Shoving a size 12 rump into a size 8 dress

That is how I would describe our moving day. We brought less than half of our "stuff" and it still was almost too too much! The "removalist"aka movers tried to skip out without unpacking one box. I put a quick stop to that but still he "unpack service" would be disgraceful Stateside. All is well that ends well, we are on the road to having our house "put together and livable." And we love our place and we LOVE where we live. Ocean view pics to come!

Tomato Sauce aka ketchup is theee BEST, it also makes a great accessory to any outfit! First night in "new house" meal, fish and chips from Bottom of The Harbor YUM!

He is laughing because he does not have to find room for his toys!

Yes, I did throw up in my mouth when I saw the scene!

6 White Boomers goes dark

Today we started our move. I took two carloads of stuff from the Funky Cold with boys in tow, tried to get them to nap at "new beach house,"as they call it, took a quick shower and hit up preschool orientation just to keep the day rockin'. When we got home at 6:00pm, I felt like I completed the Ironman! Maybe I would hit my goal weight if I could get a gig as a mover, that is some serious stuff. I feel like banging my chest and screaming ME STRONG LIKE BULL! Mike took two carloads sans boys after work and I think we just maybe ready to say goodbye forever to the Funky Cold Medina. We can not get internet service for another week so 6 Whites will be Dark until sometime next week! I guess you'll just have to pour over old posts, or catch up on everything you've TIVO'd or read a book or something. :)

O M F G or "good thing they did not have a didjeridoo!"

My Mom used to tell me if you can only express yourself with profanity then it makes you seem unintelligent and low class dear!  She is right but somedays profanity is the only thing to properly sum things up. I went upstairs for 5 minutes on Wednesday to put on my swimmy for swim lessons, I heard the boys banging their Melissa and Doug wooden maraca on the Thomas rug on the table. I peaked my head around the banister and told them to stop, they did for a minute. Then...I hear more banging, this time it sounds different, I think it is banging on glass, and it is accompanied by screaming. I come flying down screaming a scream that I could hear outside of my body, with my bathing suit top around my waist CARSON COLIN CARSON COLIN CARSON NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STOOOOOOOOOOP! It was too late Carson did not stop until the 3’X6’ window shattered, this made Colin stop banging Carson's head with his rhythm instrument. I was screaming and yelling and cussing who knows what else all in half a bathing suit. YES COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY LOW CLASS. 

I am so grateful no one was hurt. I prayed to God many times that day to thank him for keeping them safe, I also said a few extra prayers that he keep them that way after I got ahold of them. Luckily, we are at the Funky Cold and they had a maid come in “straight away” to vacuum the glass, a maintenance man to take out the stabbing 5' shards of glass and a new window by the time we got back from swimming. Everyone reacts so differently to stress, I put both boys in time out in their crib, Carson shut down completely, he laid down very quietly and stayed that way, Colin screamed and cried and carried on for EVER! Their reactions could not have been more different. 

If you think the day was as dramatic as it could get, it almost was, until Colin decided he did not want to jump on a floaty mat at swimming and reared his head up and busted my lip. At the time I thought, Hmmm...that really hurt, I must be getting wimpy b/c there is not even any blood. Later that night when I remembered it happened I took a peak to find a very swollen and bruised lip, that is still sore and swollen today. So somehow I ended up the most hurt in a day where my kids busted down a glass window? As one of my good friends Nate said, "good thing they did not have a didjeridoo you would have lost a wall!" Good thing indeed! I have promptly returned my first DIDJ to Toys R Us. I also am done with fancy good for the earth wooden toys, a cheap plastic maraca could have never achieved such destruction! 

Our night in shining armor.
Did I mention they broke the window in a driving rain storm?

The scene right before I got my "clock cleaned."
Surprisingly, Carson had his best lesson yet!

He used to be terrified of this slide. On Weds. he did it like 20X. He must have felt invincible.

We are "SO" in AGAIN!

We had a great time at playgroup today. I picked a great day to go as great snacks and treats were EVERYWHERE! Car took a liking to some very good looking homemade pigs in a blanket, made by an American(from Virginia and has two y.o twins) of course! Col ate three Gingerbread men, well not all of three, he would eat the same pattern everytime and then give me a wet 3/4 eaten cookie and say “take it, TAKE IT.” I tucked into a little fudgy delight. The Moms were all so nice, some Aussies, some American, some “other” like Belgium and other European cities that I could not place the accent. The room was very big and had an extensive Thomas set, which is mostly where we stayed, that and the car area. They both played well alongside other children and occasionally with other children. They read a Christmas story and at the end sung songs and played. Colin who could not be swayed to join the group activities opted to "march to the beat of his own drummer" during sing along. Car loved it, I could not get the greatest pic of him under the parachute but the smile was priceless. WE all enjoyed ourselves. The good news is we are in for next year and this is a very good thing because this is the first time in three years they have opened the group. I am learning it is tough and competitive being a Mommy in this town, you have got to be on your game and ready to jump when things open up! You can’t sit idly by and just hope you get in to the right playgroup and preschool and swim lessons and etc...you have to be a TIGER MOMMY! ROAR!!! Hopefully, the good news is once you are in you are IN and you can leave your tiger suit behind.  Now, I can not remember if I filled the paperwork out all the way?

