Asleep on the job

Apparently, a power nap is all Maeve needs mid-mealtime. For the second time in a row, she feel asleep while eating. The first time we were out to dinner on the last day of our New Zealand trip. That I thought I understood; there were many long days and she was justified in her desire for sleep. But the second time she was just sitting in her high chair, eating a banana while I cooked dinner. Too cute. 

Aussie Halloween

We had a great, celebrated Halloween in a country that doesn't officially recognize it. Although some Australians take a 'it's not our holiday' approach, it seems a growing majority are realizing it is nothing more than a chance to spend more money and eat more sugar. What could suit their 'no worries' philosophy better? 

For the second year, the shops in our neighborhood offered trick-or-treating so we seized the opportunity. Maeve was a ballerina; Jackson was a baseball player, although we're not sure how many people actually understood that costume. There were lots of witches, pirates and the likes roaming the streets, so Jackson wasn't so sure what to think at first. But he is no fool, and quickly warmed up to the idea of taking candy from anyone who was offering. Maeve and Jackson had fun surveying the loot together once we got home. (Somehow Maeve ended up smelling like chocolate.) 

Thanks to the local fruit stand, we were also able to carve a traditional looking pumpkin. We picked one of four at the price of $18. Unfortunately, it only lasted one night as some critter got into it over night. We can be pretty sure it wasn't a squirrel, as was always the case in Illinois, so now our imaginations are left to work . . . possum, kangaroo, poisonous snake? 

Our neighbors on both sides were so kind to think of Jackson and Maeve and honored their American holiday -- it was really great. I just wish we had a few more trick-or-treaters knock on our door . . . instead Drew's office will have the opportunity for a sugar rush come Monday morning. 

Landscaping

Yesterday Jackson was using his diggers to play in our landscaping. I was trying to explain to him that we weren't going to move the rocks from the landscaping onto the driveway. "Yep," he said. "This lamb scaping. Lambs eat that." 

You are so your . . .

. . . father. Jackson tonight was running around in his underwear repeating, "Two girls. Jackson's house. Mommy open door." A dreamer, like his papa. 

. . . brother. Later while I was changing Maeve's diaper she was squirming about, so I said, "Maever, you're a little stinker," to which she replied with the biggest belly laugh. Already ornery at five months.

Reality check

I just logged on and realized my last post was dated June 10. Not sure if there are any minimums for blogging, but I am pretty sure I have fell short the past month.

Actually, I am doing a bit of a reality check lately. Am I on vacation? Did I move to Brisbane? Have my parents moved to Brisbane and I am just visiting them? We have been spoiled the past month as my mom has been with us for a little more than five weeks with my dad also visiting for two of those weeks. And now in less than 48 hours my mom, the kids and I will be travelling across the ocean again to Morton where we will be for five weeks. Don't think we're giving Drew a sabatical or something. He will join us over there for a little less than two weeks.

And if our last months have been exciting and busy the next five weeks are giving good competition. While we are home we will get to meet at least three new babies, includng my brother's in Colorado, celebrate Drew's sister's wedding, vaca at the lake, and introduce Maeve to all our beloved friends and family. We cannot wait.

Sharing

Sharing. It is one lesson every parent of a toddler desperately wants their child to learn. And so we were proud of Jackson tonight. After I asked him if he wanted to share the cookies with Grandma Schupp and Papa, he continued to line up the cookies on the counter assigning them to "Baby. Grandma Parker. Grandma Hodel. Sue." The only thing is that none of these people were present. But we'll take it as a step in the right direction. And don't worry guys, we ate the cookies for you. You know, just to reinforce the lesson.

Defense

Sunday Jackson, Drew and I attended our first Brisbane Lions footy game -- an Aussie rules football game, which left us all very confused. Huge field, no announcer, fans with flags, four goal posts. Jackson kept asking for a "soccer ball," probably offending fans within hearing distance. Jackson also had a great time yelling out "DEFENSE" (in a very loud voice) during defensive plays, offensive plays and time outs. Maybe he understood the game better than his parents.

