For Christmas Cian got a Michealangelo pillow pet from his very generous parents. It was, by far, his favourite present and he has slept with Michealangelo every night since then. He brings him into our bed with him in the morning and often, since the tiles of the bathroom can be cold in the morning, he stands on him to brush his teeth or go to the bathroom. Michealangelo is a true blue friend.
It desperately needed to be washed and I have been telling him over the last few days that we would need to give him a "bath" in the washer before going back to Canada.
Well, yesterday Emily took care of the timing of that bath because she had a pee accident all over Michealangelo. Keith says the fight was of epic proportions as Cian was betrayed and hurt that his beloved friend had been so horrendously defiled by his sister (who, by the way, was not the least bit sorry).
Keith promptly put him in the washer and told Cian that he would have him the following night for bed. Later, he heard Cian talking and realized he was in the laundry room. Michealangelo's face was pointing out of the window of the front-load washer and Cian was telling him "I love you Michealangelo" - is there really anything cuter than that? I don't think so.
Last night Cian was a bit depressed about not having his ninja turtle and at this point Emily did feel bad enough to hug Cian and tell him everything was ok. He permitted the monkey and platypus to be temporary placeholders and tonight he is back with his best buddy. Cowabunga dude.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Monday, 18 August 2014
Not Ready
In one week we will be on a plane leaving Australia.
That seems surreal to me.
Everything is winding down: last week of call, last music class, last swimming class and this week - last days of Kindy and work. It doesn't feel like it's been a year already. At work I'm just hitting my stride and things are starting to wind down. I have things relatively set up in Winnipeg but there are still a lot of unknowns and I still have a lot to finish here in Australia so I feel like I have a foot in both countries and the Pacific Ocean is a wide thing to straddle.
I have never been good at transition....ever. There are far worse examples than this latest move but still it comes with lots of anxiety for me. As much as I love adventure I feel like I have never fully sucked the marrow out of my last one before moving on to the next. I still feel like there's always room for a little bit more and so I'm never really satisfied in moving on. And usually when I'm trying to savour the last moments of things those moments seem to race faster than I can possibly imagine. There are leftovers on the "plate" of Australia: we haven't seen the Great Barrier Reef or the Whitsundays or the Outback or visited our amazing friends in Brisbane. The kids aren't old enough to really appreciate a lot of those things and I also kind of wanted to leave some things to come back for. We're not done yet with the Land of Oz and although I don't feel ready Canada is calling and it's time to go home.
That seems surreal to me.
Everything is winding down: last week of call, last music class, last swimming class and this week - last days of Kindy and work. It doesn't feel like it's been a year already. At work I'm just hitting my stride and things are starting to wind down. I have things relatively set up in Winnipeg but there are still a lot of unknowns and I still have a lot to finish here in Australia so I feel like I have a foot in both countries and the Pacific Ocean is a wide thing to straddle.
I have never been good at transition....ever. There are far worse examples than this latest move but still it comes with lots of anxiety for me. As much as I love adventure I feel like I have never fully sucked the marrow out of my last one before moving on to the next. I still feel like there's always room for a little bit more and so I'm never really satisfied in moving on. And usually when I'm trying to savour the last moments of things those moments seem to race faster than I can possibly imagine. There are leftovers on the "plate" of Australia: we haven't seen the Great Barrier Reef or the Whitsundays or the Outback or visited our amazing friends in Brisbane. The kids aren't old enough to really appreciate a lot of those things and I also kind of wanted to leave some things to come back for. We're not done yet with the Land of Oz and although I don't feel ready Canada is calling and it's time to go home.
