Happy Holidays

Hope you had a wonderful holidays- Hanukkah, Christmas, etc.....

We are still discovering new toys that we didn't really play with Xmas morning (too many). You may have heard but there was some confusion at our house this year. Nate awoke Christmas Eve morning and decided that was the time to open all his gifts under the tree. To his credit he did read the tags and only opened (with the help of his accomplice Reese) his and his sister's presents. I was not pleased to see the mess at 7:00am but within a short period we were all laughing about it. Here are the devils by the scene of the mess.

Santa was quite generous and delivered on the full list - even the chainsaw (toy replica). Nate authored and illustrated a beautiful and funny book for his dad "Michael & Nate: doing cool stuff".....it was brilliant- full of dangerous activities.

Check out the photos to the right.

Have a happy New Year!

Nate Cousteau

Nate seems to share a lot of slightly dangerous hobbies with his father. (Also some less dangerous ones like strategy games, traveling, love of animal planet shows, and sour candies.) It is like he is 5 going on 15. Nate and Michael have been spending a lot of time in the pool. Lately they sit at the bottom of the pool and count how long they can hold their breath. Nate's personal best is 29 seconds. This past weekend Michael rented a tank and they spent two days scuba diving in our pool. Nate was a natural (not a surprise- he is part fish). When he goes to become PADI certified at age 12 I can't wait until he tells them that he has been diving for 7 years ;)

check out the photos:

only 4 more days to xmas

Only 4 More days till Xmas! Tonight we went for an after dinner walk around our neighborhood checking out all the light displays (a couple of over the top houses). Nate was taking notes and wants us to decorate our house so we have the most lights. I haven't found a giant blow up Grinch for Michael and might have to import one from the States. As we walked around the block he came up with some great santa questions: why does he come at night, do the reindeer really fly, why doesn't anyone see him, why can't we go to the north pole and see him, etc. Then when we went to see "santa" at the mall for the photo Nate told me- "I don't think he was the real guy". I think he wants to believe (if nothing else then for the gifts) but his logically big brain (and skeptical genes) make him question the logic.
If you have kids- check out the track santa website- http://www.noradsanta.org/

Anyway- we have the menorah out and the tree up (a true bi-cultural event). The kids made some decorations. Most Aussies have fake trees- I guess that is more green- so we had to buy a fake one too. I've never owned a fake tree before, nor assembled one- LOT of parts. It is cool and neater- no dropping leaves- but you miss the smell of pine. The kids tried to help with the assembly but ended up just playing inside the box- it was pretty cute.

Have a merry christmas!

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Our 1st ballet

Last week I took the kids to see Angelina Ballerina. For those that don't know what that means- Angelina is a dancing mouse in a book series and TV show. I thought it was a fun introduction to live theater performances since they have read the book and seen the TV show in prep for going. It was a great event. We took the ferry to Sydney (photo above of the kids raiding our snack bag) and after a mad dash through town to make it on time we enjoyed a light ballet. The place was full of wannabe dressed up ballerinas ( I think the average age was 6) who danced in the aisle during the show. Reese & Nate loved it and so did I! It was a special mom and kids treat.

spider update

Lest we forget that we live in the land of dangerous creatures. Michael found another redback spider (yes poisonous) in the garage. It wasn't about to attack us - it was minding it's own business using some tools as a home. But unlucky for him that he picked the wrong house....squash.

Here is a spider that we've seen in a lot of in the garden. Very cool web design and colors. We've given him a wide berth but don't think he is dangerous.

melbourne cup

Michael and I went to Melbourne for the big horse race- the Melbourne cup. The call it the race that stops the nation. It is on the scale of the Kentucky derby or English Ascot races. We traveled to the races on a friend's boat - an excellent way to tailgate and avoid massive traffic. We were invited to a private tent at an exclusive part of the track. It was quite fun to watch the fashion show parading in front of our tent. As per typical Australia- there was a lot of skin and a lot of booze. Funny enough most of the special private tents don't even have a view of the track - you watch from a TV or watch outside. Still it was quiet fun.

