Not Quite the Impact We Hoped to Have on the Community

**This is an excerpt from our local school's newsletter.  Apparently, The Boy has stirred up  some excitement with his self-exploration through hair-styles...

 

UNIFORM AND HAIR STYLES: 

As I have said before on many occasions, how we present ourselves as a school is viewed very

closely by our local and wider community. Wearing our school uniform with pride and being neat and tidy in presentation sets a standard that we will be judged by in our society. We are not attempting to stifle individuality, yet it is important that as a school, we are meeting the

expectations of what is reasonable within the local community. There are plenty of opportunities for students to express their individuality with dress and hair styles such as on school holidays, weekends, free dress days etc. 

 

Therefore, I would like to outline a few important aspects of compliance which we expect as a

school in relation to how students present themselves: 

 

All students need to be in school uniform each day, unless they have a note explaining why they cannot be in uniform on that day.

Jewellery such as bracelets, necklaces, anklets, rings etc are not to be worn unless they are for medical or religious reasons. This is a safety issue.  Students are permitted to wear a watch.

Hairstyles need to be neat and tidy, with hair of shoulder length or longer, worn up in plaits or the like. 

Styles such as tracks in the hair, mohawks or obvious colouring is not in keeping with school

expectations unless it is a particular school event eg: Think Pink or Crazy Hair Day and these

styles/colours are only for that special event.

 

Whether you agree with these expectations or not, we do want to portray an image of a school that is proud of its image and what it stands for in the community.  Thank you for your continued support and compliance with our dress code.

 

Reprinted WITHOUT permission.

 

While we are disappointed that our school has decided to take this type of a stand, we are completely respectful that it is up to the school administration to set these guidelines.  We may agree, or we may disagree, but there is no doubt now that we have made an impact, as these guidelines will now be included in the school handbook.  Oops.

 

**Please note that I have purposefully tried not to identify the school here.  It's not about bashing that school at all... only about letting our friends and family know that while we are downunder, we are still stirring up trouble.   :o 

The Boy's Hair: Before and After

So - he did it! Not only did he shave his head (which is not all that new and exciting) but The Boy also donated his entire piggy bank to the school for cancer research! He was brought up to the front while they shaved heads to acknowledge his generosity. His teachers offered to let him shave someone's head, but he was to shy for that...

Here are some pics from the event:

BEFORE: The Boy WITH hair!

AFTER: The Boy WITHOUT hair - and with his soon to be donated piggy bank!

Gathered at the front with one of the teachers. The groundskeeper is in the background (wearing cap). His daughter is a hairdresser and donated her time to shave the heads... I think she did it just so she could shave her dad's head ;)

He's the littlest kid up there!

Too shy to use the razor himself... tee hee!

The event raised $4000 for Leukemia Research. We were so proud of our little dude's small contribution - from his BIG heart!

World's Biggest Shave - Inspired by my 7 year old

This was too long for Twitter, but too important to not share, so I am resurrecting the blog!


Tomorrow is Wacky Hair Day at the childrens' school. Wacky Hair Day is always a big event around our house. The kids love to colour their hair, paint it, tease it, put it in piggies and pony tails. Even The Boy with his short hair has gotten into the act, with patterns shaved into it, or mohawks. This year is no different. The Girl is geared up with elastics and clips. The Boy has the longest hair he has ever had - we spiked it today with gel and everything.


The Boy made a different decision this afternoon, though. We had been toying with the idea of cutting his puffy, spiky hair and returning to his typical short buzz cut. He's had the extra hair for a couple of months, and while he fit in with the local wildlife, it was getting a little unruly.


In the meantime, the school has presented the purpose of this Wacky Hair Day to the children. One of teachers and a few others are taking part in the World's Greatest Shave 2010 (www.worldsgreatestshave.com/about), a fundraiser to raise money for Leukemia research and services. The whole school has gotten involved. The kids are bringing in gold coins to shed their uniforms for the day and wear their own clothes and donations will be accepted in order to colour their hair as well. If the school reaches their goal of $4000(!), the teacher will shave his head. There are some older children having their hair shaved as well. All of this will go down at Friday's weekly parade (that would be assembly for you Canucks).


