parents are amazing...
on the weekend dannys parents and my mum came over to help us with a mini working bee to get our house ready to rent out. who else would be happy to come over and paint and do runs to the dump and generally do the really annoying jobs that we have been putting off for the last two years since we finished our reno?
we have AMAZING family and i think that is the main thing that i am feeling sad and nervous and crazy for leaving.
mum came over this afternoon and as soon as she walked in Jamin said 'hello oma! i missed you.' now this would normally be cute but even sweeter was the fact that he hasnt seen her for all of 1 day... how is it that we are planning on taking him halfway around the world where he wont see her for 6 months...? i just dont know what we are thinking.
I can only hope and pray that we can be as selfless and loving and kind and compassionate and accepting to our children as our parents are towards us.
they are amazing and i absolutely adore them all.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
flyin visit 2 sydney
30 hours in total to get some boxes ticked and signed at the US consulate.
It was surprisingly painless with no unreasonable demands or exasperated sighs that I was preparing myself for. We were actually surprised when the guy said that our visa was approved and would be in the mail cause we were still waiting for the 20 questions in a locked room as opposed to the 10 minutes in front of a bank teller type situation.
The most amusing part of the trip was the trouble danny had in getting his fingerprints taken due to his weekend job concreting a new slab for the tank. He said he was being lazy and using his hands to smooth out some of the rough patches and consequently rubbed some of his prints off his left hand. I was sure that the consulate would take this to be a sign that he was trying to hide his identity and its links to a shady past :)
We then had some time to kill before our flight so took a lovely walk (whlist kael screamed from over tiredness) through the botanic gardens and down to the opera house and the harbor bridge. It really is a pretty cool place.
It's interesting to live in such a big country where we just don't get to connect with these really famous and amazing landmarks very often. The opera house is just so architecturally beautiful and it was such a great opportunity to make a special 'australia' memory before we leave the country for a while.
Jammie had a great time hanging with his Oma and didnt get too sad at being left behind. We spent the plane flights feeling nervous imagining our next flight with two children in a confined space for 13 hours. Anyone want to come and be nanny for us?
It was surprisingly painless with no unreasonable demands or exasperated sighs that I was preparing myself for. We were actually surprised when the guy said that our visa was approved and would be in the mail cause we were still waiting for the 20 questions in a locked room as opposed to the 10 minutes in front of a bank teller type situation.
The most amusing part of the trip was the trouble danny had in getting his fingerprints taken due to his weekend job concreting a new slab for the tank. He said he was being lazy and using his hands to smooth out some of the rough patches and consequently rubbed some of his prints off his left hand. I was sure that the consulate would take this to be a sign that he was trying to hide his identity and its links to a shady past :)
We then had some time to kill before our flight so took a lovely walk (whlist kael screamed from over tiredness) through the botanic gardens and down to the opera house and the harbor bridge. It really is a pretty cool place.
It's interesting to live in such a big country where we just don't get to connect with these really famous and amazing landmarks very often. The opera house is just so architecturally beautiful and it was such a great opportunity to make a special 'australia' memory before we leave the country for a while.
Jammie had a great time hanging with his Oma and didnt get too sad at being left behind. We spent the plane flights feeling nervous imagining our next flight with two children in a confined space for 13 hours. Anyone want to come and be nanny for us?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
skinny mini
Why, oh why do I get sick at the drop of a hat at the moment?
It is the last thing I need right now but it just seems to keep happening.
Current theories in circulation are
* i'm feeding kael and therefore using a lot of energy making milk
* still run down from pregnancy & birth
* stressed about the move and the MANY things there are to do
* I forget to eat in the business of looking after the boys
I remember when i was feeding Jamin I got sick a lot too so my new focus in life is to bulk up and try to boost my immune system levels.
Anyone got ideas in how I can put on some weight in a healthy way?
I have been rapidly losing weight since Kael was born which in a lot of ways is great but I think I need to stop that process before I hit 40kg cause that is just TOO skinny.