My big boy

(imagine trumpet horns blowing- sorry no sound effects on the blog yet)

Nate has successfully gone 4 nights in a row without diapers and no accidents!!!! Our first night didn't go so well (he was very mellow about it) but ever since we've had no issues. Knock on wood. We wake him before we go to bed and make him pee - sleep peeing really as he doesn't remember it the next morning. Tonight he announced that he was done with diapers. I think I'll hang on to a box or two for a couple of weeks just in case (of course I have three packs of them in the closet).

We may never leave Australia

Mom & sister do not read this post!!!! Don't want you to get worried about our return.

Ben & Jerry's just opened a concept store in Manly- I believe its their first in Australia. I've been tracking the construction progress for weeks but now it is officially open. Can't rely how psyched I am. It isn't like Manly is short on ice cream shops - I can think of four without trying. But come on ...it is Ben & Jerry's. In addition to the excellent quality product it brings back fun memories of college- they delivered to the dorms (can you say freshman 20 lbs). We went last Friday night- funny story....the doors were closing so I ran in holding Reese with Nate following. I thought that they were about to close and didn't want to miss out but turned out it was a private function- sort of a training event for the staff. They took pity on the stupid but excited American woman in a frenzy about their store opening and let us stay. Best part was that each ice cream was only $1! So we went again this weekend - during legit hours. Just as tasty just more expensive (and a little less melted- I think they worked out the kinks in the freezer).

Ben & Jerry's fan club- Australia chapter:

Reese a big sister?

Reese loves to wrap her baby and teddies in her baby blankets and play mommy (or older sister). One of her favorite toys is her dolly stroller. I hate to break it to the girl but dad has already seen Dr Snip....so no more babies at our house.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Halloween is a favorite holiday at our house so we've been looking forward to it for weeks. The kids have been drawing and coloring Halloween pictures (Nate draws an excellent bat and witch on a broomstick) all week. Plus there has been lots of Halloween crafts- from making a giant spider (the size of a trashcan) to a mobile of bats, to small spiders (red backs of course). We even paid a small fortune for a pumpkin (extortion or ex-pat tax prices...we saw some medium sized ones for $45 - OMG). Nate had decided that he wanted to be a leaf blower man and his sister a pile of leaves he could pretend to blow around. After spending three hours last Sunday searching craft and hardware shops getting all the supplies to jerryrig this costume he announced that he had changed his mind. I thought Michael was going to faint then awake to kill him but it was a true parenting moment and he rose the challenge and calmly said ok. UGH!!! So instead Nate went as the Lollipop man (school crossing man) and Reese went as a bumble bee. They both looked great and got lots of compliments on their outfits. We went over to Nate's friend Harry's neighborhood. Halloween is just starting to take off here in Sydney so we had to go to a neighborhood known for decorations and celebrating. It is nice and old fashion- a lot of homemade costumes, still safe to give unwrapped candy (of course us being American paranoid freaks threw those away). Plus you can't beat trick or treating in 80 degree weather and sunshine (plus the mom's walk around with glasses of wine)- much better experience than Seattle cold, dark and wet. We only got 4 groups of trick or treaters to our house (a gaggle of girls who screamed she's American when I opened the door...apparently they must have gotten odd reactions from the rest of the neighbors). Nate loved zig zagging across the streets so he could pretend to be a real crossing guard- he even stopped several cars. Reese loved the holiday and by the second house she had the routine down pat saying trick or treat and thank you. Then she would open her bag to show us (after each treat received :)) then run to the next house to do it again. Every time we met up with other kids she would wave and yell "Happy Halloween"- it was complete joy. I think both kids could have gone for hours (a vast improvement over last year's one house adventure).


Here are some photos: our bee & lollipop man

Nate, Ang and I made this Halloween poem:

Eye of newt & tongue of snake

mix it well with a rake

add a tail fresh from a rate

don't forget the wing of a bat

stir it, mix it, in a pot

over a flame until it's hot

dash of venom, pinch of trouble

let it simmer until it bubbles

almost done with our scary stew

add blood of Nate and Reese's poo

serve it up to every guest

hope you enjoy your Halloween fest

Mock Camping

Today we tested out our sun tent. Yes the summer sun is so hot that you need to hide under a tent at the beach. We bought the big size not realizing that the whole neighborhood could find inside. Plus it is a quite challenging to fold (sorry no photos of me struggling to fold the tent).