Well, The Boy has taken the message to heart - not only has he shaved his head tonight, but he has decided to donate the entire contents of his piggy bank to the cause. Cancer causes hit home in our family right now, as we have a close family member who has been going through a very serious battle with a not so good prognosis. When discussing the consequences of donating his life savings (ok, so only 7 months' worth, but it was just over $80), he was adamant that he wanted to help the kids with cancer who don't have hair and his Aunt back in Canada who was sick with Cancer. We explained that it was too late for his money to help his Aunt, but maybe another family could be helped by his donation.


What can a mom say? I am so proud that he has come up with this idea on his own, and a little bit surprised. He has been pretty proud of himself with his piggy bank, earning coins for chores around the house (or pulling teeth out!), using it to buy candy or trinkets when we go out. When I told him that this means he won't have any money left, he insists that that's ok, he'll just work hard to earn more!

These are the lessons we try to teach our kids - thank goodness that this one appears to be sticking!

October Kids Update!

Well, I've found myself with an hour to go before meeting hubby for lunch, and don't feel like tackling the pile of laundry, so I figure it's time for an UPDATE!

The Boy has been doing fantastically at school. Academically, he is right up there with the rest of the class, in spite of missing the first half of Year 1. Handwriting is his weakest, but his mother had hideous handwriting till university (and according to hubby, it's still awful). He WON AN AWARD at the assembly (parade) last Friday!!! It was an award for persistence. He's had trouble focusing on story-writing while all his classmates are just jumping in. So we worked on a story "map" last Tuesday morning and he sat down and wrote a paragraph about Superman saving someone. Doesn't sound like much maybe, but it was a big accomplishment for him, so his teacher wanted to draw attention to it and encourage him. Schools really need to do this. It is such a dangerous thing to hear Ontario schools NOT holding assemblies and NOT celebrating children's little accomplishments. There is a "parade" every Friday at the kids school. It lasts about an hour and kids perform, some are awarded for behaviour or sports or academics and information is shared. It's kind of like a pep rally. What a great way to foster school spirit... and to encourage children to be their personal best. *RANT MODE OFF*

The Girl has been making friends and doing the rounds on the birthday party circuit. They are having so much fun in their party dresses, playing different games and winning prizes. She was ECSTATIC when she won a freeze dancing contest at one party. She just LOVES to dance. Whether it's in ballet class, at the school fair, at home, in the mall - if there's music on, she wants to move. Her recital is coming up in a few weeks and she is getting excited for us to see her perform. She's such a drama queen... I guess she gets that from her dad ;)

We're hosting a big hallowe'en party this weekend. The kids are pretty excited to share our "customs" and heck, when there's candy and costumes involved, you can't really go wrong! Here are their costumes:



They had a dry run for the school disco this past weekend. They had a blast dressing up for their friends, and the boy loved that not everyone recognized him. He kept saying all night "it's me, C, really!"

Happy Anniversary to Me.

So, um, yeah. Today I have officially been unemployed for six months. In quitting my job, I envisioned days of lattes while watching the children frolic and play; sitting at the table enjoying lively table time activities while the children's lives were enriched with my knowledge of all things exciting; field trips to museums and parks to learn more about our new home.

Then reality hit: We did have ONE day where the children frolicked while I drank a latte. One two-hour period in six months. We still don't have a table, so table time has been a wash. And lord knows, the temper tantrums and public humilitation that come with going out in public with the two kids on my own have completely quashed any interest in field trips.

So now what? I'm still not sure. I may work - but I'm feeling pretty particular. I really don't think I want to get into another admin job. It certainly isn't very fulfilling - and I still want the flexibility to volunteer at the kids' school. I read somewhere recently, that when one is at a crossroads, you should follow your passions... Food for thought...

TwitterBlog

Ok, so clearly I'm not very good at keeping this blog up to date, but I did notice that I am very good at keeping my Twitter feed up to date. I also noticed that my Twitter has a pretty detailed timeline of our goings-on while adventuring in Australia. So, here is what we've been up to. Like the blog, the Twitter feed is listed with the most recent stuff on the top. So if you want to read it in chronological order, you'll have to scroll down to the bottom and start there. Also, all of the links should take you to pictures of the monkeys and their adventures. Enjoy!


1. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. http://twitpic.com/ie095m These people really need some snow.

