Charity

Lately things have been a bit cramped in our postage-stamp sized 2 bedroom apartment. I like to go through our things pretty regularly and bag stuff up for charity (I would generally say goodwill but I know that word makes Lois cringe!) but it had been about 5 months since the last run to the charity bins. There were a few closets that I hadn't gone through in even a longer amount of time and I decided that despite being very busy last weekend that Sunday would be the day that we would go through it all. However, I had no idea that this is what would happen when I took on this project:


Pictured here are 10 of the 12 garbage sized bags of junk that Don and I gave away to charity. That was not counting the 4 bags of garbage and 2 bags of recyclables that Don took out over the weekend. As I was going through closets, under beds, and toy boxes then bagging up items, and then carrying the bags to the car, and finally dropping them off, I had to laugh. Seriously . . . where did all this stuff come from? And where had it been hiding? We have only been in this place for 2.5 years, and mentioned before that I go through things pretty regularly, and my house is TINY. It feels good that it is all gone, but there are no empty containers or closets or boxes under the bed which is kinda disappointing. I guess my house is just less full and things fit better now, which also gives me good feelings.

Now Grandma's I want to reassure you that there was nothing sentimental in these bags. I am a purger but I do keep special things (my special might be different than your special but things are kept!!) And I hope this inspires you a little that if in my tiny little bitty house that only fits 2 bowls and 2 pots I can find 12 bags+ think what you can do in your place!!! *hint hint* :)

It's A . . .

Baby!

This afternoon was our normalcy scan. The tech checked out baby's bones, heart - pumping with 4 chambers, kidneys - there are 2, spine - no spina bifida, nose and mouth - no cleft, fingers & toes - 10 of each although baby was trying very hard not to show its right foot, and brain - looks smart :) Everything looks good and healthy so far.

Oh, and the tech also checked between the legs, baby squatted like a cooperative little thing and showed that it is most definitely . . . a . . . GIRL!!

I am in a bit of a shock because although I loved the idea of a girl I had kinda convinced myself that I was having a boy and prepared myself for the fact that I might be ganged up on for the rest of my life. Well have no fear, there will be some extra estrogen in the house to balance out all that testosterone!

So, if everything goes as planned in about 20 weeks (that's mid-April for those who don't want to look at a calendar!) we should be welcoming a brand new little girl to our house :)

My Baby Is 3

I am having a little moment here and cannot believe that my little boy is three. Three seems so much older than two - he isn't a baby anymore. I love the sweet little boy that Makoa has become - my thoughtful, generous, gracious, encouraging, clever, chatty . . . little man. How did the years pass by so quickly? (Somehow I can hear myself saying that when I am 80 as well!)

Zero to One

and now Two to Three

Oh my!

And while these birthday parties were fun, we enjoyed some of Koa's summer favourites for a quiet dinner last night (on his Aussie b'day) - homemade pizza, corn on the cob, and pineapple and watermelon, then Daddy took him for ice cream. And as if that amount of celebration wasn't enough, Elsina is throwing a little party for him today, and on Friday we have a joint Mother's Group Party for him . . . the fun never stops!!

Australian Weather

As you may have just read, or perhaps about to read, on Sunday it was 106 degrees in Sydney. It was hot hot hot. After Koa's birthday party I tried so hard to cool down - even pulling an ice pack from the freezer to put on my feet. Homes here generally do not have heaters or air conditioners because, as I have heard countless times, "It doesn't get that hot/cold here" and "Australian homes are built for the summer so they may be cool in the winter but they stay cool in the summer too." Um, it was freakin' hot in my house on Sunday. We have this silly little heating/air conditioning unit that has a tube the blows air outside and you have to keep adding water to it to keep it blowing cool air. By 2pm, after a cold shower and melted ice pack we had to turn it on. It cooled the living room down a few degrees, which was great, but then Don and I had to sleep in the living room because our bedroom was just too warm! By 10pm it was still about 90 degrees. And yes, I do realize that this is like Chico weather, however, you all have air conditioners or at least somewhere where you can go with an air conditioner, but I do not :)

After living in Australia now for 2.5 years I wasn't even that surprised to see Monday's weather.

Yep, that is rain, lots of it, outside my bedroom window. There was a high of 21C on Monday, that is just under 70 degrees F. Happy that it cooled down, although I wasn't quite expecting to need a sweater the day after I used an ice pack to cool myself down. But that's Aussie weather I suppose!

Koa's 3rd Birthday Party

Sunday was a busy, fun, and HOT day. We woke up early and caught a cab to the airport to surprise Don who was coming home from a week in Belgium. Koa was VERY excited daddy was coming home because we missed him, and because it meant his birthday party was here!

I had been working hard all week to prepare for the party. On Monday, I switched the theme again and my friend Shannon and I went shopping (her son Ryan turned 5 on Friday) for decorations. On Tuesday my wonderful friend Jenny, who made Makoa's cupcakes last year, came over to teach me how to make awesome cake toppers. On Wednesday I ordered balloons, Saturday I baked, cut, and went to the shops yet again for last minute items.

