And......We're Off!

What a relief to leave our home and be done with the massive preparations!  You'd think something massive would have fallen through the cracks during all the craziness--the only pre-trip stupidity I've realized so far is this: I ran some last-minute neighborhood errands the morning of our departure, delivering holiday cards, returning library books...I headed to the grocery store to use one of those Coinstar machines to trade in a baggie full of coins.  I dutifully watched as the coins trickled down through the metal slots, the machine counting each quarter, dime, nickel, and penny.  Then..............feeling very proud of myself for all I had accomplished before 7am, my errand was complete and I walked away, leaving the slip of paper in the machine that I should have brought to the cashier to get my money!  Ahh, well, it undoubtedly brightened someone's day.

5 days in the redwoods has been just what the doctor ordered.  We visited a neighbor's unbelievable oceanfront property to watch a herding dog in action, rounding up the sheep and responding to certain whistles that alert him to go in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.  It was, in a word, incredible, from the dog's skills, to the waves crashing into the cove right off their front yard, to the milk cow grazing lazily right by the front door, even down to the flock of white pigeons that flies around overhead.  We played games with family, took walks in the redwoods, kayaked and canoed in the lake, and reveled in the fact that all our work was done.

I felt so much anxiety the day the Australians were to arrive--we had left our house a dusty mess with a cleaning lady scheduled for the next day, but clearly the control freak in me wanted concrete proof that our house was in appropriate order for our guests.  Luckily, all went well and they arrived only a couple of hours late due to a snowstorm that brought 9 or so inches for their arrival.

We are now at the San Francisco airport--Kenyon vomited as soon as we got out of the car.  Cross your fingers that it was due to the drive and not a stomach bug, or I have a feeling that Fiji will be memorable in ways that I'd rather not think about.  We've got plenty of fun traveling toys to keep us busy, thanks to the boys' grandparents (have you heard of Nanoblocks?  They're awesome!).  Just a short hop to Los Angeles, and then we're off for the big haul.  I've taken some pictures, but of course I'm not quite organized to have the USB cord for the camera with me.

While you're crossing your fingers, put some good thoughts out there for a smooth, uneventful flight.  I'm not keen on being over water for 10 hours and 45 minutes.  At all.

We'll be in the air for the holiday, so Merry Christmas!

Sleepless

At the wee hour of 4:38am, my eyes popped open and the to-do list began playing in my head like one of those unmanned pianos that you see in old-timey western saloons. It was much too early to be up puttering around the house, and I'm going to have to pace myself if I'm going to get through these agonizing last two days of preparation. I 'rested', tossing and turning for a while, but finally decided to use my time wisely (ha!) and write this blog entry.

Yesterday was massively productive, despite the emotional weight that came with the kids' last day of school. I wore sunglasses at the afternoon pickup, which did a poor job of masking my tears. Jackson's teacher had given him a book as a parting gift; to be honest, I haven't been able to bring myself to look at it yet. Both the older boys have received journals from their friends; so sweet.

Jackson is old enough that he feels the pang in his heart and was a little teary-eyed at bedtime. I did my best to honor his feelings and at the same time reassure him that Skype was a great way to see his friends' faces, and that along with writing real letters, he could also dictate an email that I could send off to a parent to pass along whenever he'd like. I also told him that I'm sure he'll make good friends while we're down there, to which he replied, "But then I'll just have to leave them, too!". Right, son...there are definitely benefits and drawbacks to having an open heart; I know them well and struggle with it daily.

This weekend is forecasted to be sunny with highs of 53, which in the Colorado altitude makes for glorious weather. Oh, did I tell you that our area of New South Wales has had an unseasonably cold and rainy summer so far? It's predicted to stay that way; here's hoping that Australian meteorologists are about as accurate as American ones, because as coastal transplants, Sam and I have quite a bit of beach time to soak up to make up for all the these inland years in Colorado.

Salty sea air, here I come (if I can make it through this to-list). It's now 6:08am; time to get going. Next post will likely be quick, as we wait to board our plane to San Francisco on Monday.

For Mom and Dad

One mere week from today, we will close the door to our home and we won't be back for a year. 