2. A taste of home... http://twitpic.com/i56ak Yummy!2:25 AM Sep 18th

3. What the hell? http://bit.ly/14zxnQ 7:25 AM Sep 17th

4. Rest time after the field trip. Who is more tired, the parents or the kids? http://twitpic.com/i0one

5. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that I have to come to Australia to view art on loan from the NY MET on American Impressionism?7:34 PM Sep 16th

6. Most people go to museums to see art. The girl goes to have temper tantrums. http://twitpic.com/hzrpm http://twitpic.com/hzrrv 7:17 PM Sep 16th

7. Waiting for the train to take us to the gallery. http://twitpic.com/hzirs 6:13 PM Sep 16th

8. Minding my own business in the shower this morning. Then, I turn around and see this! http://twitpic.com/hza 755:13 PM Sep 16th

9. House still messy/dirty. Kids in bed. Paperwork done. Inventory ordered (not counted). Field trip tomorrow. Still miss Marc. :( *sigh*9:08 AM Sep 16th

10. Hmph. Messy/dirty house. Obnoxious kids. Paperwork to do. Inventory to order and count. Full day field trip w Prep tomorrow. I miss Marc. :(3:44 AM Sep 16th

11. The kids ROCKED the Arts Parade! I am so proud. Will try to figure out how to post the video...7:52 PM Sep 15th

12. Up and at 'em. Art parade today. The girl's singing and The boy's dancing. Break a leg babies! (r.i.p. Patrick Swayze...)3:48 PM Sep 15th

13. Seriously sad. Rest in Peace Patrick Swayze. Always Johnny in our hearts.9:54 PM Sep 14th

14. Sewing with The girl in class. Preparations for her big show at the fair! http://twitpic.com/hrrg 17:52 PM Sep 14th

15. Cried after being torn from teary boy at school. Retail therapy made me all better. No $ left for scrapbooking. :(8:32 PM Sep 13th

16. Back to the grind. Should I run errands, clean house or scrapbook today? Decisions, decisions.3:58 PM Sep 13th

17. Yikes. Watching a boy who is MAYBE 3 yrs old walk across the rubber monkey bars 5 ft up. His mom is 15 ft away. Apparently I'm too uptight.2:54 AM Sep 13th

18. Ok, so our Macarena dance kicks Australia's Macarena dance in the butt! But the Chicken Dance is universal.9:01 PM Sep 12th

19. A gaggle of 6 yr old girls singing and dancing to Abba http://twitpic.com/hiwed Dancing Queens!8:07 PM Sep 12th

20. When is Marc back? Getting up at 6am with the kids sucks! I miss my weekend sleep in to 9!!!3:54 PM Sep 12th

21. Air show before the fireworks was brief, but very cool!2:13 AM Sep 12th

22. On the Brisbane River, waiting for Riverfire. http://twitpic.com/hexl8 hopefully we will see it from here.1:43 AM Sep 12th

23. Artwork to help cheer Aunt Denise as she battles cancer. http://twitpic.com/hei3n Note symbol in heart-those are The boy's fingers crossed...11:11 PM Sep 11th

24. Next up: pirate party at the bookstore! http://twitpic.com/hdvri Too bad we left all our cool costumes in Canada. :(8:40 PM Sep 11th

25. At bookstore watching authors read their stories. http://twitpic.com/hdr6v The girl is in red making the face and The boy is in camo hat on left8:19 PM Sep 11th

26. Watching The boy at Happy Coconuts tennis lessons and listening to The girl bitch about how boring it is to watch him.7:14 PM Sep 11th

27. Lying on the couch with two boys while hubby is away ;). http://twitpic.com/hakqs 4:33 AM Sep 11th

28. How does school pick up time come so quickly?10:03 PM Sep 10th

29. Kid Canada and the Fairy Princess at Wacky Wheely Day! http://twitpic.com/h91n 06:56 PM Sep 10th

30. Busy day. We've decorated The boy's scooter for Wacky Wheels Day. He really wants to win a prize. Pics later. Canada Represent!3:38 PM Sep 10th

31. Can't believe I'm so sleepy. When does Marc come home?8:40 AM Sep 10th

32. Is officially moved in. Unpacked and put the final suitcase away. :)6:46 AM Sep 9

33. Is very proud of my little man, who attended the school council meeting with me tonight due to lack of sitter or hubby. He was so good! :)6:17 AM Sep 8th

34. Thinking of Aunt Denise tonight. Feeling helpless and too far away to help.5:31 AM Sep 7th

35. Watching the MDA telethon for the first time ever... Funny how easier it is to do these things from so far away! Go Jerry's Kids!5:26 AM Sep 7th

36. There was a copy of the Sunday Mail Society Pages with my picture at the coffee shop this morning!!!! Yay me!6:24 PM Sep 6th