Because defense wins championships, we continued to practice into the evening. We had some friends for dinner, including one-year old Charlie, who was offered a "team jersey" by Jackson. (I was just glad I didn't have to wear one -- while we were staying with my parents in January Jackson found an old Morton High School jersey, made of pure polyester or some other very uncomfortable fabric, that his very pregnant mom was instructed to wear for a daily hoops game.) Once the jerseys were on, you can see these boys were all business. The next morning Jackson woke up looking for his new red footy ball and yelling "Charlie. Defense."

Footy confusion

New footy ball

The boys on defense

Siblings

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. ~Vietnamese Proverb

Jackson is taking this proverb to heart as he likes to be VERY close to his new sister. He giggles everytime her hands or feet tickle him. But as you can see these two still require a referee.

Credit

We are implementing a new bedtime initiative at our house. I have come to the conclusion, however, that Jackson sees this new routine only as a challenge to the limits of his creativity. Following are some reasons he has presented as grounds for getting out of his bedroom.

-- "Too hot here."
-- "Too cold here."
-- "Can't find it. Cold night-night." This time he couldn't find his favorite blanket (the one he calls "cold night-night"). The blanket reported missing was later found by mommy. It had been planted in another bedroom downstairs by Jackson. Of course, Jackson first searched the house repeating, "Hmm. Nope." as he went from room to room.
-- "New pants. Too tight."
-- "Mommy make cookies."
-- "New shirt."
-- "Maever wake up."
-- "Change it. New one." (Change his diaper.)
-- "Juice." (We're not this stupid!)
-- "Fan. Broke it."
-- "Can't reach it." (This was in reference to some Thomas the Train catalogs in his top dresser drawer. With the help of a shelving unit, a few thuds later Jackson was able to get these flyers out of the drawer, but not before placing a nice, big scratch on the wall. Thank God he didn't hurt himself!)
-- "Fan. Broke it." (Take two.)
-- ''Dark here." (Yes, because you broke the night light.)
-- "Train. Build it, Papa."
-- "All done."

We gotta give the kid credit.

History lesson

It rained for five days straight last week and Jackson was down with a cold, so we decided to spend our time recreating historical events such as . . .

First Transcontinental Railroad

The Overland Trail

The Last Supper

Development of the Interstate Highway System

Building of Grand Central Terminal

100 percent grateful

Sometime last fall (amidst uncertainty about where we were going to be ending up) Drew opened a fortune cookie that read "You will make many changes before happily settling down." Well, the last of these changes finally came ten days after Maeve was born when our container was delivered to our new house in Australia. And we are happy to report we are happily settling down.

First off, I need to apologize for my absence. If you would believe it, it took a full month to get our Internet hooked up at this house so I am just now getting back online. OK, that is not exactly the truth. But it did take one full week, and the truth is in the past month I have had little time to think about e-mails, phone calls or this blog. Well, that isn't exactly the truth either. I have thought about it, but the thought has been "I would die just to have a few minutes to send an e-mail!" I have definitely had more "I think I am in over my head" moments than I would like to admit lately. The best was when Drew asked me how my day had gone. "Good," I said, "but there is very little downtime." "Maybe you should have thought about that before you had two kids," he said. Funny.

So like I was saying, with a less than two-week old baby in our arms we began unpacking 250 some boxes, items of furniture and who knows all what else. I have to say it is a little unsettling to see all of your possessions parade before your eyes. I kept thinking," Why does Jackson have so many toys? Why do I have so many books? And why does Drew have so many shoes?" We thought we had donated and gotten rid of a fair amount of stuff, so maybe the Australian government added to our shipment on its way through customs. That is the only explanation.

We would still be in boxes today if Drew's parents hadn't been here through our move. There is no way we would have survived without them. I mean these people were more expert than the hired movers themselves. I am not sure what their going rate is for non-family members, but I am certain that it would be worth your every penny. There energy and motivation was so appreciated. Especially considering Drew's dad, Jim, arrived on the day of our move.