These events happened simultaneously...

Why would someone want to actually play with other kids at playgroup when you can have the whole lawn to yourself! 

We are SO in!

We found out today that the boys got into a “preschool” program, it is technically a long daycare, but is for ages 2-5.5 and has a curriculum. This is soooo incredibly huge. Moms at the playgroup today were encouraging me to sign up on multiple waiting lists, all which charge a fee to be on the list, I was feeling cheap for not doing so. And you may remember we are already signed up on a list for a real preschool for a start date of January 2013. 

You say POTATO I say HOT CHEAP EASYBAKE MESS!

Rarely have I been accused of being overly frugal, actually I never have been accused of anything close to frugality. I do not think I am like a Real Housewife of New Jersey, but no one is going to come to me to get money saving tips! During our move it hit me that I was just a gross over consumer. We had so much wonderful beautiful expensive stuff and most was rarely used and we had WAY too much of it. So now I am really making an effort to be cognisant and mindful in my spending and I am working to not “overconsume.” I ask myself if I really need the fanciest mixer, I am no pastry chef, I rarely bake etc...So, trying to be a nifty thrifty got me all gummed up on this potato thing. I was so excited to be invited to the American Thanksgiving Extravaganza that I volunteered to bring ANYTHING. If I had to shoot my own turkey I would have done it, truly. Well, I usually make a great mashed potato I did not say as much but that is what I ended up making. Then it hit me, I do not have my serving utensils, bowls, my pots suck here at the Funky Cold, no mixing bowl, and oh yeah and most importantly no mixer. Other than that things were off to a really great start. I easily acquired the mixing bowl and a nice inexpensive serving bowl. Then I headed out to get a little hand mixer, still mindful of my big girl Kitchenaid back in the States that rarely saw the light of day. I went to Meyer, like a Dilliards equivalent. I picked up the least expensive handmixer, a Breville on sale for from $45 to $35, I am so thrifty I congratulate myself as I go to the counter, way to go resisting the fancy ones I cheer myself on! The lady wrung me up and said oh boy an extra $5 off, yeah! I hear everything is negotiable here in OZ and this has worked for me at this store before so I say “do you have any other discounts.” She says, “No, but these handmixers do not last long, you do not need a Breville, go to Target and pick one up for $10. I say great, “thanks!!!” Feeling so proud of my sensible shopping I head to Target, the same mixer is $45 there, but they do have one model for $16, so I pick it up. I do not bother to open the box and verify this is not part of the Easy Bake Playline of kitchen appliances. I then head to Woolies to get my potatoes. The POs look different here, they are either bright white, like they have been peeled, or orange clay brown. I ask the produce man which I should use for mashed, he says, “well, the brown are cheaper and if you are just mashing, it does not matter, I would get the brown.” So I go cheap again. I get home and start washing them and realize the clay color is not their color, it is actually clay and dirt on the damn potato. I wash, and I wash, and I wash and I wash. Finally, my HUGE bag of POs are clean. I peel them and still have to wash them again. I then cut and boil them in two pots and in two shifts. While they are boiling I bust out my new fancy mixer. OMG! Are you kidding me? This must have been placed in the wrong section, this is clearly a toy mixer, I would have been better off  mashing them Lucille Ball grape stomping style. But I am stuck, they boys are napping, Mike is at work and this is just going to have to work. I mixed and I mixed and I mixed and I mixed and still my potatoes were lumpy. I thought that little thing was going to catch on fire it was so hot by then end and the littIe motor was revving to max RPMs. I was devastated, I mean having good potatoes could have the potential to get me into all the right social circles, but now with lumpy potatoes forget it, just forget it I will NEVER have friends! I eventually decided that people may give me a second chance. Mike said they were yummy but I was not happy AT ALL! I tried to forget it and just be happy with lumpy POs. I couldn't, I woke up the next morning before the party and blended again but still lumpy. He said he overheard someone at the party saying they were good, and they were all gone, but I don’t know, it seems impossible that they were good. Bottomline, cheaper is not chic'er when it comes to mixers and potatoes, and of course shoes. Also after writing this blog one question is really bugging me why is the singular potato and the plural potatoes? Why the addition of the E? I know there are some really smart people who read this, so please  learn me somethin' on this one! And yes the mixer is going back to the store and I have picked out a lovely one that is not the highest end but it is certainly adult sized and functional and will not catch fire from an oversized batch of mashed potatoEs.   

