Halloween

The Halloween Season has arrived back home and there is NOTHING here. NOTHING. No fall leaves crunching beneath my feet, no sweet smell of fall when we leave our home, no stores stocked to the rim with Halloween goodies, no pumpkins growing in the garden or stacked a mile high outside of grocery stores, no scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns appearing outside people's homes, no talk of costumes, treats and parties, no candycorn, no mini-chocolate bars, no trick-or-treat bags to choose from. Nothing.  Oh, my aching-Halloween-loving-heart.

I asked someone here, "Do people celebrate Halloween here?"  She responded, "A little," then asked, "Is it a big deal in the states?" Is is a big deal?  Is the sky blue?  Is the grass green?  Yes, it is a big deal.  Oh, my aching-Halloween-loving-heart.

So, Coop and I are taking matters into our own hands. This is going to be the best dang Halloween Australia has ever seen.  (Won't be that hard to do, huh?) First, we began with painting. We painted approximately a hundred pictures using orange and black and yellow.  We put candy corn on our brownies. We made pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns and colourful Halloween designs.  My mom sent us a huge box with all kinds of Halloween goodies inside and my wonderful friends back home sent candy corn!  I WILL find a pumpkin for us to carve- somewhere.  We are going to make black and orange play dough.  We will read Halloween stories. We will bake as many Halloween treats as we possibly can. We will make our costumes- Coop says he wants to be a firefighter so it will be black shirts and black pants with red stripes (yeah for red duct tape), fire boots and fire hats for all.  And, best of all, we are going to have our own Halloween celebration in our home and invite our new friends to join us.  We will make this a wonderful Halloween season no matter what!

Oh, my happy-Halloween-loving-heart!

Halloween

The Halloween Season has arrived back home and there is NOTHING here. NOTHING. No fall leaves crunching beneath my feet, no sweet smell of fall when we leave our home, no stores stocked to the rim with Halloween goodies, no pumpkins growing in the garden or stacked a mile high outside of grocery stores, no scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns appearing outside people's homes, no talk of costumes, treats and parties, no candycorn, no mini-chocolate bars, no trick-or-treat bags to choose from. Nothing.  Oh, my aching-Halloween-loving-heart.

I asked someone here, "Do people celebrate Halloween here?"  She responded, "A little," then asked, "Is it a big deal in the states?" Is is a big deal?  Is the sky blue?  Is the grass green?  Yes, it is a big deal.  Oh, my aching-Halloween-loving-heart.

So, Coop and I are taking matters into our own hands. This is going to be the best dang Halloween Australia has ever seen.  (Won't be that hard to do, huh?) First, we began with painting. We painted approximately a hundred pictures using orange and black and yellow.  We put candy corn on our brownies. We made pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns and colourful Halloween designs.  My mom sent us a huge box with all kinds of Halloween goodies inside and my wonderful friends back home sent candy corn!  I WILL find a pumpkin for us to carve- somewhere.  We are going to make black and orange play dough.  We will read Halloween stories. We will bake as many Halloween treats as we possibly can. We will make our costumes- Coop says he wants to be a firefighter so it will be black shirts and black pants with red stripes (yeah for red duct tape), fire boots and fire hats for all.  And, best of all, we are going to have our own Halloween celebration in our home and invite our new friends to join us.  We will make this a wonderful Halloween season no matter what!

Oh, my happy-Halloween-loving-heart!

This Wind Blows Dogs Off Chains

Grassy Grass Grass 
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

Grass grass grass,
tree tree tree,
leafy leaf leaf,
one two three.

Birdy birdy bird,
fly fly fly,
nest nest nest,
high high high.

Cloudy cloudy cloud,
wind wind wind,
rain rain rain,
mud mud mud,

Doggie doggie,
dog runy run run,
quickie quick quick,
homey home home.

Bedy bed bed
sheety sheet sheet,
sleepy sleep sleep,
dreamy dream dream.

Dancie dance dance, singy sing sing,
grow grow grow,
biggy big big.

I love this song, chant, poem or whatever you wish to call it.  We first heard it in our Kindermusik class when Coop was only 6 months old.  It is a catchy little ditty and I often catch myself singing it.

I bring it up because it is such a windy afternoon and the "wind wind wind" line keeps going through my head.  I took the boys to the park after Tuck's nap to play and it was so incredibly windy that Tuck was almost knocked over! Things were flying around like mad and the temperature must have dropped 20 degrees! It is so strange because the morning was so gorgeous-- 80 degrees, the sun was shining and the sky was cloudless. We spent the morning outside and actually had to go home because we were so hot (oh, and because of a tantrum curtesy of Coop)!  Then we go out this afternoon and we are cold, the wind is insane and rain is on the way.

I asked someone if this is typical for Spring in Sydney and the answer is yes. These winds are called the Southernly Winds or the roaring forties, furious fifties or screaming sixties depending on your latitude.  These gale force winds are said to "blows dogs off the chains."

This Wind Blows Dogs Off Chains

Grassy Grass Grass 
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

Grass grass grass,
tree tree tree,
leafy leaf leaf,
one two three.

Birdy birdy bird,
fly fly fly,
nest nest nest,
high high high.

Cloudy cloudy cloud,
wind wind wind,
rain rain rain,
mud mud mud,

Doggie doggie,
dog runy run run,
quickie quick quick,
homey home home.

Bedy bed bed
sheety sheet sheet,
sleepy sleep sleep,
dreamy dream dream.

Dancie dance dance, singy sing sing,
grow grow grow,
biggy big big.

I love this song, chant, poem or whatever you wish to call it.  We first heard it in our Kindermusik class when Coop was only 6 months old.  It is a catchy little ditty and I often catch myself singing it.