I want to pause here to share with you a quick lesson from Jim in getting over jet lag. It goes like this: 1) Fly straight from a business trip in the States all the way around the world to Australia. 2) Get off the plane (quickly -- he was the first one of the flight), kiss your grandson hello. 3) Eat a muffin and some sort of a brekkie sandwich, and after encouraging by your son, take a shower. 4) Within 1.5 hours of landing, arrive at your son's new home. 5) Hold and kiss your new baby granddaughter. Pose for a picture. 6) Making sure to move faster than the actual hired movers, start unloading and unpacking boxes, and lifting and assembling piece after piece of furniture. 7) Repeat steps 1-6 for the next three days.


Not only do they do moves, but Drew's mom did an unbelievable amount of laundry while she was here. She was like the laundry fairy. I started wearing extra clothes just to see if she could keep up. And she did. Phenomenal.

Four days after we moved in, my mom arrived and got to meet Maeve for the first time. And again we had a mini-Christmas of gifts from aunts and uncles and our American requests fulfilled. Jackson was so excited to see his "Grandma Schupp" as he started calling her. And I was so thankful for the arrival of the woman who requires no sleep, aka my mom. Truly, you cannot underestimate the value of this trait. If Jim's method of battling jet lag doesn't suit you, you could take a cue from my mom: 1) Stay up for three days straight prior to leaving to finish and arrange all of your work while you will be away. 2) Fly to Australia on the longest travel days ever, i.e., early flights to ensure you avoid bad weather. 3) Arrive in Australia and immediately take on the duty of staying awake with your granddaughter during the day and through the night. The bottom line of this method is just never sleep. Amazing.

As you can see, I was on cloud nine with all of our help here to love on Jackson and Maeve and take care of us. We all were 100 percent grateful for all the sacrafices of time the three of them made to be with us. Then wouldn't you know it, just days before my 3oth birthday, they all deserted me. Took off back to the States. Grandparents these days are so selfish.

For the past few weeks, Drew, Jackson, Maeve and I had to find our own rhythms and ways to make things work. Drew has had a few work trips so that has made it interesting (read chaotic), but we are making progress and most importantly everyone is still alive. Honestly, there are so many moments of feeling so blessed for Jackson and Maeve. These two kids are the love of our lives. Especially when they are sleeping at the same time.

Now I only have six days (yep, we're counting down) until my mom comes again to share five weeks of her summer break with us. I told Drew tonight that we are going to make my mom wish she never said we didn't leave Jackson alone with her enough. I was so stressed to leave Jackson when he was young, but boy have I learned my lesson this time around. My dad will also join in the fun for a few weeks and will get to meet Maeve for the first time. I can't explain how excited we are for that.

Maeve is growing like a weed, and breaking our hearts all the time with her smiles. Jackson has tried, although unsuccessfully, to break Maeve a few times. Mostly, he just loves her a little too much. Jackson continues to crack us up, and I finally got him into a gymnastics class which he loves. The class is full of two-year old boys (energy!) but they have a great young gal for a teacher who manages to keep them in line very well. I am so impressed (and envious).

I'm not going to make any promises, but I am hoping to more regular updates from here on out. We can't wait to catch up with you all too, so if we haven't returned and e-mail or phone call, please don't write us off just yet.

Serendipity

Here are some serendipitous facts about baby Maeve:

1) Maeve and Jackson were both born on the 14th day of the month.

2) Around 2 a.m. one night at the hospital a very sweet, Irish midwife came in to care for Maeve so Drew and I could get some rest (I could have taken her home!). She told us she also had a daughter named Maeve, but hadn't heard it used since she named her daughter that 15 years ago. She said our daughter would be strong. The name comes from Irish and Gaelic origin, and the original form is Meadhbh, name of the legendary warrior queen of pre-Christian Ireland. Apparently, this Meadhbh was some woman and ended up slaying a warrior hero. The meaning of the name is "intoxicating." Because I had this name in mind since college, we had never bothered looking up the meaning, etc., but now find ourselves with a warrior queen. Yikes!