The other thing I need to work on is getting help so if there is anyone that wants to come entertain children or pack boxes or do op shop runs or make dinner for us just let me know! I am accepting all favors so that I dont implode before we hop on that plane.
Current date for moving is around the 25th April.
Keep you posted xo
It is the last thing I need right now but it just seems to keep happening.
Current theories in circulation are
* i'm feeding kael and therefore using a lot of energy making milk
* still run down from pregnancy & birth
* stressed about the move and the MANY things there are to do
* I forget to eat in the business of looking after the boys
I remember when i was feeding Jamin I got sick a lot too so my new focus in life is to bulk up and try to boost my immune system levels.
Anyone got ideas in how I can put on some weight in a healthy way?
I have been rapidly losing weight since Kael was born which in a lot of ways is great but I think I need to stop that process before I hit 40kg cause that is just TOO skinny.
The other thing I need to work on is getting help so if there is anyone that wants to come entertain children or pack boxes or do op shop runs or make dinner for us just let me know! I am accepting all favors so that I dont implode before we hop on that plane.
Current date for moving is around the 25th April.
Keep you posted xo
Thursday, February 25, 2010
the week for selling stuff...
selling stuff is fun because you get money for things that aren't that important to you. You get this great feeling of freedom and levity in shedding the dead and useless things in your life and house. the only problem in our situation is that despite it being fun now i think its going to hurt more when we have to start from scratch in SLC.
It is baffling my mind to think of all the shopping (arrggghhh - with 2 little boys!) that we are going to have to do to get a new house livable. I just cant seem to get my head around how its going to work.
Clothes, kitchen stuff, linen, furniture, toys, cars, houses, bikes, computers...
Me and Danny usually like to choose big purchases together so to think that one of us is going to have to stay home and look after kidlets while the other goes out to buy things we are going to need to live with and use for at least 2 years is not that attractive to me. Theres something about having two brains that are similar in what they like but work totally differently that seems to work for us.
i guess this is where i shrug and put it all down to new experiences. i'm sure that we'll figure it out.
anyone got any suggestions??
It is baffling my mind to think of all the shopping (arrggghhh - with 2 little boys!) that we are going to have to do to get a new house livable. I just cant seem to get my head around how its going to work.
Clothes, kitchen stuff, linen, furniture, toys, cars, houses, bikes, computers...
Me and Danny usually like to choose big purchases together so to think that one of us is going to have to stay home and look after kidlets while the other goes out to buy things we are going to need to live with and use for at least 2 years is not that attractive to me. Theres something about having two brains that are similar in what they like but work totally differently that seems to work for us.
i guess this is where i shrug and put it all down to new experiences. i'm sure that we'll figure it out.
anyone got any suggestions??
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
denial, denial, denial...
I am officially in denial. i know in my head that we are moving overseas in 6 weeks but for some reason this has not yet moved into the realm of reality.
currently the extent of my packing has been a closet cull (i was very impressed with myself), sorting through Kael's clothes and a few for sale notices sent out via email through mum's work. I just cant seem to find the time or the motivation. I tell myself that i should be spending my hour or so a day break while the kids are sleeping to do uni work, but somehow i end up mostly laying on the couch reading a book or doing mundane housework tasks that seem to mount up without me looking.
Danny, on the other hand, gets the award for "Super Seller" this week. He sold our Landrover Discovery 2 in a matter of hours yesterday, while still managing to make us $1000 profit out of it. How good is that? Fingers crossed RME can find us a car to drive for the rest of the time we are here.
I think that once we get flights booked and a leaving date I will get the bejesus scared out of me and will start to pack the house up post haste. I might also be able to start ticking things off the multiple lists that are stashed around the house, not seeming to serve any purpose at this point in time.
