Desmond's First Haircut

Desmond was born with a full head of hair. Beautiful reddish-blonde hair. Unlike Vincent's coarse dishwater blonde hair which sticks straight up if it is not kept short, Desmond's hair is fine, slightly wavy, with a bit of a curl when it gets damp.

We had trimmed the front of his hair a couple of months ago because it was starting to hang in his eyes. But, in recent days, we realized that his hair was getting a bit shaggy and it was probably time for his first official haircut. And since the "buzz cut" look works for Paul and Vincent, we thought we'd try it on Desmond. The longest adapter Paul has for his cutter is a number 4. So we thought we give it a go.

We stripped Desmond down to his diaper, and I sat on the edge of the tub with him on my lap. Vincent brought a constant supply of toys to keep Desmond occupied. And Paul was armed with the electric razor/hair cutter. Desmond sat very still and took it all in.

After the first pass of the razor, Paul and I looked at each other in a bit of shock - this was VERY short. But he had to keep going. In the end, it turned out alright...but it will take some getting used to. Now my sweet little cherubic-faced Desmond looks like a bit of a tough guy!

Five Random Things I Miss

We have been living in Sydney now for just over four months, and I think we are finally settling in. But this week, I was hit with a wave of longing for a few things that we don't have or can't get here in Australia. Admittedly, it is a random collection of things. Nonetheless, here's the list - in no particular order:

1. General Mills Cereals - specifically Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Total. General Mills produces food here in Australia, but not cereals. And we can get a type of Cheerios in the grocery store, but it is not the same. But there may be hope - according to the General Mills Australia & New Zealand website, "General Mills Australia and New Zealand is a growing consumer food business." Hopefully that means they will be expanding their cereal selection soon.

2. Pay at the Pump - Using a credit card to pay for gas (petrol) at the pump was something I had taken for granted. Here, drivers have to pay for all their gasoline purchases inside with the clerk. Not that big of a deal, unless I have the boys in the car...then we all have to tramp into the store together to pay.

3. Caribou Coffee - or American coffee shops in general. Australians love their coffee, but it is nearly impossible to get a regular, boring, no-frills cup of (filtered) coffee. I remember missing this when I lived in Sydney 10 years ago - I asked for a cup of filtered coffee and the barista looked at me like I was crazy and then told me that it would be a 15 minute wait while they made a pot of coffee just for me. In the coffee shops here, there are a variety of coffee drinks on the menu - espresso, cappuccino, flat white, short black, long black. But no plain coffee. For many Australians, plain coffee = Nescafe Instant Coffee. Trust me...it is NOT the same thing. And specifically to Caribou - I miss their hot chocolate and their mango black tea. But thanks to my mom for bringing me several bags of the mango black tea when she came to visit in July. Yum!

4. Food Co-ops - We were spoiled living in a metro area (the Twin Cities) with so many food cooperatives. And there is a great co-op in Decorah. In the Sydney area, there are a couple of food co-ops, but none of them are near where we live - the closest one is at least 30 minutes away (in no traffic). I miss being able to buy food in bulk. And the co-op was the place where we bought most of Vincent's allergy-free foods. Fortunately, the grocery stores here have a halfway decent supply of foods he can eat.

5. Culvers - We are not a fast food family, but we did eat Culvers on occasion when we lived in the Twin Cities. There is something special about their burgers and frozen custard. Sigh...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Of course, we miss our family and friends. And I'm sure there will be other things that I will find that I miss. But all-in-all, we are very happy to be living here. And there are lots of Australian things that we missed while we were living in the States...like meat pies, lamingtons, Cadbury chocolates, and my sister-in-law's spinach pie...yum!!

Knitting for Charity: a mama and baby koala

In mid-October, the boys' daycare centre - Kids Academy Hornsby - is participating the Australian Cancer Council's Relay for Life. The centre is holding various fundraising activities in hopes of reaching a $2000 goal. I'm not big into selling/buying chocolate bars, but when they notified us that they were looking for donations for the raffle, I decided that I would offer to provide a knitted contribution. I knew that Susan B. Anderson's book of knitted toy patterns, Itty Bitty Toys, would be the perfect place to look for a pattern. (By the way - I am totally in love with the giraffe on the front cover and am hoping to make it for Desmond for Christmas. And I think I am going to make the snake pattern from this book for Vincent's Christmas gift.)