3) A side note to that: You know how sometimes the last song you hear on the radio in the car is the one that stays in your head all day? Well, the last song I listened to on my iPod at the hospital while we were waiting for things to get going was "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado, a remake of the 80's song by Hall & Oates (who happens to be a Schupp family favorite). And it has been in my head every since. So here are the a few lyrics, which I think, add more meaning to side note number two . . . She's a maneater. Make you work hard. Make you spend hard. Make you want all of her love. She's a maneater. Make you buy cars. Make you cut cards. Wish you never ever met her at all!

So yes, we might just have a little warrior queen after all.

4) Heather, the midwife on first shift during delivery (I have yet to deliver a baby during just one nurse's shift) shares a birthday with Jackson, November 14th.

5) Maeve was born at 5:16 p.m. My birthday is May 16th, or 5/16.

The setup

Last night, Jackson had a little box of milk he was drinking in his room before bed. I could hear him slurping as I was reading to him -- he was getting toward the end of the box. So he hands me the box and says, "Drink, mommy." And I pretend like I am taking a drink and hand it back to him. Then he looks at me with big, serious eyes and says, "Uh oh. New one. Mommy drink. New one."

Very clever, Jackson, but unfortunately for you, even in mommy's sleep deprived state, your attempted setup did not work.

Homecoming

Ready to go?

Dressed and ready!

Escaping the hospital.

Up the elevator.

Safely home.

Settling in.

Keeping an eye on baby.

Kicking back.
(Note: Enlarge this image to check out some major feet and toes! Can you believe it?!)

Birth Day!

Maeve Elizabeth was born on 4/14/2008 at 5:16 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds exactly and was 19 inches long. She has lots of dark hair, no match for Jackson's outrageous newborn do though! We are loving every minute of her.

Drew

Countdown

OK, family. Here is your requested photo taken T minus 48 hours. To give everyone the update, our doctors are recommending an induction because of some various concerns with the baby's size, so we will be going to the hospital on the morning of April 14th. Personally, I think we will shock them with a nice, healthy nine-pound baby girl, in true Schupp style. (But hopefully not baby boy Schupp style! Love you, Bri.)

Saturday was a very exciting day as Grandma Parker -- our reinforcement -- arrived safely after an uneventful flight. And, more importantly, an uneventful trip through customs, which we were all anticipating due to the huge wishlist the three of us had put together. As you can see from the photos, it was like another little Christmas for all of us. A huge thanks to all of our parents for our special treats! We love you! As Grandma Parker pointed out, for Jackson when it rains grandparents, it pours. In the next two weeks, he will be very excited to go pick up his Grandma Schupp and Grandpa Parker. And then in June Grandpa Schupp. He will be in heaven.

Jackson was as usual a very good helper, carrying Grandma's suitcase all the way to the car. It was cute to watch him change hands as it got heavy for him. He had lots of fun telling grandma about Brisbane as we drove through the city. When we passed the Marriott Brisbane hotel, I was thinking back to our what seemed like our forever week-long stay there. I saw the lobby and thought of all the apples Jackson ate that week as the hotel had them out in the lobbies. Of course, our little memory man said, "apple." He remembered too. Thinking back to those first days -- no home, no car, no clue -- I couldn't help being proud of how far the three of us have come in the last two months. In some ways, it seems like it has been longer than that. Hopefully, we are now ready for the next big change in our lives, bringing home our new baby girl.

What's for dessert . . . playdough!

The other day while I was talking with my sister on the phone Jackson let me know he wanted my attention by eating his playdough. Delicious. Fotunately for him, his Auntie Meg is a step ahead of the game and took the initiative to find us some recipes for edible playdough. (It always pays to have teachers in the family!)