   

Yes, this is my hand and yes those were the beaters and no apparently it was not a joke

Even Car thinks it is a toy, it looks just his size

Watch out that turkey may take flight!

This Saturday was one of our high points since moving here 10 weeks ago. It also offered wind so intense that if rain was added to the mix, in the South we would be packing the car and headin inland to Hotlanta, "directly" and the rednecks would be boarding their houses and firin up the generators and icin down the Busch. I digress, We were invited to an American Thanksgiving on Balmoral Beach by a very very nice lady who, as my MIL said "I met on the internet." It is not quite as seedy as it sounds, I started stalking her blog before we moved and once we moved I sent her an email and she was kind enough to send one back and so on and on Saturday we met "in real life" at the Thanksgiving party she put together.  Even LK who is usually begging to leave a party was trying every trick he could to stay put. I think there are a few Disney movies that capture the sentiment that I felt at being reunited with Americans, "my kind, my people." The Disney scenario usually goes something like a kitty is raised by elephants or a mouse by lions or a hippo by hedgehogs or something insane and then they are reunited with their kind and they feel so happy and in place. That is how I felt, so happy to be around other Americans. The day started a little rocky with hitting a ton of traffic and not having adequate food in the car to keep the troops happy. We arrived, I scooped out my vat of potatoes into a chafing dish while battling hurricane force winds all while trying to keep my hair in place and out of my lip gloss and most importantly my skirt in the down position. While I was doing this the  boys sat right down at the picnic table that was being used as the buffet, totally oblivious that it was not a place to eat, Colin reached for some chips, fell off the bench and the chips blew away and HYSTERIA ensued. Screaming, crying, running around the table, more screaming, keep in mind there are more chips and more food than you could ever eat in a lifetime. Finally, I spied a cookie and in a moment of desperation broke(literally) the saran wrap and took one before proper dessert time. Most of this break down was my error, I never go anywhere without our 'nacks.' I assumed there would be soooo much food(I was right) that packing 'nacks' would not be necesary WRONG! BAD DECISION! I will never go anywhere without fruit sticks every again! Anyway, we had a met nary a person, Mike was parking the car and here is Colin acting like a crazed maniac. I was a little defeated. BUT I WAS HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH MY KIND DARNIT I MUST KEEP GOING!!! So I just acted like he was not mine, just kidding, I followed him around like an idiot offering everything under the sun until he calmed down. Mike is gonna freak when he hears I promised him a pony! So, anyway, after we got Colin settled we could start socializing in earnest. We fixed a plate of some amazing food, the ham was ridiculously good, turkey, corn casserole, dressing sweet potatoes, roasted root vegetables(I love these and can never pull them off), rolls, green bean casserole, this was a SPREAD, there were so many thing I did not get my own creation, potatoes which will have their own post soon, anyway they were so not worth the space on my plate! So we tucked into some(alot of) food and sat down at a picnic table with a group of people. One person at the table graduated Dana Hill HS c.o '92, Mike is c.o '94, SERIOUSLY THE SAME HIGH SCHOOL. Another person out of the 4 sitting with us was born at the same hospital in Illinois as Mike in 1976 no less, another grew up in Denver, Colorado and her family moved to the Ranch while she was in HS. Another family used to live in Mike's parents hood. What a small world, really.

The "Spread"

Two of my three best guys! Can't tell their Father/Son huh? All we need is Gil for a triplet picture

The cookie that saved the day, I think he had three cookies, his wrist and no real food! Ahh my little Colin, he is a man who knows what he wants and will not settle for less. 

The view from Thanksgiving Dinner

Now keep in mind our social skills maybe a little rusty but I think the day was a success! We met some really great people and maybe on our way to joining the world again. We have been invited to TWO playgroups, and a bookclub and I really hate to brag but I now have a total 8 contacts in my phone. I can pretty much connect you with anyone in the city! Almost everyone we connected with lives super close to where we will be living, PERFECTO, really perfecto! What I think is going to be a really interesting dynamic here is that everyone is in different stages of their visa, most are on a 4 year visa like us. Some are 2 years in, some are 4 months in and some like us are 10 weeks in or "fresh off the boat" as we were called a few times. So, I assume relationships will have a certain fluidity to them. As I think about it this may be one of the reasons that everyone was so open to newcomers, there is no SET clique that have been together for life, people come and go. 

Mike and Cars feet together, we were trying for family feet...The boys bathwater was grey that night. Always a sign of a good time.