37. Guess whose picture is in the society pages of today's Sunday Mail... And guess who forgot to buy a copy :(6:07 AM Sep 6th

38. Yay The boy! http://twitpic.com/gj190 Whoda thunk someone would describe MY offspring as a "natural athlete"? *lol*11:20 PM Sep 4th

39. Ran home from corner, barefoot in pouring rain. The boy: "Mommy that was the bestest day of my life!" Screw Disneyland. Let kid run in rain.9:16 AM Sep 4th

40. Had a lovely impromptu brekky date with hubby this morning. No kids. It's not date night, but still nice...1:57 AM Sep 4th

41. Very proud of Marc and The girl and their performance at the Father's Day Athletics Event. Go Team Go! :)8:14 PM Sep 3rd

42. Watching my boy play with some classmates in the park, with no prompting or urging from me. Yay! 12:27 AM Sep 3rd

43. Proud to report that The boy is doing very well with his in-class behaviour and classroom routine! He is working hard at following the rules!7:14 PM Sep 2nd

44. Hope all our friends back home had a GREAT first day of school! I want details!4:03 PM Sep 1st

45. Hard at work on Uniform Shop paperwork. At 1am. Guess I should stop shopping and hanging w new Aussie friends during the day...9:49 AM Sep 1st

46. Spent the morning with my baby girl's class, training for the Father's Day Athletics Event this Friday. :)9:44 PM Aug 30th

47. Missing friends today... Hope all are enjoying your last weekend before school starts! Off to bring my kiddies to school shortly...4:30 PM Aug 30th

48. Love that I can get roasted meat and veggies in the food court! Home cooked meal without the 24 hrs of travelling!9:48 PM Aug 29th

49. Another day in paradise. With kids. Lord grant me the strength...4:37 PM Aug 29th

50. Got a midnight phone call and now I'm awake. Thanks Mom. :) I guess it could be worse - could have been bad news. ;) Glad all is well...zzz9:10 AM Aug 29th

51. Happy Birthday Nana!!!5:53 AM Aug 28th

52. Remembering why I hate public transportation - buses in particular. Waiting 25 min and still no bus. May be late to pick kids at school :(11:23 PM Aug 27th

53. Baking up a storm for our afternoon tea playdate. Brownies and cupcakes and tea, oh my!!!7:27 PM Aug 26th

54. The playroom that IKEA built. :). http://twitpic.com/fbejt Spoiled much? (They better LOVE it in the morning. )5:08 AM Aug 26th

55. And on the third day, the tantrums came. The girl's so tired today, she just can't help it. Tomorrow is another day.2:29 AM Aug 26th

56. Had a great morning. Made a new friend - who LOVES Kenny!!! Life us good.9:43 PM Aug 25th

57. *sigh* Crappy old laptop + crappy wireless card + crappy Internet service = cranky Cynthia. Time for bed methinks. Goodnight Cruel World!8:38 AM Aug 25th

58. 31 degrees celsius. And humid. Have I mentioned that it is the dead of winter here? Yeowch.7:22 PM Aug 24th

59. Too sleepy to come up with anything to say. And it's still too damn hot. Night all!7:35 AM Aug 24th

60. Watching The boy perform EPIC belly flops while learning how to dive at swimming lessons. Ouch!1:17 AM Aug 24th

61. Ugh. Humidity sucks. If this is winter, summer will not be pretty.12:20 AM Aug 24th

62. RT @cakewrecks: Hey Dr. Horrible fans, today's Sweets have a PhD in horribleness. http://tinyurl.com/l7qba8 - WICKED!4:41 PM Aug 23rd

63. Ugh. Monday morning - why must you mock me? I'm so not ready for you. Maybe I'll scrap my plans and spend the day at the scrapbook store!4:18 PM Aug 23rd

64. All u can eat buffet is probably a bad idea before going on rides.9:52 PM Aug 21st

65. Heading to Movie World w the Griswalds.... I mean the family. Wish me luck!6:43 PM Aug 21st

66. Still working w the teacher on helping my boy fit in. Thank goodness for teachers who care!!!!9:51 PM Aug 20th

67. Watching The boy write postcard notes to some friends in Canada. Too cute for words!12:53 AM Aug 19th

68. Actual headline in our community newspaper: "Lily a Cricket Fancier: Pearl Jam to tour Brisbane". Huh? Anyone?6:43 PM Aug 18th