After we came home from the airport we carried everything downstairs for the room by the garden I reserved for the party. I think it turned out quite festive for a golf-themed 3-year-old birthday. (Note: Australia is not CA or FL and so did not have any golf themed party items except for the one balloon that I found at the second balloon store I went to - I had to be quite creative!)

Here is the room we used for the food and toys. There were 4 golf holes set up, bubbles, bouncy balls, cars to drive on the track, and new pool toys.

There were triple chocolate cupcakes with Koa golf balls and golf clubs that frustrated me so much that Jenny wonderfully agreed just to make them instead of teaching me how! And carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting dyed green with 3 flags and orange tees with balls that were supposed to sit on top but kept falling off.

Five of Makoa's closest friends came, Tis & Tex, Ryan, and Matthew & Jaime. After some snacks, bubbles and checking out of toys everyone jumped into the pool.

Koa loved the new ring I bought. And as the heat got up to 41F I was happy that we had the pool for everyone to play in. Just to mention the weather again 41F is 106C, YES A HUNDRED AND SIX, in November, while I am throwing a birthday party, and of course there is no air conditioner to go sit in front of. So the pool was a relief, but only half of it is under a shade so by 11:30 it was time to stop for cupcakes. No one wanted to come out though so I brought the cupcakes to them!

"Happy Birthday to Koa" Don was taking pictures and laughed at how very Australian it was that you couldn't see any of the kid's faces because they were all wearing hats :)

And they all came up a bit faster from the pool than I thought they would so the cupcakes were in the only shade by the wall. So I tried to get all the kids to face me instead of the wall for at least one photo!

A little more time in the water, then a few rounds of golf, and some ball bouncing before gifts and saying good bye to our friends.


We had such a great time with everyone, and Makoa received some very generous gifts from our friends. Wish you could have all celebrated with us but Makoa has really enjoyed our trips to the Post to pick up all the lovely pressies that have been sent to him from America! Thank you!

Koa's Turning 3

Make a Smilebox invite

Interpretation

Don and I were in the kitchen, Koa walked in and said he was looking for his "duc-ca" (*hear it in your head like an Aussie who puts all his words together and leaves a few sounds off the end).
I asked, "Your dog car?"
"No mommy, my duCK CaRR."
"Thanks for interpreting in American sweetie."
(*chuckle from Don)

Tasmania

Last month two friends from Monterey came Down Under. Patricia and Holly came to explore Australia, visit me, and to celebrate Patricia's birthday. I showed them (or at least told them about) all the Sydney sites and we checked out Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. Holly the architect loved the Opera House and I left them there to do some further exploring of their own.

On Wednesday we met at the Sydney airport to head down to Tasmania. There was a huge dust storm (excuse me, the pilot corrected himself when he used the word 'storm' I think we were calling it 'raised dust'!). Some of you might have heard of Big Red, which blanketed Sydney (including my balconies and wood surfaces in my house) with red dust. This is Holly and I waiting to board, and those are windows behind us!


We arrived in Hobart, Tasmania bright and early in the morning. Patricia was testing her driving on the left skills and we made our way to the Freycinet National Park. We weren't too sure during the drive just exactly what would be waiting for us 2.5 hours from Hobart. It was raining and the river that we were driving along had obviously just receded from the road. The drive was beautiful and we saw lots of sheep and cows along the way, but there was no way were expecting the amazingly gorgeous views from our lodge.

Sadly I don't have any photos of our cabin which had 2 rooms, a living room, a kitchen, shower and jacuzzi tub . . . but trust me, it was beautiful.

The next morning we explored outside and took this photo at Honeymoon Bay.

Then I read my book in the warmth of the lodge as Patricia and Holly hiked to the overlook of Wineglass Bay. But I did join them on the short hike to the Lighthouse (behind the trees behind me).


We slowly made our way back to Hobart stopping for lunch and ice cream along the way. We didn't have plans for where to sleep so Patricia and Holly jumped out at the visitor centre in Hobart and followed the recommendation of the man who was working there as he called and booked us our room for the night. I was driving and the place was under Holly's name and while she was checking us in I started laughing hysterically at the site of our "Cozy Cabin!"

I believe shed would have been more appropriate, but perhaps they wouldn't have quite as many people calling in. My eyes were watering and I could barely park the car between our 'cabin' and our neighbour's. Luckily the woman bringing our sheets didn't know why I was laughing so hard! Here is the inside just so you get the full picture.

Patricia is lying on her bed laughing because she can't believe that on our 'girl's weekend away' where I got to leave my husband and child in another state that we somehow found ourselves in a shed along the freeway in Tasmania! Although the place may not have been great for my body (Holly and I were on bunkbeds in the room just behind her), but it was warm and clean and it was great for my soul. I really haven't laughed that hard in a really really long time :)

Happy Halloween!

