HHE and Halloween

Since I had already posted this week, this blog post will be shorter.

We tried to get things back to normal this week. Caleb was feeling the effects of traveling and was much more clingy than normal. He also decided that he did not want to walk instead he wanted to be carried everywhere. Which led to a nice meltdown at swimming where I left him in the hallway because he would not stop clinging to my leg. But after I turned the corner he decided that he could walk and got up and followed me. Oh toddlers . . .

Monday we had playgroup. It did not start out too well. I locked my keys in the car which included the keys to the cottage and my cell phone. Luckily one other mother was there and called our road side insurance for me. The road side person came pretty quickly and was able to open the door to my car in no time. Besides that one hiccough, it went well. Caleb enjoyed playing with different toys. He is still not really playing with other kids yet. But he does get excited when he sees the other kids he recognizes.

Tuesday was swim lessons. Caleb was pretty fearful at first becuase he had been rolled over in the sea in Phuket. So it took him some time to warm up to the water. But after about 10 minutes he was jumping in to me and splashing like crazy.

Wednesday we ran some errands and went to the library.

On Thursday our household effects finally came!!! We were so excited to get our things. We had 110 boxes. We had the movers unpack and put things in piles in the different rooms and take the boxes they could. So our house Thursday afternoon was a complete wreck. Our front room was covered. But we managed to get the kitchen and master bedroom done. It was really exhausting and I have not had as much energy as normal. So I was really tired that evening. But Brian has been working like crazy to get it all cleaned up. I think I can deal with things laying around more than he can.

Friday was the Halloween party at the embassy. Caleb went as a teddy bear. We also invited our friends Heidi and Elana. Caleb loves Elana, or as he says "lana", she is just a few weeks younger than Caleb. She dressed as a cheerleader. We went trick or treating around the embassy, looked at the reptiles, pet a baby crocodile, and ate sausages. It was a pretty warm day, 75 degrees, so Caleb did not last the whole time in his costume. But he was super cute while he was in it! Here are some pics.

This weekend was spent at home continuing to unpack. We are just about done now! We still have 1 self that we need to work on in the front room, organize the office, and we have not hung any pictures yet. It it so nice to have family pictures up again and more clothes. Now I just have to start printing out the pictures we have taken since we have arrived and the summer in MD. Brian is excited because we bought a new t.v this weekend and it is much bigger than the one in the welcome kit. Hopefully he does not have too much trouble setting it up!

Tonight we actually had 2 trick or treaters. I was pretty surprised. But there were some Halloween things in the stores. So I guess Aussies are coming to accept Halloween.

This week is looking pretty normal. We have a playdate on Friday with a family new to the embassy. So hopefully that will go well.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I miss giving out candy, eating candy corn, and carving a pumpkin! So enjoy it a little more for me!!

Bangkok and Phuket

I guess I will start at the beginning with the flight to Bangkok. I was super nervous about the flight and I think that Caleb picked up my nerves a bit. Before we left he was running around like crazy. But once the cab came we both calmed down. I cut out his nap since the cab came at 12:30. Caleb took a cat nap on the flight to Sydney and a little in the airport too. I tried to take as little as possible with me, so I had the diaper bag, stroller, and car seat. Luckily there were some chivalrous men who helped me carry the car seat. Then Caleb was really good on the flight to Bangkok. The lady across the aisle was really nice and switched places with us so we could have 3 seats to ourselves. He stayed awake for the first 3 hours and then slept for the rest of the 6 hours. So it went really well! We got in very late into Bangkok, Brian picked us up at the airport, and Caleb slept about 6 more hours.

