Celsius Degrees, Siblings, and Home!

Well we made it home and we not only had a bulk head seat on the airplane home but an ENTIRE row of bulk head seats that were empty...sweet!! The only bummer was the plane had only one large tv screen which is like less then 1 foot away from our seats. Needless to say, it's hard to sleep with such a bright screen flickering. but Caden slept and as I have heard, happy baby, happy flight.

The last few days there were soo hot. 103 and 104 degrees Fernheit. I finally have my reference for degrees in Celsius. I have long ago abandoned trying to convert Fernheit to Celsius so when listening to the weather I would just draw a blank. Well, Caden had a slight fever while I was there and he's temperature was 37.7 Celsius which was 99.6 Farenheit. I base all other temperatures on that and just have a range. So the high there a few days before I left was 41 degrees Celsius. Hot.

I really enjoyed the time with my siblings and it amazes me how siblings can go through life together, experience the exact same life experiences, parents, family life, and come away with a totally different view of one's life then their siblings. One's view is happy over a certain event and for the other sibling it's tramatic. Guess one's point of reference and inner struggles can be the glasses one views life.

I missed my family so much and it felt good to hug Morgan and Andy. Glad I went cause it makes coming home just sweeter.

I am functioning in some twilight zone though as far as my sleep. I'm going to try my best to stay up past 8 pm tonight

Look at the green on those leaves!!. That's the Yara river we walked past every day on our way to the tennis center. We took a boat tour of the Yara river one of the days.

Aussie Land

So I made it off the plane and my siblings were there to welcome me. It's always wonderful to see familiar faces after 15 hours!! We headed to our little flat (small apartment) that Danielle rented for the week. Australia and especially Melbourne has great public transportation. It reminds alot of Europe. There are trains and buses and you can easily get around without a car. Which we have done. Of course the australia definition of a walk is a lot longer then the American version.

We walk a mile each way to the tennis stadium each day so it's 2 miles easy a day. No complaints cause the walk is really pretty although mostly uphill :(. Seeing the tennis live is amazing. I was surprised to find out how absolutely quite it is between the tennis points and everylittle sound can be heard. So if you're watching the Australian open and you hear a baby crying..it's likely it's Caden. I had to dash out several times cause doesn't he know you can't cry during the rallys!!

Aussie are huge into sun protection and saving water. Danielle informed me that australia is one of the driest continents and they are in a drought. there's tons of advertisements to cut back, reduce reuse, recycle (thanks Jack Johnson). Another thing that is cute in Australia is they have coffee houses or cafe right alot the street and you can sit and grap something to eat or drink really quick.

Everyone says Caden is soo cute and he has been such a trooper. The first few nights were really real hard with him not falling asleep an less he was was being held. He's adjusted by now to the time difference just in time for us to go back....

It is nice to see green leaves on the trees and it's like a time wrap hearing about the weather back home. I'll post pictures soon

Advocate and My Trip

My trip is going well. I have left my better traveling half at home with Morgan. I missed you Andy!  I tend to get overwelmed with all the signs, people and things to remember. When I am having stimuli overload I get flustered and miss details.  Traveling alone is a chore for me. I enjoy finally arriving to the place I want to go but the actual getting there, my stomach is in knots. 

This trip got off to a surprising rough start but I am always amazed when I fly that somehow things work out. Whether it's my ticket having the wrong time or not realizing that I had to pick up baggage little things preoccupy me.  It started off with me having booked the 7 pm Southwest flight instead of the 4 pm flight.  And the only way we realized was AFTER we had gotten our tickets and were ready to head to the gate, the counter attendant commented that we were at the airport rather early.  We had gotten at the airport at 3 pm cause we thought our flight was at 4pm.  HMMM we're not early we answered.  The agent then pointed out we had booked the wrong flight and that means I would only have 1 hour to get my checked bagged and find the international terminal.  Well the agent changed my flight and I got the last seat on the 4 pm flight.  yes!

I was still feeling flustered and hurried though LAX. Having Caden was a challenge with having to manage him as well.  BUT it was a total miracle that I did get a bulk head seat from LA to Sydney (which has a crib hanging from the wall that I can put Caden in) and the lady I sat next to was wonderful and helped me so much with Caden.  I got my bulk head seat thanks to a airline agent that went the extra mile to check to see if the plane was really that full and then the australian gal sitting next to me helped me so much.  It made me so grateful and gave me a really picture as to what being an advocate means. ...Made it to Australia, very tired but made it. 

 

Off on an Adventure

So I'm leaving in a few hours to the airport. And I'm racking my brain to remember any last minute items I will need. Like camera/ license/money (that's always good). I have never so much in all my life wanted to grow another 2 arms.