Well technically it is the day before Halloween, but we just hosted a fabulous party today so it is Halloween for us!

It started yesterday when Makoa and I made cupcakes for the party. Makoa used the wisk as a microphone while I was setting all the ingredients out, and did an excellent job stirring.


This morning Makoa and I were talking and getting excited about having our party today.
J: Do you remember what today is?
M: Our Halloween party!!
J: Yea!!
M: And then . . .
J: yes?
M: we will pack away all the Halloween decorations and take out the Christmas tree!!
J: oh, um, yea
(note: remember it is spring here so there are no fall decorations out and no Thanksgiving to decorate for and all the shopping centres already are decked out for Christmas. Apparently he remembered that after Halloween we get to decorate for Christmas . . . I love my child's elephant brain!)

So anyway, this morning I finished packing my tupperware and 2 bags that I thought I could manage bringing up and down the stairs and frantically decorated and set up the room that I had reserved by our garden.

I think it turned out amazing! Since Halloween isn't really celebrated here everything was imported from the US. So I must give credit where credit is due: thanks to Gr. Gr. Dawn for her Halloween packages for the last few years, the kids loved the dancing toys and all the pumpkins, especially Makoa's new jack-o-lantern water cup from this year's box! Thanks to Lois for bringing the witch, which the kids were a little disappointed that it didn't sing and dance but she looked cute in her chair :), the tablecloth and the spider rings - also a big hit. And thanks to mom for the plates and cupcake holders with little pumpkin toothpicks that one boy in particular made sure his mum brought home for him!

After a crazy rushed morning of bringing stuff downstairs, frosting cupcakes, setting up, Makoa and I found ourselves with about 45 minutes to sit and wait around for our first guests to arrive. I had flashbacks to my entire life in the Blake house and I think every single party (except for my wedding reception) we hosted we would run around the house cleaning and cooking and then would find ourselves sitting on the couch for a half an hour waiting for someone to arrive so we could eat!! Makoa and I kept ourselves busy by taking photos and playing with cars.

That is my costume that he is wearing correctly, and then oh so silly, backwards! Then he finally put on his costume so that he could eat a cupcake.

A giant thanks to Auntie Annie who bought this knight's jacket/vest/whatever when she was in England . . . yep, an authentic costume! And someone at playgroup gave him the sword last year. I think he is really channeling his character :)

Then our friends arrived and we played with balls and cars and bubbles, and ate cupcakes and fruit and crackers, and then went swimming in the pool and ran around naked to dry off. It was a morning full of fun!

The babies are Angus and Mae, and we had a grumpy face from Super Edan who didn't want me to take his picture!

And Ella with the orange hat was also running away from the camera but I caught her with Daniel and Taya. Then Daniel, who adored his picture being taken came back for this cute photo :)

Happy Halloween everyone hope you have as much fun as we did!!
Now I must prepare for packing away jack-o-lanterns and setting up for Christmas :)

Catching Up

My name is Julie Brown and I've been a very bad blogger.

I have been asked (a lot) about why I haven't been putting up new pictures and such so to make everyone happy I am going to quickly catch you up on our lives and hopefully get back in the habit of posting more often :)

June 3-6: Makoa and I met Don in San Francisco. I don't really remember the first 2 days as I was exhausted but I am sure they were great!

June 6-17: We all flew to Texas to see the Brown Family. Fawn and Filipe were the most wonderful hosts ever and the kids got along better than any of us could have hoped. We kept busy playing with the kids and visiting with everyone, eating in and out, going to Sea World and the Children's Museum, shopping at cheap Texan/American prices, then more visiting and playing and eating . . .




June 17-29: All of us flew to San Francisco, then Don continued to Australia and Makoa and I made it up to Chico. Makoa kept busy playing with cars, a homemade swing, riding two tractors, feeding animals, and having all sorts of relatives entertaining him. I visited with family and friends and basically ate and played and visited and ate . . .



July 1: Don met us at the airport and Makoa was actually giddy for 2 days playing with his toys and Daddy. It took me about 2 weeks to unpack the 4 suitcases weighing 200pounds, and to do the countless loads of laundry that went along with it. I was also exhausted after a wonderful and tiring trip.

July 8: Don and I have been married for 6 years! Don took a half day from work today and we had lunch then went to the NSW Art Museum.


July/August: Makoa and I are back to our normal routine of visiting with friends and going to parks. Don was telling me about a 'new' park he saw, and after I told him about all the parks Koa and I have been to he said, "You are a park whore, wait, you don't get any money, so I guess that makes you a park slut!" I couldn't deny it, if you have a child and want to know about what park to go to in Sydney, I am your woman! We also have been doing fun family weekend things like seeing Dora and Diego in the movie theater, going ice skating (sorry didn't have my camera), and of course, playing golf.

Hope you enjoyed your updates and your photos. I will hopefully be on here again before you have to call and remind me :)