New Home

Finally, we are home. Today we moved into our very own apartment!  Doug is in Singapore for a month so it was up to me to move our household once again. We made three trips in a taxi throughout the week moving what we had with us. The movers arrived Wednesday morning. It truly was like Christmas/Hanukkah!  Every box we opened held a surprise. What would we find?  Why did we pack this? Where is that thing we need? Everything arrived safely except for Tofie’s wheelchair which we are hoping to find somewhere in the warehouse.

"the old lady with the chapstick"

The boys were THRILLED to see their toys again. They spent several hours playing and rediscovering each and every toy.  It was so cool to watch Tucker play as he has changed so much over the last 2 months and plays very differently than before we left. Cooper does too I suppose. The stories he tells as he plays are much more involved.  In fact, just yesterday he played “Scott at Quarantine.” Scott was the dogs’ attendant while in quarantine. He tended to the dogs daily and we got to know him quite well.  Cooper first created an air control tower for the airport, then loaded the airplane, then decided to load a truck headed for quarantine.  Before the animals arrived at quarantine there was a great fire and all the fire trucks, ambulances and helicopters were called to the station and Scott and “the old lady with chapstick” were both hurt and had to be transported by “e-bulance” to the hospital/control tower.  Once well again, Scott returned to quarantine to care for all the cats, dogs and horses and he never missed a beat!  It was amazing how this scenario evolved!  Fascinating to watch.  

Scott at quarantine during the fire

Since moving day, the boys have continued to enjoy their toys. Cooper has rediscovered all his videos from home and has spent some time “catching up” with old television friends. As of yet we still do not have television or internet so we are just watching DVDs on my computer.  Hopefully we will be back in touch with the modern world by next week.  

Coop so happy to have his stuffed animals back

Tucker enjoying his crib again

The apartment itself is great. Great location, clean and quiet. The concierges have all been wonderfully helpful and patient with all my questions.  We finally have a fridge and a washing machine and I seriously have done thirty-thousand loads since we got it.  Everything smelled kinda funky from the move and needs a good wash!

 The boys’ rooms are almost done. Those of you who know me well know that there was no way that I was going to wait to unpack.  I just unpacked the last box and the movers will be back on Monday to pick up the empties.  Actually, movers here are “removalists.”  I am even sending a few boxes back with them to put in storage.  I plugged in Coop’s “boombox” and nearly caught the place on fire!  The voltage here is way stronger than back home. Almost blew up the vacuum too!  So, I am send all our “little appliances” to storage and perhaps we will purchase some here or maybe not.

New Home

Finally, we are home. Today we moved into our very own apartment!  Doug is in Singapore for a month so it was up to me to move our household once again. We made three trips in a taxi throughout the week moving what we had with us. The movers arrived Wednesday morning. It truly was like Christmas/Hanukkah!  Every box we opened held a surprise. What would we find?  Why did we pack this? Where is that thing we need? Everything arrived safely except for Tofie’s wheelchair which we are hoping to find somewhere in the warehouse.

"the old lady with the chapstick"

The boys were THRILLED to see their toys again. They spent several hours playing and rediscovering each and every toy.  It was so cool to watch Tucker play as he has changed so much over the last 2 months and plays very differently than before we left. Cooper does too I suppose. The stories he tells as he plays are much more involved.  In fact, just yesterday he played “Scott at Quarantine.” Scott was the dogs’ attendant while in quarantine. He tended to the dogs daily and we got to know him quite well.  Cooper first created an air control tower for the airport, then loaded the airplane, then decided to load a truck headed for quarantine.  Before the animals arrived at quarantine there was a great fire and all the fire trucks, ambulances and helicopters were called to the station and Scott and “the old lady with chapstick” were both hurt and had to be transported by “e-bulance” to the hospital/control tower.  Once well again, Scott returned to quarantine to care for all the cats, dogs and horses and he never missed a beat!  It was amazing how this scenario evolved!  Fascinating to watch.  