I don't think any Move Across the World For a Year Preparation would be possible without help from parents.  We were fortunate enough to have my parents come in for a last visit over the weekend--we had just seen them a couple of weeks ago for Thanksgiving, but my mom wanted to complete her mission of brainwashing of my children into getting on Skype every day squeeze in some more quality time with her grandsons.

In between reading stories and playing games with the kids, my parents were workhorses--Dad tightened the loose cabinet in the kitchen, fixed the shoddily-installed dishwasher so it doesn't fall forward each time you open it, replaced the faulty circuit in the electrical box, installed a circuit cover, and copied all the information from the desktop computer onto a thumb drive.  Whew.

We have a cleaning lady scheduled for the day after our departure, but Mom took care of some cleaning that she figured the cleaning lady wouldn't get to--she took down and washed each of the glass globes in the light fixtures, dusted wood blinds and tops of door trim, and completely readied the downstairs guest bedroom and bathroom.  She has a penchant for breaking things during cleaning frenzies, but I'm happy to report that I only heard the tinkling of shattering glass once all weekend.  I have no idea what broke, but it likely wasn't important anyway and I'm just so thankful for everything they did.

What better time to throw a birthday party for your child than 9 days before you move out of the country for a year?  We managed to pull off a simple pool party at the rec center with Alex's favorite friends; it was a great way to get together with friends outside of school and let him know that we think he's pretty awesome and want to celebrate his existence in the world.  On his actual birthday this Thursday, I'll make sure to prepare the yummiest stack of pancakes exactly how he has requested for his birthday dinner--with chopped kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and homemade whipped cream.  And of course, a candle on top so he can wish for something amazing.

With all the work my parents did, I was kind of in relax mode, and it wasn't until they left Sunday afternoon that I kicked into gear.  The playroom is now organized and inviting, the toys anxiously awaiting to be scattered by the two kiddos who will be living in the house.  Sam and I have made strides in preparing the closets and moving clothes that won't be taken down to the basement storeroom.

I sold Kenyon's toddler bed (thank you, trusty Craigslist).  He slept on the mattress on the floor last night, an experience he declared 'awesome'.  Just wait until we are camping amongst kangaroos, buddy...

It's really happening.  And even as an official, card-carrying, fully-grown adult with kids of my own, it's still awfully comforting to have to have the love and support of parents.  Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad--I can't wait to meet you at the Sydney airport and have you experience some of this adventure with us.

Running the Gauntlet

At T minus 14 days and counting, we're looking pretty good.  The dining room chair with the wobbly leg that has sat in the corner for nearly a year has now happily joined the rest of his tribe at the table.  The guest bathroom shower handle has been tightened; its threats of breaking toes by hurling itself to the floor now silenced.

I straightened the kids' myriad bookshelves, organizing by genre, author, and reading level.  This means either the boys will not be allowed to read anything for the next 14 days, or I am going to be the Crazy Mom Book Police, hovering over their every selection to make sure it is put back properly.  But really, who am I kidding?  They don't reshelve books on their own anyway; the floor/coffee table/car/kitchen counter is their bookshelf, so I should be able to manage the organization from here on out just fine.

I weeded out the stray toys from the playroom and, because Kenyon will be nearing 5 years old when we return, sold the babyish ones at a garage sale.  The boys need to decide what items are keepers on their personal shelves, and those will be boxed up until our return (i.e., I don't think the Aussie kids want to be greeted by the random animal bones found on hikes that currently grace Jackson's shelf.  Or the tanned squirrel hide.).  I think I'll make an executive decision and sneak that delightful little keepsake into the garbage.

You might be thinking that these minute details mean we are all prepared, but there are some big things still looming over us.  I liken the remaining tasks of the next couple of weeks to running the gauntlet, after which we will hopefully emerge victorious, boarding the plane to begin our adventure.

entering the gauntlet...

Where to park our minivan for a year?  No easy task.  The Aussies will pay utilities here, so I need to make sure certain bills are switched to online billing and switch utilities back to paper billing (which means countless phone calls, which means running the gauntlet otherwise known as Automated Customer Service).  I have never before yearned so steadily for a personal assistant who I could pass this off to with a wave of a manicured hand while languidly sipping my cappuccino.