In the end, I decided on her pattern for a mama and baby koala. I figured that it was very appropriate - not only because we now live in Australia but because Desmond's classroom at Kids Academy is the Koala Room! It took just over a week to complete the two stuffed animals. I learned one valuable lesson - it is really not a good idea to work on knitted toys on the train - too many small pieces, too many double-pointed needles...just not worth the hassle! It was a fairly easy and straight forward pattern. The only downside was all the bits and pieces that had to be assembled in the end. But that is what happens when you knit toys!

I dropped the mama and baby koala off at Kids Academy earlier today and the staff just love them. I hope that who ever wins them in the raffle loves them too!

PS: Thanks to my mom for scanning and e-mailing the pattern - my book is still in storage in my parents' garage in Decorah.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day in Australia.

Before you ask, Mother's Day in Australia is on the same day as Mother's Day in the United States. And, no, my Australian-American husband does not get two Father's Days - just one. We celebrate the holiday in whichever country we are presently living.

My husband is a pretty laid back and humble guy. And, to be honest, he's probably going to be a bit embarrassed when he finds out that I am about to dedicate an entire blog post to him and the fact that he is a wonderful dad to our two boys.

Paul has told me that when he was a teenager and an young man in his early 20s, he never really saw himself becoming a husband - much less a father. But then he met me, we got married, and things changed (thank goodness!!)

Paul was present at the birth of both boys - Vincent in April 2009 and Desmond in September 2011. But it was with Desmond's birth that he went above and beyond the "normal" father duties when he helped me deliver our baby at home (it was a planned home birth) before the midwife arrived (Desmond was in quite a hurry!)

If you know Paul at all, you know that he is a thoughtful, gentle, and kind man. As a father, Paul is patient and practical and consistent. He plays golf and trains with Vincent, stacks up blocks for Desmond, and enjoys reading to both boys (when Desmond isn't grabbing at the pages). He has amazing and unique bonds with both boys.

This year, we are spending Father's Day at home - Paul went to the Father's Day breakfast at the boys' daycare on Friday and both boys made him cute Father's Day gifts. But we are home today, just hanging out. Things have been a bit stressful of late, and it is nice to have the day at home with just us.

Happy Father's Day, Paul. The boys are lucky to have you as their dad and their role model. We love you!

Thumb sucking

Ok - I just need to vent...

I am tired of people we don't know chiding Vincent for sucking his thumb in public.

Today, it was the clerk at the cash register at the grocery store. I had just taken Vincent out of the shopping cart and had him standing next to me. He wasn't all that pleased about being removed from the cart - he was having fun riding around. As I was unloading the groceries, the clerk turned to him and said in a rather loud voice with a broad Australian accent, "Hi there. What's wrong? Why are you sucking your thumb?"

Vincent then got a bit embarrassed and became quite shy. I pulled him close, and looked at the clerk. "How old is he?" she asked.

"Almost three and a half," I replied.

"And still sucking his thumb?" she asked me - as if I hadn't noticed.

"Yep. But he only does it when he is tired or in an unfamiliar situation or embarrassed about something."

"Oh dear," she replied. "I probably scared him." (No kidding - some lady my son doesn't know just criticized him in public for sucking his thumb.)

"Don't worry about it," I told her. "He's fine."

Then Vincent looked up at me - still sucking his thumb and his big eyes as round as saucers - and said, "Mama, I'm a bit shy." I gave him a quick hug.

Yes, I know my son sucks his thumb. Am I worried about it? Not really. I sucked my thumb until I went to kindergarten, and I turned out just fine. We do ask Vincent not to speak when he has his thumb in his mouth. And he really only does suck it when he is tired or upset or embarrassed or shy or in an unfamiliar/uncomfortable situation. It's his self-comforting mechanism.

