Our first Thanksgiving experience

There were three holidays that I was looking forward to whilst living in the USA - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Halloween was amazing and I was blown away by how unfounded my previous judgements had been.  See post Our first Halloween experience.  Christmas is right around the corner.

This week is our first Thanksgiving.

What is Thanksgiving? (according to Google search)

An annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, and is held in the US on the fourth Thursday in November.

What is Thanksgiving? (according to Wikipedia)

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

Even though I have never celebrated this holiday before.  I love the idea of it.  I love the family traditions that go with it.

The idea of the gathering together of family and friends to give thanks and express gratitude for what you have in life is endearing.

Whilst the majority of us may not be gathering to give thanks for the harvest in our modern world, it is lovely to just have a day to sit back and be grateful (and apparently sink into a food induced coma, only time will tell with this one!).

This is what I am going to give thanks for this Thanksgiving:

1. My beautiful family and friends
2. That we have shelter, warmth and nourishment
3. Our good health
4. Experiences that we have the opportunity to embrace

This is by no means an extensive list.  I am just not so sure that coffee and red wine should really be put on the list - but I am truly thankful for those aswell.

So, on the fourth Thursday in November 2012, even if you do not celebrate Thanksgiving - lets all unite and share our gratitude.

What are you thankful for?

Less cynicism, more celebration

Any excuse for a celebration, I say. Or so I thought.

After living in the USA, I have come to a realisation that I don't celebrate enough.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that I am somewhat cynical when it comes to celebrating.



Let me give you some examples of what I do/have done in these celebratory moments:

• Valentines Day - don't do it, don't believe in it
• Birthdays - usually a small gathering of just family, unless it is an "0" birthday
• New House - nothing
• Baby born - baby shower for Master 4, not for Master 1
• Halloween - don't do it, don't believe in it
• Easter - family get together
• Christmas - Probably the biggest one - house decorated, big meal, presents, everyone together
• Anzac Day - nothing
• Australia Day - maybe a small BBQ
• New Years Eve - think its a fizzer most of the time and the kids get up at the crack of dawn anyway so we were in bed by 10pm for the last few years.
• Anniversaries - no presents, just a nice dinner
• Grand Final Day - small BBQ
• Melbourne Cup Day - nothing
• Labour Day - nothing

Sad and pathetic.

Right...new resolution for when we get home - Less cynicism, more celebrating.

I have loved the build up, the tradition and the celebrations that we have been a part of in the USA.  Nothing is looked upon as over the top, its just a wonderfully inclusive, communal and enveloping feeling of positivity and something to look forward to.

The change of the season was probably the first one that we witnessed and all the traditions that came with that.  We arrived when summer was finishing and fall (autumn) was beginning.  The fall meant cooler weather, the leaves turning, harvests, hay rides, festivals, pumpkins and apples, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

The shop fronts were all decorated in Autumn leaves and pumpkins and the supermarkets displayed all the traditional foods that represent the Fall.  I wrote in a previous post about how the celebration of Halloween over here has changed my perception of this holiday (Our first Halloween experience).  We are now looking forward to Thanksgiving and what this holiday represents.

I don't know where my cynicism comes from?  I think it might be the way I was bought up - not to be too OTT (over the top).  Maybe its a cultural thing - as Australians, we are more laid back and tend not to be too raa raa about "stuff".

Maybe we should get more raa raa about stuff?  Raa Raa is good, right?  Why not celebrate? Why not get people together? Why not promote the goodwill and feeling of connectedness that comes with each celebration? Why not get into the spirit?

Why not? I say.

Still can't wrap my head around Valentines Day though...

Do you like to celebrate? or prefer to keep it low key?
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Image courtesy of www.stockfreeimages.com

My stroller and I

I have a love/hate relationship with my stroller.

I spend more time with my stroller than I do with my husband - so it deserves a mention.

