in tears. High note: she climbed a tree hanging with the boys for the first time. I knew something was up when I could no longer spy her Princess costume...but never thought she'd be up in a tree (not to high) and requiring help to get down! She played hard there that day and did not eat a bite of dinner in her fun with the boys and the playground. Of course, she ate dessert. I think I might make an effort to drive over to that park..it is not far..if it weren't for the mountains we could walk/stroller...but it is larger and flatter than ours with more to do.

We have been going to the library to get some new materials to read and DVD's. We don't have Barney on tv here so she really enjoyed the DVD's. She still loves Princess movies, but loves Peter Pan and Dumbo a lot. Of course, she has always called Dumbo, "Jumbo", which is his real name and I love that about her. She is so PC and sweet.

After writing this we had an embarrassing incident at the grocery. When we go into the grocery we typically park in the garage, take the travelator and escalator up to the store and when we depart we go down in the elevator with our shopping cart. So, we are waiting for an elevator and one opens up. Inside the elevator is a very tall, large woman. My sweet points and asks, "Mama, why is she soooo big?" She could have meant any number of things. I am not sure. I was too busy scrambling in my mortification! I told her we don't point at people and people are all different shapes and sizes. I sure hope it was less of a sting that I'm overweight and my daughter said this. The woman had already nodded her head in disbelief? disappointment? both? I just looked at her and said "I am sorry". I wish I had said something clever to my child, like, "Wow, she sure is tall, it is very nice to be tall, isn't it?" We were a bit surprised she did this, but never know what will come out of the mouth of babes and still not sure what she meant.

We have a CandyLand cheater in our midst! She always wants to get the ice cream cone card which puts you closest to the end. It is funny.

We have just received her workbook in a package but not gotten back into doing it yet. We have been doing some reading of these leveled books that are Australian. But not doing it regularly and couldn't get Set 3 on our last trip to Big W. We got set 4 and started it since much of it is just words. Every 3 books or so there is a simple story to read. Got to get there this week.She continues to amaze us with what she says and her vocabulary. Also, how she spins some reality into fiction...when she is in imaginary play mode.

Ok, that's the latest on "The Muffin". She is a ray of sunshine in all of this and I try to accentuate the positive, so blessed are we with these sweet bebe's!

Toodles for now!

Val

P.S. The Latest: Must wear Princess costumes everywhere. Often with red or black click clacks and ruffle socks. Today she was wearing a yellow one happily then decided she could not wear yellow and needed pink.I have one pink hanging to dry and one in the wash..Abby Caddabby was on Sesame Street and saved the day. She was wearing blue. So today, outfit number 2, she is now in her American girl tutu with her AG doll matching her, Blue with some pink in the sash! If we go out, after Huckleberry brother's nap and lunch, I am sure this is what she will wear. Guess what? I really don't care! Also, insisted Daddy take us out to dinner since she was all dressed up in tutu the other night.

About The Boy

Hello Friends and Family,

Just a quick post to tell yah what is going on in Kid Central, New South Wales.

So this one is all about the Baby Boy aka Huckleberry on this blog.

He is so big and strong. Somehow he has 8 teeth and it may explain all these cold symptoms and this night time waking up...ahh! seems like he was getting to one nap a day, but with the nighttime wake ups, not so much.

He loves food, loves to eat and you dare not eat in front of him. He screams for you to share! Basically, eating real fruit, Cheerios and other things like that. I was grateful to get some Puffs and Yogurt things from GiGi as we haven't found anything like those things here. He is starting to use o's only as mini-frisbees now. He has loved the American baby snacks. Puffs are gone. Yogurt melts close to gone. They have teething rusks here which are kind of nasty and these yummy teething biscuits by Heinz, I believe. But nothing finger-foodish. As much as he likes to eat and knows I am going to feed him once he is in his high chair, he will not willingly go into it, does the full blown, buckaroo unless food is already presented on his tray. So, snackies first and then real food of some sort and then some baby food is how we are doing it for now. He has had some chicken and baby yoghurt. The boy loves a popsicle,too and the scream is extra special for that. He recognizes the packaging and goes nuts. We remember being worried about giving Muffin such stuff too soon. Huckleberry has to have it though to have silence in the house. Since starting this post he has tried: scrambled eggs, bacon (remember their bacon is like ham),and some tastes of his sister's grilled cheese which were all quite enjoyed. He also loves to have a cup to drink from, sling across the kitchen, poor water everywhere on his tray to splash in...