Now, I don't know the exact ingredients of playdough, but I was guessing the recipe we choose from the ones Meg sent would taste better to Jackson. Peanut butter, honey and powdered sugar. Like peanut butter taffy, right?! Well, apparently Jackson has a much more advanced palate than I do because he did not prefer this recipe. (I on the other hand rather liked it, which shouldn't surprise anyone.) The kid still got his share of sugar (never a problem) as he munched on the mini M&M's I gave him to use for decorating his playdough creations.

Thanks, Auntie Meg, for our fun experiment!

Here is the recipe we used (for anyone hungry enough):

2 Cups powdered sugar (plus maybe a little extra so it isn't sticky)

1 Cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 Cup honey

Bon appetit!

Milestone Birthdays

Drew's party

Belly dancer

Friday night a group of about 30 of Drew's co-workers and their families helped us celebrate Drew's milestone 30th birthday at Earth 'n' Sea Pizza & Pasta in Bulimba. We were so appreciative of this awesome group of people who made this a very special ocassion for Drew. There was plenty of laughs, pizza, beer and cake -- a great night and memorable birthday for Drew. Don't know if it will rank up there with his 21st, which he will tell you he spent with his great grandma, but it will be close for sure.

Jackson spent most of the night next door at the Turkish restaurant, which featured a talented belly dancer. Drew would say, "that's my boy," but what he doesn't realize is Jackson desperately wanted to join the belly dancer in chasseing around the restaurant. See picture -- for the record those are his dad's moves.

Sunday we had the honor of celebrating another birthday milestone -- the first birthday of Jackson's new buddy, Charlie. It was a great, funfilled party, complete with lots of kids and lots of cake. Charlie was quite a bit more impressive digging into his cake then Drew on Friday night. We need to keep a better eye on Jackson, however, as he took the liberty of opening two of Charlie's presents. Just wait, Jackson.

Drew Parker is 30

April 4th Drew enters his third decade. Don't let him tell you differently. This means I have been dating or married to him for half his life. So, I'd like to think I know everything there is to know, but I am guessing there are a few stories out there I haven't heard yet.

In celebration of his birthday, please post your favorite "Drew" story. We all know he likes to tell a good story, so he should enjoy listening to yours.

MAN!

Here are (just) three examples.

#1 Toy store
Spotting a very attractive castle set, complete with knights and horses, and all too reminiscent of Shrek, Jackson adeptly, with intense focus, makes his way through a maze of toys, climbs through a bookshelf opening and positions himself perfectly in the front window display of the store, thinking, I am sure, "I made it. Let's play!" The clerk says to Drew sternly, "There are very breakable things in there," referring to a porcelain chess set. Right.

After a little struggle, they come to collect me. (I am taking my turn waiting for our check from breakfast. A half-hour exercise in Australian service I will go on about some other time.) Together, we admire the castle from outside. "Castle. Papa. Nope," Jackson keeps repeating.

Then suddenly he is off, making a beeline for the counter where the clerk is standing safely. In his loudest voice he insists, "MAN. MAN. HELP. CASTLE. MAN. MAN!!" Luckily for Drew and I, the clerk completely ignores him.

#2 Subway
Jackson (happily eating his 100th Subway kids pack): "Toy?"

Drew and I: "No. You didn't get a toy this time. Maybe they are out."

Jackson (as if a light bulb suddenly went off): "ASK. MAN. ASK. HELP. TOY. MAN!"

Now he is tracking down the poor teenager who is restocking the drinks. This time, Jackson's efforts are more acceptably rewarded with not one, but two toys.

#3 Baskin Robbins
Drew: "What color ice cream do you want, Jackson?" (Yes, it's not a flavor. It's a color.)

Jackson: "Green." Then very quickly, "Yeahm. MAN. MAN. GREEN. ICE CREAM. GREEN."

The youngster behind the counter is thankfully not offended and promptly serves Jackson with a laugh.