69. Just pd $2.50 for an imported Butterfinger. As close to a Crispy Crunch as I could get. Hope it's as good as my $2.60 can of A&W root beer!!6:30 PM Aug 17th

70. Ugh. Haircut hangover. I miss you Mark... Paid $140 to wear a hat till it grows in :(4:56 PM Aug 17th

71. Don't you just love that a McD's chzbrgr is a McD's chzbrgr no matter where you are in the world? Ah, the comforts of global enterprise!12:57 AM Aug 17th

72. Craving Swiss Chalet. Tried Red Rooster to satisfy craving. Epic Fail.11:13 PM Aug 15th

73. Stayed up too late reading @cakewrecks blog. Must sleep.8:11 AM Aug 15th

74. Still BBQ-less but found some great suburban shopping. Back we go tomorrow!3:35 AM Aug 15th

75. Lazy morning! Shall we try for a lazy afternoon, or should we go buy a BBQ?8:42 PM Aug 14th

76. Ah. Vicks Vaporub. So familiar. So smelly. So sticky. So now that I'm all covered with it, it better freaking work!9:50 AM Aug 14th

77. Updating my status from Macca's on their free WIFI. Just because I can.3:38 AM Aug 13th

78. So, I was looking at my Aussie $10 bill and was wondering who the dude was that was on it. Then I realized it was a woman. Oops.10:16 PM Aug 12th

79. *sigh* Sick for a week and the laundry piles up and the clutter gets out of control. :(5:10 PM Aug 12th

80. Storms over :)3:47 AM Aug 12th

81. No rain since we arrived a month ago & the heavens have now opened up & are wreaking havoc w the tin roof. Rain. Hail. Lightening. Thunder.3:42 AM Aug 12th

82. Seriously underwhelmed by Ekka (www.ekka.com.au), and exhausted. Naptime.2:41 AM Aug 12th

83. One step closer in my quest to stalk Hugh Jackman tonight... WooHoo!6:32 AM Aug 11th

84. Had a great chat with my daddy this morning. Funny how the further away you are, the easier it is sometimes to connect. :)9:31 PM Aug 10th

85. Death flu STILL has me in its grip. Going to hibernate on the couch with GH on YouTube since it's not broadcast in Australia! :(6:34 PM Aug 9th

86. Thinking if I survive this flu, I'm going to bake a batch of red velvet cupcakes. Because I deserve it.5:07 AM Aug 9th

87. Has the BEST hubby EVER. He just got out of his jammies to go fetch me some ice cream to sooth my sore throat! Being sick sucks.4:17 AM Aug 8th

88. The blog is officially updated!6:37 AM Aug 7th

89. Asthma sucks. So do shin splints. I'm just saying.6:03 PM Aug 5th

90. Ok for real this time,will get my blog updated. Or else no one will remember us anymore. *sniff*4:06 PM Aug 5th

91. And I thought I did a lot of walking last week. Tomorrow, I rest.11:51 PM Aug 4th

92. Why is it that the first person with whom I've had a genuine, comfortable conversation in Oz is moving to the UK for a year?8:49 PM Aug 4th

93. Made it downtown in 42 min. Now what to do with the 48 min till I have to meet hubby.... Shop?8:13 PM Aug 4th

94. Heading downtown to play on the trains. Need to map out Marc's ride to and from work. I'm such a nice housewifey.6:49 PM Aug 4th

95. My son just asked me for a rubber. Should I be concerned?12:16 AM Aug 4th

96. Enjoying a chai latte at Southbank, overlooking the river while the kids are Legoing. Rough life today... ;)8:38 PM Aug 3rd

97. http://twitpic.com/coaun The girl's first "free dress" day. She wanted to wear a fairy princess dress with a crown and wand. We compromised.5:43 PM Aug 3rd

98. Going to LegoWorld with The boy's class today! Woohoo!4:31 PM Aug 3rd

99. Just watched "My Sister's Keeper". Translation: I just bawled for two hours.9:46 PM Aug 2nd

100. http://twitpic.com/ckoj4 These are the seats in the theatre 2 min from my house. I kid you not. Oh - & they deliver food 2 your seat.7:30 PM Aug 2nd

101. Is now known at school as the mother of that dreadful tantruming little girl. Sweet.5:49 PM Aug 2nd

102. http://twitpic.com/cbnwx those crazy Canucks! Swimming in the middle of winter!8:30 PM Jul 31st