I'm trying to mentally figure out how I will care everything and making sure my most precious carry -on is safe (Caden ;). My mom (who has made the trip more then a few times in the past 7 years) asked if I knew I have to physically go and pick up my checked baggage from Southwest and then take carry on, baby, checked- luggage, to the international terminal at LAX. No I did not know I had to pick up my check-luggage. Thus the desire for more arms. Thank you I found out before I was air born.

I'm really going to miss Morgan and really really going to miss Andy for the next 10 days. Bit of a whirl of excitement this morning. Although it was great to say goodbye to all the family plus, Nick.

107 degree temperature.....ooh my...here I come.

Aches and Pains

I don't consider myself very old. I have a bit of a ways before I hit the big 30 but my young muscles and bones are crying out.

I have a chipped 4th vertebrae in my neck (another story) and I notice whenever the weather gets colder it starts to ache. No matter how I sit or sleep. The aches is just there....bummer.

My 2nd pain is my leg. This is from recent 2nd pregnancy. My sciatic nerve just throbs and I get numbness in that leg when I sleep on my left side. Tempting to give into the words above.

I'll sit in the sun, relax, kiss my kids and husband and try to forget the aches.

I really miss a full nights sleep

Never Thought

I think I have reached a new low. I was 'watching' the live feed of Hilary Clinton going through on the questions to be confirmed or whatever the fancy term is. I was doing stuff on the family room floor but actually enjoyed hearing the discussions....wow. Never thought I would type that sentence.



I usually get the cut version from Jon Stewart and that's very one sided and this was a much rounder view of what was ACTUALLY said.



I do have to say Senator Kerry is VERY long winded.. no wonder he didn't get elected. Funny how they never say ex-presidents

Anti-oxidants

I've been reading alot about antioxidants and I would like to cook with them more...

Here is a list of the ones that I've added to the weekly grocery list

-Blueberries
- spinach
- Cinnamon
-Brocoli


And these are the ones I would like to use more in my cooking

-Lentils (yuck!)
-Flax Seed
-pine nuts

Watch out Winco here I come!

Standing Firm

As my trip approaches I feel some fear dwelling in the back of my mind. I have decided to trust God and my husband for this specific fear that comes to my mind whenever I can't 'control' the situation.

I'm believing that it will work out and that my husband a good man, a courageous man, and a man who's no means no and needs to be heard and followed will have a stress free time while I'm gone.

Here's to the spouses who work a little harder and who's days are a little longer so that we can enjoy our fun :)

Love you, Andy!!

Packing for Summer??

So I'm getting excited for the big trip to Aussie land coming up shortly and I asked my sister the temperature so I could pack appropriately. Well she said it's around the 90s or 100s degrees...hmmm. Good bye sweaters hello tang tops. So under the bed I dived (that's where I keep my summer clothes due to limited space in our closet)

What's cool about looking at clothes you haven't worn in a few months is that they seem almost new. This trip will be especially interesting as far as packing as I have to make sure to make room for Caden's clothes. One would think that baby summer clothes would be on sale in the stores but no all the heavy sweaters and ski jackets are..oh well.

The plane trip is around 15 to 16 hours long (from LA to Melbourne) and I've tried to think of the most creative way to carry Caden in my lap the whole time. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from my sister that if you sit in the bulk head seats ( the seats that have a wall in front of them) there are portable crips the airlines provides that attach to the wall versus the small cribs that you can try to squeeze on the floor in front of you in a regular seat. So when I picked my airline seat I thought I picked a bulk head seat. Turns out I pick the seat 2 aisles behind the bulk head...Bummer.

I got Caden's passport already...sooo cute. Surprisingly it's good for 5 years and I had the picture taken when he was 2 months old. Will they really be able to recognize a 5 year old (if he travels when he's 5) based on his 2 month old picture? oh well

Thougts

Some things my kids do that crack me up:

Morgan gets her dessert cupcake and responds....'nice'...and then sits down with glee to eat it

The new year is looking good...minus a coffee appointment I totally blanked on :( but I'm determined that it will not set the precedent!

I'm already for spring now that Christmas is over. I really miss the Christmas lights on the houses, there fun to look at and add some sparkle to a dreary evening

Morgan and Caden are interacting more and it's funny to see how Morgan bosses him around i.e. tries to take his toys and shows him what he is "allowed" to play with.

She also is getting use to telling mommy where she wants me to sit and what she wants me to do. Most of the time, I don't have any energy to disagree or fight with her so I just do it...pathetic. . And my husband responds "say no stand up for yourself!!" A lesson I need to learn by now


Sledding with Morgan was really fun. Watching her and Caden explore life is a joy to watch

Visiting the train museum in Sacramento.

Morgan has quickly learned the word mine and is shouting it whenever Caden looks at her toys! The need to share begins...