Bath time is new fun. Loves it. I think he has said "duck" as they are his favorite toy to play with while being bathed. He has bent over to drink the soapy water...that was so funny and unexpected for me. If "Duck" is really his word, followed by DaDa and MaMa he is following Muffins lead...this was her word,too. He likes to kick and splash and his beautiful bodaciousness. It is just so fun to watch in the evening. Though, I sink wash him after every meal now. He has not been in the pool yet. It is cold (the water, not Australia)and we have not had many swimming days when the pool and weather were cooperating. On beautiful days like today, I can't take two kids in the pool by myself and hate that the construction is never ending next door so even if I could do it, I'd hate to have roofers and carpenters as my audience.

By the way, he only says "Mamamamamama" when whining in his crib. Dadadadada is like part of constant cheerful chatter.

Sweet boy is pulling up on stuff and pulling out bins to the toy shelves. He loves standing at the activity table (with a little support on those fat wobbly legs), adores balls, has quite the arm and puts everything in his mouth.

He hasn't figured out how to pull up in his big green crib, though he is trying despite many head bumps. The Ikea one was set perfectly for him to reach the top and grab hold...we could have lowered it, but the ship stuff arrived and it wasn't necessary.

His monkey mobile died (it was Muffin's,too) He truly loved it and I think the reason he started to pull up in the crib was to grab those monkeys. The Man is going to see if he can fix it. I thought I might check to see if the same one is still available in the US or if they have it here in Aus.

The rocking pony Auntie Jan and family gave Vivi for her second birthday is H-berry's favorite thing. He adores it. Tries to climb it, back flips in my arms to reach it when it was in his room. I had to remove it. He knows that it is a push of the ear to get it talking and when it stops reaches to try to do it himself. Of course, he can not support himself on it yet, so I sit beside him and rock the thing and hang onto him. Loves all the ride-on toys to include the little red car and his firetruck, but will happily go for a spin on the little motorcycle or sister's tricycle.

When H-berry is in the exersaucer type things...yes, we have two...one bought here while we waited for our stuff and the other brought on the ship...he is a maniac...hopping and spinning. Worth checking to see the weight requirements for the hopping things and maybe we could switch one of these out.

The little guy needs clothes and I may even make it out today to see what we can find. I am
I looked at a picture taken of him swinging in a one piece jumper type thing and he looks like a sausage coming out of its casing. Poor dear. But summer is supposed to be over here, and I am not buying summer things. He has some very casual play clothes bought on the Target and JCPenney clearance racks than can get him thru until he needs the warmer things.

H-berry loves to crawl around and carry something with him. He bops along to music and is generally easy going and happy. Oh and he likes to play with cars when he is in his high chair and already makes grooming noises...which, I swear, must just be instinctual.

His legs seem to be shaped like his Pop Pops. I see it. The Man does not. Show and Tell on FaceTime was given and GiGi says she sees it,too. Yes, I see a certain shape about them knees on down like his Pop Pop.

He is just the sweetest lug of love. As his big sister likes to say to him, "You're so gorgeous!" I think she must have that phrase in her head from her Auntie Cathy directing it at her...she is the only other person I can picture saying it just so...but when she says it, it is so cute.

He is gorgeous, indeed.


Stay tuned for the big sister update!

Car Seats and Choc-o-late!

Yesterday, a car seat (capsule, here in Aus.) installation company came to the house to install seats properly for Aussie standards in our new car. The Man wasn't comfortable with the tightness of the seats on his install and they do not have the same LATCH system we have. Ummm...they don't have it at all and we aren't used to that. Nor do the seats come with the center clip on the seat belts. (Yes, they have "for hire" services to do this all over, some set up a couple days a week at the hospital parking lot, the baby supply stores, etc. yeah, $120 later, I really appreciate more stopping in to local fire departments in Richmond, VA for free car seat checks!) Oh, and this is our second paid installation as when we purchased the seat it was in our temporary car and then we thought it was law to have it done and get your little installation certificate for the glove box...