Scott at quarantine during the fire

Since moving day, the boys have continued to enjoy their toys. Cooper has rediscovered all his videos from home and has spent some time “catching up” with old television friends. As of yet we still do not have television or internet so we are just watching DVDs on my computer.  Hopefully we will be back in touch with the modern world by next week.  

Coop so happy to have his stuffed animals back

Tucker enjoying his crib again

The apartment itself is great. Great location, clean and quiet. The concierges have all been wonderfully helpful and patient with all my questions.  We finally have a fridge and a washing machine and I seriously have done thirty-thousand loads since we got it.  Everything smelled kinda funky from the move and needs a good wash!

 The boys’ rooms are almost done. Those of you who know me well know that there was no way that I was going to wait to unpack.  I just unpacked the last box and the movers will be back on Monday to pick up the empties.  Actually, movers here are “removalists.”  I am even sending a few boxes back with them to put in storage.  I plugged in Coop’s “boombox” and nearly caught the place on fire!  The voltage here is way stronger than back home. Almost blew up the vacuum too!  So, I am send all our “little appliances” to storage and perhaps we will purchase some here or maybe not.

RELEASED!! (June 3, 2011)

Last train trip to quarantine

Oh my! What an amazing day this has been. We woke up at our usual time and dragged ourselves to the quarantine station ready for another visit with the dogs and a return trip to Sydney. When we walked in Melanie, the receptionist, looked shaken and said to me, “I am so excited and embarrassed.” It took me a minute to register what she said (the Aussie accent still gets me at times) and I asked, “Why? Is everything okay?” She whispered to me, “Your dogs can go home today.”  Needless to say, I was taken aback.  I must have had a dumbfounded look on my face and said, “What? How? What?” She said that they were discussing the logistics for tomorrow (the release date I was given) and she looked at the file and it said, “Eligible for release.”  So today, June 3, 2011, we were able to take the Pugs home!  We were so surprised and so amazed and so speechless!  Everyone was so happy for us. They asked, “The question is are you ready for them to go home?” Duh! Of course we were!  The whole thing wassurreal.  It was like when the boys were born early- of course I was “ready,” but not yet!  Anyway, our friendly taxi driver was planning to drive us to IKEA (near Sydney), but instead we packed up the dogs and headed back to home.  

The girls out for a "walk"

So good to be home...

Upon arriving in our apartment, Manzie ran all over checking things out. Tofie did a bit as well.  After exploring, we took the dogs for a walk and to the park across the street. Then, a celebratory drink at Starbucks!  What a great day and a great surprise to bring our girls home early.

RELEASED!! (June 3, 2011)

Last train trip to quarantine

Oh my! What an amazing day this has been. We woke up at our usual time and dragged ourselves to the quarantine station ready for another visit with the dogs and a return trip to Sydney. When we walked in Melanie, the receptionist, looked shaken and said to me, “I am so excited and embarrassed.” It took me a minute to register what she said (the Aussie accent still gets me at times) and I asked, “Why? Is everything okay?” She whispered to me, “Your dogs can go home today.”  Needless to say, I was taken aback.  I must have had a dumbfounded look on my face and said, “What? How? What?” She said that they were discussing the logistics for tomorrow (the release date I was given) and she looked at the file and it said, “Eligible for release.”  So today, June 3, 2011, we were able to take the Pugs home!  We were so surprised and so amazed and so speechless!  Everyone was so happy for us. They asked, “The question is are you ready for them to go home?” Duh! Of course we were!  The whole thing wassurreal.  It was like when the boys were born early- of course I was “ready,” but not yet!  Anyway, our friendly taxi driver was planning to drive us to IKEA (near Sydney), but instead we packed up the dogs and headed back to home.  

The girls out for a "walk"

So good to be home...

Upon arriving in our apartment, Manzie ran all over checking things out. Tofie did a bit as well.  After exploring, we took the dogs for a walk and to the park across the street. Then, a celebratory drink at Starbucks!  What a great day and a great surprise to bring our girls home early.

I'm Back!

I am back and connected with the world again.  I have a bunch of post that I will be adding so stay tuned!

