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!
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