It's Easy Being Green!

One of the most unexpected effects of our move to Australia was the overwhelming feeling that our actions were creating nothing but waste, waste, waste.  It was almost sickening at times when we were surrounded with boxes, paper, styrofoam, plastic bubble wrap, etc., all of which we wanted out of our house as quickly as possible to reduce the mess and chaos.  Luckily, our relocation company, Crown Relocations, was quick to inform us that they recycle as many of the packing materials as possible, and the team spent a considerable amount of time breaking down cardboard boxes, rolling up packing paper, and separating plastic materials.

I guess it's appropriate that we moved to an extremely environmentally conscious country, where we immediately were given "baptism-by-fire" lessons in being more aware of our usage.  While I can reasonably say that Australia (or at least Brisbane) is at least a decade or more behind the States in several areas such as store hours (grocery stores close at 6pm on Sunday folks!) and internet speeds (most homes and even offices are still on internet access that is gained through a phone line, not ethernet or cable), they are decades ahead of the States in being green.  Many stores charge you extra for bags, homeowners are installing solar power like it's going out of style, they promote 4 minute showers to save on water, cloth diapers (or "nappies") are popular,  the list goes on and on. "Being green" is obviously high on the national agenda and the government is doing a lot to raise awareness and increase consciousness.

Here's a list of some of the EASY things we've changed to make our carbon footprint a little smaller these days.

• We reuse our "green" grocery bags instead of bagging the plastic ones.
• We only own one car, Cory takes public transportation to work each day.
• We are recycling all glass, plastic, paper, aluminum.
• We do more walking, less driving.
• We use the new "green" CFL light bulbs instead of old incandescent bulbs.
• We are not buying bottled water anymore, we refill a pitcher and put it in the fridge.
• We put our clothes out on a clothesline to dry when it's sunny instead of drying them in the dryer.
• We no longer use disposable plates or cups.
• We have chosen paperless billing for our utilities to save on paper.
• We turn off the water while we are brushing our teeth.
• We donate all gently used household items instead of throwing them away.

Now before you go running off saying that the Heitzmanns have become "tree hugging hippies" (which isn't such a bad thing by the way), there are still a lot of areas where we could use a green makeover...a lot of which have to do with being a large family.  Some things just aren't easy to part with like my comfy SUV that fits three kids and a weekend's worth of luggage, disposable diapers, ziploc baggies.  And while a lot of the things on my list are not new or brilliantly original, they are big steps for us, and the more of the population that gets on board with being green, the better off our world will be for our little ones.

Okay, I'm done.  But, before you go, enjoy a little Jason Mraz in this video about nature conservancy...it just happens to be one of my kids favorite songs!

Toy Story 3

Several weeks ago I took Caden and Marin for a treat.  We went to see Toy Story 3, and ended up seeing it in 3D.  That wasn't our intent, but after learning that they even do movies differently here (people buy reserved seats for the theatre online), it was our only option short of sitting on row two (no thanks!).  Almost $100 later and we were sitting pretty, in our reserved seats, with our popcorn, $10 M&M's and sodas.

I was worried that the 3D part would freak Marin out since this was her first theatre experience, but she did about as well as any almost-three-year-old would do at their first movie.  None of us enjoyed wearing the glasses, and overall I think we all would have been just as happy with the regular old movie experience.

Riding the escalator to the theatre.

Posing with who else, Woody & Buzz.

Who's ready to see a movie? We are!

Caden was so excited about the movie, he came home and picked this to color for his evening art project that day.

Until the next Benjamin worthy movie...

Somebunny in Texas Loves Us!

What do you get when you take a Texas girl away from Texas?  A serious case of queso cravings! This past weekend something wonderful arrived by Australia post: a care package from my mom and dad back in Texas, or as the kids call them "Bunny and Paw."

And, yes you guessed it...it was opened and inspected by Australia post. They are serious about this stuff people!

It contained lots of goodies that are not available here like Goldfish, Laffy Taffy and best of all (for mommy) diced green chilies and Rotel!

Being from Texas, where everything has a little Mexican spice, I use Rotel or green chilies in 9 out of 10 things I cook.  Needless to say, our dishes have been a little milder since moving to Oz and I was desperate for a little spice and even more desperate for some queso. Thanks mom and dad!  We feel blessed to have parents like you to take care of us, even a world away!

First Fourth as Expats

The weekend our shipment of belongings was supposed to arrive was the weekend of the Fourth of July.  We thought we would be busy unpacking, but as things went, we were completely free (no pun intended!).  So, thanks to our new friends The Mitchells we were happy to attend a somewhat impromptu gathering of fellow American families at Kangaroo Point to celebrate our freedom.

Kangaroo Point

Melisa (the organizer) and baby Daisy, me and Kathleen

We all brought a favorite dish and shared a pot-luck style BBQ.  We had macaroni salad and potato salad, hot dogs, guacamole, and apple pie.  The kids played on these funky striped worm like things and kicked the soccer ball around. 

Later we brought out the sparklers, which made it feel a little more like the holiday we all know and love.  We missed the big fireworks, but didn't miss the week-long late night Black Cat sessions you can always hear after the 4th or New Years. 