I bring it up because it is such a windy afternoon and the "wind wind wind" line keeps going through my head.  I took the boys to the park after Tuck's nap to play and it was so incredibly windy that Tuck was almost knocked over! Things were flying around like mad and the temperature must have dropped 20 degrees! It is so strange because the morning was so gorgeous-- 80 degrees, the sun was shining and the sky was cloudless. We spent the morning outside and actually had to go home because we were so hot (oh, and because of a tantrum curtesy of Coop)!  Then we go out this afternoon and we are cold, the wind is insane and rain is on the way.

I asked someone if this is typical for Spring in Sydney and the answer is yes. These winds are called the Southernly Winds or the roaring forties, furious fifties or screaming sixties depending on your latitude.  These gale force winds are said to "blows dogs off the chains."

Wonders Never Cease

Today was the last day of the "term" for swim lessons.  As we were walking into the Y for class, we were told that there was a demo class called, "Kindergym" going on this morning.  We hurried Coop off to his lesson and Tucker and I headed over to the 18 mo to 3 year old class.  At first Tuck was really shy, but then he jumped right in. He loved climbing and swinging. Then he found some instruments and he was in heaven!  As he was playing, I began chatting with another mom. As she talked, I noticed that she was not Australian.  I asked her where she was from and she said originally California, but that they had just moved from, dah-dah-dah-dah! Seattle!  I told her that we were too and we were off talking about this and about that.  It was so nice to not only chat with another American, but one from the PNW!! One of the first things we talked about was Target, of course. She has discovered in her short time here (only 1 week) that Target here is not really Target. I quickly informed her that KMART was the place to go for cheap.  She then told me of her trip to the new Costco that opened here recently. It is amazing how two people can come together over shopping. :)  So a new friendship is in the works down here and I am so happy for it!

All worn out after a busy morning.

Wonders Never Cease

Today was the last day of the "term" for swim lessons.  As we were walking into the Y for class, we were told that there was a demo class called, "Kindergym" going on this morning.  We hurried Coop off to his lesson and Tucker and I headed over to the 18 mo to 3 year old class.  At first Tuck was really shy, but then he jumped right in. He loved climbing and swinging. Then he found some instruments and he was in heaven!  As he was playing, I began chatting with another mom. As she talked, I noticed that she was not Australian.  I asked her where she was from and she said originally California, but that they had just moved from, dah-dah-dah-dah! Seattle!  I told her that we were too and we were off talking about this and about that.  It was so nice to not only chat with another American, but one from the PNW!! One of the first things we talked about was Target, of course. She has discovered in her short time here (only 1 week) that Target here is not really Target. I quickly informed her that KMART was the place to go for cheap.  She then told me of her trip to the new Costco that opened here recently. It is amazing how two people can come together over shopping. :)  So a new friendship is in the works down here and I am so happy for it!

All worn out after a busy morning.

I Miss/I Love

I miss seeing the American Flag.
I miss seeing Halloween decorations in August and Christmas decorations in September.
I miss inches, yards, pounds and feet.
I miss pennies.

I miss tipping.

I miss driving.

I miss driving in the car with the boys in the back listening while listening to kid music.

I miss driving on the right side of the street.
I miss 120 V.
I miss the real McDonalds.
I miss Jimmy Johns.
I miss the really long straws at Starbucks- you know for the venti drinks?
I miss walking down the street and NOT smelling cigarette smoke.
I miss Tilamook cheddar cheese.
I miss Lou Malnati's devliveries.
I miss italian sausage, real salami and chicken that is not scary big.
I miss Target and Fred Meyer- hey, I even miss Safeway.
I miss walking the isles at Metro Market and spending $60 no matter how much or how little you put in your basket.
I miss Old Navy.
I miss the aroma of Tacoma. Not.
I really miss Target.
I miss the pink iced cookies at Capers.
I miss my yard.
I miss my back porch.
I miss my porch furniture.
I miss our creaky stairs.
I miss walking through UPS.
I miss Rachel's swim lessons and Melissa's music class.
I miss preschool.
I miss Scholastic Book orders.
I miss mail on Saturdays.
I really, really miss Target.
I miss good cell phone reception and 7 digit phone numbers.
I miss phone books.
I miss affordable shoes and clothing.
I miss cherries that do not cost $27/kg, bananas that cost $11/kg and grapes that cost $12/kg.
I miss TV shows that start at :30 or :00 instead of :05 or :20.
I miss NCAA football on Saturday mornings.
I miss someone who is not afraid to cut my boys' hair.
I miss Fall and snow.
I miss Amazon and Half-Price Books
I miss our vet, our pediatrician and our dentists- heck, I think I even miss our UPS delivery guy.
I miss spontaneous outings with friends.
I miss wine at Cork.
I really, really, really miss Target.
I miss playdates.
I miss sitting on my friends' couches just talking about nothing and everything.
I miss long phone conversations with my family.
I miss knowing our neighbours.
I miss my family.
I miss my friends.

I love the powder chai latte mix I discovered.
I love the icing sugar and the recipe on the back.
I love almond meal.
I love the shining sun.
I love the view from our apartment.
I love having my dog food and wee wee pads for the dogs delivered.
I love the fact that they will count your change for you here.
I love seeing cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets where ever you go.
I love other Americans.
I love packages and mail (hint hint).
I love email, texts and Facebook.
I love having a swimming pool in our building.
I love that I know how to take the train, bus and ferry.
I love that I can give people directions now.
I love that I now know the difference between Thai, Malaysian, Japanese and Chinese food.
I love the fact that everyone here loves my boys.
I love kangaroos, wombats, dingos, platypuses, echidnas, emus (really?), wallabies and koalas.
I love that I have petted and fed kangaroos, wallabies and a koala.
I love all the adventures we have had.
I love spending each and everyday with my boys!