Random Shuffle

Got up at 5am a few nights in a row last month to catch a non-cloudy view of this "once in a lifetime" event: Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, & Uranus all aligned with the moon on the horizon before sunrise. I thought it was awesome.

 The kids took a glance then shuffled back to bed, unimpressed. 

But they were thrilled to see Saturn's rings, the spectacular Jewel Box, and Alpha Centauri at the school's stargazing party the other night. There were about 10 highfalutin telescopes there from the Canberra Astronomical Society with friendly volunteers guiding us around the galactic beauties.

What's with this hair? 

No product, nothing. Straight out of the shower. I'm thinking some seriously unhealthy build up of some sort?

Had to chuckle at these prices. I remember stocking up on these for gifts last year.

They were $0.88 each.

Will about had a panic attack of "they're gonna kill me" when he did this (tried to pull out a shirt that was jammed in his closet door.) The whole thing fell over.

I was just relieved no one got slice'n'diced.

Last note: it's COLD here. 

"New"s

Moves are fun. Even if you don't get to experience a new country or culture, you still get a new house, new yard, new neighborhood, new schools, new friends, new ward, etc. A few of my favorite "news" involve the house we were placed in. It backs up to a picturesque little walkway with weeds and steps and eucalyptus trees galore, meandering up the hill past houses on one side and clumps of rock and various shrubbery on the other. Then past a wooded playground and up through a nature preserve full of dirt paths and wildlife. I mean, come on! It's the perfect end to the day - walking up to visit the roos that invariably hop across the fields before you. (Which is always a thrill except when you're extremely alone, like the other night when I rounded the bend at dusk to a mob of 12 on my left and 6 on my right, less than 10 yards away, staring me down as if deciding whether to charge or not. Back...away...slowly.)

The other is our new arrangement of bedrooms. The three kids' rooms and ours all surround the top of the stairway on the upper level, with a little sitting area beside a window. They've had a grand time owning their own space and lately we've fallen into a pleasant little bedtime routine where mom helps them all get tucked in and reading while dad strums the guitar to mellow the mood. Then once they've all been kissed, prayers said and rooms darkened, mom joins dad by the window and we sing until they're snoring, or beyond. Top three requests: "Pony Man" (Gordon Lightfoot - click to listen), "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen, but Jeff Buckley & Brandi Carlile versions are stunning - Jeff here), and "Dragonfly Races" (Ellis Paul - click to listen). Engaging lyrics and moving musicality. How cool is it to discover music you AND your kids love? It has been years since we've done this regularly and a nostalgic throw back to our late night recording sessions in Maryland. Last weekend we kept the candles lit long after Earth Hour ended, the kids all snug in bed, and sang looking out at the stars. Magic, I tell ya.

Which leads me to another happy discovery. The STARS. (Well, the whole sky actually. The brilliantly vibrant hues of blue in this sky are hard to find words for.) Did you know the constellations are upside down here? We finally figured it out that night, googling some images and comparing against the window to see that Orion was upside down and backwards (see above - his 3 star "dagger" is usually below his "belt"). So fascinating. The stars are bright from here, but as you may have read, D actually stayed up most of the night researching photographic telescopes to take with us on camping trips in the Outback. Definitely the start of some new family traditions.

When Dad walked in from work the first time in this get-up the kids were like "Where are your pants?!"

And in final "new"s, we are officially a one-car-family now. I admit, I was skeptical at first. And we're still working out the kinks. But D has been biking to work and arriving with some fresh morning air in his lungs and a spring in his step. And although it's a longer commute, I'm not complaining about the years he's adding to his life by getting the regular exercise. Sure, we haven't made it through a winter yet, but at least it doesn't snow here, right? (Unfortunately, we can't claim our motivation was the lofty goal of decreasing our carbon footprint, but rather the financial savings... if these "bike gear" purchases ever peter out, that is. But with gas prices like this, that was motivation a-plenty.)

P.S. All those wonderful savings are now labeled "Photographic Telescope Fund." Yay! I'm considering renaming it "Banana Fund" though after looking at my grocery receipt to see what I paid for 10 smallish bananas... ahem... $22.05.