Bottom line:
We are obviously working on replacing the 'MAN' with a quieter 'sir' but until that takes Brissie service workers beware.

Buddha Junior

When Drew was about Jackson's age, his parents used to take him to Godfather's Pizza where as legend has it, he would eat piece after adult-sized piece of the chain's pie. In amazement, his parents gave him the nickname 'Buddha Belly,' since as you can imagine all of this pizza consumption made his little belly stick out quite roundly.

Fast-forward 28 or so years to tonight, and I think Jackson could have given his old dad a run for his money. After our first Australian haircuts (I think Jackson puts haircuts on the level of Chinese water torture or something), Jackson and I found ourselves exhausted from fighting one another and the dear hairdresser (him). So we dropped into Pancho's Pizza (Godfather and Pancho Villa, ironic don't you think?) -- a pizza dive we had been to this past weekend with some friends and their son. I knew Jackson could use a good meal. (Drew and Grandma Parker would absolutely kill me if they knew how many butter sandwiches he has been eating lately, and now I realize they do know. Sorry guys!)

To give you some context (aside from the butter sandwich comment) the kid is strictly vegetarian (minus turkey from Subway) and in general very picky about anything not of the fruit and vegetable group. So I was hugely impressed tonight when he ate a good three-fourths of a small pizza all by himself. I mean to say there were eight pieces, and we took home only two. So my fraction is probably off, but you get the point.

I should also mention he performed this feat with no shirt on (his was 'itchy' from the haircut, and I figured if people here can walk around with no shoes on then who the hell cares if my son isn't wearing a shirt?). Also, we were sitting at a table for six (chosen by Jackson) even though we were only two people.

Now the only thing left to determine is whether Jackson can top his mom at polishing off massive amounts of wedding cake icing. Guess we'll have to put this to the test at his Aunt Kristen's wedding this August. If I were you -- even after knowledge of Jackson's pizza eating abilities -- I'd put your money on me. I'm just saying.

Movin' on up . . .

Yes, in the style of the famous television family the Parkers, we are moving out and up to yet another apartment. This time we will be moving from the CBD (Central Business District) of Brisbane to an area of the city known as Kangaroo Point. (Matt, before you ask, I will describe Kangaroo Point just as you are imagining it -- a place where kangaroos run wild, providing for most of the local economy and easy transport to any Brissie who wants to "hop on.") This next place will be our final stop before settling into the home we will rent in a part of the city known as Bulimba beginning the 27th of April. (For those of you who are counting, this is our fourth physical move since January. Not to brag, but we are quite proficient by this point.)

To let you know, we will be out of touch for a few days in this great land down under as we wait for an Internet connection to be installed in the new apartment. Of greater worry to Drew, is the fact that there are absolutely no installation appointments available for cable for the entire length of our stay. This means we will not have cable until May. It is a hard life. :)

Now for fun and any other curious minds out there, I will share a question and answer session between our good friend and San Francisco dweller Matt Busche and Drew. (Although, because this will be a fairly family friendly blog I am, with regrets, censoring some of the conversation. Also, my apologies to you, Matt. A responsible journalist would have gotten your permission before publishing, but I am just a careless blogger.)

Matt: I'll try to include some news from the States, as it's probably difficult to keep up with events over there in such a distant foreign land. So here's a start... It's an election year! The presidential primaries are coming up soon. Right now, Rudy Giuliani is the front-runner on the Republican side. For the Democrats, the presumptive nominee is Hillary Clinton. There's also been some talk of some guy named Barat Osama. I don't know much about him, except that he's a Muslim. I'll keep you posted as events unfold . . . It just snowed a bunch in Ohio. Yikes!

Drew: Thanks for keeping us up to speed on American current events; we don't do much of that. Actually, all the radio stations play are Australian songs like the Kookaburra song, Waltzing Matilda, and Down Under by Men at Work.

Matt: By the way, what's it like living in a country where you don't speak the language?