I'm Back!

I am back and connected with the world again.  I have a bunch of post that I will be adding so stay tuned!

It's Been a While

I haven't been able to post a blog for the last few days because eblogger hasn't been working.  Nothing major has happened, but lots of little things have.

The first and probably the biggest is Cooper's new found ability to SWIM! Yes, our little Cooper who for so long wouldn't even get his head wet has taught himself how to swim.  One day he was just playing in the water and the next day he was swimming. Well, actually it went a bit more like this. We were playing in the pool and a little boy named Max was playing in the water as well.  Now Max could swim just a bit- he was kicking and moving his arms and actually getting somewhere. Cooper literally studied him for about 10 minutes then jumped in the pool and kicked his feet and moved his arms. That was a seriously, major proud mama moment.  He has become a little fish.  I posted a video on Facebook for those who are interested.

Our little swimmer

Funny thing is happening. Cooper is beginning to change the way he speaks.  I do not know the technical term, but he is beginning to get a lilt in his voice as he talks.  Sometimes he will come up to me and say something like, "Can we go swimming today?" And instead of sounding like an American, he sounds, well, Australian.  Very cool.

Cooper got a camera. My mom sent him one of her old cameras. He is SO thrilled. He has probably taken a gazillion pictures by now.  He was especially excited about the case it came it because it was "just like Nana's" but then he proceeded to tell Nana that she actually sent the wrong camera because this one "is not big enough" and to "please send another one."  Kids sure don't hold back do they? Coop had his camera on the train yesterday and he leaned forward toward Tucker and said, "Hey buddy, do you want to take a picture?" And he proceeded to "teach" Tucker how to take a picture. Tucker, as you can imagine, was so happy!

Tucker with the camera

Now, we cannot forget about little Tucker.  He has made some big strides as well. He is now giving kisses.  What is more adorable than an a 22 month old giving kisses?  He does it with a little "smack" at the end.  The kisses are mostly for me (yay!), but he gives quite a few to his favorite stuffed dog as well.

Speaking of his stuffed dog... Tuck has not had much interest in stuffed animals. In fact, when handed a stuffed creature, he would typically throw it across the room. So needless to say I was surprised the other day when he was crying and crying and his blanket did not make him feel better nor did a drink of water, but DID work was his stuffed dog. Now he cuddles it and kisses it and insists on sleeping with it at night.  He also really likes Coop's stuffed wombat which apparently says, "RRRROWRRRR!" as do koalas and kangaroos according to Tucker.

Tucker has some new words!  Some are new, but some are renewed I guess.  He says, "All Aboard!"  Perhaps it is not that clear, but we all know what he is saying. He has said, "Cooper" a few times although it comes out more like "Pooper."  He LOVES saying "bye bye." In fact, he says it at every train stop to all the passengers who are getting off the train. Most are great about it and say "goodbye" too.  Others, well they are lame-os and say nothing.  Tuck also claps at each train stop in anticipation of getting off. You know, lately, I feel like clapping too when we are done with our daily train trip to quarantine!

We received not one, but two packages this week. Holy smokes! I have always loved getting mail, but this was better than ever.  My mom sent one- with the camera, some art supplies, trucks, shirts for the boys, but the best was the PEANUT M&Ms. Oh my word!  They were (yes, they are all gone and I did not share them) amazing!  She also sent some Goldfish Crackers (which you cannot get here and if you could they would probably suck), but I am saving those for the boys for a another day.  Oh yeah, red pepper flakes upon request- they do not have them here in a "pure" form- they are all mixed with salt- ick! Pizza shall have flavor once again!

My dear friend, Malia or Minnie, as Coop calls her, sent a package as well.  There were a bunch of toys for the boys, a great book, some bath crayons, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (mmmmmm) and SWEDISH FISH!! Again, so yummy and so already gone.  Home never tasted so good.... Thanks Minnie!

Cooper drawing in the tub

The only other thing to talk about is our walk in the rain. We decided to don our raincoats and go splash in some puddles.  What better way for two boys to spend a rainy day?