Sunday, 17 August 2014
In the hidden Dandenongs
I was operating until the wee hours of the last night but in their true consistent fashion the kids greeted me with usual cuddles and hugs at 630am. Despite the routine start to the morning it was the start of an all but routine day. Our friend Chantal is visiting Melbourne as she is managing the Canadian footy women's team (Go Northern Lights!) and she had the day off to spend some time with us so Keith collected her from the train station at 8am. That would already be exciting for the kids because they love Chantal and her big hugs. But they got double the fun of their favourite people because Marta was taking us to the Dandenongs, a mountain range east of Melbourne. Everyone was at our house before 830am and Chris even got up on a Sunday morning to bring us all coffee from his new favourite coffeeshop. Keith stayed home and had a much deserved day without the kids. We were set for our adventure to the Dandenongs (after we all said the word a few more times cause it's really fun to say).
The first stop was the hospital since I needed to see my post op patients. Everyone was in fine form and I got to leave pretty quickly but it was nice because the kids got to show Chantal around including the sharks and the puffer fish (I had forgotten about the puffer fish - I can't believe Cian remembered!)
We then headed out to the Dandenongs. We made an early start of it because Marta had been planning out the day and decided when we needed to leave. I had no idea what we were up to but knew it would be fun. We stopped at the Puffing Billy carpark and the kids were already psyched. Puffing Billing (http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/) is an old steam train that seems to be a quintessential part of a Melbourne childhood. I can't believe they let you do it but they still let you sit on the windows and hang your arms and legs out the side of the carriages (so fun). We bought our tickets and were off. Marta, the lovely person that she is, got us to ride the train and said she'd drive behind to collect us at the Lakeside stop cause it's better to go one way and have someone collect you. We have heaps of pictures including one of Cian, Emily and Chantal with the conductor. It was great fun and a beautiful way to see the scenery. It was also an amazing "winter" day in terms of weather - perfection.
Marta waved and honked at the Emerald station and then met us at Lakeside and ran along the train which Emily loved. We walked around Emerald lake and saw the Rosellas and Ibris, the painters and the people renting water bikes. We were all really hungry at that point so we went back into Emerald for the market. Chantal got all 4 different kinds of Gozlemes to try and they were all delicious.
After lunch we got back in the car and 2/5 of us had a nap (Chantal and Em) on our way to the SkyHigh Mount Dandenong lookout point. It was a bit foggy but still a terrific view. We got coffees and 2 sweets (lemon meringue pie and lime coconut tart). This is when Emily really woke up out of her post-nap stupor. She devoured the cakes - what a sweet tooth. The kids got activity bags too so it was a great stop. We then walked around the grounds there a bit before heading home.
In the car Emily said "I can't find those Dandenongs" and we had to explain that we were in them - mountains are kind of an abstract concept when you are 2. We had a beautiful drive back into Melbourne with lots of singing and stories.
Once back in Melbourne we got some pizza and Keith and Chris joined us for our supper feast. We toasted to great friends (both old and new) and had a great evening full of lots of laughter. Cian even asked for "big hugs" to do his bedtime story and I said "do you mean Chantal?" and he said "Yes! Chantal!" and he asked her himself - I think they were both really excited for storytime. It was a wonderful day.
The first stop was the hospital since I needed to see my post op patients. Everyone was in fine form and I got to leave pretty quickly but it was nice because the kids got to show Chantal around including the sharks and the puffer fish (I had forgotten about the puffer fish - I can't believe Cian remembered!)
We then headed out to the Dandenongs. We made an early start of it because Marta had been planning out the day and decided when we needed to leave. I had no idea what we were up to but knew it would be fun. We stopped at the Puffing Billy carpark and the kids were already psyched. Puffing Billing (http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/) is an old steam train that seems to be a quintessential part of a Melbourne childhood. I can't believe they let you do it but they still let you sit on the windows and hang your arms and legs out the side of the carriages (so fun). We bought our tickets and were off. Marta, the lovely person that she is, got us to ride the train and said she'd drive behind to collect us at the Lakeside stop cause it's better to go one way and have someone collect you. We have heaps of pictures including one of Cian, Emily and Chantal with the conductor. It was great fun and a beautiful way to see the scenery. It was also an amazing "winter" day in terms of weather - perfection.