103. Thinking today is the day that I should get my blog on. Stay tuned.4:34 PM Jul 31st

104. Missing friends and family today. :(12:00 AM Jul 31st

105. http://twitpic.com/c77ar for @wookstah Why eat your Tim Tams when you can drink them?8:10 PM Jul 30th

106. Monsters at school - check. Shower - check. Laundry - not done. Fail. Guess no movie for me this morning :(6:49 PM Jul 30th

107. Is paying for the late night trip to Ikea. The monsters are in rare form this morning.5:28 PM Jul 30th

108. Off to IKEA with one happy kid and one cranky kid. Thank goodness hubby is coming too!!!3:49 AM Jul 30th

109. Watching the kids play at the park with new school friends. Life us good.12:12 AM Jul 30th

110. In my new bed, in my new house, in my new neighbourhood. Love it! Now I need more furniture... Sounds like a trip to IKEA!7:02 AM Jul 29th

111. In our new house! No furniture or dishes, but we're in!!!9:35 PM Jul 28th

112. Thinking of our buddy Lorne today. Love you lots and can't wait to see your new - just as cute - smile!!!!5:54 AM Jul 28th

113. Why are all these ppl wearing turtlenecks, scarves and fleece/wool coats? And boots?!?!?4:12 AM Jul 28th

114. And it starts... Off to my first meeting at the school!3:15 AM Jul 28th

115. So nice to enjoy the kids, put them to bed & hang with hubby. Two sleeps till we move in! Nighty night all!6:52 AM Jul 27th

116. Has two very happy, excited kids. They LOVE their new school!12:49 AM Jul 27th

117. Waiting to leave to pick up the monsters. I hope they are having fun at school!10:14 PM Jul 26th

118. http://twitpic.com/br8cq. And don't forget the hats!!!5:57 PM Jul 26th

119. http://twitpic.com/br7uo Hi ho, hi ho it's off to school they go!5:53 PM Jul 26th

120. As all my friends are waking up, it's sleepy time for me.... Nighty night!8:14 AM Jul 26th

121. Just enjoyed a picnic at the park by the river with the family. Good times :)2:20 AM Jul 26th

122. http://twitpic.com/bj97f . Feeding a kangaroo !11:01 PM Jul 24th

123. http://twitpic.com/bj8wn 10:57 PM Jul 24th

124. Hubby ATTEMPTING to explain the school's code of behaviour to the girl. Do you think she's getting it? http://twitpic.com/bi9s0 6:55 PM Jul 24th

125. The kids start school on Monday! Yay me!!!!9:02 PM Jul 23rd

126. Trying to convince Hubby to go down to the front desk to rent us a movie. No go. Fail.4:31 AM Jul 23rd

127. The result: http://twitpic.com/ba6l7 Pic doesn't really do it justice!8:47 PM Jul 22nd

128. Did I mention the part about the park trip that includes me being dumb enough to put the girl in white leggings AND give her kiwi to eat?8:42 PM Jul 22nd

129. Sitting on a park bench, eating crackers and cheese, sipping chai latte and watching the kids play. Doesn't that sound idyllic?8:32 PM Jul 22nd

130. Thinking it's almost time to get the monsters out of this apartment before fireworks start...7:18 PM Jul 22nd

131. Am in LOVE with my new pretty high heel shoes... My feet, however, don't feel quite the same way :(7:52 AM Jul 22nd

132. WE FOUND A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!! We move in next Wednesday!8:46 PM Jul 21st

133. But a lot of them smoke. Hot guy + smoking = Fail.7:16 PM Jul 21st

134. Seriously, there are a LOT of hot guys in Brisbane.7:15 PM Jul 21st

135. Bad idea. Should have stayed home. Girl is in bed. Cuddling w/boy on couch trying to erase the ordeal from memory.9:55 PM Jul 20th

136. Mmmmm....... Teriyaki beef sushi......8:30 PM Jul 20th

137. The debate is on... Do I take a chance on the monsters and go downtown... or do I hibernate?6:33 PM Jul 20th

138. Heading to the beach. Southbank, here we come!!!!6:58 PM Jul 18th

139. Just put an application in on THE apartment. Keep your body parts crossed!!!!10:24 PM Jul 17th

140. Our new pink crocs! http://twitpic.com/apkod 7:40 PM Jul 17th

141. Waiting on the river for the ferry to take me to the shopping Mecca for girlz morning!6:38 PM Jul 17th

142. My new present to me... Reusable, thermal AND dishwasher safe! http://twitpic.com/alrfo 9:27PM Jul 16th

143. Needs ringtunes for my iPhone and have no idea where to buy and download them. Don't tell anyone I used to work for a wireless company, K?1:47 AM Jul 16th