U.S.A.

As you probably know Darren is on assignment here with the U.S. government. We have lived in MD and UT with his job, but this is our first overseas position. And being so, it was my first opportunity to be party to all the necessary "briefings" at the U.S. Embassy upon our arrival. I must say, it has been pretty fun. The US/Australian relationship is quite developed and our embassy here reflects that in its size and beauty. Gorgeous grounds and buildings. It was a treat to walk through and get my badge and mailbox keys and make the rounds to all the appropriate meetings for a few days. Having the kids already in school was a huge help as well as all the prep work and research we'd done on our own prior. I felt like it was sort of a two day date with my husband (which is MONEY when you usually don't get to reconnect 'til all the kids are snoring and you're both hammered.)

This is also my first time experiencing the "expat" culture that accompanies such a posting. Granted, I'm not struggling with any language barriers or many challenging cultural differences, but it's still enjoyable to have a nice, familiar, community feel every time I visit the embassy or attend one of its functions. They have trivia nights, movie nights, massive garage sales, moms groups, parties, etc. I went to the embassy book club the other night and I was shocked by how much it felt like a Relief Society function. All these ladies being gathered with one commonality (citizenship rather than religion) to eat, socialize and share ideas late into the night. The conversations were fascinating. Such rich and diverse perspectives from a myriad of backgrounds and experiences - different cultures, family structures, professional grades. It was so uplifting. I genuinely appreciated the stimulating and political topics that repeatedly came up through our discussions. And of course it was fun to hear the familiar sharing of where to find this or that or who found what at such a low price, etc. It's also fun to see all the different government-owned housing (and that familiar furniture) as we visit others' homes.

We are thrilled with our home here. We are the first American family to move in so it recently had all sorts of required updates and installments like alarm systems, special locks, slash-proof security screens, & high fences. It's just beautiful inside with many lovely extras we didn't expect (kids are taking real advantage of the intercom, central vac and laundry chute.) Security cars drive by at all times of day and night to check the place (one guard even knocked to say our garage door was open - talk about feeling safe. Um, minus the spiders I guess.) It's plenty big for our potentially growing family (5 bedrooms/3 garages) too. So I guess my point is - there's room for visitors!!

Canberra is very "western," and many things feel entirely familiar. There aren't many products I haven't been able to find (admittedly at a higher price) but most can be purchased online anyway. And while there aren't any familiar brands of food, the Australian versions are great. Milk, cheese and chocolate are much tastier due to the high cream content and I'm having a ball trying out lots of randoms that look interesting.

I've been impressed to find how child and family-friendly this city is with all sorts of activities that are kid-centered. Free city-sponsored playgroups and preschools with activities and snacks provided. Many "mums" with small children or pregnant. I even had a hard time finding a seat in the family lounge at the mall - a space provided to nurse and change diapers privately with a little play area for the older sibs too. So many friendly and talkative mums. It's a nice surprise and makes it feel a lot like home.

Old Mother Hubbard

And THIS folks, is how far $1000 will get you here. 

Even from Aldi's - the discount grocery store. :)

 

Again, sort of a spectacle as I filled up two carts and made multiple trips. Well, when you don't have a Costco...! Summer got a kick out of their system though. 

See the ramp? It's like a little amusement park ride every time we shop.

Out of House and Home

So Will is apparently going through some kind of growth spurt. Unlucky timing for us, seeing as food is about  three times more expensive here. He's eating my cupboards bare faster than I can fill them. (But now that we have a car, that should prove a lot easier - yay!) That being said, the produce here is amazing. It's sweeter, crunchier, fresher and straight up delish. So much so that after being told there was no more food for his requested THIRD helping last night at dinner (& he'd literally licked his plate clean,) he requested a giant salad.

And ate the whole thing. A glimpse into our teenage years? I'm frightened already. At least we won't have to battle these prices... On the flip side, here are the things I've found to be LESS expensive here:

Can you see my problem? Baby fat might be sticking around a liiiitle longer than planned, me thinks.