Drew: Language hasn't been too much trouble because the universal language in Australia is beer, and they do say **** a lot!

Matt: Is it hard to get around?

Drew: They do have cars, but kangaroos and some really big koalas can be rented for a nice daily rate. However, you don't ever want to get on a 'roo after a night of tipping back . . .very dangerous!

Matt: Do you have electricity and hot water? I hope so.

Drew: We do have electricity and sometimes we have hot water, when we have water at all. There is a significant water shortage in Queensland . . . most of the locals don't smell too pleasant. We take plenty of cologne baths, although it tends to irritate lil’ Jman's skin.

Matt: Are there koala bears everywhere? Do they bite?

Drew: Koalas only bite when you approach them, get near them or look at them, otherwise they are very friendly little guys!

Matt: Do the drains go in the opposite direction or what?

Drew: Water restrictions . . . haven't found out yet!

Matt: And are the natives friendly? Do they bite?

Drew: The Abs as the locals call them are extremely friendly and are the main topic of conversation these days. The new Prime Minister is from the labor party and is trying to provide additional funding to help the Aboriginal people out. Very controversial! Apparently, they run great casinos though. I haven't run into to many Abs, but the ones I did run into didn't bite.

Matt: What year is it over there? (It's 2008 here.)

Drew: Come on Busche, everyone knows we are in the year 1993. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” just won new album of the year, and Alive took home best new single. I hope that helps kill your curiosity!

Talk with you all soon.

Kookaburra sits . . .

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be.

Yesterday, Jackson and I spotted our first kookaburra in Australia. I say spotted, because a week or so ago, Drew and I actually heard the kookaburras laughing.

"What is that?" Drew asked. "Monkeys?"

"Maybe," I agreed.

I am exposing our combined total lack of wildnerness knowledge here. Did we seriously think there were monkeys in the city? (Yes, we did.) Brisbane may be Australia's "cow town," but it is still a city of 1.8 million. Seriously.

Turns out the kookaburra song most of us know from childhood (But from where? Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts?) was written back in 1936, and introduced at a Scout Jamboree in Melbourne, Australia. In case one round is not enough to satisfy, here are the rest of the lyrics.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Eating all the gum drops he can see.
Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
Leave some there for me.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Counting all the monkeys he can see.
Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
That's not a monkey that's me.

Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail.
Gets a boo-boo in his tail.
Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!
Oh how life can be.

[Note: Unfortunately for the kookaburra, a "gum tree" is what we know as a eucalyptus tree, and the "gum drops" he eats are beads of the resinous sap. Yum.]

Sunday drive

First of all, let me say I fully accept the fact (and it is a fact) I have never been a good driver. And most of you probably cringe when you hear they are letting me drive in Australia, on the other side of the road. So you might agree when I declare today a success -- I drove myself out to a suburb and was honked at zero times. That is a first. (Or maybe the drivers in Brisbane were just feeling a little relaxed on a Sunday.) Also, I turned my window wipers on exactly zero times. (Wipers and turn signal are on the opposite sides, which is a major source of frustration for me. You might also recall I have difficulties with the whole right/left relationship -- probably a major cause and linked to the bad driving in the first place.)

My good luck continued at the grocery store where I was able to secure Drew a 24-case of Coke for only $16. (Previous attempts had us shelling out $23, and at an exchange rate of .97 you get why we miss our 3/$10 12-pack soda at home. If anyone would like to recommend a good read on world economics, I would welcome it. This also might stop me from going on and on about prices on this blog.)

Jackson, Drew and I spent the later afternoon in the park, "diggers" in tow. These actually work quite well for attracting kids, and today we found ourselves right in the middle of an Aussie family & friend reunion of sorts. Jackson had a blast, and true to his personality did not cry one bit when he was taken down by Oliver, another two year-old who wasn't quite sure about Jackson playing with his soccer ball. We did add a soccer ball to Jackson's toy accumulation Saturday, so next time we'll just have to remember to add it to the growing list of things essential to any playground outing.