It made for a fun afternoon activity- pitching our tent in the front yard of our house- with our prentend campfire and smores (real). We might have to grab some sleeping bags and try it at night (of course I am too afraid of the spiders in our yard I can only imagine taking it to some campsite).

Our foursome is complete

Finally after two years of waiting Reese has picked up a golf club. Sunday night we went to the driving range and Reese took part in the fun. Of course she only hit about 6 balls then decided it was time for a snack. At least there is hope :)

Reese and her coach (notice the location of her balls in the second picture)

Happy to just watch the rest of the family and eat her snacks :)

Here are some pictures of Nate at the same age- playing the course with his dad

Backyard fun

Now that the weather is starting to get nice (sort of- last two weeks of cold and wet weather aside) we've rediscovered our backyard. The kids love the trampoline and so do . It is contained and safe and a great way to get out the sillies and use energy. We bounce, sing songs, and play duck duck goose. From there it usually goes down hill and resembles WWF cage wrestling. When you are bored sometime check out a satellite map of Australian suburbs (like Curl Curl)- every house has a trampoline in the back yard. Brilliant.

check out these funny trampoline hairdos:

testing me???

It has been a hard couple of days on the parenting front. The kids are adjusting to being back in Sydney. Between the odd sleep patterns and a strange bug affecting their digestive system (Reese now has the nickname Reese 9 poops) it has tough. Plus we've gone cold turkey on the binky. Reese only used it for napping but was addicted and it was starting to be an issue. So instead of a quiet nightly routine of sucking binky and going to bed on her own she now screams and tries to leave her bed. It truely tests both your will and confidence when you have to stand by the door (to manually keep it locked) and endure the crying of your baby. I am really hoping that this only lasts a couple of nights. Especially since Michael is away and I might be tempted to cave in. Tough love sucks.

spring time- watch the clocks.

FYI- we changed our clocks here in Sydney this weekend. We sprung forward 1 hour. Making the us now only 5 hours earlier (plus a day) from Seattle. Slightly easier to call us (hint hint).

No more flights

We just returned from a great but tiring trip back to the States. Our intinary includes stays in San Diego, New York, Seattle and Hawaii....a full coast to coast effort. Plus Nate got to celebrat his birthday in each city- I think he's had 5 turning 5 parties. Lucky kid. Nate has the whole flight thing down- he is a true world class traveller. He gets on the plane steals my itouch and bose headphones and takes long plane naps. I wish the same could be said of Reese. But overall both were good travellers and adjust to different time zones and getting hugged daily by new faces.
It was wonderful to see our friends and family again. We really got to spend quality time with everyone. My sincere apologies for those few who I had to cancel on. We got rushed towards the end of our stay. We did our part to help stimulate the US economy (hope you own Target & Costco stocks)- and even needed to buy an extra suitcase to carry back all the toys, kid clothes, and contraband food.

Now I need to get to thoses suitcases and unpack ;)
check out the photos View Album

Life on Mars

I awoke the other day at 5:00am (thanks to Reese) to look outside and see only orange. It was very surreal. There was a thick red/orange fog that had engulfed all of Sydney. It turned out to be a dust storm bringing in red clay dust from a drought area. A 70 year storm they say. It was pretty interesting to experience. On the downside we had left some windows open and had a thick layer of red dust all over the house. No kidding- the *$&@Q was everywhere. We (in this case me) was cleaning for days and I can still find it in places. We almost changed the theme of Nate's birthday party (scheduled for the day after the storm) to a Mars/Sci-fi party ;)

Check out the photos:

family pasta night

Ever wonder- what do we do on an average weekend night? Some fancy dinner out, club hopping with the international jet set party, black tie event? Nope. We are just as lame here as we were in Seattle. Check out the photos from last Friday night. We broke out our newest favorite kitchen gadget- our pasta maker. The whole clan got in on the action and had a ball. Is it considered a violation of child labor laws to have your two year old make you dinner? It was a flour disaster but lots of laughs and a tasty result.

Nate Reading

Check out this video of Nate reading. We've been working on his reading together and hopefully by the end of the winter /seattle summer he will be confidently reading.

Nate The Artist???