So, Christian, cute young guy still driving on a new license indicated by the "P" sticker on his car...does his thing, shows me some tricks I didn't already know and spent the time to measure the kids in the seats for proper seat belt shoulder strap adjustment. We could have had Huckleberry Boy forward facing because by Aussie age and weight requirements(How many kilo's is he? Me, I don't know...)but have chosen to keep him rear facing until one year. American style.

He comes inside to fill out paperwork and call in my debit card which they call "savings" here.I am used to debiting from my checking, and I can't even explain why it is like this here. I can't remember, don't care. I just tell them savings and put in my pin. Christian asks if he can wash his hands. I point out the loo.

Cute Christian leaves, I go into the bathroom and immediately notice that there is "brown stuff" all over the edge of the sink, the cold water handle, and the white hand towel. I run for the front door so I can explain....but he is gone and I am...MORTIFIED and AMUSED. It is funny.

"Lucy, you have some explaining to do!" Miss Muffin has been using her clothes and not her napkin a lot lately and I have been on her case reminding her to use her napkin, wash her hands, etc. That morning she had a new "Big Tedz" cookie that is half dipped in chocolate. I had the New Aussie bosses wife here for a sympathy visit right up until the time Car Seat Installer came and Viv had eaten it and gone to wash her hands. I thought nothing of this, I was just glad she did it.

I then decide to call the company, speak to the same receptionist I spoke to when I arranged service. I said, "You have to call Christian and tell him..." She was cracking up.

There you have it. Just another day in the life of an American mom in Australia.

Cheers!

Val

P.S. The sun is out for a visit. :) and we have a visitor from Richmond, Virginia, Cougar Hockey Team Member and FBI Agent coming to see us this weekend. So excited to fraternize with someone from home!!

SO WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO AUSTRALIA? Some little things to keep you on the in:( Bear with me if I am repeating)

"Give Way" means YIELD. It drives me crazy for some reason since one word word does it so efficiently.

We went to a mall on a late Saturday afternoon and all of the stores were closing. It was approx. 5:00. Put a real damper on my imagined shopping spree. Call ahead for store hours.

Car dealerships are open M-F to about 5,too. Head on over Car Salesman, this is the life. Plenty of time to surf, bush walk, not work or sell cars:) Balance.

Wild, Wildlife!

Just touching base, friends and strangers who read this little blog. We've been quite busy with general life and the arrival of our stuff. The kids are well and anything I need to tell you I will in another blog because somehow methinks you might be up to hearing more about the wild life that IS NOT our darling children, at our humble abode.. For those who saw the picture of the huntsman spider The Man put on Facebook, sorry for a bit of repeat. But I promise you there is more in store..

Night one in this house, I went into the kitchen and cockroaches were playing...so we knew then we had
some pesky pest issues to deal with. As a matter of fact, we have been calling the bug man ever since and he was on holiday with the rest of the country...then he had us booked for sometime next week and then....I called him and said "Please help me. Please come sooner. Before I lose my mind". Or something like that. Keep reading and you will find out why.  By the way, he bumped us up a week,which was to be TODAY, but it is again a rainy day, he had to cancel and reschedule for 2/22. 2/22 why didn't I pitch a fit? I guess I got up on the right side of the bed this morning. Keep reading.

One night I got up and turned towards the back french door which we have opened since it is our "air con" with no screens. In the corner there is a spider called a huntsman. Not poisonous, but can cause a painful bite. I guess so since he is the size of...a small mouse?!! Are you freaking kidding me? I don't like spiders much, but I don't usually freak out. I just cried and every night I check all the walls because they say if they get in they tend to go to high places.. Ceilings and walls checked every night. Take a peek at this thing by google image searching it or something. Send your sympathies to me, I need them.

