Simple Simon Met A Pie-Man

Grrr, it's only my 2nd post and I'm a day late on my goal of posting weekly!  I made sure my kids posted on their blogs right on time, but I got a little caught up in my book yesterday and missed my window!  Ok, so I'm on it today.  It's a beautiful morning here and the ride to the school felt good and invigorating.  I know the upcoming summer is going to be a killer so we are trying to enjoy these 70 degree temps for as long as we can.  Syd came in this morning crying because she had dreamed of her best friend Hallie back in the Albuquerque and realized how much she missed her.  It made me feel grateful that she had experienced such a strong friendship so she would always know how valuable a true friend is.  I know those two will find a way to stay close.  I distracted her with spelling lists and corn flakes and then we hit the road.

I wanted to blog a little about something we noticed very quickly here.  Life is much simpler.  I think I mentioned before that people here keep telling us, "Australia is about 20-50 years behind the states in most things-- technology, culture...and speed of life."  Because the population is so much smaller than the states, there just isn't the demand or the means to produce as much.  For example, there's only about 8 cereals here to choose from, and similar with other products...just much more limited.  The TV shows and commercials look homade.  Like someone filmed the commercial on their phone cam and put it on the TV.  It's so strange.  Nothing crazy and extreme like exploding bags of Doritos or talking lizards dancing across the screen convincing you to change insurance companies. Just not enough population to produce things on that grand of scale. On our first big shopping trip to the grocery store a kind but diligent little store worker approached me 5 minutes to 5 and said, "Well mate, can I help you find YOUR LAST item today?"  Huh?  I picked up on her ever so subtle hint about wrapping it up and asked, "What time do you close?"  "It's the weekend ma'am, we close at 5.  Monday through Friday we are open til 9 though."  5?  9????  What the heck? You're the main grocery store!!!

What about my 11 pm shopping trips that I purposely take as my "out" for the day?  Yikes!  So, things pretty much shut down here at 5:30.  Besides the grocery stores (2 of them) everything closes at 5 or 5:30.  Our first day we attempted to go the mall (there was a Target inside) it was a Thursday and it stayed open til 7.  The next time we went the whole mall started shutting down at 5:30, frantically I asked a worker what was happening?  "We were just here 2 days ago and you guys were open til 7?"  He told me, "Oh yah, that was Thursday.  We are trying something new in the mall and seeing how a "late night Thursday" schedule would work.  So on Thursdays we stay open til 7 but the rest of the week we still close at 5:30."  Yep, the entire mall just shuts it on down at 5:30.  But they are making a noble effort to stay open "late" til 7 on Thursdays!!! :)  I told Lex, "Actually, it's kinda nice...it forces families to just go home and hang out.  And it forces me to get my tail organized."  If I need something from the grocery store, I usually have Lex pick it up on his way home.  He is on bike though so it has to fit in his backpack :)--hilair.  These shopping hours actually force me to live more simply.  If you don't have something and it's in the evening...you make do without.  You can't run to the massive 24 hour Wal-Mart Super Center.  But the simplicity pill hasn't been the easiest to swallow in all cases...

My little "when life hands you lemons just make lemonade" girl!

Our amazing little Oaklee Dawn had her 4th birthday the week after we arrived.  Naturally we were nowhere near organized enough to celebrate it with dignity.  So, as parents sometimes do on these early birthdays, we "moved the date" and told her it was on the weekend.  When the weekend came I was still in chaos, but felt such mother's guilt about not already celebrating and minimizing her special day.  I'm sure much of it was stress of not having a house put together for my kids and not knowing how to fix it.  Finally I said to Lex, "We just have to celebrate this birthday as best we can tonight.  We can't put it off any longer."  Trying to keep my composure and feeling my lips thinning into a line of frustration, I said, "And I can't even bake a cake or birthday cookies (my kids prefer birthday cookies)--because I have no idea how many Celcius degrees equals 350 Farenheit!  I can't work my own oven.  Not to mention the fact that the oven is about the size of my childhood EZ Bake!!"  Lex, sensing the slight urgency for some fresh air...suggested a family walk.  (Good suggestion since we didn't have a car yet)!  For birthdays, we always eat out at the restaurant of the child's choice.  Oaklee loves making up restaurant names "rester-nauts" as she calls them.  So, she told us she really wanted to eat at "Polka Dot Party" for her birthday.  We walked mindlessly to the main road until we found a little cafe on the corner called "Chompers" and Lex said, "Oh my gosh...look!  It's Polka Dot Party! I can't believe we found it!"  We ate fish and chips and burgers and Chompers has become a new family fave only about 5 minutes from our house-- now that we have a car.  We walked there in the rain and laughed the whole time.  And after eating dinner Lex said, "Now for the birthday cake...hmm."  Everything was closed by then.  It was almost 8pm.  Then halle-freakin-lujah!  The glaring and familiar light of a 7-11.  In we went to find the perfect convenient store birthday cake.  It ended up being 5 stale doughnuts and Oaklee honestly could not have been more excited about her "special cake" with crustry frosting and obnoxiously bright sprinkles.  We walked home and sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out...a flashlight.  No candles but, oh well-- the flashlight did the trick.

Happy Birthday Oakers! We love you to the moon and back!

SIMPLY wonderful!

The next week we finally had our car.  (more on the car in a later post...such a gem)  So we took Oaks to Kmart (so funny because in the states Kmart is going bankrupt and Target is the strong suit-- just the opposite here.) As we were looking at the toys, I could not believe the lack of choices.  One small aisle of baby dolls and accessories.  Honestly, only about 5 or 6 to choose from and-- ugs!  Seriously not cute babies.  They did have 3 commemorative Cabbage Patch Kids priced at $86.  Ok-- thanks but no thanks Xavier Roberts-- not that desperate!  Luckily we brought 2 babies (Ariel and Snow White) from home smashed into the back of one of our suitcases so Oaklee picked out a crib and stroller for them.  I bought her a bunch of books and she spent her grandparent money on a My Little Pony set (that looked nothing like the ponies in the states, but still.)  Oaklee's gifts didn't come wrapped this year or even gift bagged-- she just picked them out and jumped for joy as she carried them to the car.  I realized-- birthdays are wonderful without all the hoopla.  She didn't need a cake or special cookies--stale doughnuts were perfect.  She didn't care where we ate dinner--it was Polka Dot Party, how can you not love it?  And just being together that night, walking the streets in the warm rain and trying to find a good signal for our GPS on our phones so we could actually get home to enjoy our stale doughnuts was a pretty great memory.  She was completely and 100% thrilled about her "special day" and the gifts she got.  Now each Sunday when I go to my girls' closet thinking "What will they wear to church?"  Then I realize, "I only brought 4 dresses for each of them!"  I am actually starting to feel grateful.  It's much simpler and easier to keep clean for that matter!  I literally brought 3 pair of pants with me to Brisbane-- and I'm learning to just make it work.  My closet bar actually has sliding room...nice!  Although it is not an easy lesson and in the case of Oaks' birthday, it came with the guilt of not doing things all out like we usually do...it is one I need in my life.  Slow down, take time to enjoy the rain...live more simply!  I know it is something I will keep learning this year.  Sparse closets, sparse furnishings, only 7 forks in the drawer (and nope...I'm not buying more), no one working past 5:30, 2 uniforms to wear to school each week, no clothes dryer... and yet more time to enjoy each other.  It's a pace we will all have to get used to, but it makes sense in a lot of ways.