Check out this beautiful work of art that Nate did at school. It is a Japanese paper mache art on a painted canvas. The picture makes it look big (it is ~ 8x11). I don't think it looks like a 5 year old did it. Sure that if I hung in a gallery someone would buy it. Gotta love art.

A Great Sunday In The Country

We had a great weekend. It was warm and sunny - around 20 degrees and it felt fantastic. The schools are closed last week and this week for winter holiday so we had nothing on our schedule- no soccer games, no baseball games - FREEDOM! . Plus Michael is out of town so I wanted to leave our plans flexible. Like the Sundays of my childhood when mom and I would set out on an adventure checking out some new town or beach I felt the urge to explore a new area of Sydney. On Sunday Angela, Nate, Reese and I explored the Northern Beaches coastline. We passed beach after lovely beach until reaching Palm Beach (where the North Beaches peninsula reaches a dead end). You may recall a prior entry about Palm Beach and the nice lighthouse climb there. Instead we took a passenger ferry across to the Ku-ring-gai national park. There is a small campground there accessible only by boat (the rest of the park is quite huge). We learned that in the summer the place is mobbed with tents but we found it almost empty and peaceful. It was a lovely day - we had a nice picnic, played with the native wallaby, looked for crabs, and napped on the blanket (well Reese did at least). All and all an excellent day.

Renewed hobbies - me time in the kitchen

Now that I am a stay at home mom (a woman of leisure as Michael likes to tease) I have been enjoying rediscovering my love of cooking.

You need to check out my new favorite cooking site....of course referred to me by my great friend Lisa the gourmet. http://www.smittenkitchen.com/ - I absolutely love it. We've gotten into making our own pasta. In fact I've have been cooking a lot in the last month- made excellent choc chip banana bread (see above), apple/cranberry turnovers (see above)-soooooo easy- a great thing to bring to book club or make for a special breakfast or dessert treat- look up the barefoot countessa recipe- she used apples and dried cherries but I liked (& only had) dried cranberries....seriously it took 10 minutes to make and the store bought puffed pastry made it easy and looked great. Nate has been my little chef helper- we've been watching this Top Chef like Australia show Masterchef so he's been into the food thing lately. Last night he made mac & cheese by himself and today he made mini berry shortbread cakes from a kid's cookbook we checked out from the library. He is so cute when he cooks and talks about cooking. He rates all my meals. His descriptions are very funny - "I love the combination here", or "30 out of 10" - he doesn't quite get the rating score thing ;) For now, until his tastes improve I'll enjoy the compliments.

Our perfect new pet

After two failed attempts at keeping fish we have new pet that I can handle. For the record- don't believe the 16 year old at the pet shop who claims that paradise fish are easier and hardier than goldfish. Yes, last Dec over the course of about 6 weeks we managed to kill not one but two fish. Not that Nate seemed broken up over it. For all his begging for a fish (thanks to Elmo and his fish Dorothy) he didn't seem get upset when he awoke to see it floating at the top of the tank.

After having a great time with the hermit crab he caught and played with in Fiji Nate has had a bit of an obsession with crabs. Unfortunately my web research has turn up some bad news....they are hard to keep alive as pets- they require two daily water changes and a heat lamp. No thank you- I am not going to take on that burden only to have the kids grow out of this interest in a week. Instead we've put our plastic tank (but quite expensive investment in fish gear) to good use. Meet Hermie- our plastic hermit crab. Yes- I've put Nate's bath toy into the fish tank and he loves it. He and Reese like giving the crab Cheerios for breakfast, letting him out at lunch for his daily exercise, etc...

It is wonderful - we get all the joy of a pet but no clean up and no worries! Success. Of course not to be concerned at the absence of good dog stories- we still have Sammy dog who is a handful but loveable.

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Great news.....Nate's inner soccer star came out this weekend. All of a sudden he decided to stop starring off into space and get involved in the match. He ran, he blocked, he kicked the ball. It was great to watch him having so much fun on the field. He had 2 very near goals and in the last 30 seconds of play he finally scored a goal. Yes I became one of those parents who freak out jumping and cheering. Post goal he was beaming- he was proud of himself. Then to top it off after the game Nate was awarded player of the game. He gets the team medal for the week.

Check out the MVP: