Keeping it Simple

In line with the freedom I've felt since moving to Australia to reflect on why I am doing certain things or spending my time in certain ways, I could not get in gear to throw a birthday party for my kids this year...much less three.  I had this great idea that to take some of the burden off I would just throw one huge house party for all three of them (since they mostly have the same friends anyway) and I would theme it "our favorite things" since Caden was set on Star Wars, Marin on Dora, and, well, Hallie is still too little to have many specific preferences for characters or themes.

However, as the days and weeks wore on and the target period got closer and closer, I still couldn't get up an ounce of excitement or motivation to start the process.  After some serious honesty sessions with myself, I realized that surely our lives and photo albums could live without a fully themed birthday party for one year (at least) and that none of my children would be scarred by the omission.  Can you hear that?  That's the sound of unnecessary stress leaving the building.  Whew!  There is something about trying to figure out how to do all the little things and put the finishing touches on a party in a country where everything is different - costs, stores, brands, etc. that can wear you out faster than singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."  Nothing about that process sounded fun or necessary to me this year, so why not take a break?

Well that's just what we did and we are all still doing just fine.  So, what did we do for our birthdays?  Both Caden and Marin were sent to school with treats for them to celebrate with their school mates, and then that night the kids had fun opening presents and cards from family and friends back in the States, plus Mommy & Daddy of course.  S-I-M-P-L-E. What's so great is that they both felt celebrated and mommy didn't have to lose her ever-lovin mind.  It was a win - win. And that "S" word, it's the best thing to enter my life since the birth of my last child.  S-I-M-P-L-E...it's such a great thing!

A few birthday photos, proving that you can have a great birthday without a massively planned party.

First day as a five year old

the big boy even let his little sister open one of his presents

what else? Star Wars galore.

 enjoying a birthday cupcake.

bad to the bone.

 wheeeee on my new scooter.

for Marin's birthday, we spent the afternoon at a park with some of our dear friends the Purnell's, and went later for fish and chips.  This crew couldn't get enough scooter time.

as we ate, we noticed carload after carload of high school age kids dressed in formals right outside the restaurant where we were eating.  Later, on the way back to our car, a disco bus pulled up with another load of partiers and, after unloading, the bus driver let our kids go to the back and dance to Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg and who knows who else.  It was such a birthday treat for our little sassy dancer.

when we got home, we had Marin's favorite - cupcakes with chocolate icing. I love the effect of the soft blur of this photo and the sweetness in her eyes.  

afterwards - opening presents.

more Dora stuff = happy 3 year old.

So, that's two birthday's down and one left to go.  Who knows what we'll do next year, but at least we have 12 whole months to think about it!

I'm So Glad...

I'm so happy to be able to share this song!  It's one of our favorites, even though we only heard it a few times on Noggin a few years ago.  It has stuck in my head for all this time and we still use the chorus to sing about things we are glad about.  I've tried Googling it a few times to no avail, and I finally found it today.  I love that it's a reminder to be thankful for all the simple little things we are blessed with like skin, teeth, feet, etc.  Enjoy and be glad!

Little Creature

Hallie has always been little - since she was in the womb we knew she'd be smaller than our other two babies - but her personality makes up for her size.  She's slowly turning into the comedienne of the Heitzmann clan, but even so, rarely let's us snap a photo of her (you might even notice that she's conspicuously missing from other blog posts coming soon).

On this particular evening, she decided to let mama paparazzi in on her fun.  Cory had just returned home from a run to the bottle shop where he bought a carton of beer brewed in Western Australia, or WA, called Little Creatures.  It's a micro brew, which we both enjoy more than a lot of the traditional beers here in Oz, but imagine our surprise when Hallie climbed right into the box not even knowing how appropriate the name was.  Getting use out of the box made the $60 price tag a little more bearable.  That's right folks, beer here is dear (expensive) and yes that was a purposeful rhyme.  The price for a six pack is anywhere from $13 - $30 and a carton ranges from about $45 to $75.

Our New Pet!

Okay, so it's not officially a pet, per se, but we are having regular visits from the neighborhood Kookaburra. He flew right up to our back patio recently, and after trying crackers, cookies and some other odds and ends flew off without eating a thing.  The following day I caught up with some of my Aussie girlfriends and asked them if it was common for them to pop in for a snack.  They said no, but they thought the birds ate mince (ground beef) and other raw meats.  Say no more, we stopped by the store on the way home from the park and, sure enough, later that day Mr. Kookaburra was back. He gobbled up the raw mince and some raw chicken, but passed on the hot dogs and cooked hamburger patty.  Here are a few pictures of our new friend. Since then he's made numerous, sometimes daily visits to the Heitzmann patio, and we are glad for it.  How cool is it to have a semi-tame bird eating out of your hand?

"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!

Our Very Own Wildlife Adventure

In August our family set out on yet another day trip, and this time we headed to the Australia Zoo...Home of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. We had heard great things about the zoo, and were in for a treat...it was everything they said it was and more. The best part about it was that by visiting in August, we received Adventure Passes to return for free for the remainder of 2010!

One of the best things about Australia, is that the population here, appx. 20 million, is roughly the same as the population of Texas.  This means that even on a random Saturday, the zoo, which would be packed to the gills in Houston, was only moderately populated and there was plenty of room to move around and see the sights at our leisure.  No crowds = no pressure. Nice.

Steve Irwin really put this zoo on the map. As a matter of fact, he and his wife Terrie own it.  If you're familiar with him at all, you know about his love for conservation, wildlife and critters of all sizes.  They pay tribute to him in several places at the zoo, but we couldn't pass up the photo opp at this bronze statue in the front.

This wasn't the only stop where we couldn't help ourselves...we took several photos with Steve...here are just a few...

One of the most memorable parts of the zoo (for the adults at least) was the incredible hall that spells out the highlights of Steve's life.  They include photos, articles, and a large number of heartfelt tributes that were sent from around the world when Steve died.  

Of course there was much more to see...

Believe it or not, this is a life-size replica of a "salty" or saltwater croc. Don't think I'll be doing much swimming in their turf.

We saw the usual - roos, koalas, birds, snakes and lizards.  And a few notables:

This is Acco, a 75 year old, 16-foot crocodile.

Here is one cute little devil...a Tasmanian Devil that is.  I'm surprised they don't call them Tazzies here.

We also enjoyed seeing the red pandas they have at the zoo.  This is Yoda.  Trust me, the name was not lost on our 5 year old Star Wars aficionado.

One of the highlights of the zoo experience is feeding the Asian Elephants. We all took a few turns giving fruit and veggies to this little beauty, who got our hands really dirty!

The other highlight is their Wildlife Warriors Show, which previously was performed by Steve himself!  Watching the crocs getting fed was amazing!

After we left the zoo, which is just to the north of Brisbane by about an hour, we took a little side jaunt to the Glasshouse Mountains.  The girls were asleep in the car so we jumped out for a few minutes to take in the views and snap a few photos.

Zooped.

Another family day trip to remember! Thanks Irwin family for making such an impact on us.  We had a great time learning about Aussie wildlife and can't wait to return again!

Absence...Does it Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

I have been absent.  VERY absent from this blog.  To anyone who might actually be following along, my apologies.  I'd love to say there is this great reason that I haven't been blogging much, but honestly, there isn't.  My mind, my heart and my energy have simply been directed towards other things recently, and well, the computer has wonderfully lost some of its hold over me.  I say wonderfully, because truth-be-told, there have been days in the recent past where I have probably neglected my household and motherly duties for a few extra minutes at the laptop.  "What kids, you need to eat?...Okay, after I finish this next Facebook post!" Well, that might be extreme, but I'm sure my family could recite some examples for you.

It's been interesting here in Oz, to have time to reflect on how I live my life, how I spend my time, and what truly makes me happy.  Back in the hustle and bustle of my life in Houston, Texas, I was so busy "blowing and going" between activities and commitments, that I never took the time to wonder if I was truly doing things for the right reasons.  Did they make me happy?  Did they bring glory to God?  Probably some did, but for the most part, a lot of my life there was spent doing things because I thought it was what I was supposed to be doing...because it would make someone else happy.  I got sucked into all the consumer-driven ways of American life, and forgot that quality really means more than quantity in almost all cases.

I realized I "liked" things because other people liked them and not because I derived any joy from them myself.  I lost my own perspective if you will.  Some people call this phenomenon "keeping up with the Joneses", but in my case, it was more like "wanting to be the Joneses."

Right now I am trying to take quiet, introspective time to regain my own spirit and style.  Will this be a quick and easy process...I hope not.  I'm enjoying myself too much.  It's really fun when you run into your self again after realizing you've been away too long.

This might not be making any sense to many of you, but that's okay.  I just wanted to explain why I haven't been as quick on the uptake with blog posts as you might have expected.  So, does the absence really make the heart grow fonder?  In the case of my blog, no.  In the case of myself, absolutely!