Marta waved and honked at the Emerald station and then met us at Lakeside and ran along the train which Emily loved. We walked around Emerald lake and saw the Rosellas and Ibris, the painters and the people renting water bikes. We were all really hungry at that point so we went back into Emerald for the market. Chantal got all 4 different kinds of Gozlemes to try and they were all delicious.
After lunch we got back in the car and 2/5 of us had a nap (Chantal and Em) on our way to the SkyHigh Mount Dandenong lookout point. It was a bit foggy but still a terrific view. We got coffees and 2 sweets (lemon meringue pie and lime coconut tart). This is when Emily really woke up out of her post-nap stupor. She devoured the cakes - what a sweet tooth. The kids got activity bags too so it was a great stop. We then walked around the grounds there a bit before heading home.
In the car Emily said "I can't find those Dandenongs" and we had to explain that we were in them - mountains are kind of an abstract concept when you are 2. We had a beautiful drive back into Melbourne with lots of singing and stories.
Once back in Melbourne we got some pizza and Keith and Chris joined us for our supper feast. We toasted to great friends (both old and new) and had a great evening full of lots of laughter. Cian even asked for "big hugs" to do his bedtime story and I said "do you mean Chantal?" and he said "Yes! Chantal!" and he asked her himself - I think they were both really excited for storytime. It was a wonderful day.
Friday, 8 August 2014
Literary Adventure
Tonight for movies and snacks we were looking for movies and stumbled upon "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". This was particularly exciting because Cian and I had read the book for bedtime stories for a couple weeks a few months ago.
The story started and Cian realized that his old friends Lucy, Aslan and Mr Tumnus were on the screen and he was hooked. He was literally on the edge of his seat the entire time. (Emily was whiny for half the movie and then fell asleep on the couch). It was fun to see him so enthralled in Narnia. He still was a big fan of Mr and Mrs Beaver and, of course, loved the fight scenes. It was fun to experience it with him after we read the book together. I hope to do more of that.
The story started and Cian realized that his old friends Lucy, Aslan and Mr Tumnus were on the screen and he was hooked. He was literally on the edge of his seat the entire time. (Emily was whiny for half the movie and then fell asleep on the couch). It was fun to see him so enthralled in Narnia. He still was a big fan of Mr and Mrs Beaver and, of course, loved the fight scenes. It was fun to experience it with him after we read the book together. I hope to do more of that.
"Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again" - C.S. Lewis
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Sovereign Hill
It was easier to keep the car for an extra day so we decided to head out on one of the final Australian adventures with the kids to Ballarat to see Sovereign Hill.
Sovereign Hill is a recreation of an old gold-mining settlement and they have everything set up like the late 1800s.
Even with only a few hours we had a great time seeing the old mine and how they made tin and gold. We went to the candlemaking shop and the kids got to dip their taper candles to make rainbow candles (just in time for Chantal's visit!)
We saw the Red Coat soldiers come up Main street and shoot off their muskets (which was loud). But I think the favourite part was panning for gold in the river. I was impressed with the teaching at both the candle dipping and the panning for gold. The teachers were really good at explaining what to do and I even found gold flecks for both the kids!
It was a very nice adventure to the 1800s!
Sovereign Hill is a recreation of an old gold-mining settlement and they have everything set up like the late 1800s.
Even with only a few hours we had a great time seeing the old mine and how they made tin and gold. We went to the candlemaking shop and the kids got to dip their taper candles to make rainbow candles (just in time for Chantal's visit!)
We saw the Red Coat soldiers come up Main street and shoot off their muskets (which was loud). But I think the favourite part was panning for gold in the river. I was impressed with the teaching at both the candle dipping and the panning for gold. The teachers were really good at explaining what to do and I even found gold flecks for both the kids!
It was a very nice adventure to the 1800s!
Horseback Winery Tour
We are getting to the end of our time in Australia which is truly hard to believe. A year has flown by but also when I look at pictures from when we got here things have also changed so much.