Since I didn't have anything better to do, I decided at nearly the last minute to refinance our mortgage at a lower interest rate and take out a little cash so we have some money to do a couple of really memorable things during our trip.  Our mortgage is through our credit union, so I figured it would be straight-forward and relatively pain-free.

Ha!

When the bank guy analyzed my credit report and started asking me about my second and third mortgage and my credit line with QVC, I knew something was terribly wrong.  An address listed in the residential history shows a PO Box in the mountain town of Gypsum, Colorado--I have never lived there.  And there, under my aliases, was the name of someone whose name closely resembled my maiden name.

Somehow, my credit report has been intertwined with this other woman, and I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to disentangle myself from this mess.

The good news is that she is paying her bills regularly, but this error is still negatively affecting my credit because of the sheer amount of credit she carries.

In other words, lady, lighten up on the 'quality diamonique' QVC bracelets.

My bank guy understands the situation and is working to at least clear up the credit report internally so the refinance can proceed in the most favorable manner.  We'll see if it all happens and we can eke out a closing by late next week...cross your fingers.

6 Weeks

A glance at the calendar jolted me awake this afternoon. Yes, the calendar. Who needs a shot of espresso when you've got a year-long journey halfway around the world with your husband and three children looming? We've got a mere six(!) weekends left, and one of those will be spent with my extended family in Kerrville, TX over the Thanksgiving holiday.

You may be wondering how The Preparations are coming along (my mom is, at the very least). We fixed our front door lock that suddenly appeared to have crapped out after only 105 years of keeping families safe. When Sam opened it up for some exploratory surgery, it turned out that it only needed a little oiling and it's good as new; man, things were built to last in 1906. We also did some major fall yard cleanup and art teacher hoarding scrap lumber removal.  Winters in Colorado don't allow for showy blooms; I wish that the yard would look prettier when the Aussies arrive, but at least they'll be pleasantly surprised when spring hits.

I'm going to do a dry run of packing up just my stuff this weekend to get an idea of how many bags we're looking at--I was hoping to have one bag per person, with one extra 'stuff' bag (5 sleeping bags will account for most of that one, even with those handy suction bags to reduce their size).  Our Australian counterparts, with one less child than our family, are bringing 8 bags, so I could be terribly underestimating our needs.  We shall see.

Thanks to our awesome Aussie family facilitating the communication/mechanic's inspection/negotiation, we are thisclose to being the proud owners of a used Australian minivan.

You see, we have nearly a month down there before school begins, and I would much rather spend that time camping amongst kangaroos and goannas than dealing with Terribly Boring Logistics (especially because let's face it, Terribly Boring Logistics always fall on my lap, not my husband's).  This car purchase is one huge check off the Terribly Boring Logistics list.  Cars, like everything down there it seems, are more expensive than here, but the 1995 Toyota Tarago (known as a Previa in the United States) should work just fine.

the interior of the minivan, with the nifty (ha!) upholstered dashboard and THEWHEELONTHERIGHTHANDSIDEOHMYGOSH HOWCANITRUSTSAMTODRIVETHISTHINGBYHIMSELFTOSCHOOLWITHOUTGETTINGKILLED??

I've been keeping an eye on the Wollongong local newspaper to get an idea of life down there, and this article from yesterday's news (Driver Dies As Car Bursts Into Flames After Hitting Kangaroo) didn't do much to assuage my driving-on-the-left-hand-side-of-the-road fears.  So, not only do we have to make sure we're keeping on the left side, but we also have to dodge kangaroos?  It makes me wish Sam has spent more of his time playing video games; that surely would have prepared him a bit more for this experience.

I have not named a car since my first, the beloved 1974 blue Volkswagen Super Beetle that my parents, in some momentary lapse of judgment, purchased for me the summer before I turned 16 so I could learn how to drive a stick shift.  I sat in the driveway the day I got it, listening to the turn-dial radio, listening to Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Beastie Boys cassette tapes, and thinking that I was the luckiest girl in the world.  He didn't have a name until Tyler Evans (who looked like a game show host even back then, in a good way) in my college Spanish class gave him one, but 'Dexter' fit him perfectly.

I think it's time to name another car, considering the bond we'll have with this one as it will carries us on our travels.  I'm thinking we should call him Ferdinand, after the famous explorer Ferdinand Magellan.  I'll let you know once I see him in person if the name fits.