The next 2 days we explored the city with Brian, we went to one of the malls, the grand palace, and the weekend market. Brian had to work Monday-Wednesday, so Caleb and I went to an aquarium, took a tour of one of the canals, and went to the pool. Bangkok is a nice city. Brian and I really enjoy city life, so we were happy to be in a big city. We felt safe there and it is really cheap to eat and get around there. The Thai people are also really nice there. Although a little too nice to Caleb. They seemed to be obsessed with him! The waiters would crowd around him and bring their friends over to see him. People on the canal tour changed their seats to be closer to him and stare at him. The cab drivers would turn around constantly to look at him. One cab driver I had to tell him 3 times to turn around because the light had changed. Plus in the Grand Palace people would crowd around him and take pictures of him. It was very odd to me, I actually posed with one woman with Caleb, so we are in some random woman's photo. Caleb was ok about it, he did not want to be picked up which I think is a really good defense mechanism, but he would give high 5's, wave, and blow kisses. I think by the time we left Bangkok he was happy to get away from all the attention.

Unfortunately we went during rainy season, so it rained every afternoon, and the city was pretty dirty because of it. Plus the sidewalks were awful so it was tough to push the stroller. But besides all the attention on Caleb and the rain, we really enjoyed being in Bangkok. We also got to meet up with my cousin Danny who is posted there. So it was really nice to see family! We also got to relax a bit, massages are very cheap there so I got a foot massage and Brian got a couple back massages. The massages were only $9 for an hour!

Late Wednesday night we went to Phuket. We stayed at a resort on the Andaman Sea. We were there for 2 days so we did not venture off the resort. We went to the beach and pool both days. The beach was not that great, it was filled with vendors, it was pretty narrow, and there was a pretty steep drop into the water. So we just let Caleb play in the sand for a bit. The resort also had a play area for kids, so Caleb really enjoyed playing in the ball pit and the playground. I also got a chance to take a Thai cooking class with the executive chef. It was really nice learn about Thai cooking and get away for a few hours. Brian was able to get another massage on the beach.

Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon we had to make our way back to Australia. Caleb did not fair as well this time around, but luckily Brian was there to help. Then we had a really hard time getting through the Sydney airport. For some reason they classified the umbrella stroller as oversized luggage, so we had to wait 30-45 mins for that to come through. Then we had claim the wood item at customs we bought at the weekend market. But there was no line, just a huge mass of people. By this point we were certain we were going to miss our Canberra flight so we went through express line and no one seemed to care. Luckily our Canberra flight was delayed so we made it. We arrived Sunday morning exhausted and happy to be home. Caleb and I both took long naps and I went to bed right after him that night too. Brian faired much better, I guess since he is more used to traveling.

In all, I am really happy we went. It was really fun exploring a new city and relaxing on a resort. Plus, I got to enjoy some of the things a big city imports that I don't get here, like Starbuck's, Auntie Annes, and a wider variety of food choices. Although we ate a lot of Thai food, I also had a good hamburger, pizza, steak, and risotto. Yum! We are thinking we might go to Wellington, New Zealand with Brian next. Hopefully he does not mind us tagging along!

our week and schools

So I really need to start taking notes on what I do in the beginning of the week because I cannot remember anything that happened on Monday. I just asked Brian and he cannot remember either. So I will start with Tuesday.

Caleb is really improving in his swim lessons! He will kick his legs, paddle his arms, splash, jump (well step) in the pool to me, go under water, and this week he attempted to blow bubbles. He opened his mouth and then spit out the water. It is amazing how he is progressing in just 2 months! He is also opening up more in lessons and actually has surpassed one of the kids in the class. I am a proud mommy!

On Wednesday we ran errands. We got Caleb's hair cut, which was shorter than I wanted, but the hairdresser was so nervous that I did not want to say anything. I could tell she did not really want to cut his hair, but we were already there and Caleb was being so good, so we went ahead with it.

Thursday we went to the library and then to the parks. In the library he kept saying carp, carp! I forget that other people can't understand him and had to explain that he was excited about going to the park. On an unrelated note, Caleb started saying "home" this week :) Although it comes out more like "ome"! I guess he thinks this is his home now.

Friday we went to the zoo. It was pretty crowded since schools are out on holiday - more on that later. But Caleb was so excited about running around, he did not seem to notice.

