There were two reasons that I scheduled S~’s party on a Friday. The first one is that it seemed silly to have people come from out of town and then have them hide out until the surprise on the Saturday. I figured that if we had the party on the Friday, then we could extend the party into the rest of the weekend (which we did). The other reason was that the Saturday was HALLOWEEN!!! enough said…

So, the day after the party (see below) I had invited everyone who was here from out of town to a sausage sizzle at the beach.  My very generous friends who live RIGHT THERE allowed us to use their grill which was so convenient. It was a a blustery day, but the sun was out so everyone took advantage of a great day on the beach.

Days like this are truly a gift for S~. From time with family & friends, playing rugby on the beach to jumping off the wharf, it’s the sort of time he lives for. From my perspective it was a great day with family friends. It was so lovely to see the marriage of old and new friends. I should have been tired, but I was on such a happiness high.

As I mentioned above, it was Halloween, so at about 3pm I headed back to the house with the kids. My nephews got right into the swing of things,

 

as did Anne and Gran.

 

Well, trick-or-treating on our street was a treat. However, it was madness from the candy distribution perspective. Since we are one of a very few streets in town that celebrate Halloween we were not prepared to receive the 400+ visitors we received. Fortunately Australians are okay with loose candy. You can give a kid a gummy snake here and they are happy. At one point I had to raid my baking cupboard I was doling out two M&Ms to each kid!!! Incredibly some teenager said, “Yum, thank you,” and he meant it!

I am happy that my street is so hard core about Halloween & I’d like to think from a Halloween karma perspective that I am forgiven for running out of candy TWICE. But man o man am I already looking forward to next Halloween. I promise I will make up for this year.

Although the candy was done the party went on…. for more pictures  of Saturday click here.

It was 12 years ago when my then kiwi boyfriend and I celebrated his first birthday together. It was also the first time I threw him a party. It was a small affair. It was Halloween and a few friends gathered at my parent’s house, in costume of course. Although he was friends with everyone there, I remember the look on his face that let me know something was missing. I knew then that no birthday would be complete without having his mates around. Looking back, this is probably why I had not thrown him a party since.

A few months back my husband and I discussed his 40th birthday. Although his first wish was to be allowed to bury his head in the sand and pretend he was turning 27, he did agree to a celebration here in Sydney. However, when I brought it up, he said he also wanted to do something in New Zealand over the holidays. I knew then that this was my opportunity to give him the one thing he has wanted for 12 years,which was to celebrate his birthday with his mates.

After that conversation, I emailed a few of his friends to see if they would be willing to fly out to Sydney for a surprise birthday bash. Before the end of the day, I had three confirmed. I immediately mentioned to his mum what I was planning and she too said they’d love to come. Very quickly, I booked a venue. Invites when out and the response was incredible. I was overjoyed at how fortunate my husband is to have such great friends. I was thinking love, but the sentiment was not so much that as this:

you are such a good wife to have organized this… for him…….to be honest we are coming to see you and the kids…and a free party that S~ will ultimately have to pay for!!! bloody can’t wait!

And my favorite:

I agree – everyone’s only coming to see T~ and to drink a round that is S~’s shout! You are too much woman for that man, he has no idea how lucky he is…

Regardless of their reasons, they were coming!

Over the course of three months there were heaps of lies. To tell you the truth, it was EXHAUSTING. I realize how much I rely on my husband to confide things with. It was extremely difficult not to be able to share things with him for such a long period of time. At one point he thought his mother was mad at me because she no longer asked to speak to me on the phone…little did he know that we talked more than ever, just not when he was around. There was also the anniversary gift that he wanted to give his parents which involved their going to Melbourne Cup on the same weekend as his birthday party! It was also nightmare erasing the records of calls to his friends and to companies just in the case he’d hop on my Skype account.

In order to get him to the party, I had forged a letter from the principal on school letterhead that invited parents to a P&C (PTO) meeting at the RSL. Only in Australia could I get away with a parent association meeting taking place in a venue that serves beer and has gambling. There was also the matter that I usually attend school events alone. For this, I had to enlist the help of his friend Richard who is the Treasurer of the P&C. He sent us an email asking if we would be able to attend as he’d love to get our help with some school events next year…and that the two of them could go for a beer afterwards.

A week before the party I thought I had spoiled the surprise. Up until the night of, I really believed that he was suspicious. We went out for dinner before hand and I was a nervous wreck. As we walked into the room where the “meeting” was to be held S~ pulled me back saying that this was the wrong room. He couldn’t see much because it was dark, but he could see that there was a party going on that that people were standing around drinking. I insisted that this was it. It was only when he recognized a guy who looked like his friend Paul, who he then realized WAS his friend Paul that he understood what was going on.

It was a great night. People were very complementary of my efforts, but this was something I could NOT have done without their help and their ability to lie so well. I am confident that a certain birthday boy had a great time too as the next day I received more hugs and kisses from him than on any other day, ever. That made it ALL worth it!