I first purchased my stroller in 2008 prior to the birth of Master 4.  Like any pregnant mama, I did a mountain of research as to which one was going to be right for me.  Was it safe and sturdy? Was it not too heavy? Was it narrow enough to fit through the checkouts? Did it fully recline? Could it fit two kids later on? Could I fit my shopping, my bag and the kitchen sink underneath it...just in case I might need to lug that around too?

We finally settled on a Phil&Teds.

Originally we had ordered the mid range model.  But about three weeks before my baby was due,  the stroller still hadn't arrived.  They called me to let me know it wasn't going to arrive until the end of October.  

Well - you just don't tell a 38 week pregnant first time mum that her stroller isn't going to arrive until three weeks after her baby is due.  Biiiiigggg mistake.

I let out a hormonal rant "I ordered this stroller over three months ago..."  "This is not good enough..." "My baby is due in three weeks, what am I going to do without a stroller, I can't exactly carry the baby everywhere...." (despite the fact I had been carrying the baby for the past eight and a half months - did I mention I was VERY pregnant). 

I felt sorry for the poor 16 year old (or so he sounded) guy on the other end.  Was it the store's idea of a joke to get the work experience boy to call all the pregnant ladies to deliver this news?  The joke was definitely on him.

"We are so sorry Mrs Jones...why don't we upgrade you to The Vibe" he said.

The Vibe was the top of the line model.  It cost well over $500 at the time.

Stopping mid rant, I said "Ummm....well yes, that would certainly be a good solution - thankyou so much" 

Score!

So, I have had the Phil&Teds Vibe since then.  I have loved this stroller most of the time. 

I love that it can fit two children in it using the same footprint as a normal stroller.  It will fully recline to allow a baby to sleep whilst still ensuring the toddler has somewhere to sit.  It is lightweight, easy to fold up and put down.  It is easy to manoeuvre and the break is on the top of the handle and is easy to use.

Except when it doesn't work properly, then it irritates me no end.  

My most recent issue with it involved the back tyres wearing out (again).  Since being in the USA, I have no car which means I walk everywhere and use my stroller all day everyday.  The tyres wore down to the tread within a month, so I bought new ones - these also wore down to the tread within a month. 

I sent in a warranty repair request to Phil & Teds to get the tyres replaced.  They responded within two business days - just like their website said they would - with this response "Hi Kelly, we are going to get a new frame, front wheel and rear wheels sent out to you to take care of this issue. Everything else from your current buggy will transfer over. Enjoy your buggy!"

Within 4 business days, the new frame, front wheel and rear wheels had all arrived.

I was wrapped with the customer service and with the outcome.  I just hope it means the end for my troubles with the tyres.

Thankyou Phil&Teds for helping me with this issue so efficiently and for being a reliable and customer focused company.  

Now my stroller is all fixed and working beautifully - I love it again.  In fact I think I should give it a name.  Any suggestions?  

So, would I buy another Phil&Teds.  Yes.

(BTW, I have not been endorsed by Phil&Teds to say anything in this post).

Does your stroller have a name? What do you love about your stroller/pram?  What irritates you?

Our first Halloween experience

Today we did something we have never done before - we went to a Halloween party.

We loved it!

Master 4 chose his costume - Spiderman.  "I want to be a Superhero, mum".  From the moment it came out of the packaging he wanted to wear everything (including the mask).  So incredibly cute!  Master 1 was Thomas the Tank Engine - not as keen as big brother but he wore the costume for long enough for photos.  The kids really got into it and had their photo taken on pumpkins and we all sat on picnic blankets whilst the kids trick or treated each blanket.

Being from Australia, we don't really celebrate Halloween.  In fact, my general feeling on this event was that it was an over-commercialised contribution to our already epidemic childhood obesity problem.  Intense, I know.

I think it is growing in popularity in Australia.  Last year we had two groups of trick or treaters.  Although, some of the kids weren't even dressed up - further enhancing my view on the over-commercialisation blah blah.  I still gave them a treat - didn't want to rain on the halloween parade.

Since being in the USA, I have completely changed my mind.