It was, a good Sunday.

How big is baby?

Today Jackson and I ventured out to my doctor (located almost on the coast in Moreton Bay -- this is what you get in a private/public healthcare scenario). Jackson watched as the doctor used his tape measure to estimate how big the baby was. When we got home, Jackson was playing with the little measuring tape in his Black & Decker toolbox. I asked him if that is what the doctor used this morning.

"Yeahm," he said.

"Can you measure the baby?" I asked.

He put the measure on his little belly button and said yes, confirming what I had thought all along -- that he thinks this "baby" we keep talking about is actually a belly button and of course it is not just mommy who has one.

We made it to Oz!

An update on life since we left central Illinois mid-February . . .

Leaving our family was so hard (and so, so, so sad), so we won't dwell on that; however, Jackson was very cute, reassuring everyone he would be the one to take good care of his mom from now on. At the Peoria airport I was holding Jackson, tears streaming down my face. Someone gave Jackson a Kleenex which he used to "dry" my tears. Later, just before we would land in Brisbane, he looked right into my eyes with his little eyes and said "water."

"Oh, you want some water," I asked.

"No," he said. "Mommy. Water. Grandma," retelling the story of our tearful goodbyes.

The flight went amazingly well and Jackson had zero meltdowns. (He has made up for that since we've been in Brisbane however!) Drew and I -- and all our stewards and fellow flyers -- were shocked at how well he did. After some technical difficulties, we did pick up a third portable DVD player in Los Angeles, deciding even though we knew we were paying 50 percent more than we should, it was going to be worth it on the next 14 hour leg. Good call.

The next obstacle was housing. We were in a hotel for a few days, and now we are in a service apartment. Week 1 Drew and I tackled the vicious Brisbane rental market together, putting in an application on the second day. Two days later were disappointed to find out the owners decided to take it off the market. Just a sign of a market with short supply, putting all power in the hands of owners. Week 2 it was Jackson and I, navigating our way to inspections by ferry, taxi, stroller and foot. Our Residex (street directory) became our lifeline. By Friday, we found another house and put in an application. Now a week later, the owners have approved the lease and we are waiting for Caterpillar to do the same. Our fingers will be crossed until the day we move in, which should be the 29th of April.

Jackson and I have had lots of fun at all of the parks in Brisbane -- fondly known to him as the yellow, blue, red, green and bridge playgrounds. He became really good at knowing which ferry would take him to which park. Tuesday, however, our air shipment arrived, which was 99 percent his toys, and that has kept him a little closer to home this week. Drew and I moved all the furniture of the apartment to the perimeters, and ta da . . . toy central. I hope the ladies who come to clean the apartment don't think we're running some sort of black market toy importation gig. (Maybe not a bad idea after checking out the prices of toys!)

Jackson is missing all of his buddies -- both the human and canine variety. We are pretty much attacking any boy, girl or doy who comes within 5o feet. "Dog, stop!" or "Boy/Girl, stop!" or "Doggie/Boy/Girl, yeah!" are heard often. He is our social butterfly . . . umm . . . maybe I should say social lion (or other animal that hunts its prey).

Our next projects are finding a temporary apartment for the month of April, buying me a car, oh, and having this baby. So our next weeks should be busy ones! Please post or e-mail and let us know what you are up to. We miss you!

N-O.

Jackson experienced a rite of passage today. We were at the park, with his beloved excavator and dump truck. He was playing one of his favorite games of 'get my hands dirty so I can use the water facet to clean them and then play in the water faucet much longer than necessary.' Today there were many people around and because everyone in Brisbane in conscious about water usage (and we should be too as good citizens), I decided he shouldn't play in the water and very firmly held the faucet closed and the conversation went . . .

Me: "No. We aren't playing in the water." (Such the disciplinarian.)
Jackson: "Nooo. N-Oooo. N-Oooo. Noooo."

Yep, he was mimicking something I had said to him a few weeks ago. And it shall only get better from here!