But I am worried about the ways in which these comments from total strangers impact my son. I really just want to say to these people, please keep your comments to yourself. Don't ask if it tastes good or what it tastes like. He's not sucking it because it tastes like chocolate. And don't tell him he is too old to suck his thumb. He is not yet three and a half. Yes, I know he looks older than that. Yes, he is tall for his age. I know. It's called genetics - his dad's tall. And only chiding or even berating him is not helping the situation and will only make him more inclined to suck his thumb. And please, don't turn to me and ask me why he is sucking his thumb. He can still hear you. Besides, if you don't know us, it is not really any of your business.

His thumb sucking is not hurting anyone. He is a little boy who is very sensitive and very observant. He knows when he is being criticized or singled out. And he doesn't like it. Neither do I.

Vincent: "I like food. I eat it with my mouth."

"Mama, I painted my body today!"

That was the answer to my question: "Vincent, what did you do at Kids' Academy today?"

Immediately, my head was full of visions of 3- and 4-year-olds running around their classroom, bright colored paint dripping from their bodies.

"You painted your body? Like your tummy and your legs and your hands and your feet?"

"No, Mama!" Vincent grinned. "Our teacher drew our bodies on paper and then we painted them!"

Oh right. Now I get it.

The next time I dropped the boys off at daycare, we saw Vincent's cut out in the hallway. He proudly pointed it out to me.

Upon closer inspection, I saw a quote written above his name:

All of the children had quotes on their paper cut outs. The little girl's next to Vincent's said, "I like my dress. It makes me look pretty."

What a cute idea - instead of just doing the standard trace-around-the-child-and-cut-out-the-body activity, the children also had to say something about themselves. Then, I saw an explanation of the activity posted on the wall nearby (featuring none other than our very own Vincent):

I have to admit - I'm pretty proud of our little guy. He has greatly expanded his eating horizons, in spite of the numerous restrictions to his diet due to his food allergies (dairy, egg, wheat, sesame, nut). He is regularly trying new foods, even if he doesn't like them all.

When I picked him up on the Friday, he actually had paint on his body. He told me that he was a tiger. "Rrrrrooooaaaarrrr!!!"

Why are the Aussies wearing green and gold?

Right now, people around the world are fixated on the 2012 Olympic Games. As the sporting drama unfolds in London, a friend of mine in the US sent me a Facebook message with an interesting question that had come up in a discussion about the Olympics at her work:

"How are the 'team colors' for Australia green and yellow/gold when the flag is red, white, and blue?"


Excellent question! The green and gold combination is prevalent throughout Australian culture - and particularly in sports. I had never really given it much thought, but as I considered the question, it occurred to me that it might have something to do with the Australian national flower: the wattle.

Image credit: worldwidewattle.com

Image credit: anbg.gov.au

Turns out, my hypothesis was correct. According to the Australian Government's website "It's an Honour - Australia Celebrating Australians" (http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/symbols/flora.cfm), the lowly wattle carries a vast amount of significance for Australian culture and history. For example:

• As one species of a large genus of flora growing across Australia, the golden wattle is a symbol of unity
• Wattle is ideally suited to withstand Australia's droughts, winds and bushfires. The resilience of wattle represents the spirit of the Australian people.
• In recent times, the golden wattle has been used as a symbol of remembrance and reflection. On national days of mourning, for example, Australians are invited to wear a sprig of wattle

The wattle also features prominently in the Australian coat of arms (along with the beloved kangaroo and emu):

In Australian sports, perhaps more so than in any other aspect of Australian culture, green and gold plays a key role. The first association between this color combination and Australian sports was recorded at the end of the 19th century when the Australian cricket team wore green and gold hats and blazers (together with the traditional white uniforms of test cricket) for the first time during the Ashes series in England (**I promise a future blog post on cricket**). In 1908, the Australasian Olympic team adopted "green and wattle" as team colors. Today, these are the colors of the national cricket team, the Wallabies (rugby union), the Socceroos and the Matildas (men's and women's soccer), the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos (men's and women's field hockey), the Boomers and the Opals (men's and women's basketball) and, of course, the Australian Olympic team.