For more pictures from the night (Thanks Jenny, Mandy & Cath) click here.

My sister Maria once asked a friend of Kyle’s where his favorite place to be was. The little boy responded, “On his father’s shoulders.” Nuno has never said as much, but I think it’s true for him too.

I love my daddy because he shares with me. He even lets me use his computer. My dad is also very funny and playful. He wrestles with me and my brother Evan.

 

My father also does a very good job taking care of me. He hugs me every night after he reads to me or I read to him. He also cheers me up when I am sad.

 

I love you daddy…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

 

 

 As a stay-at-home mom I try to fill Nuno’s days with fun and (sometimes) enriching activities. One such thing that meets that criteria is visiting the zoo. Since we live so close, we became members soon after our arrival. For the cost of two visits, we can go as often as we like, which we do.

Early into the school year, (February here) we started to head over after dropping Lana off at school on Fridays. The first time I went with my friend Lou she suggested we head straight for the cafe. Very clever idea. We had sat and had a coffee while the boys ate lollipops, then after being fully caffeinated we went exploring. Unfortunately, they did some major renovations at the zoo, and replaced the cafe with a coffee bar leaving us to walk with our coffees…terribly unfortunate for us, I know.

By term two we were joined by the new American in the class and her young son. We don’t necessarily go every Friday, but more often than not we are there by 9:15am. Over time the zoo has become a bit of a playground for the boys. They have their route. They just run ahead of us checking out all the usual exhibits: koalas, frogs, reptiles, giraffes, etc. If you know the zoo, you know our path just by reading those animals listed.

Well Buddy is turning 3. For his birthday, I thought it would be a nice idea to arrange for a photograph of the boys with an animal. I knew that the best laid plans might not result in a good shot. Then you add that we scheduled this during nap time, on a hot day, after having spent the morning in the city at a play with all three boys. As we stood in line, I don’t think any of the moms had much faith in how this would turn out.

Well, as soon as the boys were let into the feeding area, they were in their element. I smile just thinking how cute it was to see them feeding these majestic animals that tower over them. There was no fear, just excitement and joy. I’d like to think that Nuno will never forget this experience, I know I won’t.

When we came over I knew that my kids would be exposed to different sports. Soccer of course is universal, but cricket, netball & the various rugbies (it looks funny in plural) are something that my kids had never played or ever seen played for that matter. As a non-sports fan, I wasn’t worried about having to learn them myself until Nuno got to school. I am not being sexist, I just happen to have a daughter who did not enjoy soccer because, “The kids didn’t take turns kicking the ball.” I agree, how rude!

Well, my husband is very keen for our daughter to engage in an activity other than dance. After watching our neighbor’s netball game and a friend’s  field hockey game she was still not sold. Fortunately, here they have an athletics program. In a nutshell it’s a track and field training program for kids. We decided to sign both kids up. They have a Tiny Tots program for Nuno.  The kids will train at the oval at the beach. There will also be competitions for the olderkids. A friend told me about it and it’s just another one of those cool things about Australia. Lana is not thrilled, but she is going to give it a fair go. Nuno however, is SO excited.

When I went to pick up the uniforms, yes, there are uniforms, I almost forgot to get one for Nuno. It is so hard for my brain to wrap itself around the thought that my baby is old enough to participate in an organized sport. Well, he is psyched. When he put on his uniform for the first time he immediately started zipping around the house because in his words, “It makes me run faster!”

Here he is showing his muscles:

And how could I not do a Maria-inspired pretend run shot?

This is what I found when I turned around from making this kid his oatmeal…

Here is his final creation:

From an actual email:

“Yes, there is a semi final for the NRL on Friday and Sat and an All Blacks game on Sat…… Very busy time of the year! Very tiring….. ”

Love you,

*Frank

This past weekend our family was honored to host Lana’s friend for her first non-family member sleepover. Lola’s mum (a KIwi) and I have become really good friends. Although a first sleepover is a big deal, it didn’t feel like it at any one moment because it was really so casual. I actually had to keep reminding myself to take pictures to share with her family.

When it was (way past) bedtime I thought we’d call her mum so that Lola could say good-night. After her mum spoke to her, then it was her dad’s turn & then her brother’s turn. It was so sweet. I remember thinking what a lovely family they are, this unit of four that is so close. As someone who has dragged her kids away from everyone we know, we have tried as a family unit to become stronger. Our hope is that our kids feel safe and grounded in a place that is not home. I realize, however that having wonderful friends and families like them around us adds to making OZ feel like home.

Last week my friend Jenny posted about how one quarter of her time in OZ has passed. Although I miss my family and friends back home, the thought of this experience ending did sadden me. We have been blessed in our time here to have met so many wonderful people and so many lovely families. Since many of them are also expats, I know the time to say good-bye will come, but those thoughts are not for now.

Congrats to Dr. Bob & his gorgeous wife on the birth of their beautiful baby girl.