"Tea" is for Tuesday

One random morning while we were still cooped up in our little two bedroom apartment in the city, I managed to get the kids dressed and outdoors before noon.  Most of our days after grandma left were spent in our PJ's trying to cope with the leftover jet lag and behavior issues (mine included).  Oh we ventured out, it just usually wasn't until after lunch time and it was nothing short of a miracle at that.

But on this particular morning we made it out by 10am or so and wandered over to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens for a play at the one and only playground within a 5 minute walk from our hotel apartment.  When what to my wondering ears should I hear but the sound of American voices...many of them!  Of course I jumped right out of my shell (as any expat has the obligation to do) and asked where the group was from. The rest, as they say, is history.  Here I met my first group of American Mommy friends and it was such a welcome event.

Every week this group gets together on Tuesdays at parks around Brisbane, most of which are within walking distance from a City Cat stop, which are the catamarans that cruise up and down the Brisbane River as a form of public transport. A few of the parks we frequent: South Bank, Roma Street, Orleigh, Bulimba, and once they even ventured out my way to play at Grinstead.  Melisa, or "The Oracle" as they call her (she's been here the longest of the group and has figured out what to eat, where to go, and pretty much has things down pat) is a tea connoisseur and brings us a sampling of her loose-leaf tea of the week.  It's a nice little treat while the kids are busy playing, or fighting, or getting us in trouble with other Aussie moms.

I've been meeting with these girls now for several months, and I must say that it is often a highlight of the work week.  All in all there are five, sometimes six moms and anywhere from 5 to 12 kids depending on who shows up and who's in school.   It is such a blessing to have met these women and get to commiserate about the joys and pains of being an expat here in Brisbane.  Here are some photos I've taken at various times over the past few months.

Here's a large part of the group at Roma St. Parklands: Me, Dawn, Becky &; Paige (Melisa is behind the camera).

The scooter crew...and yes, despite my earlier post about keeping up with the jonses (or not in my case), we did break down and get Caden a Razor for his birthday so that he could join the crew along with Marin on Caden's blue, three-wheeled hand-me down.  Now they can be in the next line up...they LOVE them! Scootering is huge over here.

Another partial group shot: Me, Melisa, Dawn & Paige.  This time Becky was missing - off running around with some of the numerous visitors she had over the US summer months.  This week it was Orleigh Park in West End.  That's the Brisbane River in the background.

Traffic jam! Several of the kids piling up on the slide.  If you look closely, you can see Marin's bandage on her forehead.  This photo was taken less than a week after her fall from the tree.

Abby & Dawn

Caden & Sawyer horsing around

Marin on her favorite Aussie park plaything...I call them whirligigs...they spin and spin and spin...and would make this mommy sick.

And, most recently we met at Kangaroo Point, which is directly underneath the Story Bridge...my favorite bridge in Brisbane.  Here's yet another partial group shot, this time I'm behind the camera.  

Marin & Tahlia.  You can see the bridge behind them.

Caden & Carson

Marin, Tahlia & Abby playing ring around the rosie.  Here they sing it a little differently:

"Ring around the rosie,

Pocket full of posie,

A tissue, a tissue, we all fall down!"

Caden, Sawyer, Brady, Marin & Avery playing with Ms. Melisa's antique glasses after we were finished with our tea {and wine ;0)} Tahlia's in the background too!

Not sure where we are meeting next week, but it's always an adventure to be sure!