It is a complete celebration of the season and everything "fits" together.  It is The Fall (Autumn), so all the leaves are turning, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes are everywhere, all the stores are decorated in orange, black, purple, white and green and full of Halloween decorations and cards and houses are draped in faux spiderwebs, bats, witches hats and jack-o-laterns.  

It is less about the "candy" and more about a wonderful tradition of the coming together of families and the community to celebrate the spookiness and the make believe.

So bring on Halloween and all that comes with it.  I love that it opens my kids minds to different traditions and cultures and draws on their wonderful little imaginations.  

I'm sure they won't mind the candy either... a good chance for the lesson of moderation!

To Move Overseas or Not - that is the question

This is the text I received from Mr Jones "What do you think about moving to Washington DC for 3-4 months?" my response "Hell Yeah!"

After much discussion and "pinning down" of the right people, it is all really happening.  I can't believe it.  I am really proud of Mr Jones - he has worked really hard and this is a credit to him that we this amazing opportunity.  

I honestly never thought we would be able to live and work overseas again (We lived in London for two years BC - before children!).  I am super excited but quite apprehensive aswell.

Our boys are at a really good age to travel for lots of reasons - Master 3 is only in three year old kinder and Master 1 is at home with me.  We don't need to pull them out of schools of which they have been on waiting lists for years for or interrupt their friendship groups or pull them out of all their activities that are so finely scheduled within our week.  

I am a strong believer that kids get so much out of travelling, experiencing new places and embracing different cultures that I think I would take this opportunity no matter what.

On the other hand, they might get more out of the experience if they were a bit older.  Master 1 will have pretty much no recollection but I think Master 3 will have some recollection. 

They are harder work at this age to travel with especially Master 1 - there is no amount of reasoning or explaining that can help this age group "Honey, please don't squeal anymore - it hurts mummy's ears" - is met with a blank expression and more squealing (although I am sure he knows that it irritates me).

In my mind the pros far out way the cons and so we are off - look out United States - the Jones' are on their way!

Our visit to Disneyland

Mr Jones and I had never planned to take our kids to Disneyland.  It was one of those places that we thought we would let them do when they were all grownup.

On our way to live in Washington DC for awhile we had to transit through Los Angeles and we thought...why not?

What an amazing place!  We arrived in LA and had about two days to recover in Anaheim.  It was hot hot hot!  Those first days we stayed around the pool and did a couple of walks around the place.  

The first night in our hotel was awful.  Master 1 cried for about 2 hours as his poor little body clock was all out of whack after our 14 hour flight from Melbourne to LA and I am sure he thought it was daytime.  I thought we might be in for it every night but he was fine after that.  

We stayed in a nice family friendly hotel about a 15 min walk from Disneyland.  It has a separate bedroom for the kids so we could shut the door at night and watch a bit of telly.

We had a three day pass to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park.   There is SO much to do an see.  Especially with little kids.  They need lots of breaks and food stops.  Also, there can be bit queues for things so it is good to have the time to not have to rush around.

It is just such a fairytale.  Everything is so well put together and organised.  Its clean and the people are lovely.  Master 3 and Master 1 were able to go on most of the rides.  They went on the Teacups, the Dumbo ride, Finding Nemo Submarine, the Astro Orbiter, the Carousel, Trains, had a ride on a fire engine, met Mickey, went into Mickey's house, Goofy's house, Donald's boat, Tarzan's Jungle Treehouse, a Jungle Cruise in Adventureland, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure (which scared the absolute s*** out of Master 3 - whoops!) and the Winnie the Pooh ride.  We met and had our photo with Mickey, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Lightening McQueen and Red (from Cars).

Mr Jones and I managed to go on a couple of rides each just for adults.  I went on Space Mountain and the Matterhorn and Mr Jones went on the Star Wars ride and the Matterhorn (Mr Jones is not one for the roller coaster rides so I am surprised he went on the Matterhorn).  They were awesome! We also all spent the evening watching the Disney Parade, the World of Colour show and the fireworks which was really fantastic and well worth it. 