Yesterday we went to a new park. It was on a lake and had a train. One of the things we really love about Canberra is all the parks. We received a book on all the parks when we arrived and have just been going to a different one each week or so. It is so wonderful that we can get outside and Caleb can enjoy himself. Then we got Turkish for dinner. It is easily our favorite restaurant. Friday night we had really crappy chinese. It is frustrating that it is hard to find good food to get take away.

Today we went to church and then did some spring cleaning. This is a really exciting week. Wednesday Brian leaves for bangkok for a conference and Caleb and I are flying out to meet him on Friday. We are going to stay in Bangkok until the following Wednesday and then we are going to Phuket. I am really excited about seeing Thailand! I am nervous about flying with Caleb all day alone, We leave around 2pm and don't arrive in Bangkok until 11pm (3am Canberra time). The bangkok flight is 9 hours. Hopefully Caleb will sleep some!

Before I mentioned about how schools are on holiday now. I have learned a little about the schools here. They are year round. The school year starts in February. They have 4 semesters that are 10 weeks each and then have 2 weeks off in between each semester except for Christmas when they have 6 weeks off. They do not start preschool until 4 years old, where you can go 2 days from 9-3 or 4- 1/2 days. We would like Caleb to start at 3 years old like in the States, just 2 1/2 days a week, so hopefully we can find some places that do that. You can drop out of school at 16, which is pretty accepted here. You can also apply for welfare when you drop out of school at 16, which seems strange to me. But I think most people that drop out at 16 either go to a trade school or find a job. I like the year round school idea. Especially for Spanish teaching, it is always frustrating when I am teaching Spanish 1B or 2 and I have to spend almost the entire 1st quarter re-teaching what the kids have learned the year before. I think that if there was less time between semesters the kids would remember more. It is interesting learning about the school systems in other countries!

We hope you have a great week! We love and miss you all!

I think I will go backwards this time. Mainly because I am having a hard time remembering the beginning of the week.

This weekend we went to Batemans Bay for a night. It was nice to get away. We got incredibly lost getting out of the city. I wrote before about how many roads are circuits or labeled differently, plus google maps sucks. So it took us an hour just to get out of the city. But once we found the main road, we were good. We stayed in a really cute bed and breakfast that just opened this weekend. It was really nice and they actually had a full crib, so Caleb was really comfortable too. There was a jazz festival in town, so it was pretty hard to find a place, but I am so glad we got the one we stayed in. The weather was pretty crappy this weekend, it was rainy and overcast. But it is about 2 1/2 hours away so I am sure we will go back. We went to Batemans Bay Saturday afternoon and Pebbly Beach Sunday morning.

Tomorrow is Australian Labour Day so Brian is off, we are excited about the long weekend!

The week went pretty well. Friday we had to run a bunch of errands, get 2 new back tires, and pick stuff up at the store. So we were out all morning and surprisingly Caleb was really good! He only threw 1 fit and it was pretty short. Thursday we went out to the farm of a family in our playgroup. We got to bottle feed the lambs, have morning tea, and play in the big backyard. It was really nice! I felt so relaxed when I got home, the country is so calming! Wednesday we went to the library to get new books. Tuesday was swim lessons. Monday was my morning off :) Brian let me sleep in and get out by myself as long as I got an oil change while I was out. So I got a pedicure and went shopping while the car was being serviced. It was nice to get out alone!

I have been feeling pretty lonely the last few weeks. I think I have settled in and a lot of the places I have tried to find other mothers to hang out with have not really panned out. We have been going to the same church for a few weeks now and we like it, but there are not a lot of young families. But none of the churches we found had young families. At swim lessons, everyone just focuses on the kids and then leaves right after the lesson. I see the mothers from the playgroup at the library sometimes, but for some reason Caleb seems to always throw fits there. It is tough when I really only interact with other adults (besides Brian) once a week. So I am looking for other outlets. Any ideas?

Brian and I thought of other Aussie-isms throughout this week, so here they are:

Give it a go- try it out

How people get on - how people get along

queue - line

tick - check mark

ute - pick up truck

bloke - man

EFTPOS - credit card

ground beef - minced meat

I added some pics from our night away. The first beach is batemans bay, the second is pebbly beach.