Friday, February 12, 2010
nervous flutters
reality is starting to very slowly to seep in.. and i am feeling nervous
today i went out to fresh hope, our second family in a lot of ways, and i am feeling really sad about leaving all of them and the amazing work they are doing behind. It is amazing being apart of a really well functioning team and to move on from that voluntarily is really sad.
danny has been in SLC this week and from what he is describing the place sounds amazing. He may even have found us a great house just 20minutes from the ski fields. I cant even begin to imagine what our life will be like this time next year. We are aussie summer lovers through and through so i hope that i can embrace the cold as my new friend!
Had hopes to start packing some of the lesser used stuff in the house this week but between the boys, solo parenting and uni i havent hardly had time to shower let alone pack. It may just be a mad rush over easter packing up when we have family to look after the kids. ah well... it will be done sometime, i know that much...
today i went out to fresh hope, our second family in a lot of ways, and i am feeling really sad about leaving all of them and the amazing work they are doing behind. It is amazing being apart of a really well functioning team and to move on from that voluntarily is really sad.
danny has been in SLC this week and from what he is describing the place sounds amazing. He may even have found us a great house just 20minutes from the ski fields. I cant even begin to imagine what our life will be like this time next year. We are aussie summer lovers through and through so i hope that i can embrace the cold as my new friend!
Had hopes to start packing some of the lesser used stuff in the house this week but between the boys, solo parenting and uni i havent hardly had time to shower let alone pack. It may just be a mad rush over easter packing up when we have family to look after the kids. ah well... it will be done sometime, i know that much...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
the deal
So I thought that i might get a million (well really not that many) questions about our plans so here are the details.
Danny has been offered a the very amusing title and position of President to Russell Mineral Equipment Inc. which doesnt really exist yet except for the title. His mission is to startup the new branch of RME North America in Salt Lake City, Utah.
We have been offered a pretty good package which will make the transition to a new country a bit easier. The idea is that we will go for around 2 years then see where we are at.
We are thinking that we will leave around mid April which gives us a countdown of about 8 weeks.
8 weeks to pack up a house, decide whats going over, being stored or chucked out, get visas and flights, organise rental stuff, adopt out our cat, sell cars, bikes and other miscellaneous things that might have value and celebrate my sisters 30th with a big party here. Oh and on top of all that i have my last unit for my Masters to finish this semester which means going to brisbane a couple of times.
Did i mention we have two kids?? not sure how its going to go but we'll get there i guess.
Danny is off to SLC on Monday to scope out the scene - houses, offices, lawyers, accountants. I have given him orders to photograph everything in sight because I think that will make it a little easier for me to transition if i can picture where we are going.
I am going to make the most of this last trip of danny being away where I have Linda and mum around. I pay them in food, they help me with feral hour (dinner, baths, book and bed for the nonparents). I am going to miss them SO much!
Danny has been offered a the very amusing title and position of President to Russell Mineral Equipment Inc. which doesnt really exist yet except for the title. His mission is to startup the new branch of RME North America in Salt Lake City, Utah.
We have been offered a pretty good package which will make the transition to a new country a bit easier. The idea is that we will go for around 2 years then see where we are at.
We are thinking that we will leave around mid April which gives us a countdown of about 8 weeks.
8 weeks to pack up a house, decide whats going over, being stored or chucked out, get visas and flights, organise rental stuff, adopt out our cat, sell cars, bikes and other miscellaneous things that might have value and celebrate my sisters 30th with a big party here. Oh and on top of all that i have my last unit for my Masters to finish this semester which means going to brisbane a couple of times.
Did i mention we have two kids?? not sure how its going to go but we'll get there i guess.
Danny is off to SLC on Monday to scope out the scene - houses, offices, lawyers, accountants. I have given him orders to photograph everything in sight because I think that will make it a little easier for me to transition if i can picture where we are going.
I am going to make the most of this last trip of danny being away where I have Linda and mum around. I pay them in food, they help me with feral hour (dinner, baths, book and bed for the nonparents). I am going to miss them SO much!
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