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.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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.
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.
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.
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, March 9, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, March 7, 2008
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.
"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!
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!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