We are packing all of our last-minute activities in before we leave and one of them was a Groupon I had for a horseback winery tour in Mornington. I always gravitate to anything with horses in them (I think Cian will be much the same) and so this combined horses + wine + amazing scenery. What was not to love?
We rented a car and asked our beloved babysitter Ciara to come for the day. I highly support the idea of a daytime babysitter now that we had one. Sometimes a day completely away from your kids can really make a world of difference and it did. They were happier to play with her and get a fresh face in their play mix and we were happy not to be playing.
She came bright and early at 0730 because it's a 1.5 hour drive to Mornington. We got in the car and realized there was frost on it. This was a miniscule amount of frost but with no antifreeze in the windshield washer fluid or any viable scraper it took longer to get it off than expected. But then we were off.
It was without a doubt the most gorgeous "winter" day of the whole season. Even though it was cold (it was zero degrees when we left) the air was crisp and the sun was out in full force. This lifted a mist out of the Dandenongs that was truly magical. We got there with 30 minutes to spare and drove up the winding driveway to the beautiful oak and stone stables. We signed in but hadn't had breakfast because we thought we'd be late and they directed us to this little secret bakery down the road in the back room of this winery(Johnny Ripe). The baked goods were outstanding (we ate everything apple on the menu) I think my grandmother would have been impressed. We got back with delicious baked goods in our bellies (and another espresso in mine) with plenty of time to spare.
They had given me a horse named Keiko because he was usually a beginner's horse but had started being tempermental so they were trying to get more experienced riders on him. I said I had taken some lessons so they put me down as intermediate but once I got on Keiko I realized all the riding I've actually done in my life. It's amazing how one nostalgic sensation like getting on the back of a horse can remind you of something you loved so passionately for most of your life.
Keith had Boss, who seemed to be a very reliable Clydesdale. I appreciate that he rides these horses to humour me and he does it without complaint. We rode out to the first winery which had stunning sloping views, a little pond, baby lambs and two Kelpie dogs. They had little tapas to try with our wine and we tried 6 different types - all of which were delicious with special note of the Chardonnay (and I don't love whites usually) and the Pinot Noir (Mornington is a Pinot region). Everything was yummy and it was nice to soak in some sun with our food and drink.
The guides taught the group how to posting trot on the way to the next place. Everyone was a very good sport and we made it to the apple tasting place in good time. There were lovely apple ciders and juice to try and it was a beautiful old barn with a pot-bellied stove in the corner. I think I like the decor of wineries almost as much as I like wine which is saying something. I think it's my favourite scenery: sloping hills, brisk fresh air, sunshine and a roaring fireplace inside. I would be blissful with a perpetual fall.
On the way home the guides were planning to fulfill my wish of cantering. I missed that amazing feeling and I had proven that I was able to ride. There were a few other brave people that wanted to try to canter including Keith! It was great to feel the freedom of a cantering horse - it is one of my favourite things. It's amazing how you forget how much you love something until you do it again years later. Why did I ever stop?
We had lunch after the ride at T'Gallant. It's a famous winery in the region and it was busy there on a Sunday for lunch but our package including a lovely lunch there where we continued our chat with a lovely British couple we met on the tour. It's nice to chat with other "international gypsies". What a beautiful day to start our loving goodbye to the Melbourne we have called home this year.
The guides taught the group how to posting trot on the way to the next place. Everyone was a very good sport and we made it to the apple tasting place in good time. There were lovely apple ciders and juice to try and it was a beautiful old barn with a pot-bellied stove in the corner. I think I like the decor of wineries almost as much as I like wine which is saying something. I think it's my favourite scenery: sloping hills, brisk fresh air, sunshine and a roaring fireplace inside. I would be blissful with a perpetual fall.
On the way home the guides were planning to fulfill my wish of cantering. I missed that amazing feeling and I had proven that I was able to ride. There were a few other brave people that wanted to try to canter including Keith! It was great to feel the freedom of a cantering horse - it is one of my favourite things. It's amazing how you forget how much you love something until you do it again years later. Why did I ever stop?