 So I will try to add pics later but our laptop is a bit messed up by a visitor who banged away at it  (of the toddler variety)and now I can't open more than one window at a time....Just trust me, he was awful. Not the toddler, silly, though this is a pesky little problem we have here, THE FREAKING HUNTSMAN. The Aussies just think its funny. They are harmless, blah, blah, blah...I am crying again just thinking of it. ANd not just for me for the constant being on my toes about it and the worry for my children. Angelina Jolie, where do I get some of those mosquito nets for my kids cribs? Surely it will keep out humongous spiders. Ba-scusting as Muffin would say.

Our wonderful lorakeet birds come just about every day and multiple times to eat. Sometimes we have a rowdy crew of about six. They make a racket with the pigeons who are trying to get in on their feeding. One day, instead of feeding some by hand and putting a handful of food in the feeder, I learned why you don't just put food in the feeder. In MD and VA in the US of A squirrels are the problem....I loaded up the feeder and it was NOT a squirrel in competition with the birds. I think it was a rat. A small one, but Oh My GOd are you kidding me? He went up the tree and about to another...but where the heck did that thing come from? He sure as hell better stay on the outside or I might have a heart attack.

There's more! We decided to jump in the pool one night for a quick cool off and as I  was climbing the steps to get out something was slithering on the sidewalk. What was I thinking, right? Well, if you remember we do not have air conditioning and though it hasn't been very summery here...it was a hot day. We neglected to put on as many outdoor lights as possible only because we don't even know where the switch is to the lights closest to the pool. Probably in the cabana house...The Man thinks it was likely a lizard, but I tend to think it may have been a baby snake.He did not see how it moved.  Liz, the owner says they have never had a snake in the house. Well, thank goodness for that, but how about this one.

This story is not over...So we are lying in bed a few nights ago and it is not untypical for The Man to be awake long after me. He is a night owl. This gives La Cucaracha a whole new spin....The Man was quiet, but somehow I heard him up and about and I was fussing at him not for being up not being noisy as he thought but for staying up when he had to get up for work. He really was not noisy....especially in light of this event. Nothing like a little more nagging. I even do it at 230 am:) He tells me with calm, "I was asleep, but something was crawling up my leg"...Attempting to swat off whatever it was, he ended up with a COCK ROACH you know where! I would have been screaming and woken up all of Greenwich, NSW!!You all would likely have heard me in the US of A and I'd be on the next plane to return. After the death of the intruder...we were both awake for hours. Just disgusting. No little cocker either. Big Aussie variety, like the footy player of cockers. I wish this was the end or at least the end for the night....but then, in Seth's corner we have a brand new bed-in-a bag set in it's plastic bag. He HEARS (The Man doesn't hear major loud noises at night usually...) something "walking" on the plastic and there is yet another big cockroach. Perhaps, it was his mate? Seeing if we brought any hot American or Mexican varieties with us. NOT!

BTW, Liz, the owner of the house also said they have never had cockroaches in the bedroom. John, her husband/partner, asked me today, "Does {The Man} eat in the bed?" Truly, The Man does not eat in the bedroom. We have been known to have movie night with popcorn in bed, but we have one tv in the house and it is not in the boudoir. No bedroom movie nights here.

Someone send me a Snuggie, I am locking myself up and those buggers out..it's better than a straight jacket.

Hugs,ya'll.




.

Quiet Day and Meloncholy...

Muffin is in prek also known as kindy today. I miss her but I do not miss the cartoons on television that I allow wayyy to much. She was excited to go and I know she is having fun. But the peace of no Dora, Sesame Street, and all the others...

While she kindy's, I have gone grocery shopping with the baby, gotten him down for a nap, talked with a sister, played with him,flipped and folded laundry and straightened the kitchen. Checked email and facebook, made some random comments and read something that just grabbed at my heart. Now the baby is back to sleep and I am wishing I could get Muffin already...She got there earlier today and asked if she could stay later, which she will, simply because her brother is resting. I am feeling a bit sad today. Despite the housechores I have done, it is still a wreck and I am just not motivated to do it. I want to write the blog and write an email back to a dear friend and try to get this little girl off my mind, but I just can't shake it. Roundabout way of getting to it...I am heartbroken today, for a  friend of a friend who is losing her daughter to Niemann Pick Disease. It sounds like she may have hours to live... I have followed her parents blog a bit and it is nothing short of heartwrenching and the parents are nothing short of amazing. Though I know, no matter how prepared they are this is devastating. Truly, I am feeling so sad for them and for her brother. He is a carrier of the disease, but not afflicted.Warning, if you are not up to feeling weepy, do not open this, but should you be interested in learning more about the disease and/or sharing some love with a stranger that is suffering, check out their blog at:

