The Great Thoe Adventure: Settling in...

I cannot believe we have only been in our apartment a little over a week. It feels as though we have been in Mosman for months. We are getting the apartment in order and we are starting to get into a routine. I am meeting new mums everyday at Carter's school. It is unreal how friendly and helpful they have been. It may have something to do with the fact that everyone I have met have been expats. Not necessarily American, but expats all the same. I think expats feel a certain bond from moving to a foreign land, not knowing a soul, and creating a new life. When the next expat arrives, the more seasoned expats feel a responsibility to help bring the newbie up to speed. All I can say is that I am so grateful. After being in Mosman for only this short period of time, I have already met some awesome people that I can ask any little question that comes up. I have been invited to coffee, play dates, a book club, etc. It really is amazing here. I keep wanting to pinch myself so that I can wake up.

Aubrey doing a little jig in front of a picturesque view of the Harbour Bridge.

Carter is loving school. He did move up to Year 2 from being in the First Grade in the States. I think he will be fine. He did his maths homework for the week (yes, maths not math-we are still trying to get used to that) with very little help. Today he said that this school is more fun that his last school. However, it is still new to him, so everything seems exciting at this point.

I am trying to figure out what to do with Aubrey for the next 8 months before she starts Kindy (Kindergarten). I am trying to decide whether to go ahead and try to find a preschool for her for a couple days of the week, or to just fill her up with other activities and forget preschool. Preschools are very full here and often have large waiting lists. My only chance of really getting her into preschool would be at a larger one that may have more spots available. I have already enrolled her in soccer, swimming, and dance. She absolutely loves the activities and loves being with me all day. But, on the flip side, she has become almost too attached to me. She pretty much has a meltdown if I leave her, even if it just to run to the grocery store while she stays at home with Sean and Carter. Decisions, decisions......

Speaking of the grocery store, I am enjoying being able to walk to everything. The grocery store I can walk to is not the largest grocery store, but it is only 2 blocks away. Carter's school is about half a mile away. Aubrey's swimming and dance are both about 2 blocks away. I do have to take a bus for about 10-15 minutes to get to her soccer in a surrounding suburb. I need to start driving here, but there is not much motivation when everything is so close, and there wouldn't be anywhere to park when you got there anyway. You have to pay to park almost everywhere here. You do get 2-3 hours of free parking at shopping malls, but you have to pay around $8 and up if you go over that time.

Aubrey has become quite a little artist. She will color for hours if given the time.

Aubrey ready to begin her first Aussie swimming lesson

As I said, we are getting our new apartment organized. I am figuring out how to clean it. I am saying this because many household cleaning products are just a little different here. For example, I bought what I thought was carpet cleaner at the store. Wouldn't you know, when Aubrey dropped pasta with marinara sauce on the beige carpet, I found out that it is just carpet deoderizer and sanitizer. Right now I am missing my Shout spray for the clothes and Swiffer products. We will manage; the kids may just have a few more stains on their clothes.

Now we are just waiting for our crate from the States to arrive. We have a wide open area in the living room for it. We are ready to have our hangers and dressers so that we can stop living out of suitcases. Supposedly, the crate has been in port for almost 2 weeks now and it just has to go through customs. Everyone describes getting their crate as an experience similar to Christmas morning. I am definitely looking forward to seeing all those treasures we packed up at our house when we weren't even entirely sure what this move was going to be like. It will be kind of comforting to be rejoined with things from our home that is now thousands of miles away. Like the red couch that was the first major piece of furniture Sean and I bought once we were married. It has been with us when our children were babies and spit up on it, we have all taken some good naps on it, we have watched many movies cuddled up on it, Shelby has tried to use it as a scratch post (even though she doesn't have front claws), and we have visited with so many of our loved ones while sitting on it. Even though it is a material object, it will be a little like being reunited with an old friend.