Marin Sparkling

Kathleen (please forgive me for posting this!)

Hallie & Daddy enjoying the fun.

The crew.

I have to say it felt funny being away from "home" on such a monumental holiday.  I was straining to see some combination of red white and blue at the grocery store while shopping for hot dog supplies and I missed the buzz of a long weekend in the hot Texas summer.  But most of all, I better understand what the men and women of our Armed Forces are protecting in this crazy world.  It is a land, that, while it has its own faults and broken systems, is a land of amazing opportunity to be and do what you choose.  And, as poor of a reputation as America has in the world these days, I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that I'm proud to be one! 

I Heart You

Now that our belongings are here, we've enjoyed several days of playing around the house, just like old times.  Caden, the sweet, sweet heart that he is likes to show me just how much he loves me sometimes by bringing me pictures he's drawn, and most recently by filling his Nintendo DS screen with hearts (see below).

  About a week ago he was busy playing with play dough, when he came up to me in the kitchen and said he had something to show me.  When I stopped to ask what it was, he drew his hands from behind his back and showed me the pink heart he had made just for me.  Be still MY beating heart!  Why do they ever have to grow up?

Christmas in July

It was exactly 1,752 hours (or 73 days) since we last saw our belongings being hauled off on this truck...

...when another beautiful truck finally pulled up in front of our new house.  It was like magic...well not really.  More like a bunch of work!

Moving day was stressful to say the least, but I have never been so grateful for the huge mess that quickly ensued.  It literally took all day (9am - 5pm) to unload the three trucks that 

contained our things.  And, we learned a lot about how 

an overseas move works.  

First, the company moving us came to our house in Houston and packed everything and inventoried it.  

Then our container left the Port of Houston by train to Long Beach, California and was loaded onto a ship to Singapore and eventually made it to Brisbane.  Overall, our beds, couch, plates, clothes, etc. travelled more than 8,348 miles from Houston to Brisbane.  **Sidenote: I love that when I plugged this info into Google Maps it told me to "kayak across the Pacific Ocean until you reach Hawaii".  Sure, right on that.** 

Anyway, upon arrival at the Port of Brisbane, our container was quickly unpacked, checked at customs and taken to our moving company's warehouse.  There it was separated into multiple groups - wood, quarantine concern, and good-to-go.  Quarantine officers then came to inspect the wood and quarantine concern groups before final clearance could be obtained.  Australia is one of the most difficult places to ship items into because of their strict quarantine laws.  Since the country is an island, they have been able to keep many of the animal and plant diseases that have plagued other parts of the world at bay through these restrictive practices.  You are not allowed any food or natural material items.  Plus, anything that has been in contact with soil, animals, the outdoors, etc., must be washed thoroughly.  We were advised not to bring our outdoor furniture, camping equipment, baskets, our artificial Christmas tree, even our knife block.  It took us weeks to go through all of our belongings and weed out the items we thought might pose a risk upon inspection.  We even cleaned our bicycles, which you couldn't have paid us to leave behind! Here the kids are washing enthusiastically.

Needless to say, we were relieved that we didn't hit any snags along the way like strikes, bad weather, or full quarantine inspection.  The kids were so happy to see their toys and beds, you couldn't get them to stop smiling...or playing! It really was like Christmas had come in the middle of July.  

The girls had fun playing in the mess that was the packing paper from all of our 274 boxes.  Yes, that's right...274 items and boxes were shipped.  I liked to have never thought we'd get through all of that.  But we did, and now we feel a bit more "settled in" a phrase that all of my kids have picked up now that we have been using it as the end-all-be-all of this enormous move.  You can't see Marin in this picture.  She is literally buried underneath all the paper!

So, we've pretty much moved in and are ready for the fun to 

start!  Moving across the world is definitely not for sissies!  It's been a long haul of a transition, but it's truly amazing 

what one can learn about their culture, their friends, their family and most of all their priorities and themselves.  

What an incredible blessing that has been given to us.  The enormity of this opportunity for personal growth has 

definitely not been lost on us.  From one living room to another, only certain things truly matter in this life.  

They Say When One Door Closes...

...another one opens.

Welcome to a virtual tour of our virtually empty new house.

This is our Queenslander.  That's what they call this style of house, which was probably built in the early 1900's.  They were designed to be raised off the ground with high ceilings in order to capture the beautiful breezes that blow through the city constantly.  Not sure how old this house is, but it definitely has that charming old house look and feel.  

The Front

The Back

The Great Room View One

The Great Room View Two

The Rumpus Room

The Bathtub...something I completely took for granted and never will again!  Lots of homes over here don't have bathtubs, I think because of the space restrictions.  I just happen to have three kids that are terrified of taking showers.  You'd think after 6 weeks they would learn to adjust.  Yeah, so did I.  

And a few fun shots of our life camping out at a near empty house.

Hallie crashed on the floor.

Caden & Marin and their new favorite toy: boxes.

Caden's version of organizing his toys in his new closet.

The kids enjoying their favorite vantage point 

on the back upstairs deck.

Lunch, picnic style!

Hallie navigating the staircase.

Belongings are now confirmed for delivery on Monday, July 5th.  Next time join us for photos of a furnished home!