niemannpick.blogspot.com

So hugs to all of you readers and kiss your babies and play with them and listen to them...and have a little fun with each of your children, text them, call them, email them, share your love. It is a gift.

Lightening up the mood a little, this is what my dear three year old said to me yesterday, "Daddy and me are clever and youuuu are not." She wasn't being ugly, just stating the facts. There you go...from the mouth of babes. Smarty pants. Well, I am still her mother, right, Mrs. Mack, Sr??!!

So when are YOU coming to Australia? Some things you may want to know for your trip ( I forgot to do this on recent posts).
-The Post office called Australia Post is closed on Saturdays.
-There are wild camels in the desert. Huh? Yeah. Google it or something.
-You have to use Australia approved car seats for kiddies, they have them for hire. 

That's all I've got today.  I have a few things I keep forgetting to post about, and I again, have forgotten.

Hugs.

What's Up Buttercup?

Date: December 15th--Still in My Archives, coming to you "AS IS".

Hi Ya'll. So this is a bit of a blast from the December that just past! We were on "holidays" at home and this post tells you a bit of what we were up to during those days The Man had off work.

I was off from blogging on holiday with The Man and Kids. I missed blogging, but the time and the isolation of where our dead battery laptop is stationed made it tough to get on and do it. Not sure how much clarity I would have had. I've just been exhausted and perhaps we will cough up the hundred bucks and get a new battery here soon.

We stuck close to home for the holidays because it seemed overwhelming to relocate for even a weekend, when it now seems we are squatting here at the Greenwich home. I also did not want to add any stress to Muffin, though I do believe a large part of her behavior of late is tiredness. Recently, we seem back on track and it has been refreshing to have the happy ladybug back! Except for last night when I was on my own when The Man went to check out hockey again. This time his team was playing, but all his gear is still on a ship somewhere here in Australia probably setting off the doggy sniffers with the eau de hockey stench. All three of us got bathed, baby went to bed. Started on the girl and baby woke up and storms from hell poured and cracked above us, with the noise magnified by the lack of air conditioning and need for open doors .It ended up being a late night. But made for an early one tonight with no real meltdown period. Alleluia.

Besides our visits with the Aussie bossies we:

drove to Manly Beach one day and checked it out. We were going to go to OceanWorld Manly (we have a season pass that includes this location as well as The Eye, and the Aquarium and WildLife place in Darling Harbor) there but both kids were napping and we decided to keep the peace and keep driving...It is quite the happening strip of beach with a sidewalk like board walk and then shops and restaurants across the street. There are parking restrictions though. Do many people go to the beach for just two hours? Also, is this why you see Surfer Dudes walking around with their surfboards in the city? Seems so strange, but the beaches are so close and are reachable by public transport which is nice, but hard to bend my mind around with two kids. I am a beach going snob. I like it for a little while with ease of use. Meaning, I want to be able to get kids cleaned up and comfortable before getting in a car, bus, etc. I am not good at doing public clean up of my kids and find the whole hubbaloo stressful. Icky sticky sunbabies! I haven't quite figured out why people think the beach is such a great vacation place for when you have babies. Please share your tips and secrets with me in the comments section below. Please do not advise on consuming large volumes of alcohol. I already got that part understood. Thank you.

We went back to the cheap yummy wines source, Cogno Brothers Winery in Cobbity and stocked up on some vino. We planned to include a trip to an Aboriginal Museum that day as well, but they were closed, so we discovered The Museum of Fire and played in the Children's section for a while. Basically, there was a bunch of fire trucks in the museum. (My dad would probably have liked it a bit).