We had lunch after the ride at T'Gallant. It's a famous winery in the region and it was busy there on a Sunday for lunch but our package including a lovely lunch there where we continued our chat with a lovely British couple we met on the tour. It's nice to chat with other "international gypsies". What a beautiful day to start our loving goodbye to the Melbourne we have called home this year.
Friday, 25 July 2014
Superman and Green Lantern
The last few weeks the kids have been very happy to have a hairy, loud dude living in our garage. He read them fun stories, sang awesome good-night songs and played new and super cool games. Sometimes Emily would slip up and call him "uncle". After the kids were in bed this guy would stay up with their parents drinking and chatting and occasionally watching movies. In no way was this weird to the kids because they were unaware that a lifetime ago this guy used to date their mom.
This culmination of years of "friendship kindling" through online chats and lots of music sharing was weird in lots of spots but wonderful in lots of other ones. For anyone concerned that this might be weird for Keith, it was not. He, in fact, said he felt left out because he was the only one this wasn't weird for (apart from the kids). Self-assurance is not an area of personal growth for Keith. He was ecstatic because he had always wanted to be better friends with Devin because they have a lot of similar interests so this trip was great. Plus there was the added benefit of having another adult during some of his days alone with the kids, including the day they all went to the zoo where the helpful lady at the ticket counter told Cian "Yes you can have a map that way you can help your dads find where all the animals are!" (kudos to you zoo lady for being LGBT friendly to people even if they aren't LGBT).
I thought that my friendship with Devin stemmed from my unbelievable tenacity (and that was a large part of it he said) but truthfully, I agree with Devin, we are friends because of Cian. Oh that kiddo is magical in lots of ways and forming new friendships for his parents is just one of them. Who would have thought that the only Speech Pathologist I knew would have a weird back-story in my life and be a superhero to my kid. That all the things I think are cool about Devin are the things they think are awesome too. (Except for musical tastes I think they are still firmly in love with rock and roll and musical soundtracks respectively. Although they did like a lot of Devin's stuff too.)
It's weird to have such a familiarity with someone and not have spent a lot of time with them in the past decade. It's also kind of awesome though to discover the old ruins of a previous relationship, softened with time, and fill it up with laughter and music, 4 am adventures, funk dance parties and movies and snacks. Sometimes moving past the awkward gets you somewhere awesome.
Kilowog!
This culmination of years of "friendship kindling" through online chats and lots of music sharing was weird in lots of spots but wonderful in lots of other ones. For anyone concerned that this might be weird for Keith, it was not. He, in fact, said he felt left out because he was the only one this wasn't weird for (apart from the kids). Self-assurance is not an area of personal growth for Keith. He was ecstatic because he had always wanted to be better friends with Devin because they have a lot of similar interests so this trip was great. Plus there was the added benefit of having another adult during some of his days alone with the kids, including the day they all went to the zoo where the helpful lady at the ticket counter told Cian "Yes you can have a map that way you can help your dads find where all the animals are!" (kudos to you zoo lady for being LGBT friendly to people even if they aren't LGBT).
I thought that my friendship with Devin stemmed from my unbelievable tenacity (and that was a large part of it he said) but truthfully, I agree with Devin, we are friends because of Cian. Oh that kiddo is magical in lots of ways and forming new friendships for his parents is just one of them. Who would have thought that the only Speech Pathologist I knew would have a weird back-story in my life and be a superhero to my kid. That all the things I think are cool about Devin are the things they think are awesome too. (Except for musical tastes I think they are still firmly in love with rock and roll and musical soundtracks respectively. Although they did like a lot of Devin's stuff too.)
It's weird to have such a familiarity with someone and not have spent a lot of time with them in the past decade. It's also kind of awesome though to discover the old ruins of a previous relationship, softened with time, and fill it up with laughter and music, 4 am adventures, funk dance parties and movies and snacks. Sometimes moving past the awkward gets you somewhere awesome.
Kilowog!
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