We got there early each morning and then came back for lunch to get out of the heat, let Master 1 have a sleep and have a swim in the pool.  Surprisingly I thought it was busier at night than it was in the daytime.  

It was hard to tell whether Master 3 really enjoyed himself - I think he found everything really overwhelming and got really apprehensive on the rides as he didn't know what is coming next - especially the ones where you go through big double doors into the unknown!  It was hard to crack a smile from him at times and there was quite a bit of "I'm hot, I'm hungry, I'm tired, I don't want to go back to Disneyland (what the?)" met with "You will have fun, you will be happy, you will enjoy it, it will be magical, you will be grateful" from us hahahaha!  He is only little and I can imagine how overwhelming it was for all his senses.

On the last day we went over to Disney California Adventure Park and went to Cars Land which was awesome and looked exactly like "Radiator Springs" in the movie.  Everything was so incredibly well done and there was so much attention to detail.  No wonder Disney is put up there on a pinnacle for the delivery of customer service and the customer experience.  

The happiest place on earth has lived up to its name....we love love loved it!

Mumma, why are the post boxes blue?

I love to travel.  I embrace the differences of the places I go to.  I like trying new food, meeting new people and seeing different things.

This time, in Washington DC, I am seeing it all through the eyes of my darling boys.  Master 3 particularly.  Master 1 could be on the moon - as long as his tummy was full he wouldn't care!

For Master 3, this new place is overwhelming.  Even the smallest things seem strange.  The eggs are pure white (like in the picture books) instead of brown.  I pointed out a fire engine to him the other day that was literally going straight past us with its siren blaring but he didn't see it.  Why not?..."That's not a fire engine mumma, its yellow" - of course (they do have red fire engines here aswell but the yellow one must have been a special kind - confusing, I know!).

This was a lightbulb moment for me.

Many of the things that I must have been referring to or pointing out to him as we have been exploring, he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about!  

So I have begun to point out things to him like the post boxes are dark blue instead of red, the police cars and black and white instead of white and blue. Bob the Builder doesn't necessarily "sound funny" he just has an American accent. He seems able to process things better if he can associate with things in Australia. 

When someone asks him where he is from he will reply with our full Australian address - haha!  Have had to have some practice at just saying "Australia".  Its gorgeous!

I never thought we would travel overseas with our kids until they were at least much older but seeing this new place from my little boy's perspective is just amazing and makes me want to do it more! 

Are you a planner or prefer to go with the flow?

Are you a planner or like to figure it out when you get there? Maybe a bit of both? 

I am a planner and I LOVE to research!  Part of the excitement for me of going somewhere new, seeing something different or even making a new purchase is the research that goes into it.  I enjoy the thrill of the plan (I need to get a life right! haha!).

Before we came to Washington DC, I did sooooo much research.  Everything you could think of from groups to join to must see places.  The power of Google is endless.

I had a comprehensive list of websites to go to, groups to join, local supermarkets, best coffee, best kid friendly restaurants, local gyms and how many minutes it took to walk to the closest metro (train) stop.  Some may call it retentive but hey, it satisfies my control freak tendancies and I can hit the ground running!

I admire people that are spontaneous, fly by the seat of their pants, it'll be alright when we get there.  I kind of wish I was more like that and often fight the urge to plan and pre-organise everything.  But alas, I can't do it. So might as well embrace it!  

In the first couple of days after we arrived here we have managed to join three mum's groups and enrolled in a Gymbaroo type of program for the boys called JW Tumbles.  It feels good to be able to get into everything quickly.  

We have a few things in the diary now which makes it easier to settle and establish a routine.  It also gets us out of the house and doing things ensuring we can maximise this amazing opportunity.

These were my top living abroad with kids research priorities (in no particular order):

• Parks (with play equipment)
• Good coffee
• Supermarket
• Local library
• Kid friendly restaurants
• Local chemist and medical centre
• Gym
• Train/bus system
• Meetup groups

What do you look for in a new place?