We went to the Australian Reptile Park where we pet koalas and kanga's!

We went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks 3. I don't think the Muffin even really liked it. But she loved dancing to all the credits.Save your money for the video release. Ughhh!  Let me tell you about this Aussie movie theater in a local mall, the same mall that has those cool family bathrooms I told you about, or toilets, as they say here in Oz. We call it the Ikea Mall, but of course that is not what it is really called. They have a soundproof crying room with a changing table in the theater. They have Gold Level Seats with what appeared to be reclining seats that are open for later movies where you get served like club level seating at a Washington Caps hockey game or something! The regular seats were even quite comfy. Not sure if we got the matinee price or if they do that but here is an idea of what we paid to sit through this thing...Adult ticket was $17.50 and three year old was $13/ Huckleberry- free.

While there I ran into Target to get some sun hats for Muffin. She has to have one for school because no hat, no outdoor play. It's the Aussie way. Nicely, they put the sunscreen on the kids 20 minutes before going outside. She also had to have a "jumper" for Preschool which is a jacket for the cool days. (Baby boy needs hats,too. One or two fit still but the dinosaur favorite is really too small. I'll get him next trip). As an aside, Target kids stuff is not as nice as US stuff. Lots of character clothes and some cute things but just don't seem as well made (I know, Mother, you hate Target stuff, but in US Target stuff really is cute and affordable, especially for kids!)

Muffin and her daddy took a plunge in our pool for the first time. I stayed in with the sleeping baby. The idea of a pool is kind of cool, but not too practical for me at home alone with two babies.

We took it easy and when we ventured out it was usually after a slow morning that afforded Huckleberry his morning nap in his own crib, the way he likes it.

We hit the Costco on the way home from somewhere one day. It wasn't bad. Immediately saw two parking spots and took one. I have never see so  many people at the seafood counter. We got some stuff, then got dinner. Took a pizza home and Muffin had a hotdog and reminisced abut her hotdog lunch with her Mack grandparents at Costco Midlothian, VA. .So we will have to hit it again sometime, but no rush. Nice to see some familiar brands, but we don't have tons of room to buy bulk stuff in our Sydney suburb house. Some of the items we bought that I can remember are:

• beer
• Colgate toothpaste
• some shampoo
• Qtips because I go through them like a nutcase.
• Kirkland baby wipes (Yippee! Got the last two boxes on the shelf)
• that's all  I can remember!

It was interesting to see what other people had in their carts once we were leaving. Next time, we shall go with a list.

 We went back to Il Bolognese Restaurant near the tacky lights tour. I had read they have a BYOB policy but had forgotten. It seems all of the other diners were toting their hooch with them. It was Sat. night and we were there with a bunch of older people and it was just relaxing and GOOD! I think we might have scored a Sat. night spot. Maybe we can be adopted by some grandparents. Just saying.

We went to see the Fleet Foxes ( a Seattle, WA band) at the Sydney Opera House and made reservations at a neighboring restaurant called ARIA, check it out online. You won't believe the view we had, especially as we just made our reservation the day of. Once I get it figured out I'll add them. We had prime seating and view of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. It was the best meal we have had by far and it was simply wonderful not to be feeding our little ones mouths first for an evening as they were left in the hands of a sitter. Also, having the sommelier (love that word and what a life, great job!) pair wines with our meal. The only down side of the night: too tired and old to want to stay out till 11 which is the time we requested for our babysitter and little girl was still awake at 10:30 when we came home. If we had a couch here, she would have fallen asleep sooner, I am guessing. But we had no expectations of anyone getting her to sleep but her crashing from sheer exhaustion. By the way, the sitters name was Phoebe. I adore that name. <3 Maybe my next poodle, if its a girl as there will be no more children from this little factory.

If  I am missing anything, it must not have been much, huh?

Missing you all and missing the days of being able to see our family over the holidays as our entire family lives 10 minutes or less apart from each other, so once there, (two and a half hours away from our Richmond, VA home), it's easy sort of, easier if they come see us:)

As Muffin says, "Take two planes and one train. That's all you have to do." We'll leave the light on for yah;)