144. Mmmmmm. Krispy Kreme1:41 AM Jul 16th

145. Is very thankful to have ten minutes left after my shopping until I have to collect the monsters from Smaland. How I love IKEA.1:40 AM Jul 16th

146. Is going to go to IKEA every day so the kids can go in the supervised play area and I can have a break! :)8:23 PM Jul 14th

147. found IKEA.6:32 PM Jul 14th

148. Busted hubby playing with my iPhone in the middle of the night. Back away from the phone...2:25 PM Jul 14th

149. I'm officially mobile!!! Saw a crappy apt today with a stove smaller than my microwave at home. :(12:24 AM Jul 14th

150. Watching hubby and the boy bonding over watching rugby. It's cute. Who'da thunk my boys would bond over such a *grunt grunt* thing?4:57 AM Jul 13th

151. Survived a trip to the grocery store and back, unscathed. Now to cook my first Aussie meal...12:13 AM Jul 13th

152. Jet lag sux. Can't stay awake past 7:30pm and can't sleep past 5am. At least I don't have an adult social life! Hope I adjust soon.2:25 PM Jul 12th

153. Shopped till Marc dropped... Tomorrow is always another day! Stay tuned for updates from my new iPHONE!!!!! Hubby loves me!3:23 AM Jul 12th

154. Driving in OZ + two monstrous children = 3 nervous breakdowns (me) and 2 temper tantrums (also me). *sigh* Need to find a sitter soon!2:29 AM Jul 11th

155. Going to attempt to drive again today. And maybe even update the blog... We'll see how our first party works out first!3:30 PM Jul 10th

156. Driving on the left hand side, while sitting in the right hand side of the car, is whacked. My nerves are shot.2:27 AM Jul 10th

157. looking for a new place to live in a country across the ocean...9:58 AM Jul 7th

A Quick Update

Because it's been a while since I have posted, I'll try to be as brief as possible. I have taken a number of "miscellaneous" pictures of our antics here in OZ, so I thought I'd just throw them all into one post with a brief explanation of each:

Hubby's Chipburger:

When I heard about this, I immediately thought of all the french fry sandwiches that my dad used to eat growing up - and they still gross me out. But this one takes the cake. Not only is it a sandwich with french fries (chips) in it, it also have a beer battered, deep fried piece of fish. We made a pact that this would be the LAST time we would allow Hubby to eat such a heart-attack on a bun!

A Rare Moment of Peace:

The monsters have not always adjusted perfectly to all the changes lately, so when they both happened to be reading books on their beds, I couldn't NOT take a picture to preserve what was indeed, a rare moment of peace.

The Boy Reading to his Friends:

I actually have a figurine at home in Canada that says The Boy's name and it's a bear reading to his stuffed friends. One of his first homework assignments was to relax with a book or to lie down on his bed and relax for then minutes (yes, I do LOVE his teacher!). So this is what I walked in on - another restful moment that needed to be preserved. How cute is this?

How We Do Date Night in OZ:

Well, we have no sitters lined up yet, and we're used to being able to have at least one kid free meal in a month - so this was our solution while we were still living in the hotel. Once we closed the sliding doors, we barely knew they were there. ;)

We walked around our new neighbourhood before we moved in and these are some of the things we saw - On our Walk Through Rosalie:

We saw a very big dog:

And the kids got caught in a spider web...

And we had some Cold Rock yummy goodness!

Playing at South Bank:

South Bank is an area just across the river from the CBD (or downtown) of Brisbane. There is a manmade beach with a lagoon, splash area and park. There is a boardwalk to walk along the river, many performing arts venues, cafes, shops and a huge market on the weekend. We enjoyed a lazy Sunday there a couple of weeks ago and this is how we do South Bank, in the winter, Canuck-style!!!

And of course, there's the adorable Daddy & Daughter shot from brunch a little while ago. This isn't the best one, that one's on Facebook, but her mischevious look is in all the pictures from this exchange! Poor Hubby, he was trying so hard to explain his point to her!

That's the hodge podge for now. Time to sign off and clean up the house so I can post some pics for all those who are curious about our new digs!